Midlife crisis as beautiful opportunity

Today, I’m posting somebody else’s story because it expresses my hopes for life after “midlife.” http://theageofhappiness.com/posts/bodhi-hanna-kistner-88-only-after-sixty-mytrue-life-began/3WELkJ2M2Q Bodhi Hanna Kistner (88): “Only After Sixty My True Life Began” At 60, Bodhi Hanna Kistner moved from Germany to India. Then she started practicing Kyudo, Japanese zen archery. At 70, she became a Kyudo teacher. Now she’s 88 and gives lessons in India, California…

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Job Interviews for Teaching in China

I am finishing up the interview process. I learned a lot. Currently, China is 12 hours ahead of the US East Coast. Therefore, my interviews with China are typically scheduled for 9 or 10 am China time, which is 9 or 10 pm my time the night before. So as my day is winding down,…

Contentment / Discontent / Fear / International job search / Midlife Crisis / Teaching English / TEFL

Could I teach English for real?

I have completed my TESOL/TEFL course, gotten the pretty certificate, and started applying for jobs. I have been contacted by a few recruiters – which I interpret as: “Your resume was not completely worthless – I’m willing to give you 30 minutes of my time. Make sure to impress me with your enthusiasm and wit.”…

Midlife Crisis

What’s in a “weekend”?

You know how you look forward to the weekend? Finally, work is over and you are free to do whatever you want? You don’t have to go to the office. You don’t have to wear shoes (I discovered that I very much dislike wearing shoes and I will walk barefoot unless shoes are absolutely required).…

Contentment / Discontent / Midlife Crisis / Mindfulness / Uncategorized

50 THINGS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE BY AGE 50

1. An old boyfriend who makes you smile with melancholy when you remember him and an old boyfriend who makes you proud of how far you’ve come. 2. A piece of furniture that has never been previously owned by anyone in your family that you bought with your own money and makes you happy. 3.…

Midlife Crisis and Menopause…

Reading “Moody Bitches” by Julie Holland and found this passage today: “So much emphasis and worry are put on physical aging in women and their appearance that the emotional maturity and freedom that can come at this time are given short shrift. The most interesting thing about menopause is what happens after. Women come into…

Literacy Volunteers and why Florida is such a strange place to live…

I started the training for teaching ESL at the local literacy volunteers office this week. It seems like a good idea to find out if I even enjoy teaching English before I make a commitment to teach somewhere in Asia for a year. I’m impressed with some of the programs the Literacy Council offers: There…

The power of fear

Re-reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic”. It didn’t really draw me in when I read it the first time – probably because I don’t consider myself “the creative type” – but it showed up on my library list of recommended e-books, so I borrowed it again. Today, I finally took some time to read (…in a…

Feeling discouraged today….

I have been on a lot of job boards (A LOT!) trying to see what jobs I might qualify for if I wanted live and work somewhere else in the world. Teaching English as a Second Language still seems like a reasonable option, but if you want to work at a “real school” (not a…

How to prove your degree is real…Apostilles and Authentifications

Doing some more research. In order to prove that you have a degree – which seems essential if you wish to teach overseas – you have to go through several steps. 1.Call the registrar’s office at your college and request a notarized transcript – in other words: a notary attests to the fact that the…

High School Counselor in Korea?

Just submitted my resume for a position as a high school counselor at an international school in Seoul, Korea. Why not? I have been submitting my resume for random but fascinating jobs all over the world for years – from managing an international children’s home in Africa to leading bike trips through Australia to answering…

A 12-year-old’s wisdom

I am procrastinating right now. I should be doing my taxes, but I simply don’t feel like it. Instead, I’m sharing the insights a 12-year-old client imparted during a therapy session this week. It was his first session with me and to get to know each other, we played the “Ungame” – a therapeutic game…

My Midlife Crisis Journal

Re-evaluating life