I will survive

Well, I never really updated my birthday weekend like I said I would.  Here's the skinny:

Friday night I went out by myself to get some time alone.  Unfortunately, with the island being so small, I ran into a teacher from school.  Being a nice guy, he bought me several drinks (and I quit drinking when I needed to, with age comes wisdom).  All in all, a good night.

Saturday I laid low most of the day (watching episodes of Heroes and Prison Break that I found online) and then went out to a favorite restaurant with several teachers.  Drew, being the nice guy that he is, paid for me meal (if I had known beforehand I might have run up a higher tab...).

Sunday I began my scuba certification.  All in all, a good weekend.

The following weekend was even better.  As part of my scuba training, we (Drew and I) did two dives near the Phi Phi islands on Satuday and two dives at Racha Yai on Sunday (becoming scuba certified in the process).  It was a great experience, in total, I saw a leopard shark, sea turtle, octopus, several moral eels, several lionfish, some lobsters, a box fish, several clown fish and an assortment of beautiful coral and other tropical fish.  We also got chased by some territorial trigger fish, which was enjoyable for me.  All in all, a great weekend.  My instructor took some photographs underwater, but I have not had the opportunity to see them yet.  When I do, I hope to post them.

The last few days have gone by quick.  I taught for a day and a half and then had a another day and a half of parent teacher conferences.  I survived my first solo parent teacher conferences and left with a very positive attitude.  Many of the parents that I met were excited to have me teaching their children as the last science and math teachers were not as effective.  Additionally, all of the conversations that I was worried about went smoothly.  Hopefully, things change for the best.  If not, I now have contact information and a good repor with the parents.

The next two days I have no school, giving me a four day weekend and my first real break.  Having considered doing something fun, I decided to relax instead.  Some of my plans include reading Brisingr (the last book in the Eragon trilogy), getting ahead in two of my classes, sending some packages out (maybe Kelly will finally get her birthday present, maybe Peter/Janelle and Steve/Mary will finally get their wedding presents...maybe not).  I also hope to catch up on emails and  facebook messages that I have been ignoring, watch a movie with a friend and learn to surf with another friend.  We'll see how much I get done, I probably won't get to it all.  But for now, I am going to sleep, and sleep well.  Starting in five minutes and going as late as possible.  Good night friends, I hope you have a wonderful day.