And so it begins...

Where to start where to start? The million dollar shot so to speak for all of my posts. So much to say and yet no idea how to put it all on paper, or computer screen I guess is what this is. I am sitting in my house with no power due to this wonderful storm ripping through Chester county PA. This is the storm I was waiting for all day sitting at work, but it never came. Go figure it arrives now when I would like to head to sleep but I can't being as I am like the princess and the pea when it comes to sleeping arrangements. I need a tv on, something sports related preferably, fan blasting right on my face, iPhone sleep app which plays songs and a few other planets to be aligned to have a good nights sleep. All which require a power source... Being as I can't have the previously mentioned I decided to take to the Internet to reflect on the days events. It was a fairly mundane Thursday for me. I went to work at 9am sharp and was there until somewhere around 8pm. Yes there was a lot of coffee involved to get me through this shift. 

This is our last week of group swim lessons before we get things kicked off for the summer and it has been a bittersweet week for me. If you go back through the archives of the blog you'll learn about my terrific day mid week and about how I lost my uncle. That hasn't helped but it also hasn't truly sunk in yet. Along with that it is the closure to my first year of school long lessons at my current club. This was something I needed to get used to. At previous clubs I worked on sessions that only lasted somewhere around 8 weeks. After that 8 weeks was over, I wrote report cards and said my goodbyes to some students. Most would return and others would not. At this club however I have had the same students since the fall when school started. This has been a great opportunity for me on many levels. It gave me a taste of what it will be like when I am teaching physical education in a school setting. I will have the same students for the length of the school year. So I had a great chance to build some relationships with students and parents. On the other hand there are always students you have difficulty reaching. I am sure any teacher will agree with this statement. You have students that it seems no matter how hard you try, they just don't want to be there. This can be challenging especially when it comes to teaching a life saving skill such as swimming. It was a great opportunity for me though and I am happy that I had this experience even with some of the challenges it brought forth in the day to day teaching. 

As I sit here with no power I find myself reflecting yet again. A lot of my friends are in town and they decided they wanted to, well you guessed it, go to the bar. I suggested a little joint that only charges $3 for whatever drink your order and has free shuffle board. Shuffle board brings back some great childhood memories for me and I'm not one for a huge bar scene anymore. They decided to go for a more college feel and so I declined to go. It's not my thing anymore for multiple reasons as outlined in previous posts and I am ok with that. I just surely wish there were other activities that were an option to see old friends that weren't centered around drinking. While I was away last weekend someone had brought up going out and my buddy said his "social life significantly struggled" since I had made this decision. Although he said it jokingly, part of me feels like it might have a little truth behind it. I have no interest in going to the bar and getting slammed only to wake up the next day wonder, what the heck happened last night?? However I don't want to hold people back from going out and having a good time. So I hope that is not the case by any means.  

One of my buddies walked across the street to say what's up and the conversation just felt awkward. I felt like I didn't know what to say and it seemed as though he may have felt the same way. I don't want to lose good friends because I don't have an interest in going out, but I also don't want to give up on the goals I have set for myself. I just wish there was a road in the middle that made this a little easier. 

Tomorrow I have yoga on tap in the AM probably followed up with 2,000-2,500 yds in the pool. My focus is on my race in September for right now. I have decided that I want to place in the top tier for my age group and I think it is a realistic goal for myself. (Power is back on so that's good!) It is funny because when I mentioned something about placing as a 23 year old in my race, someone responded with "they didn't care about competitive swimming as a 23 year old" which is fine but a little support would be cool. I have my goals just as anyone else and I don't think they need to be the same for anyone, actually they should be quite different from individual to individual but help a brotha out!

Memorial Day weekend is on tap and I don't have to work which is a great feeling being as I have busted my tail a bit this week. I say I am going to do yoga but I need to bite the bullet and head to the bank tomorrow as well before I have to go to work. I have decided I need to throw on my big boy pants and take out a loan for these summer courses. I don't really have any other option and I can't ask anyone else for the help. Not do I have anyone who will give me the cash I need to get these classes out of the way. 

I feel stuck in a rut here that I can't shake. I find myself thinking of the past when I need to focus on what's current and the future. It's a little more easier said than done though. Being as the power has kicked back on I am going to try to take this golden opportunity to try and get some sleep. I am going to bed with an open mind that tomorrow WILL be a better day and I will get everything figured out for this summer. Hope everyone enjoys there long holiday weekend! Thanks again for reading. 

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself