The Storm

Texas storms are generally spectacular events. Whenever one is forecast I like to camp out at a friends house that has a really good view of Austin, sit out on the porch, and watch it go by. I would compare it to watching storms from planes whilst flying over them. Really beautiful and awesome sights to behold.

The craziest Texas storm I have ever seen hit Austin Wednesday night. I happened to be working during a lovely sunny day when a very black ominous looking cloud started coming in our direction. From my past experience I knew that the weather would change drastically in a matter of minutes. I pulled everyone out of the water and me and the other coaches hid in the office. With in 10 min of seeing the distance black cloud we were hit with insane weather! The temperature dropped 20 degrees instantly and hail and lightning were so loud that we had to yell in order to hear anything. The hail started off as a dime and then quickly increased to a quarter, then a golf ball, then practically baseball sized. The pool looked like it was exploding, the ground was completely covered in white. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen! Unfortunately my I didn't have my camera with me so I had to wait until it all passed and I got home to take pictures. By the time I took a picture the hail had melted quite a bit, but it was still huge. Majority of the cars had significant amounts of damage. I thought mine would be destroyed, but the windows were all in tact. Truly a miracle. It is, however, incredibly dented. I feel bad for all the car dealerships around.

Hannah flew in the morning after and got to see the devastation first hand. Nothing like Katrina or anything, but poor Austin rarely takes a beating like this so it was shocking for those of us who live here. It was incredibly foggy and gloomy. I told her that we would be going to a restaurant on the lake to watch the sunset that night. keeping with Texas tradition of freakish weather changes, about 2 hours later it was clear blue sky's and we got to witness one of the best sunsets ever. Over the past couple days we have had amazing weather and went to a lot of places in Austin that I have never been to. Really beautiful museums and parks.

So this is the documentation of the trip so far.

Back to School

Oh my a lot has happened! During my search of high school coaching jobs I discovered that I also needed to get my teaching certification. So whilst I was searching for a certification program I discovered that it would be better if I went through a university and not an online program. That narrowed my search down a lot. Either UT or Texas State. Both have the teaching certification, but then as I was thinking about it I figured that if I am going to go through a university I might as well get my masters at the same time. So I decided to get my masters at Texas State because it was the only school that had a physical education program and it is a very reputable in that area. So I literally just applied! So crazy! I can't believe I am doing this. I hate school, but for some reason I am going back for the heck of it. My exact major would be the Masters and Certification program which entails physical education, sport science, and foundations of coaching. It is perfect for what I want. I can get it all done in 3 semester (Summer, Fall, Spring). So if I get a coaching position I will also be going to school. If I don't get a coaching position I get to be a full time student and apply again fully certified next year.

Is that a good plan? I am actually excited to be able to get to go to school with out swimming for the first time in my life. So now all I need to do is figure out what I will teach for my certification. Not math or Science. I would like to teach something fun.

Hannah is coming to visit me in 2 weeks!! I am so happy!!! YAY!! Then I am going to Utah May 2-12th for my cousins wedding. I have no idea what I will be doing this summer except get as many class hours in as possible. I miss NZ. I am currently planning and figuring out the next time I will be down there. The best thing about being a teacher is that you get the whole summer off and 3 weeks during X-Mas! Loads of paid vacation time! Well I believe that's it for now. Life is so unpredictable.