Rocky Balboa...........The Female Version......(maybe)

I think that if you plan to support me, you should know where we're starting. I'm 58 and I can't run more than a block, but on the upside, I am determined! My standard poodle, Jack, and I already spend lots of time at Town Lake. I'm the one drinking a tall cup of coffee. He's the one wearing the collar and doing the jogging. This system has worked for both of us in the past! I am originally from New Orleans (don't mention the Saints--too too sad!) but have lived lots of places. Most recently in Europe for ten years. I worked for the University of Maryland University College there, which offers degrees to soldiers and their spouses. My first teaching assignment for UMUC was Bosnia in 1996, just after the NATO agreement was signed and troops crossed the Sava river. I had never expected to experience combat training, wear a flak vest and kevlar helmet for months on end, survive an air assault in a bunker, ride to class in Humvee convoys with gunners jutting out of the roof, walk blocks to the latrine, or sleep over dirt long term, but I did just that for two years. I LOVED my work downrange with the soldiers. Huddled over a kerosene heater for warmth, we read Whitman, Thoreau, Hemingway, and lots more. I also taught in Spain, Honduras, Germany, and Italy---all with UMUC. I miss that life and think occasionally about heading over to Afghanistan for a few months, but my family is here, and besides, Austin is the most interesting American city of all, and I wouldn't want to give up life here either :-) Not only am I now currently teaching four literature and writing courses online for UMUC, but I teach a fabulous bunch of writers in the Advanced Creative Writing class at ACC. Although I have lots more to say, I think I'll wait until the second installment. Thanks to the Austin Chronicle, Zen, and RunTex for creating this opportunity to get in shape and to meet a great group of people (including YOU!). Thanks for reading!! I look forward to hearing more about YOU----Please write. Many smiles! Chris