August 25, 2008: Back to School

Today was the first day of school, the day I most dislike. It is the day where I have to do ALL the talking, go over rules, procedures, grading, what to expect, and so on. It drives me crazy and by the end of the day, I am a bit horse. I usually have a good first day of school, and today was no exception. I have 1st period planning, which gives me an extra hour-and-a-half to get ready. Then I teach AP Economics. This class is challenging because of the content and the calibre of the students. They will be certain to ask me challenging questions that I may not know the answer to right away. The I have lunch, at 10:40am. It is more like brunch, but since I eat breakfast before 5am, it isn't a problem. Next is honors Civics & Economics. Another good class: intelligent and conscientious. And finally, I end the day with an average Civics & Economics. Another good class: polite and courteous. So this will most likely amount to a good semester. I will have to stay on top of some of the average students each day to keep them on task and caught up, but that is typical of an average class.

You may be asking why am I eating breakfast before 5am. Simple, I am going to the gym BEFORE school. As I previously mentioned, last week was an experiment to see if I could do it. It was pretty successful, so this week is the real challenge: to go to the gym and then be ready to teach. Today was OK, but by the time I got home, I was tired. Sitting in carpool for Evan doesn't help. I really get tired there. Another thing, my feet are killing me, already. I hope it gets better or else I am going to need to find more comfortable shoes!

August 24, 2008: Away We Go

This is it. Tomorrow the students arrive. Will I be ready? All that matters is if the students think so. Appearances are everything. There are two important bits of information I remind myself at the beginning of the year (and along the way too, of course):

1) The truth isn't important, it is what you can get them to believe that matters.
2) Teaching is 80-90% acting.

If I am not prepared but the students think I am, then I am prepared, and that is a good thing. On the other hand, even if I have the best laid plans, they sometimes do not work and it comes off as though I am not prepared. If they believe I am not prepared, then I am not. Plain and simple. Therefore, no matter what I must act as though I am prepared. I must act as though I am ready for the next situation, no matter what it may be. The students must have confidence in my abilities, if they do not, then it will be an up hill battle from then on.

So tomorrow, I must be ready when the students arrive. I must have an agenda ready to go once the bell rings. I must be prepared to handle the students who arrive tardy, and those who ask to use the rest room. If I do not have all these things, then my ship is already sinking. The tone must be set minute one of day one.

Am I ready? Mostly. Will the students believe I am prepared? Absolutely.

August 21, 2008: Adjustment Period

On Monday I mentioned how this week was going to be a trial period. As of this morning I have successfully arrived to work at the time I desired, 6:45. I will admit, I am getting pretty tired. All of this up at 4:30am is starting to catch up. I am trying to get to bed earlier since I am waking up earlier, and I have been somewhat successful in that, but I am still pretty tired. The difficult thing about it is that I am unable to tell if I am tired because I am getting up so early or because I am back to work (albeit, without students). But if you think about it, I am not up all that much earlier than I will be next week when the students arrive. Last semester my alarm was set for 4:51, not it is 4:30. 21 minutes should not make that much difference. But I guess if I am at a gym working out in the meantime, then that could account for it too. The other thing is food. I get up and eat a bowl of cereal by 5am. I get to work around 7. And by 8:30 I am hungry. I am not going to eat another meal, I am going to have to find a sensible yet filling snack. The good thing there is that I have 'A' lunch, meaning I eat lunch around 10:30. So the morning isn't too bad that way. The long stretch will be after lunch. I won't get home until 4:15-4:30 each day, I will definitely need something before that to tide me over enough that I will not binge until I get home.

August 18, 2008: Trial Period

I now have a would be scheduling conflict, gym or work. Well, obviously I can't skip work to go to the gym. Sure, I could go in the evening, but I am reserving that time for Michelle to go since she does not have the "luxury" of going before work. I, on the other hand, do have the time to go before work. That is, if I want to wake up and get there around 5am. So this week is my trial period. I am trying to get to work at the normal school time (6:45am for me) and still go to the gym before hand. If I can successfully pull it off, then I will continue to do it next week when the students come back to school. I will have to make few adjustments such as better planning in the evenings and going to bed earlier. I will have to do my school work right away once I get home instead of after Evan goes to bed since I will likely be going to bed at about the same time. Breakfast may be a bit of a challenge. When should I eat? Before I go to the gym or once I get to school? This will all work itself out. Another concern is that the workout I am attempting is six days, Monday through Saturday. What happens when I have softball the night before? Even worse, what if it is a 8:45pm game that won't end until 10pm? I imagine the next day I will be pretty tired.

Friday and today we had workdays at school. That is no students, only teachers getting prepared for next week when the students come. It is cool to talk to my colleagues, but at the same time, I am finding myself less productive. Not to mention the meetings that, let's face it, must be conducted. I find myself in the same bind as I usually do, starting out the year. It is the first unit that baffles me, but after that I roll. So this week I am having a difficult time actually planning the first week. Tomorrow will be a "big" day for that. I would like to have the first week of all my classes planned and copies turned in before I leave tomorrow. Even better, I will have the first two weeks all planned and copied before I leave work on Friday. That is my goal. It can be done, but will it?

August 14, 2008: Bittersweet

Today was bittersweet. It was my last day before going back to work (for which I am not at all prepared). I passed on going to the gym today for two reasons, 1) I had a softball game this evening and I didn't want to get too tight, and 2) Evan had early release and I wanted a little time to myself at home. It was nice to hang with Evan most of today before I go back to work tomorrow, but it didn't go as planned. I spoke with Evan last night about going to lunch after school. He did not want to today, instead he just wanted to go home. I was a little disappointed. Then the day dragged on a bit. We finally finished putting together some Legos that we began last year sometime (it all got put away and we never thought about finishing it until Evan asked today). This evening, Michelle was going to take Evan to soccer practice for 6pm while I had a softball game for which I had to arrive at 6:15. Well, Michelle got held up at work so I got Evan all dressed and ready to go so Michelle could just pick him up and go, and I got myself ready for softball. I arrived at about 6:30. One important note here, Cary is too damn big! Tuesday I had a game all the way at one end of town (Middle Creek), about a 25 minute drive, and today I had a game at the other end of town (Thomas Brooks Park - USA Baseball Center), about a 20 minute drive. Cary keeps growing and it is getting on my nerves. By the way, we lost our game tonight in extra innings, 14-13. Oh well, it was a good game any way. I have been splitting time with other guys out in Right-Center field. I made a diving stop today that I thought might have been a catch but the umpire ruled it a trap. Its OK, the ball didn't get past me and they said it looked good - that's what is important, right?

I also found out today that the 6th Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be opening July 17, 2009 instead of this coming November. Their reason was to take advantage of an open weekend in the summer schedule. I could understand if it was being put off because they were not finished or if it was only a week or two, but eight months?!?! This is ridiculous. It sounds just like NBC's coverage of the Olympics, think of themselves and their bottom line first before the fans. I am really getting sick of corporate America. Read the article:

http://www.wral.com/entertainment/story/3382426/

August 13, 2008: Much of Nothing

Another busy day. As with every morning, I took Evan to school and like most, went to the gym. I added a couple of things more to my workout and am starting to feel like I am actually accomplishing something again. After the gym, I came home and had enough time to eat lunch before my dermatologist appointment. I was glad to receive a clean bill of health and the doctor removed what amounted to a skin tag from the knuckle of my big toe, weird spot, I know. After getting a haircut, I went to pick Evan up from school. We headed over to the book store, then home, then to dinner. And here I am. Not too much really. A busy day but one without excitement.

Today I worked out with Aaron Ward, former Carolina Hurricane, now Boston Bruin. It was cool. Of course I am making it sound like more than it is. He always seemed to need the machine next to where I was already working. That is cool if he thinks my workout is good enough to copy, him being a professional athlete and all. Just kidding. But we were working next to each other a lot. It makes me feel more important if I believe we were working out together. So do me a favor, don't tell me otherwise. Thanks.

August 12, 2008: Now Batting....

It sure was good to get back onto the field today. We had our first softball game of the season tonight, and I had a few jitters. It has been two years since I last played ad I was worried about making a mistake now with a new team. I was flattered to find out that they had me batting lead-off when I have never played with them before. I guess Katie put in a good enough word that she convinced them I am good. A few things went my way, no one hit the ball to me, and both of my at bats I reached on errors by the second baseman (and I ended up scoring both times too). They did get to see that I can be an aggressive base runner and that I do have some speed. But most of all, the good news is that I think I am over the jitters and next game I should be able to go out and play instead of worrying that I will mess up. Another good thing was that since no one hit the ball to me I didn't have to throw the ball. If I had, I think they would have known my shoulder is still in bad shape. I am going to try and play through it and see if it will get better.

The weather was beautiful today. This afternoon I went out in the back to diagram the deck in the hopes of getting a permit. I discovered, much to my disappointment, that the deck, as is, is not up to code. My concrete footings are not big enough. Which means that in order to make it right, I will have to re-pour new footings. In order to do that, I will have to prop up the deck in order to replace some of the footings. I am not looking forward to that task. (I will add some deck pictures soon).

I also had a trip to the dentist today. Just a regular cleaning before we go back to school. And, as usual, a clean bill of health. It is nice going to the dentist because they always flatter me on how nice my teeth are, and how lucky I am to have inherited such strong teeth.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, I have a dermatologist appointment. I need to go because of the many spot I have developed over the years that should be looked at. I am anticipating at least a few being removed and biopsied. I am really not looking forward to it, on the other hand there are a few things I will be glad to be rid of.

August 11, 2008: Last Chance

This is it, the last week to get anything accomplished. Today was surprisingly busy,considering t was filled with nothing. Got up, took Evan to school, went to the gym, did some grocery shopping, came home around 1:30, left for the YMCA to enroll Evan in before school care, picked Evan up, went to an appointment, went to dinner, came home... and a couple of hours later, here I am. At the gym recently I have felt like I have not been doing enough. I have been doing the workout proscribed by the trainer but I feel I need more. So today, I added exercises that target specific muscle groups, today was arms. Tomorrow will be chest/back. The only problem is, I am kind of winging it. I am using the machines that are targeted for the designated muscle groups, but am I really doing what I should be? If anyone has any ideas of some useful information/websites, please post here and let me know. Thanks in advance.

While doing my grocery shopping, I bought Evan a new book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. This is the second book in the series, so far. Evan enjoyed the first book so much, I had promised him that if he finished it, I would buy him the second. Well, he finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid last night, so as promised, I delivered. He has already been intently reading this volume. I am glad he is reading fiction for a change. He always wants to read books about a topic: dinosaurs, bugs, marine biology. I even tried to have him read fiction about the topics he enjoys, but he wasn't into it. For some reason, these books are clicking with him. Maybe because it is something that takes place in school? I don't know, but I am glad he is reading fiction.

Evan and I began watching National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets after we got home from Chik-fil-a tonight. We had to stop until tomorrow after school because it was getting late. He enjoys the National Treasure movies, but he has so many questions because he doesn't know enough about history yet. That is OK, I am a history teacher, so I should be able to explain these things for him.

August 10, 2008: Last Tune Up

Today was our last practice before the softball season officially starts. Our first game is Tuesday evening. My shoulder felt much better today. I was able to warm up with the heavy tennis ball, it really loosened up my shoulder. The heavy tennis ball is simply a normal tennis ball with a slit cut into it in order to fill it with pennies. It makes the ball much heavier than a softball so when you actually throw the softball it feels as light as a balloon. I also found out that I am the youngest male on the team. At 37 was surprised. What is worse, I feel the least in shape compared to the other men. I guess that is why I am going to the gym nearly everyday.

Michelle donated the day bed today. She gave it to a coworker. It isn't really sad, but it was Evan's first bed, and had been for such a long time. I remember tying the day bed and trundle together to make a gigantic sized bed for Evan early on. We thought that since he was so restless at night the huge bed would make it easier for him. I think we were mistaken. Eventually we shrunk the bed back down to size. I am really glad Evan likes his new bed. He loves the loft and plays up there whenever he can. He loves to show it off whenever someone new comes over. If he didn't like his new bed, I am sure we would hear about how he misses his old bed.

This is my last week of the summer coming up, and no, I am not looking for sympathy. I doubt I would get it from anyone who hasn't been off for the last eight weeks! I am not as disappointed as I have been with my summers in the past. In years past I have felt like I have not done enough with Evan, but this year it is different, I feel we did plenty. So I do not go back with any regrets. I hope that will make me better prepared, mentally to start the semester.

August 9, 2008: Just Another Saturday

Nothing all that spectacular today. Michelle had an appointment this morning with her trainer at the gym, Evan and I caught up with her about 11:30 at the pool. I proceeded to work out while they hung out poolside. For some reason, I feel as though it is taking me way too long to get through my routine. I probably shouldn't feel that way when you consider I spend about 20 minutes stretching to start, 25 minutes on the elliptical to wrap up, and about 20 minutes showering and getting dressed after. That is over an hour right there. Add in about an hour on the weights and such, and that adds up to 2 hours or more. If I am even contemplating going to the gym in the mornings before school (which means I'd have to be at the gym between 5 and 5:15 in the morning) I better make sure I speed things up and find a more efficient use of my time.

Next Evan had soccer practice from 3 until 4. The humidity wasn't too bad today so sitting in the sun was bearable. Evan is getting a little better I think. He is definitely showing signs of more strength in his kicks, but he is still a bit timid. That is OK, when the time comes he will step it up. Until then, as long as he is having fun. His first game is a week from today, he plays the Lizards, Chris' team.

This evening, we watch Chris and Brendan while Peter and Katie went out to dinner for their anniversary. Evan was very excited, and has been all week. Everyday he was counting down the days until Saturday. While they were here they spent a good amount of time playing in Evan's room. Now that he has his new bed, his room has become infinitely cooler!

August 8, 2008: No Chance Now

Just in case John Edwards ever had a chance of working in the White House, I am pretty sure he blew it. Edwards admitted today to having an extramarital affair while his wife is battling breast cancer. Not good for the image there John, not good.

Edwards Admits to Affair, Denies Fathering Child (Yahoo! News)

In case you haven't noticed, I have been watching a lot of movies this summer. Today, on HBO, I watched The Reaping with Hilary Swank. That is, Hilary Swank is in the movie, she wasn't at my house watching the movie with me (but that sure would have been nice!). It is confirmed, Hilary Swank is hot! She has played a lot of roles which required her to be very different people, she played girl who wanted to be a boy in Boys Don't Cry, a boxer in Million Dollar Baby, an inner-city high school teacher in Freedom Writers, and an ordained minister who lost her faith and becomes a college professor who sets out to debunk would-be miracle in The Reaping. The movie, 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, but 5 out of 5 for looking at Swank!


I have found that each weekday flies right by me. I get up and get Evan to school, take my time at the gym, to get home sometime between 11:30 and noon. About 1 or 1:30 I eat lunch and watch a movie, then it is time to pick Evan up at 3. I have been leaving myself about an hour to an hour-and-a-half to get anything done around the house (between the gym and lunch). With just 4 weekdays left until I go back, I may want to lay off the movies and get some more done around the house.

August 7, 2008: Java Stinks!

Last night, before I went to bed, I ran some updates on my computer from Microsoft. One of the reasons was that web browsers keep crashing (yes, I did say browserS - both Internet Explorer and Firefox). All seemed to go well, that is to say, they all installed fine, and of course, I would need to restart Windows in order for them all to go in to effect. But, since it was already late, I figured I could just shut down and they would complete the process in the morning when I start up the computer. Well, once that video driver kicked into effect, my display went hay wire. OK, maybe not hay wire, but it altered my resolution (all the way down to 640x480 with low colors), and every time I tried to fix it, it would not take. I tried to restore my PC to the last restore point, Windows said it could not do that. I ran the PC in Safe Mode to try and alter the settings there, I tried to log in to Evan's profile and change the settings from there, nothing would work. So Mercer got a phone call at work, where I told him, "You are coming over tonight to fix my computer." And he did, by installing my video drivers, and reinstalling. So here I am, after all day, finally back on my computer. So what does this have to do with Java? I set out to correct a problem in my browsers with Java.

Other than that, not much. I watched a movie today, Trade. A VERY good movie, but I will mention more of that on "Matt's Meandering Meditations."

August 5, 2008: Did I Need that Wall?

Yay! Evan's bed came today. The same delivery men brought the bed and again, they did not want to bring the big section (the stairs) up the stairs. The odd turn on the stairs makes it difficult to bring large objects/furniture upstairs. So I told them to leave that piece downstairs and I will get it up there. Dan, myself, and my neighbor Josh gave it a good effort but with the same result. It would not fit. And now we were stuck with the bed since it was out of the box. Basically, come hell or high water, that stair section was making it upstairs. So logically, we did what any clear thinking individual would do and knocked down a wall. Now we would have a straight shot up the stairs. It was no problem whatsoever. Just add another project to the long list - who ever said it is better to own a house?

As a result of this new project, I did not have time to get to the gym today. In reality, I could go now, but after all that today, I think it will wait until tomorrow morning after I drop Evan off at school. Believe it or not, after those seven straight day, I am already seeing a difference. I am very excited, by the time we go to Disney in October I will need all new shorts! Other than that, well, wasn't that enough for one day?

Wasn't there a wall here?

Who is crooked, Evan or the house?

Evan likes his new bed!

I would swear that just this morning there was a wall there.

Did I need that wall?

August 4, 2008: Time Out!

I took a time out today from the gym. My shoulder was really hurting me this morning when I woke up, and my quads are feeling tired. So I decided to skip a day. So if I hit the gym 7 out of 8 days, it is pretty good track record. In fact, I even took a time out from softball today. I decided that I just needed a day of rest and hopefully tomorrow I will be back up and ready to go.

I watched The Good Shepherd on HBO this afternoon. It is a long movie, and sad too. I won't get into it in case you want to see it, but I got fixated on the whole family aspect of the film. I felt that it earned 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Tomorrow Evan's bed will be delivered, again. This time we will keep it. In fact, I think I will sign for it to be out of the box and then still have the delivery men take it upstairs and assemble it.

August 3, 2008: Seven

Seven days and going strong, mostly. My shoulder is beginning to hurt from the throwing motion in my workout and my legs are beginning to fatigue. I may take tomorrow off and allow myself to heal some. I want to make it 19 straight days (that would be everyday until I go back to work) but I don't think it is advisable to do so. Besides, I have softball practice tomorrow, so I will still be getting the exercise. While I was working out, Michelle and Evan were at the pool with Dan, Wendy, and Aidan. I arrived at the gym hours after them so I didn't spend hardly anytime with them. Instead I saw the new movie The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (as I mentioned yesterday). It was as I expected/predicted, action packed with good effects, but not very good. I would say it was "OK." 2.5 out of 5 stars.



This evening we went to Nicole and John's for Nicole's birthday. It was nice and relaxing. We grilled out, I'm sorry, since they are also New Yorkers I guess I should say "we had a barbecue." Either way was fine, there were chicken wings, hot dogs and hamburgers. Slaw, potato salad, and so on.

My dad also forwarded me a link to a news video that you should see. it is about automobile tires. I am sure after you watch it that you will go outside and check your tires right away. I did and on the van my tires had the code 2807, 3007, 0808, 0908. So the van is good. As for the Ford, the tires are a little older and must have the code printed on the backside of the tire. I will look under there tomorrow in the day light. You are just going to have to watch the video to find out what the numbers mean. And I highly encourage you to do so!

Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard? (ABCNews.com)

August 2, 2008: 6, and Counting!

Today makes 6 straight days! I am serious about this, I am going to lose this weight. I will continue to push myself, but I will do it. I have to remember to be patient. It took me many years to gain all this weight, so I can't expect to lose it over night. It will probably take years to shed it too. But that is a good thing, by that time, I will have crossed from the need/want to exercise and eating right stage to the habit of exercising and eating right. And once it becomes a habit, I will have changed my lifestyle, and hopefully it will stay that way. When I woke up this morning I thought I may have jinxed myself in yesterday's post. That is, I said how my work out routine put me on the edge of sore, yet this morning my muscles were feeling a little fatigued. Fortunately, once I got out of bed and ate breakfast, I felt much better. Apparently, it is not a good idea to exercise so intensely that late and go to sleep because I woke up famished! I felt that I NEEDED to eat first thing (and I did - a bagel and cream cheese).

Evan had his second soccer practice today. He enjoys soccer, he gets to run around and kick a ball some. It is good for him to get out and exercise too. I am not sure his team this year will have as much success as last year's team (undefeated) but regardless, I am sure he will have fun. His first game will be against Chris' team. It should be fun.

Today I received my information for the start of school: parking tag and agenda for the first week. I am looking forward to the year starting, yet, c'mon, let's be serious, who really wants to go back to work? All new textbooks this year will pose a bit of a challenge, but if the deal proposed to me goes through, I will not have more than one average class per semester. Now that is a pretty good deal! Sure, it will mean more work in prep, but will mean less struggle with each student. I am looking forward to that. I have already set up a separate blog and netvibes page specifically for the AP Economics class. Hopefully the students will notice it and participate some before the semester begins, it would be nice to get an advance idea of how these students will be thinking, kind of a "heads up" on what each student is capable of. But I still have to wait and see until someone actually reads and posts comments.

Tomorrow we are planning on seeing the latest installment of The Mummy, it is called Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It is not getting great reviews, but I am sure the effects will be cool. We'll see.

August 1, 2008: 5 in a Row!

Five for Five this week... Monday - Friday, I hit the gym every day this week and I am teetering on the edge of sore, but making it. The workout the trainer gave me seems to be just right. It pushes me to be as the edge of my anaerobic threshold this way I do not burn all sugar and create a lactic acid build up in my muscles (it is the lactic acid that makes the muscle feel sore). The big question is do I try and go tomorrow or do I take a day off? My present goal, in addition to building lean muscle mass to more efficiently burn calories, especially from the stored fat, is to strengthen the muscles around my right shoulder. I continue to suffer from a football injury. Not that I played football, no, but when I coached, I really messed up the shoulder. As wide receivers coach, I had to throw between 100 and 200 passes each day. My arm was not up to the task. I am sure that if a doctor did an MRI on the shoulder I would see some ligament damage. It really only hurts when I play softball. This week from the out field I was having a difficult time throwing the ball to the infield, so I have to get the muscles there stronger. I am not going to let the pain stop me. As we get older we just have to exercise smarter.

July 29, 2008 - Evan Is Back to School

This week Evan has gone back to school. It is hard to believe that he is in 2nd grade already! His teach is Mrs. Edwards, he says she is nice. He will have homework every week, which is a BIG change from last year where he practically had no homework at all. But this is good, I am glad he has homework. I was a little nervous about Monday. I anticipated Evan would be very difficult to get to school through all the crying and complaining since that is how he went to bed Sunday night. But much to my surprise, he got excited about going. His big thing was that he wanted to find out who would be sitting at his table with him. I was glad he was able to find something positive and he stuck with that. It definitely made my morning easier. Today went off just as well, in fact, maybe a little easier. He woke up early, which I was not happy to see since I wanted every minute of sleep I could get this morning. On the bright side, I didn't have to spend any time waking him up and we got started earlier (I even got him to school on time today, he was late yesterday). This afternoon we bought him some new cleats for soccer, tomorrow is his first practice or the season.

Now that Evan is back at school, I will be going to the gym every morning straight from dropping him off. I have been sticking with the plan laid out by the physical trainer I met with but I some how don't feel like I am doing enough. I feel my routine lacks variety. That is to say, I work on cardio everyday (which I am supposed to do) but every other day I alternate between exercises and lower aerobic cardio versus high aerobic cardio only. I am thinking about adding a few exercises for my abs on the high cardio days and see how I respond to it.

I have also begun some school work. All new textbooks this year is going to make things a little more challenging but will also force me to rely less on the textbooks and focus more on student directed inquiry. We'll see how that goes. I also finished book 7 of Harry Potter (again). It was the only one I hadn't read twice so I had to have another go. I did have to read book 6 again before book 7, so now I have read book 6 thrice. Now that I am done, I believe the books will sit on the book shelf until Evan is old enough and desires to read them.

July 19, 2008: More Beach

In case you don't know me, I can't stand the beach. The sand is everywhere, nothing is ever truly dry, the sun burns. I can't stand it. So when I woke up this morning to find that it was raining, and would most likely do so most of the day, let's just say I was relieved. So we went to Kure Beach and had breakfast at a little corner restaurant, the kind with little more than a dozen tables, near a dozen people waiting, and plenty of homemade food. This little spot was Dan's suggestion, who was also eating breakfast their with his family and sister's family (who are in town from California) and his father. With the weather dreary, went headed down the road a short distance to the aquarium. It was a nice aquarium, Evan, Aidan, and Dan's nieces Sarah and Jenny enjoyed all that there was to see. It seems that both Evan and Sarah share an interest in marine life, they were following each other throughout the aquarium. Not long after we returned to the hotel, the weather cleared enough to down to the beach. I chose not to, which is giving me the time to upload pictures and write this post. I can everyone at the beach from the balcony here, but I can also see the clouds getting darker and drawing nearer to the shore. I don't think they will be down there much longer.

This weekend's pictures have been added to My Photo Album:
Carolina Beach (July 17-20)

July 18, 2008: Carolina Beach

Earlier this week, Michelle made the plans to head to the beach. She has been desperately needing this trip, and here we are, Carolina Beach. The weather is awesome, not too hot, and of course, it is the summer, so not cold. We arrived yesterday about 3pm and hit the beach within 20 minutes of checking in. We spent a few hours on the beach, came back upstairs to shower then went to town to get some flip flops for me and some dinner. We scoped out what appeared to a good seafood place, and it was confirmed by the wait, but we did not stay to critique the food. So we went next door to Wings, bought some flip flops and beach pull over for Michelle. Then we hit Pop's Diner for some chicken fingers and hot dogs, went out to the boardwalk and tooled around until 9pm for the fireworks on the beach. Back at the hotel, we just chilled out, watched tv, took pictures of the moon, and then hit the hay.

This morning we woke up to sunny skies that quickly darkened and dumped a lot of rain in a short time. Fortunately this hotel has an indoor pool, and that is where we stayed dry, so to speak. Once the rain stopped and the skies cleared we spent the rest of the day on the beach (which amounted to six hours) and then went back to the indoor pool at 4:30pm, until about 5:45. So here we are getting ready to head out to dinner listening to the band play at the tiki hut on the pier right outside our window. Very nice. I will upload some pictures soon.

July 15, 2008: Body Age = 40

Evan and I spent another 4 hours at the gym today. Unfortunately the rock climbing wall was not there while we were there so Evan did not get a chance to do that. Instead he hung out in the kids room while I met with a physical trainer and then we ate lunch at the cafe and headed out to the pool. The physical trainer today gave me a body evaluation, sort of a baseline for before I begin my routine. This test included a brisk walk on the treadmill, a flexibility test (where I sit on the floor and stretch as far as I can), a strength test (where I curl a fixed curling bar), and body fat measurement (with the "pincher"). I was expecting my body age to come back somewhere around 50. Instead I was surprised to be evaluated at 40. Tomorrow I will meet with the trainer to create a work out regiment to reach my goals, or at least the goals put forth by the evaluation. I have bigger goals than the machine but one step at a time, I suppose.

July 14, 2008: New Gym

This weekend Michelle, Evan, and I joined Lifetime Fitness. It is the biggest gym I have ever seen! It has hundreds of weight lifting machines, dozens of ellipticals, what looks like a hundred treadmills, a bicycle studio, a gym with two full length basketball courts, a rock climbing wall, racketball courts, a kids center, cafe, spa, three pools. It is an experience more than a gym. Evan and I spent more than three hours there today. He spent nearly two hours in the kids center while I worked out, then we went rock climbing, that is Evan climbed the wall, I supported him, then wewent to the pool, and had it been earlier, we would have spent more time at the pool. As it was, we got home at about 7pm. The place is great! Tomorrow I am meeting with a trainer in order to get a fitness evaluation and a fitness plan. I am really looking forward to utilizing this new facility. And on top of it all, it is open 24 hours. Can't beat that.

July 10, 2008: Mobster

Today, I am a mobster. That's right, a mobster. I spent parts of my day robbing liquor stores, pulling off stoplight car thefts, and dealing drugs, not to mention the occasional hit and attacks I carried out against rival gang members. It is pretty dangerous, I must say. I nearly died, and visited the hospital in order to patch up some wounds, but I inflicted some serious damage on my foes as well. I mean, you have to expect that mobster toting a Colt 1911, .44 Magnum, Pump-Action Shotgun, Tommy Gun, and Assault Rifle while wearing a bullet proof vest and cruisin in a Ford Crown Vic is a force to be reckoned with. I have successfully recruited three additional members below me in my gang so we are poised to do some serious damage in the up coming days.

In between my criminal activities, Evan and I went up to Rooms to Go and measured the staircase section of the loft we bought. I am pretty sure that it will fit up the stairs if we take it out of the box. We also hit a McDonald's for lunch, and played around for a while at North Cary Park, off of Cary Parkway. We played some MarioKart and Monopoly before heading out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.

And in case you are wondering, my mob activities all took place within the confines of Facebook. It is an add on application which passes a little bit of time. If you are interested, check out my Facebook page and if you have a Facebook page yourself, add the Mob Wars application. The larger our mob, the bigger and better crimes we can pull of!

July 9, 2008: No Bed

The big event for today was the delivery of Evan's new bed. It was going to be REALLY cool, with a loft, a desk, a twin bed below, and stairs. Evan was even excited to get it, more excited than upset to be losing his old bed. The delivery from Rooms to Go was scheduled for somewhere between 2-4pm. And I know that you must be thinking that they never showed up, but you would be wrong. What happened was even worse. The solid stairs section of the bed set would not fit up the stairs in the box and I was a little worried to take it out of the box and still not be able to get it up the stairs and then be stuck with a piece of furniture I could not use. So here we are, Evan's old bed dismantled and downstairs in the playroom, and him sleeping on the two mattresses set on the floor in his room. Bummer. Tomorrow he and I will head back up to Rooms to Go to measure the piece out of the box and then come home and figure out if it would be able to fit up the stairs. I have a feeling it will, but we'll see.

Picture of the bed set from Rooms to Go

July 6, 2008: Fireworks!

Friday was our nation's 232nd birthday and it was celebrated in traditional fashion, with fireworks. Well, not here at least. We were all set up on Kildaire Farm Road at about 8pm to see the 9 o'clock firework from the nearby park. But as 9pm drew near, so did the dark storm clouds as well as the lightning and thunder. There would be no fireworks that night - postponed until Saturday.

Saturday we were at Michelle's coworker's house for a cul-de-sac cookout. We enjoyed the small fireworks display by the neighbors, but did not go back to our spot on Kildaire Farm Road to watch the "big" show. Fortunately we chose to stay put since it began to storm, again, right before 9pm. The good news is that Evan got to play with the kids on the street who all partook in inventive ways to set off firecrackers and other miniature explosives.

It has also been confirmed that I wirk best under pressure and with deadlines. Friday evening before the fireworks, Dan, Wendy, Aidan, and Poppy came over for a small cookout. That morning Michelle asked if I could rehang the old bathroom door upstars or hang the new one. If I a mgoing to hang a door, it may as well be a new one. And believe it or not, I hung it in what was, for me, record time, about an hour and a half. That includes, cutting it down to size in height, trimming its width using the router, routing hinges, fitting and hanging the door. I was amazed since the other three doors I have hung this past week each took far longer - admittedly, there is a bit of a learning curve. Today included doorknobs, as will tomorrow.

This evening we went to see Get Smart. Very funny, even Evan laughed for most of the movie. If you haven't seen the movie and were thinking about it, I suggest you see it. I am often times worried that the trailers or TV commercials show all three of the funny scenes from a movie, but that is not the case here, the scenes from the the commercials and trailers are, of course, funny, but there are far more funny scenes throughout the movie. And as for Maxwell Smart, he is the bungling secret agent of Control, but not nearly as bungling as the TV show, he often times has a plan and is also quite capable as a secret agent.

July 2, 2008 - Movies!

It has been a little while since I posted, but there isn't much to report. Summer is in full swing and I am having an annoying time hanging these doors, but when it is all done it will look better than the flat doors from before. I/We have been to see a few movies lately. In fact, this past weekend was a first for me, I saw two movies on their opening weekend: Wanted and WALL-E.

I saw a couple of commercials for Wanted and decided I had to see it because Angelina Jolie is in it. But I was also intriguied by the shooting, explosions, chases, and of course, professional assassins. It has everything a guy could ask for in a movie. I enjoyed it. The way I describe it is as entertaining. It had plenty of unbelievable stunts and actions but I didn't see this movie for something believable, I saw it for entertainment, it did not disappoint.



WALL-E, on the other hand, was a bit disappointing. I was expecting something a little more geared for the kids and it was a little too mature. Don't get me wrong, it was good and made some good points, but since I was expecting a kids' movie, I was disappoinited.



More Pictures added to MyPhotoAlbum:
Fathers' Day: June 15, 2008
New York June 2007: June 15-17, 2007
Lake Johnson Pool: Juyl 1, 2007

Updates to:
Evan's 1st Grade Program: June 19, 2008
Evan's Birthday: May 29, 2008

June 19, 2008 - School after School

The past 2 days have been filled with elementary school after elementary school. Yesterday was Chris' 2nd grade program, "Going West." Chris' class chronicled the experiences of those who were involved in Manifest Destiny and expanding the United States from coast to coast. Today Evan had his 1st grade program, "American Tribute." Evan's class sang patriotic songs and gave information about symbols of America. Evan was a little shy, or nervous, but performed when he needed to. He spent a good amount of time singing from behind a tissue so that he would not have to make eye contact with anyone in the audience. This evening we returned to Evan's school for "Meet the Teacher" night where we meet Evan's 2nd grade teacher. It is amazing, he is already going to be entering the 2nd grade! What is also weird is that he hasn't finished 1st grade yet, he still has 6 more days. The year-round schedule makes it necessary to hold "Meet the Teacher" at this time because in two weeks tracks 1-3 will be starting the school year, while Evan's track, track 4, will be tracked out for 3 additional weeks.

I have added some more pics to MyPhotoAlbum:
Fishing at Lake Johnson: May 25, 2008
Evan's Birthday Dinner: May 29, 2008
More Strawberry Picking: May 30, 2008
Evan's 7th Birthday Party: May 31, 2008
At the Pool: June 1, 2008
Chris' 2nd Grade Program: June 18, 2008
Evan's 1st Grade Program: June 19, 2008

June 17, 2008 - Fathers' Day & Summer Break, so far

I really need to update this more often!

School is out! Yay! I survived and am enjoying my summer so far. It is nice to have to get up somewhat early in order to get Evan ready for school; I am usually out of bed around 7 - 7:15 to make sure I have his lunch made and ready before he wakes up. The days are pretty quiet after I drop him off, it is nice. I don't have a chance to get bored because there is so much to do, both have to and want to - I work in a little of both each day. The office floor is still in progress, that is to say, we are working on completing the thresholds. It shouldn't take this much time or energy, but the unforeseen will always show when you want a job to go easily. As if that wasn't enough, and quite frankly, it wasn't, we now have eight new doors to install around the house (Home Depot was having a sale - 6 panel doors, all sizes, $25). In addition to replacing the doors in the office, we are replacing the doors upstairs in the hallway (3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 closet). It should be a little challenging since they are not bored, I will have to rout the doors for the hinges and bore the holes for the knobs - it will probably be more time consuming than I will anticipate (I think the "Rule of 4" will apply - if it is a project that you are not very familiar with, take the expected amount of time necessary and multiply by 4, that should result in how long the project will actually take!).

Fathers' Day was this past weekend. I have to say, it was probably the best Fathers' Day I have had in my now 7 years of being a Dad, not that we did anything out of the ordinary. We got up and Michelle made a variety of pancakes to choose from - plain, blueberry, banana. Next we went to Putt Putt to play miniature golf, ride the Go Karts and play some games. We then stopped at Taco Bell to pick up some lunch and bring it to Lake Johnson pool. From there, after changing from our bathing suits, we went to see Kung Fu Panda (funny movie, I highly recommend it!). And finally we went to dinner at Ruckus Pizza. Clearly a full day. It was very enjoyable!



I have been able to post some pictures on my MyPhotoAlbum site:
The Boys at Monkey Joes, April 6, 2008
My Birthday Dinner at Biaggi's, April 7, 2008
Brendan's 5th Birthday Party at Jump Zone, May 3, 2008
Strawberry Picking, May 17 & 18
Evan's 7th Birthday Pictures

May 28, 2008 - Busy Busy

Much has happened since my last post.

Friday, May 23 was the long awaited Senior Assembly. My services 1st period were not needed until 8am so I started that class and went on my way to get ready for the assembly. Once the assembly got going, I didn't have to much except adorn a chair on the dais. The seniors were honored, their scholarships announced to a record amount (I am not sure exactly how much, but it was well into the millions of dollars!). After the assembly was the Senior Picnic. A nice event. The seniors are invited to a catered picnic on the football field where they get to goof around, throw a football, frisbee, hangout, whatever. And once they are done there, they get to go home. So the entire event was finished by noon. I think technically the advisors were done for the day as well, but I had a bad feeling that if I left Dr. Gainey would need me for something, and find that I had left for the day. The other two advisors left shortly after 12, I stayed until 2:00. I did some work done, but I disappointed myself, I was looking forward to leaving. I may have left if I didn't escort two of my students I caught skipping back to class. Once I was back in the class, I relieved my coverage and finished the period.

That night was the NCHSAA Women's 4A Soccer Championship. Leesville v. Ardrey Kell. The game was over in the first 11 minutes with two goals by Leesville (each by one of my students - as if being my student had anything to do with it). The final score was 3-0. Evan was at the game with me, we had a good time. During the second half we sat with the other faculty and Evan got to meet some of my colleagues, and many of them were meeting him for the first time as well. The Leesville Loonies were as crazy as always, but remained as classy and dignified as always. They are a credit to our school and our character. The head coach, who is also a member of the social studies department, has now won championships with both the men's (2)and women's (1) team at Leesville. He is a great guy and a class act! He deserves every bit of success because he earns it.

Saturday and Sunday I spent time in the yard, and hanging out with the guys. Darren was in town to visit. Evan really enjoys him and didn't want to see him go home - he left after our Memorial Day cookout Monday.

So far this week has been equally busy. The students are now clearly divided into two camps: those who don't care and don't want to try and those who are making sure to do all they can for the final push with just days remaining until final exams. The problem is that those who have given up are becoming more and more of a distraction to those around them. For example, I moved a few seats because of one talkative student in particular. All the students around him are trying hard yet he continues to distract them. At the end of the period yesterday, I warned him that when he arrived today that I am moving some seats around because he talks too much. He responded by sucking his teeth and exclaiming, "man, I don't care!" I responded with, "OK, good." When he finally arrived today (late, as usual) I pointed out his seat up in the very front of the room, he proclaimed that the seat was "too far." I was confused, "Far? It is right in the front, it seems rather close." He apparently didn't like that seat and left. I wrote a discipline referral, I think he may miss a couple more classes, but this time, not by choice.

Tuesday a student scheduled for ISS (In School Suspension) for skipping my class one day last week came to class. I informed him that he was assigned ISS and wrote him a note to get there. He never arrived. I don't think he will be attending much class either.

We also had pictures of Evan made Tuesday. With the package we bought they give the CD with all of the proofs from the sitting. I will post them soon enough.

May 22, 2008 - Goooooaaaaaallllllll!!!!!!!

Today was a pretty good day. For all my worrying about the plans for my 2nd period class, they seem to have gone well. Of course, one student seems to have ruined it for the rest (the same students who is not even zoned for this school and whom I have complained about on several occasions so far - March 17, 2008 and April 11, 2008). The teacher who was covering my class needed to submit a discipline referral form on her. Oh well, you misbehave and act up, you get in trouble. End of story.

The day was dominated by practicing and rehearsing for the Senior Assembly. I think it will go over well. The senior speeches are good and inspirational, the senior slide show will be a good one - despite it having a few teachers in it, and I, an advisor for all 4 years, and a colleague, an advisor for 2.5 years do not appear once. After school they practiced in the gym with the microphone and speakers in order to get used to the acoustics. What is more, I get to be working on the assembly and picnic all day! I don't have to be in class at all. Well, I did tell the teacher who is covering my class 1st period not to get here until 8:00 because I will not be needed until then.

This morning one of my freshman students came to class and there was quite a bit of hubbub surrounding her. I didn't want to be nosy so I didn't pry. But it soon became apparent once the announcement happened. The smallest girl in the class scored the winning goal in double overtime last night to propel Leesville into the State Women's Soccer championship tomorrow night! Very exciting. She is a freshman and stands about 4'11".

Bronson Boots Pride (Newsobserver.com)
Leesville Showing its Soccer Pride (NewsObserver.com)

May 21, 2008 - Stress

This is supposed to be a good week as a Senior Class advisor: Senior Assembly rehersal Thursday (miss 2nd period), Senior Assembly and Senior Picnic Friday (miss ALL day), Memorial Day weekend. Why is there more stress for me this week than almost any other? My 2nd period, that is why. After a couple of instances, especially last Friday's Awards Day Assembly, they have proven to me that they have the potential to be a behavior problem. What is more, I have to create lesson plans for this class, for two days, in such a way that they are busy for the duration.

On top of that, I still have to finalize the Senior gift of a dozen full size (>20') flagpoles to line the fence of the football stadium and have also discovered that the task has just become more difficult. Because the price is more than $2500 I have to have at least three estimates for it to be considered a legitimate bid for the job. I also have to find out about the flags themselves: what size? what design? what colors? Once I have all the orders ready, Dr. Gainey said he would take over from there since there is all kinds of paper work involved in such a large purchase.

In addition, Evan's birthday party is in a week. We still have to make and mail the invitations, I have to get the yard in order, including clearing debris from the trees, removing leaves, adding mulch, mowing the yard, moving a playset over from the neighbor's yard. I also think I have found termites in the yard so I need to get an exterminator out to take a look. I must also resign myself to the fact that the deck is not going to be complete - still no lighting, no electrical, no rails on the stairs (to go along with no permit, and no inspection), but I still need to get it washed and treated. The toilet in the hallway bathroom has been leaking for two years now. Although it is now leaking into the toilet causing it to fill periodically, I mean it is leaking from the tank bolts and onto the floor. It isn't a fast leak, but it is enough to cause rust on the back of the bowl and it is beginning to annoy me. A month or so ago I began the process of painting the kitchen ceiling. I got as far as preparing the ceiling inside the skylight and replacing the molding there, but that is it. The thresholds in the office still need to be completed and I would also like to paint and hang all the doors in the office as well, which includes buying a new door for a portal that did not have one before.

All of this with the end of the school year playing in the background - now that is the most stressful music of them all!

May 19, 2008 - How Far?

In the movie the Untouchables, Malone asks Ness, "How far are you willing to go to win?" I guess the same applies to the last days of school for the semester, and especially the school year. Today I had two students brazenly skip my class, one in second period and another in third. Both students I had seen earlier in the day. One claimed that he arrived to school late, the other said he left early. Mind you, neither of these students have the grades to pass their class and both have always had the potential to be sneaky. As mentioned earlier, the weapons in my arsenal are numerous. A simple greeting is an important weapon. If a teacher sees their student at some point in the day, a simple "good morning" is enough to get them to come to class later because now they know that the teacher has seen them. On the other hand, deliberately withholding a greeting can be just as powerful a weapon. Today, but not saying "good morning" to either student when I saw them in the hall, they thought that I had not seen them. As a result their temptation to skip class was all the greater, and they followed through. Another important tool is location. In the real estate game they say location is everything, the same can be said for teachers. This being my 12 year at my current school, I know all the good locations where to catch students. Not that I know where the students go when they are skipping, but more like where to catch them later on in the day: the bus parking lot. All students who ride the buses exit the building through two doors and filter down to the parking lot via my trailer area. All I simply have to do is step outside to see many of my students, including those who skip my class. This afternoon I caught two, and I let them know as much. They can expect a referral to their Assistant Principal tomorrow.

If there is one thing I cannot tolerate above all else, it is lying. I consider myself a fair and reasonable teacher. I remember a time when I skipped Mr. Posess health class to deal with a girlfriend problem. When I saw him later in the day he confronted me about not being in class. His response was simply if I had told him ahead of time he would not have minded. So, having learned from that experience, I consider myself pretty reasonable. On the other hand, when a student has already proven themselves to be shady, sneaky, maybe even a cheat, then I lose all patience for them. For me, being sneaky, skipping class is akin to lying. Somewhere along the way, the student will fabricate a tale to say where they were. I have zero tolerance for that and will go to great lengths to track that student down and make sure that they are punished for their infraction.

So just like Elliot Ness, I will use any and every legal means within the law to make sure these students do not get away with their sneaky, lying behaviors.

May 18, 2008 - The Fight Begins

In truth, teachers are looking forward to the end of the school year just as much as the students. The main difference is that the teachers are still determined to get the job done while many students have, as we say, "checked out." By "checking out" we mean that mentally, the students are somewhere else. And for those students, the fight begins. It is a difficult fight to keep them focused, or at the very least, keep from being a distraction to the other students who are still trying. The class that gives m the greatest angst normally, is making life even more difficult. The bad news for them is as an experienced, "veteran" teacher, I now have many tricks up my sleeve. Not tricks as in I am going to trick them, but more accurately, weapons in my arsenal, or tools in my shed. They may require a little more work on my part, but I can handle it if it will make my work in he classroom less frustrating. My plan this week is to give them a quiz at the end of the period based on what we did during the period. Is this "tricky?" Now, but perhaps motivation to pay attention and do well on such a quiz in order to boost their grade. We'll see how that goes.

I survived the year anniversary of my "incident" in the class and the resulting reprimand in the Principal's office. What is even more encouraging is that I do not foresee another need for such an incident. I will sit down and do nothing before I allow my passion get the best of me and say something "inappropriate" (and I still do not agree that what I said was inappropriate when students tell me, every time I mention what I said, that other teachers say far worse and nothing ever happens to them!). More good news is that this week will be short one for me. That is, my second period (my biggest headache) will see me two less days: Thursday is the rehearsal for the Senior Assembly, and Friday is the Senior Assembly. Friday is an even bigger bonus since I will not be attending any of my classes in order to be involved in the Senior Assembly that takes place during second period and the Senior Picnic that takes place during third period. I am very excited about that. And once the picnic is over, all that I have to worry about as an advisor for the Senior Class is the Senior Gift (of flagpoles and flags for the stadium) and graduation. I will certainly be glad when this week is over - that is once Thursday is over!

May 13, 2008 - 15 Days to Go

Pretty much an average day. But for this time of year, average is different than any other earlier time. The weather is really turning beautiful, the students are finding it easier to be distracted, so the challenge is on me to keep them focused. I can do it, at the same time, the students have to be willing to cooperate.

I keep a folder for each year that I teach. It includes professional documents, licensure materials, renewal credits, etc. It was suggested by our NCAE representative at our school that we keep all f this sort of documentation at home. She reminded us that if a teacher runs afoul with the school district, they may be legally ordered to not return to school until the matter is settled. If your professional documentation is at school, the teacher will not have access. So I was looking through this year's folder to discover that I have not completed my IGP - Individual Growth Plan. This is a yearly document (hoop through which to jump) the sets out my professional goals. Each year there is usually a school-wide goal. I discovered that I have not yet met that goal and I am pretty confident that when I have my final review with the Assistant principal that he will want to see proof of meeting this important school-wide goal. As a result, I had to carry through with a tentative lesson plan I have been working on which will require time in the media center and probably more intensive grading on my part. Not what I was looking forward to as the year comes to an end.

May 12, 2008 - Downhill Run

As they say, it is all downhill from here. 16 school days until exams (14 for seniors). The last Interim Reports of the school year went out Friday and (most) were returned today. Parents have begun to be concerned about their child's progress. The "Close-of-School" Bulletin has been issued. This is the most pivotal week of the end of the year. This week marks the push the students will make down the stretch. Students on the borderline will either make it or fail based on this week. If they put off the effort they will fail themselves, but if they make that push, they will make the grade. Next week will be too late to turn it on.

Plans for Evan's annual big birthday blowout are (almost) underway. We have ideas for the invitation. We know we still have reserve a "bounce-house". I need to call an electrician to come out and wire the deck so we can finally have lighting, but I am sure I will need to get the permit for the deck before any electrical can be done since electrical work will need to be inspected. I better look into that too. I hope the general rule applies here, "it is better to ask forgiveness than permission," but I doubt it.

Last week a cyclone hit Myanmar resulting in thousands of deaths, and the count continues to rise. It has taken a week before the military government in Myanmar allowed any aid into the country. My guess for the delay is that the government is using this cyclone to retroactively cover up thousands of political executions that it has conducted since its coming to power. They are going to use the cyclone to account for the thousands of political deaths.

May 6, 2008 - Primary Day

I know I wanted to start posting more, but I get so busy with actually living my life that I don't have too much time to write about it, although April was a better month for posting than it had been for a while. Well, May is here and the weather is awesome. My parents were here this past weekend for Brendan's birthday party. It is hard to believe that he is five! What is also harder to believe is the Lightning McQueen balloon from his birthday party last year is still floating in Peter & Katie's dining room. I have never known a balloon to have a 1st birthday!

School is starting to wind down which means the pressure starts to heat up. Many students know that they have to really turn it on to do better but continue to struggle with the temptation to enjoy the nice weather too much. That is, the weather is infectious, the students can think of nothing more than leisure, summer break, hanging out, and definitely not school work. Any struggle I fought earlier this semester was just the warm up to the antics I am going to have to control for the next several weeks. On the other hand, I am determined to do a better job of handling it this year than last. Last year (May 14th to be precise) I allowed my passion to get the best of me and I said something to the class I should not, and I was called out for it (see post May 16, 2007). I know that I am just as passionate, but the bad taste of that event lingers on my tongue, and probably always will. As with most lessons I have learned the hard way at work, I will let students fail before I risk my reputation and credibility to try and motivate them. If there is one lesson I learned it is to not put my career on the line for the sake of my job. That is, I will not say or do anything, regardless of the degree of passion, that will cause me to be called into the Principal's office again. Sounds weird but I learned that the only person truly looking out for me, is me. And if that means allowing students to fall through the cracks, then so be it. I don't want to do that, but I cannot allow myself to get angry or even upset, I must persevere and let the chips fall where they may. Not the attitude you want from a teacher, but what can I say, I have 17 more years at this job, I want to keep it as an option.

Today was the primary election in North Carolina. It has been a long time since the NC primary actually meant something to presidential hopefuls. Since our primary is so late, by this time both parties have usually eliminated all competitors save the one nominee. But this year, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are running close enough where every delegate counts, and it is likely that the Democrat candidate will be decided by the so-called "Super Delegates." (see NPR.org for the low-down on delegate counts, Super Delegate counts, and results state-by-state for both Democrats and Republicans). Evan came with me to the poll today. It is his second election, we voted in 2006. Although there were no Kids Voting ballots for the primary, I allowed Evan to bubble in my sheet for me, the way I told him to. He even put the ballot in the ballot box, he was very excited and proud to wear his "I Voted" sticker for the rest of the day.

Today, Republican hopeful, John McCain came down on Senator Obama for voting against the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts. To me it sounds like McCain is courting the Court, just in case he needs them to decide the election like Bush in 2000.

April 17, 2008 - Half My Life Ago

From time to time I get to thinking about my life mathematically. That is to say, I think of my age and figure out how old I was half my life ago. Then I try to determine what type of things I was probably doing. Well, about half my life ago was October, 1989. I was a freshman in college. And for some strange reason one morning on my way down the elevator to get some milk to put in my cereal for breakfast I passed out and hit my head. (True story). I was out for, at most, two seconds. I was in the elevator with another guy from on the hall. I don't remember his name, but I do remember that he was definitely one the nicest guys on the hall. If my memory serves correctly, I believe he was in the army reserves. (Not important for the story). He helped off the elevator and into a seat in the cafeteria on the ground floor of the dorm. He asked I was OK, I said I was, and so he left for class. A second later he was there and said he was taking me to the infirmary in the dorm. What actually happened was that he went out to catch the bus but could still see me through the window. He told me that I still didn't look too good so he felt he had to help me, he would just have to be late for class. The EMTs in the infirmary called an ambulance and took me over to the main infirmary on the other campus.

I was in the infirmary a week. Blood drawn twice a day. Though I felt fine, I was not allowed out of bed for fear that I may pass out again and hit my head. I went days without a shower, no change of clothes, no toiletries. All the while no body could tell me what had happened. (To this day I have no idea what caused that episode - but I have an idea, though Michelle would disagree). My roommates finally brought me a few changes of clothes and my toiletries. After a week, I still had no answers, neither did the doctors. I made an executive decision - I'm getting out of here. The nurses reluctantly allowed me to check myself out, and my roommate Eric (I think his name was) drove me to the hospital to try and get to the bottom of what happened. I was seen in the ER, blood tests were done, I was checked for an ulcer (I was not expecting that, very uncomfortable) - still nothing.

My parents decided that I was to come home, but I could not just fly by myself, the doctors at the infirmary did not clear me to fly (as if I was going to be the pilot or something) unless someone traveled with me. My father got airline tickets for himself and me from their good friends Terry Costello (a travel agent at the time). At this time I felt fine, 100%. I tooled around Freeport for a week since my parents were planning to drive up to Buffalo for parents/homecoming weekend. But that week in between was one of the most important of my life.

I spent a lot of time hanging out at the high school, especially in the band office with Mr. Turner and Mr. Koski. Students would come in and out, and as seems to be the case everywhere, students like hanging out in the band office with their band teachers. One such student was Michelle. Now, we knew who each other were even though she was two years (I guess she still is) younger than I, but we never really knew each other or hung out or anything. But hanging out in the band office we got to know each other quite a bit. In fact this was the week when we began to date for the first time even though I left to go back to UB at the end of the week.

People will say that everything happens for a reason, but I know that my passing out that day without a medical reason was so I could meet Michelle. And today, here we are 18 and half years later (half my life later) happily married, with an awesome son. I guess I was pretty lucky to pass out and hit my head that day, half my life ago.

April 13, 2008 - Do It Yourself

I spent a good part of the Saturday putting together furniture for the new office. I was somewhat excited to do ti and get it done. The first piece went smooth as silk, the second - defective. This is now the second piece, out of five, that I received for my office that was defective. In addition, each package contains enough waste to fill half a landfill! With all the styrofoam and cardboard in the packages I have to take it out to the trash over several weeks because it won't all fit into our garbage container. Ah, the benefits of building it yourself. But all that packaging is important so that is does not get damaged on the long trip from China. Without it, all the pieces will be damaged, instead of just my 40%. What ever happened to the days of things being made right here in the United States? And what ever happened to receiving them already assembled?

My frustration was the icing on the cake. I wasn't really in the mood yesterday to go to the prom. But by the time I finished being frustrated with the second piece of furniture, it was already after 7:30pm and the prom began at 7. Sure I could have still made it, but I was hungry, needed a shower and a shave, and my blazer is dirty. So at that point, I opted not to go even though it was the prom for the class I have been the advisor for the last four years. Michelle warned me about making a decision I may later regret. The way I see it is that the students will be far more interested in seeing each other than their advisors and teachers. I don't remember which teachers were at my prom. I don't even know who my class advisor was when I was in high school. Besides, I would have felt a bit weird taking pictures of the officers of the senior class (who I have worked most closely with the last 4 years) just so I could remember them. Creepy.

April 11, 2008 - Yay Friday!

Whew! Friday is finally here! It is inexplicable, any week with a workday always ends up being more exhausting. Why is that? As mentioned earlier this week, Monday was a teacher workday, a day without students - a chance to catch up and, for the lucky, get ahead. But for some reason, the ease of Monday has been made up for in the remainder of the week. That is to say, I had five days worth of stress crammed into four days. Ugh!

Report cards for the third quarter were distributed today. In most cases, the students are not surprised since most teacher will give their students a grade report at the end of the marking quarter. One of my students, I cannot remember if I mentioned this student before, is one of the biggest "trouble students" I have taught in a LONG time. That being said, she easily failed for the third quarter (note, since Wake County uses a "block schedule," each course is only one semester long). Her average was a 50%, literally. But my experience has taught me that a student that feels they have no chance to pass a class is going to be a bigger distraction to other classmates. As a result, I have adopted a policy of giving those students a chance by bumping their failing grade from, in this case, a 50% to a 63%. Although a 63% is still failing, it only requires the student to earn a 77% in the second half of the course in order to go into the final exam with a passing grade. Most students who need this boost, usually start off the 4th quarter (or 2nd quarter if it is the 1st semester) really well. Keep in mind that "really well" is a relative term. But in the least, they start out with much greater effort. So this semester's "trouble student" is off to a much better start. In fact, she has committed herself to this class since it seems that mine is the only class she has a chance to pass this semester. My hope is that her behavior will respond accordingly since she will very much want to pay attention in class and keep up with her work. I am hopeful, but unfortunately, not optimistic. Updates to come.

The office is coming together. I have been moving slowly this week with putting the office back together with the new furniture. I have assembled the desk and hutch and I plan on moving the computer from the folding table to the desk before assembling the other pieces. I am getting excited for it to be done. And even better, I am excited to purge my office clutter. Much of what came out of the office will not return!

April 9, 2008 - New Office

Most of the time when people talk about getting a new office they are referring to on the job. But not me, I don't have an office, per se. I am talking about my home office. As I mentioned a few days ago, while Evan and I were in New York, Michelle, with the help of Dan and his dad redid my office. They pulled up the carpet, and installed Pergo flooring. They tore down the wall paper and painted. Michelle even bought my new office furniture! It is nice! The problem is that in order to redo the office, my room exploded into the living room! It is amazing to see how much stuff I had crammed into this small room. But all this clutter is stressing me out! I began putting the furniture together today, and I will do it one piece or two per day and this weekend I will move back in and purge my clutter in the process.

Today I finally mowed my front yard. And believe it or not, it is actually starting to look better! There are places without grass yet, but over all, most of the weeds are gone and the grass looks healthy. I am happy with the result and can't wait until I get grass where some has yet to grow.

School was OK today. But clearly it is never too soon to begin reviewing. I am a little worried that by the end of the semester the students will remember very little from the beginning of the semester. I think it is even more frustrating now because I expect the students to at least half remember things we learned before spring break. But the next question is, with so much of the curriculum yet to teach, how will have the time to review in class as well?

April 8, 2008 - Back to Business

So it has been a few days since I have posted. I guess I needed the time to recuperate from the North Carolina sports disaster that was Saturday. I went from following three sports to just one in a matter of a few hours. First, the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers securing the final playoff spot in the east and eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes in the process. Well, it is actually the third spot since the Capitals won the southeast division. Hockey - done. Then UNC Tar Heels get their @ss handed to them by the Kansas Jayhawks in their Final Four match up. College basketball - done.

But at least I still have baseball. Ahh, baseball. How relaxing. A sport you can truly fall asleep to. Perfect for the long days I have off in the summer. And how about those Mets? Last place already. Great. If it weren't for fantasy baseball, I guess I wouldn't really care about baseball yet.

Yesterday, was my birthday. I turned 37 yesterday, but I don't feel any older than I did last week. In fact, in my mind I still think I am in my early twenties, but my body will, from time to time, remind me that I am not doing enough to keep it feeling as young. I did work on my birthday. It was a teacher workday. This is a day without students where teachers get the chance to catch up or get ahead in their plans or grading. Fortunately I was able to use it for some of both. Since the marking quarter ended with the beginning of spring break, I had one set of papers to grade and enter into the grade program at school. So, even though I officially worked yesterday, any day without the students doesn't feel like work. Last night we went to dinner at Biaggi's. For desert I had the cannolis - two sweet ricotta cream filled shells - my favorite. But what was even better, the waiter saw that one of the cannolis was not filled completely, so he brought a third. Bonus! Happy Birthday to me!

School is back in after Spring Break. The students seemed rested, and apparently, I am as well. I was at work this morning before 6:30 (I don't officially have to be at work until 6:55). I got a few last minute things done before class began. And when it did begin, I was ready! My energy level was high and my lesson plan was working. I had a good day. It is always a good day when I mix up the activities we do in class. Today the students in World History, for example, began with seat work (locating map items) followed by researching people of the Scientific Revolution, then on to discussion about those people, and finally a crossword puzzle to end the period. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

April 4, 2008 - Back Home

Evan and I had a nice time in New York with my parents. We really did do a lot in a short time. And we have plenty of pictures to show for it!

It was nice today to sleep late in my own bed though. Evan and I laid low most of the day until we met Michelle to buy some new office furniture. So not only did the office get a makeover, I am getting some new furniture to boot! Nice. Happy Birthday to me. Thanks Dan and Barry for helping Michelle, especially with the floor. That sure was a great birthday present.

Tonight we went to the Hurricanes game. It was the last of the season, and all they had to do in order to ensure a spot in the playoffs was to win against a non-playoff team. And they lost, 4-3. So it is very possible that they could miss the playoffs altogether. They may not have enough points to make the top eight in the east and if the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers tomorrow (the team that beat the Hurricanes tonight) then the 'Canes will go from 3rd in the east to out. So for now, the collective Caniac Nation holds its breath.



Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest unemployment data. Needless to say, it was not good. That is to say, unemployment increased again, for the third straight month. Read my thoughts at "Matt's Meandering Meditations".

April 2, 2008 - NYC

Today was a pretty busy day, well once it got started. Evan figured out that we would be going to the circus today. So the surprise was gone and he didn't seem disappointed that we wouldn't be going to the Bronx Zoo. Since the circus began at 7:30pm I decided that we didn't need to get into the city too early. I planned for a train around 2pm in order to get into the city around 3pm-ish. Once we got to the city we had some time to kill so we went to the Central Park Zoo, which, by the way, is nothing like the Central Park Zoo portrayed in the movie "Madagascar." In fact, it is a very small zoo without much to see. I was disappointed but it was just as well because we didn't feel rushed or that we missed anything and we left just in time to meet Lisa for dinner. It worked out nice. I will add pictures to this post soon.

The circus was fun even though it was the "Blue Show." I bet you didn't know that there are three shows for Ringling Bros. circus? There are, and they alternate venues each year. The "Red Show" features the clown Bello and a 3-ring circus (this is what I was hoping we would see). The "Blue Show" features a single ring but more of a story involving the Ring Master. And the all new "Gold Show" seems to feature far more animals (I have yet to see a Gold Show). The Blue Show this year is titled "Over the Top" which pits the Ring Master against the lead clown in a competition over who can put together the better circus/show. But in the end, they finally agree that they can put together a better show if they work together. I will add pictures to this post soon.

By the time the circus was over and we got back to my parents it was after 11:30pm and Evan was wiped out. It is pretty late here and that is why I will be adding picture to this post tomorrow, either from my parents, or from home - Evan and I have a 3:55pm flight from JFK tomorrow. But, since Michelle and Dan completely made-over my office while Evan and I were away, I may not be able to do picture from home tomorrow. I might be best to try and do it before I leave here. We shall see.

Here are the pictures of the circus!

April 1, 2008 - In New York

Evan and I have been here in New York since Saturday night. We have been spending plenty of time with my parents and my sister. It has been fun. We have also been keeping busy, although today we are laying low and relaxing. You can see pictures at the links below.

Sunday: Visit Grandpa in the Rehab center, play miniature golf, Dinner with Ag and Eric at their apartment

Monday: Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead

Tuesday: Just hanging out, not up to much, Ag came to my parents

Wednesday: Not sure of the exact plans yet, but Evan thinks we are going into the city to the Bronx Zoo. But, we instead got tickets to the circus at Madison Square Garden. He has no idea. I am sure he will be exstatic since he was so disappointed that he didn't get to go when the circus was in Raleigh (he had the flu). We are also planning on meeting up with Lisa before the circus, however I have not yet got intouch with her about it. We shall see.

Thursday: Hang out until the afternoon when we return home.

Baseball season is officially underway, and the Mets' key acquisition, Johan Santana (from the Twins) dominated the game opening day. Let's hope that the Mets can start off as hot as last season and sustain some of that energy for the rest of the way (unlike last year). The newspapers here in New York are still calling the Mets' missing of the playoffs last year an "end of season collapse." As I pointed out in my post September 29, 2007, their missing the playoffs was no last minute collapse, but was a long decline over the course of the season, from June on.

Fuel prices remain high, and are predicted to break the $4.00/gallon mark this summer. And on Capitol Hill, the biggest fuel companies denied they have anything to do with it. In fact, they claim that despite making record profits, they are doing average for the industry and just slightly above average for the Dow Jones Industrial Average for major companies. And, of course, there is "W" promising to veto any legislation that will cut into money received or earned by these major oil producers. More at Matt's Meandering Meditations...