31 May 2007

He's Here...

My best friends have just had their first baby!

Meet Evan Michael. He was born Wednesday, 30 May 2007 at 11:32 pm at Emmanuel Hospital in Turlock, California. 8.4 pounds, 20 1/4 inches. Has the look of both parents in him, big time, and arrived at nearly midnight just as I did. The world is most definitely this kid's oyster. He's got two of the best parents you could ever find in this world. I wish I was there to celebrate with them. Now I have three Howenstines to miss every single day...

30 May 2007

I Got Reviewed...

I neglected to mention what else happened Friday. I got called into the principal's office to have a chat about the work I've done this year. Thankfully, she was in a little competition with one of the vice principals to finish her reviews first, so the bandage was ripped off nice and quick.

I, as usual, was a little more nervous than I should be. I have never liked getting called in to the office. Especially since I have a knack for appearing guilty even when no crime was perpetrated. My wife can especially vouch for that trait. So yes, there was good reason to be nervous, and it is because the universe regularly conspires against me.

I was presented with a rubric that was something of an outline of the various aspects of my job and the four rating categories that each may fall into. The principal blew through it really fast, but explained about the categories 'unsatisfactory' being what it states, 'basic' would be the entry level of knowing how to do your job and is the expected point for doing one's job, 'proficient' is doing incredibly well in what is assigned and having above-average outcomes, and 'distinguished' meaning going far and beyond the call of duty to do something worthy of being pointed out. The last category is not meant to be the final goal of all job aspects, but rather something extra being done, which I thought interesting.

Well my review, as it turned out, left me rated as 'proficient' in all categories except my amount of work accomplished. In that, I was deemed 'distinguished'. That surprised the heck out of me, and as I told my reviewer, I thought I was just doing my job. She said that is usually how it happens. I must say, that is a nice way of putting it.

All of this makes for a prelude to an exchange I had with my mom via email, where I sassed her about emailing while at work, to which she promptly replied:

Like you don't blog on the taxpayer's dime, Evan.


So to my mother, I say just look at my grades!

29 May 2007

The Week, continued...

So my midweek wrapped up with a tornado watch that sent me into a stinky basement. Good times, I say.

Thursday was Michelle's birthday. I had worked a non-student day, so I was able to have a floating holiday to use as I please. I took the day off, and headed down to Minneapolis to have a nice lunch with my wife on her birthday. Such was my plan all along, but as it turned out, she had been having a long week already by that point, so it also gave her a lovely little break. On my out to her building, I picked up a fresh bouquet of flowers from a street vendor, as well.

We had a long lunch at an Applebee's. Then I took her directly across the skyway hall to present her with her birthday present. It was a Borders bookstore, and I let her go hog wild in there. Thank the great forces that be (and my own amazing luck), they were having a 3 for 2 sale on her favorite author, Jodi Picoult. Plus we got a few other tidbits for reading pleasure too. I felt it was quite a proper Fryer gift, as little reading material was ever turned down when I was growing up.

Best thing about taking your wife to shop at a bookstore? It's fine if you pick up something for yourself. I picked up a book my father recommended, The Coming Anarchy by Robert D Kaplan, as well as something else I'm excited to read. I enjoyed reading Frank McCourt before, and have enjoyed them greatly. But this book seems rather appropriate: Teacher Man. I can't wait to dig in after reading Kaplan, which is also turning out eerily fascinating and telling.

That evening, we three headed up to the in-laws' for a nice birthday dinner. We also managed to negotiate with Grandma to babysit for Friday night. When Friday afternoon rolled around, Michelle's folks stopped by to say hi and Mike checked out the new sprinkler pump I picked up to replace our busted one and formulate a plan for installation. They took Austin with them, and all reports were clean; he was the consummate Mr Manners.

Michelle and I spent the evening being free and relaxed. We went out for a little shopping and other wanderings, and got some drinks and appetizers to finish the night. It was such a nice break for all the week's hullabaloo. We had real conversation, with actual thought and pauses free of whining. We love our son dearly, but if there's hardly a moment to be an adult, not just a parent, one's mind will surely depart this world.

I liked being able to celebrate my wife's birthday over two days. She deserves it. After all, she means the world to not only me, but to my son as well.

27 May 2007

The Week is Done...

Okay, here's the recap of what happened this week, plus some extra fun things that managed to occur:

Monday's golf tournament was fun. It was set up as foursome scrambles, and all those playing from work took over the back nine of a pretty nice course in Anoka. I had a blast, and on one hole, we actually played off of each one of my shots, getting us a par. That sort of stuff makes me almost believe I could be good at the game. Of course, I then realize golf really is a silly game, plus it is quite a bit more fun when you plan to be awful in the first place.

Tuesday I went with my friend the band director and her 7th grade band to the Mall of America. Each half of the band performed their set, then it was off to a couple hours of eating and running amok. The MOA has an indoor (duh) amusement park, formerly known as Camp Snoopy. It was just going to be her as the sole school staffer on the trip and none of the parents going with on the bus from the school. She was pretty grateful to have me around to help, and I was more than happy to help my friend and get most of a day off from work.

Of course, after we had come back from those escapades, I still had to teach the final session of my Animation class after school for two hours. I had compiled all the kids' animations into a whole video, which I hope to post up somewhere on the web when I can. There was only a little tweaking left to do, and then we all had some pizza along with throwing the whole thing onto a DVD and setting up the good projector and sound system. Though there were some days I really did not have it in me to run that class (namely since spring makes kids lose their minds), I was still a little sad to have it end. Here's my small group of 7 kids:


Wednesday... holy cow Wednesday. Jazz Band was planned for after school, as I managed to have 'other things' planned after school two days before (like coming in second in a tournament). By afternoon, some of the storms that have been teasing us for a week finally arrived and dumped some precipitation. That is all well and good. Of course, then about 10 minutes into the final hour of school, the sirens across town went off, and then the announcement was made: we are under a tornado watch.

We had not, to my knowledge, run any tornado drills this past school year, so the kids went a little haywire. All they had to do was get up and head down to their designated areas in the basement. The kids did well enough, but it was slow going. Had we had a drill or two, I don't think it would have been so chaotic getting to the right places. Once finally in the basement (my group was in the wresting room with another few hundred) we had everyone sitting, but terribly noisy. And smelly. It was overly humid in general due to the weather, then we were all crammed into a basement room below hot water pipes. It was just a tad foul. At least no tornado actually formed, and we eventually all made it out of the school about 40 minutes past our normal day's end.

The short story is, I had my first jazz rehearsal canceled due to my first tornado watch.


That's it for now... it's a lovely Sunday morning, and I have a garage to clear out in the desperate hope of parking in there by winter. Plus, I'm sick of tripping over junk to get to what I actually need. I write again later.

Ta~

21 May 2007

Heeeeey Technorati...

Okay, I've finally added both blogs to Technorati, and in return, they've added a spunky new search engine for this blog. You may now peruse my blog or the entire blogging realm right from your favorite website about me. Enjoy!

Busy Little Week...

I have a busy a little week ahead of me. After school today is a staff golf tournament. I have not touched my clubs since sometime last year. I don't even think since moving back out to Minnesota. So this is fair warning to my back and to my wife: today is going to be rough. And that, my dear friends, is a golfing double entendre.

Tomorrow, aside from teaching the last session of my afternoon animation class, I need go and get an new sprinkler pump and start getting it put together with my father in law. Of course, it's supposed to also be storming the next couple of days, and God willing it'll drop enough water to finally wake my lawn back up. Oh yeah, and I'm going with the school band on a field trip to the Mall of America during the day. I like having the band teacher as my friend; she gets me out of class!

Wednesday I will be having a makeup jazz rehearsal for having missed Monday due to golfing (shucks). These afternoon classes are tough, because the kids have completely checked out for the summer. There are still three weeks remaining, but they all lost it three weeks ago. Kids can smell summer coming over a month away. I really think that schools might better be served by ending at the end of April, or even on the Vernal Equinox. And I think society would be better served and humbled if we had true holidays, like the solstices and the equinoxes (nuts to Columbus). That and everyone should have their birthday be their own legal paid holiday.

Speaking of birthdays, my beautiful wife is turning a still young 23 on Thursday. I have no idea what we'll do, but we'll do something. Oh, and I should get her a gift, too. Y'know, so she doesn't hold it against me for the next ever.

Friday I may even be allowed to breathe. It'll be sweet. Although I think all that is a start for a hefty weekend for Michelle. There's always something going on these days. And when there's not, we still go out and do something for the kid. He loves to just go and visit the neighbors. We've recently lucked out and met a few people with four year olds, and so hopefully we'll have a lot of playmates for the summer.

But I think my mom and sister started off the busy week the best by gallivanting out to Austin, Texas. They sure sound like they're having a ball. Here's a great line from an email from my mom:

Nice to see such an active downtown scene--horse drawn carriages, outdoor dining, pretty cool, though a bit loud and party heavy for Leann's taste. Oh, and street vendors--including one just for Evan: The Best Wurst hot dog stand.


Stuff like that reminds me that life really is good.

18 May 2007

Setting the Bar...

Yesterday afternoon was my first parent-teacher conference regarding Austin. I tell you, that kid went and set the bar really high for himself. He's gone and become one of the smartest kids in his class, reading and writing his letters with ease, and remember lots of his Spanish and Sign. They're opening a new room for slightly older kids in a couple of weeks, and he's getting bumped up, too. Michelle and I are ridiculously excited about it, and even the teacher said that as soon as she heard it was being opened she thought of how happy we'd be. I guess we're that obnoxious.

This all spells out a dark day for Austin. Henceforth, I will hang this over his little noggin. Even when he's fifteen and getting a C in basket weaving, I will be able to say, 'You were such a good kid, we raised you so well, even back in daycare you were brilliant. Shape up or ship out!' Something along those lines, probably adding in some phrase regarding disappointment. Needless to say, if he ever falters once in his whole life, falling at all below this new benchmark, he will be in serious trouble.


Speaking of serious trouble, Michelle and I just signed back up to play World of Warcraft. Now we each have our own account and can play side by side. It's a fun, relaxing thing we can do together that lets us talk to some of our friends in California and it beats just sitting in front of the tube never talking to one another. Plus, it's a much more fun game to have someone to play with at almost all times, especially if they're in the room with you. I think our friends are pretty stoked to have us back, too. I know I've missed talking to and playing with them.


I'm still looking for good summer work. If anyone needs anything that I can do from out here, let me know~

16 May 2007

For Consideration...

I'm working on applying to Hamline University in St Paul, and below is my first draft of the essay I have to submit for my application for the Master of Arts in Teaching program. Any suggestions or corrections would be greatly appreciated.

When asking myself why I want to become a public school teacher, I have come to understand that it was less a decision and more a discovery. In my experiences through college and now into my current occupation, I have found that I have a natural knack with children. And not only do I have a knack, it turned out that I truly enjoy working with kids.

This self-discovery came about years ago when I volunteered to cover someone for the younger half of a summer music camp (5th through 8th grades). I was to just come in and teach saxophone and assist in large ensemble rehearsals. The kids surprised me when they were laughing at my jokes as I taught them things, and I surprised them and myself with my energy for the whole endeavor. Even more surprising was that they were actually wanting me to return the next summer.

After that experience, the spark had lit. I went out of my way to begin teaching music lessons at local schools and worked two more years of camp beyond that first time. The following years, I was a resident counselor, in charge of kids overnight in the dorms, as well as taught more classes. There were rave, though often odd, reviews of me by the students (it is quite amusing how 12 year olds express themselves sometimes).

Beyond my college education, which culminated in a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, unfortunately without a teaching credential, was growth in my personal life. I have gotten married and have a young son who has taught me more patience than I thought I had capacity for. Being the very strong-willed, spirited child that he is, has tempered me and shown me the joy of watching someone learn over a longer period of time than a few short summer weeks.

Since graduating and moving halfway across the country, I almost exclusively sought work in the educational field. My seemingly bottomless well of good luck landed me as a computer technician for an arts-oriented, public middle school. I work with 6th through 8th grade students daily, as well as have been able to teach after school music and technology classes on top of that. I greatly enjoy what I am doing now, and look ever more forward to having a classroom of my own. Integrating all that I know and have experienced already and adding in all the teaching techniques I will learn is an exciting prospect and challenge.

As for working toward a specifically public school teaching license, there has not been any consideration otherwise. I do not particularly care for the idea of non-public education, as I think it should be free and equal for all. But aside from that, I have always enjoyed working with other people and students from all walks of life. Having so many different perspectives and stories only lends itself to the enrichment of the room they are in, and I would be rather disappointed to teach in anything less.

09 May 2007

My Family's Queen Mother...

A tribute to my Grandma Mary.

Sweet Silence...

I tell you, nothing is more serene than the sound of 30+ old CRT iMacs shutting down at once and the quiet that follows it.

08 May 2007

My Son's Trials...

So this is a part of the conversation our family had at dinner tonight:

Mommy starts off the dialogue, "Austin, tell Daddy what happened at school today."
"Um, I don't know." Austin replied.
"Tell Daddy where you got an owie."
Austin then spoke honestly, "On my butt."
My curiosity piqued, "How did you get an owie on your butt?" I asked.
"From the toilet paper roller."
"Yeah, his teacher even said, 'I have no idea how it could have happened.'" my wife chimed in.

I could only look at her, then back at my son, all while my brain desperately attempted to figure out how this event transpired. It still hasn't succeeded.

Evil Spirits, Begone...

My life has been a festival of drug intake as of late. Last week, I was roughing it through a cold I contracted while being Austin's dad (ie, the boy coughed right in my face many a times, despite having been taught to cover his mouth). NyQuil was my friend and ally in the war on boogers. I thought I had it beat after taking an early afternoon off and resting. I even woke up, picked up Austin from school, and he and I cleared out a great deal of the garage.

But, soon as that was done, I was practically comatose again. Bless Michelle's heart, she let me just sleep away the hours. I thought it would help, alongside some decongestants. I was longing to breathe through my nose. I still am. No amount of anything seemed to get me through, and I tell you, I was one cranky bastard.

So after feeling the worst of it yesterday, and barely surviving through after school rehearsals, I took a different path. Last night, I took Austin with me to do a little shopping, namely to get some allergy medication in the desperate hope that it would work over my having to see a doctor.

I must say, I've never dealt with my boy being so good at a store before. He just sat in the cart and played with his helicopter and told me stories as I was going through my shopping list. He even was helpful and obedient when trying on new shoes and sandals for the summer. Seriously, especially considering the condition I was in, he was absolutely perfect. Much better than the previous trip out where he grabbed the can of shaving gel I put in his part of the cart (I'm not an idiot; I suffer from idiocy) and shot himself square in the eye. He had to have emptied at least a quarter of the can. It's funny in retrospect, but man... rough little go. Most annoying, though, was a random lady showed up to put in her two cents. I guess she had pulled the same foolish move herself recently, as she wasn't quite perceptive enough to notice Michelle taking care of the poor boy right there, either.

Finally last night I ingested some house-brand Claritin and nice Chamomile tea and went to bed. This morning I still woke up feeling like grim death, and even after an almost sinus-clearing, scalding hot shower, nearly called in. But then I went for the big guns: Excedrin. Nothing like painkillers doused with caffeine to kick it up a notch, Bam! It finally started to kick in as I got Austin up and out the door, dressing himself on the way (oh yeah. Once I teach him to tie his shoes, that's it. I'm done parenting. Anything else I do will just damage him). Now I'm floating along just fine, bottle of pills at the ready in my bag.

I'm not a particularly big fan of taking drugs, as I do think it's better for the body to learn to cope properly instead of using a crutch. But then again, what species wouldn't use whatever it had at its disposal to make it feel better. Of course, nature's bloody deceptive, as my dad can attest to birds eating berries that apparently taste good but essentially get them drunk enough to fly into windows and die.

Well, to sum up this completely derailed post, Midwestern allergens are apparently waging a successful conquest of my sinuses and I think I may have finally figured out a cocktail of pharmaceuticals that gets me by. We're still continuing on with another month's worth of testing, with the light at the end of the tunnel being school ending by the next lunar cycle. Ta~

01 May 2007

Maypril Fool's Day!

Here's the latest greatness from my favorite fool, my uncle:



Ta~