Friday, August 26, 2016

Falling on my feet...


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As some of you know my first career out of University was as a teacher in Australia.  When I went to university I had idea what I wanted to do, I mean - who does at 17?  All I knew is that I loved sports and was reasonably good at them and so followed my nose eventually graduating with an Education degree majoring in Physical Education and sports medicine.

Now what to do with it…  It seemed as though there was a natural progression of teaching in the public school system.  This is where the wheels fell off!  My first couple of years was spent teaching at the elementary school level - all I can say was that I was uninspired and began regretting my choice of courses at University.  Especially those first three years, as a newly graduated teacher I found myself teaching at three different schools in three different parts of Victoria (state).  My first school was on the border with another state so very remote, the second year I spent as head teacher of a two teacher school on the edge of the Wyperfield National Park (desert) and my final year in the western suburbs of Melbourne, which by the way sounds great until you hear that I was only one of two male teachers on staff (the other being the principal). 

I was desperate for a change and so when the end of the school year came I tendered my resignation and moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory – if you'd like to read the full story of my drive to Darwin see my post “Surviving the Stuart” for the full adventure.

I arrived into Darwin on Saturday night and by Monday morning had decided to drop my resume off at the Northern Territory Teaching Service in the hope of picking up a few days of emergency teaching while I figured out what I was going to pursue.  The definite plus of living in Darwin was the consistently hot and perpetually summer like weather that blessed these climes – Darwin is a mere 12 degrees south of the equator, and on a very similar line to Caracas, Venezuela and the equivalent of living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  Perfect from my standpoint!

At 7:00 am Tuesday morning the phone rang, and dragging myself out of bed answered only to find that a local high school needed me for the day.  Fortunately the school was less than 10 minutes away and so was out at the school by 7:30 am.  Not a lot of choice in terms of clothes as its so hot and humid in January (wet season or monsoon) so shorts and a golf shirt were just fine.

After meeting the assistant principal he outlined that he’d need me for the week…  I asked him why given that it was only the second week of the actual school year only to be told that the other teacher had lasted a mere five days before going on long term disability for work related stress.   Either the students were going to be insanely difficult or something else was going on...  I guess I'd soon find out!

My first day was a mixed bag of classes, some social studies, art, science and a physical education class. The remainder of the week followed a similar pattern and I quickly developed a rapport with a few of the other teachers, and in particular the physical education faculty who were all young and similar to me. 

Sure enough the following Monday morning the assistant principal called me again and said that he needed me for another week as they were still down a teacher.  By the end of the week he asked me in for a chat and enquired if I was looking for a full time position…

My mind flashed, but given the welcoming experience by the students and faculty at the school I said that I was interested.  The next morning he had all the paperwork drawn up ready for me to review and sign.  Although I wasn’t aligned to a specific faculty I ended up with the Phys. Ed team, which was perfect, especially since I ended up teaching a large number of Phys. Ed classes and coaching a number of sports teams.  

I quickly developed a great network of friends, joined a new football club, began playing touch rugby with the guys from school in a social league and took up windsurfing. I’d always wanted to learn to windsurf and after taking a couple of classes I began going to the beach after school and renting a board, and if I timed it right with the guy I rented my board from I could be out on the harbour by 2:45 pm zipping across the waves.  Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that school ended by 2:30 pm each day...tough life I know!

What wasn’t to like?  Here I was living in a hot tropical climate, steps from the beach and playing a ton of sport with a cohort of other young, single teachers.  I was living the dream!

Strangely I had fallen on my feet once again, which as I look back on it's become a strong pattern in my life.  Is it my self belief that enables me to be successful or is it something more innate in that I follow my instincts and things just seem to turn out okay.  I'm not going to question my approach but it does make you think doesn't it?




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“Hanoi Posting”  A series of fictional micro-stories by Terence Wallis

Come visit "Hanoi Posting" at its new home!

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This week's photos are from my trip to New York.

Enjoy!


TW


Love the art deco designs inside the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Park Avenue

Check out the clock in the lobby...

It's a one of a kind...

Taking the 6 to Union Square before heading to Williamsburg in Brooklyn

What do you notice about this apartment building...yes, there's something unique here

Inside Zach's favourite record store in Williamsburg - "Rough Trade"
its unique in that its a performance venue as well

Art everywhere you look in Brooklyn...

If only this door could tell stories of its life - they would be fascinating I'm sure

A tip of the cap to the New York Fire Department

You can just make out the Empire State Building if you squint through the
wire fence - on the Manhattan Bridge

Touring the East River and the skyline of NYC

Yes, more than 70 km's covered over the course of the week in NYC...

The West Side Highway now renamed the Joe DiMaggio Hwy - along the Hudson River

Sculpture by the Hudson at W 63rd Street 

The abandoned rail head on the Hudson river






Friday, August 19, 2016

A fine line...

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To be clear this is an extremely fine line between being fit and becoming obsessive…and I’m afraid I may have “jumped the shark”! 

Recently I purchased a Fitbit, and for those that don’t know it’s an Apple watch that helps track your daily activities, including the number of steps you take, your heart rate, the amount of sleep you get, your daily exercise, your water intake, your weight etc. 

On the surface it was a smart purchase but now that I’ve had it a month or so I fear that I’ve become both addicted and just a tad obsessive with it.  While I like the fact that at a glance I can check all my vitals and feel good in the fact that I’m getting closer to my daily goal of 15 floors climbed or my 10,000 steps achieved I feel in some ways pressured to make sure I’m achieving every day. 

Clearly, that is the goal and agree that it’s important to keep active and healthy but I’ve been unconsciously taking it to an extreme.  A perfect case in point is my weekend in New York City where the weather was well over 38C or 100F, just another summers day in the big apple – right? 

Apparently so, because all those tall buildings trap the heat at street level during the summer, which makes it unable to dissipate.  Although, if you thought it was hot at street level, venture into the subway system for just a moment. OMG!  It's unbearable down there because all of the hot air generated in the system , coupled with a few million of bodies moving about - its literally suffocating. I was unlucky enough the catch the subway both Saturday and Sunday and each time neither subway car had any cooling…it made for very miserable journeys indeed.   You could wring out my t-shirt and shorts when I arrived into Brooklyn.

Heat stroke is a real possibility in these circumstances if you’re not careful and so constantly staying hydrated is critical.  

This is where the crazy FitBit/obsessive TW comes in…  Zach and I caught the subway to Williamsburg in Brooklyn about 10:30 on Saturday morning, stepping from the subway on Bedford Avenue you could fry an egg on the sidewalk under the cloudless blue sky.  My only saving grace is that I slathered myself with sunscreen before leaving the hotel, but by the time we made it up to Rough Trade, Zach’s favourite record store on 9th Avenue we were drenched and so welcomed the cool respite of the store. 

After browsing for some 30 minutes, Zach said he was tired and wanted to go over to GreenPoint to another record store before heading back to the hotel to rest after his late night out with his mates from Georgetown that he’d caught up with the previous evening until the wee hours. 

I was now at a bit of a loss as to what to do... 

I’d been mulling over whether to walk back or take the subway but exploring easily won out and so decided to walk around before making my way over the Brooklyn Bridge and back to Manhattan.   

Easier said than done!  For starters I hadn’t realized how big Brooklyn actually is and the considerable distance between Williamsburg and the bridge...especially when you layer in the incredible heat.  Initially I wandered along capturing some amazing street art as I wandered along Kent Avenue, before turning onto Flushing Avenue past Steiner Studios and the old Brooklyn Navy Yards into the Dumbo neighborhood. 

The distance isn’t that long, in fact only four miles but along this route there are few places to stop and get a bottle of water, and even fewer signs of life on a hot Saturday afternoon.  This old industrial area is in the process of regenerating and so has lots of abandoned buildings, and vacant lots but not a lot else. As I’m sure you well know, by the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated and the further I walked I began to feel a little light headed.  Yes, a major warning sign!  

All I could do was berate myself for not carrying any water with me while constantly searching for a place to stop and take some shade and get a drink.  Eventually I spotted the Brooklyn Roasting Company where I availed myself with two bottles of water and a bottle of coconut water (best rehydrating drink you can get btw).

After a 20 minute break I continued on with my goal of walking to the Brooklyn Bridge, but I was fast losing my energy and settled on taking the Manhattan bridge instead.  This bridge deposits you on Canal street in Chinatown, which actually worked out well because I could take my time and stroll at my leisure under the cover of awnings as I made my way up to the hotel.

In all I covered 22.7 km (14 miles) on foot during one of the hottest days of the year…  Crazy I know.  However, if you think that’s crazy I followed it up the very next day with another 15 km’s (9.3 miles).  Not surprisingly after further research (thankyou Fitbit - I walked 70 km’s (43.5 miles) for the week).   Yikes!!!

I guess the big question is – “would I have really worried, cared or tracked this without my Fitbit?”   Likely not…but the scary part is that I’m trying to figure out ways to beat that distance next week.

Call me crazy!!!




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“Hanoi Posting”  A series of fictional micro-stories by Terence Wallis

Come visit "Hanoi Posting" at its new home!

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This week's photos are from my trip to New York.

Enjoy!

TW
Anything is possible in the East Village - NYC

Inside Zach's favourite record store in Brooklyn - Rough Trade on 9th Ave

These cracks created such beautiful lines 

The garage in Brooklyn

Stunning colors as I explored Brooklyn

As you can see incredible street art on every street corner in Brooklyn

The view of the World Trade Center from my
walk along Kent Avenue in Brooklyn

The abandoned beauty on Flushing Avenue
Back to Manhattan on the aptly named Manhattan Bridge

Manhattan Bridge

View of the Dumbo in Brooklyn from my walk over the Manhattan Bridge 

NYC subway


Spray painted on the sidewalk in the East Village

Such stunning work on Second Ave E - an ode to Hip Hop

Clearly Billy the Artist is very talented!

The famous NY music venue - Webster Hall on E 11th Street

Brilliant window at Fish Eddy's on E 19th Street

I love that you can see the scale of this piece of art - so good!