Well, when I hit "snooze" this morning at 7:20, I "snoozed" until 11:50. I guess sleeping only 2 1/2 hours yesterday afternoon caught up with me.
I'll get my schedule in about an hour, and hopefully I'll have a morning off tomorrow or Saturday, otherwise I may not get down to the national mall after all. I may have to play hookie if I can get away with it, I just don't know yet.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
First Impressions of Virginia
I caught a red-eye out of Vegas last night to come to my first Residency for my doctoral program, and I had hoped to sleep on the plane, but had no luck.
I arrived at 7:30 local time, which was 4:30 my time, and though I originally intended to do the DC tourist thing today, I couldn't find a locker to stash my bags so I decided to go to the NCC (where I'm staying) to catch a few hours sleep.
This place is pretty cool, though it is the most confusing building I've ever been in; it has no windows, 3 buildings connected in the center that fan out radially, and cement hallways remniscent of a soviet gulag you might see in a 60's era James Bond flick.
So after literally 2 hours of walking around trying to get oriented, I finally found the dining hall. All meals are included with room prices, and I wasn't expecting much, but found myself pleasantly surprised.
I had a sweet potato bisque, fish, boston cream pie, and ice cream, which was great, because aside from the kick-ass cookies Erin sent me off with, I hadn't eaten in about 20 hours.
So impressions...
Not many so far. After dinner I walked around a bit, and the cherry trees are blossoming.
Aside from the cool trees, and seeing several diplomats at the airport, I haven't got much to go on. Tomorrow I am going to catch a 7:30 am shuttle to the National Mall, and I plan on seeing a few things. Unfortunately, the Museum of American History is frickin' closed for renovations, which really bums me out, so it looks like the National Air and Space Museum, and beyond that, I'm not sure what.
I'm thinking maybe the White House. Since the Pope happens to be in town, I figure I can give both him and Bush a piece of my mind...
Or maybe I'll go and visit some memorials to presidents who didn't totally suck, like Jefferson, Lincoln and my favorite, FDR.
I'll post more tomorrow.
I arrived at 7:30 local time, which was 4:30 my time, and though I originally intended to do the DC tourist thing today, I couldn't find a locker to stash my bags so I decided to go to the NCC (where I'm staying) to catch a few hours sleep.
This place is pretty cool, though it is the most confusing building I've ever been in; it has no windows, 3 buildings connected in the center that fan out radially, and cement hallways remniscent of a soviet gulag you might see in a 60's era James Bond flick.
So after literally 2 hours of walking around trying to get oriented, I finally found the dining hall. All meals are included with room prices, and I wasn't expecting much, but found myself pleasantly surprised.
I had a sweet potato bisque, fish, boston cream pie, and ice cream, which was great, because aside from the kick-ass cookies Erin sent me off with, I hadn't eaten in about 20 hours.
So impressions...
Not many so far. After dinner I walked around a bit, and the cherry trees are blossoming.
Aside from the cool trees, and seeing several diplomats at the airport, I haven't got much to go on. Tomorrow I am going to catch a 7:30 am shuttle to the National Mall, and I plan on seeing a few things. Unfortunately, the Museum of American History is frickin' closed for renovations, which really bums me out, so it looks like the National Air and Space Museum, and beyond that, I'm not sure what.
I'm thinking maybe the White House. Since the Pope happens to be in town, I figure I can give both him and Bush a piece of my mind...
Or maybe I'll go and visit some memorials to presidents who didn't totally suck, like Jefferson, Lincoln and my favorite, FDR.
I'll post more tomorrow.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Chicken Story Redux
For some reason, one evening Tim brought home several baby chicks, a duckling, and a full-grown rooster. He said we would eventually BBQ and eat them when they were full grown, but I had my doubts.
Well, the chicks died during a thunderstorm, leaving only the duckling and the rooster. The duckling was very cute, as all ducklings are, but it grew into a very large duck very quickly. The rooster was a pain in the ass, making noise and drawing attention from the neighbors. We found this out when the police showed up at our door to inform us that we couldn't keep "livestock" within the city limits. We were about to move anyway, but the cop told us we had to get rid of them that day.
There was a little old lady down the street that Tim somehow knew, and she'd been eyeing the duck hungrily for quite some time. The last we ever saw of the duck was his little black eyes, as he cocked his head, looking backward over the little old lady's shoulder at us as she waddled down the block with him.
The rooster was another matter. I tried to take him to a farm out near where our trailer had burned down, but the process of putting a chicken into a milkcrate, strapped onto the back of a motorcycle, is much more difficult than it sounds. So the chicken stayed. We were afraid of the police coming back, but they never did, and a few days later we were moving out the last of our things. Tim still hadn't found a home for the rooster, so he decided that the humane thing to do was to "euthanize" it.
Our back yard was full of dead branches that had been cut from a tree which had grown into the powerlines overhead, and as such it was very hard to navigate. For a human.
For a chicken, on the other hand, it was quite easy to get around, affording all kinds of nooks and crannies to hide in.
Anyway, the time had come, and Tim had originally intended to just shoot the rooster with Rodney's shotgun, but we convinced him that gunfire in the back yard was likely to draw the attention of the nasty neighbors, and eventually, the cops. So Tim decided he could just kill it by whacking it with a 2x4. The problem was, that rooster was fast. Much faster than Tim, as it turned out.
After several misses, with the rooster running in and out of the debris in the yard, Tim finally connected with it. Only he didn't hit it in the head; he hit it right in the side. The rooster went flying sideways across the yard as the result of the blow, but the blow didn't kill it. Far from it.
It was definitely messed up though, and at this point so was Tim. You could tell right away that the rooster was badly injured, but because of al the debris in the yard, Tim had to chase the thing for several more minutes and hit it 3 more times with misplaced blows before the thing finally died.
All in all, what makes for a funny story in a short retelling was a gruesome episode of good intentions evolving into violence. Not a pretty sight.
If the lady across the street ever decides to do for her chicken, I'm going to be somewhere else, thinking of puppies or some other happier thing.
Well, the chicks died during a thunderstorm, leaving only the duckling and the rooster. The duckling was very cute, as all ducklings are, but it grew into a very large duck very quickly. The rooster was a pain in the ass, making noise and drawing attention from the neighbors. We found this out when the police showed up at our door to inform us that we couldn't keep "livestock" within the city limits. We were about to move anyway, but the cop told us we had to get rid of them that day.
There was a little old lady down the street that Tim somehow knew, and she'd been eyeing the duck hungrily for quite some time. The last we ever saw of the duck was his little black eyes, as he cocked his head, looking backward over the little old lady's shoulder at us as she waddled down the block with him.
The rooster was another matter. I tried to take him to a farm out near where our trailer had burned down, but the process of putting a chicken into a milkcrate, strapped onto the back of a motorcycle, is much more difficult than it sounds. So the chicken stayed. We were afraid of the police coming back, but they never did, and a few days later we were moving out the last of our things. Tim still hadn't found a home for the rooster, so he decided that the humane thing to do was to "euthanize" it.
Our back yard was full of dead branches that had been cut from a tree which had grown into the powerlines overhead, and as such it was very hard to navigate. For a human.
For a chicken, on the other hand, it was quite easy to get around, affording all kinds of nooks and crannies to hide in.
Anyway, the time had come, and Tim had originally intended to just shoot the rooster with Rodney's shotgun, but we convinced him that gunfire in the back yard was likely to draw the attention of the nasty neighbors, and eventually, the cops. So Tim decided he could just kill it by whacking it with a 2x4. The problem was, that rooster was fast. Much faster than Tim, as it turned out.
After several misses, with the rooster running in and out of the debris in the yard, Tim finally connected with it. Only he didn't hit it in the head; he hit it right in the side. The rooster went flying sideways across the yard as the result of the blow, but the blow didn't kill it. Far from it.
It was definitely messed up though, and at this point so was Tim. You could tell right away that the rooster was badly injured, but because of al the debris in the yard, Tim had to chase the thing for several more minutes and hit it 3 more times with misplaced blows before the thing finally died.
All in all, what makes for a funny story in a short retelling was a gruesome episode of good intentions evolving into violence. Not a pretty sight.
If the lady across the street ever decides to do for her chicken, I'm going to be somewhere else, thinking of puppies or some other happier thing.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
There's a chicken in the tree across the street, and he's pretty
Yup. A CHICKEN.
Other things are happening around here, but I kind of put the cool story out there first, and the rest would just be even more boring by comparison, so I'll just leave it at that.
COOL
CHICKEN.
Oh, and if any of you read this and you haven't called or sent me an email with your phone numbers, please do; I lost all my numbers when I lost my phone a few weeks ago.
Erin saw it a few day ago, and yesterday I had to go over and check it out.
The lady who lives there doesn't know where it came from, but she's been feeding it and it looks like he's here to stay. He's pretty cool. And very pretty.Other things are happening around here, but I kind of put the cool story out there first, and the rest would just be even more boring by comparison, so I'll just leave it at that.
COOL
CHICKEN.
Oh, and if any of you read this and you haven't called or sent me an email with your phone numbers, please do; I lost all my numbers when I lost my phone a few weeks ago.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
This is why I love the internet
Seeing's how I've been low on inspiration and stuck in self-pity-land the last several days, it's nice to know that there are strangers out there who can still make me grin. For example, as you all know, I just LOVE Dinosaur Comics. Ryan North, the comic's creator, is a linguist. So naturally, he has other linguist viewers who occasionally get into heated debates (well, as heated as a debate about linguistics can be anyway) over content of one of his comics. Usually I just read the comic, but today I was scrolling down to read the blog part, and I came across this link which is in reference to a days-old debate about the lyrics to the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song. The blog, which offers commentary on Chinese culture as it relates to US culture through the lense of linguistics, is simply awesome. Just read this post, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Pure Gold.
Ah, the internets... Gateway to different worlds.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The manic, surface part-of-me
There is some stuff that makes me happy in my daily life, and not just the obvious stuff, like Erin or Nick, or any of our too-numerous pets.
What stuff, you ask? Well, for one, there are a few webcomics that are literal hi-lites during my day. Dinosaur Comics, XKCD, Questionable Content, and A Softer World are a few. Do yourselves a favor and spend a little time going through their archives... I'll be surprised if you don't find them entertaining. These people write with such wit that it makes me envious. If I could hang out for a day or two with anyone, these writers would top my list, along with Trey Parker and Mat Stone. How they can sustain such cleverness is beyond me, but it's uplifting.
Other things lately include this picture
and the story attached to it. I mean, how cool is that?
What else?
Well, aside from Battlestar Galactica, The Office, Reaper, and My Name is Earl all coming back with new seasons here in the next few weeks, there's the fact that after 8 years, I am finally switching campuses and moving to teach 5th grade at our Middle School next year. While it isn't exactly what I wanted, I am ripe for a change, and I'll have opportunities to put some of the leadership practices I am studying in my doctoral program to use.
Another cool thing lately was our climbing trip to Red Rocks last week. Nick, while I love him, has terrible couch-potato tendencies, and a general lack of enthusiasm typical of an 8th grader, so I was delighted with how excited he was to climb, and even more so with his efforts. The climb was a frictiony 5.8 , and he was totally determined to climb well, he took instruction, and he was way more persistent in his efforts than I could have imagined. We'll be going again on Thursday where we will climb something a little more traditional, and I'll post more pics. In the mean time, here are a few of from Red Rocks...
And finally, I got a cowboy hat. Yes, a cowboy hat.... and I LIKE it.
The inner turmoil part-of-me
My brain has been all over lately, and hence, no posts. I mentioned in my last post that I am suffering from a possible mid-life crisis, and that is still true. But rather than dwell on my own mortality and the what-ifs of squandered youth, I am trying to focus on how to make life more exciting and beautiful and substantive. It isn't easy, but I am hoping that that will change once I can just accept the fact that I am no longer a kid.
Anyway, I've always been the type of person who walks the edge between introvert and extrovert. When B and I were first rooming together 17 years ago, I remember taking a personality test in which I scored as an INTP. About a year later, I took the same test and scored as an ENTP. I seem to go through phases in which I bounce between really liking the world, people, and social interaction and really being disapointed in the world and people, preferring instead to duck my head and pretend they don't exist. I just took the test again, and am currently an INTP. Take the test yourselves and post your results...
Anyway, I think that I have become increasingly isolated these last few years, and though I'd like to blame it on the culture here in Vegas, or on getting older, I am not entirely convinced those two things are solely to blame. Though, to be fair to myself, I am not the only one who feels this way. And being back to Texas for Christmas and seeing old friends reminded me that I am not incapable of feeling comfortable and connected to people other than Erin.
I often get caught up in my head in trying to determine if my lacking connectedness is because of my age, and wondering if I'd be able to be friends with any of you if we didn't have history. I know it's a pointless mental exercise, but sometimes I can't help it. I AM grateful to have you all as friends, it's just that I wonder at my inability to find others like you in the 8 years we've lived here. Is it really THEM (meaning the 2 million or so people in the Las Vegas Valley) or is it me?
It's not like Erin and I don't socialize; we do, albeit infrequently. It's just that it always seems so shallow. Or, we'll meet people we really seem to connect to, only to have the relationships evaporate. It's something that I can't figure out, and is definitely a part of the larger package of mid-life issues I'm dealing with.
Bleh. I feel like I'm getting all whiney now, and that's not what I wanted to do. I'd intended to just briefly mention my whole nut-job obsessive thought-processes and then move on to more interesting things, but since I've used up so much space already, I'll save the various fluffy bits for my next post, which will be immediately after (or above) this one.
Anyway, I've always been the type of person who walks the edge between introvert and extrovert. When B and I were first rooming together 17 years ago, I remember taking a personality test in which I scored as an INTP. About a year later, I took the same test and scored as an ENTP. I seem to go through phases in which I bounce between really liking the world, people, and social interaction and really being disapointed in the world and people, preferring instead to duck my head and pretend they don't exist. I just took the test again, and am currently an INTP. Take the test yourselves and post your results...
Anyway, I think that I have become increasingly isolated these last few years, and though I'd like to blame it on the culture here in Vegas, or on getting older, I am not entirely convinced those two things are solely to blame. Though, to be fair to myself, I am not the only one who feels this way. And being back to Texas for Christmas and seeing old friends reminded me that I am not incapable of feeling comfortable and connected to people other than Erin.
I often get caught up in my head in trying to determine if my lacking connectedness is because of my age, and wondering if I'd be able to be friends with any of you if we didn't have history. I know it's a pointless mental exercise, but sometimes I can't help it. I AM grateful to have you all as friends, it's just that I wonder at my inability to find others like you in the 8 years we've lived here. Is it really THEM (meaning the 2 million or so people in the Las Vegas Valley) or is it me?
It's not like Erin and I don't socialize; we do, albeit infrequently. It's just that it always seems so shallow. Or, we'll meet people we really seem to connect to, only to have the relationships evaporate. It's something that I can't figure out, and is definitely a part of the larger package of mid-life issues I'm dealing with.
Bleh. I feel like I'm getting all whiney now, and that's not what I wanted to do. I'd intended to just briefly mention my whole nut-job obsessive thought-processes and then move on to more interesting things, but since I've used up so much space already, I'll save the various fluffy bits for my next post, which will be immediately after (or above) this one.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Some realizations, in no particular order.
I feel wiser now, having turned another year on the calendar. Here are some of the things I have come to realize lately, in no particular order:
1. The years of 1992-1996 were THE BEST for independent films, when they truly were independent, and not mainstream-fashionable, as they later became. This group of films includes, but is not limited to, The Last Supper, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and a movie that featured a trio who killed a guy then had to dump the body; they drew straws to see who had to hammer out the corpse's teeth, and the loser eventually moved into the attic where he went kind of nuts, drilling holes in the ceiling to view what was going on in the apartment below. I can't remember the name, but Brannon will help me out by remembering for me: we saw it in Austin and it was awesome!
Anyway, this morning as I was grading a Science Test, I realized that the actor who plays geeky professor-guy on this season of lost is the same guy who played the lead in Spanking the Monkey (which definitely goes on the list). I haven't checked yet to make sure, but I'm 99.9% positive it is him. The movie had an awesome soundtrack, particularly the song that played as the credits rolled, and after more than a decade, I finally found it.
2. No limit Texas Hold 'Em, which holds the top place (in a tie with fly fishing) as chief among my obsessions, might actually not be the greatest poker game ever. That title may ver well belong to the game of Pot Limit Triple Daw Lowball, Deuce to Seven. Don't ask why... there's not enough spaceon my blog if you get me started... just trust me on this!
3. I'm actually filling up (slowly) with relevant reflections and witty comentary about things these days, but I'm not yet up to the task of presenting them to the world; I think I am suffering a bit of a mid-life crisis, and, as usual, I prefer to suffer alone until I get things figured out; that's just the way I am. I AM figuring things out, at least a little, and when I'm ready, I'll actually post something I feel is important or worth-while.
4. You should bug Erin to post more; she's easier to push around.
1. The years of 1992-1996 were THE BEST for independent films, when they truly were independent, and not mainstream-fashionable, as they later became. This group of films includes, but is not limited to, The Last Supper, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and a movie that featured a trio who killed a guy then had to dump the body; they drew straws to see who had to hammer out the corpse's teeth, and the loser eventually moved into the attic where he went kind of nuts, drilling holes in the ceiling to view what was going on in the apartment below. I can't remember the name, but Brannon will help me out by remembering for me: we saw it in Austin and it was awesome!
Anyway, this morning as I was grading a Science Test, I realized that the actor who plays geeky professor-guy on this season of lost is the same guy who played the lead in Spanking the Monkey (which definitely goes on the list). I haven't checked yet to make sure, but I'm 99.9% positive it is him. The movie had an awesome soundtrack, particularly the song that played as the credits rolled, and after more than a decade, I finally found it.
2. No limit Texas Hold 'Em, which holds the top place (in a tie with fly fishing) as chief among my obsessions, might actually not be the greatest poker game ever. That title may ver well belong to the game of Pot Limit Triple Daw Lowball, Deuce to Seven. Don't ask why... there's not enough spaceon my blog if you get me started... just trust me on this!
3. I'm actually filling up (slowly) with relevant reflections and witty comentary about things these days, but I'm not yet up to the task of presenting them to the world; I think I am suffering a bit of a mid-life crisis, and, as usual, I prefer to suffer alone until I get things figured out; that's just the way I am. I AM figuring things out, at least a little, and when I'm ready, I'll actually post something I feel is important or worth-while.
4. You should bug Erin to post more; she's easier to push around.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
passing the buck
I haven't blogged much lately, so for those few of you who check here hoping for something, I'm posting my friend Michael's blog... He's a funny motherf*cker.
http://michaelrossmayer.blogspot.com/
We miss you Popo.
http://michaelrossmayer.blogspot.com/
We miss you Popo.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Uuuhhnngghh.
There's been an epidemic at my school involving a bug that for many has led to pneumonia... I was hoping to dodge it, but it finally caught up with me. The sucky parts are
a. I can't keep any food down so I've been surviving on pedialite and Ensure, which are both gross.
b. We have to drive to Phoenix tonight for Nick's 14th birthday gift of going to the Rennaisance Festival tomorrow (our hotel and stuff is already reserved)
c. My first doctoral course ends on Sunday, and I have to write a paper between n0w and then.
d. Today is my 19th AA birthday, and I can't go to a meeting to celebrate it.
I tell you, I hate hate HATE being sick, especially when it involves throwing up, which this bug does. I went to the doc yesterday and got an antibiotic shot and some amoxicillin, so hopefully it will clear up in a few days.
In other news, our new dog Charlie is cool, and I'd love to post some pics and tell you all about him, but I'm headed back to bed. Get onto Erin for dog updates; she's better about posting lately than I am.
a. I can't keep any food down so I've been surviving on pedialite and Ensure, which are both gross.
b. We have to drive to Phoenix tonight for Nick's 14th birthday gift of going to the Rennaisance Festival tomorrow (our hotel and stuff is already reserved)
c. My first doctoral course ends on Sunday, and I have to write a paper between n0w and then.
d. Today is my 19th AA birthday, and I can't go to a meeting to celebrate it.
I tell you, I hate hate HATE being sick, especially when it involves throwing up, which this bug does. I went to the doc yesterday and got an antibiotic shot and some amoxicillin, so hopefully it will clear up in a few days.
In other news, our new dog Charlie is cool, and I'd love to post some pics and tell you all about him, but I'm headed back to bed. Get onto Erin for dog updates; she's better about posting lately than I am.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Ugh.
Sorry I haven't posted much lately. We just had to put Sebastian down, and I'm completely bummed. You just don't realize how much you love a dog, or cat, or whatever, until you're missing them and they are gone. I'm just very sad right now, so I'll write more later.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Being a guitar aficionado
I just love kick-ass guitar solos, so I decided to share this Gem with you guys. Woot!
And check out Ozzy's rhythm!
When you're done there, click here for more guitar kick-assery.
And check out Ozzy's rhythm!
When you're done there, click here for more guitar kick-assery.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Update
First, let me begin by saying sorry for not posting or inviting you guys until today. I've been busy, and as usual, haven't had much to say. If I've left anyone out that you know of (like Brannon) send me his email or tell whoever it is to send me their email, and I'll invite them.
Anyway, let me fill you in on the story of why I had to go private.
It's Wednesday morning and I get an email from the president of our school. It is vague, and only says "Can you come up today so we can meet about an important sensitive matter." Hmmm. I spend about 15 minutes grading papers and wondering what on earth this could be about when I decide to call him. He just says "we need to meet as soon as possible," which is a giant red light to me, because no one EVER has good news when they tell you, "We need to discuss this in private." I wonder, "What have I done that might warrant such a meeting?"
So I go through the next 45 minutes of teaching Science before I get a break. I go down to ask my boss if I can leave early to go to the other campus to meet the president, and I explain to him about the mystery email. I go back to my room, and get on with the day.
About 15 minutes later my immediate boss comes to my room and tells me that all he could find out was that I have "some sensitive matter on the internet," and that our campus president is not happy because the president of the entire corporation found whatever the sensitive stuff was, and is not happy about it.
Shit.
Immediately the paranoia sets in. I am racking my brain to figure out what it could be, because I can't for the life of me figure out where my name in relation to my current life might possibly come across the computer screen to the eyes of the head honcho.
Now, there are maybe a half dozen skeletons in my closet that I'd sooner no person I work with ever find out, and as unlikely as it was, those few of the worst started to seem likely candidates for what was happening now.
Without getting into the details, suffice it to say that certain parts of my private history would absolutely shock most people, and would certainly be hard to explain. I began to feel literally sick to my stomch with worry.
On the other hand, everyone has skeletons in the closet that they would rather pretend never existed, and I couldn't imagine how any of mine could be so bad as to negate the positive things I accomplish at work every day.
So I wander through the rest of the school day like a zombie, doing my best to teach while the phantoms in my head get larger and larger, until I am seriously wondering if I am about to get fired.
Lunch rolls around, and as I am heading back to my class, my boss catches me again, and asks if I've come up with anything yet, and all I tell him is that there are maybe half a dozen things in my past I'd be worried about, but I can't imagine how any of them pertain to my job.
Then he says, "Do you keep a blog? Because apparently they found it while doing a web search, and they aren't happy about how critical you are."
Sudden relief flows over me. All of this is about the blog post I wrote when I was venting about them cancelling my professional development day. And while I could still be in some trouble, I at least was prepared to explain. In fact, despite what my immediate boss was saying, I would have been very surprised if the president of our school, or the president of the corporation, didn't at least on some level agree with what I was saying in that post.
So I re-read my post before going for my meeting, just to make sure it wasn't too critical (it wasn't) and then I headed up to my meeting with him. The short version of the events afterward were that
1. I should use better judgement in posting a personal blog with critical opinions of my employment situation on it, and
2. I was pretty much right on track as far as my actions were concerned in relation to improving my career.
The prez had printed out the entirety of my blog, "just to make sure there was nothing so bad as to cause us legal problems," and aside from suggesting I make it private, he was very encouraging about expanding my career opportunities. He did say that the two heads of school (we have a campus headmaster, my immediate boss, and a school-wide headmaster, who is in charge of all academics) were probably not going to be too happy about what I had to say, but also that there are many places where my drive and hard work would eventually pay off. He even gave me the emails of 2 other school presidents, one in Phoenix and one in Houston, and suggested I start plying them for job opportunities. The corporation is buying about 15 schools this year, and will continue to buy schools into the near future, and I should start agressively pursuing opportunities all around the corportation now, so that when I finish my doctorate, I will have connections beyond just here where I live.
So. Here I am. I doubt that any real opportunity to move into administration here at my school is going to present itself in the next few years, but I am pleased (and incredibly relieved) that things went so well with my meeting.
I went from worring about being fired to being told that I was an asset who has good things for his future, and I was even provided personal recommendations to two other school presidents. All in all, not bad.
Anyway, let me fill you in on the story of why I had to go private.
It's Wednesday morning and I get an email from the president of our school. It is vague, and only says "Can you come up today so we can meet about an important sensitive matter." Hmmm. I spend about 15 minutes grading papers and wondering what on earth this could be about when I decide to call him. He just says "we need to meet as soon as possible," which is a giant red light to me, because no one EVER has good news when they tell you, "We need to discuss this in private." I wonder, "What have I done that might warrant such a meeting?"
So I go through the next 45 minutes of teaching Science before I get a break. I go down to ask my boss if I can leave early to go to the other campus to meet the president, and I explain to him about the mystery email. I go back to my room, and get on with the day.
About 15 minutes later my immediate boss comes to my room and tells me that all he could find out was that I have "some sensitive matter on the internet," and that our campus president is not happy because the president of the entire corporation found whatever the sensitive stuff was, and is not happy about it.
Shit.
Immediately the paranoia sets in. I am racking my brain to figure out what it could be, because I can't for the life of me figure out where my name in relation to my current life might possibly come across the computer screen to the eyes of the head honcho.
Now, there are maybe a half dozen skeletons in my closet that I'd sooner no person I work with ever find out, and as unlikely as it was, those few of the worst started to seem likely candidates for what was happening now.
Without getting into the details, suffice it to say that certain parts of my private history would absolutely shock most people, and would certainly be hard to explain. I began to feel literally sick to my stomch with worry.
On the other hand, everyone has skeletons in the closet that they would rather pretend never existed, and I couldn't imagine how any of mine could be so bad as to negate the positive things I accomplish at work every day.
So I wander through the rest of the school day like a zombie, doing my best to teach while the phantoms in my head get larger and larger, until I am seriously wondering if I am about to get fired.
Lunch rolls around, and as I am heading back to my class, my boss catches me again, and asks if I've come up with anything yet, and all I tell him is that there are maybe half a dozen things in my past I'd be worried about, but I can't imagine how any of them pertain to my job.
Then he says, "Do you keep a blog? Because apparently they found it while doing a web search, and they aren't happy about how critical you are."
Sudden relief flows over me. All of this is about the blog post I wrote when I was venting about them cancelling my professional development day. And while I could still be in some trouble, I at least was prepared to explain. In fact, despite what my immediate boss was saying, I would have been very surprised if the president of our school, or the president of the corporation, didn't at least on some level agree with what I was saying in that post.
So I re-read my post before going for my meeting, just to make sure it wasn't too critical (it wasn't) and then I headed up to my meeting with him. The short version of the events afterward were that
1. I should use better judgement in posting a personal blog with critical opinions of my employment situation on it, and
2. I was pretty much right on track as far as my actions were concerned in relation to improving my career.
The prez had printed out the entirety of my blog, "just to make sure there was nothing so bad as to cause us legal problems," and aside from suggesting I make it private, he was very encouraging about expanding my career opportunities. He did say that the two heads of school (we have a campus headmaster, my immediate boss, and a school-wide headmaster, who is in charge of all academics) were probably not going to be too happy about what I had to say, but also that there are many places where my drive and hard work would eventually pay off. He even gave me the emails of 2 other school presidents, one in Phoenix and one in Houston, and suggested I start plying them for job opportunities. The corporation is buying about 15 schools this year, and will continue to buy schools into the near future, and I should start agressively pursuing opportunities all around the corportation now, so that when I finish my doctorate, I will have connections beyond just here where I live.
So. Here I am. I doubt that any real opportunity to move into administration here at my school is going to present itself in the next few years, but I am pleased (and incredibly relieved) that things went so well with my meeting.
I went from worring about being fired to being told that I was an asset who has good things for his future, and I was even provided personal recommendations to two other school presidents. All in all, not bad.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Yikes!
It's late and all I'm going to say now is that I'll give you all the full story later about why I had to make my blog private. G'night.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
It comes and goes
So last night I read over my blog. I haven't done this for some time, and it was nice. I like having a record to remind me of the life I've lived. That being said, I realized that lately I haven't really had much to say, and I'm not sure why. I think part of it is that most of my thoughts have been consumed by the mundane; that I haven't thought much of interest lately. But another part of me feels like that is a cop-out. So I'm going to try to be more diligent in writing. In one of my previous posts I wrote about the joy writing brought me when I was younger, and I know that writing begets more writing. It's like going to the gym; you just have to make yourself do it until you want to do it. So... here I go again.
I started my doctoral program this week. It is an online university, Walden, which at first cracked me up because Walden is the name of the totally mediocre university in the Doonesbury comic, but who am I to look a free degree in the mouth? Actually I have been surprised at how thorough the online classroom is, and I am looking forward to it. I am totally convinced that I will be an excellent administrator, if for no other reason than that I will be a leader. That is what is lacking in my school. For example, the curriculum professional development day I spent two months working on was cancelled by our headmaster at the last minute, and he didn't even have the courtesy to offer me an explanation. Hell, he didn't even tell me; he left that to my immediate boss, 3 days before I was to present. Now, I'm not really surprised, and not really even pissed off anymore. What I am is enlightened; for I finally see that it is more often the norm in the field of private education for the administrative leadership to be of the type running my school; aloof, evasive, and separate. My bosses are not bad people, but they certainly don't lead their staff towards better practices. I am not being bitter. It is simply the truth. through the last two years I have done everything I can to move our school in the direction that our parent corporation wants to go, and at every step the real work I've done has been either ignored, credited to someone else, or minimized by my boss, while at the same time he's telling me ""yes, yes... it's a great job, etc."
What can I do though? The short answer is nothing. I can keep making myself available, and I can keep doing things set before me without worrying about their outcome. For example, I've been appointed the leader for our campus to get together a team to do a video-conferencing collaboration with a school in Mexico; cool, I can handle that. Of course, when I've sent numerous emails to my boss asking for information like the dates, time allotted, etc. he has done the same thing he always does, which is ignore me; no response from him whatsoever. So I'll just keep plugging along and hope he doesn't cancel things again at the last minute. My main hope is that some of the higher-ups see what I am doing (I know they do) and that sooner or later they will present me with an opportunity to work where I can have some real authority. Worst-case scenario, I work in 4th grade for 3 more years, finish my free doctorate, and get employed by someone who appreciates my ability to lead.
OK, OK... I'm hopping off my high-horse now. I realized after proofing this post that I sound kind of whiny and conceited, but the truth is I will be much better at being an administrative leader than my own administrators because as a teacher I know that the key to success for a whole school is strong and involved administrative support. And we just don't get very much of that at my school.
Anyway, aside from the job/school stuff, all else is well. Nick's doing fine, and he's starting to make some friends, and some girl has a crush on him, which has improved his spirits greatly. He asked me if he could take her on a date, to which I replied "Hell no!" Well, I didn't exactly put it that way, but I did say if he wanted to go out with a group of friends, I would unobtrusively chaperon, but a one-on-one date was not going to happen just yet. He's going to get back to me on that.
Otherwise, it's been mostly work, swim practice, and TV. Since we finished with Lost, we've been kind of floundering around looking for another good show to watch. Among our current playlist are the Showtime shows Weeds and Californication. These are great shows, but not for when kids are around. With Nick we watch Reaper, The Office, and Aliens in America.
Oh, and books... Well, I'll post on books later; we had our school bookfair last week, and as usual, I got all the books on my wishlist. Lots of goodies!
I started my doctoral program this week. It is an online university, Walden, which at first cracked me up because Walden is the name of the totally mediocre university in the Doonesbury comic, but who am I to look a free degree in the mouth? Actually I have been surprised at how thorough the online classroom is, and I am looking forward to it. I am totally convinced that I will be an excellent administrator, if for no other reason than that I will be a leader. That is what is lacking in my school. For example, the curriculum professional development day I spent two months working on was cancelled by our headmaster at the last minute, and he didn't even have the courtesy to offer me an explanation. Hell, he didn't even tell me; he left that to my immediate boss, 3 days before I was to present. Now, I'm not really surprised, and not really even pissed off anymore. What I am is enlightened; for I finally see that it is more often the norm in the field of private education for the administrative leadership to be of the type running my school; aloof, evasive, and separate. My bosses are not bad people, but they certainly don't lead their staff towards better practices. I am not being bitter. It is simply the truth. through the last two years I have done everything I can to move our school in the direction that our parent corporation wants to go, and at every step the real work I've done has been either ignored, credited to someone else, or minimized by my boss, while at the same time he's telling me ""yes, yes... it's a great job, etc."
What can I do though? The short answer is nothing. I can keep making myself available, and I can keep doing things set before me without worrying about their outcome. For example, I've been appointed the leader for our campus to get together a team to do a video-conferencing collaboration with a school in Mexico; cool, I can handle that. Of course, when I've sent numerous emails to my boss asking for information like the dates, time allotted, etc. he has done the same thing he always does, which is ignore me; no response from him whatsoever. So I'll just keep plugging along and hope he doesn't cancel things again at the last minute. My main hope is that some of the higher-ups see what I am doing (I know they do) and that sooner or later they will present me with an opportunity to work where I can have some real authority. Worst-case scenario, I work in 4th grade for 3 more years, finish my free doctorate, and get employed by someone who appreciates my ability to lead.
OK, OK... I'm hopping off my high-horse now. I realized after proofing this post that I sound kind of whiny and conceited, but the truth is I will be much better at being an administrative leader than my own administrators because as a teacher I know that the key to success for a whole school is strong and involved administrative support. And we just don't get very much of that at my school.
Anyway, aside from the job/school stuff, all else is well. Nick's doing fine, and he's starting to make some friends, and some girl has a crush on him, which has improved his spirits greatly. He asked me if he could take her on a date, to which I replied "Hell no!" Well, I didn't exactly put it that way, but I did say if he wanted to go out with a group of friends, I would unobtrusively chaperon, but a one-on-one date was not going to happen just yet. He's going to get back to me on that.
Otherwise, it's been mostly work, swim practice, and TV. Since we finished with Lost, we've been kind of floundering around looking for another good show to watch. Among our current playlist are the Showtime shows Weeds and Californication. These are great shows, but not for when kids are around. With Nick we watch Reaper, The Office, and Aliens in America.
Oh, and books... Well, I'll post on books later; we had our school bookfair last week, and as usual, I got all the books on my wishlist. Lots of goodies!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Memoir, or a belated thank-you to my big brother
So I am teaching my students about writing memoirs, and I decided to write one myself while they are writing theirs. Here it is:
When I was in second grade, my brother gave me a special watch for Christmas. It was special because he had moved away the year before to go live with my dad in Texas, and I really missed him.
The watch was so great because it had pictures from my favorite movie, Starwars, on the front, and it was digital, which at the time was new and cool. My brother really knew what I liked, and I was happy he remembered so much about me!
When we returned to school a few weeks later, I wore my watch proudly. I wanted to show my teacher and my friends what a great gift I had gotten from my brother.
That morning at school I showed off my watch to everyone I knew. They all agreed it was a great gift, and I felt special that my brother had picked it out just for me.
As the school day wore on, I pretty much forgot about my watch. In fact, I was an absent-minded boy, and my parents were always nagging me about lost mittens or boots or books. It No matter how many times I got in trouble for losing things, I just couldn't seem to help myself. Well, on this day I just happened to learn a painful lesson about responsibility.
I didn't realize it until I was on the bus on my way home, but when the bus driver asked if he could see my watch, I realized I was no longer wearing it!
Now, I had lost things before. A lot of things. My toys, my clothes, my lunch box... I had lost these things, many times, and though I felt bad about my parents yelling at me about them, I never really felt like it was a big deal. It just didn't matter that much to me.
But this time was different. In my family it was a rule that we write thank-you letters for all the gifts we received, and I had not yet written to my brother. As I sat there on the bus, I began to cry, and not just a little. I cried a lot. I'm not sure if it was because I was getting older, or if it was because I was afraid I'd have to tell the truth, but for the first time in my life I felt horrible about losing something. I didn't realize it then, but what I was feeling was remorse. Remorse is a complicated feeling, like guilt and regret and embarrassment all rolled into one. It sat there in the pit of my stomach making me feel sick all the way home.
When I got home my mom could tell there was something wrong. I wasn't crying anymore, but my eyes were still red and puffy and it was easy to see that I was not ok.
When she asked me what was wrong, I broke down again and started crying as I told her about the watch. Though I could tell by the look on her face that she was annoyed that I had lost yet another thing, she just listened patiently as I wailed on about what a terrible and ungrateful little brother I was and how I didn't deserve to have such a caring older brother.
My mom didn't disagree with me as I sat there verbally beating myself up. When I finally ran out of words she just looked at me and said, "I think you had better write that thank-you letter to your brother."
I knew she was right. I knew that I had to write the letter, and I had to do it soon, before I stopped feeling so awful.
You see, it is a truth that the adults we become are shaped by the choices we make, and I knew then that the choice before me was a huge one.
On the one hand, I could fulfill my duty by writing my brother a letter, saying all the usual things but leaving out everything I was currently thinking and feeling. I was old enough even then to know I wouldn't keep feeling this way forever.
On the other hand, if I didn't tell him about losing the watch then I knew I was not only being a coward, I was also being dishonest. I was learning a lesson about what grown-ups call integrity. I faced a choice about accepting responsibilty for who I was, the bad parts and all, or hiding myself safely away, telling myself that if my brother never knew, then I could just act like it never, ever happened.
I decided to write the truth. Even though I was afraid of hurting his feelings... afraid of what he would think of me. Afraid it might kill kill me to say out-loud the secret feelings inside me.
Today I doubt my brother even remembers the watch, or my letter. But I remember. It was my first decision in a long line of decisions about what kind of person I wanted to become, and each choice since then continues to mold me.
When I was in second grade, my brother gave me a special watch for Christmas. It was special because he had moved away the year before to go live with my dad in Texas, and I really missed him.
The watch was so great because it had pictures from my favorite movie, Starwars, on the front, and it was digital, which at the time was new and cool. My brother really knew what I liked, and I was happy he remembered so much about me!
When we returned to school a few weeks later, I wore my watch proudly. I wanted to show my teacher and my friends what a great gift I had gotten from my brother.
That morning at school I showed off my watch to everyone I knew. They all agreed it was a great gift, and I felt special that my brother had picked it out just for me.
As the school day wore on, I pretty much forgot about my watch. In fact, I was an absent-minded boy, and my parents were always nagging me about lost mittens or boots or books. It No matter how many times I got in trouble for losing things, I just couldn't seem to help myself. Well, on this day I just happened to learn a painful lesson about responsibility.
I didn't realize it until I was on the bus on my way home, but when the bus driver asked if he could see my watch, I realized I was no longer wearing it!
Now, I had lost things before. A lot of things. My toys, my clothes, my lunch box... I had lost these things, many times, and though I felt bad about my parents yelling at me about them, I never really felt like it was a big deal. It just didn't matter that much to me.
But this time was different. In my family it was a rule that we write thank-you letters for all the gifts we received, and I had not yet written to my brother. As I sat there on the bus, I began to cry, and not just a little. I cried a lot. I'm not sure if it was because I was getting older, or if it was because I was afraid I'd have to tell the truth, but for the first time in my life I felt horrible about losing something. I didn't realize it then, but what I was feeling was remorse. Remorse is a complicated feeling, like guilt and regret and embarrassment all rolled into one. It sat there in the pit of my stomach making me feel sick all the way home.
When I got home my mom could tell there was something wrong. I wasn't crying anymore, but my eyes were still red and puffy and it was easy to see that I was not ok.
When she asked me what was wrong, I broke down again and started crying as I told her about the watch. Though I could tell by the look on her face that she was annoyed that I had lost yet another thing, she just listened patiently as I wailed on about what a terrible and ungrateful little brother I was and how I didn't deserve to have such a caring older brother.
My mom didn't disagree with me as I sat there verbally beating myself up. When I finally ran out of words she just looked at me and said, "I think you had better write that thank-you letter to your brother."
I knew she was right. I knew that I had to write the letter, and I had to do it soon, before I stopped feeling so awful.
You see, it is a truth that the adults we become are shaped by the choices we make, and I knew then that the choice before me was a huge one.
On the one hand, I could fulfill my duty by writing my brother a letter, saying all the usual things but leaving out everything I was currently thinking and feeling. I was old enough even then to know I wouldn't keep feeling this way forever.
On the other hand, if I didn't tell him about losing the watch then I knew I was not only being a coward, I was also being dishonest. I was learning a lesson about what grown-ups call integrity. I faced a choice about accepting responsibilty for who I was, the bad parts and all, or hiding myself safely away, telling myself that if my brother never knew, then I could just act like it never, ever happened.
I decided to write the truth. Even though I was afraid of hurting his feelings... afraid of what he would think of me. Afraid it might kill kill me to say out-loud the secret feelings inside me.
Today I doubt my brother even remembers the watch, or my letter. But I remember. It was my first decision in a long line of decisions about what kind of person I wanted to become, and each choice since then continues to mold me.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
... and addiction rears its ugly head
OK, don't worry. I'm not drinking or doing dope. Those things hold no interest for me. It's graphic novels. I am now hopelessly hooked on graphic novels, and, worse, I think I've passed this malady on to my son.
You see, he had to do a project for school on some aspect of Shakespeare's life and times, and his area was the Bubonic Plague. So instead of just writing a regular report like a normal kid would, he decides he wan't to make a comic out of it... and THEN he makes the mistake of asking ME for help. So what do I do? Well, I spend hours online looking for a free comic creator, and finally I came across this site. It was here that Nick came up with his final product, which earned him the praise of his teacher. In fact, she liked it so much she was showing it to all the other teachers and is quite smitten with Nick at the moment. Read the thing here, here, and here.
Anyway, contaminating Nick with my current obsession isn't the only thing I have to worry about. I just can't help but go to the book store every week or so to get a new book. Graphic novels, literary ones, are in their boom stage at the moment, and it's like being part of a really monumental, culturally revolutionary movement before it really catches on. I know there have been graphic novels out there for decades now, but I never was much a fan of superhero stories. I like literature and fantasy primarily, and there is just such a wealth of great stuff out there.
For example, I just finished reading Laika, a graphic novelization of the story of the dog that the Soviets put into space on the Sputnik II. This is the first book to make my cry in quite awhile. It's historical fiction of the least-fictional kind, and it is really amazing.
Then there was Fun Home. This story is about growing up w/ a closeted gay English teacher father, and it is really great tragedy.
And of course, another current favorite is Blankets, a high school coming-of-age story about a kid w/ religiously nutty parents.
Hmmm... what else? Oh! True Porn 2 is an awesome book of, well, porn... ok, not exactly porn, but autobiographical sex stories by current graphic novelists which are so odd they have to be true.
And I shouldn't forget about The Rabbi's Cat, the story of a cat who for a brief time is given the power of speech, and is constantly challenging his owner's religious convictions. Set in Algeria in the 1930's, a time of rising anti-semitism, it is an enthralling read (and to be honest, one hell of an accurate portrayal of your typical cat!)
OK, I could literally go one for dozens more books, but my other addiction, Lost, is calling, since Nick just finished his homework.
You see, he had to do a project for school on some aspect of Shakespeare's life and times, and his area was the Bubonic Plague. So instead of just writing a regular report like a normal kid would, he decides he wan't to make a comic out of it... and THEN he makes the mistake of asking ME for help. So what do I do? Well, I spend hours online looking for a free comic creator, and finally I came across this site. It was here that Nick came up with his final product, which earned him the praise of his teacher. In fact, she liked it so much she was showing it to all the other teachers and is quite smitten with Nick at the moment. Read the thing here, here, and here.
Anyway, contaminating Nick with my current obsession isn't the only thing I have to worry about. I just can't help but go to the book store every week or so to get a new book. Graphic novels, literary ones, are in their boom stage at the moment, and it's like being part of a really monumental, culturally revolutionary movement before it really catches on. I know there have been graphic novels out there for decades now, but I never was much a fan of superhero stories. I like literature and fantasy primarily, and there is just such a wealth of great stuff out there.
For example, I just finished reading Laika, a graphic novelization of the story of the dog that the Soviets put into space on the Sputnik II. This is the first book to make my cry in quite awhile. It's historical fiction of the least-fictional kind, and it is really amazing.
Then there was Fun Home. This story is about growing up w/ a closeted gay English teacher father, and it is really great tragedy.
And of course, another current favorite is Blankets, a high school coming-of-age story about a kid w/ religiously nutty parents.
Hmmm... what else? Oh! True Porn 2 is an awesome book of, well, porn... ok, not exactly porn, but autobiographical sex stories by current graphic novelists which are so odd they have to be true.
And I shouldn't forget about The Rabbi's Cat, the story of a cat who for a brief time is given the power of speech, and is constantly challenging his owner's religious convictions. Set in Algeria in the 1930's, a time of rising anti-semitism, it is an enthralling read (and to be honest, one hell of an accurate portrayal of your typical cat!)
OK, I could literally go one for dozens more books, but my other addiction, Lost, is calling, since Nick just finished his homework.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Mo Money... I wish.
I've been a little stressed out lately, what with being a newly full-time parent. Nick's had some problems with some school bullies, and he is wanting to see a therapist (this is a good thing, but still stressful.) We're stuck playing a waiting game as far as getting him health insurance, and in the mean time we're paying out of pocket for his visits. We're by no means in dire straights, but we ARE more strapped than usual, and the radiator just happened to go out in our van, which was $900 worth of unforseen expenditure. Unpleasant, but not a huge problem. We just had to wait 9 days until payday to get the work done, so I've been carting Nick to school and myself to work on the motorcycle. Fortunately it is no longer in the triple digits, and the bike has been fairly nice.
Well, payday rolls around and SURPRISE the IRS seized most of my last check for back taxes. I was not informed about this until I saw the small paycheck deposit in my account. Apparently my employer has had the paperwork for a few months, but didn't tell me, and then they had an impending deadline so they took all but 300 dollars of my check. Ouch. Fortunately, I was able to take an advance on my Science Club pay to pay for the van repairs, but that means smaller checks for the next several months.
Anyhow, as I said, we're not about to get evicted or anything, but it is a bit stressful spending all this extra money. I am still paying Nick's mom $400 a month in support to pay off back support I owe her, and once that is caught up in December things will be a little easier, but the real issue is not having Nick insured. Dr. and therapist appointments are going to cost approx. $600 a month from now until we get him on Erin's plan, and we can't do that until January unless the AG in Texas writes new orders saying we HAVE to insure him. As soon as we can get that, we'll be able to have the insurance pay for N's appointments and meds.
So anyway, stress galore, and I was in need of some relief. It's a known fact (known to Erin and I anyway) that I go kind of nuts unless I get some good quality outside time every six months or so, and until this weekend, I hadn't been fishing since last summer. So we packed up the van and made the 4 hr. drive to the Sierras this weekend for a last effort to catch some fish before it freezes for the winter.
All said and done we saw beautiful Autumn colors, I caught a few fish, and I remembered how totally awesome Fall in the mountains is. It was a rejuvenating trip, and just what I needed.
Now I'm half way through the week and feeling pretty good.
Oh, I almost forgot the good news. I applied for a doctoral program a few weeks ago, and I got my acceptance notice today. WOOHOO!
I'm too excited to worry about the fact that in addition to my regular job of teaching 7 hours a day and the demands of going back to school, I still have:
1. Three days of after-school programs to coordinate each week
2. to plan and implement the Professional Development day for all three of our campuses for both this Fall and Spring
3. to coordinate our video-exchange programs grades 2-4 with 4 other campuses world-wide by December
Well, payday rolls around and SURPRISE the IRS seized most of my last check for back taxes. I was not informed about this until I saw the small paycheck deposit in my account. Apparently my employer has had the paperwork for a few months, but didn't tell me, and then they had an impending deadline so they took all but 300 dollars of my check. Ouch. Fortunately, I was able to take an advance on my Science Club pay to pay for the van repairs, but that means smaller checks for the next several months.
Anyhow, as I said, we're not about to get evicted or anything, but it is a bit stressful spending all this extra money. I am still paying Nick's mom $400 a month in support to pay off back support I owe her, and once that is caught up in December things will be a little easier, but the real issue is not having Nick insured. Dr. and therapist appointments are going to cost approx. $600 a month from now until we get him on Erin's plan, and we can't do that until January unless the AG in Texas writes new orders saying we HAVE to insure him. As soon as we can get that, we'll be able to have the insurance pay for N's appointments and meds.
So anyway, stress galore, and I was in need of some relief. It's a known fact (known to Erin and I anyway) that I go kind of nuts unless I get some good quality outside time every six months or so, and until this weekend, I hadn't been fishing since last summer. So we packed up the van and made the 4 hr. drive to the Sierras this weekend for a last effort to catch some fish before it freezes for the winter.
All said and done we saw beautiful Autumn colors, I caught a few fish, and I remembered how totally awesome Fall in the mountains is. It was a rejuvenating trip, and just what I needed.
Now I'm half way through the week and feeling pretty good.
Oh, I almost forgot the good news. I applied for a doctoral program a few weeks ago, and I got my acceptance notice today. WOOHOO!
I'm too excited to worry about the fact that in addition to my regular job of teaching 7 hours a day and the demands of going back to school, I still have:
1. Three days of after-school programs to coordinate each week
2. to plan and implement the Professional Development day for all three of our campuses for both this Fall and Spring
3. to coordinate our video-exchange programs grades 2-4 with 4 other campuses world-wide by December
Monday, October 01, 2007
Erin just zapped my boys
DAMN it's dry here...and that explains, in part at least, how
Erin just inadvertently shocked me in the privates because she's so static-y.
I will no longer lounge around in my briefs; it's not safe.
Erin just inadvertently shocked me in the privates because she's so static-y.
I will no longer lounge around in my briefs; it's not safe.
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