Today marks the end of an era for me. I can't remember the exact day, but somewhere around May this year a new teacher began hosting a lunch class at the yoga studio that I frequent. At the time, I preferred my yoga in increments of 90 minutes, so a 45 minute class seemed out of the question, but I decided to see what it was like just in case. My natural curiosity often gets the best of me, you see.
The class went by relatively quickly. It was over just as I felt we were beginning, but it was a good class just the same. The teacher was pretty funny, I thought so maybe it won't kill me to mix in a 45 minute class every now and then. Sometimes a step back is really a step forward, after all.
Like me, she had an abundance of free time after an unsuccessful attempt to work at lululemon (A fate I too was overcome by several months later. That and food poisoning the day before the interview.), so she subbed many of the classes that I regularly attend. There was a point when I was in her class just about every day for quite a while.
Tragically, she did not like a particularly cheesy playlist I had one day, and I probably drove her crazy a few times with my occasional, or not so occasional, shenanigans and unintentional somersaults. The spaciousness in her pelvis surely helped her deal with these as gracefully as possible.
I wasn't always in the greatest of mindsets going into her class or others, but her humor and ability to push me as hard as anyone out there can helped me to leave feeling better in spite of the fact that I was a sweaty disaster.
Aside from my mother, she was the only one to give me a birthday present this year (A tin of licorice twist tea, which, appropriately enough, just ran out the day before our last class together for a while, tonight.). She also gave me some tea today as a "going away" present, for which I am quite grateful. Hopefully the wooden salamanders I gave to her will serve her well, or at least keep the big black dog happy. The big black dog is an excellent creature.
Thankfully, she has found herself a boatman to call her own and so will likely be in Halifornia until I return, whenever that may be. Hopefully she'll have many successful self-help books and other successful things going on in her life by then; maybe a third series practice, maybe a small human, who knows.
As Morpheus says, everything that has a beginning has an end, and, for now, our yoga classes have come to an end. Hopefully I'll see her again, but, if not, I wish her all the best. Thanks for the exuberance.
Live long and Prosper,
FKA
Showing posts with label tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Off to the land of tea
I was recently offered a job in Qingdao, China and will be accepting it enthusiastically! I'll be teaching at the very least 1 math/ESL class, a listening/speaking and/or computing class, and maybe even some AP stats and calculus.
It's a university prep school in which the students study immersion style for one year before heading off to a North American university. Like any school, they are always looking to expand their range of courses, so, if I want to, I can create my own course/materials! Obviously this would help both me and the school, so I am most likely going to pursue this option. From the sounds of it, they also want to start a 2 year program, and want to offer weekend classes for students/adults that want to take them, so there are ample opportunities for extra work if I want it.
If i were to draw up an ideal job for myself, this would be remarkably close to it, so I am so glad that I found it. The way in which I found it was quite random, so I'll share it here.
I was on the bus on my way to wander aimlessly downtown when my phone rang. It was Telus calling to ask me if I wanted to upgrade to an iphone 5 or some other smart phone. I told them that I would likely be out of the country by the time my current contract expires(late February), so getting a new phone, which would require a contract here, would make no sense.
Immediately after I hung up, a young man in sun glasses asked me casually where I will be going. I told him that i wasn't really sure, but I had been applying to a bunch of jobs in Korea and Japan. As it turns out, he was off to China the very next day to teach English in Xi'an. His qualifications were not all that different from mine, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to start looking in China myself.
That night I went to Daves ESL cafe to check out the china job scene and the second Ad was for a job teaching math in a university prep school that teaches math, science, English, and business courses with locations in Qingdao, Dalian, and Xi'an. I met the qualifications, so I figured it couldn't hurt to apply.
Within the hour I got an e-mail asking if I could do an informal interview the next day, so I did. It went really well, and within a few days he sent me a potential instructor questionnaire, which I filled out that day and sent off. He liked the answers, so he scheduled a formal interview for this past Tuesday. That went really well and within a few days I had a formal job offer, together with a contract for me to look over. I am going through this carefully, but so far it looks awesome. I will definitely accept it.
The job will start mid-February, so I still have plenty of time to see my friends before I head home in January and stay until I leave. It'll be good to spend some time at home before I go to a whole new world for an undetermined period of time. I could see myself staying for a while if it's even half as good as it seems.
It's a little nerve racking flying literally half the world away, but all the magic happens outside of your comfort zone, so it's definitely worth a shot. The city looks absolutely amazing, so I am pretty excited about it.
The abundance of excellent tea is a nice bonus as well.
Three cheers for stumbling across a dream job randomly!!
Live long and prosper,
FKA
It's a university prep school in which the students study immersion style for one year before heading off to a North American university. Like any school, they are always looking to expand their range of courses, so, if I want to, I can create my own course/materials! Obviously this would help both me and the school, so I am most likely going to pursue this option. From the sounds of it, they also want to start a 2 year program, and want to offer weekend classes for students/adults that want to take them, so there are ample opportunities for extra work if I want it.
If i were to draw up an ideal job for myself, this would be remarkably close to it, so I am so glad that I found it. The way in which I found it was quite random, so I'll share it here.
I was on the bus on my way to wander aimlessly downtown when my phone rang. It was Telus calling to ask me if I wanted to upgrade to an iphone 5 or some other smart phone. I told them that I would likely be out of the country by the time my current contract expires(late February), so getting a new phone, which would require a contract here, would make no sense.
Immediately after I hung up, a young man in sun glasses asked me casually where I will be going. I told him that i wasn't really sure, but I had been applying to a bunch of jobs in Korea and Japan. As it turns out, he was off to China the very next day to teach English in Xi'an. His qualifications were not all that different from mine, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to start looking in China myself.
That night I went to Daves ESL cafe to check out the china job scene and the second Ad was for a job teaching math in a university prep school that teaches math, science, English, and business courses with locations in Qingdao, Dalian, and Xi'an. I met the qualifications, so I figured it couldn't hurt to apply.
Within the hour I got an e-mail asking if I could do an informal interview the next day, so I did. It went really well, and within a few days he sent me a potential instructor questionnaire, which I filled out that day and sent off. He liked the answers, so he scheduled a formal interview for this past Tuesday. That went really well and within a few days I had a formal job offer, together with a contract for me to look over. I am going through this carefully, but so far it looks awesome. I will definitely accept it.
The job will start mid-February, so I still have plenty of time to see my friends before I head home in January and stay until I leave. It'll be good to spend some time at home before I go to a whole new world for an undetermined period of time. I could see myself staying for a while if it's even half as good as it seems.
It's a little nerve racking flying literally half the world away, but all the magic happens outside of your comfort zone, so it's definitely worth a shot. The city looks absolutely amazing, so I am pretty excited about it.
The abundance of excellent tea is a nice bonus as well.
Three cheers for stumbling across a dream job randomly!!
Live long and prosper,
FKA
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Embracing the random
Heads, yes. Tails, no. This is how I have been making unimportant decisions for some time now. It started out as a way to eliminate an incredible level of indecisiveness, but recently I have been thinking about randomness in a whole new light.
I saw a middle aged woman on the bus today who quite literally danced her way into the seat next to me. I have not seen someone as chipper in quite some time. She was rather surprised that I was not "plugged in" like most youth these days. That is, why I was not in my own little bubble listening to music and ignoring everyone else around me. Admittedly, I am almost completely oblivious to the outside world when I am focused on something, especially if I am reading a good book on psychology (My brother has to pretty much wave his hands in front of my face in order to get my attention sometimes.), but I was open to the possibility of human interaction today.
Later, I decided to go to my favorite tea shop and just space out for a bit, or so I thought. I ended up having a very interesting conversation with a virtual stranger, whom I am now connected with via twitter, about the collective unconscious, living fearlessly, and the possibility of being the official tea alchemist for a concert featuring the likes of the Marley brothers and Wyclef Jean. The theme of the concert would essentially embracing the "one love" frame of mind; treating everyone with respect, and doing what we can to help each other grow and thrive as humans. As a part of this, tea could be blended showcasing different themes, which makes me very excited indeed. I can only hope that this comes to pass. The possibilities that arise when you are open to others are truly astounding.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had a conversation with a panhandler who was quite clearly upset with the scandalous dress of young girls. He made it very clear that he has been hurt deeply by girls in the past and wants nothing to do with them, and also has severed ties with his parents and family, so perhaps this attitude is merely just a projection of this past hurt onto people who remind him of those that have hurt him. He did, however, make a very good point in between his lamentations about short skirts and low tops. He noted that in all of us we have the potential to be nasty, hateful people, but also loving, kind, and helpful people.
Obviously it is a little harder to allow space for people when they are speaking negatively, but I know that people sometimes need someone to vent to and that repressing feelings does far more harm than good.
So I shall continue to remain "unplugged" and allow for the possibility of human interaction as often as possible. Cheers to the random!
Live long and prosper,
FKA
I saw a middle aged woman on the bus today who quite literally danced her way into the seat next to me. I have not seen someone as chipper in quite some time. She was rather surprised that I was not "plugged in" like most youth these days. That is, why I was not in my own little bubble listening to music and ignoring everyone else around me. Admittedly, I am almost completely oblivious to the outside world when I am focused on something, especially if I am reading a good book on psychology (My brother has to pretty much wave his hands in front of my face in order to get my attention sometimes.), but I was open to the possibility of human interaction today.
Later, I decided to go to my favorite tea shop and just space out for a bit, or so I thought. I ended up having a very interesting conversation with a virtual stranger, whom I am now connected with via twitter, about the collective unconscious, living fearlessly, and the possibility of being the official tea alchemist for a concert featuring the likes of the Marley brothers and Wyclef Jean. The theme of the concert would essentially embracing the "one love" frame of mind; treating everyone with respect, and doing what we can to help each other grow and thrive as humans. As a part of this, tea could be blended showcasing different themes, which makes me very excited indeed. I can only hope that this comes to pass. The possibilities that arise when you are open to others are truly astounding.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had a conversation with a panhandler who was quite clearly upset with the scandalous dress of young girls. He made it very clear that he has been hurt deeply by girls in the past and wants nothing to do with them, and also has severed ties with his parents and family, so perhaps this attitude is merely just a projection of this past hurt onto people who remind him of those that have hurt him. He did, however, make a very good point in between his lamentations about short skirts and low tops. He noted that in all of us we have the potential to be nasty, hateful people, but also loving, kind, and helpful people.
Obviously it is a little harder to allow space for people when they are speaking negatively, but I know that people sometimes need someone to vent to and that repressing feelings does far more harm than good.
So I shall continue to remain "unplugged" and allow for the possibility of human interaction as often as possible. Cheers to the random!
Live long and prosper,
FKA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)