Philosophical gems

Today marks 2 1/2 weeks of my mandatory vacation time, and I must say I am almost excited to go back to teaching those troublesome children on Friday. Not that I have much to worry about; I have exactly 2 weeks more of working a mere 8 hours a week, until I begin working full time on the 22nd. Maybe having so much time off has allowed me to stew a bit too long in my own juices (monetary woes and few friends made those juices deliciously acidic), but I am very much starting to worry about my current job situation. Hoping my new classes that are NOT at the public schools will be better and more rewarding; worried it could be teaching children I don't like (as most of my classes will be with children, that's not a welcome idea). Teaching small children just isn't intellectually stimulating, and involves way too much discipline which is apparently something I consider myself above. Nothing like an upper-middle-class upbringing to make one feel like their expertly honed god-given talents are not being utilized properly. I think the worst thought is that perhaps it is teaching in general I don't like. I suppose I will just have to wait and see.

I think the biggest problem is my utter lack of a routine for the past 3 months (CELTA course aside; anyone looking for a crazy structured 4 weeks should find the nearest CELTA certification program). In that respect, I can't wait to start working full time.  My vacation has progressed as I expected-gradually sleeping later and later, watching loads of TV, finally forcing myself to get up and do something physical, all the while hoping so much free time doesn't lend itself to depressing existential quandaries. I woke up this morning convinced I was wasting my life and doing nothing productive. Had to remind myself that's the entire point of vacation. Somehow I envisioned my move across the globe with fewer hitches. Ah, youth.

Street food is amazing, but sometimes it gets you sick. Just sayin'.

Had a few interesting nights out this weekend, the first with a woman I met at the gym and her friend who is a fashion designer. They are a lot wealthier than me, and we ended up at the Park Hyatt club/bar. It's really awkward when you can't even afford juice on a menu. Carmen (my new gym friend) is looking for a roommate and wants me to come take a look at her apartment. We'll see where that goes. Might as well have a look. Sunday night I went out with 2 other teachers at Apollo. We were the only people in town. Had a lot of fun, but ended up in the middle of an awkward conversation about how Britain is too PC and diverse, and spends far too much money on its immigrant population while neglecting its tax-paying citizens. Since I don't pay taxes in England and also don't know all that much about English politics in general, I didn't contribute much to the conversation, but went away from the whole thing wondering whether the British government is over-correcting for it's hundreds of years of racism and colonialism, or I had just had drinks with a few people who are the English equivalent of Tea Partiers. It's anyone's guess.

Luckily, people are finally coming back from their trips abroad, so I will now have more people to hang out with, which will hopefully mean less time watching reruns of various seasons of America's Next Top Model. Not that it isn't an excellent program.

acid reflux ruins everything. Shout out to Maggie. It's her birthday. She also used to have killer acid reflux.

It is super weird to live in a country that doesn't give a damn about the Superbowl. Had I not been at a western sports bar on Sunday night, I'd have forgotten about it completely. Call me un-American, but I opted to go to bed instead of staying up to watch the live-broadcast of the game which started at 6 AM. Time difference is a bitch.