Which is worse?

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend spent a little over a week overseas. It was very annoying, and I didn't like not being in contact.

This week, my girlfriend is going through the final week before a show opens at DePauw. I'm going through the last week of basketball conditioning before the season starts. As such, our schedules almost, but not completely, fail to mesh. For the duration of this week, we will pretty much not see or talk to each other at all.

So, I pose the question: which is worse? Is it worse to have her overseas, knowing you won't be able to communicate in any way. Or is it worse to be 45 minutes away from each other, and yet know that you won't see, or probably even talk, to her? Almost like a big tease or something...

Now, as it turns out, we've been able to squeeze in a few minutes of phone time over the past couple days (like 20 minutes over the two days), but I've definitely wanted to hug her and comfort her through some stuff, and it's rough not being able to. But I think the question is still an interesting one--which is worse?

She Likes Me

So, yesterday was a rough day at school. I was getting a little frustrated with things (don't get me started on NCLB) that were happening (actually, not in the classroom), and really with the status of education in general. So, I sent a short little whiny email to my girlfriend, just saying I needed a hug. She replied with a worried email, and I told her it was more just my frustration, nothing actually that bad.

Then I never heard from her.

Well, I get home after school at 4, and what do you know? There's a car out front of my house. Now, we had already talked about her coming to visit on Friday, and decided it was stupid--she would have to drive almost 2 hours to visit me for an hour (she needed to be back to Greencastle by 6). But, she knew I had a bad day, and wanted to give me a hug. How cool is that? Major brownie points were earned yesterday. :) And I still don't know if she had time for dinner...

Signs of Affection

It's fun to learn how various people show their affection. I, for instance, have become very touch-based and very vocal since entering Taylor as a wee lass many years ago. I show affection by giving hugs, giving backrubs,...or in more intimate settings, playing with hair or holding hands. I tend to be somewhat of a flirt, and so can be free and loose with my praise of ladies. Now, I never lie in these settings, but they may not always come across as being particularly meaningful.

Other people sometimes show their affection differently. They may be a lot tighter verbally, and not say much, but that makes the times they do say things, even very brief or simple things, that much more powerful and meaningful. And, some people "touch" in different ways.

On a completely unrelated note, one of the fun parts of being in a relationship is learning how the other person shows their affection, and how you can show your affection in a way the other person will most appreciate. At least, it's fun so far. :)

Where are my loyalties?

So, I have a philosophical question for you, and I'll take all kinds of feedback. It's maybe a cheesy example of this, but it's actually happening, so it will have to work. The John Glenn Spell Bowl team is in the State Championships. When in high school, I was on the team for three years, spelling for them for two years, and anchoring the team my senior year. The coach is a good friend with whom I've stayed in contact with over the years since I graduated. Enter the complication: the Sullivan Spell Bowl team is also in the State Championships. I have a few of the students in my classes. So, who do I root for?

Now, clearly, I want both to do well, and I want them to finish 1-2. But, can I cop out and say I don't care who goes where? Can I say I hope they tie? Or do I have to pick one? And if so, which one do I pick? Now, to be clear, if I was coaching Sullivan (or say, in basketball, where I am a coach), there would be no question, but I have no real affiliation with the Sullivan team other than what is mentioned above. So what do you think?

Frankly, it's disturbing some of the ways I occupy my thinking...

Fall Break

Yeah for fall break! It happens this Thursday and Friday, and I am looking forward for a short break. Between lesson plans (first year teacher!), basketball, and Carolyn (and not necessarily in that order), there's not a lot of free time in my schedule. So, I'm looking forward to having some free time...and how am I going to fill that time? Well, by running errands. I got like ten things to do in Terre Haute (like a haircut or getting tax exemptions), and then about eight things to do in Bloomington (like closing bank accounts and playing poker). All of that has to happen on Thursday, because on Friday I head to Ohio for a nice little Romanian rendezvous. I'm sure my students will love the idea of me going to visit another girl while my girlfriend is overseas...but they also think that she's picking up all kinds of French guys.

Ultimately, though, assuming I can get all of my planning done tonight (hence the blogging) and tomorrow evening, I should have a fun weekend of fellowship. If I don't get my planning done...well, let's not think about that. The last thing I need is to have lesson plans that need to get done hanging over my head throughout the fun. But, in an ideal world, Carolyn would be joining in the fun, so we don't get everything we want in life. Who knew? At least I'm halfway home in terms of her being back home...

And don't forget--if IU wins out, they play in the Rose Bowl!

This'll be sappy--get over it

So, Carolyn's about to leave for France for a week. It's her fall break, and her sister is studying over there, so she's going to visit. But, we're still in the honeymoon stage of our relationship, and we've done a pretty good job of seeing each other three times a week or so, so going 12 days without seeing her is going to be a little rough. I'm thrilled she gets to see her sis, and moreso that Liz gets to give her lots of grief because she's dating me (and found out about it on facebook), but it's not something I'll be looking forward to. I don't even have school on Thursday or Friday (my fall break), so it would have been real easy to go visit her on either/both days. So, anyone who wants to comfort me over the next few days/week, you are more than welcome to.

Ok, so I'm a sap. What can I say? It's a rough life I lead...

I miss high school sports

They are so intense. I just saw a thrilling, overtime victory by the Sullivan soccer team. We scored with 90 seconds left in overtime before the shoot-out. I don't know a lot about soccer, but I do seem to enjoy it. We seemed timid and not real aggressive for much of the game, but they seemed to find another gear in the overtime periods. Their aggressiveness picked up, and they took control of the game. When one of my students got the ball on a quasi-breakaway, you just knew it was over.

I think coaching is going to be tough this fall. It's going to be hard to not get pumped up and excited. I miss that competitive outlet, where you can just lay it all out on the line. Knowing you left it all on the field/course/court, sleeping that contented sleep after an amazing race/match/game. I may have to start running hard, rather more like training (more intense/serious), just to get a little bit of that feeling back. Plus, I like the discipline that practice and training brings.

Discipline could help make sure I'm spending quality time with God every day, too...

Yeah for surprise visits

My little shindig (quite possibly my first non-Firefly use of that term ever) went quite well, I think. A lot of people came over--at least, about as many as I can handle. I think Carolyn fit in pretty well with a lot of my friends, too, so that was good. More exciting, though, was the arrival of Carrie and Alan, two of my closest friends from my Taylor days. I get to see them so rarely, when they do show up it really means a lot. Plus, little Meredith made her first appearance into my eyesight, so it was really good to see her. They currently reside in Wisconsin, so the trip down really is cool. Now, I realize there were other things going on--the trip wasn't just to see my house for the first time--but it made my day.

And, possibly most importantly, three of my friends now know how to play Settlers of Catan, and Carolyn (who just watched) could play if she had to. Bring on the Settlaz!

Party!

There's no party like math-major parties...or something like that. Anyway, tomorrow, starting around 3pm, will be my official housewarming party. It'll be a good time to catch up with a lot of friends who I haven't seen in a while, plus a chance to show off my new digs. More importantly, Carolyn should be there--I've only seen her once this week. That's way too little... :) Anyway, anyone who's in the neighborhood (or not in the neighborhood) is more than welcome to come!

God bless workshops!

So, what's really bad for making sure you get up at 6am every morning? I'm sorry, the answer we were looking for was "lose power." I awoke at 5:15, went back to bed, and when I awoke (apparently around 7:25), I thought it was a little brighter than it should be. And sure enough, the clock was flashing. Good thing cell phones keep track of time. So that was a nice, stressful start to the day. Also, it's nice that the workshop didn't start until 8:30. If it would have been a regular school day, I would have had 5 minutes to get ready for school, and would have had to dress up more.

All in all, the workshop was pretty good, and there were some decent ideas to try to incorporate into my classroom, but I missed my kids. I'm sure they didn't miss me... :)

It's official....and my students will hate me

So, I decided to actually go to the dance--some of the students who stopped to talk to me at the football game (a 35-13 drubbing--go Arrows!) really seem to want me to stop by. There's actually one student who started taking swing lessons a couple months ago, and so I kind of wanted to show off and see what she knew. I also wanted to tell her that I could give just as good of lessons, and much cheaper (if not for free), but I'm sure not that's appropriate. I should just start a club...

Anyway, after even telling some of them I was going to go, I changed my mind. By the time the significant other would arrive, I would have been waiting for about an hour. I could cut that time in half and just meet her back at my place. So, we did that. I have a feeling there will be some definite ramifications from this at school tomorrow morning. I think one student doesn't even think Carolyn exists.

The big result/announcement of the week, however, is that the aforementioned Carolyn and I have publicly made it official (as opposed to publicly making it unofficial)--we are "in a relationship," as facebook would say. There's even a cutesy little heart (barf now) next to the announcement on facebook. It's fun watching people react to the announcement, though, like Carolyn's sister currently in France. We'll see what happens when a lot of my friends meet her on Saturday--it's my official housewarming party. Math major parties rock!