Be The Match Update

(Sunday, February 26, 2012)
For all of you who are wondering about the lady I donated stem cells to last month, I have an update if only minimal.

She received the graft and was released from the hospital.  Her doctor indicated that she was doing well and  now all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and should know more in July.

Horses and Congressman

(Sunday, February 26, 2012)

Yesterday, I got to follow the wife out to a dressage show at Topsider Farm and got some really good pictures.  This is probably one of my favorites, if only because it's so close to the house.  Although with that being said, there are some really awesome eventing locations.

I have to admit, and don't tell my wife I said it, but there are a lot of cool things about going to watch (I'm never sure what to call what the wife does) horse trials.

This is what went through my mind.

Sometimes it's only dressage that she does, still not sure it's not French for boring, and other times it's only jumping and then there are both; this can be either in an arena or out on a cross country course.  When she is really feeling frisky she and the other crazy riders (I say it with love) decide to do all three within 12 hour window.

And for those of you who don't know, there are quite a few English riders out there.  I never would have thought there would be, but there are eventing sites all over the place.  *They have meetings, and groups.  I think it's a conspiracy and they are going to try to take over the world* except that there really isn't a lot of money in it and it costs more than you think.  The horses are kind of like congressman, in that you are forced to give them money and what you get in return tends to be a lot of manure.

Seriously though, if you've never been to one of these events, horse trials,  I highly suggest you go. At least when the horses work, you see them sweat.

Another All Nighter

(Wednesday, February 22, 2012)

Only a little creepy

I'm sitting at McD's at three in morning, borrowing their wifi to work on my homework and wondering why.

Why am I up at 3a when I have class tomorrow?
Why do I care about homework that I am pretty sure is pointless?
Why am I blogging instead of working on homework that I wish was already done?

Well kind of like an exercise in "free-writing" I thought that if I sat here a minute writing words that had nothing to do with the homework I need to be working on then maybe I can trick myself into switching over to the homework while still letting my mind freely create words .....

Just in case you were wondering, the free-writing did work to get me started on my homework (for a couple of minutes).  Other things cross my mind and I'm distracted and back to the blog.
I don't like to be told to write, the blog feels like an assignment sometimes and that is what my homework is, writing essays.  Writing about topics chosen by my professor to see if I am actually reading the books.  I am, but that doesn't help.  I could write some cr@ppy answers and finish the paper, but I actually can't.  I can't do it, as much as I wish I could, I cannot turn in a paper that I am not happy with.  I'd rather take late points on a perfect paper than turn in a paper that I know is mediocre on time.

---------------------------------------------
(Friday, February 24, 2012)

Remember the good old days when an all nighter meant partying until dawn, well now my idea of all nighters usually include homework.  Man I got old :-0


This is why I never finish a blog page.  I start on a page and never finish the thought.  I did eventually finish my homework; came home Thursday after class and crashed out on the couch.  I was exhausted and thankfully classes were extra boring.  It was d@mn near to keep my eyes open.

So I guess this is what you can expect from here forward.  I'll just have to write and then finish the thought later.  The thought on my mind at the moment is the lesson I have to teach on Monday morning and the truly scary part is that I'm on my own.  My mentor is out for STAAR training.

(to be continued...)

Taking a Break

I've been a little over-whelmed since school started back up; always racing trying to catch up, trying to keep up.  When I actually do get everything done, I worry that I forgot something.  It's just easier to stay busy.

My methods class was a lot of fun, the kids are surprisingly well behaved.  I'm sure that they have just been on their best behavior since I'm new to the classroom.  By next week they'll be used to me and we'll just have to see how it goes.  I'm really looking forward to this semester and having more opportunities to actually teach a lesson.


Between classes and work, it's been everything I could do to get through assignments.  I did however get one of these early assignments back and my prof took the time to tell me she really enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share it.
---------------

Trying to dredge up memories of reading for me is like the proverbial “trying to find a needle in a haystack.”  I love to read.  I regularly find myself fascinated by the most obtuse of subjects.  Advertisements, manufacture’s labels, graffiti; it doesn’t matter to me.  It is just as interesting to see how something was written, the style of the writing, as to actually read the words.  This love of reading has also lent itself to an adoration of creating my own prose.  I find the more that I read the better I am able to write.  While I don’t necessarily consider myself a writer, I often find it easier to develop my thoughts on paper rather than speak them aloud.

  I don’t recall ‘learning’ to read or write.  I try to imagine myself unable to read or write and suddenly these words begin to vanish from the page.  Such a seemingly insignificant initial talent has had such a profound effect on every aspect of my life.  The first memory I do have of actually reading, was reading my little brother bedtime stories.  With about four years of age difference between us, I must have been about 6 or 7 years old when he and I started our nightly ritual.  What is more significant about this ritual is that my brother later claimed these bedtime stories as one of his earliest memories, which only helped to reinforce my passion for reading.

It is perhaps indicative that my favorite teachers before college were during this time frame, my 1^st and 2^nd grade teachers, Mrs. Cagle and Mrs. Cain.  I remember during one or both of these school years that we would ‘take a break’ from class work and to go to the library.   At that age the great thing about going to the library was we were able to move about freely with our friends between the numerous shelves and our library felt endless.  I still feel a sense of awe walking into a library, thinking about the so many words that have been have been contained within so few pages; I have also maintained the habit of reading to ‘take a break’ from work.

My early experiences reading and writing up until about the 5^th grade are perhaps my favorite encounters with English and grammar if only for their simplicity.  I read the books in the library to earn “Rapid Reader” points and I read to read.  I don’t remember having to do a whole lot of tedious book reports or being told that I had to read a certain book.  Sometime around middle school and junior high that all changed.  I’m not sure if it was the books that were chosen for us to read or the fact that I was being told to read them, either way I decidedly no longer liked reading. 

My senior year of high school, Mrs. Starkey reignited that spark I had had for reading and writing.  We read The Canterbury Tales and she had so many interesting stories that went along with the tales; stories about her travels to England and through Europe.  We spent several weeks reading Shakespeare and thinking back now I remember that Mrs. Starkey was the teacher that taught me to read for meaning; to consider not only the word itself but the sentence, the paragraph, and the context in which it was written.

If my experiences are any suggestion of how other students have ever felt then I can empathize.  I feel that I made the most progress parsing when I was guided to develop my style instead being pushed to conform to a standard.  I hope that by having my students ‘take a break’ to read and write will inspire them to not only develop their own styles but to also develop their own thoughts.