I'm moved

I moved last Saturday. Overall I’d say it was a pretty painless move. A couple of friends and I moved everything out of my old house and into my new apartment in about 45 minutes. It only took one trip and we managed to finish right before the rain started. There were a few straggling items that I had to take care of, but they were pretty minor.

My new place is actually a lot nicer than I expected. My only purpose for moving was to save a few bucks every month on my power bill. However, my new place could safely be called a step up. It’s newly renovated, and much more spacious. The bathroom itself is probably larger than my dorm room my first year here, an observation which was made by a friend who currently lives in the dorm. I’ve uploaded some pics (yeah it’s been awhile since I’ve done this) of the apartment to my photo album.

My friend Sara left tonight. She was a part of my volunteer group and, after spending an extended summer back home after our first year, also came back to work for another year. That means everyone who originally came with me is now gone. There is one more volunteer who’s still here, but she was on an outer island the first year – not quite the same. It’s an eerie feeling being a combination of the Last of the Mohicans and the elder statesman.

Yesterday, something happened to me that had yet to happen in the previous 2.5 years. I felt a little burned out. It’s a little difficult to explain. I had just finished teaching my TOEFL prep course and the office was pretty empty given that it was a lunch time. All of a sudden this feeling of fatigue without the accompanying satisfaction just swept over me and I felt extremely unmotivated to do what I knew I had to do next.

I’ve always considered myself as someone who’s able to push himself further and harder than the average bear, but I guess even I have my limits. Either in this blog or in an e-mail I once wrote that I often feel like I’m running on a treadmill here for I’m expending a lot of effort but don’t seem to be getting very far. I think the more accurate metaphor now is being a cog in a machine that spins about 3x as fast as all the other cogs. I’m expending a lot more effort but the final output of the machine as a whole is only minimally changed by my extra effort. I’ve pushed my cog pretty hard for pretty long, but I guess even I can only maintain my pace for so long before slowing down.

Two years ago, I wrote this on this same blog:

“Thus, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks to all of my 107 students. Thank you for making me appreciate what I have and inspiring me to work like hell.”

Tomorrow will be the 3rd Thanksgiving I will have spent here. 19 of those original 107 have graduated (they were seniors when I taught them). I’m not sure how many of the remaining 88 are still in school. If they are, they’re seniors, and I’m helping them go to college. I’m more thankful for them now than I was two years ago.