It's time for a recap...6 cha-cha-cha changes! With movie footage to boot!
#1. May marked the end of vacationland/pseudo fantasy life and my reintroduction to the pseudo real world. I can't quite call what I do in Thailand the 'real world', but I started working again and that adds a little bit of structure to my day. Actually, a whole lot of structure! News flash - I'm now an elementary school teacher!...which means I'm attempting to maintain as much structure as possible despite (what feels like...) a BILLION little Thai children running berserk! Being an elementary school teacher is full on and it makes me feel completely overwhelmed sometimes, because, honestly, I was at a high school for a year where students knew how to write their names and they weren't all 7 year old games and lack of understanding. However, the kids here are absolutely adorable and so fantastic that I think, though this will be a learning experience for me, I am going to totally enjoy this change in scenery. So, look at me - I'm an elementary school teacher now! Never thought I'd see the day...
#2. It isn't just children running rampant that is exhausting, but I'm also less than a month away from a marathon. That's right, I'm running a god damn marathon on June 10th, like I mentioned a little while ago, and like I said, shit's getting serious. I've never really done anything like this before or trained for something this big, but there it is - marathon season, baby. Right now I'm just running almost everyday - with the exception of rest days thrown into the mix and I'm trying to increase my run time slowly, but surely. Luckily, I have my friend, Jason, as a motivator and we have been hitting the trails around this little island to try to get real about this whole thing. Am I crazy? I'll get back to you on that one in ummmm...ahhhh....23 days. Let the games begin. Hey-o!...what have I gotten myself into???
#3. Obama endorsed same sex marriage. What, what! I always used to say that I wasn't getting married until everyone could...and while that was only one argument in my 'hate on marriage' tirade, I'm pretty happy that this has happened and I'm glad people are getting off of the hate train.
P.S. Same sex marriage has been legal in Thailand for quite some time...it's just the western world that's still backwards - imagine that...
#4. I'm going back to America for my 2012 Reunion Tour! This is amazing, because I'm actually saving money like you wouldn't believe. Yes, Nicola, the eight year old - the girl who can't manage finances or deal with grown up stuff...like...I don't know...responsibility?! I still don't know what that is, but I've heard people talk about it...
This trip back to the states is all part of the "can't stop, won't stop" energy that I have been discussing for ages. I'm getting absolutely psyched. Psychedness - which is only further stoked by a ticket to Pretty Lights at Red Rocks Amphitheater - one of my favorite shows and favorite venues on the PLANET...andddd I'm actually making moves towards pulling it off. Well, actually, there's no way that I'm not going at this point. Red Rocks. Pretty Lights. Best Friends In The World. Child, please.
#5. Being home is starting to feel...real. It was when my friend, Charlie, said that he might be able to pick me up in Los Angeles when I get off of the plane from Thailand, that it hit me. We were chatting online and as soon as I read his suggestion, my heart jumped in my chest, my throat closed up, and I forgot to breathe. I felt paralyzed with my mind running a mile a minute - thinking, "holy shit, holy shit!" It's unbelievable to actually make plans like that with someone I'm dying to see. It hit me all at once! It is just a little while longer before familiar faces, places, food, IPA, music....blah blah blah...EVERYTHING, will be my reality; I am just so over-the-moon-happy and it feels like everything is falling into place. Yeah, holy shit.
One last thing about 'Merica. I'm trying to imagine what I will do when I get there and honestly, I'm having a hard time picturing it. For ages America has seemed like this distant, shiny ball of nostalgia. People would talk about going back to America or moving from America to Thailand and I'd sit there miffed, uncomprehending the life that they were talking about. Maybe I've just had too much pad thai and sunny beaches to wrap my mind around high mountain summers and the 505. It has been almost a year and a half of Thailand living and I don't really know how to be in America anymore. It sounds weird to say it like that, but living here is 180 degrees different than my life in the southwestern United States. I miss so many random things and can't wait to binge on the most obscure foods - it is going to be bliss. I am scared though. I am really afraid of the changes that I'll be faced with in myself, with my friends, and regarding my family. It has been a long time and there have been a lot of big 'life happenings'. Obviously things will never be the 'same'. Nothing is permanent. However, these changes are the foundation of my excitement, but also my apprehension. A part of me would love to have everything nice and neatly packaged like it is in my memory, but alas, that is life. It keeps on rollin' and we have to roll with it.
#6. Lastly, I know that I have been terrible about photos and documentation of my recent experiences. Instead, I have been flexing my "real zen wit it" attitude, but that is over!...temporarily. Pictures, you ask? Better! Video! My friend, Tim, made an EXCEPTIONAL movie about our experiences in Chiang Mai for Songkran (the epic water festival). So, there was a little bit of anti-zen time captured by his Gopro Hero II and edited by a pro (Tim). It's definitely the best film about Songkran I have ever seen, it is silly and amazing, and I hope you enjoy it if you have time to check it out. Here's the link:
Songkran 2012
So, that's my life. It's a whirlwind of running, teaching, and planning. There's a whole lot going on, but in so many ways...something is happening and I'm feeling good about it.
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