Fall Has Begun

Yesterday was the first day of my Fall schedule. I can't really say if I am excited about this schedule or dreading it. I will be at "Job A" 3 days a week, for 5-6 hours on each of those 3 days. I will be at "Job B" for 6 days a week, only for an hour or so each day.

"Job A" is a secretary-type job, doing random office stuff, like labeling envelopes and looking things up online. It's not very interesting, but I amuse myself with the names I have to write envelopes to. I came across someone who's name was "Genipher" once, and couldn't get over why anyone would change the spelling of Jennifer when all it's going to do is confuse and baffle people. I also like that I work with one of my best friends at that job, and while we don't get to be too goofy when the boss is around, we do get to eat lunch together and listen to good music when no one else is in the office.

"Job B" is my coaching job. I'm a figure skating instructor and coach. I teach group classes and private lessons, and while the two are very different, they are both amazing and fun. I've been skating since I was 4, so to be able to continue being involved in the sport and help little kids develop a love for the sport is just awesome. Plus, little kids are hilarious.

The problem with this Fall schedule is that my only full day off each week will be Wednesday. Monday, Thursday, and Friday I will be at Job A until I have to leave for Job B for 1-2 hours. Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday I have to be at Job B for roughly 2 hours. It's kind of a lot of driving, which might drive me crazy (ho ho that was a pun!). So I'm not really complaining, I am just hoping that everything goes well and I can get from one place to another without hitting any crazy traffic or using up too much gas!

I am currently reading Get Well Soon and so far I like it, though it didn't suck me into the story as I had thought it might. It's written in letter form, from the main character Anna to her best friend while Ann is in the adolescent ward of a mental hospital. It sometimes seems more like diary form than letters because of how much is written each day. I'm only about a third of the way into it, so there's plenty of time for it to suck me in and change my mind.

Three Books

Since my last post I have read three books: After the Moment, The Miles Between, and Emily.

After the Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr, was very touching. It was a love story, that started with the end first, which isn't something I usually like. I don't like knowing the end without knowing how the end came about. I like a nice linear storyline. Leigh, the main character, is 21 or so as he is telling the story, but the majority of it takes place his senior year of high school. Leigh was sweet and kind, and also very confused about his future and how to be a good man. Maia was, in her own words, a train wreck, with multiple disorders and emotional problems, but she was very caring and smart, and seemed to be more and more comfortable with herself as time went on. I liked them as a couple, though they seemed more in tune with each other as friends. The ending was okay, though I much prefer clear and concise endings instead of endings that leave me wondering if they end up together or not.

The Miles Between, by Mary E Pearson, was fantastic. I loved Destiny as a character, and all her quirks and stunted emotions. The road trip with her friends seemed so fun and also so eye-opening as they each learned to see the others as more three-dimensional people. I thought it was funny that Destiny thought they became her friends that day, when it seemed that in their eyes they already were her friends and cared for her as such. I wasn't expecting the intensely emotional parts towards the end, where we learn the truth about Destiny and her parents. I literally could not get over it after reading it, I will tear up if I even start thinking about it. And while getting upset or sad because of a book isn't exactly fun, it is wonderful when a book or story can move you that much.

Emily is from the Louder Than Words book series, which are books written by girls who have been through some type of struggle or hard time. Emily is a girl from a large menonite family in Oregon who gets sick more than the average person. At the beginning of her senior year in high school, she finds out she has contracted West Nile virus. Her story is taken from her blog posts from that time and covers roughly one year of her life. She went through a lot, enduring sickness and loneliness, and also missing her friends since she was too weak to go out very much. It was a very honest account, and she never seemed to feel sorry for herself, I think because of her belief in God and that He would only the things that were supposed to happen to happen to her. I hope that Emily is feeling better now, she does still keep a blog I believe, and I'm glad that her struggle that year and the time following have made her stronger.

The next book I am going to start is Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern. I was browsing around Barnes & Noble today and came across it and a few other books that seemed interesting, including Stiff by Mary Roach, which is all about the various uses for our bodies after our souls have left them.