Well, you know teachers. Sitting by the pool all summer, working on their tans. No wonder they don't get paid very much - they only work nine months out of the year!
I actually had someone say that to me (the part about pay) while I was waiting with Laura to get the oil changed in her car. I didn't respond to him. There was no point, because he was one of those people that talks incessantly at anyone sitting nearby in public places, and who is an expert on all topics from teachers to current high school culture to the phone company.
Definitely not my style.
I
have had a good summer so far, even though I haven't actually sat by a pool one time. I'm taking three classes towards my masters degree and I'll be finished at the end of July as long as I get all of my ducks in a row. I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to sending in forms or having forms sent in. Stupid, I know. I've still got time...five more weeks of summer.
So classes and homework has taken up a big chunk of my time. And what, you might ask, am I doing with the rest of the time? Reading, watching History Channel, practicing piano, and let's see...training my body to be a well-oiled, toned, trim machine, that's what!
Please read that last sentence with tongue in cheek...
I've been running consistently for a year and three weeks now. When I say consistently, I mean at least three times a week except for one week when I had a blister that covered my entire arch (literally, it had a bigger circumference than a doorknob) and the week I had the flu. You would think I would be a totally awesome runner one year later, but I'm a slow learner. I've made some progress, though. When I first started, I could barely run one mile without wanting to die or walk, and I've run up to seven now. I don't really do that on a regular basis though. I mostly do four or five-mile runs, and they're pretty slow in terms of people who
really run. It's been both exhilarating and painful at times. I've learned a lot about myself and my physical limits and abilities. I'm hoping to break thirty minutes on my next 5K (see, I told you I was slow!).
Since I have some foot problems, I've been trying to bike on days that I don't run. You know the old adage, "It's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget" ? Well, it's a lie. Although, maybe I never really learned. I know I had training wheels until I was at least 9. Here's the deal: I can't start or stop. Not well. When I start, I do this insane, wobbly right to left thing (whoa, whoa, white knuckles on the handlebars), and usually end up trying to scoot onto the seat as soon as one foot leaves the ground -which is too soon, believe me. And forget starting uphill, just forget it.
I also can't stop. If it's a planned stop, I'm usually okay. I start breaking about fifty yards away from said stopping point, and think to myself, "Now stand on one leg, lift off of the seat, and gently place the other foot on the ground." If I have to stop with less notice, I end up doing a fall/jump off of the bike, sometimes resulting the bike hitting the ground as I bruise my calf and stumble into the neighbor's yard. I've tried doing a start/stop routine down a street in my neighborhood ( thinking, "Please, let no one be watching as I do this") but it hasn't seemed to help yet. When I'm concentrating I can sometimes get a good start or stop, but when I'm actually on the ride...much less likely. Especially if there's a car nearby or person nearby other than Ben. I just get too nervous.
I blame my parents for this.
Onto a much more comfortable arena for me, I've recently started doing yoga. I love it. I totally buy into the whole, stretching, balancing, breathing, clearing your mind thing. I also have the best yoga DVD ever (not that I've really tried very many). It's by
Rodney Yee, there's no annoying music, and he only talks in order to say what position to move to. I've always wanted to be able to do the crazy arm poses. You know, where your legs are out to the side and you're facing the ground, and just balancing on one arm or something. I'm not there yet, but I can do the crane pose which involved balancing all of your weight on just your arms. I'll have to get Ben to take a picture of me doing it; I'm proud that I can do it now. It actually takes way more balance than strength, which is why I can attempt it. I can barely do "plank" for more than three seconds. That's almost entirely abs/arm strength, though, not so much pure balance. Maybe by the end of the summer...
So, in response to the know-it-all guy in the KwikOil place - I
do only work ten months out of the year. The thing he apparently doesn't know is that I'm only paid for the time I work (unless you count the two weeks of paid vacation). That's partly why I'm getting my masters. So that if I have to support a family on my teacher's salary, we won't have to be on the free and reduced lunch program. Also, even though starting salaries for teachers aren't always below a normal starting salary for a recent college grad, it's just that there's no way for a teacher to earn much more than that in many systems, unlike other jobs outside of education where you can get a promotion or change companies in order to get a significant raise.
I'm not complaining. I'm just composing a tactful response for the next person that tells me teachers shouldn't expect to make a living wage...
I love my job, and I definitely enjoy all of that (unpaid) vacation time!!
Happy Summer!
