Slowly Getting Better

Life is slowly looking up. No longer am I ready to move out of the house we just moved in to. I had those thoughts on Tuesday morning. Chalk it up to Tuesday just not being a good day for me. I busted out some of my jail jargon and moves and I think I scared a couple of kids. Oops.

We are still struggling to communicate with our landlord. Please pray that the meeting we have set up with her will go well. We are hoping that she will arrange some repairs that desperately need to be made. Call me crazy but I would rather not die from a shocking light switch or dengue fever or breaking my head open when I fall on the bathroom floor.

Good news - I made an appointment for internet to be set up today or tomorrow. Yeah for being back online! I'm hoping that our internet is a tad bit more reliable than our 4 1/2 minute last internet connection.

Bad news - the phone company stole 4+ hours of my life that I will never be able to get back. Another example of a breakdown in communication. During my third visit yesterday, I found that the phone company isn't actually installing new phone lines in my area. So, I guess we will be solely reliant on our cellphones.

I am so thankful for a great housemate in the midst of all of this craziness. I'm thankful that we get along remarkably well for having never known each other four months ago. Please continue to pray for us. In the midst of all of this craziness, we are still trying to stay on top of our teaching, grading, and planning. Thank you for your prayers!

Please Pray

Now that the move is over, the settling in begins. And so far...the settling in has not been the best experience. I was again reminded this morning that I have lived in much more challenging environments, that the majority of the world lives in much worse than what I currently live in, and that this too shall pass. However, for right now, the simple fact of not being able to take a shower or keep the cat from coming in the large aircon hole in my window during the middle of the night are making it pretty difficult to see the blessings that God has placed before me. Please pray with me for patience - with my students, with my landlord, and with the cultural barriers that are making communication difficult. I seek God's best for my life and I pray that I will be a witness of God's goodness in the midst of frustration today.

Mixed Success

Well, we are officially moved. It took 15 people 2 1/2 hours on Saturday to load up everything at our old house and transport it to our new house. Among some of the challenges: the 70-gallon fish tank that had to be unassembled, transported, and reassembled quite quickly; a 24-inch US-made washing machine and 22-inch Filipino passageways to the backyard; and a variety of people (one plumber, 2 men on the watertank, our helper and her daughter cleaning, and the landlord meandering around) at the house while we were attempting to move. All in all, the move went fairly well. We were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day but not too tired to stop for cheesecake at Jason and Sarah's house when we brought them home.

Now, we are attempting to settle. It will be a while before all of the boxes are packed away and the closets are filled and such. But more important matters right now include figuring out why there is no water. Last night, we had to go back to our old house to take showers and brush our teeth. Still no water this morning. So there are dirty dishes piled in the kitchen, buckets in the shower to flush the toilets, and two rather unhappy girls who are trying to figure out how on earth to manage with no water.

Our only internet options right now are friends and school so we won't be doing a whole lot of e-mailing or chatting for a bit. But please keep sending those messages because I really enjoy reading them!

Today is the Day

Just 3 1/2 short months since I arrived in country, I am moving again. I realized that I've made most of my major moves while teaching. Not really a great combination. The house is in complete upheaval as are our brains. The complications to this move seem overwhelming right now but I'm sure once it is all done we will laugh about them.

Problem #1 - Not having a key to get into our current house. Most of the keys work. Just not the one to get through the final door. We made valiant attempts at least 4 times yesterday. That was taken care of at 8:30 this morning. I waited for a half hour for the landlord and realtor to show up. Sure enough, we never received that key. Problem solved.

Problem #2 - The sheer amount of stuff we have. Thankfully we created a facebook event to invite our friends to help with the process. At 2:45 we should be overrun with lots of people who want to help chuck our stuff into a truck and move it 4 blocks away.

Problem #3 - The 70 gallon fish tank. Moving it will require re-catching the fish. Siphoning out the water into the many waiting buckets and barrels. Saving the water. Transporting the water and the fish tank to the new house and setting it all back up again. We have to save the water or the fish will die if we put them into a completely new watery environment.

Problem #4 - Actually more of a blessing. We found a stove and a washing machine. They are both used so they are much more affordable than the new ones we have been looking at. This afternoon before the move we will trek up into the hills to fetch them. Please pray that we can find an affordable ref (fridge). For now, we will haul our current landlord's ref over to the new house to use for the next 2 weeks. Please pray hard.

We will be without internet and phone and cable for the next couple weeks. We were unable to get those things hooked up before our move. So I guess I'll rely on e-mail to keep in touch with you all. I'll be able to check up at school. Blessings!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I arrived back in Manila this afternoon. Fall Break certainly was not long enough. There was not enough time to even read one "for fun" book. Too much grading, not enough relaxing. Note to self: Do not take any grading with you next break. It is much too time-consuming.

Now I am in prep-mode for a very full 5 weeks before the end of the semester. Many things have to happen. Two weekend conferences (one about assessment and one about dealing with conflict Biblically). Academic Bowl and practices for it. Moving house. At least 2 novels with my classes. All of the pre-Christmas happenings. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed but thankful for a good message this morning at CCF. The message was "Work is a Blessing." An appropriate message for the day that both my dad and I were feeling a bit down about work-related things.

So tomorrow is back to school. Please pray that I get enough rest tonight that school doesn't look too horrible tomorrow or that I don't look too horrible for school.

Reverting

I've noticed that when I return home (wherever home might be), I end up reverting to my old self. Too much time in front of the computer. Too much time sitting around. Not enough time swimming. Not enough time playing games.

I think I've been able to balance things a little better this break. I'm slowly making my way through stacks of short stories that need to be graded. Getting some good sleep and some great naps. I've beaten my mom really good at our favorite card game "Hand and Foot." Snuggled up with the dog to watch a chick flick. Been swimming twice.

I'll try to cram the last few things in before leaving on Sunday morning. A few more naps, a few more swims, a few more card games. I'm thankful for this break from school, from the concrete of Manila, and from the noise.