No Promotion, Getting Back Into Shape, Countdown Till Next Break

There are only a few major updates with this post. 

The first and most important is that I was not promoted to high school science department chair.  Despite being familiar with the school systems and having an amazing record as a teacher with Basis, they decided to offer to job to someone with admittedly more leadership experience but less experience with the school.  It is disappointing.  What is most annoying is that the new hire who was offered the role will not be able to assume the role until after the first semester of next year.  This forces the current department chair to maintain the position for half of the year while this new guy proves himself worthy of the responsibility.  It is beyond me why they would put the department at risk and waste resources like this. 

I am on the path to losing the weight I had gained since moving here. I am down to about 80-81kg (depending on what time of day I step on the scale).  Part of the success comes from cutting back my alcohol consumption but also from maintaining a consistent fitness routine and reducing my calorie intake overall. 

The next break is April 4-7.  Faye and I have booked our trip to Tokyo Japan and we are looking forward to it.  We were hoping to visit Fuji but that might not happen because we only have a short time there.  She and I also have a desire to do a long backpacking trip but she does not realize how much planning, preparation, and training goes into such an endeavor.  We have discussed doing the Maclehose Trail in Hong Kong at great length, but we might not get the chance until October.  

After that we have a break from May 1-5, a three day weekend from June 8-10, and then the last day of work for me is on June 19th.  I have not made any solid decisions yet about any travel except for this summer.

I booked my flight to the US and will be returning from June 24th-July 29th.  I am going straight home with no stops and returning right back to Shenzhen afterward.  Once I return I will likely do a bit more exploring in China and see some of the places I haven't visited yet (Great Wall, Forbidden City, Dali, etc) before going to Thailand again for some rest and relaxation before the school year starts. 

I have one photo to share and that is from a recent run I took on Nanshan and Lilin Park. 



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