the road goes ever on...

It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to. 

- "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"

I'm definitely embracing my nerdy side by starting this blog post off with a Lord of the Rings quote. But lately, that road that goes ever on and on has been on my mind (and now I want to do an extended version Lord of the Rings marathon. Anyone want to join in?). 

Friday marked my last day of teachers college, while Thursday was my last day of student teaching ... and my last day of teaching in God knows how long, since the margin for job openings are rather slim nowadays. There's this kind of aching in my heart now to get back into the classroom, even if it is a stuffed sardine portable with 31 students with inexhaustible  energy.

After two months with these grade 5s, it was on my last day that true personalities came out; I really saw transformations in my students, and the shy ones finally let loose and made me smile with their sweet cards and gifts. The best gift? A tissue-paper made purse that had "Channel" written on it!! I know I'm going to go back to visit them, since that school has kind of become my third home (my first and second homes being my own & The Boy's). I learned so much from my associate teacher and it was an experience that really confirmed that I want to be a teacher, even with the challenges and job shortages. 

Now, after a weekend of catch-up and relaxation ... the street that I'm on is Where Next Boulevard. I'm trying not to fret or panic even though everything right now is so unknown to me; instead I'm just going to try my best. Update my résumé, get my references and reference letters together, and apply to as many places as possible.

And in the meantime, find some kind of part-time job, keep going with my graphics/webdesign, look forward to the birth of  my nephew in less than two weeks(!!!), and enjoy life as best as I can.

Yesterday was definitely a good way to start off enjoying life! Me and my four best friends (one I've known since I was 7, the rest I met in my first few years of high school) finally reunited after months and months. That time of being able to catch-up over shopping and Filipino cuisine makes me feel so happy to have them in my life, and truly blessed. 

And the leftover pancit doesn't hurt, either! Here's a few pictures from yesterday and a little collage of my last week of student teaching:

I  ♥ these ladies.

At Max's of Manila; sadly not in Manila, but in Toronto.

I had a quarter of chicken, pancit canton, and garlic rice, followed by a hearty serving of the traditional dessert, halo-halo!

(1) Owl goodie bags for my students that said "Owl miss you" on the back (embracing both my nerdy and cheesy sides in this blog post!)

(2) A few samples of the art lesson for Ancient Greek pottery 

(3) The last day of class full of cards and a chalkboard adorned with "Don't go!" messages

(4) And the classic "Bump It Up" wall of a flower blooming.

My next week is all planned out: a dinner with teachers college classmates as a 'last farewell' (before our grad on June 6), heading to the gym and library as often as I can for working out and getting applications finished, seeing The Boy and catching up with friends, and then ...

Who knows? I know where I want my path to take me, but the road is unpredictable and I have no idea where it'll sweep me off to. All I know is that I want to go to B.C. in August and hopefully get a job sometime soon! Fingers crossed, please! :)

How have you spent your weekend?

How do you deal with the unknown?

Hope you had a great weekend!