Ouch!

I ran in my 10k over the weekend. Before I start to whine about how bad it sucked, let me give a few excuses as to why it went so badly. First off, I started to get sick about a week before the race. I was in bad enough shape last Wednesday that I never got out of bed all day long. But I started feeling better Thursday and was close to back to normal on Friday. Unfortunately, being sick I didn't get to do my last few training runs but I figured I'd be ok since I went 45 minutes on the elliptical, which isn't too much shorter than I expected it to take me to run the race. Secondly, I did not eat dinner the night before the race. I got caught up doing something and just never made time to do it. Since the race was sort of early Saturday am, I really didn't have much of a breakfast either. Not really the brightest idea in the world.

The race was Saturday am. I got there and had a really bad feeling. Even though I trained for several weeks, I had not run outside at all, all the training was on the elliptical. So, the race started and off we went. I did ok the first mile, it was at about the pace I thought I would run the race and I felt ok. The second mile wasn't bad either, it was roughly the same pace. But somewhere between 2 & 2.5 miles I really lost it. I started to get very tired and slowed down. In my mind I had two goals: 1. Don't walk. 2. Don't die. I swear, this is what I was thinking as I was running. That generally is not a good sign. I'm glad to say that I met both goals! My time was about 8 minutes slower than my other 10k I ran two years ago, which sucks, but at least I finished. I will definitely need to train better for my next adventure. And I was about as sore as I have ever been the day after the race. I'm back to normal now but damn that was not fun!

I finished one of my classes last night. I've got another that finishes next Monday I believe. That will leave me with just Shakespeare and my teaching of writing class. The writing class has a big assignment due Monday and a few other big things to do in the next few weeks. I'll be glad to finish up the semester. I get about a month off until spring semester starts.

We hosted a baby shower for our friends C & N over the weekend. A good time seemed to be had by all. There was lots of good food, which made it even more fun. By the way (and not specific to this particular baby shower), the inventor of the couples baby shower really should be locked away somewhere. They are really not my cup of tea.

Congrats to my friend Thumper who had her baby over the weekend. Cute little dude. And congrats to S & B who are expecting their third. We did a count over the weekend and we know eight couples that are expecting right now. Wow! And best wishes out to DS who just found out about a major illness in the family. We're thinking the best thoughts on a successful recovery.

My fantasy football teams suck. I have gone 1-5 the last 2 weeks and will be lucky to make the playoffs in one league at this rate. Ugh!!!!

OK, that's enough for now.

Until next time.

Ace.

Eye gouging, poisoning and suicide

No, I have not been watching re-runs of "The Simple Life" or "Real World". Rather, just reading some more of Willie Shakespeare. I just finished King Lear and am now down to just 3 more plays in the next 3 1/2 weeks. Not bad at all my friends. And I really am enjoying reading them, although they are some violent pieces of work. Next up is Richard III, which I understand is more of the same. I think I'm ready for a comedy to be thrown in here!

I am also down to 2 more visits to my middle school to finish my clinical experience for this semester. I've been in class 3 days. My most recent visit was fairly uneventful although I did enjoy reading a couple of stories aloud to the 6th graders in the first period.

I had a sick, sick hand in poker that I wanted to share. I just got back from dinner and sit down in the big blind (playing $5 / $10 Limit Hold 'Em). 6 players limp in and I look down at pocket queens. I raise and all 6 come along for the ride.

The flop comes K-Q-9, with two diamonds on the board. I bet, there is one raise, another raise and I cap the betting. I'm assuming there is at least one person with Jack Ten for a made straight and probably an Ace King. There are 3 of us left in the pot. The turn is a 9, giving me a full house. The only hands that beat me are KK or 99. I bet, one call, a raise, I re-raise and the other dude calls. The river is the worst card in the deck, another K. I check, dude checks, girl bets, I call, he calls. I show my full house, dude shows Jack Ten for the straight and girl shows K-9. So, that river king killed me and lost me a gigantic pot. I was crushed, the pot must have been over $300. Anyhow, I got back at the winner later with another monster pot when I cracked her Aces by flopping a set of 4s. The pot was nearly as big as the Queens hand. I finished up overall but could have had a record breaking night if not for that King, grrrrr.

Some potentially great news came my way over the weekend. I blogged previously about a state content test I took several weeks ago with the expectation at about 70% that I failed. I'll be damned if I didn't get an e-mail with preliminary results showing that I passed quite easily. I'm waiting for the official results in the mail but I was pleasantly surprised by that little gem. The only possible catch is that you have to pass each sub-area in addition to passing overall but I'm guessing I should be ok. What a surprise.

I register for next semester today, looking at 3 classes, which should be pretty comfortable. In fact, I think I'm going to sign-off now to register.

Good luck to D, who is due to go into labor at absolutely any time now. Hope it all goes well!

Until next time,

Ace

It's been a while

since I've f*d things up, the way I always do. Ah, the chipper lyrics of Aaron Lewis, lead singer of Staind. Well, I don't think I've f'd anything up but when I wrote the title the song popped into my head. I digress.

MacBeth - done. One page paper to write tonight and I'm halfway done with my Shakespeare class. Dude was a pretty good writer. I'm thinking a bit overrated though. The class I'm taking is all done independently, with audio lessons via CD. The instructors could not be more in love with someone than they are with the old Shaker. I guess it's their job but it's a little disgusting. I think you could get arrested in at least 36 states for giving someone so much lip service. I'm in the midst of King Lear as we speak.

Only about a month left in the semester, I really can't believe it. I'm getting by and thinking I'll do pretty well in the class I care most about, one of my recent assignments has gotten rave reviews. This is a good thing. And I think the teacher likes me. Really, what's not to love?

I register for spring semester next week. It looks like I'll be in class at least 2 nights per week. But one of the courses is an American Lit course at the graduate level. I think it should be fun, I love literature. It looks like 3 classes total, which should be a little easier to handle than this semester.

One quick poker note, I was playing this past weekend and hit a royal flush. Not very often one of those bad boys come around, unfortunately I only had a couple people in the hand with me so it wasn't a huge pot to win. But, I did score 2 free tickets to the buffet for my effort!

Tough week in fantasy football, only 1-2 overall. I'm going to need to get hot to make the playoffs, although it is definitely still in striking distance in all 3 leagues:

Boom Kings 4-4 - probably my best team but on a 2 game losing streak. 5th place overall, top 4 make playoffs, 4th place team also 4-4 but has 27 more pts than me.

Nice Guy Dick Taters 4-4 - 3 game losing streak, tied with 2 other teams at 5th place overall, top 4 make playoffs, playing 4th place team this week.

Come on Sucker Lick My Battery 5-3 - 4th place overall

Congrats Red Sox on winning the World Series, they could definitely be set up for a nice run the next few years with all the talent on that team. And a fun football matchup this weekend with Colts and Patriots squaring off, what a hype fest! Plus the Bulls tipped off last night, not a great beginning but they should be pretty good this season. I sure hope they don't trade for the rapist-prima donna Kobe.

Finally, I'll leave with a limerick, which have gone missing in recent posts. This one is particularly timely:

There was a young damsel named Carole
Who liked to play stud for apparel.
Her opponents straight flush
Brought a maidenly blush,
And a hasty trip home in a barrel.

Until next time,

Ace

Downswing

I'm on the downswing. I am almost 2/3 of the way through this semester already. Holy smokes it is flying! My clinical experiences continue and have been a source of encouragement. I spent last Friday and will spend the next 4 Fridays at my middle school. The good news is that it is only about 15 minutes from my house whereas my high school was over an hour away. The better news is that I am loving it so far. The program is more organized. I am with 5 different teachers throughout the day so that I am getting a fuller experience. And I'm really enjoying the kids. They just seem nicer than the high schoolers I ran into and are eager to participate (and please!). I have to say that was a real upper. I am really not caring much for the seminars all of us prospective teachers sit through for 2 hours on Monday afternoons that accompany the clinical experience but those are only a few weeks away from being over. Maybe they are valuable for the undergrads but it is feeling like a major waste of time to me.

My "teaching writing" class is going well. I have identified grammar as a major weakness I need to improve upon. It's amazing how the philosophy on teaching grammar has changed. In fact, a lot of the theory is saying that you should only teach it pretty moderately, as opposed to all the drilling and exercises I did growing up. In spite of that, I still need to bone up on that area so I am a credible resource for my kids. And when I most needed it, my professor told me she thought I was going to be an excellent teacher. Whether she's blowing smoke or not, it felt good to hear.

Shakespeare continues. I'm through 2 of the 7 plays I need to read and I've just started MacBeth. I basically have a play per week the rest of the semester (which is beginning of December). It's going to be a grind but I definitely think it's doable. This full semester is a lot longer than that short, intense summer semester I just completed. Grueling.

I'm coming to a crossroads. I need to enroll in classes for next semester soon. I'm strongly considering stretching the rest of my course work over another year so that I student teach in Fall '09 instead of Fall '08. The reasons are primarily financial. The better half has not been able to get any kind of regularity from her desired occupation and is now looking in other directions. I've taken up a "second" job doing something I love but is not a reliable source of income. But the problem is, I'm pretty close to finishing up and I really like the people with whom I'm taking my coursework. I'm thinking I may go ahead with my classes next semester and then work towards adding classes for another endorsement, giving me the ability to teach more than English. I'm thinking that either business (not sure of the market for that in middle school) or technology might be directions I head in for my endorsement. We'll see.

Less deep and much more fun. My favorite band is having a record release party in Orlando in February. We're considering taking the kids and incorporating it into a Disney trip. Also hoping to go to Vegas with the fellas at some point in the spring, hopefully over my spring break. And finally, taking the kids to New York to visit both major league ballparks that are closing at the end of next season. So, lots of very cool stuff coming up.

Even more fun! Congrats M&J on finding out about baby #2 on the way, very exciting! And also to D&L, who have gone through hell and now heaven to finally have their first on the way. Life is about to change my friends.

Not so much fun but encouraging thoughts and wishes to Ken, who suffered a stroke recently but is whipping it's backside by all accounts.

And on my own suicide watch, I'm going to try to run a 10k in a couple of weeks. I've not run nearly as much as I should but am trying to get up to speed in time. It'll be close.

Fantasy Football Update:

Boom Kings 4-3, one game back, highest scorer in the league
Come on Sucker Lick My Battery 4-3, 5th out of 10 teams. Now is the time for a hot streak.
Nice Guy Dick Taters 4-3, 4th out of 10 teams.

The good news is I've got a shot at the playoffs in all 3 leagues. I'd settle for making it in 2 of the 3.

And I continue to pwn my poker league. After doing very poorly in the first tourney, I've since finished 3rd, 1st, 2nd and 2nd. The last 2 seconds were tough because I felt I should have won. In the first I lost with Ace King suited to pocket queens (ok, maybe I shouldn't have won but I easily could have with that hand). In the second, my pocket Aces that would have finished the tournament got beat by AT when the bozo caught his 2 outer on the river to catch up with me. I couldn't recover and it was over. So frustrating. I'm way ahead of the pack though and making a little scratch on the side.

OK, megapost complete.

Until next time.

Ace

Funny ha ha

This will be a brief post.

I just finished reading Hamlet so this joke particularly struck me.


Final Confession


Brittany was on her deathbed, with her husband Adam at her side.
She kept trying to tell him something, but he kept saying, "Shhhh, don't worry now darling, just rest."
"But honey," she whispered, "I need to make a confession before I die... I slept with your brother, your best friend, and your father."
"Don't worry about it, sweetie," replied Adam as he wiped the tears from Brittany's cheek, "I know. Why do you think I poisoned you?"

Stolen from Comedy Central.

FF Update

Boom Kings 4-2, 1 game back of first, highest scoring team in the league.
Come On Sucker Lick My Battery 3-3, 7th overall, 2 games back of first, not doing so hot
Nice Guy Dick Taters 4-2, 1 game back of two teams, tied with one other team

I also managed to get 3rd in both of my baseball leagues, not great but in the money!

Drive by post

I wrote a poem this weekend for one of my classes. I liked it and thought I would share...

Pad pad pad
soft sound of
full grown chocolate dog
searching for perfect nap

Pad pad pad
furious pounding of
baby hands and knees
hearing daddy's voice

Pad pad pad
churning rooster tail of
powder and cinders grinded
by racing baserunner

Pad pad pad
friendly tapping of
knuckles on felt after
Aces fill up with sevens

Hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time.

Ace

Marching on

Tomorrow I finish up my clinical observations at a local high school, the culmination of 35 hours spent primarily with one English / reading teacher. It has been very interesting.

First, a bit about the school and classes. The school is a large one that has failed the No Child Left Behind standards for the last 6 years. There are a large number of students where they are more comfortable with Spanish than English. Additionally, there are a large number of students from poor households, where their parents immigrated from Mexico or Central America with around a 4th grade education. The specific classes I've been with are 3 reading classes, which are essentially remedial classes with many students that likely have undiagnosed learning disabilities or ADHD. There have also been 2 other classes that are English classes, with a slightly higher level of aptitude, although some of the same behavioral issues.

The teacher I have been with has taught for 33 years and reminds me of a grandmother. She's fairly small and while the students don't exactly run over her, she doesn't exactly have them eating out of the palm of her hand. This is the first year in several where she has not had all remedial reading students, so the English classes are a delight for her. My first several sessions were observing standardized testing, which wasn't very compelling. More recently, I've seen some lessons and learned a few things about various teaching strategies and tools. Overall, the teacher has been sort of unprepared, seemingly winging it since she has so much experience. But it hasn't made the greatest impression on me.

The issues with the kids have been really eye-opening. So much energy gets spent on playing cop that it is difficult to spend much time on instruction. This has been the most disappointing aspect for me. I'm definitely interested to see how my middle school experience, which I'll start in about 2 weeks, will compare to what I've seen at the high school. I also plan to talk to many of my friends who teach to get their insights as well. That said, I have turned in my student teaching application for next fall with a request to be placed in a middle school. I may change my mind ultimately as to what level I'd like to teach but that's where I'm leaning right now.

Otherwise, classes are moving ahead. Hard to believe I'm already 1/3 of the way through the term. One of my courses is really good, I think I'm going to enjoy the Shakespeare course also. Then I have my observation classes, which seem pretty useless besides the actual observations. We spend a couple hours in small groups or listening to presentations that I have not gotten much value out of so far. Hopefully this will improve. I also have a state test this weekend on my knowledge of the things English teachers should know. In seeing the practice test, I predict a spectacular failure on this. We'll see, but I'm not at all optimistic.

A bit of a downer post, to reflect my mood over the past week or so. But I keep fighting through it. Eventually we'll get back on the upswing.

Until next time.

Ace