Updation...

Spring is here, a Spuh-ring is here!
Life is Skittles and life is beer!
I think the loveliest time of the year is the Spring,
I do. Don't you? 'Course you do.

But there's one thing that makes Spring complete for me,
And makes every Sunday a treat for me...

All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

Every Sunday you'll see
My sweetheart and me
As we poison the pigeons in the park.


Life's been going pretty swell out here, though rather tiring. On Tuesday evening was the final band concert of the year, which included the jazz band I've been teaching since January. We performed some prelude music while the giant seventh grade band assembled itself on stage. It went over well, and we got lots of nice compliments from those in attendance. I was really proud of the kids and the work they did, despite having nearly half the jazz band drop out for lack of interest (once a week is rough for some kids to justify, after all.)

It was not the first time I've directed a group before an audience, but it was the first with jazz. It was easy this time around, because we were just background music, nothing to be the center of attention. I don't know if I showed it at all, but I was a little on edge, just because it was jazz. But hey, it went well. I survived. No reason I won't the next time. First DL is over.

There are other wonderful things going on in my life. Austin has been beyond good the past few weeks. He loves the switch of me taking him to school in the morning and Michelle picking him up. He's been getting himself dressed and his manners would do his Great Grandma Mary proud. And, now this will impress everyone who's been to our house, there have been no toys placed on the Naughty Shelf for some time now. It's amazing. I tell you, I'm done raising him. Anything else I do will be more harm than good.

Michelle is still getting up at five am and enjoying her hefty commute to work, where she can listen to music or podcasts and read. Mass transit does equal joy. In fact, I'm a little envious. But then again, I get to blog during my downtime at work. She loves being a cubicle warrior (and loves that I call her that). One thing you'll know around here is that employees at Target Corporate love their jobs and the company itself. I was talking to her last night, and apparently what Coca-Cola is to some people, what with the collectibles and paraphernalia and whatnot, Target will be for her. And you know what? I can accept that, as I have been informed.

I seem to have a hold on my own life, no?

Ta~

The Worst...

...has occurred at Virginia Tech. I left my thoughts at The Amphitheater.

Peace~

Wow...

I tell you, goodness is being able to play the theme to Beavis and Butt-Head while at work. I think that you have to be a man between the ages of 28 and 23 to really be able to notice at all. Either way, I like having days of working on a project without random, noisy kids coming in and souring my day.

Enjoy the weekend, Radioland. I plan to~

Go Twins...

Last night was the first game since opening day that I've been able to catch a ballgame. Watching Ramon Ortiz pitch, I could only stay awake for two-thirds of the game, was a beautiful thing. He almost completely silenced the Yankees, allowing only one run in eight innings. Baseball is just an amazing game, and is partly to blame why I don't believe in probability. So much heart and individual spirit goes into each pitch and each swing, you just never know what will happen.

Granted, baseball is a game full of statistics of every kind encompassing almost a century and a half, and continuing to add to them. But still, in my little pieces of watching, I have seen the worst pitcher strike the greatest hitters out with garbage in the dirt, and seen guys who can't get a hit pull a perfect triple to win the game, and have seen two outs, two runs up in the 9th turn into two runs down and a lost game. There's a chance, a suspense, a debate, and an intensity in every action, and I love it. And if there's a chance, it's fifty-fifty in my book.

It was a nice end to a day full of ups and downs. Austin managed to wake up at five in the morning, just before Mommy and I wake to some classical music on MPR. Oh yes, and it'd been snowing all night and would for the remainder of the day. Luckily we managed to get out of the house on time, even with me dealing with Austin being up and about while I try to assemble myself along with him.

Next came an up. After Austin was at school, on my way to work Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was on the radio. I got to let it rip and I belted out along with it (though Freddy Mercury's range is well beyond my own). It felt good, and it got me groovin' and ready for the rest of the day.

Of course, the rest of the day was quite against it. It got very long, with lots of little things breaking down, but nothing big to specifically work on. Then arose a situation where I had to deal with a discipline problem with a kid in jazz band. Nothing awful, just a boy liking a girl, and to show it the boy terrorize and annoy her ceaselessly. So a parent called, I talked to the boy, it's all sorted. It was just something I don't care to deal with. Luckily he knocked it off before I had to kick him out.

The day ended in great relief when Michelle decided we should get Chinese food for dinner. So she got the munchkin and I went to a new takeout place and ordered out. I walked in like I would have at my favorite takeaway in Reading, and ordered some goodness, then sat to wait. It was such a small pleasure, and it completely recharged me. I took a section of the Star Tribune and simply read for about fifteen minutes. Nothing but smelling the wonderful aromas of food cooking there and reading local news. Like I've said before, Heaven doesn't happen after you die.


I suppose I should get back to editing another podcast for the school. I'm writing this on one of my breaks. I am teaching another session of my afternoon animation class again, which means my days will be regularly very long. At least the podcast is interesting, as most are. This one had a great storyteller, and she was describing being in West Africa where the kids wanted nothing more than pencil and paper. Makes my wheels turn and my fingers itch, I tell you...

Toodles~

My Argument...

Now, this is my argument against an open-air ballpark being built out here:

Silva, Twins' outing vs. White Sox put on hold
Right-hander Carlos Silva will have to postpone his season debut as tonight's Twins-White Sox game has been suspended due to the extremely cold temperatures and winds forecast for the evening. The game will be rescheduled for a future date.

C'mon now, folks. We're paying so much for a new ballpark, which I will admit we desperately need, but put in the extra bucks and have a retractable roof put on! Our opening day would have been snowed out if it wasn't in the toilet bowl Metrodome.

Oh well. At least a train will be built to the ballpark. I'm very game for that.

It's springtime...

Well, it's the first day of my spring vacation. Nice to be in the education field, right? Normally I would say that it is weak, why not just push through another week's worth of work? Well, I'll tell you, just as any teacher would, that kids get absolutely nutty around the Vernal Equinox, and pushing them too hard for too long will just make them lose it. Most of them did, particularly the week before break.

As a standard, Fridays are the wildest days of those in a week, particularly prior to a long weekend. Since the equinox, though, it's been worse. The lack of forethought and consideration has deteriorated to nearly nothing. They bounce off the walls and each other. My very three year old boy could definitely teach them a lesson in patience.

And this whole week... wow. Nothing could be said or done to get these kids to sit still or keep a thought in their head about anything other than themselves. I am certainly glad it was only a four-day week for them. Friday was for teachers to finish up their work for the end of the quarter.

Right now I'm enjoying doing very little. Tyrone and I are lounging around, both indoors and out. I'm teaching him the boundaries of the house so he'll know where home is, and so he won't be cooped up downstairs, since we've just decided to keep him from Austin at all times. It's unfortunately easier that way. Ty won't run, and Austin can't keep from playing roughly (he doesn't really know he's doing it).

I do have lots to clean around the house, and with the garage having warmed up a touch, I can put what has been living in there into proper storage or disposal, and my poor little Rusty might have a roof over his head for the first time in his life. I'm excited about it. I am also excited about sitting around on my deck, watching the kid and the cat romp around, watching baseball (home opener tonight!), and just reading my little heart out.

Most immediately, I am very excited to have my pseudo-sister coming out to visit this week. She never made it out for the wedding, and I've missed seeing her (like all of those I left in California). We'll try to catch a ballgame, visit Michelle downtown, do little things; mostly just hang.

Here's to a glass of wine and a cheesy flick from the 80s~

It's Grillin' Time...

Well folks, since it was briefly in the 60s and sunny outside, I was almost duped into believing it was Spring. Actually, I still believe it, only because the snow has sadly melted away, and those (in)famous April showers have started early. Last weekend, while the sun was still sunny and fun was still funny, we went and got ourselves a patio dining set for our deck. Ever since getting our house, I had been eagerly awaiting the day when I could eat a nice dinner out on my deck, in the fresh air. When it happened, it was a nice reassurance that heaven does not exist in an afterlife.

What's next, then? Well, if you must pry (and please do pry, otherwise you might as well skip over to the next random blog), it is time to put the next piece of true American life on my deck: a grill. I have begun looking for an inexpensive, not necessarily large, gas grill to leave out and use regularly. I would, of course, prefer a charcoal grill for the flavor, but with a gas grill, stepping just outside to put on a few dogs, burgers, or, once I find where and how to procure it, carne asada. I think it would be durned sporty to be the local carne asada man.

Where to go for a good, cheap gas grill, you ask? Go ahead, ask. I won't mind, go ahead and ask away. See? Was that so bad? It's okay, I couldn't hear you anyway. You sure are a nutter.

So where to get a cheap gas grill? My first few attempts have been over the local listings at Craigslist, and it seemed that I could make it another success story. For under forty bucks, a not-so-pretty but working gas grill from someone who just upgraded to a larger unit could be mine. But sadly, I have been burned. The last person I wound up playing phone tag for five days before he called me up last night to say that he had actually sold it. I don't care for that sort of wheeling and dealing much of time. I would just like to say this: please, if you are dealing with multiple people when selling an item, let the potential buyers know that there are other parties vying for your stuff. I was sorely disappointed, truly.

Now, after all that rubbish, I am ready to start looking at cheap, new grills. I'm not looking for a side burner (I have a stove fifteen feet from my deck; they can see each other) nor a grill that can cook through a water buffalo. So now here's a legitimate question for both of my readers: how much power do I need to just cook up burgers, dogs, chicken, and the occasional steaks? Does the BTU value make any sort of difference? I don't yet know what sort of surface area I need, but not to worry, I won't be getting anything sight unseen. I'm just wondering if there are particularly hardy or troublesome brands or other things to look for that I might miss. Please, dear people out there in radioland, answer my call~

What happened to me now...

What the heck could have possibly happened in my life to make me a new subscriber to Better Homes and Gardens?