Musings of a Migrant Science Teacher

 
 
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Thump, thump, thump went my feet, pounding on the packed dirt trail. The rythmic sound, masked by the matching pounding of my heart in my ears, and my screaming legs telling me to stop.

Crash, swish, crash went the spider filled branches as they hit my face, leaving silky threads in my hair.  My arms itch, my ankle hurts, and my puppydog is tired.

Why am I doing this again?
 
 
It's finally up!

I've had the honor of writing a guest post for The Clymb's blog, and today it's up! The climbing series has been so much fun to read and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Aleya on
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My 4th of July weekend began like any other: frantic house cleaning and food stuffs purchasing in prep for our annual 3rd of July party. What? Everyone is always busy on the 4th. Friends and strangers alike descend on bean dip, flag cake and "adult" watermelon, leaving us with enough cheap beer to last for the rest of the year.

This year I was happily joined by my best climbing buddies Katie, Dan, George and Patrick, and our new friend Phil - who all arrived early and made me feel like this was MY party after all.

After a night of corn hole and ladder ball (if you don't know what these games are, I will gladly explain them. I'll just need one of those cheap beers first,) we said goodbye to Katie and Dan and the rest of us set off for Seneca Rocks in West Virginia. Did I mention it was 93 degrees outside? Mmm, superheated trad climbing...
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I woke up to an email this morning from an inspired friend. He has a way with words, and I thought I'd share what he wrote since I know I've felt exactly this many many times before but have been at a loss to describe it. My most recent "moment" was this past weekend at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. I haven't seen the sky that black in a long time. I saw three satellites pass overhead and watched the milky way blur on the horizon. My friend was in North Carolina when he wrote the poem below. Where were you the last time you let the sky swallow you whole?
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This is a delayed trip report from my spring adventure to Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park, WV.

I hiked with George (@privong), Katie (@k8tlevy) and Dan (@kakistocrat) after camping at the Big Meadows Campground on Saturday evening. The drive to the campground was beautiful. Skyline Drive is a twisty, windy, scenic road of goodness. Nearly every turn has a breathtaking view as you slowly increase your altitude through the park. Coming from the DC area where the temperatures were cresting 80, throwing a jacket into my pack was an after thought. For the rest of the group who forgot warm clothes it turned out to be a very sorely missed thought. That night temperatures plummeted into the 30's, making waking up and leaving the warm tent/sleeping bag incredibly hard.
 
 
I'm posting the video I made for SDO's Launch Tweetup - in case you haven't seen it. I'd like to say again how much fun I had, and a big thank you to everyone who took their time and money and came to Florida to be part of our big day. :)

#ball
 
Baby steps... 06/08/2010
 
I haven't written anything in a while. Mostly because work has been busy, and somewhat because I have been busy. I've also been struggling a bit with deciding if I have anything of value to say. I don't have a snarky angle on life, I'm not angelically sweet and self-analytic. I'm more the restless kind, and when I'm not happy with the way things are, I don't write.

So much for dedicated adventure writer and die hard explorer.
 
Dream Number Two 03/31/2010
 
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Two years ago on a grey, stormy in-service day at South Mountain Middle School in Allentown Pa, two teachers sat in a classroom and talked about their passions. One said they wanted to write childrens books, another said they loved designing curriculum and training teachers. When they left school that day they had formulated a plan to write together. They had no support, and no promise that it would amount to anything. They spent many nights in the basement toiling away, correcting words, searching for misconceptions, thinking through every possible scenario. They perfected their system through blood sweat and tears, all the while their belief that what they were creating was good carried them through.
 
 
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A few thoughts have been rattling around in my brain and I thought I'd dump them out here before they get too mixed up.

While I have no idea where I will be in 5 years, I know what I love. I love teaching, I love the outdoors, I love kids, and I thrive where I can be creative. I also love not being told what to do, but that's another story.
 
THANK YOU! 03/14/2010
 
Today I got a completely awesome and surprising package in the mail from Champion: A box of gear to "test out" as I train and travel to conquer my Everest.

Obviously I had to try everything out immedaitely...