Blistees

I have major blisters on my hands. Because I've rowed two days in a row! How awesome is that? After sculling in New Hampshire, I knew I needed to find a way back in the water. I sent an email on Monday, heard back on Tuesday, and was in a boat on Wednesday. I am now apparently qualified to take boats out on the water. So, that's exactly what I did this morning. Although my instructor wasn't there, as I thought he would be, to teach me how to get the boat out on my own. Yikes! I tried calling my aunt...no answer. Then I decided I would stand there and think about it a bit. Then, I saw one of my mentees! He just got 2nd in the nation in a doubles boat (two guys sculling). I told him that he needed to teach me how to get the boat in the water on my own. We were marginally successful. I broke the skegg off the first boat I tried...whoopsie! I guess he had already broken it off last year, so I didn't feel too bad.

Last night, the water was choppy and it was windy. I was completely nervous about everything I was doing and feeling pretty incompetent. My instructor told me that the mornings are like glass. And it was. This morning was like magic. Granted, my rowing skilly are amateur at best, but just being out as the sun is coming up, the pelicans and seals start their day, ships loading their cargo, and the bay is stretched out for miles is pretty amazing. Of course, as soon as I saw the huge ships and the bay stretched out in front of me, I turned right around. I'm still practicing things like holding water (stopping) and rowing in a straight line (pitiful).

This is where I'm rowing (the "A"). There are lots of sloughs, which are weird things that I don't understand. Someone needs to explain them to me and you can get out to the San Francisco Bay, but I'm not that aggressive on a school day.

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I'm going to see if I can make the rowing work with the running and the bike commuting for the next month and go from there. The price to row there is pretty reasonable and given that I got the okay to just go out whenever I wanted, I'm thinking that this could be sustainable. What I'd love to do is decide on a number of days I want to row in a year where the money would be worth it to me. I'll work on that plan in my infinite free time.

Oh wait...I'm back at school. I have no time. I've already been working 10 hour days and there aren't even kids to pay attention to or grading to do. Today, I pretty much made my plan book. It took forever, because I have a completely crazy schedule. At my school, you usually have just one prep, but this year I'll have four: AP Statistics (about 30-40 kids), 12th grade math support (8-10 kids), 9th grade math support (6-8 kids), and Cali State Exit Exam prep (2 kids). And I don't see the support kids every single day. And I'm in three rooms that rotate around. So, I don't have many kids, but I have a lot to plan for. I'm not quite ready for the teaching or my 9th grade mentees...whom I have to start norming on Wednesday, but I'll get there. Until I get there, I probably will be light on the blogging. Today, I asked my colleague if he thought I was going to survive. He said, "It depends how much you like crazy." I think that sums it up well.

There was one more thing I was going to tell you, but it's gone. Oh! I remember now. Today was also successful on the email front. I started with about 85 total email between my two inboxes. Now, I'm down to 28. I am feeling so much better about my life now.