Crazy couple of weeks

The past couple of weeks have gone by far too quickly. Mora Vasaloppet, the Birkie, work, and other random stuff have kept me busy and away from the blog. I hope to keep on top of this a little better from now on. I will devote my next post entirely to the Birkie because it will take up a lot of space. It was crazy and fun up in Hayward.

I am attempting to figure out my race schedule for this summer. So far I only have the Almonzo scheduled. There will also be some trail races that I will do. Trail mix, Afton, Birkie trail marathon, and maybe a couple others. Then I will do a few tri's here and there. If I can procure a mountain bike I will do some racing. I am thinking a 12 hour race and maybe a 24 hour race. I have looked at Wasau 24 and 24 hours of Seven Oaks. Then there is the mountain bike series. Blah. So much to do and so little time. I need to get a moment to figure all that out. If anyone knows where I can find some free time that would be awesome!

I still am unable to decide what I want to do this summer. I also need to decide if I want to teach summer school again. I had a great time teaching in the summer, but between that and having to go out to Gear West  I was always working. I would get to school around 7 a.m. and then head out to the bike shop and work till 8 p.m. It made for some really long days. If I only teach and don't go out to GW then I won't make enough money to pay my bills. I could just work at the bike shop and I would make enough money, but then I miss out on the experience and fun of teaching. I will most likely end up doing both like I did last summer. It just isn't a great deal of fun feeling as though I am running myself into the ground.

I have also decided that if I am unable to obtain a full-time teaching position this fall that I will start to explore other options. This summer marks the 4th year I will be searing for a teaching position. I have made some headway with my long-term position, summer school and years of substitute teaching, but I can only have my life on hold for so long. I would say I am getting demoralized more than anything. Sending in application after application with little or no response gets old after a while. Possible options I have been tossing around in my mind: Working at a nature or history center, full time at the bike shop, QBP, working for outdoor industry in one form or another, work for the Minneapolis Parks, work for a company that works with green technology, and who knows what other possibilities I could find. Lots to think about in the coming months. I will keep sending in applications to schools. September is when I will decide if I am to take another road in the game of life.