Thoughts of the Day

"And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course." - Khalil Gibran

which is why sometimes . . .

'The road to finding "the one" is paved with a bit of promiscuity." - Ryan Erickson

Let's see what happens . . .

My older brother, Mark, forwarded this blog post to me today, thinking that I might like it (he knows me so well! :). I couldn't agree more with this philosophy! Here's to "seeing what happens" - in travels, love, adventure, and more . . .

March 20, 2012 See what happens Example A. Picture this: You’re on a four day trip to Barcelona, by yourself. You’ve mapped out every sight you want to see, restaurant you want to visit, and person you want to meet. You’ve created a jam-packed day-by-day itinerary because success to you is seeing as much of the city as quickly as possible. By day two, you’re a bit cranky due to jet lag, long lines outside La Sagrada Família, and a general feeling of being rushed. You keep pushing yourself, ignoring your discomfort, so you can see and do everything on your list. By day four, you’re completely exhausted, carrying a completed check-list, and experiencing a feeling that something is missing. You’ve crossed off your to-do’s but don’t have any memorable stories to accompany your travels. Example B. Picture this: You’re on a four day trip to Barcelona, with your best friend. Each of you has picked a few must-see places to visit, keeping in mind that the motto of your trip is to “see what happens.” This is an adventure, you have an idea of where you want to go, and you feel open to where the journey takes you. By day two, you’re feeling energized by your half-day at the beach, 360-degree hotel rooftop wine-tasting, and photo excursion in El Born district. You randomly stumble upon a delicious tapas bar and interesting group of locals who convince you to go dancing with them late into the night. It turns out your new friend owns a vineyard estate fourty-five minutes outside the city, and they invite you to their second home for an authentic Spanish meal and wine-tasting experience. After four days, you leave the city inspired and invigorated, with new friends, a dozen stories, and a feeling that you got so much more than you were expecting. Which trip would you rather be on, A or B? B? Good choice. Know why? B experienced the four days to the fullest by embracing a “see what happens” spirit. Since A ignored what they really wanted to do before they set foot off the plane, they exhausted themselves, misread their flight departure time, and are currently cursing at the airport, trying to figure out another flight out of BCN. How about the B best friends? They’re enjoying a champagne toast as they reach 30,000 feet. These two stories are a lot like life. You can either take it really seriously and when one thing goes wrong, think the world is ending. Or, you can look at life like a grand adventure and opportunity to “see what happens.” My favorite times in life often start with a “see what happens” way of thinking. Let’s see what happens when I launch this project idea to the world. Let’s see what happens when I fly to Austin without a place to sleep. Let’s see what happens when I let this amazing guy know how I feel. Let’s see what happens when I ask that famous author out for tea. Try anything. We’re always ready and we can never fail when our only aim is to “see what happens.” Copyright © 2012 Hey Amber Rae, All rights reserved.

Not easy and definitely exhausting!

Today has been one of those days (weeks? months?) that have reminded me just how tough being a teacher is. I am the first to say that I LOVE teaching - to me, it really is the best.job. ever. Teaching, learning, and hanging out with pretty cool kids all day is a lot of fun. However, I am constantly amazed by just how much we do!

The past few weeks have included writing report cards, math professional development, meeting after meeting, and preparing for conferences. In addition to this, there's communicating with parents (luckily mine are much more wonderful than some that others have to deal with!), grading papers, preparing for projects, and actual teaching! Preparing lessons for the whole class and small groups, differentiating work for the highest to the lowest student, trying to read all of the chapter books that small groups are reading, and keeping on top of students to get things done. Whew - it's exhausting!

Most of the people in my life know how hard teachers work, either because they are one themselves or because they have teachers in their lives. So, this post isn't very surprising. But, sometimes I really do stop and think about just how much we do on a daily basis, especially when we're trying to do our job well. And for this reason, spring break can't come soon enough! :)

A Glimpse of Barcelona

Some friends shared this video on Facebook and I loved it as well. It gives a great glimpse of everything Barcelona has to offer. It reminded me yet again how much I have fallen in love with this city - what an amazing place to live!

Getting . . . younger?

I'm not exactly sure what's happening, but it seems that the closer I get to turning a year older, the younger I seem to be acting. I don't know if it's springtime in Barcelona, a carefree attitude, or unexpected events, but I feel I'm living the life of someone in their mid-20s, not someone entering her early 30s!

Again, I'm amazed by how life in Spain, especially Barcelona, encourages a whole new sleep cycle on the weekends! No matter how often Tessa and I say we are going to have a quiet night, or just a drink or two after work, it seems that the opposite happens. Suddenly it's 4am and we're still out, dancing, laughing, and loving life.

Unfortunately, I am quickly reminded of my age when it takes two days to recover from one late night. And I know that I can't stay up too late when I have to teach the next morning. (Maybe growing older has made me a little bit more responsible?)

Regardless, I'm happy to feel a bit younger as I get older. And these late nights continue to be full of entertaining stories. As spring fever sets in, I'm sure the fun weekends will continue as well - and I look forward to their arrival each week!

Bona nit, Dali!

Spring has Sprung!

Although I don't want to jinx it, it certainly seems like spring has arrived in Barcelona! The days are feeling so much longer, the weather is warmer, and the city seems to be bursting with people. I love it!

I´ve been reminded how spring is my most favorite season. It seems like everything is starting fresh and it's actually the time to begin resolutions. I look forward to everything this spring has to bring - trips to Croatia, Rome, and Amsterdam, lots of visitors, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday - so many fun events! I think it will be a great spring . . .

A Surprising Advertisement!

I was quite surprised last week when someone at school complimented me on a photo she saw in the newspaper. I had no idea what she was talking about! I came to find out that ASB had put a full page advertisement in La Vanguardia (one of the Barcelona daily papers), as well as in some other small publications - and I'm in it! (I'm happy to say that I don't mind the photo too much!)

Although many of us have been photographed for updates that are being made to the ASB website, the ad was a very last minute thing. Who knew I'd have a few moments in fame in the Sunday newspaper?!

Here's the link to see the ad: http://www.a-s-b.com/userfiles/pdf/asb.pdf