Running... and running... and running.

So I'm at work right now, 35 minutes away from having to teach a class, 5 hours and 10 minutes away from kicking off my weekend (eeeee!) and just under 5 days away from going to Tokyo. Anyway, I've finished writing my 100+ report cards, finished marking the 200+ tests and have finished all the scheduling hooplah for February which means I'm pretty bored on this break... so I'll share a couple thoughts of my own...

Why don't I discuss the things I've learned so far? I've learned that I've been pretty good at being a gym rat in Korea. The whole going 5-days a week thing is still keeping up, but I've started running on the treadmill on top of doing the whole weights thing... and I'm quite proud of myself. I've ran a total of 32km in the 5 days I've been at the gym this week, and I did that in a total of 3 hours and 12 minutes... at 10k/h. I've been doing this for a few weeks now, and coupled with a good diet, I'm really noticing nice results. Tiring, but worth it.

I've also learned a lot about myself. I've learned a few sips of coffee really go a long way for me, especially by the time Friday rolls around. I've learned that I really miss my friends... they are like the second family to me... and all friends, but especially the boys at the HOP.

I've also noticed that my leadership skills have gotten better. I guess that's what bossing around children and puppies all day will do for you.

And another thing I learned? I'm not really ready to tackle on a Masters program. Despite the encouragement from my parents, I just cannot wrap my mind around a program I want to do... and the biggest part is that I can't justify having to incur another debt in the tens-of-thousands-range. Despite the hardships sometimes, I am having a good/learning experience in Korea and it'd be all that much better if I knew that 60-70% of each paycheque didn't have to go to the Ontario government to repay back my loan. Schooling is too expensive, especially when you know you're using that money on something you're not quite interested in yet. Sure, if I was dying to get a Masters in a certain area, I might consider it, but right now, the combination of the uncertainty and the unwillingness to be in another debt are really having me not want to do a Masters degree at this time.

What do I want to do? I want to see my friends in Canada. I want to get together with Bryson and whoever else would be interested and use our brains to pump out more TV scripts. I want to create a TV show... something funny... something good... and I believe Bryson and I have the wits to do it. I want to walk across Canada. I want to explore other parts of the world. I want to go back to the Duke with my brothers and good friends, sit down at a table with beer of different sort, and just catch up on the lost time.

The last however many years of my life have either been spent being buckled down to a University, or working my tail off to repay back that debt. I know what I want to do in life... I want to get involved in media.. be successful... and I have the requirements RIGHT NOW to do so... all I MIGHT need is a college course somewhere down the road to tweak my skills, but otherwise, I'm set. What I don't need... and especially at this age, is having to owe so much money. I don't ever want that. I want to enjoy life... I want to enjoy my friends... my family... the world... without a big, heavy green monkey sitting on my back.

- Gilad