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.

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~

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.

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.

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~

Maypril Fool's Day!

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



Ta~