I made it back last night after almost exactly twelve hours on the road. I ran out of books on tape on the way and was extremely bored for the last few hours, but I made it through. I also ate terribly, including having two strawberry shakes during the trip - one a strawberry frappacino from Starbuck's and the other one of those use-the-machine-to-mix ones at Sheetz.
I do not currently have Internet access at home, as I've moved upstairs and haven't yet figured out how to get the DSL working out of the upstairs phone jacks (I might have to run a really long ethernet cable). Therefore, you'll have to wait for the requisite New Year's Resolutions post. Wish me lots of tips tonight and tomorrow morning; I think I have to work for 20 of the next 27 hours starting at 3pm today.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
End of Holiday
The rest of my vacation here in Michigan went well. I spent late Tuesday night in Grand Rapids, where I slept on my little sister's couch and snuck off with her to Steak & Shake at midnight for banana and eggnog milkshakes. On Wednesday, I spent the day in Lansing, seeing my younger cousin Victoria, my aunt Tonja, and then spending a great night out with Gale and Erin. It was a night fueled by cheap wine and good friends, and much of it now is a fuzzy blur. I remember telling my dick jokes, which is usually a sign that the night has been a good one. I also remember heading to BW-3 to see Alan, where we watched the rest of the MSU basketball game and where I (thankfully) suppressed the drunken urge to rub his big bald head.
Earlier in the evening, we partook in half price night for bottles of wine at Beggar's Banquet, a restaurant I never went to in East Lansing but one whose reputation preceded it. My bill was $21, and I bought two bottles of wine and an appetizer. The fact that I had an appetizer and no meal probably strengthened the effect of the wine, but that's okay. It was a good night.
I'm back in South Haven now, after a day spent in mutual hangover with my little sister, who was out until nearly 3am, as she's the party animal of the family (I was in by 11). This afternoon, back in Grand Rapids, she took me out to eat at Applebee's, the restaurant where she works (and the stories about which make me glad I don't work at a hellish corporate chain like that). Now I'm back at home with my folks, spending the last night with them before I take my journey back to Baltimore tomorrow. It's 670 miles driveway to driveway, and I've got plenty of toasted almonds, books on tape, newly purchased used CDs, and caffeine to get me through. I'm hopeful I can fit the one last load into my car; it will be a tight squeeze.
I should be back by 10pm or so. Hopefully I can get a good night's sleep tonight and tomorrow, because I'm pulling a 3pm to 3am shift on New Year's Eve, plus am working the next morning at 9am for the vanuted New Year's Brunch. Thank goodness we don't start school until Jan. 3, because Monday would have been tough.
Earlier in the evening, we partook in half price night for bottles of wine at Beggar's Banquet, a restaurant I never went to in East Lansing but one whose reputation preceded it. My bill was $21, and I bought two bottles of wine and an appetizer. The fact that I had an appetizer and no meal probably strengthened the effect of the wine, but that's okay. It was a good night.
I'm back in South Haven now, after a day spent in mutual hangover with my little sister, who was out until nearly 3am, as she's the party animal of the family (I was in by 11). This afternoon, back in Grand Rapids, she took me out to eat at Applebee's, the restaurant where she works (and the stories about which make me glad I don't work at a hellish corporate chain like that). Now I'm back at home with my folks, spending the last night with them before I take my journey back to Baltimore tomorrow. It's 670 miles driveway to driveway, and I've got plenty of toasted almonds, books on tape, newly purchased used CDs, and caffeine to get me through. I'm hopeful I can fit the one last load into my car; it will be a tight squeeze.
I should be back by 10pm or so. Hopefully I can get a good night's sleep tonight and tomorrow, because I'm pulling a 3pm to 3am shift on New Year's Eve, plus am working the next morning at 9am for the vanuted New Year's Brunch. Thank goodness we don't start school until Jan. 3, because Monday would have been tough.
Prep Done
I just finished Prep. What a great book - a long, satisfying read, one to put next to The Catcher in the Rye for giving a voice to a disaffected teenage outsider while offering a universal human story for all people, regardless of age or gender. Prep is farther-reaching and more filling, though, covering four years rather than three days. Wow. This is my second book of the week, and hopefully I knock out a third one before I return to school. Three books and ten movies. Not a bad break.
This is my favorite of many favorite passages from Prep: None of which justifies how I acted. I was wrong, I screwed up - how else can I say it? But there was plenty to learn from Dave. Later, after all that happened between Cross Sugarman and me, I even saw Dave as practice for Cross, as preparation. He made me ready, as Conchita had once made me ready for a friendship with Martha; there are people we treat wrong, and later, we're prepared to treat other people right. Perhaps this sounds mercenary, but I feel grateful for these trial relationships, and I would like to think it all evens out - surely, unknowingly, I have served as practice for other people.
I'm not sure why that moved me so much, but it did. Practice relationships. What a concept, one I'm certain I've engaged in but probably not enough. Actually, obviously not enough.
This is my favorite of many favorite passages from Prep: None of which justifies how I acted. I was wrong, I screwed up - how else can I say it? But there was plenty to learn from Dave. Later, after all that happened between Cross Sugarman and me, I even saw Dave as practice for Cross, as preparation. He made me ready, as Conchita had once made me ready for a friendship with Martha; there are people we treat wrong, and later, we're prepared to treat other people right. Perhaps this sounds mercenary, but I feel grateful for these trial relationships, and I would like to think it all evens out - surely, unknowingly, I have served as practice for other people.
I'm not sure why that moved me so much, but it did. Practice relationships. What a concept, one I'm certain I've engaged in but probably not enough. Actually, obviously not enough.
Say what?
On Tuesday, my family and I drove down to Stevensville, MI and visited my cousin and his family. He's a state cop, like my dad was for 25 years, so my dad sees him fairly often. Jeff is 33, and has a wife and two kids. He's exactly where I'd want to be at that age, although it's pretty evident now that I'm setting my sights pretty high there. But I'm happy for him; he's got a great house, a beautiful wife, and a couple of cute kids.
The thing that struck me from the visit is how much Jeff is like my dad. He's charismatic, able to talk with confidence and humor about nearly anything. I was nearly silent the entire visit, and I was struck by how that particular gene - or whatever it is - completely eluded me while hitting both Jeff and my dad hard. To be able to be the center of attention without thinking about it... I just can't do it. I've never been able to. I can't smalltalk for shit, and if I don't know a topic, I pretty much don't feel like my thoughts on it are relevant or even formed enough to share. People usually say what I want to say, or I have a huge fear of interrupting, or something else that prevents me from chiming in. Whatever it is, I'm pretty much silent, and I'm sure people either get the impression that I'm stupid or stuck-up. I'm neither of these. I just can't really talk that well, unless it's about a topic I know well. And these topics aren't limited - I can hold my own on any topic from teaching to baseball to waiting tables to music to movies to the Internet to dogs to wahtever - but these things just never seem to come up in the discussion.
So on the way home, I asked dad: How do you do it? How do you just stand in a room and be able to be the center of attention? He didn't have an answer, instead saying it was because he and Jeff talk all the time. But there's more there. I feel like my father has no neuroses at all, that everything comes easily to him. I'm sure I'm wrong, but from a distance, while a battle wages within my mind trying to figure out what to say, he's never even had to attend such a battle.
The thing that struck me from the visit is how much Jeff is like my dad. He's charismatic, able to talk with confidence and humor about nearly anything. I was nearly silent the entire visit, and I was struck by how that particular gene - or whatever it is - completely eluded me while hitting both Jeff and my dad hard. To be able to be the center of attention without thinking about it... I just can't do it. I've never been able to. I can't smalltalk for shit, and if I don't know a topic, I pretty much don't feel like my thoughts on it are relevant or even formed enough to share. People usually say what I want to say, or I have a huge fear of interrupting, or something else that prevents me from chiming in. Whatever it is, I'm pretty much silent, and I'm sure people either get the impression that I'm stupid or stuck-up. I'm neither of these. I just can't really talk that well, unless it's about a topic I know well. And these topics aren't limited - I can hold my own on any topic from teaching to baseball to waiting tables to music to movies to the Internet to dogs to wahtever - but these things just never seem to come up in the discussion.
So on the way home, I asked dad: How do you do it? How do you just stand in a room and be able to be the center of attention? He didn't have an answer, instead saying it was because he and Jeff talk all the time. But there's more there. I feel like my father has no neuroses at all, that everything comes easily to him. I'm sure I'm wrong, but from a distance, while a battle wages within my mind trying to figure out what to say, he's never even had to attend such a battle.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Take a good look around, this is your hometown
Things are simple here. I can jump in my car, and be downtown in five minutes. Traffic is negligible. On Christmas night, my dad, sister, and I went to see a family friend to drop off our gift. We saw five cars during the five-minute drive out in the country. My dad says, "Gosh, where is all this traffic coming from?" Similarly, I worked out at the gym this morning, and there was eight people there. Dad says that's crowded. It's just a different world here.
Everywhere I walk, memories cloud my vision. There's the Pizza Hut where we ate lunch every day when we were snide seniors taking college classes in high school. The Subway where Karen and I always used to use the $1-off coupon to get our Veggie Delite sub. The movie theater, which was and is the center of my South Haven social life. The vacated Subs-n-More, where I would take my USA Today and get my pizza and sit for a couple of hours, people-watching after the newspaper was finished. With Holden, I walked by the house we lived in when I was in the first grade. Later, I drove past the one we lived in before I started school, and later the one we lived in when I was in the eighth grade - the one downtown, with the view of the river from the back porch.
It's nice to be here. It's so slow and relaxed, allowing me to burn through books like bullets through butter, and finally catch up with the movies I've been wanting to see. I waxed my car today, using dad's garage heater and some wax from Autozone. It was a good day.
Big news in my hometown:
* They want to turn my former middle school into a set of condos. This is not being met with much applause in South Haven. See, it's a tourist beach town, so we expect to have condos. However, they are overrunning the city. And these wouldn't even be destroying the view from downtown. But they're still bad because even though there is a ton of new development and construction in the city, the population is actually dwindling. The schools have less kids than when I was in school, even resulting in teacher layoffs. So all these new residents are just weekend residents on the weekends as we continue to be one of the hottest spots for Chicagoans to get away. So, a big no to condos.
* The mayor of the last four years, my former high school guidance counselor, was voted out. The big reason was because he wasn't doing enough to thwart the condo developers.
* Dairy Queen is now closed for the winter. They used to stay open year round.
* The cheap movie theater? Well, their prices have skyrocketed. Now, on a Monday matinee, it was two adults for $8 (with free pop, though) instead of the usual $5. And another remodeling had occurred.
* My old high school is getting a new auditorium.
* An Applebee's and a Menard's are both coming in near Wal-Mart.
* There are a lot of thefts lately of full mailboxes. So those Netflix? Best drop them off at the drop-off downtown.
Everywhere I walk, memories cloud my vision. There's the Pizza Hut where we ate lunch every day when we were snide seniors taking college classes in high school. The Subway where Karen and I always used to use the $1-off coupon to get our Veggie Delite sub. The movie theater, which was and is the center of my South Haven social life. The vacated Subs-n-More, where I would take my USA Today and get my pizza and sit for a couple of hours, people-watching after the newspaper was finished. With Holden, I walked by the house we lived in when I was in the first grade. Later, I drove past the one we lived in before I started school, and later the one we lived in when I was in the eighth grade - the one downtown, with the view of the river from the back porch.
It's nice to be here. It's so slow and relaxed, allowing me to burn through books like bullets through butter, and finally catch up with the movies I've been wanting to see. I waxed my car today, using dad's garage heater and some wax from Autozone. It was a good day.
Big news in my hometown:
* They want to turn my former middle school into a set of condos. This is not being met with much applause in South Haven. See, it's a tourist beach town, so we expect to have condos. However, they are overrunning the city. And these wouldn't even be destroying the view from downtown. But they're still bad because even though there is a ton of new development and construction in the city, the population is actually dwindling. The schools have less kids than when I was in school, even resulting in teacher layoffs. So all these new residents are just weekend residents on the weekends as we continue to be one of the hottest spots for Chicagoans to get away. So, a big no to condos.
* The mayor of the last four years, my former high school guidance counselor, was voted out. The big reason was because he wasn't doing enough to thwart the condo developers.
* Dairy Queen is now closed for the winter. They used to stay open year round.
* The cheap movie theater? Well, their prices have skyrocketed. Now, on a Monday matinee, it was two adults for $8 (with free pop, though) instead of the usual $5. And another remodeling had occurred.
* My old high school is getting a new auditorium.
* An Applebee's and a Menard's are both coming in near Wal-Mart.
* There are a lot of thefts lately of full mailboxes. So those Netflix? Best drop them off at the drop-off downtown.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sixth sense
My entries of lists are proliferating.
1. It's nice to be able to say "pop" without catching myself.
2. King Kong was good, although a few effects disappointed - though Naomi Watts did not. Today's other viewing, Cold Mountain, was superb, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
3. Someone made me a mixed CD for Christmas. I listened to it on the way to Michigan. It was a good CD, but I find myself wondering if other people put as much thought into a mixed CD as I do. I wonder about each song, about each choice made. I convince myself that every song is a psychoanalysis of my psyche by this person.
4. The mixed CD was one of my favorite gifts this season. You should see the cover.
5. I wish the current novel I'm reading - Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep - didn't look like a chick lit book. It's hard to explain to people at the gym that it's not actually chick lit, but a damning examination of prep schools, or a honest and funny coming-of-age novel a la The Catcher in the Rye. Instead, I get a cover with a pink belt.
6. And thanks to the reader who sent that one along to me. I have the paperwork at home and I got it right before I left for my break, so I can't give you a proper thank you at the moment. But thank you. The book is really good, and I know a few kids are reading it for extra credit, so getting the book was timely and will allow me to have some cool conversations with kids after school.
1. It's nice to be able to say "pop" without catching myself.
2. King Kong was good, although a few effects disappointed - though Naomi Watts did not. Today's other viewing, Cold Mountain, was superb, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
3. Someone made me a mixed CD for Christmas. I listened to it on the way to Michigan. It was a good CD, but I find myself wondering if other people put as much thought into a mixed CD as I do. I wonder about each song, about each choice made. I convince myself that every song is a psychoanalysis of my psyche by this person.
4. The mixed CD was one of my favorite gifts this season. You should see the cover.
5. I wish the current novel I'm reading - Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep - didn't look like a chick lit book. It's hard to explain to people at the gym that it's not actually chick lit, but a damning examination of prep schools, or a honest and funny coming-of-age novel a la The Catcher in the Rye. Instead, I get a cover with a pink belt.
6. And thanks to the reader who sent that one along to me. I have the paperwork at home and I got it right before I left for my break, so I can't give you a proper thank you at the moment. But thank you. The book is really good, and I know a few kids are reading it for extra credit, so getting the book was timely and will allow me to have some cool conversations with kids after school.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
By the chimney with care
I made it back to South Haven, at around 10pm, almost exactly twelve hours after I left Baltimore. The drive was fine. It started raining at around Toledo, but never got below freezing, so the roads weren't slick. I almost hit a possum in the country roads near my parents' house, and I'm glad I didn't because it was so big that I think it would have damaged the car. But that was the excitement of the trip. Listening to a book on tape - this time, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America - sure does help a long trip like that. Even Holden seemed rapt at attention.
The parental units were happy I made it home, and I stayed up for around an hour with them once I made it in the door. I had some last-minute stocking stuffer wrapping to do for their stockings, then hit the sack. This morning, we had a nice Christmas morning. No one stuck to any sort of limits with the gift-buying, like we always say we will, and I scored some nice things - a few new sweaters, a DVD player for school (my parents bought it in Baltimore with me on Black Friday for $29, then drove it all the way back to South Haven to wrap it and write "From Santa"), a CD boombox, a few books, a couple of gift certificates to Barnes and Noble, and even a pair of black dress shoes. My sister got me a spatula, which was sort of a joke because she saw me using a fork to flip a veggie burger when she was at my place and couldn't believe it.
We've sat around almost all day watching movies. Here are my mini-reviews:
1. The Upside of Anger: Joan Allen is one of those actresses that I think I'd pay to watch read a phonebook, but this dramedy didn't do much for me. It was even one of those character dramas that I usually like a lot, but I just thought it was a big bore. Two stars.
2. 40 Year Old Virgin: I laughed out loud at this movie so many times. This is one of the best comedies since Office Space, and has a similarly superb supporting cast. I especially thought the actors playing the blonde female boss and the black co-worker were superb. In addition, although I haven't been a virgin since that Thanksgiving weekend back when I was 19, I still sort of wish I had friends like this guy had who were so intent on getting me laid. [Speaking of which, thecute hot kindergarten teacher decided that her week was too crazy to go out with me on Thursday, so we're postponing it. Again.] Four stars.
3. The Polar Express: Cool, if a little creepy, animation, but this was just a Zemeckis excuse to do a lot of cool things with computers rather than tell a story. There was no story here, and even the freakish animation didn't hold my attention very long. A star and a half.
4. Saved!: Doesn't get much past its juicy premise - a very Christian teenage girl tries to "save" her gay boyfriend by having sex with him after she thinks Jesus gives him a message to do so, and she gets pregnant and the boy gets sent off to degayification camp. Instead, it lobs softballs at easy targets and isn't helped much by the acting of Mandy Moore when the film goes into Heathers mode. Where is Kim Walker when you need her? (Dead, apparently. That sucks.) Anyhow, two stars.
It's so nice to sit around and watch movies and play cards. The other good news I discovered today was that our hometown movie theater is playing King Kong. The South Haven Michigan Theater is a converted stage theater, and movies are just $3.50 there. On Mondays, admission is 2 for $5, and on Thursdays, if you bring an empty bag, you get free popcorn. I'm so there.
The parental units were happy I made it home, and I stayed up for around an hour with them once I made it in the door. I had some last-minute stocking stuffer wrapping to do for their stockings, then hit the sack. This morning, we had a nice Christmas morning. No one stuck to any sort of limits with the gift-buying, like we always say we will, and I scored some nice things - a few new sweaters, a DVD player for school (my parents bought it in Baltimore with me on Black Friday for $29, then drove it all the way back to South Haven to wrap it and write "From Santa"), a CD boombox, a few books, a couple of gift certificates to Barnes and Noble, and even a pair of black dress shoes. My sister got me a spatula, which was sort of a joke because she saw me using a fork to flip a veggie burger when she was at my place and couldn't believe it.
We've sat around almost all day watching movies. Here are my mini-reviews:
1. The Upside of Anger: Joan Allen is one of those actresses that I think I'd pay to watch read a phonebook, but this dramedy didn't do much for me. It was even one of those character dramas that I usually like a lot, but I just thought it was a big bore. Two stars.
2. 40 Year Old Virgin: I laughed out loud at this movie so many times. This is one of the best comedies since Office Space, and has a similarly superb supporting cast. I especially thought the actors playing the blonde female boss and the black co-worker were superb. In addition, although I haven't been a virgin since that Thanksgiving weekend back when I was 19, I still sort of wish I had friends like this guy had who were so intent on getting me laid. [Speaking of which, the
3. The Polar Express: Cool, if a little creepy, animation, but this was just a Zemeckis excuse to do a lot of cool things with computers rather than tell a story. There was no story here, and even the freakish animation didn't hold my attention very long. A star and a half.
4. Saved!: Doesn't get much past its juicy premise - a very Christian teenage girl tries to "save" her gay boyfriend by having sex with him after she thinks Jesus gives him a message to do so, and she gets pregnant and the boy gets sent off to degayification camp. Instead, it lobs softballs at easy targets and isn't helped much by the acting of Mandy Moore when the film goes into Heathers mode. Where is Kim Walker when you need her? (Dead, apparently. That sucks.) Anyhow, two stars.
It's so nice to sit around and watch movies and play cards. The other good news I discovered today was that our hometown movie theater is playing King Kong. The South Haven Michigan Theater is a converted stage theater, and movies are just $3.50 there. On Mondays, admission is 2 for $5, and on Thursdays, if you bring an empty bag, you get free popcorn. I'm so there.
Friday, December 23, 2005
I'll be home for christmas
Today was one of the longest days ever at school, tacked on the end of one of the longest weeks ever. For some reason, the powers that be at school decided to make our big holiday presentation with our amazing, award-winning choir on Thursday instead of Friday. Therefore, we had shortened class periods Thursday and some fun stuff thrown in, which made the Friday all that much worse. I doubt if any learning occurred in the school today, though I will say a number of my students were watching To Kill a Mockingbird intently. Well, the two morning classes, at least.
I'm so done with school at the moment. I need a nice break of a few days before I even think about it. December, particularly this last week, pummelled me pretty good.
After school, I decided to brave Target to get that electric razor before I head back to Michigan tomorrow, and it surprisingly wasn't bad. I got a parking spot right away, waited behind only one person in line, and was out of there within 15 minutes, with razor and a few stocking stuffers in tow. The razor cost me $64. Not exactly how I like to spend my money, but that's as much as I'll spend in gas tomorrow and if I put it in that perspective I feel better about it.
I hope to leave by 6am tomorrow. We'll see if I can swing it. That should put me home by 6pm.
I'm so done with school at the moment. I need a nice break of a few days before I even think about it. December, particularly this last week, pummelled me pretty good.
After school, I decided to brave Target to get that electric razor before I head back to Michigan tomorrow, and it surprisingly wasn't bad. I got a parking spot right away, waited behind only one person in line, and was out of there within 15 minutes, with razor and a few stocking stuffers in tow. The razor cost me $64. Not exactly how I like to spend my money, but that's as much as I'll spend in gas tomorrow and if I put it in that perspective I feel better about it.
I hope to leave by 6am tomorrow. We'll see if I can swing it. That should put me home by 6pm.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Eleven
1. The restaurant's christmas party is tonight at 10pm. 10pm! I can barely stay awake until 10pm, let alone start a party at this time. I'm kind of sick, so I'm going to make a cameo and leave.
2. I am considering putting in my month's notice at the restaurant right after New Year's.
3. A student I had a few years ago came back to the school today. The first words out of her mouth were, "Mr. Epiph got fat!" I'm serious. You all think I'm obsessed with this, which I am, but it doesn't help being around people with no tact at all. I'm used to it from students, but an alum?
4. What I want my union to fight for is not to make sure our school day doesn't get any longer, but to make sure we're never again made to teach the entire week before Christmas up through the 23rd. Everyone is primed to be off right now.
5. I worked myself into getting my first cold of the year. I hope it doesn't get worse.
6. The house is an abomination.
7. I'd like to leave by 6am on Saturday morning.
8. The house is so cold without heat that my Clementine oranges on the counter shriveled up.
9. I'm used to being cold all the time now, though. Tonight, with the temperature up a little on the outside, I might not have the heat on even if the pilot light would stay lit. That being said, this cold weather sucks.
10. I am so ready to get out of this city for a few days.
11. My good classroom story of the day: A kid found a $100 bill on my classroom floor and turned it into me. Another kid swore it was his, a Christmas gift from his grandfather. I called home, and the kid's story checked out with the mom's without my prompting. I gave the $100 back to the kid with a stern talk about what an idiot he was for bringing it to school and putting it in his sock. I called the other kid's mom to tell her the story of his honest act.
2. I am considering putting in my month's notice at the restaurant right after New Year's.
3. A student I had a few years ago came back to the school today. The first words out of her mouth were, "Mr. Epiph got fat!" I'm serious. You all think I'm obsessed with this, which I am, but it doesn't help being around people with no tact at all. I'm used to it from students, but an alum?
4. What I want my union to fight for is not to make sure our school day doesn't get any longer, but to make sure we're never again made to teach the entire week before Christmas up through the 23rd. Everyone is primed to be off right now.
5. I worked myself into getting my first cold of the year. I hope it doesn't get worse.
6. The house is an abomination.
7. I'd like to leave by 6am on Saturday morning.
8. The house is so cold without heat that my Clementine oranges on the counter shriveled up.
9. I'm used to being cold all the time now, though. Tonight, with the temperature up a little on the outside, I might not have the heat on even if the pilot light would stay lit. That being said, this cold weather sucks.
10. I am so ready to get out of this city for a few days.
11. My good classroom story of the day: A kid found a $100 bill on my classroom floor and turned it into me. Another kid swore it was his, a Christmas gift from his grandfather. I called home, and the kid's story checked out with the mom's without my prompting. I gave the $100 back to the kid with a stern talk about what an idiot he was for bringing it to school and putting it in his sock. I called the other kid's mom to tell her the story of his honest act.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Moving Damon
All better now. All of my hundreds of fiction books are upstairs and still in alphabetical order. I still have a shitload of work to do, but that felt like the most and it's done. Done, done, done. And I'm tired, tired, tired. Tomorrow, I hope to tackle some more.
A five-day week of school the week before Christmas is wearing me down like a pencil eraser. The kids are helping me maintain some semblance of tranquility; tonight, I had 33 stay until 5:30 watching Edward Scissorhands and staying afterwards to discuss its themes, symbolism, and connection to To Kill a Mockingbird. The did well - comparing Edward to Boo Radley, comparing the crowd of gossipy ladies chasing Edward at the end to the almost-lynch mob in the novel, etc.
In other news, I'm still in a bit of shock that Johnny Damon is now a Yankee. I hate Johnny Damon, so now it will be a little bit harder to hate the Red Sox (although they still have Curt Schilling) and a little easier to hate the Yankees (although, admittedly, I probably won't hate Damon as much when he doesn't look like a mountain man). I think the signing is good for baseball, though. While it does add fuel to that tired Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry that ESPN ejaculates over every single time they play each other, I also think the move evens out the teams a little bit more. The Yankees still have a shitty pitching staff, but the Red Sox offense will lack some punch this year - beyond Ramirez and Ortiz, there's not many above-average offensive contributers there anymore. Their pitching staff is great, but their offense doesn't compare to the Yankees'. All this, I think, gives the Blue Jays a legitimate chance at the division title this year. The off-season is still far from over, though; heck, the Orioles could decide to do something like sign Kevin Millwood and make a few other little moves, and instantly become a possible contendor. Of course, the team is doing shit like signing Jeff Conine, who will serve the useless BJ Surhoff role of "designated old guy" who will be taking at-bats away from folks like Walter Young on a team that really needs to develop young talent.
As for the Tigers, um... well, next subject. After signing 37-year old Todd Jones and 41-year old Kenny Rogers, I think their next move might be to go grab Surhoff, who is currently a free agent.
A five-day week of school the week before Christmas is wearing me down like a pencil eraser. The kids are helping me maintain some semblance of tranquility; tonight, I had 33 stay until 5:30 watching Edward Scissorhands and staying afterwards to discuss its themes, symbolism, and connection to To Kill a Mockingbird. The did well - comparing Edward to Boo Radley, comparing the crowd of gossipy ladies chasing Edward at the end to the almost-lynch mob in the novel, etc.
In other news, I'm still in a bit of shock that Johnny Damon is now a Yankee. I hate Johnny Damon, so now it will be a little bit harder to hate the Red Sox (although they still have Curt Schilling) and a little easier to hate the Yankees (although, admittedly, I probably won't hate Damon as much when he doesn't look like a mountain man). I think the signing is good for baseball, though. While it does add fuel to that tired Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry that ESPN ejaculates over every single time they play each other, I also think the move evens out the teams a little bit more. The Yankees still have a shitty pitching staff, but the Red Sox offense will lack some punch this year - beyond Ramirez and Ortiz, there's not many above-average offensive contributers there anymore. Their pitching staff is great, but their offense doesn't compare to the Yankees'. All this, I think, gives the Blue Jays a legitimate chance at the division title this year. The off-season is still far from over, though; heck, the Orioles could decide to do something like sign Kevin Millwood and make a few other little moves, and instantly become a possible contendor. Of course, the team is doing shit like signing Jeff Conine, who will serve the useless BJ Surhoff role of "designated old guy" who will be taking at-bats away from folks like Walter Young on a team that really needs to develop young talent.
As for the Tigers, um... well, next subject. After signing 37-year old Todd Jones and 41-year old Kenny Rogers, I think their next move might be to go grab Surhoff, who is currently a free agent.
The chewed up razor
The horrible little dog that is staying with me just chewed up and completely ruined my $70 electric razor.
I will not be able to shave until I truck my ass out to a Target three days before Christmas to buy myself another. I'm really happy to be spending $70 on this sort of necessary shit right before the holiday.
That sucks. I am so, so mad.
I will not be able to shave until I truck my ass out to a Target three days before Christmas to buy myself another. I'm really happy to be spending $70 on this sort of necessary shit right before the holiday.
That sucks. I am so, so mad.
I hope it wasn't you, Phuong
My freshmen roommate in college was a kid named Phuong Tran. He and I had all sorts of comical culture shock adventures, but it ended up being an okay experience for both of us. Today, someone found my old journal, over at the diaryland site, by searching for "Phuong Tran MSU." Curious, I decided to search myself, and what should come up, but this:
Victim of Grisly Death Called Popular, Quick With a Smile.
Basically, a week or so again, a 27-year old Phuong Tran in Lansing, MI, where I went to college, was murdered, via a decapitation. His body was left in a car in his parents' driveway, and the head hasn't been found. The police don't have many leads.
I've been poring over websites for a photo, to see if it's the same Phuong Tran. I haven't found out yet for sure. God, I hope not. "Phuong Tran" is a pretty common name in the Vietnamese community, but so many details rings true - the age, the degree in a high level science, the high school in Lansing. Even the death itself wouldn't be a total shocker if it was Phuong; in college, he used to brag about how much money he gambled on the weekends. The one point in the favor of it not being him is that I'm almost positive that his e-mail address was tranphu1@msu.edu, when the victime's e-mail address was tranphu2@msu.edu. And, not to be too stereotypical, but how uncommon would it be that two Asian students would both be chemical engineering? If the two were both English Literature majors, then it would be more uncommon. And MSU was a big university, 48,000 strong. Some names double up.
Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers here, although I'm not sure why the death of someone I knew ten years ago and haven't seen in six or seven years would affect me more than the death of someone I didn't know at all. But we shared a very tumultuous time in our lives together, and even though I had to make a tent out of my bottom bunk to keep his nocturnal habits from affecting my sleep cycle, and even though we once had to stuff a tube of toothpaste with laundry detergent to teach him a lesson about stealing toothpaste, and even though in general he was a pretty crazy and unpredictable guy, I still feel this strange connection with the guy. He meant well most of the time, and definitely worked a lot harder than I did as a student that freshmen year in college.
If anyone actually stumbles across this blog and knows any details, I'd appreciate you filling me in. The Phuong Tran I lived with in 1995-1996 was a Lyman Briggs student in Holmes Hall. We lived in 123 West Holmes.
Victim of Grisly Death Called Popular, Quick With a Smile.
Basically, a week or so again, a 27-year old Phuong Tran in Lansing, MI, where I went to college, was murdered, via a decapitation. His body was left in a car in his parents' driveway, and the head hasn't been found. The police don't have many leads.
I've been poring over websites for a photo, to see if it's the same Phuong Tran. I haven't found out yet for sure. God, I hope not. "Phuong Tran" is a pretty common name in the Vietnamese community, but so many details rings true - the age, the degree in a high level science, the high school in Lansing. Even the death itself wouldn't be a total shocker if it was Phuong; in college, he used to brag about how much money he gambled on the weekends. The one point in the favor of it not being him is that I'm almost positive that his e-mail address was tranphu1@msu.edu, when the victime's e-mail address was tranphu2@msu.edu. And, not to be too stereotypical, but how uncommon would it be that two Asian students would both be chemical engineering? If the two were both English Literature majors, then it would be more uncommon. And MSU was a big university, 48,000 strong. Some names double up.
Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers here, although I'm not sure why the death of someone I knew ten years ago and haven't seen in six or seven years would affect me more than the death of someone I didn't know at all. But we shared a very tumultuous time in our lives together, and even though I had to make a tent out of my bottom bunk to keep his nocturnal habits from affecting my sleep cycle, and even though we once had to stuff a tube of toothpaste with laundry detergent to teach him a lesson about stealing toothpaste, and even though in general he was a pretty crazy and unpredictable guy, I still feel this strange connection with the guy. He meant well most of the time, and definitely worked a lot harder than I did as a student that freshmen year in college.
If anyone actually stumbles across this blog and knows any details, I'd appreciate you filling me in. The Phuong Tran I lived with in 1995-1996 was a Lyman Briggs student in Holmes Hall. We lived in 123 West Holmes.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Early acceptance letter
Today, "Bobby" received an early acceptance letter to Virginia State University. I'm so happy! A year ago, he wanted to drop out.
He wasn't content with that, though. He had five more stamped envelopes for me to send my letter of rec in, and I did them all this afternoon.
Couple that with one of the busiest and most lucrative nights at the restaurant on a Tuesday night ever, and I'm real happy. Holiday spirit, come my way. I'm just ready for this week to end. I can't believe it's only Tuesday.
He wasn't content with that, though. He had five more stamped envelopes for me to send my letter of rec in, and I did them all this afternoon.
Couple that with one of the busiest and most lucrative nights at the restaurant on a Tuesday night ever, and I'm real happy. Holiday spirit, come my way. I'm just ready for this week to end. I can't believe it's only Tuesday.
Covering all four bases
1. The kids are really squirmy this week. It's only Tuesday, so I do not look forward to what they'll act like on Friday.
2. Had a frustrating parental contact day. If I call you because I'm concerned about your son or daughter, don't weird me out with long stretches of silence on the line, or with an annoyed tone in your voice.
3. The furnace isn't lighting... again. The service people cannot come in until Jan. 2, so I'm fuckin' cold. Last night was pretty brutal. To top it off, I let a friend whose furnace was busted over the weekend borrow my space heater before I knew that mine would stop working. Hers isn't being fixed until Thursday, and she has a six-year old son, so I'm going to shut up about it so her kid can stay sort of warm. On the plus side, I don't really have to worry about shutting my refrigerator door. (I'm just kidding about that.)
4. Will people go out to eat on the Tuesday before Christmas? Tonight, we shall see. Please let there be a nice rich doctor office party like there was on Saturday...
2. Had a frustrating parental contact day. If I call you because I'm concerned about your son or daughter, don't weird me out with long stretches of silence on the line, or with an annoyed tone in your voice.
3. The furnace isn't lighting... again. The service people cannot come in until Jan. 2, so I'm fuckin' cold. Last night was pretty brutal. To top it off, I let a friend whose furnace was busted over the weekend borrow my space heater before I knew that mine would stop working. Hers isn't being fixed until Thursday, and she has a six-year old son, so I'm going to shut up about it so her kid can stay sort of warm. On the plus side, I don't really have to worry about shutting my refrigerator door. (I'm just kidding about that.)
4. Will people go out to eat on the Tuesday before Christmas? Tonight, we shall see. Please let there be a nice rich doctor office party like there was on Saturday...
Monday, December 19, 2005
Done Christmas
Tonight, I officially finished Christmas shopping. While I spent a lot of money, at least this time it doesn't feel like my money is floating out of my pockets into the hands of huge corporations I don't know. I like giving gifts.
Unfortunately, the $400 I spent today wasn't all gifts. I also had to get my oil changed, and the guy also talked me into a radiator flush for $100. I'm not really sure I needed it, but he says I was overdue. The car does seem to be running better, and I do have to drive 650 miles on Saturday, so it's better to be safe than sorry I guess. The other $112 I spent was on replacing the long-dangling mirror off the side of my car. That's another shitty expense, but the car looks a lot better without the duct tape. Still, I feel like I'm a Grand Central Station for money lately - lots coming in and lots going out. The those lots coming in sure are coming in with with a lot of sweat and sacrifice.
My mom ended up being the toughest to buy for. I wound up getting most of her gifts at Wal-Mart, so we could take them back if necessary; my parents live about five minutes from a Wal-Mart that took over my small hometown and put tons of locally owned stores out of business. We love it and we hate it. Before I walked in and out of there fifteen minutes and $70 later, I had the embarassment of running into a student of mine at Marshall's. Good thing I wasn't shopping for underwear; generally, a trip to that store usually includes a purchase of a pair of boxer-briefs, as I continue on my years-long project of changing over my entire underwear collection from briefs to boxer-briefs (I started out at a 100:0 briefs:boxer-briefs ratio, and I'm now at about 20:80 and only wear briefs when I'm at the very, very bottom of my laundry basket). I got the sister a duffel bag there at Marshall's, and my dad a gadget the measures his golf swing. He likes gadgets, and that was a cheap gift to top him off (I also got him a $25 gift certificate to Boater's World, a book, and a requested pair of flannel pants) and she had requested the duffel bag. I'm now finished with all three. I also bought a book for our English teacher book exchange at school, and a gift for the Yankee Gift Swap at the restaurant during Thursday night's holiday party.
It's good to be done. I need to get a few more stocking stuffers throughout the week, but that's it. I'm off to read the book I got as a gift for my co-worker, to see if it's worth buying later.
Unfortunately, the $400 I spent today wasn't all gifts. I also had to get my oil changed, and the guy also talked me into a radiator flush for $100. I'm not really sure I needed it, but he says I was overdue. The car does seem to be running better, and I do have to drive 650 miles on Saturday, so it's better to be safe than sorry I guess. The other $112 I spent was on replacing the long-dangling mirror off the side of my car. That's another shitty expense, but the car looks a lot better without the duct tape. Still, I feel like I'm a Grand Central Station for money lately - lots coming in and lots going out. The those lots coming in sure are coming in with with a lot of sweat and sacrifice.
My mom ended up being the toughest to buy for. I wound up getting most of her gifts at Wal-Mart, so we could take them back if necessary; my parents live about five minutes from a Wal-Mart that took over my small hometown and put tons of locally owned stores out of business. We love it and we hate it. Before I walked in and out of there fifteen minutes and $70 later, I had the embarassment of running into a student of mine at Marshall's. Good thing I wasn't shopping for underwear; generally, a trip to that store usually includes a purchase of a pair of boxer-briefs, as I continue on my years-long project of changing over my entire underwear collection from briefs to boxer-briefs (I started out at a 100:0 briefs:boxer-briefs ratio, and I'm now at about 20:80 and only wear briefs when I'm at the very, very bottom of my laundry basket). I got the sister a duffel bag there at Marshall's, and my dad a gadget the measures his golf swing. He likes gadgets, and that was a cheap gift to top him off (I also got him a $25 gift certificate to Boater's World, a book, and a requested pair of flannel pants) and she had requested the duffel bag. I'm now finished with all three. I also bought a book for our English teacher book exchange at school, and a gift for the Yankee Gift Swap at the restaurant during Thursday night's holiday party.
It's good to be done. I need to get a few more stocking stuffers throughout the week, but that's it. I'm off to read the book I got as a gift for my co-worker, to see if it's worth buying later.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Triumphantly Whiny Return Of the Brian Wells Pizza Deliveryman Motif to Epiphany in Baltimore
It was a shitty weekend. No getting around that. I worked 20 hours on Saturday and Sunday, and I'm so exhausted and sore right now that I feel like I can do nothing else tonight. I'm just waiting for an acceptable time to go to bed, so I can do it and the weekend will be part of my history.
Saturday started off with me paying all the bills that I have to pay right now. There was $780 worth of them. My paycheck that I received on Friday was $1039. I had to pay $780 to other people - my student loans, my heat/electricity, my insurance. $780! All to faceless student loan people in Wisconsin or to those bloodsuckers at BGE and the fine people at Erie.
Paying all those bills brought upon one of these thoughts that this period in my life (largely unhappy, often lonely, though peppered with just enough contentment - mostly through teaching, sometimes through good friends - to keep me going hard) that I feel like I've been going through for the last three years - this limbo of working two jobs, not really having much of a social life (particularly in the romantic area), not being or feeling that healthy like I was when I was 25 and 26 - will not be worth it. I'll continue to struggle to get by, never enjoy the fruits of all this hard work, and end up 47 years old and turning into the gullible man who life was his cats and his weekly steak dinners with his mom who let a couple of guys strap a bomb to his body. I could so find myself into that sort of bizarre situation.
I really want to quit my second job, but I'm not even sure if I can. Paying off the car will help, but paying off student loans is the much greater burden, and that's not going to happen until I'm in my forties. Meanwhile, I'd really like to get a Master's Degree so that $1039 I get every two weeks becomes a greater amount, but I don't even know how I can clear my schedule enough to take classes.
I'm twenty-eight years old. Half of John Spencer's age. Will I ever come close to the things I want to do with my life, or will I continue doing what I've always done, and never really get ahead or feel like someone's not gaining on me from behind? Is this something I'll always feel, so I might as well get used to it? I make a life for myself everyday by "getting used to it" - I can live with almost anything with my "whatever" attitude - and need to draw a line somewhere.
I apparently need a vacation. The holidays couldn't come soon enough. Blah.
On a positive note, Courtney Thorne-Smith said, "Yes," and I'm hoping to take her to see King Kong on Thursday. We'll see if it happens. I'm crossing my fingers and trying to calm those stomach butterflies.
And, even though I had to work 20 long and hard hours to earn it, I made myself $300 this weekend during the two shifts. If I hadn't just paid all that in student loans the day before, I'd be even more excited, but I guess it's nice to recoup it.
Saturday started off with me paying all the bills that I have to pay right now. There was $780 worth of them. My paycheck that I received on Friday was $1039. I had to pay $780 to other people - my student loans, my heat/electricity, my insurance. $780! All to faceless student loan people in Wisconsin or to those bloodsuckers at BGE and the fine people at Erie.
Paying all those bills brought upon one of these thoughts that this period in my life (largely unhappy, often lonely, though peppered with just enough contentment - mostly through teaching, sometimes through good friends - to keep me going hard) that I feel like I've been going through for the last three years - this limbo of working two jobs, not really having much of a social life (particularly in the romantic area), not being or feeling that healthy like I was when I was 25 and 26 - will not be worth it. I'll continue to struggle to get by, never enjoy the fruits of all this hard work, and end up 47 years old and turning into the gullible man who life was his cats and his weekly steak dinners with his mom who let a couple of guys strap a bomb to his body. I could so find myself into that sort of bizarre situation.
I really want to quit my second job, but I'm not even sure if I can. Paying off the car will help, but paying off student loans is the much greater burden, and that's not going to happen until I'm in my forties. Meanwhile, I'd really like to get a Master's Degree so that $1039 I get every two weeks becomes a greater amount, but I don't even know how I can clear my schedule enough to take classes.
I'm twenty-eight years old. Half of John Spencer's age. Will I ever come close to the things I want to do with my life, or will I continue doing what I've always done, and never really get ahead or feel like someone's not gaining on me from behind? Is this something I'll always feel, so I might as well get used to it? I make a life for myself everyday by "getting used to it" - I can live with almost anything with my "whatever" attitude - and need to draw a line somewhere.
I apparently need a vacation. The holidays couldn't come soon enough. Blah.
On a positive note, Courtney Thorne-Smith said, "Yes," and I'm hoping to take her to see King Kong on Thursday. We'll see if it happens. I'm crossing my fingers and trying to calm those stomach butterflies.
And, even though I had to work 20 long and hard hours to earn it, I made myself $300 this weekend during the two shifts. If I hadn't just paid all that in student loans the day before, I'd be even more excited, but I guess it's nice to recoup it.
Chicken and portabello wrap
Yesterday at Trader Joe's, I grabbed what I thought was a Portabello and pesto wrap. I started eating it in my car on the way to Ikea, and noticed that it seemed drier than usual. It almost had a chalky taste. I kept biting into it and eating it, thinking that I just hadn't gotten to the good stuff yet. Then, about halfway into the sandwich, with no improvement, I finally recognized the taste. It wasn't chalk; it was chicken. The horror!
Actually, I didn't mind it too much, even though it was surely the most meat I've eaten in the last almost-decade. It did confirm for me something that I knew was true, though: I don't miss meat at all. It just doesn't taste very good to me. Just thinking of it grosses me out a little.
Meanwhile, if anyone wants a half-eaten portabello and chicken wrap, it still sitting on the passenger seat of my car. I won't be touching it again. I promise I won't tell you stories of the six years I spent working in a butcher shop - processing cows, pigs, deer, lamp, and, the dirtiest and nastiest animal, the chicken - until after you're done.
I'm only joking. I actually could care less if anyone else decides to eat meat.
Actually, I didn't mind it too much, even though it was surely the most meat I've eaten in the last almost-decade. It did confirm for me something that I knew was true, though: I don't miss meat at all. It just doesn't taste very good to me. Just thinking of it grosses me out a little.
Meanwhile, if anyone wants a half-eaten portabello and chicken wrap, it still sitting on the passenger seat of my car. I won't be touching it again. I promise I won't tell you stories of the six years I spent working in a butcher shop - processing cows, pigs, deer, lamp, and, the dirtiest and nastiest animal, the chicken - until after you're done.
I'm only joking. I actually could care less if anyone else decides to eat meat.
I'm getting too old for this...
I had to work until 1am last night and have to work at 9am this morning. I was so tired on the drive home last night that I had to roll down my windows to stay awake.
I have to move all my possessions from the first level of the house to the second level of the house before I leave on Saturday morning for Michigan. The house is being painted and worked on while I'm away, which is nice, but that doesn't soften the blow of doing all this work in the span of five days.
I am still not finished with my mother, my father, or my sister for Christmas. And I'm running out of ideas. Any suggestions on where to get a long-sleeved Baltimore t-shirt without parking in the Inner Harbor and going to Harborplace? Maybe I'll walk around Fell's Point today after work. Hopefully all those stupid stores are not closed. I could fall back on one idea my mother gave me: "I'd like a tape from that lesbian singer who got cancer." She still calls CDs tapes.
Before my drive, I have to get my oil changed, get my new driver's side window, and perhaps dump a significant amount of money on top of that into the car because it's seeming sort of listless lately and I'm a little concerned about the twelve-hour drive to Michigan.
I have to move all my possessions from the first level of the house to the second level of the house before I leave on Saturday morning for Michigan. The house is being painted and worked on while I'm away, which is nice, but that doesn't soften the blow of doing all this work in the span of five days.
I am still not finished with my mother, my father, or my sister for Christmas. And I'm running out of ideas. Any suggestions on where to get a long-sleeved Baltimore t-shirt without parking in the Inner Harbor and going to Harborplace? Maybe I'll walk around Fell's Point today after work. Hopefully all those stupid stores are not closed. I could fall back on one idea my mother gave me: "I'd like a tape from that lesbian singer who got cancer." She still calls CDs tapes.
Before my drive, I have to get my oil changed, get my new driver's side window, and perhaps dump a significant amount of money on top of that into the car because it's seeming sort of listless lately and I'm a little concerned about the twelve-hour drive to Michigan.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Hitting the wall
Last night, I was reminded that I can do the happy-hour-for-hours thing after school on a Friday, or I can do the going-out-on-the-town-at-night thing on a Friday night, but I really can't do both on the same night.
We spent four hours at Brewer's Art before heading back to the house to make an emergency mixed Christmas CD and put on the Santa hat for the Christmas party. We made it there, taking a brief detour at Kisling's Tavern, where the Polish girl was working in her new digs. But as soon as we got to the party, a wall was hit. Slammed into. I didn't even make it through one drink there before heading home, tail between my legs.
I'm up before 8am the next day. I guess I really didn't have to worry about getting drunk last night.
We spent four hours at Brewer's Art before heading back to the house to make an emergency mixed Christmas CD and put on the Santa hat for the Christmas party. We made it there, taking a brief detour at Kisling's Tavern, where the Polish girl was working in her new digs. But as soon as we got to the party, a wall was hit. Slammed into. I didn't even make it through one drink there before heading home, tail between my legs.
I'm up before 8am the next day. I guess I really didn't have to worry about getting drunk last night.
Rest in peace Leo McGarry
So I'm out, having a good time, only to return to the news of John Spencer's death. That sucks. It's not hyperbole to say that I've spent most weeks of my life watching this guy, since he was on one of my favorite shows growing up, L.A. Law, and one of my favorite shows as an adult, The West Wing.
I really only know these two roles, but his grizzled appearance and smoker's voice always made it seem like there were layers of pain underneath his exterior, and those layers peeled themselves off every episode or so. I was really surprised to hear he was only 58. Way too young. He was a fine character actor and, as celebrity deaths go, this one sucks pretty hard.
I really only know these two roles, but his grizzled appearance and smoker's voice always made it seem like there were layers of pain underneath his exterior, and those layers peeled themselves off every episode or so. I was really surprised to hear he was only 58. Way too young. He was a fine character actor and, as celebrity deaths go, this one sucks pretty hard.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Ten
1. Howard Stern ends his reign tomorrow as he moves to Sirius, which I will probably never buy. I'll miss him. My fifteen minute commute from the gym to school will never be the same.
2. We were one of the only districts in the state not to close early today. I scoffed at the usual Maryland weather hysteria, but when I went outside, my car was coated with a centimeter-thick coat of ice. The roads really weren't all that slick, but it was still nice to get home.
3. By the way, Maryland drivers... if you've never heard the secret of driving in icy conditions, here's the extent of it: 1) Drive slow; 2) Never slam on your breaks, but pump them. That's about it.
4. There was a mugging at my school yesterday in the parking lot. This is the second time in less than a month where my pretty good school and the pretty sketchy neighborhood it's in have bumped into each other. Thankfully, the kids weren't hurt. But it's scary. I leave after dark pretty much every day.
5. If I was well-planned, I'd be at tonight's Alanis Morrissette show. I haven't seen her since around '98 and seeing her in such a small venue as Ram's Head Live would have been cool. Alas, I had thought for a few days that buying tickets would be a good idea, but it sold out Tuesday. Oh well. Probably should save my money for Christmas, anyway. Still need to finish up on shopping. My mother needs that elusive long-sleeved Baltimore t-shirt that she seems to ask for every year but I never get.
6. I wonder if we'll have a snow day tomorrow. Or an ice day, or whatever. It's a half day for students anyway, and we'll be spending the second half of the day grading benchmarks.
7. Since I'm starting at Brewer's Art at around 4pm, and heading a holiday party with my crazy waiter friends at around 7pm, I think there's a good chance I'll be drunk tomorrow night. I've figured out it's the last time I can hang out with my friends before I leave for the holidays.
8. I hope this will be the last New Year's Eve I'll have to work during my lifetime. I also hope I make $300 that night.
9. A goofy acting sophomore came up to me today, asking about baseball. He said he heard that I cut all the 9th graders and 10th graders unless they're really good or they're returning from the previous year. I said that this isn't really true, that actually the rumors help though because I might as well have players cut themselves by not showing up for tryouts so I don't have to do it. Then he asked if I would cut him. I said, I'm not sure, I don't know what kind of player you are. I asked why he didn't come out last year for the team. He said he did, but that I cut him. Oops. I actually don't really believe him. I think he must have been one of those kids who missed the first couple days of tryouts for whatever reason and then tried to show up late for them.
10. That was the third stop-in-the-hall moment about baseball I've gotten this week from kids I don't know. One kid asked me, "So, didn't your second baseman raduate last year?" and I replied in the affirmative, and he got this goofy grin on his face. I didn't tell him, however, that I'm almost positive that I have my second baseman for next year already. I've got this kid who was my best defensive infielder as a ninth grader last year and I think he'll be it. He might even have learned to hit over the summer. If he hasn't, though, that's what my DH is for. And I've got a couple of candidated for DH this year. Plus, this kid calls me "sir."
2. We were one of the only districts in the state not to close early today. I scoffed at the usual Maryland weather hysteria, but when I went outside, my car was coated with a centimeter-thick coat of ice. The roads really weren't all that slick, but it was still nice to get home.
3. By the way, Maryland drivers... if you've never heard the secret of driving in icy conditions, here's the extent of it: 1) Drive slow; 2) Never slam on your breaks, but pump them. That's about it.
4. There was a mugging at my school yesterday in the parking lot. This is the second time in less than a month where my pretty good school and the pretty sketchy neighborhood it's in have bumped into each other. Thankfully, the kids weren't hurt. But it's scary. I leave after dark pretty much every day.
5. If I was well-planned, I'd be at tonight's Alanis Morrissette show. I haven't seen her since around '98 and seeing her in such a small venue as Ram's Head Live would have been cool. Alas, I had thought for a few days that buying tickets would be a good idea, but it sold out Tuesday. Oh well. Probably should save my money for Christmas, anyway. Still need to finish up on shopping. My mother needs that elusive long-sleeved Baltimore t-shirt that she seems to ask for every year but I never get.
6. I wonder if we'll have a snow day tomorrow. Or an ice day, or whatever. It's a half day for students anyway, and we'll be spending the second half of the day grading benchmarks.
7. Since I'm starting at Brewer's Art at around 4pm, and heading a holiday party with my crazy waiter friends at around 7pm, I think there's a good chance I'll be drunk tomorrow night. I've figured out it's the last time I can hang out with my friends before I leave for the holidays.
8. I hope this will be the last New Year's Eve I'll have to work during my lifetime. I also hope I make $300 that night.
9. A goofy acting sophomore came up to me today, asking about baseball. He said he heard that I cut all the 9th graders and 10th graders unless they're really good or they're returning from the previous year. I said that this isn't really true, that actually the rumors help though because I might as well have players cut themselves by not showing up for tryouts so I don't have to do it. Then he asked if I would cut him. I said, I'm not sure, I don't know what kind of player you are. I asked why he didn't come out last year for the team. He said he did, but that I cut him. Oops. I actually don't really believe him. I think he must have been one of those kids who missed the first couple days of tryouts for whatever reason and then tried to show up late for them.
10. That was the third stop-in-the-hall moment about baseball I've gotten this week from kids I don't know. One kid asked me, "So, didn't your second baseman raduate last year?" and I replied in the affirmative, and he got this goofy grin on his face. I didn't tell him, however, that I'm almost positive that I have my second baseman for next year already. I've got this kid who was my best defensive infielder as a ninth grader last year and I think he'll be it. He might even have learned to hit over the summer. If he hasn't, though, that's what my DH is for. And I've got a couple of candidated for DH this year. Plus, this kid calls me "sir."
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
To Kill a MockingScissorHands
I'm showing Edward Scissorhands for my 9th grade film club tomorrow. Because, after all, Edward is an outsider, just like Boo Radley. Edward comes of age, just like Jem and Scout. The movie is about acceptance of differences, just like To Kill a Mockingbird. Yup, it's all these things.
It's definitely not because it's a good movie that 25 kids and I want to watch after school tomorrow with microwave popcorn and soda pop.
That is, if the weather holds up. If what they say will happen tomorrow happens tomorrow, I'm quite sure they'll cancel all after-school activities. I hate this bitter, bitter cold.
It's definitely not because it's a good movie that 25 kids and I want to watch after school tomorrow with microwave popcorn and soda pop.
That is, if the weather holds up. If what they say will happen tomorrow happens tomorrow, I'm quite sure they'll cancel all after-school activities. I hate this bitter, bitter cold.
I did like it, thanks
Just got back from seeing "Bobby" star in As You Like It. And when I say "star," I mean it - he played Orlando, one of the lead roles in the play. I bet he had the most lines. I was very proud and happy. He seemed to be having such a good time up there. He's such a serious young man - an old soul, I call him - but he let loose up there with the comedy and it really made my eyes well up with tears.
Seeing him, as well as the whole cast, perform a Shakespeare play just makes me want to be a better person. I've never been in a Shakespeare play - have never even acted - so these kids are doing something I've never done, and probably wouldn't be able to do. The cast was full of kids who I've taught before, and there was one scene in which four were on stage at the same time with whom I went on this particularly memorable Outard Bound trip. What a great night. When the play ended to the kids dancing to Kool & the Gang's "Celebrate," I was ready to, too.
And after telling him how good he was, Bobby tells me, "You should have come last night. I wasn't feeling it tonight." Whatever.
Seeing him, as well as the whole cast, perform a Shakespeare play just makes me want to be a better person. I've never been in a Shakespeare play - have never even acted - so these kids are doing something I've never done, and probably wouldn't be able to do. The cast was full of kids who I've taught before, and there was one scene in which four were on stage at the same time with whom I went on this particularly memorable Outard Bound trip. What a great night. When the play ended to the kids dancing to Kool & the Gang's "Celebrate," I was ready to, too.
And after telling him how good he was, Bobby tells me, "You should have come last night. I wasn't feeling it tonight." Whatever.
wasabi
I had sushi from Trader Joe's today that was stale - almost crunchy. It was dated for Dec. 16, so I kept eating it, thinking I must be imagining it. I wasn't. I feel like the experience might take me away from my nearly constant urge for Trader Joe's sushi, especially after a workout.
However, a recent trip to Kawasaki downtown with friends has me thinking that maybe it wasn't actually the sushi that I was craving. My friend saw me putting my usual ton of wasabi into my soy sauce mixture, and she said something like, "Geez, don't you want to taste your sushi?" My answer was yes, but upon later reflection, I think I realize that it's not so much the sushi that I love - although I'm not opposed to it - but it's probably the wasabi. I just loooove wasabi.
Trader Joe's used to have wasabi soy nut, but discontinued them. They now have wasabi cashews, but they're just not the same.
However, a recent trip to Kawasaki downtown with friends has me thinking that maybe it wasn't actually the sushi that I was craving. My friend saw me putting my usual ton of wasabi into my soy sauce mixture, and she said something like, "Geez, don't you want to taste your sushi?" My answer was yes, but upon later reflection, I think I realize that it's not so much the sushi that I love - although I'm not opposed to it - but it's probably the wasabi. I just loooove wasabi.
Trader Joe's used to have wasabi soy nut, but discontinued them. They now have wasabi cashews, but they're just not the same.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
O, how full of briers is this working-day world!
Wednesday night, "Bobby" stars in a production of As You Like It at my high school. If anyone is interested in coming, you should drop me a line. It's at 7pm, and is something like five bucks. The date totally snuck up on me and I had to hide the surprise in my voice when he asked me today if I was coming. I'm very excited, though.
Tookied out
I'm so tookied out. I took a 24-hour break from almost all blogs and from reading the comments on my angry entries last night, trying to cleanse myself of it all. I realize that most of the pain I feel is that the issue for me is totally capital punishment, but others didn't see it as such, instead arguing about whether Williams was a good guy or not - something I thought to be almost totally irrelevant. It's all about whether the government should kill people for me. It's all about whether any human should kill another human unless it is absolutely necessary.
Then, I see so much of my students who are just a bad decision or two away from becoming someone like Tookie; his execution can only do them harm. Today, I watched fifty of our roughest kids gather around a crackly radio to hear Williams's last interview. Some were crying. Others had their heads in their hands. The message they get from all this is, again, that despair triumphs over hope. Excepting the value of all human life, my only use for Tookie Williams was as a symbol, and now that's gone. It sucks. I can't believe that I live in a country where murder is legalized, where people can actually agree with this sort of sentence and see it carried out.
I have no use for dialoguing about this issue, because if you believe the death penalty is appropriate, I simply have no use for your opinion on the matter. That's harsh, but, no, I don't respect your support of it. I think it's deeply, deeply wrong. So be it.
I hope the celebrities who wasted their time trying to prove Williams's innocence will now do something productive, like work on an end to the death penalty in the state of California. Then they can move on to Maryland, and then Texas, and then in the other states arcane enough to have that punishment. I hope the victims' families might find salvage some peace from Williams's death, even if that peace is a hollow one built upon the death of another. I hope that his death will teach young people something, but I think his spared life would have taught them much more. And I hope the country abolishes this practice within my lifetime.
And that's all I have to say about that. For now.
Then, I see so much of my students who are just a bad decision or two away from becoming someone like Tookie; his execution can only do them harm. Today, I watched fifty of our roughest kids gather around a crackly radio to hear Williams's last interview. Some were crying. Others had their heads in their hands. The message they get from all this is, again, that despair triumphs over hope. Excepting the value of all human life, my only use for Tookie Williams was as a symbol, and now that's gone. It sucks. I can't believe that I live in a country where murder is legalized, where people can actually agree with this sort of sentence and see it carried out.
I have no use for dialoguing about this issue, because if you believe the death penalty is appropriate, I simply have no use for your opinion on the matter. That's harsh, but, no, I don't respect your support of it. I think it's deeply, deeply wrong. So be it.
I hope the celebrities who wasted their time trying to prove Williams's innocence will now do something productive, like work on an end to the death penalty in the state of California. Then they can move on to Maryland, and then Texas, and then in the other states arcane enough to have that punishment. I hope the victims' families might find salvage some peace from Williams's death, even if that peace is a hollow one built upon the death of another. I hope that his death will teach young people something, but I think his spared life would have taught them much more. And I hope the country abolishes this practice within my lifetime.
And that's all I have to say about that. For now.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Gym dandy
I really don't want to lead off with these vehement, angry political posts, so I need to purge them from my system a little with an entry about the gym. A boring one.
I used to not shower at the gym, but I have for the last year or so, but I've still yet to buy flip-flops. Every day, I see the sign inside my locker about wearing flip-flops, but I never remember to buy any. I just never go to a store that has them, and now that it's December, I really don't have a clue. So I probably will wait until I have athlete's foot, and then I'll get them. But it has been a year; maybe my feet are just immune. I still think it's a little gross, though. Obviously not gross enough to do anything about it, though.
Today, I forgot my towel. When this happens, and it's happened with me more than once, I usually dry off with the shorts I was wearing during the workout. This is gross, but I just sort of dry a little bit off, and let the rest of myself air dry. But today I was really, really sweaty, and my shorts were soaked. Therefore, I just let my whole body air dry. It sucked. I just stood in the shower for a few minutes, shivering, until I braved the coldness of the gym floor.
Then I got dressed. I'm not a very stylish guy; I wear gaudy ties and am known as being sort of sloppy all the time. However, one rule of fashion I always follow is that I make sure my shoes and my belt are the same color - either black or brown. I was dismayed today when my shoes were black and my belt was brown. However, when I was putting it on, I noticed the other side of the belt was black. It was reverisible! I had no idea. It made my day.
In other news, it's official: I'm heavier now than I've been in four years. It's not just that I feel puffy, like a marshmallow. I am puffy, like a marshmallow.
I'm sorry for this terrible entry. I wanted to de-Tookie the blog so when I look at it tomorrow, I forget how angry and upset I am right now.
I used to not shower at the gym, but I have for the last year or so, but I've still yet to buy flip-flops. Every day, I see the sign inside my locker about wearing flip-flops, but I never remember to buy any. I just never go to a store that has them, and now that it's December, I really don't have a clue. So I probably will wait until I have athlete's foot, and then I'll get them. But it has been a year; maybe my feet are just immune. I still think it's a little gross, though. Obviously not gross enough to do anything about it, though.
Today, I forgot my towel. When this happens, and it's happened with me more than once, I usually dry off with the shorts I was wearing during the workout. This is gross, but I just sort of dry a little bit off, and let the rest of myself air dry. But today I was really, really sweaty, and my shorts were soaked. Therefore, I just let my whole body air dry. It sucked. I just stood in the shower for a few minutes, shivering, until I braved the coldness of the gym floor.
Then I got dressed. I'm not a very stylish guy; I wear gaudy ties and am known as being sort of sloppy all the time. However, one rule of fashion I always follow is that I make sure my shoes and my belt are the same color - either black or brown. I was dismayed today when my shoes were black and my belt was brown. However, when I was putting it on, I noticed the other side of the belt was black. It was reverisible! I had no idea. It made my day.
In other news, it's official: I'm heavier now than I've been in four years. It's not just that I feel puffy, like a marshmallow. I am puffy, like a marshmallow.
I'm sorry for this terrible entry. I wanted to de-Tookie the blog so when I look at it tomorrow, I forget how angry and upset I am right now.
Did it all for the Tookie
Everything about tonight sucks.
This whole Tookie Williams thing has me in knots. I have a hard time arguing it because I'm not sure which route to take. There are two very different, but both very correct, arguments to spare his life. The problem with making the "he's a good guy now" argument is that it distracts from the main arguments against capital punishment - that it's racist in the way it's put forth, that it's not a deterrent, that it endangers our police officers, that it costs more money, that it's immoral. But the problem with all those arguments is that no one pays attention to them until there is a face to put to them. And Tookie Wilson happens to be a very good face. Not too many deathrow inmates are nominated for Nobel Prizes. Still, I hesitate to make these arguments because I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on a celebrity bandwagon of any sorts with the likes of Jamie Foxx. However, the honest thing is that, while I've always been vehemently against the death penalty, I don't think I would have paid as much attention to this one if all the hoopla was not surrounding it. So the argument needs his face, or at least a face, to gain momenum.
And I do think the arguments for his life are compelling, even beyond the simple arguments against the death penalty regarding human life and being against the government killing people. I mean, if even one kid hears Williams speak out against joining a gang, and doesn't do it because of him, isn't he a useful member of society? Of course he is. I certainly don't know if he honestly has reformed or is rehabilitated. My usual view of human nature is an optimistic one; when I hear Tookie Williams speak, I think of Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption, in the scene in which the old Morgan Freeman wants to tell the young Morgan Freeman what to do, but he barely recognizes him. But I don't know if Tookie Williams is that. But I also don't think it's relevant. I want him in jail the rest of his life without any chance of getting out. Period. It doesn't matter to me one iota that he might have found redemption. It's all about what he can contribute to society through whatever it is that he has found, and if he can still contribute something, then he still should be kept alive. If one kid is helped by his story, that's enough for me.
And if that argument doesn't work, then I'll just go back to the overall death penalty one, which is probably a better one. However, it's not going to convince anyone who has ever thought about it before, or are against it because they're ignorant about it in some ways, and they're the one who need to have a face on it more than anything.
Then there are people I really respect who say that they're offended that Williams is being canonized. Even though they're against the death penalty in all cases, they don't think this guy should be made into a hero because other death row inmates deserve it more - like there is doubt about their conviction, etc. However, what I say to them is this: why don't you canonize them, then? Tookie Williams is the face. He's the most famous death row inmate in years. Take him or leave him, or do your part to get another face as the face of death row. If you're against the death penalty, it doesn't make any sense to leap on the argument that he doesn't deserve clemency because you don't think he's the best poster child for clemency that there is.
The argument I think is worse is the argument that, "Well, that was his sentence, so it should be carried out." What a complete load of bullshit. If the criminal justice system wasn't unfair and racist in the way that capital cases were handed out, perhaps that argument would have some sort of relevance. But we're a long way from that. That argument makes no sense in our very imperfect justice system.
But it all sucks. It sucks that this argument has to be made at all.
This whole Tookie Williams thing has me in knots. I have a hard time arguing it because I'm not sure which route to take. There are two very different, but both very correct, arguments to spare his life. The problem with making the "he's a good guy now" argument is that it distracts from the main arguments against capital punishment - that it's racist in the way it's put forth, that it's not a deterrent, that it endangers our police officers, that it costs more money, that it's immoral. But the problem with all those arguments is that no one pays attention to them until there is a face to put to them. And Tookie Wilson happens to be a very good face. Not too many deathrow inmates are nominated for Nobel Prizes. Still, I hesitate to make these arguments because I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on a celebrity bandwagon of any sorts with the likes of Jamie Foxx. However, the honest thing is that, while I've always been vehemently against the death penalty, I don't think I would have paid as much attention to this one if all the hoopla was not surrounding it. So the argument needs his face, or at least a face, to gain momenum.
And I do think the arguments for his life are compelling, even beyond the simple arguments against the death penalty regarding human life and being against the government killing people. I mean, if even one kid hears Williams speak out against joining a gang, and doesn't do it because of him, isn't he a useful member of society? Of course he is. I certainly don't know if he honestly has reformed or is rehabilitated. My usual view of human nature is an optimistic one; when I hear Tookie Williams speak, I think of Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption, in the scene in which the old Morgan Freeman wants to tell the young Morgan Freeman what to do, but he barely recognizes him. But I don't know if Tookie Williams is that. But I also don't think it's relevant. I want him in jail the rest of his life without any chance of getting out. Period. It doesn't matter to me one iota that he might have found redemption. It's all about what he can contribute to society through whatever it is that he has found, and if he can still contribute something, then he still should be kept alive. If one kid is helped by his story, that's enough for me.
And if that argument doesn't work, then I'll just go back to the overall death penalty one, which is probably a better one. However, it's not going to convince anyone who has ever thought about it before, or are against it because they're ignorant about it in some ways, and they're the one who need to have a face on it more than anything.
Then there are people I really respect who say that they're offended that Williams is being canonized. Even though they're against the death penalty in all cases, they don't think this guy should be made into a hero because other death row inmates deserve it more - like there is doubt about their conviction, etc. However, what I say to them is this: why don't you canonize them, then? Tookie Williams is the face. He's the most famous death row inmate in years. Take him or leave him, or do your part to get another face as the face of death row. If you're against the death penalty, it doesn't make any sense to leap on the argument that he doesn't deserve clemency because you don't think he's the best poster child for clemency that there is.
The argument I think is worse is the argument that, "Well, that was his sentence, so it should be carried out." What a complete load of bullshit. If the criminal justice system wasn't unfair and racist in the way that capital cases were handed out, perhaps that argument would have some sort of relevance. But we're a long way from that. That argument makes no sense in our very imperfect justice system.
But it all sucks. It sucks that this argument has to be made at all.
Kicked in the gut
I have a friend living with me for a few days with her animals and her partner while her bathroom is getting finished.
On Wednesday, she received a call that her grandfather died during the night of a heart attack. She and her grandfather were very close. She just returned from the funeral services yesterday.
Then, this afternoon, she received a call that her father had died of a heart attack this morning.
Merry fucking Christmas to her. She's someone who is so strong and calm during whatever situations arise at work or in life, and I hope I can give a little of that back to her during this sad, sad time.
I'm also thoroughly ashamed to be an American today, as we salivate over the death of a convicted killer who turned his life around in prison. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a bad, bad man. I cannot fathom how anyone could have the decision in front of him to spare someone's life, especially someone who is contributing to the world in a positive way, and not do it. I cannot believe that this person exists, cannot believe that he was elected to a position of power, and cannot believe he was in some movies that I liked. I feel ill. My optimism is dimmed a bit today. Who got to decide that the government putting someone to death by sticking poison in his arm was not cruel and unusual punishment? Death. Not cruel. I cannot fathom.
I hope the protests tonight are longreaching and loud. My own silent protests will be grading papers of Baltimore kids who hopefully have saved themselves from becoming young Tookie Williamses. A student of ours was shot five times last week, and is paralyzed still after five separate surgeries - maybe until swelling goes down, maybe forever. A bullet remains lodged in her spine. Sometimes, the world of Tookie Williams isn't that far from their world. I just wish he could stick around some more and teach even one more kid that a gang life won't get anyone anywhere. Instead, his death will just teach kids that the government is not to be trusted, that American doesn't actually believe in rehabilitation or redemption, and that there are different rules of law for blacks and whites. Chalk one up to despair over hope this round.
You'd think that after so many thousands of years of the human race, we might have figured out that revenge killing solves nothing, that an eye for an eye does leave a man blind.
I need to throw up.
On Wednesday, she received a call that her grandfather died during the night of a heart attack. She and her grandfather were very close. She just returned from the funeral services yesterday.
Then, this afternoon, she received a call that her father had died of a heart attack this morning.
Merry fucking Christmas to her. She's someone who is so strong and calm during whatever situations arise at work or in life, and I hope I can give a little of that back to her during this sad, sad time.
I'm also thoroughly ashamed to be an American today, as we salivate over the death of a convicted killer who turned his life around in prison. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a bad, bad man. I cannot fathom how anyone could have the decision in front of him to spare someone's life, especially someone who is contributing to the world in a positive way, and not do it. I cannot believe that this person exists, cannot believe that he was elected to a position of power, and cannot believe he was in some movies that I liked. I feel ill. My optimism is dimmed a bit today. Who got to decide that the government putting someone to death by sticking poison in his arm was not cruel and unusual punishment? Death. Not cruel. I cannot fathom.
I hope the protests tonight are longreaching and loud. My own silent protests will be grading papers of Baltimore kids who hopefully have saved themselves from becoming young Tookie Williamses. A student of ours was shot five times last week, and is paralyzed still after five separate surgeries - maybe until swelling goes down, maybe forever. A bullet remains lodged in her spine. Sometimes, the world of Tookie Williams isn't that far from their world. I just wish he could stick around some more and teach even one more kid that a gang life won't get anyone anywhere. Instead, his death will just teach kids that the government is not to be trusted, that American doesn't actually believe in rehabilitation or redemption, and that there are different rules of law for blacks and whites. Chalk one up to despair over hope this round.
You'd think that after so many thousands of years of the human race, we might have figured out that revenge killing solves nothing, that an eye for an eye does leave a man blind.
I need to throw up.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Circle one: Yes, No, Maybe
I have just asked a girl out on a date. The one I didn't walk to her car. She e-mailed me, asked if I was going to the show we thought was on Monday. It's not on Monday, I said, but would you like to go see a movie instead sometime this week?
I'm 28 years old, but I feel like I'm in middle school.
I'm 28 years old, but I feel like I'm in middle school.
With your nose so bright
I am usually not one for gratuitous link posting, but this is pretty funny:
16 Serious Questions Raised by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
In other news, I've gotten three hits this week for "Baltimore's Most Eligible Bachelors 2005." See, I told you I shouldn't have been passed up for yet another Singles issue of Baltimore magazine. Yes, ladies, you've found me (if, by "eligible," you mean "emotionally unavailable, beats himself up all the time, thinks way too much, and works all the time.")
This same week, I've also gotten four hits for "fat teacher" and one hit for "how to be a fat teacher." Yes, I've got the hint. I've been working out like crazy all weekend and don't plan on missing another workout day until December 24. I'm beginning to worry about not being in shape for baseball season, starting on March 1. Forget feeling fat; I just need to be able to know I'm in shape enough to conduct 3-hr practices, to throw BP or hit infield/outfield for hours on end, and to do the runs and drills with my players.
16 Serious Questions Raised by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
In other news, I've gotten three hits this week for "Baltimore's Most Eligible Bachelors 2005." See, I told you I shouldn't have been passed up for yet another Singles issue of Baltimore magazine. Yes, ladies, you've found me (if, by "eligible," you mean "emotionally unavailable, beats himself up all the time, thinks way too much, and works all the time.")
This same week, I've also gotten four hits for "fat teacher" and one hit for "how to be a fat teacher." Yes, I've got the hint. I've been working out like crazy all weekend and don't plan on missing another workout day until December 24. I'm beginning to worry about not being in shape for baseball season, starting on March 1. Forget feeling fat; I just need to be able to know I'm in shape enough to conduct 3-hr practices, to throw BP or hit infield/outfield for hours on end, and to do the runs and drills with my players.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Joe Squared Squid Whale West
It was a rare, but hopefully becoming not so rare, Saturday night off, and I met up with some friends for pizza and a movie.
My friend Joe, who I worked with at the restaurant, has opened up a pizza place. It's called Joe Squared, but his name is Joe and he makes square pizzas. He originally wanted to open the place in Charles Village, but the building backed out at the last minute, and now his place is at North Avenue and Howard Street. It's been open for three weeks, and he's still waiting on his City Paper review, so I'll do my best to give him the Epiphany in Baltimore treatment.
Walking into the new pizza and beer joint Joe Squared, one doesn't quite know what to make of it. There's art on the walls. There's a small dance floor with a DJ in the front. Huge mirrors line the walls. Three TVs are tuned to sports stations. An unscuffed pool table sits near the back. Two bars line the walls.
And then you get it - Joe Squared is just a comfortable place to have a beer and a pizza in, with a little something for everyone. But mostly it's about the pizza. The group of eight of us got two smalls (a seafood lovers and a greek) and two mediums (a quattro formaggio and a meat lovers), but it was hard to choose - other varieties included the popular chicken and apple pizza, and the tuna melt pizza. As we waited, we sampled the six beers Joe has on tap, ranging in price from $3 for a Newcastle and $7 and $10 for the fancier Belgian beers he brings in.
The pizza arrived, and they were delicious, with a light, thin crust with a taste that didn't overpower the pizza, allowing the sauce and toppings to really come through. All the pizzas were really good, and I loved how you could choose from the side pieces - which were mostly crust - and the middle pizzas, which were mostly toppings. Our entire bill for eight people, all with beer and pizza, was $93.82. We left $120 and were on our way to the Charles, which is just a short three-block, well-lit walk.
Okay, so that restaurant review would never pass the muster of the City Paper. But that's why they get paid the big bucks. And that's what you get when I have only about five minutes to write a silly entry. But I would highly recommend this place. He's trying to spread the word but customers are coming in slowly. We were the only ones there. This would also be a pretty excellent place for a Happy Hour.
Speaking of which, we saw The Squid and the Whale. I loved it. Loved it. Again, as with Capote, it had its flaws, particularly an abrupt ending and a lack of resolution with one of the main characters. But this is the movie with the best performance of Jeff Daniels's career (I'd pick him over Hoffman for the Best Actor Oscar), and typically sexy work from Laura Linney. The kids were amazing. The writing and tone were very Wes Anderson, but a bit more grounded. It was really a great movie.
Afterwards, it was off for drinks at The Golden West. I'd never been there before, and it was totally not what I expected. But I still had an Irish coffee and a Guinness and went home. To find that Richard Pryor had died. He really lived a long time with all those health problems.
My friend Joe, who I worked with at the restaurant, has opened up a pizza place. It's called Joe Squared, but his name is Joe and he makes square pizzas. He originally wanted to open the place in Charles Village, but the building backed out at the last minute, and now his place is at North Avenue and Howard Street. It's been open for three weeks, and he's still waiting on his City Paper review, so I'll do my best to give him the Epiphany in Baltimore treatment.
Walking into the new pizza and beer joint Joe Squared, one doesn't quite know what to make of it. There's art on the walls. There's a small dance floor with a DJ in the front. Huge mirrors line the walls. Three TVs are tuned to sports stations. An unscuffed pool table sits near the back. Two bars line the walls.
And then you get it - Joe Squared is just a comfortable place to have a beer and a pizza in, with a little something for everyone. But mostly it's about the pizza. The group of eight of us got two smalls (a seafood lovers and a greek) and two mediums (a quattro formaggio and a meat lovers), but it was hard to choose - other varieties included the popular chicken and apple pizza, and the tuna melt pizza. As we waited, we sampled the six beers Joe has on tap, ranging in price from $3 for a Newcastle and $7 and $10 for the fancier Belgian beers he brings in.
The pizza arrived, and they were delicious, with a light, thin crust with a taste that didn't overpower the pizza, allowing the sauce and toppings to really come through. All the pizzas were really good, and I loved how you could choose from the side pieces - which were mostly crust - and the middle pizzas, which were mostly toppings. Our entire bill for eight people, all with beer and pizza, was $93.82. We left $120 and were on our way to the Charles, which is just a short three-block, well-lit walk.
Okay, so that restaurant review would never pass the muster of the City Paper. But that's why they get paid the big bucks. And that's what you get when I have only about five minutes to write a silly entry. But I would highly recommend this place. He's trying to spread the word but customers are coming in slowly. We were the only ones there. This would also be a pretty excellent place for a Happy Hour.
Speaking of which, we saw The Squid and the Whale. I loved it. Loved it. Again, as with Capote, it had its flaws, particularly an abrupt ending and a lack of resolution with one of the main characters. But this is the movie with the best performance of Jeff Daniels's career (I'd pick him over Hoffman for the Best Actor Oscar), and typically sexy work from Laura Linney. The kids were amazing. The writing and tone were very Wes Anderson, but a bit more grounded. It was really a great movie.
Afterwards, it was off for drinks at The Golden West. I'd never been there before, and it was totally not what I expected. But I still had an Irish coffee and a Guinness and went home. To find that Richard Pryor had died. He really lived a long time with all those health problems.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Brrrrr.
My pilot light will not stay lit in my furnace. I've tried everything my limited knowledge can think of. It stays lit for about a minute, then putters out.
I'm pissed off. And cold. My plans for sitting around and watching my Netflix have taken a frigid turn. I might have to go out and go to the movies or something else warm.
I'm pissed off. And cold. My plans for sitting around and watching my Netflix have taken a frigid turn. I might have to go out and go to the movies or something else warm.
Anti complaint
Whenever I complain about how late in the year we go before the break - we are in school through Dec. 23 - I must remember days like these. Since Baltimore City cancels school for even a minor amount of snow, I'm given a few days off every winter. And they're the best kinds of days off: unexpected and not filled with plans. You're left just to enjoy the day, which I did.
I woke up at 7am, made it to the gym by 8am, had a nearly-three hour workout, then ran some errands I'd been putting off. I went to the Ford dealership to see about getting a new mirror for my car. It's only $112, much less than I expected, and I can take the claim off insurance now and just pay for it. I went to Best Buy to buy some blank CDs for the mixed-CD extravaganza I'm about to embark on. I then went into school for three hours, grading and entering scores to my heart's content without interruption or distraction.
Now I'm back home, ready to write a couple of quizzes. I'm in such a good mood that I've decided to splurge and turn the heat up to 65 in the house.
I'll have to remember this when I'm driving twelve hours home on Christmas Eve...
I woke up at 7am, made it to the gym by 8am, had a nearly-three hour workout, then ran some errands I'd been putting off. I went to the Ford dealership to see about getting a new mirror for my car. It's only $112, much less than I expected, and I can take the claim off insurance now and just pay for it. I went to Best Buy to buy some blank CDs for the mixed-CD extravaganza I'm about to embark on. I then went into school for three hours, grading and entering scores to my heart's content without interruption or distraction.
Now I'm back home, ready to write a couple of quizzes. I'm in such a good mood that I've decided to splurge and turn the heat up to 65 in the house.
I'll have to remember this when I'm driving twelve hours home on Christmas Eve...
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Besides, she already knows my "no tolerance" late homework policy
Today, during second period...
Girl: Oh my gosh, I forgot my spiral! Can I turn it in tomorrow?!?
Me: Actually, I believe that tomorrow we'll all be at home relaxing at this point. Three to six inches, baby!
(That last sentence was in my head, but I'm sure my smile said it all.)
(Doing the snow dance.)
Girl: Oh my gosh, I forgot my spiral! Can I turn it in tomorrow?!?
Me: Actually, I believe that tomorrow we'll all be at home relaxing at this point. Three to six inches, baby!
(That last sentence was in my head, but I'm sure my smile said it all.)
(Doing the snow dance.)
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Coaching Class
I had high hopes of going to the gym when I left school today, but my exhaustion from three straight twelve-hour-plus work days caught up with me. I just laid around all afternoon. It's a bad sign when an afternoon and evening off feels like the weekend.
School is going very well right now. I've assembled a regular group of students that come and visit during every coach class and work for an hour or two on their stuff. In my head, I call them "The 55 Club," because that's what grade they all got first quarter in my class. Now their parents are making them come to Coach Class everyday. They're all funny, good kids and their grades are much improved. I really like sitting with them and talking with them because of the way their minds work. We'll be having an academic discussion about something, and it will be going very well, when all of a sudden, shoom, one of them throws something in their that is off-topic, from left-field, but deeply funny. Like this kid "Ichabod." Today, we're talking about To Kill a Mockingbird, when all of a sudden, he says, "Dag, Mr. E, why don't you order some pizza?" And I almost thought about it. Maybe soon for one of these afternoons. Then we all giggle and move on.
I've been keeping an e-mail list all year for parents and students, and it's impossible not to feel inspired when a parent sends something like this back to me - "p.s. Thank you for keeping us informed of your efforts to educate our children. It is my opinion that every teacher can teach, but not every teacher can educate. Taking you for educating (our son), he has really grown from being in your class." I mean, how nice. That just puts the wind in my sails.
In other news, it looks like we'll be moving from a 90-minute block schedule to a 48-minute schedule next year. The faculty vote was 40 for the 48-minute schedule, 18 for the 90-minute schedule, and 2 abstainers with letters. 20 didn't vote at all. I was one of the two abstainers. Of course I was. I'm a bit of a rabble rouser. I wrote a long letter explaining how I thought that only have two options was not good for our students. The schedule has long been a source of turmoil for me. A scheduling committee formed a couple of years ago that researched, polled, and brought findings to the table that were ignored - findings such as a modified block schedule, or a rotating schedule, or other options that would have been better than a short 48-minute class period. However, all of these other options were ignored. It looks like we're going to 48 minutes. And, as it is, it's the lesser of two evils. My student load will go down from about 170 (6 classes) to 140 (5 classes). I also think seeing kids every day instead of every other day will help with skills retention. I like that I can now have a Wednesday grammar day if I want to, every week.
In addition, it now looks like I'll be getting a classroom starting in January. Our principal hates teachers floating, especially those with huge student loads, so they're finding one for me on the first floor somewhere. They're either gong to clear out half of a computer room or displace an office that hasn't been told yet. I'm sure someone will be upset by either move, but I haven't been complaining about floating. It's my department head who hates it, and I'm happy that she's going to bat for me in this respect. Someone with 170 kids shouldn't be floating, period, regardless of whether it was my turn or not. And I don't even mind it too much, in the morning. But having to take huge classes into small classrooms in the afternoon that is a burden. I don't like either of these two particular teachers' room arrangements and the kids have to spend the first and last few minutes of every class arranging their desks how I want them. Then, the recopying over and over again of homework, objectives, and drill gets monotonous as hell. Not to mention my sometimes brainless freshmen *still* can't find me after school. I failed 53 students first quarter and many of them need coach class, and almost every day I hear a kid say he came to my classroom instead of the office, even though I've announced countless times where my office is - even did a field trip for each class. Coach class is another huge problem of floating. Even a light one with ten kids is too crowded in that little office.
I don't mean to whine. Things are actually good. I like the department head more and more every day after the initial dislike period. She does quirky things like decorating the english office with garage sale type of things in order to make it look less like a "cave" - her (accurate) word for it. She's supposed to be popping into classrooms once a week and staying for fifteen minutes, and completing a twenty-item checklist on each of us. They are not formal observations, but informal feedback. Anyhow, her way of doing this is to come after a class, sit down, check out your objectives, and ask questions like, "So, by any chance, did you connect that objective right there to the state BCR rubric?", which I of course answer affirmatively and she checks the box. Complete BS, but at least it seems like she's on our side with that. I haven't seen the principal on a place other than the football field in a couple of months, so he's effectively staying out of our hair and I like the school's atmosphere with him in charge.
The city did a citywide benchmark that I actually thought was pretty good back in October (maybe a questionable reading selection, but it was others that had more of a problem with it than me), and we're having another one this month on theme. In preparation, I'm doing one quick little selection every class where the kids restate the plot, make a list of subjects, and then construct theme statements. It's fun. I did The Giving Tree yesterday. One particularly sweet kid literally ran of the classroom crying at the end. The poem "First They Came For the Jews" was today's selection. I am considering doing "Imagine" tomorrow in honor of Lennon's death, but I'm not sure if I have the guts. I think the theme would be pretty easy for the kids to discern, though.
The month of December will be long, though. A full four weeks. I can't believe we go through December 23.
School is going very well right now. I've assembled a regular group of students that come and visit during every coach class and work for an hour or two on their stuff. In my head, I call them "The 55 Club," because that's what grade they all got first quarter in my class. Now their parents are making them come to Coach Class everyday. They're all funny, good kids and their grades are much improved. I really like sitting with them and talking with them because of the way their minds work. We'll be having an academic discussion about something, and it will be going very well, when all of a sudden, shoom, one of them throws something in their that is off-topic, from left-field, but deeply funny. Like this kid "Ichabod." Today, we're talking about To Kill a Mockingbird, when all of a sudden, he says, "Dag, Mr. E, why don't you order some pizza?" And I almost thought about it. Maybe soon for one of these afternoons. Then we all giggle and move on.
I've been keeping an e-mail list all year for parents and students, and it's impossible not to feel inspired when a parent sends something like this back to me - "p.s. Thank you for keeping us informed of your efforts to educate our children. It is my opinion that every teacher can teach, but not every teacher can educate. Taking you for educating (our son), he has really grown from being in your class." I mean, how nice. That just puts the wind in my sails.
In other news, it looks like we'll be moving from a 90-minute block schedule to a 48-minute schedule next year. The faculty vote was 40 for the 48-minute schedule, 18 for the 90-minute schedule, and 2 abstainers with letters. 20 didn't vote at all. I was one of the two abstainers. Of course I was. I'm a bit of a rabble rouser. I wrote a long letter explaining how I thought that only have two options was not good for our students. The schedule has long been a source of turmoil for me. A scheduling committee formed a couple of years ago that researched, polled, and brought findings to the table that were ignored - findings such as a modified block schedule, or a rotating schedule, or other options that would have been better than a short 48-minute class period. However, all of these other options were ignored. It looks like we're going to 48 minutes. And, as it is, it's the lesser of two evils. My student load will go down from about 170 (6 classes) to 140 (5 classes). I also think seeing kids every day instead of every other day will help with skills retention. I like that I can now have a Wednesday grammar day if I want to, every week.
In addition, it now looks like I'll be getting a classroom starting in January. Our principal hates teachers floating, especially those with huge student loads, so they're finding one for me on the first floor somewhere. They're either gong to clear out half of a computer room or displace an office that hasn't been told yet. I'm sure someone will be upset by either move, but I haven't been complaining about floating. It's my department head who hates it, and I'm happy that she's going to bat for me in this respect. Someone with 170 kids shouldn't be floating, period, regardless of whether it was my turn or not. And I don't even mind it too much, in the morning. But having to take huge classes into small classrooms in the afternoon that is a burden. I don't like either of these two particular teachers' room arrangements and the kids have to spend the first and last few minutes of every class arranging their desks how I want them. Then, the recopying over and over again of homework, objectives, and drill gets monotonous as hell. Not to mention my sometimes brainless freshmen *still* can't find me after school. I failed 53 students first quarter and many of them need coach class, and almost every day I hear a kid say he came to my classroom instead of the office, even though I've announced countless times where my office is - even did a field trip for each class. Coach class is another huge problem of floating. Even a light one with ten kids is too crowded in that little office.
I don't mean to whine. Things are actually good. I like the department head more and more every day after the initial dislike period. She does quirky things like decorating the english office with garage sale type of things in order to make it look less like a "cave" - her (accurate) word for it. She's supposed to be popping into classrooms once a week and staying for fifteen minutes, and completing a twenty-item checklist on each of us. They are not formal observations, but informal feedback. Anyhow, her way of doing this is to come after a class, sit down, check out your objectives, and ask questions like, "So, by any chance, did you connect that objective right there to the state BCR rubric?", which I of course answer affirmatively and she checks the box. Complete BS, but at least it seems like she's on our side with that. I haven't seen the principal on a place other than the football field in a couple of months, so he's effectively staying out of our hair and I like the school's atmosphere with him in charge.
The city did a citywide benchmark that I actually thought was pretty good back in October (maybe a questionable reading selection, but it was others that had more of a problem with it than me), and we're having another one this month on theme. In preparation, I'm doing one quick little selection every class where the kids restate the plot, make a list of subjects, and then construct theme statements. It's fun. I did The Giving Tree yesterday. One particularly sweet kid literally ran of the classroom crying at the end. The poem "First They Came For the Jews" was today's selection. I am considering doing "Imagine" tomorrow in honor of Lennon's death, but I'm not sure if I have the guts. I think the theme would be pretty easy for the kids to discern, though.
The month of December will be long, though. A full four weeks. I can't believe we go through December 23.
Depths
The depths of my exhaustion know no limit. Oh my gosh. I need a break. Three doubles in a row and I feel beaten down by the world.
I'm scrapping my plans to write quizzes tonight. I'll go in early to school and postpone the morning gym trip to the afternoon.
I like the Steve Klein trade, Orioles fans. I just wish my Tigers would do something. Ironically, the one Tigers I wish most not to be traded - Carlos Pena - is probably the one most likely to be dealt. It's for subjective reasons; in reality, it's Bonderman who is the untouchable. But I like watching Pena play the game and think he'll hit 40 home runs next season if he gets a shot. I'd like for it to be for Detroit.
I'm scrapping my plans to write quizzes tonight. I'll go in early to school and postpone the morning gym trip to the afternoon.
I like the Steve Klein trade, Orioles fans. I just wish my Tigers would do something. Ironically, the one Tigers I wish most not to be traded - Carlos Pena - is probably the one most likely to be dealt. It's for subjective reasons; in reality, it's Bonderman who is the untouchable. But I like watching Pena play the game and think he'll hit 40 home runs next season if he gets a shot. I'd like for it to be for Detroit.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Eight is not enough
1. Ahhhh. A 2-hour delay. I'm going into school early for some peaceful working time.
2. I'm annoying everyone at school with my Christmas music.
3. I feel a little like I'm living in midievil times when I realize I'm living in a state that allows capital punishment. It just makes me ill. If Arnold Schwarzenegger allows that ex-gang leader guy to die later this month, I will be so angry. He clearly is still a benefit to society, as he writes children's books and speaks out against joining a gang. I cannot believe it's even being considered. I cannot believe the death penalty is even legal.
5. Last Monday, I waited on five people and made $26. This Monday, I waited on five people and made $26. Consistently horrible Monday nights, but for very different reasons - the post-Thanksgiving blues of last week, and the "snow storm" of last night. Here's hoping tonight is better. I'm working an awful lot this week because of holiday parties and the ilk.
6. Tonight is also the tree-trimming party at the restaurant. It was a favor to schedule me by the boss because he knew I'd have to be out late anyway for the tree-trimming party and meeting beforehand. The tree-trimming party usually involves a lot of wine and a lot of taking direction from owner, who is very particular about her Christmas decorations. It's usually pretty fun. I'm probably not going to partake in the wine and try to duck out as early as I can.
7. I'm almost positive my little sister and I accidentally switched contact lenses when she came down for Thanksgiving because I can't see for shit since she left. She swears it's not the case, but I'm almost 100% sure. I'm going to the eye doctor today to get my prescription filled. I was about due, anyway.
8. My mirror is still dangling. That sucks. The woman who hit me is not returning calls to my insurance company and I think I'm just going to get the damn thing taken care of.
9. This is one of my favorite times of the year - baseball's winter meetings. There should be a flurry of exciting activity over the next few days. I'm hoping the Tigers won't give anyone a crazy huge contract that we'll be saddled with for years, but I'm also hoping they make some good moves. So far, they've done nothing this off-season. Even less than the Orioles, who at least now have Mazzone.
2. I'm annoying everyone at school with my Christmas music.
3. I feel a little like I'm living in midievil times when I realize I'm living in a state that allows capital punishment. It just makes me ill. If Arnold Schwarzenegger allows that ex-gang leader guy to die later this month, I will be so angry. He clearly is still a benefit to society, as he writes children's books and speaks out against joining a gang. I cannot believe it's even being considered. I cannot believe the death penalty is even legal.
5. Last Monday, I waited on five people and made $26. This Monday, I waited on five people and made $26. Consistently horrible Monday nights, but for very different reasons - the post-Thanksgiving blues of last week, and the "snow storm" of last night. Here's hoping tonight is better. I'm working an awful lot this week because of holiday parties and the ilk.
6. Tonight is also the tree-trimming party at the restaurant. It was a favor to schedule me by the boss because he knew I'd have to be out late anyway for the tree-trimming party and meeting beforehand. The tree-trimming party usually involves a lot of wine and a lot of taking direction from owner, who is very particular about her Christmas decorations. It's usually pretty fun. I'm probably not going to partake in the wine and try to duck out as early as I can.
7. I'm almost positive my little sister and I accidentally switched contact lenses when she came down for Thanksgiving because I can't see for shit since she left. She swears it's not the case, but I'm almost 100% sure. I'm going to the eye doctor today to get my prescription filled. I was about due, anyway.
8. My mirror is still dangling. That sucks. The woman who hit me is not returning calls to my insurance company and I think I'm just going to get the damn thing taken care of.
9. This is one of my favorite times of the year - baseball's winter meetings. There should be a flurry of exciting activity over the next few days. I'm hoping the Tigers won't give anyone a crazy huge contract that we'll be saddled with for years, but I'm also hoping they make some good moves. So far, they've done nothing this off-season. Even less than the Orioles, who at least now have Mazzone.
Monday, December 05, 2005
(S)no afternoon activities
In keeping with this area's overreaction to snow, they made all teachers, staff, and students leave the building by 3:30 today. I'd be excited if it meant my day would end earlier, but it just means a longer break in between the two jobs today.
I'm really hoping for a snow day tomorrow, though, as is everyone else. What would be great is if they announce it at around 6am, when I'm at the gym already, so I know I'll finish out the workout and then have the rest of the day to do whatever I pleased. Truth be told, it will probably involve going into the school and grading papers. But still.
Today it struck me how much more work a teacher who fails a lot of students does than a teacher who passes everyone. I have high expectations and I get the kids there, but it means relentlessly staying on them like stink on shit. Today, I even thought to myself a couple times, "You know, I could let them slide this time," but realized that I would be letting them slide because I was being a little lazy and didn't feel like doing the work, and not vice versa.
However, I am thinking about not doing my 9th grade film club this week. That's sort of lazy. There's nothing inspiring me to show - I was thinking about Edward Scissorhands after school, as it's coming of age and Chistmas-y - but I could just as well do that next week. The big movies I like to connect with To Kill a Mockingbird - the (overrated) film version of the novel and The Laramie Project - don't figure themselves into an after-school film club for a few weeks.
Blah blah blah. If anyone is wondering, the chili did not make me sick today. In fact, it was pretty good. It will probably be my lunch for an entire week. Dinner too.
I'm really hoping for a snow day tomorrow, though, as is everyone else. What would be great is if they announce it at around 6am, when I'm at the gym already, so I know I'll finish out the workout and then have the rest of the day to do whatever I pleased. Truth be told, it will probably involve going into the school and grading papers. But still.
Today it struck me how much more work a teacher who fails a lot of students does than a teacher who passes everyone. I have high expectations and I get the kids there, but it means relentlessly staying on them like stink on shit. Today, I even thought to myself a couple times, "You know, I could let them slide this time," but realized that I would be letting them slide because I was being a little lazy and didn't feel like doing the work, and not vice versa.
However, I am thinking about not doing my 9th grade film club this week. That's sort of lazy. There's nothing inspiring me to show - I was thinking about Edward Scissorhands after school, as it's coming of age and Chistmas-y - but I could just as well do that next week. The big movies I like to connect with To Kill a Mockingbird - the (overrated) film version of the novel and The Laramie Project - don't figure themselves into an after-school film club for a few weeks.
Blah blah blah. If anyone is wondering, the chili did not make me sick today. In fact, it was pretty good. It will probably be my lunch for an entire week. Dinner too.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Hypothetically speaking, of course
So, let's say that some guy, on a Saturday afternoon, decides to make some vegetarian chili for the large group of people coming over that evening for a certain musical event. Let's say he starts cooking it in the crockpot at around 4pm.
Let's say he has it on high for the first four hours or so, then turns it to low. Then, he totally forgets to give to his guests. By the time he remembers, it's really past the point where it would have been appropriate.
He then makes a mental note to turn it off and put it in the fridge sometime before he goes to bed. However, all the cheap cabernet has made the mental note illegible, and he forgets. In the morning, he realizes that the crockpot has been on all night long. It's pretty early - around 7:30am - and he immediately turns it off.
He doesn't, however, want to put it into the refrigerator right at that moment, because it's too hot. The chili itself still looks alright and smells good, if a little burnt. He decides to write another mental note to remember to put it in the fridge after his morning cereal, before he leaves for work.
That mental note was in a different language, however, and he could not read it, and left for work without putting it in the fridge. The house was not heated for the day. Will the veggie chili still be good, being unrefrigerated for more than 24 hours (but cooking for over twelve of that time, and in a cold house the rest).
We'll find out tomorrow, when the hero of our story eats it for his lunch. Luckily, he ha a stomach of steel and absolutely no hangups about spoilage.
*****
What a long ass day. I worked from 9-5:30, and literally have been lesson planning from 6:00-10:30 here at home.
Let's say he has it on high for the first four hours or so, then turns it to low. Then, he totally forgets to give to his guests. By the time he remembers, it's really past the point where it would have been appropriate.
He then makes a mental note to turn it off and put it in the fridge sometime before he goes to bed. However, all the cheap cabernet has made the mental note illegible, and he forgets. In the morning, he realizes that the crockpot has been on all night long. It's pretty early - around 7:30am - and he immediately turns it off.
He doesn't, however, want to put it into the refrigerator right at that moment, because it's too hot. The chili itself still looks alright and smells good, if a little burnt. He decides to write another mental note to remember to put it in the fridge after his morning cereal, before he leaves for work.
That mental note was in a different language, however, and he could not read it, and left for work without putting it in the fridge. The house was not heated for the day. Will the veggie chili still be good, being unrefrigerated for more than 24 hours (but cooking for over twelve of that time, and in a cold house the rest).
We'll find out tomorrow, when the hero of our story eats it for his lunch. Luckily, he ha a stomach of steel and absolutely no hangups about spoilage.
*****
What a long ass day. I worked from 9-5:30, and literally have been lesson planning from 6:00-10:30 here at home.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
New windows
Right now, my house is filled with ten men ripping out all 16 old windows and replacing them with fancy new ones. The house is tore up and freezing. The animals are locked in the basement. I'm at the library, waiting for it all to be done, because it's too stressful to be there. I've already taken one trip to the gym, and very well might take another right now.
I also have a house concert tonight. They're supposed to be done by 5pm. There's going to have to be a lot of cleanup. If they're not actually done by 5pm, I'm screwed.
One room was already done at my last visit home, and, standing inside it, I could no longer hear the traffic outside. With the old windows, a sharp breeze would not only rattle the windows, but would actually move the indoor blinds. My heating bills have been rather high in the previous winters. Having new windows is going to be awesome. It's even better that I'm not paying for it. It's just today that is stressful. Hopefully not for much longer.
I also have a house concert tonight. They're supposed to be done by 5pm. There's going to have to be a lot of cleanup. If they're not actually done by 5pm, I'm screwed.
One room was already done at my last visit home, and, standing inside it, I could no longer hear the traffic outside. With the old windows, a sharp breeze would not only rattle the windows, but would actually move the indoor blinds. My heating bills have been rather high in the previous winters. Having new windows is going to be awesome. It's even better that I'm not paying for it. It's just today that is stressful. Hopefully not for much longer.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Seven Up
1. So I went to the Baseball coaching conference today. Was it worth my $65? I'm not sure. I left early, bored to death. The presenters held my interest for the first fifteen minutes of each hour-long session, then I doodled my lineup for the year, figured out that I had 15 spots filled on the team already, jotted down my key quesetions for tryouts ("Can Thomas play in the outfield?", "How can I get playing time for Marcus, Sam, and Josh?", "Could I hide Marcus in right field?", "Who will be my second baseman?") and finally read bits of To Kill a Mockingbird while making a quiz for chapters 1-2. My favorite speaker from the last two years was a thirtysomething catcher who was once in the Yankees organization, but blew out his knee and now is the coach of a college in Illinois. He's always been a great speaker and presenter, but today he was replaced by a guy named Doc Edwards, a former big league manager and player. Good resume, but he looked almost exactly like Roger Ebert, only fatter, and couldn't bend down to give his demonstrations, having to toe along with him a kid to demonstrate. That wasn't the worst part. It just wasn't that interesting, and I know that I won't be able to translate much of what I saw to the practice field in three months. I felt like much of this is aimed at college coaches, not high school school in urban areas who have no budget or equipment. It all started sounded repetitive to me so I left.
2. However, it got me really, really excited about the upcoming season. I've got a ton of ideas now, mostly because I spent much of the day brainstorming, and am thinking about having a team meeting before Christmas to get some of them into pre-season conditioning.
3. There are currently two dogs and three cats living in the house while friends make the transition into a new place to live and their animals need a home. It's sort of a madhouse. However, I've already gotten one of the visiting cats to be friends with the dog, and now I'm on to work on the relationships between everyone else. I'm a smoother-over.
4. When all these animals came into the house, I had no idea it would also be the same weekend that I'm getting new windows. That's happening tomorrow, all day. I hope to lock all the animals in the basement and be gone.
5. One of the most underrated songs ever is Barry Maguire's "Eve of Destruction." All of the lyrics ring true today, and it's begging for someone to cover and become a hit song forty years later. Not that our Infinity-owned radio stations would play it, nor would any of the current crop of mostly cowardly, apolitical musicians (except for Kanye West, thank god) record it.
6. I spent the lengthy drive to Gaithersburg and the three-hour trek back in the middle of rush hour listening to standup comic CDs by the two funniest comics I know - Mitch Hedgerg and Margaret Cho. One of Cho's CDs - Revolution kind of sucked, but the other one (Assassin) made me laugh out loud while alone in the car. She's so raunchy and I love it. Favorite line (turn away if you're easily offended): "The truth is, there's no one sexy in the Bush administration. I mean, take Laura Bush. She's pretty and all, but you just know that her pussy tastes like Lysol." Mitch Hedgerg couldn't be more different; he acts stoned and goofy, but rattles off hilarious one-liners that remind me a little bit of Steven Wright. My favorite line of his: "I decided to highlight my hair, because I thought some strands were more important than other ones." That one doesn't come off too funny in print; it's all in his delivery.
7. I-Tunes downloaded today: Johnny Cash singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Fiona Apple singing "Frosty the Snowman," and Travis singing "River."
2. However, it got me really, really excited about the upcoming season. I've got a ton of ideas now, mostly because I spent much of the day brainstorming, and am thinking about having a team meeting before Christmas to get some of them into pre-season conditioning.
3. There are currently two dogs and three cats living in the house while friends make the transition into a new place to live and their animals need a home. It's sort of a madhouse. However, I've already gotten one of the visiting cats to be friends with the dog, and now I'm on to work on the relationships between everyone else. I'm a smoother-over.
4. When all these animals came into the house, I had no idea it would also be the same weekend that I'm getting new windows. That's happening tomorrow, all day. I hope to lock all the animals in the basement and be gone.
5. One of the most underrated songs ever is Barry Maguire's "Eve of Destruction." All of the lyrics ring true today, and it's begging for someone to cover and become a hit song forty years later. Not that our Infinity-owned radio stations would play it, nor would any of the current crop of mostly cowardly, apolitical musicians (except for Kanye West, thank god) record it.
6. I spent the lengthy drive to Gaithersburg and the three-hour trek back in the middle of rush hour listening to standup comic CDs by the two funniest comics I know - Mitch Hedgerg and Margaret Cho. One of Cho's CDs - Revolution kind of sucked, but the other one (Assassin) made me laugh out loud while alone in the car. She's so raunchy and I love it. Favorite line (turn away if you're easily offended): "The truth is, there's no one sexy in the Bush administration. I mean, take Laura Bush. She's pretty and all, but you just know that her pussy tastes like Lysol." Mitch Hedgerg couldn't be more different; he acts stoned and goofy, but rattles off hilarious one-liners that remind me a little bit of Steven Wright. My favorite line of his: "I decided to highlight my hair, because I thought some strands were more important than other ones." That one doesn't come off too funny in print; it's all in his delivery.
7. I-Tunes downloaded today: Johnny Cash singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Fiona Apple singing "Frosty the Snowman," and Travis singing "River."
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Courtney Thorne Smith
So tonight was a night that in which I let a beautiful woman walk alone to her car because I didn't think of offering to walk her there until after she'd left. Either that, or I was chicken. I can't decide what I'd rather admit. It was actually a combination of the two, I think. Forgot at first, but it probably wasn't too late, and then, it was, and she was down the steps by then, and I was frozen.
We'll call her Courtney Thorne Smith, because that's who she looks like, only younger (h.s. class of 1999). And she came out tonight for me. Just her. It was a complete shock. I put her name on the e-mail as an afterthought. She came. I was nervous. She hung out all night with my friends who she does not know, and was completely cool. Hung out for hours. Then she went to the bathroom, and came back, said she thought she had to go, as it was late, and she's a kindergarten teacher (how hot is that?), after all, so she need to get to bad. I just sat there on the leather couch, saying goodbye and how nice it was to see her again. Afterwards, I asked two of my female friends in our group if I should have offered to walk her home, and they said, no, it was crowded out and it was no big deal. But after they detected my interest, they said I really blew it. And I did. Because I suck.
Oh well.
In other words, we missed the lighting. I can't believe it ended at 6:30. I thought it just began then. It took me an hour to find parking. However, it was still a great night, even with my foibles. I came home and e-mailed her right away.
We'll call her Courtney Thorne Smith, because that's who she looks like, only younger (h.s. class of 1999). And she came out tonight for me. Just her. It was a complete shock. I put her name on the e-mail as an afterthought. She came. I was nervous. She hung out all night with my friends who she does not know, and was completely cool. Hung out for hours. Then she went to the bathroom, and came back, said she thought she had to go, as it was late, and she's a kindergarten teacher (how hot is that?), after all, so she need to get to bad. I just sat there on the leather couch, saying goodbye and how nice it was to see her again. Afterwards, I asked two of my female friends in our group if I should have offered to walk her home, and they said, no, it was crowded out and it was no big deal. But after they detected my interest, they said I really blew it. And I did. Because I suck.
Oh well.
In other words, we missed the lighting. I can't believe it ended at 6:30. I thought it just began then. It took me an hour to find parking. However, it was still a great night, even with my foibles. I came home and e-mailed her right away.
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