Five on Saturday

I've been home for a week and a half now. Things for Korea are progressing well. I picked up my visa on Friday, and have my teaching schedule, start date, and flights all organised. I'm getting really excited about going back, and am feeling really enthusiastic to get back into teaching! I'm not missing travelling at all, though the sudden transition from alone and go-go-go new place every few days, to hanging out at mum and dad's house has left me feeling a bit lost.

Starting on Monday, I plan to begin using my down time a little better. I want to do more yoga, write and article for Busy Teacher about using poetry in the classroom, and I'm starting an online course through 'Coursera' on how to transfer your lessons and teaching into an online environment. I'd like to add a little more structure to my mornings, if nothing else, so some writing, exercise, and study should do the trick :)

Other than that, Jenni is coming up to hang out for the night in a couple of weeks, uncle Mark and Ashley are coming for dinner tomorrow, and I'm house sitting for two weeks while mum and dad go on holiday. And we went out for an awesome lunch in Auckland yesterday with Matt, who just won an overseas trip at work! I'm really proud of him.

So, as you can see, I've updated some areas of the blog for the new year. My bucket list got a bit of an update, I finished off the Baskin Robbins challenge, and added some new links. One of my goals this year is definitely to save some money to go and visit Amy again! But this year I don't want to spend ALL my money on travel. I'd better start putting some away for 'the future'. Or something.

So, the Baskin Robbins challenge is over. What should my new challenge be for this next year in Korea?

And here's five nice things for this week:

1) Lunch out with my whole family!

2) playing with Jessie

3) Mum's cooking (tonight it's duck!)

4) Thanks to Amy's recommendation, I've started watching the Korean drama 'Personal Taste' and am really enjoying it.

5) I made a key lime pie for dessert tomorrow! I hope it's nice!

Five things about home Monday

Well, really it should be *Sunday* since I lost an entire day (Tuesday) on my flight home, thanks to crossing the international date line. I've never done that before, and it's a bit of a weird thing to get your head around.

But anyway, I left Ft Lauderdale for Disneyworld on Friday afternoon. I was really sad to leave Amy! She was so wonderful the whole time I was there. I feel like we really cemented our friendship and helped each other through some tough times (and laughed enough to cry!). I am SO SO glad I went through that sucky week with Frank so I could spend two amazing weeks with Amy! I'm now intent on saving enough money to visit her again in the summer.

At Hooters! We are classy ladies!

She drove me to the airport, and let me use her phone when my "luxury bus" (Read: regular van) didn't stop where they said they would, so missed picking me up and had to be called back to come and get me. FYI: avoid travelling with "The Florida Express", they don't do anything they say they will. Well, apart from getting me to my Disney hotel, that they did do!

I stayed at Disney's 'Art of Animation' resort - their newest one, in the newest wing (The Little Mermaid), which just got finished in September 2012. The resort was awesome! I was doubtful that inside my room would be themed Little Mermaid, because it was one of their 'Value' resorts, but it was!! They had THREE awesome pool areas, a food court, outdoor movies every night, and free buses to everywhere Disney.

The Little Mermaid area/wing

My building

Under the sea beds!

Bathroom

The Lion King area

The pool!!

On Saturday I went to the Magic Kingdom and rode all the rides (except the really little kid ones). My favourites were the Wild Western Rollercoaster and the Space Mountain Rollercoaster. The Western one was an outdoor coaster with awesome scenery and fast turns, and was really fun. The Space Mountain was indoor and almost totally dark. You could never see the track or what was coming up. It was scary! But a lot of fun. In hindsight, I wish I'd gotten a photo with a Disney Princess, but I didn't see any and didn't think to check the timetable for it. But, it was a great day. I enjoyed the Magic Kingdom a lot, it was really well done! However, as you would imagine, it has mostly kiddy rides and not so much to keep adults happy. Many of the rides amount to 'sit in this car/boat/whatever and ride slowly around this track while you see robots move repetitively'. Good for kids, and fun enough, but not super thrilling.

Mmmm, breakfast. Chicago-style hotdog.

Manicured lawns

Random area of the Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's castle

Crowds on 'Main Street USA'

On Sunday I went to EPCOT, which a few people had advised me to pick as my second Disney Park. I wasn't very impressed. It only had a few rides, mainly of the 'sit and watch' variety, and then the rest of the park was separated into fake romanticised towns from around the world with mediocre food from that region and over-priced shopping. Having been to a few of the places (Italy, China, Japan), it wasn't very amazing. There was also a huge marathon being run through the park, which made it crowded and confusing. I left after just a few hours because I really felt like just sunbathing by the awesome pool at my resort. So, the beauty of being alone, that's just what I did!

EPCOT iconic golfball thingie. It's actually a 'Trip through human history ride' that's quite well done.

Lake and monorail

Marathon bisecting the whole park.

I had a really relaxing time, and before I knew it, it was time to go to the airport on Monday! My flight home was uneventful, other than I got an excellent aisle seat with extra legroom on the plane from LA to NZ. And now I've been home for 4 or 5 days. It feels like longer!

5 great things about being home:

1) I don't have to think about where to go, how to get there, where I'm going to eat, or where I'm going to sleep.

2) Hanging out with Mum and Dad is awesome!

3) Vegetables!

4) I don't have to go out, or feel guilty if I just want to stay home.

5) Rest time before starting again.

Everglades Tuesday and makeup Wednesday

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went on an all day tour of the Florida Everglades. I went with a small group of really nice, fun, old people :D We went on an airboat ride through some of the freshwater part of the Everglades and saw lots of alligators! We also went on a nature walk, saw a heap more alligators, ate some alligator meat at lunchtime (it was just a tiny bit and was exact like chicken), and went on a big boat ride through the 10, 000 islands area to see lots of birds and some dolphins. The weather was fantastic and I had a lovely day out in nature. The people in my group were really nice and I enjoyed the day a lot.

Today I hung out with Amy in the morning and we went and had pancakes for breakfast. I had strawberries with mine, and they were pretty good! Then we went to a huge beauty supply store and I bought a big challenge of stuff on sale. I got a really nice nail polish and some mascara for green eyes, among other things. It was fun. :) then we went and browsed this homeware store, and it was really inspiring. I'm looking forward to decorating my own place once I get to Korea.

However, I've found out that my job doesn't provide key money, so I'm going to have to front up with about $10, 000 just to rent somewhere. I might have to borrow some money for the first couple of months, which will put a damper on my decorating plans. And a few other plans too! But, I do get that money back, so that's important to remember!

Anything else? Not really. It's very windy today, so I'm just hanging  out in my hotel this afternoon. I did some yoga this morning and am going to try some yoga meditation this evening. Yeah, that's all :)

Life Monday

I remember through highschool and university wondering when it would feel like my 'real life' had started. I just realised that this afternoon, without me even noticing, I've been living it for a while. It doesn't begin with fanfare at graduation, or at 18, or even at 21. Somewhere along the way you just realise you're playing for keeps, this is it, and you'd better try your hardest to make it awesome.

Things I've done today to make my one life awesome include sitting on the beach thinking for two hours, booking a trip to Disneyworld alone, sending off my contract for a year of working in a university in Korea, and paying more than four times what I normally do for the nicest hotel room of my life. It's so nice I'd happily live in it.

My five things for today are:

1) Strawberries

2) painted toe nails

3) the beach

4) sun glasses

5) writing and lesson planning

Five on a Saturday

It's the first weekend and of 2013. I'm feeling really positive about this year. There are a few main things I want to achieve in the next 12 months, and a ton of other smaller things, too!

This year I want to get my money sorted out and put it to work in a sensible way. I want to save for both short term and long term. Up until now I have had no problem saving, but I then spend it all, which is fine as that's always what I intended it for, but it's time to start looking further ahead now. A little bit, at least.

I also want to work more on my writing. I want to get some more articles done online, and maybe try for another in-print publication.

I want to work hard at my new job (fingers crossed, haven't signed anything yet). I'm a little bit intimidated by it, but I think that's good... I'm not taking the easy way out.

I'd like to, if it fits in my budget, spend my vacations exploring the States more too. It's sort of captured my imagination a bit, and I'm really enjoying my time here.

However, for now, I am burnt out on solo travel and need a breather. I'm flying back to NZ on Monday the 14th, for just over a month. For now, I've reached my travel tolerance threshold!

In terms of moods and emotions, I'm doing ok. I think I'm on the way up. The anxiety is definitely lessening and I haven't had to cry for days. I'm still feeling pretty flat, but concentrating on the awesomeness of where I am (Southern Florida) and all of the amazing things and people in my life is helping me get better.

Speaking of people in my life, Andy has been in contact. He asked me to go back to Korea. When I told him I was, he told me he loves me, and really really wants to get back together. He says he knows he wasn't his best for me and has changed, and so on. I care for him, and am still really attracted to him, but I'm not sure if going back to that relationship is a good idea. I mean, I know I'd enjoy it, and we always had fun and I like his company, but I'm not sure it's what I want forever. And that's what I'm supposed to be looking for now, right? Now that I'm 25 its supposed to change? Or maybe I changed. Or something. Or if it's fun and feels good, I should just do it?

Anyway, today's five things:

1) Amy and I went to Miami yesterday, which was a fun experience. I feel like a cool kid now I've been to Miami :D

2) I'm reading 'Chicken soup for the the soul: positive thinking' and the stories are really great and feel good.

3) I have eaten two bananas and a bunch of baby carrots. I feel slightly healthier than before :)

4) I'm going to make 2013 my year of awesome. No more putting up with crappy stuff to 'see it through' or keeping my mouth shut because its easier. I'll either make it amazing, or do something else.

5) (TOUCH WOOD) I have money, I have options, I have love, I have food, I have friends, I have family, I have a dog, I have more to give, I have health, I have community, I have goals, I have dreams, I have the chance to be and experience phenomenal things.

What a year, 2012 Monday

I arrived in Florida successfully, if a bit down and anxious. Amy, absolute angel that she is, picked me up from the airport, took me to dinner and got me checked into my hotel. After a good night's sleep and a long walk on the beach this morning, I'm feeling a bit better. The anxiety has toned it down a bit, and I voluntarily ate breakfast, which is great... even if it consisted of an ice cream and some beef jerky.

So, this is the last day of 2012. Really, its been quite year. I've travelled to seven different countries, kicked some major butt on my bucket list, over come some pretty tough times emotionally, stuck it out through a horrible job, ate 31 different flavours of ice cream, ended a six year relationship, broke up with Andy twice, fell for a guy in Italy, sailed down the Nile, rode a camel, and so much more. Now, here I end the year in Florida, nowhere near where I expected to be, single for the first time in eight years, great job on the horizon, and scared out of my mind. I always felt like life should be an adventure, and it sure is.

There's a bunch of stuff I want to do in 2013, so I'm going to get to work on a wee list of things want to do this coming year. Its sort of exciting.

After a week in DC Sunday

I'm so tired that I can barely find enough energy to update. I know, it's been a while. I've been really busy since I arrived in the state's, but not exactly in the way I wanted to be. I came here primarily to see if a relationship had any chance or if there was a real connection there. I really expected there to be, and I expected my time to be fun, affectionate, romantic, and relationship building. Instead I found myself confused, stressed, disillusioned and rejected. Not my best week ever. It was no one's fault, the chemistry just wasn't there, but that doesn't stop me from feeling disappointed and alone now.

Now, I'm in the DC airport waiting for my flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I'm feeling really tired and really homesick. I'm really tired of feeling like I have no place to belong. Back home in NZ is as close as I can get, but even then, there's not much there for me besides mum and dad. This is the longest I've travelled for before, and it's getting a bit long, I think. I'd like to settle down for a while. Maybe a couple a weeks in sunny Florida will fix me up. I'm so hoping it will.

Ok, that's all. Homesick, tired, alone. Trying to get back to happy, adventurous, and free