2008 Fun!

Hey All,
After surviving the Titanic (I mean the MS Explorer), we found a nice place in La Jolla to live - right next to UC San Diego. Trevor returned to work at Nanogen and I found a job with the Warren Writing Program at UCSD! I did not know what to do with all of my free time (i.e. no homework, org meetings, events, etc...), so I ended up writing a book called Graduating with Confidence: A Guide to Making the Most of Your College Experience. It was published in June and has sold over 60 copies since then.

In March, we started our own eco-friendly surf school, Surf eCo. We were featured on NBC and CBS as a Green Company and news of our company also made its way into many surf magazines and San Diego newspapers. We taught classes, private lessons, and workshops from March to October (sometimes up to 20 hours in a fri-sun weekend). We ended up teaching over 130 participants and saving 72 acres of rainforest with our profits.

Unfortunately, new regulations in Encinitas passed in October which bans surf schools from teaching on weekends and holidays (the only time Trev and I can teach), so our surfing school is officially closed. However, we are on to bigger and brighter things!


In July, I started my first two classes for my M.A. Degree in Educational Technology at SDSU. The program is entirely online, but it is still just as tough! I absolutely love the program, it is challenging and rewarding. Here are a few projects that I have created thus far:
Healthy Eating in College
Going Green Guide
Hearty - a short animation about Heart Disease
Mirror Neurons and Training Athletes - an article in the Educational Technology Encyclopedia

Trevor was accepted into the SDSU Teaching Credential Program for Elementary School. He starts January 22nd and will be taking classes at Walker Elementary in Mira Mesa, an SDSU off-site school.

I recently joined a volunteer program called Outdoor Outreach. We take junior high and high school students from at-risk high schools (with less than a 30% graduation rate) on adventure trips, such as mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking, surfing, snorkeling, and rock climbing. I did my first mountain biking trip and had a blast, so I will be volunteering at many more events, hopefully on a weekly basis when we return from our next trip.

Next Trip?? Yes, we're headed to Africa during our very short "winter break." 3 days in Cairo & Luxor and 5 days in South Africa on a safari (staying in Bush Tent Camps!). We leave Christmas day and, of course, will have a blog post or two about the trip.

Sorry for the really long blog. I applaud you if you made it all the way through the blog :)
Feel free to send us an email and let us know how you are doing as well!

Happy Holidays!

Torrey & Trev