Annnd I’m back!

Quite a bit has happened in the past few months, but I’ll attempt to provide an update that is both entertaining and endearing.

First of all, I quit my job at that loony-bin of a hagwon. I will miss those darn kiddos, but if you recall, it was 50 teaching hours a week (50!!!! TEACHING.) with no breaks, not much room or time to do your own lesson plans, and a million of other things they expected you to do (sing a song in front of the kids with NO preparation? and also add movements?? Wut) without any thanks or extra pay. NOPE, NOPE, AND NOPE. I honestly don’t know how I worked there for three months.

So what happened? Well, I gave my boss three weeks notice (contract says six, but that’s BS. In Korea you can quit without giving ANY notice), finished up the report cards (staying extra hours after work), and tried to be as amiable as possible. But my boss took me into her office (new baby sitting in her arms) and yelled at me for about 20 minutes. Lol. I really think she wanted me to cry, or feel “really, really, really sorry” buuuuut… I was over her games a week into the job, so I just told her I could leave right at that moment, or stay until the end of the month like I had planned.

That was my Pretty Woman, “big mistake…HUGE” moment.

Then came June, where I contemplated my life—mostly this last year—wrote some short stories, stressed out about not having a job (let alone a career), played with Nabi A LOT, and then moseyed over to the education center on the base and registered for a second master’s degree. Because when in doubt in life, go back to school, right?

For my BIRTHDAY MONTH, I spent a few weeks in Alaska (Alex in Iowa, then Alaska for a short stint), and then we both headed to California for the CrossFit Games. We were originally going to go to Thailand and Cambodia*, but got this opportunity to attend (definitely not participate, but thanks to everyone who thought we were IN the Games) the big, fancy, ultimate CrossFit spectator experience.
And it really was all that it’s cracked up to be! Alex and I are already considering applying to be volunteers at next year’s games. We met a ton of cool people (including some big namers *cough* Matt Chan and Julie Foucher…I tried to play it cool but I almost died), I got a “hey” and head nod from THE Dave Castro, and shouted, “GOOD JOB” to Sara Sigmundsdottir and Jon Pera like a n00b. We also ate a lot, got a lot of sun, and worked out a few good times.

After about a week in Carson, we drove down the coast to SUNNY SAN DIEGOOOO, also known as MY NEW FAVORITE AMERICAN CITYYYY. There, we did some kick-ash hiking, met up both nights with my dear friends from Turkey, ate a bunch of awesome foods (duh), and had a beach day.

We also did something way awesome called fly-boarding. Alex is normally pretty bad at surprises (mostly because I accidentally guess and he can’t keep it in), but this time I had absolutely no idea what he had planned. We did it the day before my birthday, and he just told me we had somewhere to be at 430 and to wear my swimsuit. I started guessing (surf lessons, kayaking, private cruise, swimming with dolphins, helicopter to Mexico…) but of course was way off. I had never even heard of this sport! Basically, it’s like a wakeboard hooked up to the jets on a jet-ski, and you hover over the water. If you’re super good, you can do back-flips and all kinds of crazy moves. Alex and I stuck with just hovering. It took me 15 minutes just to get the hang of the basics! But it was super, super fun so if you’re ever in San Diego check these guys out: http://www.flyguyswatersports.com/ (or check your city, apparently it’s getting pretty popular).

After our too-short-but-highly-enjoyable stay in SD, we took off for a second too-short-but-highly-enjoyable stay, this time in Seattle. There, we met up with another good friend of mine (from our history major days at UAF), where—you guessed it—we ate good foods and enjoyed good company. Why can’t that be my career? Eating and being with friends? WHO WANTS TO PAY ME TO BE THEIR FRIEND AND EAT WITH THEM??? Just kidding. Maybe.

Now, we’ve hit September—ohmyglob—which has consisted of us getting back into our gym routines, me applying to jobs at the base school, me registering for classes and buying books, and one magnificent pig-out-and-watch-harry-potter weekend.

26^th year of my life… WATCH OUT.

*Thailand and Cambodia have been on my to-visit places for a really long time, and we will definitely hit both while in Korea. Maybe within the yearrrr??