Five things....

So, I really haven't been the best at keeping up the gratitude list thing. But will try to do better. I'm so glad that the week is almost over. I just have one more class tomorrow morning. Teaching 6 days a week isn't the greatest, but I guess I can't complain because I'm fortunate enough to actually have a job. And that would be number one on my list...

1. That I have a job. I remember the days back in Jan.-April when I didn't have a job. And it sucked. Having all that free time at first was nice, but there is such a thing of getting sick of having nothing to do. I did A LOT of reading. But it was nice to finally get a job at Trader Joe's.

2. Having a good day of teaching. All of my classes went really well today. Normally Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are my most dreaded days, but today I was pleasantly surprised. One of my kids pretended to take a bite out of my arm and continued on saying that I tasted good. Really funny.

3. Chill nights out. Tonight after work was perfect. Arwyn, Lisa, and I headed down to my favorite Teppanyaki joint and had good food and conversation. Then on the way home we decided to get bevs at 85 C, a coffee shop. Once there we spotted some other teachers from the school and joined them. We stayed there all in all for about an hour and a half. It was just pleasant to get out and enjoy one's self.

4. Nice co-workers. It really makes a big difference on how I feel about work.

5. Being able to sleep in. Today I didn't get to, nor will I tomorrow, or Sunday, but it makes me appreciate the days that I can so much more!

I know that was terribly  short, and probably not that interesting. But I'm not going to worry about that now. I just finished Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason, and realized that it was loosely based on my favorite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion. That made me happy, because I feel like I can relate to Bridget apart from all the booze and promiscuity. Anyways, she always makes me laugh, no matter what mood I'm in.

Here's to happy things in one's life!

5 things...

Today it's going to be short and sweet (hopefully) because it's getting late. :)

1. My friend Lex. I just had the most amazing chat with her over facebook (it is good for something!), and it was exactly what I needed.

2. Running. I love the way I feel after I go running. Endorphins are amazing. And I especially love running when i have new music to run to. Today it was Lady Gaga.

3. Hamburgers. Every once in a while I crave a good ol' hamburger. Unfortunately the best place to get a burger here is at McDonald's, but today it sure did hit the spot.

4. Having a new teaching schedule. This was the first week of Chinese school for our classes, so my teaching schedule got switched around a bit. Now on Tuesdays I only teach one class. It was so nice to have those extra hours to myself which I then spent on doing progress reports for my first graders.

5. Good health. Today when I went into my class two of my students had eye problems and another wasn't feeling very well. I'm grateful for being healthy, and for not being sick at the moment. Hopefully I will stay that way for a while. And I'm grateful for cheap medical insurance. If the States could go to a system like Taiwan's, I'd be a happy camper.

That's all for today, but like I promised before, I'll be posting something else soon. I promise!

Number 101

I can't believe that I've already written and passed up my 100th blog. I feel like there should be some sort celebration (or perhaps a more interesting blog post), but to be perfectly honest, I don't quite have the energy at the moment. I do have some pretty blog worthy moments to share, but the sharing will be done at a later date. Sorry. You're stuck with my gratitude list for today. I actually thought about not writing today, but that would mean that I'd be a quitter two days in, and that didn't sit well. So here goes...

5 Things I'm Grateful For

1. Aloe vera gel. I unfortunately got terribly sunburned yesterday after I laid out on the roof of our school. For some strange reason I thought my skin was above getting too much sun. I've been blessed with olive skin, so I generally don't burn too easily. but last night I was in agony before I found the aloe vera and stood in front of the AC.

2. Primary. Today was the first day I got to teach in Primary. And it was so much fun! I have to admit that I wasn't terribly keen on being a Primary teacher before because I'm teaching kids 6 days a week at school, but for some reason teaching kids at Church is whole 'nother kettle of fish. It was quite lovely. We learned all about obeying the law. And as my friend Lindsay and I were walking home from the bus station, we found application from the lesson.

The Taiwanese are very lax about their street laws. Jay-walking and running red lights isn't a big deal. But having used jay-walking as an example of breaking the law, Linds and I thought it would be quite hypocritical if we crossed the street without the green little man (the walking signal) telling us we could go.

3. Books. I love reading. I'm in the process of reading three books at the moment. I just finished North and South (quite lovely-perhaps even better than Pride and Prejudice and I'm an avid Jane Austen fan), and am now reading The Devil in the White City, The Host, and Authentic Happiness. So far I'm impressed with them all.

The Devil in the White City is a non-fiction account of the Columbia Exhibition in Chicago and how this colossal event coincided with the deeds of a rampant serial killer. Fascinating, I know!

The Host, is by Stephanie Meyer, the author of Twilight. I've been pretty hesitant to start reading it. As much as I like Twilight, there's a part of me that feels like I should be spending my time reading more worthwhile literature. But it's perfect for those days where you want to lay out on the roof. So that's what I did. And now I'm hooked.

Authentic Happiness is amazing. It's about positive psychology, and you should really check out the link right here! It's completely changed my perspective of things.

4. Soft beds. I never realized how good I had it in the States until I came to Taiwan. The beds here are like sleeping on box springs. I normally wake up once or twice with a numb arm. I'm getting more used to it (thank goodness), but it's not quite the same as my bed in Seattle.

5. Music!!!! If you couldn't tell, I'm slightly obsessed. I love sharing music with friends and learning about new bands. Since being here, my friend Sarah and I have learned that we have quite similar tastes in music. She's introduced me to the likes of Copeland (pictured), Passion Pit, and Mae, among many others. We also have found our mutual love for all things Chuck, and we both secretly aspire to be secret agents (who doesn't these days?). Oh, and we both have an undying love for The Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, and Imogen Heap (among many others). Glorious!

In the words of Daffy Duck:

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Five things....

I'm glad I'm doing this. This being listing things that I'm grateful for. Today it is as follows:

1. Being able to sleep at night. I went to bed early because I had an early class this morning, and I could not sleep for the life of me. I laid in bed until at least 2 am, and then kept on waking up intermittently. It was not a fun night, and I'm grateful for those nights where I can hit my pillow and be out in 5 seconds.

2. Flatmates that make me dinner. It was quite a lovely surprise when Sunny said he wanted to make Erin and I dinner tonight. He's an amazing cook, so I was lucky.

3. Sunscreen. Or maybe I should say when I use sunscreen. I laid out today and got my first bad sunburn in a long time. Generally I don't burn because of my skin type, so I'm grateful for the days I don't burn.

4. Air conditioning. I would die here without it. Not only does it keep my room cool, but it also cuts out the humidity, which is almost worst than the heat.

5. Cold showers on hot days. I love taking luke-warm to cold showers. There's nothing more refreshing after a long, hot day.

That's it for today!

Recipe for Happiness

Most everyone I know wants to be happy, as opposed to miserable. But it's one thing to be happy on the surface, and quite another to be truly happy. I want to be truly happy, but sometimes this object of desire slips away and hides in the shadows of my life.

I do admit that I have a tendency to be what I like to call melancholy. My mom (bless her) reminds me to stop worrying about things and enjoy life. So I've finally taken her advice and these past couple of months I've been more deliberately (my new favorite word) finding ways to be happy--beyond the surface.

My fabulous friend Sarah let me borrow this book called Authentic Happiness. It's been pretty insightful thus far. One thing that I learned , and have learned many times before but always seem to forget, is that one way that people can become happy is by listing all the things that they are grateful for. In the past I've kept gratitude journals, and they really do work. As I've focused on all the good positive things in my life, I don't seem to notice the not-so-happy things.

I've started a new goal to write down 5 things a day that I'm grateful for.

As I've been doing this, I thought that I could do this with my fifth graders. Asia is known for its high suicide levels, probably from the intense academic, social, and work pressures. My fifth graders are pre-teens and are going to be in the thick of things before they realize it. I had them take the Gratitude Test, and found that they all scored in the bottom 1/4 of all those tested. I told them we are going to do an experiment. For the next three weeks, I'm having them write down 5 things that they are grateful for as well. At the end of the three weeks we're all going to take the test again and see if we score any higher. It should be pretty interesting. And I'm quite excited to see what will happen.

Also, as a result, I've decided to start listing my things on this here blog. That way I'll be more likely to keep to it. So here goes:

5 things that I'm grateful for

1. That I'm here in Taiwan teaching these adorable kids:
2. That I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the knowledge that it brings to me of who I am, and why I am here, and where I will be going once my life here on earth is over. And most importantly, that my family can be together forever. That's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

3. My stellar friends that listen to my various ramblings, random thoughts, and my deepest darkest secrets. :)

{My good friend (and former roommate) Emma and I eating some gyoza that we made}

{Me and my good friend Heather at her cookout in Georgetown}{My Bothell Stake friends. We kinda all grew up together. Dallas, Nikki, Ashlee, Ilene and Me!}{Great friends and roommates Kristen and Lex}{Kelly and Scott. Roommate and family friend. Need I say more?}{Miss Kate}{Me and Kellyn. We are soooo domestic!}

{Rachel love. Life is always a kooky adventure with her!}

{Emma and Kevin. I love these guys! Some of the greatest friends ever!}

{Me and Lexie Lou at the Bon Fire of Awesomeness I. She's pretty much amazing!}

{Ze Boyz. My outstanding guy friends prior to my mission. Corey offered to beat up anyone who broke my heart}

{Blurry picture, but I love it all the same. Me and Miss Larkin and her husband Cody at my quarter century bash.}

{Miss Ilene, Lex, Steph, and Kel at my graduation dinner. Lovely ladies.}

{Me and Pat talking music. Oh glorious!}

{Rocking with the ladies. Me, Connie, Megs, and Erin. Great friends and roommies in Taiwan.}

{Me and Russia--friend and confidante.}

They've all been a great help to me especially over the past 8 months.

4. My family (Of course!)

{Linds, Mom, and I.}

{Mom and Dad}

{My bro, Mikey.}

5. The sun. I know that might be a small thing after church, friends, and family, but honestly, I do so much better in sunny climates. I love Seattle with all my heart, but the winters are almost too dark, cold, and dreary.

Well, that's all. A marathon of a blog. Hopefully the next ones won't be so long. :)

Yes, Please!

So I was feeling the need tonight to watch one of my favorite movies of all time--The Last of the Mohicans. I've been listening to the soundtrack all week, and realized that I needed to find it somewhere here in Taiwan. Little did I know that the sparse DVD library that we have here at the school does include this amazing film.

I still remember the first time I watched Daniel Day Lewis and Eric Schweig running through the North Carolinian forests. My good friend and roommate, Jenna, was watching it one night in our apartment, and it soon became a favorite. I mean seriously--the music, the scenery...absolute perfection. And of course, who could forget Hawkeye:

or Uncas for that matter:

What woman in her right mind wouldn't want to be stared at with the same intensity that Hawkeye had for Cora? Seriously!

Well, enough said.

Here's to Hawkeye and Uncus, and the glorious film, The Last of the Mohicans.

Learning to not read like Robots