One of the biggest anxieties I have related to "my grand project" of moving into a teaching job is the financial component. As mentioned, I will have to quit my job to student teach and then will take a pretty large pay cut in becoming a teacher, somewhere in the neighborhood of 60% or more. Jinkee Scoob!
As a result, the better half is going to have to go back to work, after being out of the workforce for more than 5 years. Needless to say, this would be an extremely nerve-wracking and emotional situation for anyone. However, I am extremely proud to report that the return has started, with a job working as a notarized signing agent, working with people signing paperwork related to real estate closings. It's a very flexible job, which is critical. Anyhow, the first one happened last week and went off without a hitch (other than having to travel to meet with clients in the very heavy rain we experienced in the area that night). I know the better half was quite anxious over the whole affair but as I expected, it was handled flawlessly. Now the trick will be to keep up a steady stream of this to build up a bit of a war chest as we approach the day where I terminate employment.
First day of class went off last night. I have a LOT of work in store for me. Thankfully, I will only actually be on campus and in class one night a week, which will be a nice change. But I know I will need to spend a ton of time on homework. 3 classes again this semester, 2 of which are clinical studies where most of my work is actually spent in school's observing and speaking with teachers. The other is a class about teaching English and how to write. I'm particularly excited for this course. The teacher seems very good and has a great depth of knowledge. Despite the fact I'm taking 3 classes, it's actually only 6 credit hours. I'm toying with the idea of adding a lit class but probably will not since work will be very busy this fall.
Finally, on the fun front, have listened to a lot of new music lately on XM. I've heard some stuff I like from The Kooks, Death Cab for Cutie, Nada Surf and others I can't really think of right now.
Lastly, I share a birthday with Fidel Castro - who knew?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
She doesn't mention the word addiction
I came across an extremely interesting and thought provoking article today. It's the story of a baseball player, although not really a story about baseball. His name is Josh Hamilton and when he was drafted by a major league team, he was very highly thought of, signing a multi-million dollar contract coming out of high school. You can read the article for details on his story but it really is amazing.
I've always been interested in the topic of addiction as it has impacted many family members and friends. What causes people to become addicted, particularly to drugs and alcohol? I guess that takes us back to the whole nature vs nurture debate, of which I know little. My experience of addictive behavior has been mostly as a somewhat removed observer, meaning I've never actually lived with someone addicted to drugs or alcohol. To me, that means I've never really witnessed closely the behavior of one of these addicts. With that perspective in mind, my observations of nature vs nurture has been somewhere in the middle, although I have seen the nurture aspect play a much stronger role in the equation. Most of the people that I have seen become addicted have come from homes that had an abusive parent or a home that was fairly turbulent (ie, divorce, moving frequently, etc). I guess where it gets more difficult for me is that there are plenty of people in those situations that don't fall prey to addiction.
I personally feel like I could have potentially become addicted as I have the sort of personality where I really become obsessed with certain things, I call it my "manic nature". But I just never went that way for whatever reason. I guess it was Nancy Reagan, she told me to just say no :-)
As far as school, it is getting more and more real by the minute. Classes start tonight for fall semester. I have to get my student teaching application in by mid-September. I have to take a couple of state tests in the next few months, the first of which I have perused and have absolutely no idea how I'm going to pass. I have orientation later this week at the junior high where I will spend 5 days this semester (and another orientation in the next couple weeks at the high school where I will do the same).
It's all systems go folks!!!!
Until next time.
Ace
I've always been interested in the topic of addiction as it has impacted many family members and friends. What causes people to become addicted, particularly to drugs and alcohol? I guess that takes us back to the whole nature vs nurture debate, of which I know little. My experience of addictive behavior has been mostly as a somewhat removed observer, meaning I've never actually lived with someone addicted to drugs or alcohol. To me, that means I've never really witnessed closely the behavior of one of these addicts. With that perspective in mind, my observations of nature vs nurture has been somewhere in the middle, although I have seen the nurture aspect play a much stronger role in the equation. Most of the people that I have seen become addicted have come from homes that had an abusive parent or a home that was fairly turbulent (ie, divorce, moving frequently, etc). I guess where it gets more difficult for me is that there are plenty of people in those situations that don't fall prey to addiction.
I personally feel like I could have potentially become addicted as I have the sort of personality where I really become obsessed with certain things, I call it my "manic nature". But I just never went that way for whatever reason. I guess it was Nancy Reagan, she told me to just say no :-)
As far as school, it is getting more and more real by the minute. Classes start tonight for fall semester. I have to get my student teaching application in by mid-September. I have to take a couple of state tests in the next few months, the first of which I have perused and have absolutely no idea how I'm going to pass. I have orientation later this week at the junior high where I will spend 5 days this semester (and another orientation in the next couple weeks at the high school where I will do the same).
It's all systems go folks!!!!
Until next time.
Ace
Monday, August 20, 2007
Back to the front
Yes, I was grunting the Metallica song when I wrote that title.
It's been busy since my last post so I'll bore you with some day to day details.
Wednesday found me headed out to the sunshine state for a butt-kicking at the hands of a very unhappy client. Our 4 hour flight turned into 5 1/2 hours as the flight had to be diverted around a storm between here and there. You haven't lived until you've spent 5 1/2 hours crammed into an airplane baby! A time when being tall is no fun. And knowing we were going into a situation where we were getting beat up made the delay worse, as it caused us to be about 1/2 hour late for the meeting. Ugh! All in all though, the meeting was fine, despite a few sharp words here and there and some tap dancing done by yours truly.
I was travelling with 2 colleagues from home and our initial plan was to have dinner with our client after the meeting. However, the client cancelled on us and we were on our own to hit San Fran. If I were by myself, I'm sure I would have headed up to Mendocino county, which is a couple of hours away. But, I didn't want to drag people up there with me, nor could I figure out a good way to ditch them. So, I wound up going to dinner with them on Fisherman's Wharf, a very touristy area of SF. That aside, the restaurant we went to was right on the water, a bit of a dive but the food was great! The place was called Scoma's and I highly recommend it. It's a little pricey but that's to be expected in such a touristy area.
Back home and had a fun weekend - saw Die Hard on Friday night. The movie is absolutely unbelievable (just like the others in the franchise) and a heck of a lot of fun (also like the others in the franchise). The bad guy in the movie is the dude that was the bad guy in The Girl Next Door and he's pretty good. The movie is pretty formulaic overall but it was pretty much exactly what was expected. Kevin Smith has a funny cameo and the "cool" kid from the Mac commercials, who also does a pretty good job. Fun movie.
It was a rainy weekend here so spent a lot of time indoors - including a friend's party Saturday night, a visit from some good friends who live a few hours away Sunday am, a kid's b-day party Sunday afternoon and then a concert Sunday night.
The concert was to see Crowded House, a big favorite of the better half's. She loved them growing up so I got the tix. We didn't realize there would be two opening bands plus the headliner. We also didn't realize that although the tix said showtime 7:30, that really was doors open at 7:30. First band went on at around 9. They were a group from LA called 16 Frames. They sounded a bit like a mix between Train, older Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5. Please do not ever listen to this band or buy anything of theirs. The lead singer had some strange inkling that he could murder Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash and get away with it. Sick, just plain downright sick. The rhythm section was pretty good but other than that, the lead singer's annoying personality on stage was quite off-putting to me.
Second opening act was a guy named Liam Finn, he is the son of Crowded House's lead singer Neil Finn. Vocally, he sounded much like his dad. But his act was one of the most unique I've ever seen. He was on stage by himself, which doesn't seem that unusual. So, he starts playing his gee-tar and puts it down, with the rhythm he was playing still going. He apparently had some pedal or something that allowed him to record what he was playing and replay it in a loop. He puts the guitar down and picks up the bass, laying down a bassline and looping it in as well. Then he moves to the drums and plays those as well. It was quite the novelty and pretty cool. But, he did it during every song and it kind of lost it's appeal after a while. However, he is very musically talented, although lyrically challenged. Fun overall, if coming off a little full of himself.
Crowded House came out and played for nearly 2 hours, with 2 encores and encompassed their many hits. They are one of those bands that a lot of casual fans might not realize had a slew of hits in the late 80's through late 90's. Don't Dream It's Over is probably their biggest song but they had several others including Locked Out, Always Bring the Weather With You, Better Be Home Soon, Fall at Your Feet and Something So Strong. It was fun to hear all these songs and a good time overall. Only problem was getting home at 2 am on a school night, ugh! Oh, the other problem, the lead singer has Richard Marx hair - whoa, not good! But the guy has a great voice, is a talented musician and is good with interacting with the band onstage and the crowd, leading to an excellent show.
On the school front, I have 2 meetings later this week that start off the new semester, with classes starting a week from today. Wow, that 2 1/2 week break went fast!
Until next time.
Ace
It's been busy since my last post so I'll bore you with some day to day details.
Wednesday found me headed out to the sunshine state for a butt-kicking at the hands of a very unhappy client. Our 4 hour flight turned into 5 1/2 hours as the flight had to be diverted around a storm between here and there. You haven't lived until you've spent 5 1/2 hours crammed into an airplane baby! A time when being tall is no fun. And knowing we were going into a situation where we were getting beat up made the delay worse, as it caused us to be about 1/2 hour late for the meeting. Ugh! All in all though, the meeting was fine, despite a few sharp words here and there and some tap dancing done by yours truly.
I was travelling with 2 colleagues from home and our initial plan was to have dinner with our client after the meeting. However, the client cancelled on us and we were on our own to hit San Fran. If I were by myself, I'm sure I would have headed up to Mendocino county, which is a couple of hours away. But, I didn't want to drag people up there with me, nor could I figure out a good way to ditch them. So, I wound up going to dinner with them on Fisherman's Wharf, a very touristy area of SF. That aside, the restaurant we went to was right on the water, a bit of a dive but the food was great! The place was called Scoma's and I highly recommend it. It's a little pricey but that's to be expected in such a touristy area.
Back home and had a fun weekend - saw Die Hard on Friday night. The movie is absolutely unbelievable (just like the others in the franchise) and a heck of a lot of fun (also like the others in the franchise). The bad guy in the movie is the dude that was the bad guy in The Girl Next Door and he's pretty good. The movie is pretty formulaic overall but it was pretty much exactly what was expected. Kevin Smith has a funny cameo and the "cool" kid from the Mac commercials, who also does a pretty good job. Fun movie.
It was a rainy weekend here so spent a lot of time indoors - including a friend's party Saturday night, a visit from some good friends who live a few hours away Sunday am, a kid's b-day party Sunday afternoon and then a concert Sunday night.
The concert was to see Crowded House, a big favorite of the better half's. She loved them growing up so I got the tix. We didn't realize there would be two opening bands plus the headliner. We also didn't realize that although the tix said showtime 7:30, that really was doors open at 7:30. First band went on at around 9. They were a group from LA called 16 Frames. They sounded a bit like a mix between Train, older Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5. Please do not ever listen to this band or buy anything of theirs. The lead singer had some strange inkling that he could murder Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash and get away with it. Sick, just plain downright sick. The rhythm section was pretty good but other than that, the lead singer's annoying personality on stage was quite off-putting to me.
Second opening act was a guy named Liam Finn, he is the son of Crowded House's lead singer Neil Finn. Vocally, he sounded much like his dad. But his act was one of the most unique I've ever seen. He was on stage by himself, which doesn't seem that unusual. So, he starts playing his gee-tar and puts it down, with the rhythm he was playing still going. He apparently had some pedal or something that allowed him to record what he was playing and replay it in a loop. He puts the guitar down and picks up the bass, laying down a bassline and looping it in as well. Then he moves to the drums and plays those as well. It was quite the novelty and pretty cool. But, he did it during every song and it kind of lost it's appeal after a while. However, he is very musically talented, although lyrically challenged. Fun overall, if coming off a little full of himself.
Crowded House came out and played for nearly 2 hours, with 2 encores and encompassed their many hits. They are one of those bands that a lot of casual fans might not realize had a slew of hits in the late 80's through late 90's. Don't Dream It's Over is probably their biggest song but they had several others including Locked Out, Always Bring the Weather With You, Better Be Home Soon, Fall at Your Feet and Something So Strong. It was fun to hear all these songs and a good time overall. Only problem was getting home at 2 am on a school night, ugh! Oh, the other problem, the lead singer has Richard Marx hair - whoa, not good! But the guy has a great voice, is a talented musician and is good with interacting with the band onstage and the crowd, leading to an excellent show.
On the school front, I have 2 meetings later this week that start off the new semester, with classes starting a week from today. Wow, that 2 1/2 week break went fast!
Until next time.
Ace
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Submit
With the click of a button last Thursday I finished my last final of the semester, an online dazzler that took WAY too long but I was simply happy to finish it. It was for my junior college lit class. This was a bizarre class in that the teacher graded assignments once, just before mid-term. Basically, she graded a paper we wrote and gave us credit for submitting assignments due up to that point. That was all, so headed into the final I had very little idea of where I stood. I logged in today and found high A's on everything so good to go there. I also checked over the weekend and nailed a 94% on my stats final to secure the A, was right on the border of A/B headed in. I didn't feel great going into the final but felt pretty good afterwards. So, 2 A's in the book.
This left my only grad level class, a course on research. It was actually a valuable class and pretty enjoyable. The teacher's grading scale seemed to go only from B+++ to A---. Since all my scores were in that range and there was a large factor set aside for class participation (which I was very active in), I expected to get an A. Bummed to find a B when I logged in and checked today. Not earth shattering but since I'm required to have a B average to get into the program I want, I was hoping to give myself a little wiggle room. Not to mention keep alive the possibility of a 4.0 in the program. Oh well, I'll survive I suppose.
I was also dismayed to learn that my break from class is only 2 weeks long! For some reason, in my head I thought there was a 3 - 4 week break. Oh well.
All in all, taking stock of where I am 10 weeks after re-entering school with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation, I'm pretty happy with where I am. Undoubtedly the semester I just experienced is going to be one of the most hectic given my schedule of full time work, class 4 nights a week plus another one. Plus it was my first one back in a long time, which was a little nerve-wracking as well. Thankfully it was a short semester which made it a little more bearable.
On the negative side, I'm one semester closer to the point in time where I'm going to have to quit my job and live off savings and whatever other income we've got coming in at the time. That is really starting to weigh much more heavily on me. Efforts to get the better half's gig going have not been very fruitful to this point. And of course, there's just the "Oh my God what am I doing?" factor. But I'm trying to stay on an even keel with these things.
As for next semester, looks like 3 classes, 2 of which are clinicals, where I will be in the classroom for a few days at a high school and a few at junior high. On top of that there are various seminars from current teachers to attend. The third is a course about teaching English, which I'm pretty interested to get into as these will be good glimpses into the profession ahead of me.
Heading to San Francisco for work tomorrow to visit a client. SF (actually just north of there) may be my favorite place on Earth. Unfortunately, I won't really have much time to enjoy it as I'm in Wednesday and back out first thing Thursday am. At the very least I'll get a nice (and free!) meal out of the deal and may head to a casino afterwards. Work is starting to enter busy season so I'm a little nervous about how that is going to play out. But, I think I'll have much less classroom time so hopefully it'll be manageable.
Not the most fun post in the world but some thoughts I've been wanting to distill out into a posting.
One little bit of fun - went with a few others to see Bourne Ultimatum Friday night. It was similar to the other 2 Bourne movies in that it was action packed, fairly realistic (as compared to any Bruckheimer or Bond flick) and just a helluva lot of fun. I'm told they may do another one but that Damon may not be interested. I'm glad to hear that, I like him in general and don't really want to see him get too tied to a single role. This weekend I may get to see the newest Die Hard, which I've really been wanting to check out. I'll report back my results!
Until next time.
Ace
This left my only grad level class, a course on research. It was actually a valuable class and pretty enjoyable. The teacher's grading scale seemed to go only from B+++ to A---. Since all my scores were in that range and there was a large factor set aside for class participation (which I was very active in), I expected to get an A. Bummed to find a B when I logged in and checked today. Not earth shattering but since I'm required to have a B average to get into the program I want, I was hoping to give myself a little wiggle room. Not to mention keep alive the possibility of a 4.0 in the program. Oh well, I'll survive I suppose.
I was also dismayed to learn that my break from class is only 2 weeks long! For some reason, in my head I thought there was a 3 - 4 week break. Oh well.
All in all, taking stock of where I am 10 weeks after re-entering school with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation, I'm pretty happy with where I am. Undoubtedly the semester I just experienced is going to be one of the most hectic given my schedule of full time work, class 4 nights a week plus another one. Plus it was my first one back in a long time, which was a little nerve-wracking as well. Thankfully it was a short semester which made it a little more bearable.
On the negative side, I'm one semester closer to the point in time where I'm going to have to quit my job and live off savings and whatever other income we've got coming in at the time. That is really starting to weigh much more heavily on me. Efforts to get the better half's gig going have not been very fruitful to this point. And of course, there's just the "Oh my God what am I doing?" factor. But I'm trying to stay on an even keel with these things.
As for next semester, looks like 3 classes, 2 of which are clinicals, where I will be in the classroom for a few days at a high school and a few at junior high. On top of that there are various seminars from current teachers to attend. The third is a course about teaching English, which I'm pretty interested to get into as these will be good glimpses into the profession ahead of me.
Heading to San Francisco for work tomorrow to visit a client. SF (actually just north of there) may be my favorite place on Earth. Unfortunately, I won't really have much time to enjoy it as I'm in Wednesday and back out first thing Thursday am. At the very least I'll get a nice (and free!) meal out of the deal and may head to a casino afterwards. Work is starting to enter busy season so I'm a little nervous about how that is going to play out. But, I think I'll have much less classroom time so hopefully it'll be manageable.
Not the most fun post in the world but some thoughts I've been wanting to distill out into a posting.
One little bit of fun - went with a few others to see Bourne Ultimatum Friday night. It was similar to the other 2 Bourne movies in that it was action packed, fairly realistic (as compared to any Bruckheimer or Bond flick) and just a helluva lot of fun. I'm told they may do another one but that Damon may not be interested. I'm glad to hear that, I like him in general and don't really want to see him get too tied to a single role. This weekend I may get to see the newest Die Hard, which I've really been wanting to check out. I'll report back my results!
Until next time.
Ace
Friday, August 10, 2007
Dodging Johnny and Going Under
Last weekend was a bit of a crazy one. Allow ole Ace to spin a tale or two that I hope will bring at least a chuckle.
I took last Friday off from work for a much needed day of fun and frivolity. Stop 1 on the Tour of Fun was a trip to historic Wrigley Field, to see my team the Mets take on the Cubbies. And, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I brought along 3 of my Cub fan friends. This undoubtedly assured me that the Mets would get annihilated in this game. Day started early with a trip to Irish Oak for lunch, a tasty little Irish bar less than a block from the game. We got off to an inauspicious beginning when the waitress began taking our order, I looked over at one friend and said "Lady's first". The waitress replied then that I should go ahead. oooooooo, burn! After a couple frosty beverages and a delightful corned beef sandwiches, we were on our way to the game.
Now let me tell you about Wrigley's bleachers. For quite some time, there has been a reputation of being the hip, party spot to be in the ballpark, filled with handsome lads and lovely lasses. Sounds like the place to be right? Well, I'm sure it was that way at one time but now it is a pretty big mix of the above mentioned hipsters and a collection of other people wanting to be around that group. My only request to my crew was I didn't want to be sitting next to old women or shirtless old guys, which seems to happen to me every time I go.
So we go in nice and early and get some pretty solid seats in the right center field section. Since the bleachers are first come first served, it makes sense to get in pretty early. I'll be damned if right in front of me sits a very grouchy older lady, who asked me not to put my foot on the bleacher. OK, now maybe the bottom of my shoe isn't the cleanest thing in the world, but people WALK ON THE BLEACHERS ALL THE TIME!!!! I told her to calm down but beyond that didn't get too grouchy back with her, which turns out to be a good thing. Why you ask? Well, fast forward about 4 or 5 innings into the game.
3 dudes come and sit down in an area that has enough open space for maybe 1.5 people. They are 2 rows in front of me, 1 row in front of grouchy lady. They are your typical spam-tastic young twentysomethings equipped with the cool gear of nipple rings and tattoos. They are likely overserved although really they weren't too out of control. For some reason, one of the guys takes a small plastic bag like you get at the supermarket and chucks it onto the field in the middle of the game. Security is over in an instant and point out the guys friend and tells him he is getting kicked out. Everyone around starts pointing out the dude who actually did it and the whole trio gets run out of the park by security. Everyone chats about it in our section for a little bit and then get back to watching the game.
About five minutes later, the main security guy comes up behind me and tells me I'm being ejected because someone 4 rows back said that I was the one who actually threw the thing on the field. Of course I objected as did my colleagues but he didn't really seem to buy it, the guy's blood was running hot. But then the grouchy lady stepped up and told the guy that she saw the other dude throw it and that I definitely didn't do it. At this point the guy settled down and basically just disappeared and we watched the rest of the game in peace. Very bizarre happening but the lady could have totally sold me out so that was cool she stepped up. This allowed me to witness an exciting victory by the Mets in the 9th inning in the 10000 degree heat.
After the game, since we're gluttons for punishment, 3 of us jumped in the car and drove down to Indianapolis to see a Seven Mary Three concert. This was a pretty fun show because one of the band's super fans was seeing them for the 100th time - wow! That's dedication. Despite the venue set up being weird with tables attached to the front area of the stage, it was a pretty good show. We were literally right next to the speakers and I was closest to them so I'm pretty sure I lost about 40% of my ability to hear. There were a couple of show highlights, especially the playing of Flagship Eleanor and the band bringing up the aforementioned superfan on stage, giving her some cool gifts and generally just proving they are a good group of guys. Back home after the show and I rolled in around 4 am, crikey I'm too old to be doing this.
Speaking of old, I decided to do a triathlon that occurred last Sunday. For the uninitiated, a triathlon consists of swimming, followed by biking, followed by running. Who the hell thought up this thing? And who are the numbskulls who participate? This intrepid reporter wanted to find out. So, I wisely chose to do absolutely no biking or swimming training and a modest amount of running, primarily due to my busy school schedule. Let me tell you a bit about my swimming skills, I like to describe it like this: I could probably save myself from drowning, but don't count on me being able to save anyone else. Luckily, this is a very short triathlon consisting of a 250m swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. I start in the water and am doing ok, we have to do 5 trips down the lane and back. So I make it down and back once and I'm ok, but on the way back down for lap 2, my arms just get tired as all hell. I start to really struggle and am doing my best just to make it all the way down. Great, 30% of the way there and I am DONE.
Well, I'll not pretend that it was pretty. For part of it I just did a little back stroke to give my arms a rest and took a short breather at each turn. It was ugly, where you get the sympathy encouragement from onlookers and fellow competitors, or as one of my friends like to say, "it's like watching a monkey try to f* a football". It was actually so ridiculous it was kind of funny, overall I was 102 out of 117 in the swim.
But I struggled through it, jumped out of the water and made my way to the bike. Luckily, since I was pretty much done with my arms, the bike was uneventful. I wasn't flying but was ok, finished 88th out of 117 and moved on to the running. Now I'm not professional runner but I usually do OK. But getting off the bike and starting to run felt like lifting 100 pound lead weights every step of the way. I am happy to say that I did not walk once during the run, unlike many of my colleagues and finished 55th out of 117 in that portion, doing slow 9:40 miles.
So, all told, I finished in under an hour, which wasn't the end of the world. One of my neighbors does several triathlons a year and finished almost 2 minutes behind me! Oh, did I forget to mention that he got a flat tire on his bike about halfway through the 6 mile bike and had to run it the rest of the way through the course? Lol, yeah, he's pretty good!
Anyhow, it was a fun experience and I'll probably do it again next year. But I will spend a LOT of time training before doing it again, that swim was a horrible thing. And I believe that is enough blogging today for ole Ace!
Until next time.
Ace
I took last Friday off from work for a much needed day of fun and frivolity. Stop 1 on the Tour of Fun was a trip to historic Wrigley Field, to see my team the Mets take on the Cubbies. And, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I brought along 3 of my Cub fan friends. This undoubtedly assured me that the Mets would get annihilated in this game. Day started early with a trip to Irish Oak for lunch, a tasty little Irish bar less than a block from the game. We got off to an inauspicious beginning when the waitress began taking our order, I looked over at one friend and said "Lady's first". The waitress replied then that I should go ahead. oooooooo, burn! After a couple frosty beverages and a delightful corned beef sandwiches, we were on our way to the game.
Now let me tell you about Wrigley's bleachers. For quite some time, there has been a reputation of being the hip, party spot to be in the ballpark, filled with handsome lads and lovely lasses. Sounds like the place to be right? Well, I'm sure it was that way at one time but now it is a pretty big mix of the above mentioned hipsters and a collection of other people wanting to be around that group. My only request to my crew was I didn't want to be sitting next to old women or shirtless old guys, which seems to happen to me every time I go.
So we go in nice and early and get some pretty solid seats in the right center field section. Since the bleachers are first come first served, it makes sense to get in pretty early. I'll be damned if right in front of me sits a very grouchy older lady, who asked me not to put my foot on the bleacher. OK, now maybe the bottom of my shoe isn't the cleanest thing in the world, but people WALK ON THE BLEACHERS ALL THE TIME!!!! I told her to calm down but beyond that didn't get too grouchy back with her, which turns out to be a good thing. Why you ask? Well, fast forward about 4 or 5 innings into the game.
3 dudes come and sit down in an area that has enough open space for maybe 1.5 people. They are 2 rows in front of me, 1 row in front of grouchy lady. They are your typical spam-tastic young twentysomethings equipped with the cool gear of nipple rings and tattoos. They are likely overserved although really they weren't too out of control. For some reason, one of the guys takes a small plastic bag like you get at the supermarket and chucks it onto the field in the middle of the game. Security is over in an instant and point out the guys friend and tells him he is getting kicked out. Everyone around starts pointing out the dude who actually did it and the whole trio gets run out of the park by security. Everyone chats about it in our section for a little bit and then get back to watching the game.
About five minutes later, the main security guy comes up behind me and tells me I'm being ejected because someone 4 rows back said that I was the one who actually threw the thing on the field. Of course I objected as did my colleagues but he didn't really seem to buy it, the guy's blood was running hot. But then the grouchy lady stepped up and told the guy that she saw the other dude throw it and that I definitely didn't do it. At this point the guy settled down and basically just disappeared and we watched the rest of the game in peace. Very bizarre happening but the lady could have totally sold me out so that was cool she stepped up. This allowed me to witness an exciting victory by the Mets in the 9th inning in the 10000 degree heat.
After the game, since we're gluttons for punishment, 3 of us jumped in the car and drove down to Indianapolis to see a Seven Mary Three concert. This was a pretty fun show because one of the band's super fans was seeing them for the 100th time - wow! That's dedication. Despite the venue set up being weird with tables attached to the front area of the stage, it was a pretty good show. We were literally right next to the speakers and I was closest to them so I'm pretty sure I lost about 40% of my ability to hear. There were a couple of show highlights, especially the playing of Flagship Eleanor and the band bringing up the aforementioned superfan on stage, giving her some cool gifts and generally just proving they are a good group of guys. Back home after the show and I rolled in around 4 am, crikey I'm too old to be doing this.
Speaking of old, I decided to do a triathlon that occurred last Sunday. For the uninitiated, a triathlon consists of swimming, followed by biking, followed by running. Who the hell thought up this thing? And who are the numbskulls who participate? This intrepid reporter wanted to find out. So, I wisely chose to do absolutely no biking or swimming training and a modest amount of running, primarily due to my busy school schedule. Let me tell you a bit about my swimming skills, I like to describe it like this: I could probably save myself from drowning, but don't count on me being able to save anyone else. Luckily, this is a very short triathlon consisting of a 250m swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. I start in the water and am doing ok, we have to do 5 trips down the lane and back. So I make it down and back once and I'm ok, but on the way back down for lap 2, my arms just get tired as all hell. I start to really struggle and am doing my best just to make it all the way down. Great, 30% of the way there and I am DONE.
Well, I'll not pretend that it was pretty. For part of it I just did a little back stroke to give my arms a rest and took a short breather at each turn. It was ugly, where you get the sympathy encouragement from onlookers and fellow competitors, or as one of my friends like to say, "it's like watching a monkey try to f* a football". It was actually so ridiculous it was kind of funny, overall I was 102 out of 117 in the swim.
But I struggled through it, jumped out of the water and made my way to the bike. Luckily, since I was pretty much done with my arms, the bike was uneventful. I wasn't flying but was ok, finished 88th out of 117 and moved on to the running. Now I'm not professional runner but I usually do OK. But getting off the bike and starting to run felt like lifting 100 pound lead weights every step of the way. I am happy to say that I did not walk once during the run, unlike many of my colleagues and finished 55th out of 117 in that portion, doing slow 9:40 miles.
So, all told, I finished in under an hour, which wasn't the end of the world. One of my neighbors does several triathlons a year and finished almost 2 minutes behind me! Oh, did I forget to mention that he got a flat tire on his bike about halfway through the 6 mile bike and had to run it the rest of the way through the course? Lol, yeah, he's pretty good!
Anyhow, it was a fun experience and I'll probably do it again next year. But I will spend a LOT of time training before doing it again, that swim was a horrible thing. And I believe that is enough blogging today for ole Ace!
Until next time.
Ace
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Cel-e-brate good times!
There is much cause for celebration today!
First, I am about 48 hours from being done with semester number one in this grand project of mine. I'm looking at this as a big milestone and willing to celebrate. Granted, in the next 2 days I still have to write a paper and take two finals but those are minor details. I think I should be okay on those areas. Perhaps I'll wax philosophic about this achievement in the coming weeks.
But on to bigger and more significant things to celebrate. One of my very good friends recently has suffered through a major health scare. I'll not go into the details but there was definitely a chance of terminal illness being involved. However, word came down yesterday that he was going to be okay after a short recovery period. Greater news could not be had.
Several years ago, another good friend of mine lost his best friend to cancer (pancreatic or liver I believe). The guy was around the age of 34 when he died. And in the last year or so, a former boss of mine was lost to pancreatic cancer around the age of 45 or so. And another good friend suffered from but survived a bout with testicular cancer around the age of 30. It's definitely scary just how prevalent these types of diseases are, especially amongst age groups very close to my own. It shakes you from your reverie of invincibility to say the least.
All of these scenarios were weighing greatly on my mind as my friend went in for doctor visits and tests. What a great relief to find no cause for concern. So dear reader, when you read this, make a point to tell a friend or loved one how much you care for them. For we never know when all that we assume will be snatched away in an instant. Or at least just have a drink in their honor!
There is no good segue from this topic so I will say that there has been a lot going on in the last week, including brushes with the law, my own near drowning and an encounter with deafness in just one ear. Kids, in the business they call that a tease. I'll be back to post more post-finals!
Until next time.
Ace
First, I am about 48 hours from being done with semester number one in this grand project of mine. I'm looking at this as a big milestone and willing to celebrate. Granted, in the next 2 days I still have to write a paper and take two finals but those are minor details. I think I should be okay on those areas. Perhaps I'll wax philosophic about this achievement in the coming weeks.
But on to bigger and more significant things to celebrate. One of my very good friends recently has suffered through a major health scare. I'll not go into the details but there was definitely a chance of terminal illness being involved. However, word came down yesterday that he was going to be okay after a short recovery period. Greater news could not be had.
Several years ago, another good friend of mine lost his best friend to cancer (pancreatic or liver I believe). The guy was around the age of 34 when he died. And in the last year or so, a former boss of mine was lost to pancreatic cancer around the age of 45 or so. And another good friend suffered from but survived a bout with testicular cancer around the age of 30. It's definitely scary just how prevalent these types of diseases are, especially amongst age groups very close to my own. It shakes you from your reverie of invincibility to say the least.
All of these scenarios were weighing greatly on my mind as my friend went in for doctor visits and tests. What a great relief to find no cause for concern. So dear reader, when you read this, make a point to tell a friend or loved one how much you care for them. For we never know when all that we assume will be snatched away in an instant. Or at least just have a drink in their honor!
There is no good segue from this topic so I will say that there has been a lot going on in the last week, including brushes with the law, my own near drowning and an encounter with deafness in just one ear. Kids, in the business they call that a tease. I'll be back to post more post-finals!
Until next time.
Ace
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Newark Alone
Your dusky Ohio moon shines on me
Musty and dense, closing in
A daily crisis, I surmise
From the frantic, piercing look in your eyes
Hillbilly warfare summoning me
Alluring and repulsing, cater to me.
Time will never catch you, never hold you
in its grip
I want to catch you, feel you, know you,
Such a strange town
Your glowing lights deceive you
Shine through your invisible soul
Peel away that which clearly reveals you
Detracts from the battered whole.
She's so cosmopolitan, out of place
Walking ever so close, I cannot see her face
What of you at this strange hour
Do you belong here alone, alone?
Pay me no mind
Musty and dense, closing in
A daily crisis, I surmise
From the frantic, piercing look in your eyes
Hillbilly warfare summoning me
Alluring and repulsing, cater to me.
Time will never catch you, never hold you
in its grip
I want to catch you, feel you, know you,
Such a strange town
Your glowing lights deceive you
Shine through your invisible soul
Peel away that which clearly reveals you
Detracts from the battered whole.
She's so cosmopolitan, out of place
Walking ever so close, I cannot see her face
What of you at this strange hour
Do you belong here alone, alone?
Pay me no mind
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
What about your friends?
Yeah, I was singing that old TLC song in my head when I wrote that title. That's just sick and wrong. But that Chili girl sure was hot, in fact, she probably still is.
Anywho, I've been thinking a lot lately about friends and friendship in general. I've got several friends going through some pretty big things in their life right now and it's made me stop to think about how we all go through phases with our friends. And I started to make a sort of connected list in my head of the people I've been closest to as friends in my life. It is actually kind of a fun and amusing exercise but I also am tinged with sadness.
For example, I had one person that I considered a very close friend. We met at a point in our lives where we had lots of free time and spent a great deal of time together. We did all sorts of things but primarily the typical things guys do in their spare time, sports, video games, etc. He got a girlfriend and it all changed. We didn't spend that much time together but that didn't really bother me all that much. He essentially moved in with her (although he still kept his own place) and gave me her number to call him there. However, any attempt to call him there was met with great rudeness on her part and if he wasn't there, I sincerely doubt he got any messages. I told him about this but her behavior never changed. I don't believe I ever spent any time with the two of them; in fact, I don't think I ever saw her after they got together (I knew of who she was previous to their relationship). My friend often complained about her and often said he was on the verge of breaking it off with her.
Of course, they got engaged. Strangely, I was asked to be in the wedding party, despite being absolutely convinced that she hated me. When my friend asked me, I told him I couldn't do it. I said that I just couldn't believe that his wife to be wanted me in her wedding party. It was a pretty brief discussion and that's all I really remember about it. To be honest, I think I've only spoken to him once or twice since, once in person, and it was pretty awkward. The wedding went ahead and they are still married.
I really regret having turned down the invitation to be in the wedding party and feel like I turned my back on my friend. And I miss having the guy as a friend, we share a lot of common interests and always had a pretty good time hanging out. I really think it didn't show much class to turn him down and regret having done it. I've often thought about reaching out to him to talk about it but just haven't pulled the trigger. I've even thought of just getting in touch and try to re-establish a relationship without really addressing the whole history. I don't know, maybe I will someday. At this point, it's been many, many years since the whole thing took place, maybe time has healed the old wound.
Anyhow, I also think about WHY I'm friends with certain people. A lot of the people I stay in contact with regularly are people I attended college with. Some of these are funny, they are completely just reminiscences of times gone by - there is one guy where we never talk about anything except what happened in college. Sort of strange. On the other hand, I probably spend more time with a friend that is a neighbor of mine than anyone else. We've gotten to be good friends over a lot of things, poker, sports, helping each other around the house with projects, that sort of thing. It's definitely easier to build that kind of friendship since you just have to step outside the house to meet up! And some of the other people I consider among my closest friends I rarely see or talk to at all. It's all quite a strange, tangled web. But I've always been someone who valued my friendships greatly, in many cases being able to count on friends far more than others like the family. But usually I'm friends with them because I enjoy their company and we share some sort of common interest. I suppose that's the case with most of us.
But then, I've always had sort of a strange tendency to have some VERY strange friends. For example, for a while in high school, one of the guys I hung out with was a sort of fringe outcast loner type of guy. For a few months, we were inseperable and I'm still not sure why. There were a couple guys in college that NO ONE could stand that for some reason were quite friendly to me and I wound up spending a decent amount of time with. I like to think that it's due to my openmindedness and great decency but I always was able to find common ground with these folks. But it's more likely due to some selfish convenience that I'm not allowing myself to admit.
Anyhow, enough of my narcissistic psycho-babble, I'm going to the Cubs/Mets game Friday and off to a concert several hours away afterwards. I can't wait, despite the extreme heat that is expected. I may even get crazy and go to the casino after all of this! We'll see, in the meantime, I've got a math quiz tonight and about 6 reading projects to finish in the several days. I definitely have a strong shot at straight As for this semester so I really want to buckle down and lock it in.
And a warning for my next blog entry, I will likely post an original poem. My ability to take myself far too seriously apparently knows no bounds! But all my reading has gotten me fired up to do some writing again, a much deserted habit of mine.
Until next time.
Ace
Anywho, I've been thinking a lot lately about friends and friendship in general. I've got several friends going through some pretty big things in their life right now and it's made me stop to think about how we all go through phases with our friends. And I started to make a sort of connected list in my head of the people I've been closest to as friends in my life. It is actually kind of a fun and amusing exercise but I also am tinged with sadness.
For example, I had one person that I considered a very close friend. We met at a point in our lives where we had lots of free time and spent a great deal of time together. We did all sorts of things but primarily the typical things guys do in their spare time, sports, video games, etc. He got a girlfriend and it all changed. We didn't spend that much time together but that didn't really bother me all that much. He essentially moved in with her (although he still kept his own place) and gave me her number to call him there. However, any attempt to call him there was met with great rudeness on her part and if he wasn't there, I sincerely doubt he got any messages. I told him about this but her behavior never changed. I don't believe I ever spent any time with the two of them; in fact, I don't think I ever saw her after they got together (I knew of who she was previous to their relationship). My friend often complained about her and often said he was on the verge of breaking it off with her.
Of course, they got engaged. Strangely, I was asked to be in the wedding party, despite being absolutely convinced that she hated me. When my friend asked me, I told him I couldn't do it. I said that I just couldn't believe that his wife to be wanted me in her wedding party. It was a pretty brief discussion and that's all I really remember about it. To be honest, I think I've only spoken to him once or twice since, once in person, and it was pretty awkward. The wedding went ahead and they are still married.
I really regret having turned down the invitation to be in the wedding party and feel like I turned my back on my friend. And I miss having the guy as a friend, we share a lot of common interests and always had a pretty good time hanging out. I really think it didn't show much class to turn him down and regret having done it. I've often thought about reaching out to him to talk about it but just haven't pulled the trigger. I've even thought of just getting in touch and try to re-establish a relationship without really addressing the whole history. I don't know, maybe I will someday. At this point, it's been many, many years since the whole thing took place, maybe time has healed the old wound.
Anyhow, I also think about WHY I'm friends with certain people. A lot of the people I stay in contact with regularly are people I attended college with. Some of these are funny, they are completely just reminiscences of times gone by - there is one guy where we never talk about anything except what happened in college. Sort of strange. On the other hand, I probably spend more time with a friend that is a neighbor of mine than anyone else. We've gotten to be good friends over a lot of things, poker, sports, helping each other around the house with projects, that sort of thing. It's definitely easier to build that kind of friendship since you just have to step outside the house to meet up! And some of the other people I consider among my closest friends I rarely see or talk to at all. It's all quite a strange, tangled web. But I've always been someone who valued my friendships greatly, in many cases being able to count on friends far more than others like the family. But usually I'm friends with them because I enjoy their company and we share some sort of common interest. I suppose that's the case with most of us.
But then, I've always had sort of a strange tendency to have some VERY strange friends. For example, for a while in high school, one of the guys I hung out with was a sort of fringe outcast loner type of guy. For a few months, we were inseperable and I'm still not sure why. There were a couple guys in college that NO ONE could stand that for some reason were quite friendly to me and I wound up spending a decent amount of time with. I like to think that it's due to my openmindedness and great decency but I always was able to find common ground with these folks. But it's more likely due to some selfish convenience that I'm not allowing myself to admit.
Anyhow, enough of my narcissistic psycho-babble, I'm going to the Cubs/Mets game Friday and off to a concert several hours away afterwards. I can't wait, despite the extreme heat that is expected. I may even get crazy and go to the casino after all of this! We'll see, in the meantime, I've got a math quiz tonight and about 6 reading projects to finish in the several days. I definitely have a strong shot at straight As for this semester so I really want to buckle down and lock it in.
And a warning for my next blog entry, I will likely post an original poem. My ability to take myself far too seriously apparently knows no bounds! But all my reading has gotten me fired up to do some writing again, a much deserted habit of mine.
Until next time.
Ace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
