thank YOU

I wasn't planning on updating again today, but I will, just to report some success, and to say thank you to the lovely people who gave me some support yesterday during my TOM-Inspired Temptation Struggle of Doom. Thank you Cat, Beth, Pattie, and HappyBlogChick--not without your help, I escaped from the day with my diet plan relatively unscathed, and feeling much better about myself this morning. 

The two donut holes ended up being my only splurge, and I'm sure that I worked off however many hundred calories were in them by stressing and blogging about them, so I'm going to say I broke even yesterday. This morning I'm craving chocolate for breakfast, but instead I'm going to go tear into some fish, fill up on spicy cucumbers, and then supplement with rice. What a beautiful morning. (I'm only being half-sarcastic.)

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It's now 8:52pm and I'm just now getting around to finishing this entry I started around 7:30am. I've been eating up my to-do lists the past few days, so it's nice to be sitting here freshly-showered in my PJs, feeling accomplished and with nothing to distract me from blogging until I decide I want to collapse into bed. Which should be soon, because the alarm is set for 5:40 so that I can hit up the gym before school. 

Today turned out surprisingly well, considering the melodrama of yesterday. I ate well all day, snacking only on strawberries which the other teachers foisted on me, and I just finished a really satisfying cup of chocolate milk. I can't read the nutritional facts on the can of cocoa powder, except for 68 calories. I'm not sure how much that's for, but I don't really care either. It was delicious, and I feel fine. I was (thank God) much less sore this morning when I woke up than I have been the past few days, which was a really pleasant surprise. The students were pretty good, lunch was almost all edible, and I got to engage in my favorite kind of cardio--BASKETBALL WITH THE THIRD GRADERS. 

I teach at a really rural Korean middle school, and the high point of my life in Korea thus far has been schooling 15 and 16-year olds on the (outdoor dirt) basketball court. I was never a basketball prodigy--my parents are fond of reminiscing about how I was picked for the middle school basketball team to bring up the team GPA, and I played a total of 2 minutes the whole season. I played Varsity softball in high school, and I thought I'd left my brief basketball career behind. (Michael Jordan I am not.) But I'm a veritable ace in my new environment. Let me stop you before you imagine an Amazonian American towering over stereotypically short Korean boys--we're all the same height. My shooting has just improved immensely since I quit, whereas they just generally can't shoot. I can't dribble and run at the same time, but I can pass and shoot, which makes me the most desirable player. (In fairness, they're freaking amazing at soccer.) 

They didn't quite know what to make of it when I first presented myself in tennis shoes during recess, but I think I've gone from being an interesting novelty to a fairly accepted fact. (Needless to say, the other teachers don't play with the students after lunch.) The boys are by far the least dedicated students in the classroom, so I can't really claim to be teaching them very much there, but I like to believe I'm fulfilling my role as an ambassador of American culture by teaching them, by example, how to be true ballers. It also forced me to learn faces and names really quickly, because until I got it down (week three), the other team's players would sneakily call for me to pass to them. (JERKS!) 

Anyway, I love the kids to death, and as much as I enjoy teaching English, I enjoy playing basketball more. Like I said, it's my favorite cardio. When I came home I didn't let myself take the nap I wanted, but strapped back on my tennis shoes and headed out to catch the last of the sunshine while doing Week 2, Day 2 of C25k. It seemed a little easier than day 1, which is good enough for me. Crossing off the days in March is making me a little nervous about whether or not I'm going to make my March Madness goal, but I've gotta be confident. I'm doing all the right things... it's up to my metabolism now.