How did that Glitter get in my Nose?

I was cleaning the house on Saturday, and as I scrubbed the bathroom sink I looked up at my reflection. I noticed a little light reflecting from my nostril and thought to myself, "I can't feel my nose running but it must be." Then I took a closer look and determined that there was glitter in my nose. How did glitter get in my house? And once it arrived, how did it get in my nose? Was it in the process of entering my body or exiting?

survey

A few months ago I took a survey about family and marriage support programs in Milwaukee. This week I have been contacted to meet for my follow-up interview. I like doing surveys. I feel important. And after studying statistics in college I like to be on this side of the data.

In my last interview the man came to my house and asked me a great deal of questions about marriage. At one point he asked me how many times I talked about marriage in the previous 6 weeks. I clarified that he meant marriage in general and not just my own, and answered Fifty. He was in taken aback. I explained that I'm at the age when I go to several weddings a year. I hear about engagements and several of my friends talk about their new marriages (and/or struggling marriages) on a regular basis. My coworkers alone probably account for half of my marriage talk, and we only really speak to each other during lunch and in between classes.

My follow-up interview is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. I was invited to 3 weddings in October. I wonder if my interviewer will be surprised by my answers this time.

Sunday

I had a great Sunday. It began with a free bagel and ended with a free cookie.

The weather was great. Sunny and balmy temperatures. I had 10 pages left of a novel and I decided to get a bagel before church and eat it while finishing the book. The bagel shop was closed for renovations, but instead they set up a free bagel stand in front of the store. Great marketing. At least great for me.

I spent a good deal at time at church. I am leading the adult Sunday school class, which mostly means I read the discussion topic beforehand and plan which supplementary topics we want to cover. The service was comfortable so I don't remember much about it. Afterwards though we had the annual church meeting, aka the charge conference. Because I'm on the finance committee, I had helped prepare several of the reports that would be presented at the meeting. It was a good meeting because nothing of substance happened. All real decisions and work had been done the week prior. The conference is about making things official and communicating with the rest of the congregation.

My favorite part of my time at church though was the potluck dinner and washing the dishes. I enjoy cleaning up after large groups of people, especially when I have friends to keep me company. And that's exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon. Two of my buddies helped me in the kitchen, and we had two of the boys help us with the dishwasher. I really do mean that the boys helped us. I am still not sure how the giant dishwasher works, but the 11 year old does. He takes a lot of pride in this and it's good for him to know that he's valued. I believe this is what most people want - to know that they matter and have a role to play. We joked around a good deal and we got the job done. I don't know about the other guys but I had a good time getting that work done along side of them.

My afternoon was pleasant. I ran some errands. Grocery-shopped until I realized that I had left my wallet at home. A friend visited for 30 minutes because he was early for work. I did some work at the local coffee joint with Amanda. We were really good about concentrating on our work until Mario arrived. We didn't plan to meet him, but I suppose we're just lucky. Mario and I both managed to get 3 cups of tea out of each of our tea bags. We then had a contest to see who would need to use the bathroom first. I won. But then I'm not sure if understood how serious the contest was. Or if he even knew we were having the contest.

Curve

Because my school is on a block schedule, the quarter is actually a semester. Therefore I am giving semester finals this week. I hate finals. All they do is prove to me how little my students have retained. It's depressing for me to realize how little learning has occurred. For example, my precalculus final was mostly made of questions that I gave the class on the first day of school to assess their knowledge from algebra 2. Well, it appears that not only did they not know the info after Al2, but they don't know after a semester of precalc. The test isn't difficult, folks. There are questions about solving quadratic equations. And finding the slope of a line. Honestly, it's similar material that I present to my freshmen.

As for my freshmen, most of them earned a zero on their final because they talked during it. Now I don't mean they spoke once, but they had full-out conversations. It's incredible. But it's a lot less grading that I have to do. Most of them would fail the final anyway. On average only 1 or 2 pass the final in each class. Perhaps it would help if they studied, or kept a notebook, or brought a pencil, or stayed awake.

yea! school!

Fixing for a Change

I was in an accident more than a week ago. The parts to fix my car finally came in so I dropped off my car this morning. My loaner is a buick. There's nothing wrong with it, but in the 2 months since I bought my new car, I got used to driving a new car. The buick has more than 120,000 miles on it. It goes, but not with as much pep as I want. So, no drag racing for me for at least a week.

In the middle of geometry class today the (new) principal came over the speaker and announced, "Students you have five minutes to get to your 4 period class." What?! The bell had not rung. The students looked at me for guidance. We were half way through a problem (Special angles formed by a transversal and two parallel lines) and they were actually following along. Except for the dozen sleeping, class was going well. The problem is that I really didn't know what was happening. My clock runs slow so every day I have to figure out what the calculation of the day will be. Today's calculation was to subtract 10 minutes from the minute hand and add 5 hours to the hour hand. Perhaps my calculation was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. Plus, this weekend was daylight savings time, so it's very likely that the bell schedule would be messed up. And it is not uncommon (read: common) for the principal to be confused by the bell schedule and clocks.

In an instant I had to figure out what mistakes were most likely to have been made. The bells, the principal, or the clocks. I chose the wrong one and told my students they had better hurry up to their next class. Half of them were out of their seats before I reconsidered my decision and relized that the most probable mistake would have been made by the principal. So I ended up chasing my students out into the hall to shepherd them back to their seats. I had ten minutes left in class, but it was pretty much a lost cause.

There are many things wrong with my school. Blame can be shared by students, teachers, parents, and administration. But today is a fine example of how the little mistakes add up too. A mistake by the principal should not have upset my class. But because I have to consider the unreliable clocks and bell system we lost the real focus. Parallel lines and corresponding angles.

In recent years, some of my friends managed to post once a day for the entire month of November. I don't think I can pull that off, but I'm going to attempt to at least post more frequently than the once per month that I've been averaging. I am doing this because I miss reading my friends' blogs. I perhaps by being a little more reflective at the end of the day, I will keep my trials and tribulations in perspective.

I had a nice Halloween. I dressed as a bumblebee. I looked ridiculous. Mario threw the party and he dressed up as the stack of money from the Geico commercial. (Why does it feel like? Somebody's watching me?) Other costumes included a Wheaties box and a lobster made out of paper products. The party music was mostly Billy Ocean and Hall and Oates. "Get Out of My Dreams, Get into my Car" and "Maneater" were each played at least 5 times.

Rock-tober

I was in a car accident on my way to work today. Yeah, October cannot be over fast enough.

Oops

The AP English teacher was impressed with my knowledge of Literature until I referred to the main characters of Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff and Claire.

Don't you dare tell me that you had a tough week.

Sure, I only had four days of work last week, but they were eventful. We were on the news several times. Sometimes I knew more about what was going on in the school by checking the local news website than by attending staff meetings. (At one staff meeting, the principal attributed the school's problems to "crack babies". I have my own opinion of who's on crack.) I witnessed mobs of kids roaming the school and ignoring any redirection from adults. One student was so out of control that he had to be tased. A news reporter said it was the worst situation he has ever seen in a school on "lockdown". I had a pair of scissors thrown at me in my algebra class. A kid in geometry began class by standing on my desk. (I wrote him up but the assistant principal sent him back to class within minutes having been "counseled".) Four of the school's five administrators were replaced during the week, which while adding uncertainty right now, should move us in the right direction over the long run. I wish I were feeling better about the school's position this week, but I'm still stressed out. I think I'm also still dealing with the emotions of being assaulted and watching the arrest of my students. And I was told today that I have to get through another 3 chapters of geometry before November. Sweet.

So, if you have a story about a client deadline or a broken copy machine, keep it to yourself.

Riverwest Bar

Tonight I was at a bar with gunshots in the windows. It's the bar at which I used to be a regular. I guess things change when I go away. We talked to the bartender and cops. The holes are only a day old - the story is still fresh. The beer was still good, although our favorite bluegrass musicians didn't show up until 11:30. It's a school night!

Congrats?

What do you say to a tenth grader who tells you that the best part of her summer was the birth of her baby boy? I asked her what her favorite geometric shape is.

Barber

Tonight, the night before school starts, I decided to trim my hair so that I will look my best for the beginning of the school year. I have been cutting my own hair for years. It seems silly to pay someone else when it mostly comes down to trimming along the edges. (It still seems strange to me to be losing my hair, even though none of my family members have hair. Except my dad's cousin, who's adopted.) So, I set up a 2nd mirror in my bathroom so that I could check the back of my head. I usually start with the parts that I want the shortest (the bottom) and then work my way up, to the parts that I want longest. Well, I didn't follow my usual pattern. And because I was thinking about school, I forgot to put any extension on the trimmer. I made at least three good swipes at the back of my head before I realized that I was meeting more resistance than expected. And more hair was falling than there should have been. I stopped and saw this in the mirror:
Thank goodness Christie was still awake, because I would have woken her up. She had a tough time fixing my mistake because she was giggling so much.

I spent close to 3 hours today at my school trying to get my room situation sorted out. I was assigned the wrong room accidentally. It's a long story, but I'm supposed to have a room large enough to fit my classes of 40 students. Yes, 40 students. Instead, I have a classroom with enough room for 25 desks. I argued with 3 administrators today about this. They won't switch the rooms. There is nobody in that room. (We haven't hired someone yet, which is another problem.) They tell me it is too much work to make the change. I checked around and the changes will take 20 minutes. I definitely left the school today after telling them that I will be looking to transfer.

Milwaukee has an opening for an epidemiologist. I wish I had the experience to apply for the job.

Prep

School starts next week.

I found out this week that I have been assigned a new class - pre-calculus. Something that I will have to actually prepare for; and they give me a week. This in addition to algebra and geometry. I have so much to do, but instead I am home. You know why? Because they assigned me the wrong room. The principals don't seem to care. And they don't return my phone calls.

Bike Race

My neighborhood is holding a 24 hour bike race this weekend. I have volunteered to check off laps for the racers, but the organizer sent out a notice today asking for more. One specific area he needs is additional tattoo-artists. It's going to be a strange 24 hours.

Summer Song

I don't have a song for the summer of 2009 and this worries me because it's half-way over. By this time last year, there were 2 songs clearly dominating my life. One was American Boy by that girl and Kanye West. As you can see this last an impression on me. The other song was 1-2-3-4 by Feist. I know this song had not come out in 2008 but that was when she did a version of the song for Sesame Street. You know "1, 2, 3, 4. I love counting, counting to the number 4." Then she counts penguins at the front door and chickens on vacation. It's a beautiful song. And I definitely listened to it more than a grown man should.

This summer I'm concerned that my song will end up being Katy Perry's opposite song. I don't know how it's getting so much air time in my life because I'm sure they're not playing it on my public radio stations. It's obviously an attempt to receive an invitation from the Children's Television Workshop and I don't like it.

So, I'm trying to force some other songs. I've heard St. Vincent several times this week, so it is a contender to knock out the Up, Down, In, Out song.



But if you really want to know what makes me happy. It's the following video from Craig Ferguson.



They recently had a contest to determine the best puppet. Viewers were asked to vote on the website. I voted for the monkey though the shark has a special place in my heart too. But guess who one!? That's right - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (I checked the spelling of that twice, and I'm not going to do it again. The president of Iran. That's what I'm trying to say.)

My stomach doesn't feel right. I'm not sure if it's due to the orange juice that I drank that was 4 days past its expiration date or the milk that was 2 days past. Who knew that orange juice expires?

Also, since my last post, I ran a marathon. I feel that I'm letting people down because I'm not as excited about it as I should be. Perhaps I'll post about it, but I probably won't. I'm busy enjoying my summer vacation: reading, swimming, napping, grilling, stopping drug deals in front of my house. You know, the usual.

Finals are a Drag

The school year just won't end. Today was the second day of finals. Of the three upper-level classes I teach, I only had 2 students pass my final. I don't say that proudly. It's not a tough final. For example, the have to multiply binomials. Remember FOIL. I hate grading finals too, so I look for every reason to give students a zero. Talking, texting, sharing calculators, walking out of class. I say that I give them a zero as if that's different from the grade they'll receive if I take the time to score their tests. Most of my students scored less than a 40%. One even managed a 6. Seriously. Another question was to calculate 8% sales tax on a $120 pair of jeans. (I did not write this problem, as I would never spend that much on jeans, nor would I shop in a municipality that had such high sales tax. I'm looking at you Chicago.)

Also, one of my students dressed in drag for our final. With wig and heels. I always try to dress comfortibly for big exams. I don't know how he could have been comfortible. But now that I think about class today, I didn't really talk to him. I hope he doesn't think I was ignoring him for his attire. I was too busy dealing with the girls whose shorts were very inappropriate for school. So many clothing issues in just one class!

Evaluation

I didn't say anything when the vice principal sent me an apologetic memo to tell me that she would evaluate me this year.

I didn't say anything when the evaluation happened unannounced 2 weeks after it was due.

I didn't say anything (sarcastic) when the vice principal had to ask me my name when she showed up to evaluate me.

I didn't say anything when she left after 15 minutes of class.

I didn't say anything when she interrupted another class to have my sign the evaluation. She asked me "if I was busy". For the record, yes, I was busy. I was teaching a class.

I didn't say anything when she asked me again which math teacher I am.

However, when my evaluation says that I provide an "effective and deficient physical space" I have to ask, "What does that mean?" What was she trying to say? Did she confuse "deficient" with "efficient"? Everything in the evaluation is positive, although I question whether she's writing about me or the guy across the hall. I don't even know to whom I would bring this up. Except for my peers, so that we can laugh (and cry) at our situation.

Things I Have Confiscated from Shamika* in the Past Month

1. A Roobix Cube - I don't think this is its real name but it was the generic form of the brand name puzzle.

2. Nail clippers - She was clipping her nails during class and the other students found it disgusting.

3. The Watchtower - This is the publication put out by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Not that I was suppressing her religious expression, I just want her to learn about compound interest before she begins questioning me about the afterlife.

4. A Yard Stick - This was placed in her pants and she told me that she could not sit down because she couldn't bend her knees anymore.

5. A Goldfish - In a cup of water. How did that poor goldfish make it all the way to 6th period, I don't know. Did it make it to the end of the day? I don't know that either.

* Names have been changed to protect the innocent - me.

Milestone

Today is my parents' 30th wedding anniversary. To each other. Was I supposed to do something for this? I think it's still too early for their children to throw them parties. I have no plan of doing this until their 50th anniversary. Also, they are currently camping as they do every Memorial Day, so I can't even reach them to wish them a happy day.

Big Weekend

I accomplished quite a lot this weekend.

• I chaperoned prom. I was going to take pictures but then realized that I was only taking pictures so that I could post ridiculous pictures of students on my blog. There is so much to say about my high school's prom, but I only want to mention one thing. Some of the girls did not have enough support in the "cleavledge"* area. The straps of their dresses broke and they spent most of the evening holding up the fabric by hand.
• I ran 18 miles on Saturday. It took more than 3 hours.
• I went on the pub crawl in my neighborhood. The low point of the day was drinking Natural Ice; the high point, eating meatball sandwiches at the Puerto Rican bar down the street to celebrate the owner's daughter's graduation. I also found out that a coworker of mine tends bar 3 blocks from my house. And he'll give me shots of whiskey for free!
  
• I woke up at 4 am with the urge to purge my body of Nattie Ice and Puerto Rican meatballs. I watched episodes of The West Wing instead. Thank goodness the thieves left those.
• I attended church.
• I napped.
• I cut the grass.
• I ran another 3 miles.
• I registered for the neighborhood beer run. 1.8 miles. 4 official beer stops.
  
• I saw Star Trek. Eh, it's ok.
• I looked at a pile of student work and decided not to grade it.
  

*"Cleavledge" is the term that my principal uses to refer to women's breasts.

Bed Bugs

I have not been home for Easter in eight years - since high school. I suppose my mom wanted to relive old times so she put together an Easter basket for me. It included the typical basket stuff - chocolate, jelly beans, refrigerator magnets, chop sticks, and a pillow case. My mom is a quilter and is always sewing something. This year she found some great fabric for a pillow case for my sister. Because she didn't want to treat her children differently from each other, my mom hunted for fabric to make me my own homemade pillow case. She searched and searched and finally settled on ant fabric. I can't imagine what this fabric would be used for.

Happy Mothers' Day

Overheard & Wishing I Did Not Join

(overheard)
Student 1: I don't think he's Jewish.
Student 2: Of course, he's not Jewish! He doesn't have a big nose! Look!
Me: Girls, don't say things like that. That's racist.
S2: Say what? (to the other girl) See, he's not Jewish; he doesn't have a big nose.
Me: Don't say racist things like that.
S2: Racist? We're saying you don't have a big nose.
Me: I know. But when you make sweeping comments about a race of people that's racist.
S2: But Jewish people do have big noses.
Me: No they don't. Not all Jewish people.
S1: So, you're Jewish, but you don't have a big nose.
Me: No. I'm not Jewish, but that doesn't matter. (sigh) You can't say that all Jews have big noses, just like you can't say that all black people have big lips.
S1: You have small lips.
S2: Yeah, your lips are really small.
Me: I think my lips are very nice. They have a nice shape. Wait, we're supposed to be talking about quadratic equations.

Application

I just found out that the school I want to work at never received my job application. I received an application receipt! I hate online applications! They probably already filled the position. I can't stay in my current school for another year. I don't want to deal with (as many) riots next year. I need to grow. I need new experiences. Like bomb threats. And racial gangs.

Duck! Duck! Goose?

I ran my first half-marathon today! I know that many runners who blog (or bloggers who run) will write about their times (2:04:00) and their splits (9:27 /mile) and their training (all the time). I have thought about doing that myself because I'm also raising money for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society and this blog would be a great promotional tool (See my web page! Help me reach my goal!). But, I didn't do that in the beginning of my training and now it just feels strange to write in medias res. This training is no epic, though it sometimes feels like it.

In the course of running long distances, I see many things on the trails - usually trash. I find most of it interesting, although I probably wouldn't think twice about the garbage if I were able to bring my iPod with me. (Curses to my funny-shaped ears that were not built for ear buds.) Sometimes I find dead animals. I've learned that I'm the only one on my training team that is interested in road kill. Nobody else seems to care. How can they not wonder how the animal died? Wild animals don't die of old age. There is always a story. And given that I'm not running on roads with street traffic, they're not dying by vehicular homicide either. I usually wonder aloud about the dead animals, and noone ever joins my conversation. So, it always ends up as a monologue about carcases. And then someone changes the subject to something more pleasant, like chaffing or nipple protection.

Today I found a second duck head! A second one! I'm not finding the decapitated bodies. I'm not finding the heads of other animals. What's going on?!? Obviously there's a duck serial killer loose in Milwaukee.

Throat

I had such a cool experience tonight, and I cannot convey it in words. I saw a concert of Tuvan throat singing. It was at a house - a cabin on an island of the Milwaukee river. It was a very small venue, free to get in, but you were supposed to bring food to the pot-luck dinner. It's a great place to see folk singers and blue-grass bands.

I had no idea what to expect from the throat singers. I had no idea what to expect from Tuvans. I had never even heard of Tuva, a country near Siberia. (Apparently neither has my spell check.) The music was incredible though. It is certainly different than the music I normally listen to. The throat-singers create several notes simulaneously, able to generate harmony and melody in the same body. The sounds have an eerie feeling, but also soothing and gentle. I think it helped that the band members were all about my age and I spent a good amount of time wondering how similar and different our lives were.

6th Period

My 6th period class was disrupted this afternoon by an ambulance that pulled up to our school. I like my windows, but sometimes they distract my students. The ambulance didn't draw attention from my lesson so much as the story that accompanied it. The gossip in my room was that a girl had a baby during school today. I didn't fully believe the student who said this. It's not that she's an incredulous source, but she's a mouth-breather, and I just don't trust them. Anyway, the two (out of five)(out of a total class of 35!) pregnant girls who happened to be in my class today looked panicked at the idea of delivering a baby at school. I don't know if I helped the gossip by adding that I heard that the baby is going to be named "Gymnasium" ("Gym" for short) after the place in which he was birthed.

Postcard from Houston

I received this message in the mail today:

Greetings from Houston TX. We went to the Strip House for dinner with friends & saw lots of naked women! Love, Mom & Dad

Lemonade

My tax prep software only has a space for the date of one theft in a year. Don't they know that it's possible to be robbed multiple time in a year and have stolen 2 laptops and 3 cameras?

Every Day is a Big Day

I planned my day around my trip to the gym, which was to happen at 8 o'clock, so that I could watch Lost while running on the treadmill. Everything else was planned backwards from that moment.

I woke up later than I had wanted, just like every day. I quickly packed up the car with chili making supplies because that was my after-school plan - making chili at the church for our Bluegrass concert tomorrow. I couldn't leave 8 lbs of meat in my car during the day so I had to bring it in the school with me. Thankfully, noone made a comment about my bag-o-meat.

I rushed to complete some tasks in my prep hour. However, I was called twice TWICE! to the office in 10 minutes to talk to the parent of a student. I was teased throughout the day for having been called to the office. They actually announced, "Will Mr. _____ please come back to the office?" I can't emphasize how much I did within the first period. I was on fire.

My morning freshman algebra classes were their normal hectic selves. I lectured students on poor behavior. I mocked them for whining that exponents are too hard and we "only" spent a week on them. I was cussed at. I saved a student from a spider. I held their fragile egos in balance while I told them they had to work harder if they were to succeed. I taught them scientific notation. I learned about googolplexes from one of them. And I kicked a girl out of class for telling me, in much more vulgar terms, to "Eat a cat, you female dog ."

I subbed for another "teacher" during my resource hour. Her class is currently watching Gran Turino. This raised so many questions for me. 1.) What does this movie have to do with Civics? 2.) How is the language/violence/themes appropriate for these 9th graders? 3.) Where did she get this boot-legged movie? 4.) What is she teaching and not teaching her students?

In the afternoon, I teach an elective class for upperclassmen. Today's afternoon was eaten up by the Black History program, which I did not attend. I had a few students in each of my classes that did not want to attend, so I stayed back with them. We prepared for the chapter test that's being given tomorrow. I gave them a review packet, but they could do whatever they wanted to do. Most of them caught up on assignments that they had missed. Yesterday a student told me that they should have today off because they shouldn't be punished for not participating in the Black History program. I told him that I was concerned about Black Future, so we're going to have something to work on.

Also, the Black History program is a joke. I overheard someone say that he plays Michael Jackson in the show. I had a similar reaction as Emma Thompson has in Love, Actually when she finds out that her daughter is the first lobster in the nativity play. Perhaps, MJ is in the show because historically he was black.

The afternoon was actually fun. The kids that stay behind are good students and they get some appreciated attention. I get a chance to relax and have some nice conversations with them on days like today.

Right after school, I talked to the department chair and caught up on some school gossip. Next year the school is going to be split into 4 small learning communities. Today they announced our assignments. The department chair told me that they're thinking to ask me to be my community's facilitator. I don't know what that means besides a leadership role. I will be in my 3rd year and I'm the first choice for leadership out of 20 veterans. No wonder our school is falling apart.

I quickly put together my plans for tomorrow.

I went to the church and made chili. I met several people from the Narcotics Anonymous group. Well, they are anonymous no longer to me.

Then I went to the gym, which is what my day was planned around. It's Thursday. Lost is on Wednesday nights.

I enjoyed the following until the short moment in the Swamp of Sorrow.

Marathon

I signed up for the Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon, which will be held on Saturday, June 27th. Although it's a few months away it is already causing a mixture of excitement and anxiety in my life. It's tough in my busy schedule to fit in my runs. For some reason I think it's tougher to go for a run at the gym than to go for a swim. Perhaps because it takes me longer to cool down and to recover afterwards.

This weekend was my first training run that took some planning and motivation. It was 8 miles. And it took 28 laps around the track at the skating rink. Sure, I had other runners and skaters to watch, and music to listen to over the speaker system, but it still became boring. I'm going to have to work on some techniques to get me through the long runs. All of my weekend runs from now on will be at least 8 miles.

My iPod arrived today. It's my first. So, I'm working on my playlist now. Uploading all of my CDs to the computer so that I can import them to Leonard. I think that's a good name for him. He is green and he's a nano. And he's a fan of MJ, especially the Thriller album.

I've been thinking about the name Leonard this week, because that's the first name of the mathematician, Euler. And Leohnard Euler is the answer to a coded riddle in the algebra book that I use with my freshmen. The textbook authors thought it would be fun (or funny) for students to work on an extended problem only to find the answer is "Leohnard Euler". Lucky for us though, I caught this before we assigned it to our students. So, one of the other teachers is working on a similar riddle, but now the answer will be "Flamin' Hots". The kids will love it.

Invitation

To: The Milwaukee Rocky Horror Picture Show Company
Subject: Eddie

Hi,

I interested in getting in contact with the person who plays Eddie in the RHPS. My friends and I are throwing a Meatloaf Party on February 20th, and I am wondering if he would be interested in attending. We plan to celebrate Meat Loaf the performer and meat loaf the meal. Our website is www.meatloafparty.com.

Thanks,
Donny

Meatloaf Party

It's actually going to happen! We have a website and everything. Meatloaf Party I've been listening to plenty of his music recently to keep myself pumped. Amanda did a great job on the website. I'm now working on a costume. I think I may try to dress like Meat Loaf. I have to find a dress shirt with the ruffles. And suspenders. And greasy hair. I never thought I would have another use for my mullet wig. It's the gift that keeps on giving. First it was part of my Uncle Dad Halloween costume. Then Jon wore it as Brewer SuperFan. And now to complete the trifecta - it will be worn as part of a Meat Loaf costume. I know that Meat Loaf doesn't have a mullet, but I'm not going to buy a new wig, and I'm pretty positive that Meat Loaf wigs are not available at this time of year.

The Prodigal Sock

It's been missing for months and then decides to make an appearance in today's laundry. Where has it been? What has it been doing? If only socks could talk.

Class

Me to class: You're not struggling with solving equations because you're stupid. You're struggling because you don't pay attention and listen to me.

Student: Did you just call us stupid?

Me: No, but thank you for proving my point.

Flush

I just fixed my toilet and I feel so good about it. I had to make a trip to the hardware store, then use several tools; and it actually works.

Cold!

School was canceled today because of the cold. The temperature was -9 when I woke up this morning, and they meteorologists are not sure if we'll get to the other side of 0. I set my thermostat to 60 degrees and that's where it's staying. Beer is cheaper than gas, so that's how I keep warm.

Sweaters

My heating bill for last month (during which I was out of my house for 2 weeks) is $238. I only live in half of a house. And I'm usually cold. I'm going shopping for more sweaters.

2008 Year in Review

January

The year began in a blur. Well, more like a blackout. The first thing I remember in 2008 is throwing up. Things could only go uphill. The weather was extremely cold. My friends and I went out pretty regularly. We established Wednesday Night Bluegrass and I realized that we had been to the German Beer Hall so often that I needed a separate picture folder on my computer just for those nights. At school, a kid fell through the ceiling.

February

Cold weather continued but so did going out with friends. I went cross-country skiing and saw The Lion King. My education continued to grow as did my teaching experience.

March

Christie and I cranked up the heat and threw a beach party. We even bought a palm tree decoration and leis. Trevor took one for the team and manned the grill in the bitter cold. We were turned away from a pancake breakfast because they thought that they “might” run out of maple syrup. Easter and Spring Break were welcome breaks to this first-year teacher.

April

The kickball season began and we actually won games! The Brewers’ season began and they didn’t so much. I could see the end to my first year in education. It would not be my last - though I tried to get a job at another school in the district. I ran in my first 8K for the season and I saw a bell choir.

May

My education class finally came to an end even if it required scrambling to get everything together for my certification. I went to several baseball games and camped with some friends in Illinois. I had my first break-in (for the year). Christie went to Guatemala for 10 days but left her grandmother here. Gram and I hung out. Riversplash! Kicked off summer.

June

I witnessed my first MPS graduation and repeatedly picked up my jaw off the floor – like when the principal quoted scripture during his address. I ran the Beer Run (3 kilometers and 4 official beer stops) in 40 minutes! School ended for the year. Visited Iowa and saw caves and Amanda’s hometown. Drove to Cincinnati for Thomas and Maureen’s wedding. Danced with my friends in a giant grape-vining circle. (I wish I could express how good that moment (and weekend) felt.)

July

Beached in New Jersey with Adina. Received such a bad sunburn that it affected the rest of July. Learned a lesson about SPF - again. Independence Day with the family was a blast. It’s such a good holiday to witness in small towns. Stormed the Bastille (5K). Worked at Bastille Days Festival. Ran to Festa Italiana (5K). Missed registration for the Sausage Race, but managed to hold back tears as I cheered Jon and Emily. Began working for the YMCA’s summer enrichment program. Lived out a favorite bluegrass tune by drinking whiskey for breakfast.

August

Jake and Katie were married. Danced. Saw an old friend from BU. Saw a demolition derby. Ran in a 10 mile race. Lindsey and Mike came to visit and we toured 3 breweries in 3 days. Convinced them that Milwaukee is a great place. Cousin Lindsey made a comment to me that she didn’t know I was so weird. We continued to grill by the lake on Sunday evenings. Mom and Dad came to visit for a night.

September

School’s back! I get my schedule a day or two before classes begin and I get an ominous feeling about how the year is going to run. Kickball started but we lose more often than last season. Bronwyn visits at the end of the month. My house is broken into again. I buy my third laptop and fourth camera for the year. I interact with the police multiple times including a frisking! and a hit-and-run. I threw a party. I saw Itzhak Perlman.

October

The Brewers made it to the playoffs! They lost to the eventual champs, Philadelphia. We spread our love for Ed Sedar, first base coach of the Milwaukee Brewers, by selling t-shirts that say, “Get to 1st Base with Ed”. The Homecoming Pep Rally led to a riot at school. My grandfather died and I made a trip home for a weekend. I ran in a 9 mile race in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

November

Obama won the election and I felt so much better about my country. Dan Goldin Day grew to include 14 people at the Lakefront Brewery. The evening ended with dancing to Billy Ocean and Journey. I began to see how my circle of friends is evolving. I attended Ann and Nick’s wedding in Madison. This was the first wedding that I attended that I knew the couple for their entire courtship.

December

Christie and I threw a successful Ugly Christmas Sweater Party with only a week to plan. Advent felt very short and I scrambled to get things together before my drive home. Temperatures and snow fell. I drove to Nashville to welcome 2009 amidst old friends.