So, it's official. I have resigned from gymnastics.

I think the strangest thing about this is that I went from having absolutely no time to myself to having so much. I don't know what to do. I feel liberated and empty. I'm excited and nervous about the change.

The process of my resignation was stressful and ridiculous. My coaches threw a tantrum because they didn't want to lose me. I was insulted my face, told I wouldn't succeed in life and put down about my character. It was pretty dramatic. On the positive side, they were concerned about me and afraid I would regret my decision. Over all they didn't take it too well. This was a decision I made over many months of thought, and I'm confident it was the right thing to do at this point in my life. My coaching position depended on my training status, so I lost my Saturday job. I won't really miss it. I will miss the gym and my team and the way a good performance in competition makes me feel. Gymnastics will always remain a part of me.

My aspirations for the future begin with school. Papa says I've "graduated" from "St. William's Academy", (Hooray!) so I've set my sights on Community College. Naturally there are some complications with not having ID, but hopefully that can be taken care of and/or worked around. For the time being I'm coaching CrossFit in the mornings with Bethany and occasionally in the evenings. I'm doing Olympic weightlifting mixed with CrossFit WODs pretty avidly during the week, training for a lifting meet on October 17th and long term for the CrossFit Games 2010. It has officially been announced! I still haven't decided whether or not to try to qualify as an individual competitor or part of the affiliate team we are putting together. Either way I am excited to be a part of it.

Between coaching and working out in the morning and coaching and working out in the evenings I have lots of time to myself when. I use this time to clean around the house(I'm learning to love it, Aimee, especially since Stefan's not here), surf the web (which really means catch up on all those CF vids I've missed in these last few weeks), and read. When we were visiting California in July we picked up all of our literature books from our old apartment. A large selection of those books(of which I made a list, see below) now lives on my desk shelf.

gates of fire

the black arrow
jane eyre
the legend of sleepy hollow
steppenwolfe

narcissus and goldmund

fathers and sons

brave new world

the stranger

the great gatesby
a moveable feast
a tale of two cities

the princess bride

robinson crusoe

anna and the king of siam

the pearl

frankenstein

king solomon's mines

uncle tom's cabin

les miserables

oliver twist

the hobbit

around the world in 80 days

alice's adventures in wonderland & through the looking glass

fahrenheit 451

the invisible man

doctor zhivago

the hiding place

all things wise and wonderful

all creatures great and small

out of the silent planet trilogy

through the gates of splendor

Right now I'm reading Dune by Frank Herbert.