Work Perks: Hitting the Slopes of Sleeping Giant

Since graduating college with a double major in both International Studies and Spanish, Melissa has found herself with at least one foot in the world of education. Stateside, she's served as a paraprofessional in three different schools and while living in South Korea she served as resident Native English Speaker in three different Korean Elementary schools. These positions have all held their various perks and moments of pure joy, always revolving around the students and gaining added favor with a variety of "work perks".

 

This past Monday, January 25th, Melissa and Mike both enjoyed the perks of being connected to Burlington Schools AND of owning their own business complete with a respectful clientele that understands M&M need/deserve the occassional break. So it was, the couple, along wtih middle school and high school staff and students found themselves enjoying a day of skiing, snowboarding and outdoor enjoyment at Sleeping Giant Ski Areat just outside of Yellowstone National Park. This, all in thanks to a school that values offering students opportunities outside of textbooks and tests AND a small community that's will to chip in and ensure the day is available not only to students but to community members at large.

The day saw Mike Harrington busting out his snowboard after about an 8 year hiatus. As should be expected from the man- the myth- the legend, he took to his snowboard as if it'd only been on hiatus for 8 months. After a quick reacquaintance with his board, he was shredding his way down the mountain, impressing numerous students who were convinced his skill set was fairly well limited to pizza-builder extraordinaire. By the close of the day, Mike had made just over 20 runs, for a total of 73 minutes, 12 miles and a top speed of 36 mph - feats he deemed were just a bit more exciting, active and enjoyable than lounging around at The Burlington Place building the weekly trivia.

Melissa opted to don a pair of skis for the first time since middle school, remembering how miserable she felt after her first and only time snowboarding about 10 years ago as a college student. She sat in on student lessons, learned a few things that made skiing a bit more pleasant than it was 17 years ago, pizza-wedged her way down the bunny slope, made it up the chair lift with her hubs once and then mostly enjoyed lounging around, drinking a bit of coffee and taking in the lovely winter scenery. She also had the added joy of running into Mike's aunt and uncle Cowger who were touring with a friend of theirs who was visiting from Maine - talk about the joys of Wyoming being one expansive small town!

Students and other teachers all enjoyed the day similarly to fit their own personal interests. Many students conquered the mountain on skis and snowboards, whereas a slew of 6th grade and middle school students received lessons and tried their hand (and legs, minds, muscles, core, etc) at winters pleasurable sports for the first time ever. A handful of students made their way down a few sledding runs while still others enjoyed games of Apples to Apples, Connect Four, coloring and chatting in the ski lodge. Overall, Monday, January 25th was among a special handful of Mondays that does not impart a case-of-the-Mondays to the workers and attendess of Burlington Schools.

As an additional perk to getting out and closing up shop, the duo made plans to enjoy dinner with a couple teacher friends and their spouses at Pat O'hara Brewing in Cody, Wyoming before returning home to soak in the hot-tub and rejoice at having experienced a bonus day off without having to travel far and wide for a holiday or wedding.

Somedays, work feels like just another day of engaging in the same ol' daily grind with a few small joys but nothing necessarily brag-worthy...somedays however, you can really get your brag and love that you are in a position to enjoy some fairly major "work perks".

Cheers to you and yours and here's to hoping you have some work perks to look forward to!

 

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Winter Arrival at Abode 212

True to many locations around the state and region, we've had a most lovely, mild fall and are still awaiting the first big snow.

Considering that this summer Mike built a most dreamy patio in our back yard and we've even managed to adorn said patio with a hot-tub, I'm a bit more excited about winter and piles of snow than I have been in previous years. So, when Wednesday morning came with a quick little spit of snow, I looked out upon our patio and imagined a long, cold winter holding my favorite glass of red wine while sitting in a tub full of 104* water.

Winter sure will be lovely. I'm not dreading her arrival in the least!

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Favorite Pup Moments: Winter 2013 #tbt4tht

The winter with the pup has been a lot of couch cuddling and reading, dog-sitting and attempting to make Lady Annyeong become friendly toward other dogs, road-trips, family time including hanging out and attempting to share space with all the family dogs and even watching Lady get a bit active with some dog toys, which is not at all normal for this sassy pup.

After her initial distaste for Wyoming winters, she's come around and now happily makes her way into the bitter cold for her morning and afternoon walks, but don't let that fool you into thinking she LOVES winter, she just tolerates it and would always choose to curl up in a sunny spot on the carpet rather than expose herself to the elements for a long period of time.

 

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Favorite Winter Moments: 2013

Some days, the temperature drops too low, some days the snow falls and is purely inviting.

Regardless, winter always provides some cherish-able moments.

From playful pups to women's basketball.

Snowy city-scapes to cuddling up with a good book and sweet pup, winter is never that bad.

An Early Week Snowshoe Outing

Occasionally, it's easy to feel too lazy, too stuck-at-home, too sheltered, too stuck-in-a-basement, too eager to get out and do something!

The Harrington life has been busy with lots of road-trips and the tackling of a few other big projects, leaving the entire family (three-legged member included) anxious to get out of the house!

And that's exactly what they did on a Monday afternoon. They left work. Loaded up the car. Strapped on some snow-shoes and set out about exploring their favorite state and watching their sweet pup tackle the mounds of snow as if she were born to be buried in snow.

A Mid-Winter Vacation: The Send-Off Moments

As Friday rolled around, the Harringtons knew they would soon be saying farewell to Hakcheol who was in route to Seattle before heading back to the home-land. The Harringtons were grateful to be able to 'sneak' Hyunhee out of her classes for the morning and after everyone had managed breakfast, the crew slowly made their way to Big Sky Brewing Company after stopping into a Casino so that Hyunhee could try her luck at the slots.

After sampling some brews, the crew took Hakcheol to the International Airport and sent him on his way before returning to the tasting room to finish off their sampling tour. Being a class day, Hyunhee had some responsibilities to address in terms of a volunteer activity for which Mike and Melissa dropped her off before heading over to Biga Pizza for some pizza that was truly out of this-world. The Harrington duo continued their afternoon with a combination of napping and reading (Mike) and thrifting and shopping (Melissa).

With the coming of evening, the Harringtons and Hyunhee had plans to meet up with Ethan and his girlfriend to enjoy a Vietnamese dinner followed by meandering downtown Missoula for first Friday's. After entering a number of shops and checking out some art displays, the Harrington and crew made their way to a yogurt shop where they were surprised (and thrilled) to run into another HSI student, Laice. A bit of catching up, downing some fine yogurt and capturing a few photos everyone was off on their separate ways for a good nights sleep.

Saturday came and saw the Harringtons and Hyunhee making their way out of town to visit the dear family of good friends Garrett and Alla (still living the life in South Korea).

Culture Shock for Puppies: Snow-Days

True to Wyoming fashion, the first snow came heavy and early, hardly a month into fall (although, the exact time and date seems to slip my mind). While the Harringtons were thrilled with the arrival of a wet, heavy snow which gives the whole town a quaint, peaceful, curl-up-with-a-good-book-and-mug-of-hot-cocoa feel, Lady Annyeong was a bit shocked to say the least. Now, it is not uncommon for snow to fall in the land of Kimchi and this Wyoming snow-fall was not the first snow Lady Annyeong had ever seen and experienced, however, Daejeon, South Korea never saw a snow quite like this, meaning Lady Annyeong was a bit shocked. Initially, the little three-legged mutt refused to enter the winter-wonderland, but eventually, she felt the stirrings of cabin fever and realized she had no choice but to enter the beautiful, white landscape.

Oh the Weather Inside is Frightful

The Harrington's are fully aware of friends and family back home being buried under snow and more painfully, enduring temperatures of -50 Farenheit + wind chill. Having endured a few Laramie winters themselves, they are not in the least bit surprised to hear of the frigid temps being endured by Wyomingites in recent days. And while the temperatures in Korea may not be excruciatingly low, it is enough to encite the government to encourage the citizens to wear long-johns.

Those unfamiliar to the working environment of South Korea, particularly in the public schools, may be surprised to learn that wearing long-johns on a daily basis is just the beginning of maintaining warmth during the winter months on the peninsula. Although temperatures have hardly dipped below 0 degrees Farenheit in the Land of Kimchi, the Harrington's and other Guest English Teachers have taken to wearing their coats indoors, as well as hats, gloves, scarves and of course, long-johns.

Unfortunately, sitting at a computer for hours on end during the winter months with no heating and open windows doesn't provide the heat production necessary to survive regardless of the layers one wears. Fortunately, there are a few options a Guest English Teacher can pursue in order to maintain feeling in the extremeties and enjoy some sense of comfort regarding the continuation of their life into the cherry-blossomed filled spring.

Some tips for staying warm during these cold winter months:

For ladies wishing to enjoy fall skirts without having to sacrifice warmth simply head on into your local Home-plus or sock shop and purchase a pair of fleece lined tights. Not sure that'll keep you quite warm enough in your mini? Why not purchase a set of leg warmers? And a pair of Uggs or 'ugg-a-likes' to add yet another layer of warmth.

Just remembered you can't wear Uggs while sitting at your desk? No problem! Simply pick out a pair of slippers from GMarket and have them delivered to your home, why not try out this pair? Still not warm enough? Why not go for a giant USB-heated slipper, your feet will be toasty warm the whole day through.

Of course, don't forget the simple and always effective blanket, space heater, hand warmers, gloves without fingers (so you can continue to blog and facebook), chunky scarf, and heavy coat.

If all else fails, retreat to the teachers office where the Vice Principal enjoys his days warmer than most, enjoy a cup of coffee and slowly make your way back to your freezing little English hole.

Thanks to: Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Tom for the link to the Koreans and Long Johns article, Mike Harrington for purchasing a USB heated slipper for Melissa Harrington so her winter wouldn't be so miserable, and the plethra of ways to waste time on the internet so winter vacation would only be cold rather than cold and boring.