Sweat Drops off My... face

The past week, one of the guys we've been spending time with wanted to do the Insanity workout with me. Insanity is pretty much a spin-off of P90x that everyone did last summer in AA, except that it's only 60 days, versus the 90. Anyways, the first day we did it was the "Fitness Test" and I have to say, I got my world rocked. I honestly have never sweat as much or felt as much pain as I did after the workout. Literally, sweat was dripping off my chin and pooling onto my shorts whenever I bent down to rest.

As of now, I'm only on day 2 of the program, but I'm already feeling some progress in my cardio. My legs are definitely still weaksauce, but I'm pretty positive by the end, it'll be all good.



How's the job hunt going? Well... it feels like I'm just sending out resumes and applying for positions with no response back. It's so frustrating to not even get formally rejected because at least then I know that they considered me. But I'm still plugging away, trusting that God will provide.

On the plus side, not having to work during the day means I get to spend more time with people and playing basketball every saturday means I'm actually halfway decent now. hahaha. Think of me like a poor man's Amare Stoudamire. Low post threat with a mediocre jump shot.

Car Problems

1 week after failing the emissions test, my car is still getting repairs. One new resonator and special order for an emissions valve later, I'm down almost 1G. I was supposed to have it installed today, but because the wrong part got ordered, I get to drive back to the repair shop for the 5th time in a week.

On the bright side, I got to meet Jose, the guy who dropped me off @ home and picked me up today. He's a pretty cool guy and gave me some recommendations for places to eat around South Austin.

Hostest(s) with the Mostest(s)

Just wanted to say that Grohan are amazing hosts. Beautiful home, friendly atmosphere, great cooks, lotta fun, all in all, great all around. We're really blessed to have them join our rag-tag team down in Tejas.

I'm really excited for this upcoming year in Austin... I feel like God is gonna be doing something that blows our mind. Just not sure what. We'll see!!!

Why the Long Hair?

Yes. For those of you who think I'm a moron for having long hair, yes, I know I can't pull it off well. Yes, I realize my hair is not like white people hair. And yes, my head gets freakin hot in the 90+ degree weather in Austin.

I am keeping my hair long for 2 simple reasons:

1. I get more authority/ respect from the students when I have it longer and more "traditionally styled"
2. I am bored of all the short hair styles.

So I'm sorry if my hair doesn't look good, it's done out of necessity now. *shrug*

Downing them jaded pills

One school year down (well, technically 4/5 of a year). It seems like an eternity since I started working as a teaching assistant at the middle school. I came in bright-eyed and bushy tailed, eager to tackle the challenges of meeting the needs of pubescent kids. For almost half a year, I was able to keep a positive attitude and earnestly believe that they could change for the better.
Unfortunately a person can only give so much of himself with little to no positive reinforcement before he seriously questions his idealism. I hit that will after Christmas break, which is when the kids start ramping up into "I don't care about anything" mode. It's really sad when you learn about their home situations, as 90% of them come from broken homes and burdened with its baggage. Many times it's painfully obvious where much of their mentality and personalities come from when we end up talking to their guardians. Like they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Long story short, I went through a really tough last couple months at work. Many days I would flirt with the idea of quitting, but kept reminding myself that this was a job that God provided for me, and I needed to stick it out. I'm definitely really thankful for my experiences. Seriously. I think I am so much more equipped for dealing with classroom management now after working with all those punks. =) Even outside of the things I picked up firsthand teaching, I got to rub shoulders with some teachers who really inspire me to want to be like them. You hear in the news all the bad educators who sleep with their students or are incompetent, but you never hear anything about the inspirational ones that give you hope for our future. Trust me, there are some great ones out there who give 100% and daily give everything they have to see each child succeed. Props to them for the unrecognized work they do.

Below is the only picture I was able to take on my last day (it was filled with assemblies and packing/cleaning). If you're wondering, yes, that is, indeed, the famous Round Rock Donut. I had been raving about it to them the entire year, and as a reward/ celebration for surviving, I got each class one. Hahaha, their reactions were amazing, I wish I could have video recorded it. But yeah, I'm definitely going to remember this past year, and hope I continue to grow a greater heart for my future students.