so 2011 is ending in like 3 hours... it has been an odd year.
here's to 2012 being a little less odd..
have a good evening everyone who reads this...

I'm sitting in Starbucks yet again... attempting to write my final research proposal paper for this course I'm taking... I'm thinking that I may move to school later where I can stretch out on a couch and write without being able to access facebook or blogs or youtube or netflix or really anything fun...
There are 2 weeks left in school before Christmas break and I'm looking forward to the break. I'm not really looking forward to the end of the semester - I am seriously going to miss my grade 9 music class... they are such a cool bunch of kids. The grade 10 drama class is also fun - but not in the same way. I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing sometimes in that class... whereas in music I'm confident that I'm doing a good job.
Christmas concert is on Wednesday - I'm not feeling ready on that front either... the music is - the rest is not... I need to learn how to deligate more... Guess I'll have to try that next year...
Oh well - off to somewhere more comfortable than this chair... Will return later - when this paper is complete :)

it's been a while.
ghana was fantastic - it was such a cool experience to just learn west african drumming and dancing in west africa. the group i went with was really cool - about 20 of us - 3 canadians the rest from mostly north eastern states and then one from florida, tennessee, and louisiana. i don't even really know how to get into the experience still and be able to sum it up in a few words because i would need a really long post, but i did will 100$ in a photo contest - i'll post that picture here soon.
i started at my new school in ottawa in september - went to a staff retreat 3 days after returning from ghana and it's been a whirlwind ever since.
i head to school most mornings by 8 - do devotions with my gr 12 homeroom and then prep until 1130 when i start band or choir, then i teach drama, then music, then prep some more. i return home around 4 or 5 and then start work on my masters... it's busy - hard to meet people - but i'm slowly finding my way around this city...
currently i have a paper due in 5.5 hours and i should have finished it on wednesday but it just doesn't seem to be writing itself... i should get back at that now...

I'm sitting in Pearson airport, terminal 3, gate B13 along with Katie my travel buddy for the day. I woke up at 5:30 am and dad and I drove to the airport. I attemped to check in but they wouldn't let me without the credit card I had used to book the flight - which of course I didn't have. So dad drove home and back to pick it up for me --- not a good start... but that's done now. All was sorted out.
Today the plan is to explore NYC for a bit of our 9 hour layover and then hop back on a plane and go to GHANA...
Internet may be abundant - or it might not... guess we'll see updates as we go...

well, it's official. i am making the move back to ontario in t-19 days. things are going well in goose bay lately and therefore it's making the idea of packing up and leaving a little more difficult but things in ottawa are falling into place as well.
most days i feel a little bit like a gypsy - i want to live in so many places across this country and i want to visit everywhere else, but when it gets right down to the packing up i start re-thinking my wandering ways. i hate packing... my solution to this is--- find a military man... they move a lot AND the military packs for you... seems like a perfect solution ha.
the past couple months have been quite full at work.
i've met robert munsch, pulled off another successful joint spring concert (no video for everyone to sit through this year), had kids perform at the retirement dinner, the volunteer appreciation night, finished up the musical theatre unit - marked all 300 booklets, have done playing tests and theory sheets and composed with boomwackers...
life here is good... the known is good.... the unknown is - unknown.
i have somewhere to live now--- i think it's even affordable
i'm starting to think about what my year should look like for both my music and drama classes - i'll deal with the unknown class as soon as i learn what it is.
dad and i are constantly discussing what is going to fit and what isn't... he's a lot more optomistic about things then i am.
either way - ghana is also coming up in t-43 days so that's also super exciting... hopefully all the visa stuff gets figured out before then.
that's all i've got for now... life is good.... but changing.

life has been moving at break neck speed lately. i should be just about home from a tuesday to sunday band trip to lab city right now but instead i'm sitting on my couch watching an episode of gilmore girls before heading outside for a quick walk on this beautiful day NOT having gone to lab city or walmart or mcdonalds this week. the school board made the decision at about 10am on monday. i then took the next 2 hours to plan "PLAN B" before telling the kids that the event that they had been working their butts off for for 6 months had fallen through. it was the right decision to make - the road was crap - and i wasn't really looking forward to 10+ hours on a school bus over a dirt road... but it was pretty disappointing. however plan b was a success - we did a mini festival at the arts centre on Thursday - i managed to come up with 3 adjudicators with varying degrees of musical abilities. they did well and i think that they enjoyed the chance to play with a different audience then just myself or nick. after the mini festival we took busses down to the christian youth camp for a sleepover. 67 students from 6 grades all mixed up together... 24 hours at a camp... about 45 min sleep for me... more for some students - less for others... overall an excellent time... perhaps i'll write about it more another time.. for now i'm going outside for a walk in the pseudo warmth.

got this email today...

Dear Katie and Ashley,

This message is to inform you that:

a) you are both Canadian
b) you are both travelling to Ghana this summer on the UMass program

Please discuss amongst yourselves.

Best, Jeremy

i am so super pumped about the whole ghana thing - and think it's awesome that there's a canadian going and therefore we must be bffs.... hopefully she's cool :)

i just watched the movie 'timer'.

the premise is that scientists have made biotehnological implants that count down to the moment that you meet your soul mate - so you don't know who the person is until bam - there's eye contact and both your 'timers' go off letting you (and the rest of the room) know that you have just met the person who you are 'meant' to be with. the movie explored all the different sides of the timer - people who believed in it... people who didn't... those who's timers had gone off, were soon to go off, and some whose timers were blank due to their eventual partners not having a timer.

the movie was a random find in my netflix suggestion line and i thought it was an interesting concept - and it was. i was talking to some friends as i watched - single friends i guess i should specify - and we had some discussion about the pros and cons of a timer.

if the timer were available - here in 2011 would you get an implant? i don't think that i would... because as much as knowing that someday somehow i may find my "soul mate" or whatever that might be would be nice... it's way too much pressure...

anyways - all i've done today is watch movies and read twilight... so i guess that's all i've got.

i'm not good with decisions.
maybe the fact that this one is so difficult to decide that means i shouldn't leave... but maybe that's more reason to leave

i'm conflicted - and running out of time...

lately i come across this blog and feel as if i have so much to say and no real desire to say it. having a real struggle lately focusing on the moment instead of what's to come... which is frustrating because who knows what is to come. there are so many good things happening right now - the idea of giving it up on the unknown is actually scary. i guess i'll have to follow my usual philosophy of 'if God opens it up - he must want me to go there...' i'm not sure it's biblical... but so far it has brought good things.... i dunno... i guess time will tell...

a real update will come again soon.

i am currently sitting on my bed in the hotel in labrador city. tonight is round 4? 5? of the mokami players country tribute show and we've taken it on the road.... it's been a really fun experience doing the show. our practices are generally fun because now that we know all the songs most of it is just fine tuning things and improving - but we're basically just getting together to "jam" (my fav. word.. ha). it's quite the collection of people in the show ranging in ages from 12-60 and we've all travelled 'across the road' to see if anyone will come and see us here - away from home.
the drive here yesterday was beautiful - best experience yet over the road. it only took us 6.5 hours and the trees were gorgeous with their snow and frost covered branches. the snow and ice on the road also made things better because you couldn't tell where the pavement ended and the dirt road began... for the most part the road was equally good all the way across. now we're praying for a similar experience on the way back on sunday.
i drove with lesley, brandon, and philomena and we had a nice day learning a bit about each other - looking at the scenery, brandon watched some movies, and phil read and did puzzles. i just looked out the window for the entire 6.5 hours (cept for the collective 45 min i slept) and the day still flew by.
i really do love labrador. i'm realizing it more and more. could make for some interesting ideas come decision time later this spring.
oh well --- off to the "mall"

so yesterday i decided that my goal for the week should be: re-instate old lady bed time.

well... it's 11:30.

so in the words of the kids: fail miss... fail.

but this is where the fact that i teach that mistakes are a part of the learning process comes in. mistakes are ok / not a big deal as long as we try.

and sometimes even when we have good intentions and we TRY - it doesn't work.

lately i've been trying to apply some of the stuff i teach to my students to my own life.

for example - if i was making a comment on this situation i would say "you made the choice to not be in bed on time therefore you made the choice to be tired and potentially cranky tomorrow - however, the important part of that is; you made the choice"

so turning that around - while making mistakes are ok as long as i'm trying. sometimes it's my choices that cause me to make more mistakes - like being tired and cranky at work.

last night i actually was sleeping by 11:00/11:30 which is pretty huge for me, and for the first time in a long time i didn't feel the need or want to curl up in a chair and sleep at any point during the day. yesterday my choices created a good today for myself.

perhaps the acknowledgement of a good day due to good choices will get me back on track with my goal.

because hey, there's always tomorrow.