Octobbbberrr break and stuff

October came and went lickety split. Probably because we had a week off school, a half week of school, a week where 1/2 the high school was gone on sports trips while the elementary had Filipiniana (Philippine Culture) Week, and one regular week that was also production week for the middle school musical. It was certainly enough for a whole month to pass by nearly unnoticed.

When school breaks come along many people opt for the beach. While I love being by/on the water, I really despise sand and getting sunburned despite the power of sunscreen even when I think I’m in the shade, so I’m never dying to go lounge on the beach. It was two summers ago that I went to Baguio for the first time, not because I was super interested in going there (there isn’t a ton of tourist draw) but because there was an opportunity to go and I had never been so why not?

Now, this October break was the third time I’ve gone to Baguio with my surrogate parents, the Varbergs. It’s the get away with the relaxation of a staycation. We stay on a missionary run compound that has cabins with mini-kitchens, a living room area, table and fireplace. Did you know there are places in the Philippines where you could want a fireplace? They exist!

Since I am terrible of taking photos when it’s break and my life and no one is counting on me for their coverage of life here are some photos from several adventures to Baguio. Reasons I love going to Baguio:

#1 The drive up the mountain – No caption necessary.

#2 Cool weather Hoodies and jeans and not hating hot showers. I don’t miss snow but I do miss cooler weather. We generally expect low 70s or cooler and as crazy as it sounds, berrr. Dan is the fire maker and master of the grill.

#3 Games and Puzzles Sometimes it rains. All day. And that’s okay we just games and puzzles the day away. Here we have a rare occasion where Sandy beat Dan at Ticket to Ride. I have included this picture to remind her that miracles happen.

#4 Easter Weaving They weave all the things you can imagine. I want to own them all. This is the area where they work which is open so you can see how the magic happens.

#5 Wood Carvings There are places all over Baguio and all down the mountain where everything is carved from wood. Ginormous sculptures and furniture of all kinds. It’s hard to imagine how the pieces get transported from the shop to their destination. This is my dragon carabao stool. It’s fancy.

#6 This Starbucks This Starbucks is a converted officers housing nestled in the pine trees. Sometimes the fog rolls through and you’re literally sitting in the clouds. That’s pretty much it. We lounge around, read, eat, color, nap and play bocce ball or throw a frisbee if the weather is nice. There’s also pingpong and shuffle board. I had no idea shuffle board was fun. 😀 We are boring and that’s fine for us. It’s a nice break from the crazy of school days.

And now back to regularly scheduled life…

The rest of the month has been pretty much normal life school days. Both of my classes, photo and yearbook, fall in departments that are up for curriculum review. Which is interesting since I don’t really have curriculum. But I’m learning a lot about the teacher world and hope that what I’m doing will help someone who will eventually come behind me looking for the materials to teach these classes and ultimately make it easier for me to manage them for as long as I continue to teach them.

Normally I’d have directed a show around this time, but since I am still teaching yearbook I decided to take a break this year. It has been good for me to have the after school time to work so that I don’t have to stay so late at school. And I didn’t miss out on the fun entirely though because another set of directors took on the production date to produce a middle school musical which I still helped with by running sound with my colleague Jason and a couple of our student techies.

The kids did a great job. We’ve got a lot of up and coming talent!

We’ve got one quarter behind us already as we dig deeper into quarter two and barrel toward the end of the semester I’m feeling pretty good about this school year so far. The last two years got me so busy I was starting to burn out. I was struggling to meet any of my professional goals and any personal goals had been completely pushed aside so I knew going into this year I needed to make some changes that would help alleviate some of the stress.

Deciding not to direct (for now) was one of those things. Joining some of my friends in a growth group was another (that I didn’t know would be at the time, but it is). I’d tell you more about it but it’s kind of like Fight Club. XD Suffice it to say, we are working toward our goals one week at a time and my current status is: crushing it.

Also, the Indians have almost won the World Series and I’m feeling pretty good about that too. #rollTribe

If you’re the praying type I’d appreciate your rememberances with the following:
I’m considering a housing change (to save $) but it’s complicated since no one knows what next year looks like. What does next year look like for me? My visa is up for renewal which can be a HUGE pain in the patooski. And my support is still very low, stable, but low.

Thanks for your support whichever method you’re able to give.my financial support remains low, stable, but low.

Here’s a random picture of me with that random Baguio lion. GRRRR. #crrrrrushinglife