The light at the end of Columbia

Sorry for the cell phone image, but I think it's kind of fitting for this post.

The spring time is in full effect and the school year is winding down...and finishing up pretty quickly at that I might add.
My bio class is taking their EOC (end of course exam) this Thursday and that basically means that we have a whopping 2 weeks left in class before summer is official. In my anatomy classes, I'll have to turn in grades for seniors by THIS Friday. THIS FRIDAY! normally I'd be siked as all get out, but right now, I'm experiencing some mixed emotions. On one hand, these are my last 2-3 weeks at Spring Valley High School EVER! On the other hand, these are my last 2-3 weeks at Spring Valley High School...ever...you know what I mean. There's the wonderful excitement of heading to New Mexico that is intimately coupled with the fact that I'll miss all the wonderful people I've worked with.

A great cure for mixed emotions over the past couple of days has been the fact that my wife is increasingly pregnant. I've been really happy to help her out at home as she's been feeling pretty lousy with morning sickness. Interestingly enough though, she's seemed to be really happy through it all...I'm not sure if it's simply with the excitement of the baby to come...or with the excitement of the baby to come in a completely new and adventurous home for us in New Mexico. Either way, it's really cool to have her this upbeat through all the physical discomfort.

A second thing that has been helping my mixed emotions is the great motorcycle rides I've been on lately. The picture above is from a pretty short ride I took the other night into the northeast countryside of Columbia. Pretty cool. I also went out towards Boykin 2 days ago on the bike. Sunny...windy...and riding through fields of wheat on the back country roads was just amazing.

So the instant gratification of the bike rides and the life-changing anticipation of our child-to-be are carrying me through as I finish up what has been an amazing 4 years in Columbia.

Dreaming Big - also slack lining and Tai Chi

Ok...so this is NOT me...but maybe it will be one day. Over the past couple of days I've been practicing what seems to be a growing pass-time among an interesting culture of miscrients...called slack lining.

A good friend of mine (Scott) got me into it and I have to admit it's addicting. Essentially you take some 1-inch tubular webbing, string it up between some trees and "give it a go", meaning try and walk across that thin strip of seat belt material! I ended up putting up a "training rope" above my head that ran the length of the slack line just to help me get the technique down. It worked really well and I feel almost slightly confident on the slack line now.

The fun thing is how it is great training for Tai Chi. The other night when I was teaching a Tai Chi class I acutally took my slack line and we worked as a group helping people figure out how to keep their balance on the line. When we went back inside the studio to do some balancing drills and our forms, the improvement in the students was amazing.

Interestingly enough it is also very theraputic. For some reason the required focus on the line gives me a bit of clarity and relaxation that rivals my tai chi training. Maybe if I keep at it, I'll include it on my next excursion to Devil's Cellar in Linville Gorge,...or since we're heading out west, maybe I'll find a nice deep slot canyon to slack line over!

A Good Cry

"I wanna know where children would go
if they never learned to be cool
Cause nothin's achieved when pushed up a sleeve
so nobody thinks you're a fool" - Missy Higgins

I'm hoping the children go to the UWC in new mexico. I'm dreaming that they sacrifice self for knowledge and for the benefit of others. I'm honored that Kelley and I will get to be a part of that scene come August of 2008.

Last night K-time and I headed for Asheville for a Missy Higgins show at the Orange Peel. It was interesting because here's this HUGE artist in Australia that is made to open for some very good, but admittedly less popular artists...even here in America. Missy played about 7 or 8 songs...and I cried the whole time...seriously.

I think it was Art Garfunkel who once said that their goal (Simon and Garfunkel) was to make good music..and good music gives people goosebumps. Well last night my eyes had goosebumps. I don't know if the excitement of our move to New Mexico, now coupled with the possibility of a young one coming along next December for us, has gotten to me more than I realize or what, but I felt pure unadulterated catharsis last night through her songs. The whole venue...audience, room, and sound system combined truly provided an atmosphere where the sound stood a chance to cut deep into your heart and your mind. The lyrics came to life as Missy's crystal clear voice filled the room.

Kelley looked at me about half way through the show and noticed the tears. "Are you alright?", she asked and kind of laughed.

It was good to be affected in that way. To escape to such a hip town as Asheville on a Saturday night and to find yourself being reached at such a deep level.

There's nothing like a good cry.

Kel and the Fish

So yeah...it looks like the 4th year of our marriage has proven itself a year of amazing things to say the least...

Kelley truly learns how to sew and get great at it...
Jeff gets "teacher of the year" and then finds another job in New Mexico...talkabout a cosmic "peace out"!
...and then...Kelley gets pregnant!

That's right, you're looking at our new little 7-week-old...fish. It's funny because I always show this one picture (below) to my biology students during our unit on evolution. It's a 4-week-old human embryo compared to a fish embryo...the kids can never tell them apart. See for yourself....can you pick which one is the human? Evidently God was so satisfied with the early stages of embryological development that he made most "higher" organisms share developmental characteristics. He probably also figured: "One day, my humans will come up with a way to look inside a woman's belly and see the developing baby...I think I'll make them look like fish for a while just to make all those silly sheep-like humans have a good laugh!"




Anyway. It's WAY early into the whole process and we're definitely in that stage where miscarriage is possible. We even found out that there might be a little complication to the pregnancy with some genetic stuff going on with K-time. Nothing serious, but we're waiting on some tests to come back. So needless to say, we're extremely excited, but also a bit nervous at this point about everything coming out healthy for both Kel and the "fish".

God-willing, by December 17th of this year, we'll be the parents of a wonderful, healthy, and happy new baby...and we'll join the ranks of those trying desperately to bring new life into a world of turmoil...maybe our offspring will learn how to live peacefully with each other. :)

Looking to the west

So it's official.

Come August, Kelley, the dogs, and I will be heading for the southwest. We have had an amazing job offer at the United World College-USA in Montezuma, New Mexico.

The college is a 200-student boarding school that uses the International Baccalaureate Curriculum to unite students from all over the world under the umbrella of education, service, and experiential wilderness expeditions.

I'll keep this short as I'm sure there will be more posts to come concerning the issue, but essentially this is my dream job...come true!

Kelley and I will be living on campus with the dogs and the international students and enjoying some pretty rigorous biology, sweet trips into the New Mexico wilderness, and some great service opportunities as well.

Columbia has been amazing for the last 4 years since we've been married...but it's so cool to feel a pull towards the west.

Here are some pictures of the castle at the UWC and the New Mexico countryside.

In between

tangibly nervous

a fledgling pushed from the nest

catching wind at last

The Land of Enchantment

Over 3 and a half years ago, Kelley and I got married and spent our honeymoon in New Mexico (Santa Fe to be specific). This past week, we had an opportunity to head back out to the land of enchantment and were able to have some good reminiscent vibes from our honeymoon time as we explored some new places.

We hardly ever get to travel, so the trip came about at a good time and was really fun for the most part. I guess the only drawbacks were the short time we actually got to spend in NM and the long lay-overs due to delayed flights.

Early Friday morning we woke up from our hotel room in Albuquerque and drove north past Santa Fe on our way to Las Vegas, New Mexico. The arid climate and sparse vegetation made for such an amazing view that we both have come to love as we've spent time in the west. You can probably see for at least 40-50 miles out there....compared to 600-700 yards most places in South Carolina.

Anywho...not much of an "inspirational" blog at this point, but more of a documentation that we went out to New Mexico for some "covert operations" that are yet to be disclosed.