Just Checking In

No big developments except that Kristin is visiting next week and we'll be splitting Christmas between our parents. I'm very excited about both of these, but hardly had enough to blog about regarding them. Other than that, I haven't done a tremendous amount of exciting things. A trip to 7 Floors of Hell, numerous lake visits, and lots of disc golf including my best score occurring my last time out. I've hit a few new courses around the area and seriously think that if there are courses near Del Rio, I'll probably join a league once I get down there, which...::fingers crossed:: will be sooner rather than later.

My visit to see Kristin in TX was amazing. I can totally see Del Rio as a home, not just a place to get my feet wet in the "real world." We did some tourism stuff such as straddling the border between the US and Mexico on a Dam which creates an amazing Lake and checking out some huge cliffs on the Pecos River. Moving to Del Rio will be followed shortly by the purchase of a boat of some kind to extend my touring of the area to things reached only by water. We also checked out a winery and did a tasting of 12 wines there. Wound up picking one up that actually more closely resembles brandy than any wine I've ever tasted to sip on together. I got the grand tour of restaurants in town too and enjoyed every bite. It feels great to be able to see Kristin more often now that she is on her own.

I hit the highest note I've ever played on my trumpet yesterday which simply lends more proof to my ever-present theory that

Disc Golf Update

I found a sweet website, discgolfscene.com, where I can upload my scores, discs, and favorite courses. All I need now? Some friends! I've given some serious consideration to attempting a tournament sometime, and being on this website will both let me know when and where they are occurring, and if I should even try (AKA whether or not the competition is too stiff for me to enter without feeling really dumb).

My trip out to Lake Shore Park in Ashtabula on Sunday was awesome. The course was fun as usual and I had great competition from my nephew, Jeremiah, who actually beat me by a stroke. I have several excuses lined up if justification for the loss is necessary, but truth be told, he and I play fairly evenly and losing to him eventually was predetermined. The weather was gorgeous with a high in the low 70s and sun with a 15mph wind coming off of Lake Erie. The wind caused us all a little bit of trouble, but we fought through and had a good outing overall.

Today, I plan on attempting to get out and play a round this afternoon, but we'll see if that happens. I also need to do a few chores around the house and decide what my availability at work will be/when I will be visiting Kristin/what ensembles to audition for and such.

As for right now, I think I could use an energy drink to kick off my day, so I'm out.

Well Deserved Day Off

I think I've earned it. 14hrs of hell out of a 24hr time period? Yeah. Let's schedule one kitchen crew from 4-Close and only 'til 9 at that. And then he can come back in at 7 the next morning.

Done with that rant. Youth group event after that period of craziness went very well. Many, many people showed up and all seemed to have a good time despite some rain.

Tomorrow, my family will probably venture out to my favorite area disc golf course in Ashtabula. A beautiful, rolling hill type of course right on Lake Erie is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with family. We plan on picking up some pizza to picnic at the park before starting to play. The fact that we will fill our mini-van with 7 people for the 45 minute drive there and back is the only draw back and I'm definitely looking forward to playing the course another time this season.

On another note, Child's Play is a pretty good movie as horror movies go. Did not see that one coming.

Poor Play

Disc Golfing at Osborne Park went somewhat poorly today. I'm uncertain as to whether my poor play was the result of the relatively extreme wind conditions, or if I was just having an off day so I think I'll write it off as the first option. It was a lot of fun to get out, though, and since I began keeping a log of my outings, I have ventured out 8 times in as many weeks. I know I could do better, but I still think that is doing fairly well compared to my normal average.

The new driver I have has been treating me quite nicely, but the wind today seemed to knock it down without letting it turn over as would be the normal flight path of a well thrown side-arm. This resulted in some nasty rolls and difficult approach shots on my adventure at the lake. I am beginning to think that purchasing a putter would be a huge boost to my play, too, because I want to start being more consistent in the 20ft range instead of feeling like I should have it, and only making it 40-50% of the time.

Also, would any of my disc golfing friends like to venture to Mentor on a Wednesday night so we could play in a weekly scramble for cash prizes? I'd love to play, but I don't know if it is a four or two person scramble. I'd assume it is four, in which case, my nephew and I cannot make up a team by ourselves and would require the presence of perhaps Brett and...who else is in? Play well and you can win your gas money for the trip!

Jim Thome

I have always been a big Thome fan. My adoration never left him even though he left Cleveland. As such, I can honestly say that I was very excited to learn this morning that he moved into a tie for 8th place on the All-time home runs list at 586 in his career. The Indians are so awful that it was great to have an interest in the baseball reports on Sportscenter this morning.

I am a part of a Fantasy Football league for the first time and I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. This should be a funny season as I awkwardly pick players to play on my team from week to week. Not sure how I feel about Fantasy, but a friend invited me and I felt there weren't escape options as it takes as much, or as little, time as you are able/willing to devote to it.

The big game on Saturday should be a lot of fun to watch. Hopefully, the Buckeyes will put the Canes in their place and the College Football fans and analysts around the country can shut up and wait to see if the Buckeyes are for real this season.

And now, moving away from sports...As you are all aware, Kristin has a job in Del Rio, TX. I do not yet have a job which is a very frustrating development, or lack of development. This is beginning to result in planning for next year because there seem to be a decent number of jobs down in that area, between subbing, the principal trying to find me a teaching position in the area, and a big base. However, next Summer is looking very far away as a time to be able to be with Kristin permanently. That being said, staying at home will probably be a good option for saving some money and making loan payments. Definitely looking forward to a visit to Del Rio in early October, though!

A Valpo visit this fall would be fantastic, but seems somewhat unlikely as finances should probably be focused on loans and the Fiancee instead...but maybe something could be worked out somehow, or a Cedar Point trip? Is anyone up for a Halloweekends adventure?

Inspiration

Seeing a new post by my fellow blogger, Brett, I have gained the inspiration for my first post in a long, long time.

Emily's wedding ceremony was wonderful and playing trumpet for it was an honor. The reception was fun as might be expected, though I naturally did very little dancing as my favorite and really my only dancing partner was not able to make it. The wine and beer was enjoyable as was the company since many of her friends are my friends as well.

Camping was great, I may have already blogged about that. The Smoky Mountains are gorgeous and hiking in them was a blast as it always is. The camping experience (sleeping, walking around the campground, fire related activities, etc.) is better in that park than anywhere else I've been.

Visiting Kristin and her family in Wisconsin for a few days was long overdue and a great experience. I helped her pack and get ready for the big move to Del Rio as well as making a new impression on her parents and most importantly, finally seeing her after so long. The only bad part of it is that my missing her has gotten 10 times worse since leaving again and now I'm trying to figure out how to probably handle another year of long distance.

The time between my last post and this was also littered with little fun things like disc golfing several times, playing at a tournament with my dad for real golf, and a fun day here or there with some of my close friends from around here, but touching on all of those events would make this post even more unbearably long for you readers than it already is.

I am not a girl...

...and yet my emotions were on a roller coaster of sorts the past few weeks anyway. Not knowing whether or not my fiancee could come to my best friends wedding, then finding out she couldn't camp, but probably could come to the wedding. Then she couldn't because her NEW JOB!!! was going to need her to go to a conference. Then they couldn't get her into the conference. Then her parents thought it'd be best if she spent the weekend packing and getting things organized because the looming move is fast-approaching. I don't know how much more of that kind of torture I could have taken. Haha, fortunately our love remains strong and we can work through all this emotional up and downs. If work will let me, I'm going to try to head up her direction at the beginning of August.

Emily gets married in two days! I wish her and Luke many years of happiness and companionship. My trills aren't perfect, but they're as good as they are going to get, hence my facebook status of this afternoon. I do feel prepared. I, unfortunately, won't get to dance with my fiancee, but...I should still have fun as half our church is invited to the wedding!

My friends and family returned home from New Orleans and the National Youth Gathering today so I got to hang out with Ruth and family and Laura during the day today.

I think I've made all my points and am sleepy...time for bed.

Drifting

I've decided that I don't need to refer to friends as friends and instead can refer to them by names. With that in mind, Bill scored some tickets to the Lake County Speedway through his work for Saturday night and Emily and I made a venture there with him. Riding in his large diesel truck is quite enjoyable in and of itself, but the show was even better. I can't stand watching NASCAR at all, but perhaps it is because I have never been to a live one. The track we went to is the smallest one with any affiliation to NASCAR and the races were pretty funny and the Figure 8 features produced many moments of, "Holy cow, they're gonna...whew, that was close!" The highlight of the night and the reason I went with Bill, however, was to see the halftime show. Our friend Chad was out in his car with the rest of Drift Cleveland and they were, yep, you guessed it, drifting. If you've never seen drifting I'm sure you can find tons of videos of it on Youtube, but basically the drivers attempt to make their cars do on dry pavement what the rest of us fear doing on ice and snow. They intentionally put their cars into sweet looking spins.

I am also happy to report that I had a few Long Islands after the show at The Winking Lizard. It had been far too long since the last time I'd consumed perhaps my favorite drink. I've made several stops over at that bar in the past week or so, and it feels good.

In other news, after an early flurry of trips disc golfing, I have not yet made it out since my birthday to try out my Champion Beast driver. The temperature and general business of those that would go with me and myself have prevented such an outing from occurring. With Emily's wedding this weekend and Jeremiah gone for the week to the LCMS National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, I fear that this outing may have to wait until I return home from the Smoky Mountains and family vacation sometime late next week.

Useless Statistic of the Day? I know I missed putting on into the last post.
One month after Michael Jackson passed away, his Facebook Page has become the first (by a big margin) to reach 10 million fans.
This fact is not all that surprising, I suppose, but it's all I have for today.

Party in the Park

I went to Painesville's Party in the Park last night and heard Colin Dussalt's Blues Project perform. I was very impressed. The beer and ribs were also enjoyable. The atmosphere of a town square filled by people at a festival listening to live music is just fun to be a part of. Particularly if you actually enjoy said music. It's been fun to hang out with my friend the past few days as we are now within a week to her wedding. I've made my first trip up to the lake to swim with another friend (her younger brother) and my nephew as well. Today is the first day in 3 that I have not been in a bit of pain from sunburn and this is refreshing. Tonight, I plan on watching yet another friend drift at the halftime show of a race at the local track. It should be a good time. All in all, the past week has been a great week, especially with the news of Kristin getting a job (only part of which makes me sad being the location). Now if only I could also find a job, things would be golden. I took another step in that direction filling out the paperwork for my Ohio license on Thursday.

I just realized that this post has resumed my traditional stream of consciousness typing and I apologize for no clear structural guidelines, such as paragraphs primarily. My mind is flitting from one thing to the next as I just returned home from work and need to find food before long in preparation for the races.

Hákarl

Hákarl ranks up there as one of the most disgusting foods I have ever eaten. I tried it last night because when you are offered to taste one of the worst foods known to man, you have to man up and eat. My best friend is in town for her wedding in two weeks and I was over to chat and helped a bit with wedding stuff (which on a side note made me wish it was my wedding I was helping with). Her parents just returned from Iceland a week or so ago and Iceland is home to a poisonous shark which is a disgusting delicacy. They picked up a frozen package in the airport so that all of us here in Ohio could suffer with them.

Hákarl is Icelandic for fermented shark. The traditional method for preparation according to Wikipedia is to behead a basking shark and then bury it in the ground for 5-6 weeks, allowing the gravel and dirt to press down on the fish, forcing out the poisonous liquids. After that time, it is removed from the ground and cut into strips which are then hung out to dry for several months. Later, the meat is covered in a brown crusty substance which is peeled off prior to cutting into smaller pieces to be eaten. Consumption of the Hákarl proves hardiness and therefore many tourists seem to be tricked into tasting a truly disgusting dish.

Fortunately, my friend's family also had prepared a delicious jambalaya which made up for the awful putrid shark. The jambalaya also spurred me on to purchase a "fiery" hot sauce from a local hot sauce store which I plan on adding to the chicken I now must prepare.

Useless Stat of the Day omitted due to a long useless explanation of a foreign delicacy.

Macy's trip

This is a follow-up post on one of my Useless Stat of the Day entries.

I went to Macy's yesterday to exchange a shirt my brother had bought me for my birthday. I got a new blue polo and 3 pairs of nice socks in place of the one shirt in case you were wondering. However, it is important to note that even I fell into the trap yesterday. I walked into Macy's, a department store, and IMMEDIATELY turned to the right! I guess I'm just another statistic. How pathetic has my life become? Haha, I actually, as you might expect, don't feel bad about this at all. The fastest way to the Men's Department was a turn to the right, but I couldn't help but notice that I was just doing what was expected, no excitement from me.

As you may have gathered from Facebook, a good memory, or the above paragraph, my birthday has just passed. It turned out to be a great day with quite a few meaningful, fun, and exciting gifts. Some others were useful, and a few added up to hilarious laughs. My sister and her family came down the street and my parents helped me celebrate as well. We played croquet, cornhole, and hillbilly golf and ate steak, baked potatoes, and corn for dinner...all in all, a near perfect day.

The fourth was a bit of a repeat, eating grilled food, lots of outdoor games, and the same people involved. I did, however, also attend Mentor's parade, and had I not dehydrated myself on a few beers and some soda with little to no water intake, I would have also attended Mentor's fireworks. Sadly, however, the aforementioned consumption led to bed rest and I had to catch fireworks at Fairport Harbor on the fifth instead.

Useless Stat of the Day:
Just in case you are ever in a bind with no ruler or yardstick around...A coat hanger is 44" long if you straighten it.
I am actually tempted to test this one out, because we have some homemade coat hangers here at home and I have a feeling that not all coat hangers are created equally, but if there is any validity to this particular stat your measuring woes could be over.

Team USA Eliminated

I watched the big game today after getting home from work, caught it from half-time on. The second half was very exciting, for soccer, but in extra time, as my Facebook status currently indicates, I was not impressed by the effort or stamina of the USA squad. We wound up losing and the announcers thought we had nothing to be ashamed of, but why not do a bit better?

Disc golf last night on a new course could have resulted in a lot of Poison Ivy and seems to have not. This leads me to believe that I am not allergic. I know that I walked through it without attempting to avoid it, spot it, or respect it. I consciously picked up my disc when it had gone through a patch of poison ivy and even grazed it with my hand when it was sitting in a bit of it. I did go to the trouble of taking a very, very thorough shower upon getting home 3hrs after teeing off on the first hole. That is enough time for it to have taken effect, though, isn't it? I also think that now, 28hours after completion, sure fire signs of itching and rashes would have appeared.

I tossed an ultimate frisbee around our backyard with my dad for about an hour this evening before watching The Untouchables (great, great movie which I hadn't seen in far too long). One of our neighbors was/is having a graduation party or something and their music selection was impeccable running through artists like Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, and many other awesome summer artists.

Useless Stat of the Day:

1 of every 64 people in Alaska have earned a Pilot's License.
What do you think that stat would be for your home state?

Lazy Day

Yesterday turned into a much needed, lazy day for me. I woke up after 10, did a little bit of job searching and then played video games, cleaned out a room in our parish hall up at church, which really irritated me for reasons that I'd rather not blog about, got a little chasing a soccer ball in, and eventually made a steak and shake run with a friend as well as taking a night walk. As one might surmise from the above sentence, much of my day was spent with my 14yr old nephew. I suppose I also watched a bit of the game that eliminated Italy from the World Cup while job searching, but that amounted to much more job searching than TV watching, normally the inverse would occur, but I was focused.

Walking around my neighborhood late last night was very relaxing except for some strange noises in the woods at two different locations. This led me to wonder: do the noises that creep us out after dark occur during the day and there is just so much other noise that we don't focus on them? Or...perhaps we assume more malicious intent after dark and therefore, our minds process the noises we normally subconsciously ignore? Maybe the noises from after dark simply don't occur during the day? At any rate, cracking sticks and rustling through undergrowth in woods near a playground is always cause for concern when the sun is not present.

Making a late night Steak and Shake run reminded me of a few walks to Steak and Shake and Walmart from good old VU my freshman year. Ahhh, the memories of not knowing what to do in Valpo and being car-less. The menu and service are no more impressive than they ever were. Case in point, I did not receive a napkin or silverware after waiting a considerable length of time to be waited on. I'll stick to bars for that type of bad service when my counterparts are above 21. At least there will be a drink to keep me occupied.

Useless Stat of the day? I think so.
You are more likely to die in the bathtub (odds are 1 in a million) than you are to die in a tornado (1 in 2 million). Perhaps your smelly acquaintances are on to something?

Team USA

I feel a bit conflicted because I've never watched soccer due to it being "boring," however, I am now interested and would like to start paying more attention. One of my biggest faults is quitting on something if I can't get quick gratification. It doesn't have to be significant gratification, but I need to know that progress is being made from the outset. This is why practicing the bass is not going as well as it should be. Until today, I was having similar trouble with soccer. I don't understand strategies, movement, coaching decisions, what is and isn't a foul (I get the general gist on all of these, yet not to the extent of sports I've been watching much longer such as football, basketball, baseball, or even hockey.) Today, however, I watched some of the highlights of the USA-Algeria game and was legitimately entertained. I need to get into watching this year's World Cup, while soccer is actually being broadcast, and begin to understand it.

On another note, work is much easier to tolerate when the store manager is there and in charge, rather than any of her subordinates. Tonight ran smoothly, people knew what there job was, and did it. No arguing, no short staffing the Kitchen crew, no disappearing crew members, clearly defined times for different close-related chores.

Lunch Time

It is lunch time during a long and boring seminar on Special Ed. Didn't I just take this class? Oh well, I figured it would be wise to take the opportunity that was presented me and go listen to some key speakers on the subject. Working a 3-10 shift was hard enough last night, I can't quite picture how bad it's going to be tonight after sitting through this long seminar, but tomorrow...definitely sleeping in and doing something fun with my day once I wake up. I'm thinking a beach trip, since the last one fell through, or playing some disc golf, any other suggestions?

I also can't quite decide what to grab for lunch once I stop typing this blog, but I'm leaning toward Mexican food. I haven't had any of that in a really long time. I wish I could be watching the US game today in the World Cup instead of sitting here, but if i were home, chances are I'd be applying for jobs instead of really watching the TV anyway.

Useless fact of the day:

90% of women who walk into department stores turn immediately to the right.

Dare to be different, lady readers, turn left next time you are in a store!

That is all, time for food.

Would rather be outside

I've been sending out applications, 3 done this morning so far. I have to contact good old Valpo today. I plan on also contacting CSU. I have begun picking the trumpet up more and need to do so today to prepare for my best friend's wedding in a month. I hope to ride my bike as well. All that being said, I've set a good pace, and I think I may reward myself by trying to drag my nephew and nieces to the lake today. Today has gone well so far...there are definitely jobs out there.

Time to start a new portion of my blog...the Useless Fact of the Day! I know you will all be excited about this one.

I heard today that the average 4 year old asks over 400 questions a day. 400! This is why I plan on waiting quite awhile for children...among many other, more responsible, reasons.

Busy Buzzing Bees

This past week was Vacation Bible School week at my home church and I helped out as much as I could. One of the highlights was bee-ing a guard bee in the skit which occurred twice daily. I wore a leather jacket, white shirt and thin tie, an earpiece, and sunglasses with sparkly (gay) wings and a bee hat complete with antennas. The kids loved the skit every day so it was worth it.

I think I have also made a transition to iced tea being the beverage I consume most for the summer. It is cheap to buy and even cheaper to make. I enjoy the sweetened varieties, but at home, it's very refreshing to drink simple, unsweetened iced tea with just a hint of lemon to take away a bit of the bitterness.

Cedar Point, which I don't honestly remember whether I've blogged about or not, yet, was a lot of fun a week ago Saturday until a downpour and nasty lightning show ended our night 2hrs early. The longest wait of the day was 45 minutes for the Maverick, and most waits were in the range of no wait at all to 30 minutes at the Millenium and Raptor. I even made time to see a country show and an ice skating show themed on the cartoon strip Peanuts. Various non-roller coasters got attention as well such as, but not limited to: the Witches Wheel, Max Air, Skyhawk, the Giant Wheel, Power Tower, the paddle boat ride complete with horrible jokes, and the hanging cars that take you down the main causeway. Essentially, I got on every ride I wanted to enjoy except the Dragster (broke down a bunch of times) and perhaps the Mantis (which I'm not crying about).

I apologize if the above paragraph is a repeat of a previous post which I have been too lazy to check.

No significant new news on the front of the job search, unfortunately. I hit a short period of being very stressed about it, which I think a long talk with my loving and caring Fiancee has now cured because today at church, a car wash I helped at to benefit the youth going to the national gathering, and playing games with a friend all afternoon, I haven't been feeling very stressed. Now, I just completed an application and rewarded myself, and all of you, with a blog post.

Back to work, finding a job...

The Return

My parents returned home from Germany on Wednesday evening, hence the most recent drought in my blogging. It seems that they had a great trip, 600 pictures and nearly as many stories. I'm very jealous of the whole thing, yet I had already been to Malta and this was their first trip overseas. They hit Le Pere and Ludwig (my mom's family) heritage and history as well as Martin Luther stuff. They stepped foot in 6 countries in total, crossing the borders into France, Poland, Austria, Luxembourg, and one other which is currently eluding me. They saw a concentration camp, cathedrals, castles, beer, the Alps, Storks not in a zoo...I can't wait to get a closer look at some photos.

The past few days, I have continued the job search/application process. When not doing that, I've spent a fair amount of time at the lake, played basketball, practiced the myriad of instruments I'm attempting to learn/improve my skills at, begun a serious attempt (finally) at reducing my caffeine intake, and witnessed several nasty thunderstorms.

My brother-in-law's company picnic is at Cedar Point and I will therefore be making a trip there on Saturday with the rest of my Mentor family and a family friend or two. First trip this year as an attempt at planning a trip in May never worked out. I'm excited!

Disc Golf and Parade

I went to the Memorial Day parade today to see my niece march with the Marching Band. The band was pretty much the entire parade. A boy scout troop and two veteran groups a few cop cars and politicians. Pretty boring, not even any candy...so fortunately the band was pretty good for a Memorial Day performance. My best friend's little brother who has become a good friend of mine marched as Section Leader of the trumpets for the first time today as well, so that was neat to see.

Various members of my family had to work today so we did our BBQ yesterday having hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs with watermelon and chips. All that was missing was a few beers. That got taken care of come nightfall when I got to hang out with my friend, in from Louisiana. After the BBQ was over, my sister's family and I went disc golfing out at Lakefront park in Ashtabula, definitely the best course in NE Ohio. My nephew and I both played the Blue tees while everyone else played Reds. He and I both shot under par for the day which was very impressive for only our third time out this season and the difficulty of this course, which we'd only played once before (also that was last year). The views were great and you can see a few photos of our fun up on my Facebook page.

Upon returning from having a few beers out at the Winking Lizard last night, my friend and her family invited me back to their place to play some Beatles Rock Band and I managed to sing some very "unique" harmonies. Tonight, I have to work, so hopefully I can get outside for some fun activities tomorrow again.

That is all...

Indeed

The WWE match was very entertaining and the snacks and beer were indeed free. Two good things. Even the Undertaker made an appearance, clearly the highlight of the night, as he was the only wrestler I recognized (he was on a SNES game I got for free a long time ago). The athletic, tumbling, and gymnastic abilities of the wrestlers was pretty impressive and fun to watch. The whole thing was, of course, very fake and cheesy, but it was hilarious.

Today, I took a hike and walked in a river by a waterfall at Hell Hollow with my good friend, no movie today, though. I suffered my first mosquito bites of the season, but the park is beautiful, exercise is good, and we had a good time. Tonight, I ate burgers with my sister's family and attended my nephew's middle school band concert. His band played really well and it was enjoyable.

Thus concludes my concise update....

15 minutes

Fifteen minutes to kill, so obviously I'm going to post my thoughts about the evening I'm about to have. I was invited by a good friend to go to a WWE match at Quicken Loans Arena (where the Cleveland Cavaliers play) for free with a suite and potentially free food and beer. Who can turn that down? I, however, have never watched this type of wrestling and the most I know about it is from my WWF Super Nintendo game I haven't played in years. I get that it is fake and a man's soap opera, but I'm not up to date on the soap opera plot, so hopefully each match is at least somewhat self-contained so I have an idea what is going on. Otherwise, that beer had better be free so I can find a different way to enjoy my time, haha.

Today, I watched another movie with my friend. I don't think she's going to be up for many more after yesterday and today's selections, haha. We also went to Mentor Beach Park and ate a "picnic" of cheesy bread and drinks. I tried out the plaid shorts from my "uniform" as a pair of shorts today, and I have to report that I'm not seeing plaid shorts as a serious staple of my wardrobe in the near future...these are being replaced with Dave-appropriate shorts for tonights festivities within the remaining 7 minutes before my planned departure time.

That is all...

Chucks, Cone Golf, and Breakwall

I'm certain photos will be surfacing on Facebook before long for you all to enjoy of one Trumpet player, who is not, in fact, Hiding. No trumpets will be in this album, but only a trumpet player could suit up in the new "cone golfing" uniform. It takes self confidence and arrogance to wear a horribly colored horizontal striped shirt with bold, plaid shorts, plaid Chucks, and women's knee high socks. I do think I may have fallen for Chucks, how I made it this long in life without a pair, I may never know, but two days into my relationship with these, and I'm definitely liking them. They fit the musician's aura of laziness and artistic temperment.

The resurrection of cone golf is an important part of the story as well. We purchased these "uniforms" because they fit so well with the silliness, yet amazingness, which is throwing cones onto a larger cone with golf scoring. With a lock-in involved, we managed to cone golf at 3am as well, in uniform.

Tonight, we hit the breakwall for a photo-shoot, one which will have to occur again soon when we've made it to the other side of the lighthouse prior to, instead of 10 min after, sunset. It was still a lot of fun, and the weather was perfect. It was a great capper to a day which included, but was not limited to, a trip to Coventry with a good friend to check out the shops and stopping by a "mall" afterwards (heh heh), a custard-eating fest as a substitute for dinner, and Hellraiser...to see how it was. A raccoon found it's way all the way out onto the breakwall, a feat which anyone who has been out there realizes, is ridiculous for an animal to perform as there is nothing for an animal to gain by being out there. It has now been dubbed, the rockoon and we hope it is present on future visits, but hopefully it doesn't try to attack me again.

That is all...

Luther East

Finally, a lead. A friend from Valpo days has suggested a job which his dad can put a good word in for me at. This is exciting news and it is in the Cleveland area. Here's hoping.

The portfolio work is just about done...a big day to finish it up tomorrow, and that should be all she wrote. Applications have been sent to TX as well as the states mentioned in earlier posts. I sent one to a WA school today on my brother's recommendation and have begun looking at some more in that state.

I've been contacted regarding my normal Memorial Day gig, finally. Just after I had given up on them, the yacht club made a phone call today while I was gone. I'm in the process of searching for a summer community ensemble to play in as well, hopefully one that my niece (she plays flute) can also play in so we can ride together. It would be a great experience for her as a first year college student and I of course love to play in groups, so ideally, it'll work out.

I could probably keep typing information no one wants to read, but I'll stop for tonight...

Concert

Music Education in Action occurred once more at Mentor High, my alma mater, last night. 200ish band members on stage after the performance to play John Phillip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever made for quite the loud ending. They also made it corny by dropping hundreds if not thousands of red, white, and blue balloons from the rafters. It was a fun performance to listen to as I had performed the vast majority of the 13 pieces on the concert in my days in bands including all of the Wind Ensemble, the top band, selections.

Most of the rest of yesterday was dedicated to yardwork/cleaning out my car. The Lawn got mowed, outdoor games such as cornhole and hillbilly golf were brought down from the attic when I spotted them while opening out attic windows to prevent trapping anymore heat up there, gutters were emptied of the maple seeds that had helicoptered their way down from the trees, and my car got vacuumed and Windexed.

Time to at least pretend to pay attention to this seminar....at least at the start...

Disc Golf

I got out to the Euclid Sims Park Disc Golf Course today to play a round of 18 and shot very well for me, especially for only my 2nd or 3rd time out this season. I threw a drive that was by far the best one I've ever thrown, distance and accuracy wise, on the 17th hole. I also made two putts of 20ish feet and had only one hole leave me completely disgusted with my performance. You can't ask for much more out of an outing by an amateur disc golfer. I sort of figure that course as perhaps straight 4s being something to strive for...even though straight 3s is supposedly par and I shot a 69 which broke the straight 4s by 3. I'm quite happy with that, and look to continue to improve on less windy days than today.

On another note, how much would it suck to be in jail for 29 years for a crime you did not commit? An Ohio man was let out yesterday after DNA testing proved that he was not the rapist that an Ohio judge and jury had written him off as in 1981. I'm not sure why this headline struck my fancy yesterday, but I just can't even imagine how you would have any faith that life was worth living after being sentenced to life in prison for a crime you didn't commit and had no knowledge of prior to your trial. Two kids identified him in a line up and a few key witnesses said they'd seen him in the metro park he had allegedly raped the 11 year old girl and forcibly restrained the 12 year old boy in. He, throughout the trial and the years served in jail, maintained he had been in his home at that time. Apparently, he had been mistaken for someone else. 29 years...wow.

Lastly, I'm looking for an ensemble to play in this summer. I think I'm going to join a community band with my niece who also wants to continue playing this summer. It should be fun, and maybe I'll even get to know someone who needs to hire a music teacher? At least, I could meet another music educator who would know of some positions/could put in a good word.

Now, off to bed as I intended to be twenty minutes ago...

Fire

A quick update...

Saturday was perhaps the best unproductive day I have had in the past year. I managed to spend some time at the lake, have a fire in the gatehouse to a castle that was never built, and watch the new Nightmare on Elm Street, which coincidentally was one of the best movies of its genre I've ever seen all after working 8hrs.

Sunday, I played trumpet at church, went to the Lake County Farmpark to see some train models and barnyard animals, and watched Zombieland again.

Yesterday, I attended a useless seminar at CSU, practiced trumpet and bass, filled out two more apps, went to my nephew's track meet (and found out that they aren't as boring as I had feared they may be), and got some basketball in at the school. While being up there, I got to laugh at a 40yr old man who came over by himself and then got his game on with some middle school kids, only to then realize he had locked his keys and ID in his car. He then spent an hour trying to break into it with a stick before giving up and walking to the grocery store, presumably to call the cops or a friend/wife.

Today, I slept in until 10 and plan on getting some more apps filled out, voting, and eating at Baker's Square before working this evening. I'll probably practice my trumpet for awhile too.

That is all for the packed with exciting things I did, but written poorly enough that it doesn't sound as exciting post. I tried to mention everything without having a post that was really really long.

Another Run-In

Teaching kids to line dance went over quite well, except for the students who are like I would have been at that age. They'd rather not look foolish, and in avoiding looking foolish by dancing, look even more foolish by not dancing. Ahhh, the flawless logic of my youth. Today I've been playing along with the kids in their band practices as I brought my trumpet with me. I've also played a short solo for them, just for fun.

Last night, I added to the total I've already lost count of for run-ins with the law. The run-in was not for a negative, or potentially problem causing, reason this time, however. We were just playing Cosmic Wimpout in Squire's Castle and had a park ranger drive up the path and then walk into the castle, presumably on a routine check of the area. He stayed for a while and managed to watch one of us cluck like a chicken, and another one yell "train wreck, clear the tracks!" He then asked us what the object of the game was and chuckled at the silly rules and game-play. We probably made his night.

This evening, my family is going to a Captains' game and tomorrow evening will be packed with fun...now if I can just sneak a round of disc golf in, the weekend should be perfect.

Time to head over to the other school...

Crazy Basketball Skills

As a few of my readers may recall, some of us had activity days here and there back at VU and one of the activities would be playing horse or some other silly basketball related games. The past few weeks, I've made a return to the basketball court and have been shooting with my nephew here and there. It feels good to be shooting the ball alright again after coming out the first day and having no feel for whether the shots I released would even be close. We play horse fairly often and some of the silly hsots are even falling occasionally like my classic off the backboard, rebound, and shoot before hitting the ground shot from the old days. I'm also working on a fade out of bounds jumper from about 15 feet. Yesterday, after awhile out in nature with a friend, a crew meeting at which we got McDonald's Cavs hats that we can wear to work any day we want!!, my nephew and I made a trip over to the school to shoot some hoops. A few punk little kids asked us if we would play against them, so we agreed so as to not be mean and took them on two on three. The only challenging thing about playing kids who are a foot shorter than you is trying not to hurt them if you drive to the basket or position yourself for a rebound. I'm really hoping they aren't over there very often because playing with kids who spend the whole time yelling and being obnoxious really cuts back on the fun for us.

Today, with no bells this evening, I'm hoping for the opportunity to do something outside, perhaps even up at the lake. Maybe grilling in the backyard for dinner too. It looks beautiful outside and I can't wait to get out into it. Teaching the kids a few dance steps in the meantime though...all that line dancing practice a few weekends ago is paying off. Tomorrow, I think I'm going to bring my trumpet in and play with the bands as I'm done with my requirements and will be heading to CSU for the other course after tomorrow.

A number from California has called me 5 times in the past two days, not leaving a voicemail. I think it is from some Digicom company out there and it seems as though I'm no the only person to have this problem. Kristin found a website on which quite a few other people have complained about getting pestered by this number...some of them even answered and no one was on the other end. My theory, since I watch NUMB3RS too much, is that I need to set up a mathematical probability equation to determine why the other numbers it calls and I are being pestered and see if I'm a planned target for a random killing spree. Since I have a Math genious as a reader, perhaps she'll start drawing up said equation for me. Right? Good, sounds like a plan then.

Back to work...

Unplanned Day Off

Yesterday was a very odd day. I found out on Monday morning that my cooperating teacher's mother had died over the weekend and that he would need a day to go to the funeral and everything. This left me with Monday afternoon and all of yesterday off from my teaching obligations, yet I still had to work last night at the big "M". I woke up yesterday morning with a stiff neck and stiff shoulders. I was also never able to feel like I completely woke up all day, despite getting 9+hrs of sleep. I got some shopping done for both my brother and my niece who have birthdays coming up toward the end of May. I also played some pool with my parents and by doing so, found what will probably become a new activity for me as it only cost $3.50 to get a table for an hour and that is just about the cheapest form of entertainment around.

Work consisted of me washing dishes for the better part of my 5 1/2 hour shift. I managed to drench myself as several of the items which require washing at the end of the day do not even fit into the big sinks and when you spray them off you should really have a dish apron on, but our store's apron went missing a long time ago. After working, I caught the end of the Cavs game, which was enough to see LeBron shoot a left handed free throw because he has done something screwy to his right elbow which won't show up on an MRI. Here's hoping that is not enough to stop him from making an honest attempt at bringing the franchise, and the city of Cleveland a much needed Championship. The man is not as amazing as people around here think he is, but the athlete and basketball player certainly is. I really hope he signs here this summer and that we can bring in another superstar with the money which will free up with Shaq's expiring contract.

I have to determine whether or not I'm making a Cedar Point trip in May now that I've discovered I'm going for sure in June with Lincoln Electric's company picnic day because my brother-in-law always scores a few extra tickets. I'm going to make that determination this evening as well as inquiring about guests during my parents' trip to Germany in two weeks. I'm quite jealous that they get to go overseas, and yet I've come to enjoy having a house to myself. I definitely need one of these applications I've been filling out and sending in to result in an interview and ultimately a job because it is time to answer only to myself and my Fiancee.

Nightmare on Elm Street remake comes out Friday! I'd totally go that day, but apparently I'm already locked into attending a Lake County Captains game (my county's Single A ball team) with my family. So, looks like Saturday! I'm sure the pinochle group at my church can do without me for one month. An increasing desire to play miniature golf is creeping up on me as well. The weekend promises to be a good one for sure. Now, if only it would arrive faster...

LCO Concert

Our handbell choir played particularly badly in first service yesterday. Second service went alright, but not great. First service was just....bad. We were not lining up vertically at all. I suspect this was because we never get together before worship to run through the music one time, so people don't have a chance to remember exactly what they are doing prior to performing. Mix that with some anxiety and a fairly difficult piece for an unpolished ensemble and you get...bad. That being said, I feel it is important to point out that I have no intentions of showing up prior to early service to try and run through the piece once, so I don't think there is a remedy for the problem which is feasible. Second service will just always sound better because of the early service run through and our players being more awake.

The LCO concert went really well. I thought the ensemble played even better than we did on the last concert and Beethoven's 1st and March Slave were more interesting than the music on the last concert too. We did, however, get rained on, on stage during the performance. Several nasty thunderstorms blew through the area yesterday afternoon and apparently it was more than the roof of the community college auditorium could handle. Our ex-marine oboe player gracefully scaled a fence back stage barefoot to grab some buckets for us while chatting with me about her days as a marine and how she was going to play for some major military event overseas in a few months and couldn't wait to act like a marine again. So throughout the performance, I was greeted with some dripping directly next to me in a bucket.

Well, now it is time to run off and grab some lunch with a few of the teachers around here in my last week student teaching so...there's a possibility of a second blog in one day because I sort of feel I am cutting my stories from the weekend short...

Rain

Managing to be outside while it is raining without getting wet is a great feeling. I love the freshness and scent in the air as rain is falling. It gives you the feeling of spring and of life. I spent a few hours outside, but inside...aka in an abandoned gatehouse to a castle that was never finished in the Lake Metro Park System. The windows and part of the roof were either never finished or just no longer exist. So you are definitely outside, but can be under a part of the roof which does exist and therefore not be getting wet. We played cosmic wimpout and took silly photos for a while to enjoy the outdoor air. Nothing about this week was tremendously bad, and yet I was extremely relieved for today to come. Tomorrow I play handbells in church for both services in the morning and then a concert with the local orchestra at 4pm. It should be fun and musical.

As for now, even though I often stay up this late talking to my Fiancee, I think that bedtime has arrived.

Off to bed...

Good Idea?

I don't want my tax dollars going to students being given a phone at school on which to take notes and browse the internet. And as a teacher, I fear that would not be useful, however, that appears to be a pilot program in some school. Wouldn't it be more advantageous to give the kids a notebook? More expensive, yes, but how good and helpful is it to have a phone? Texting in classes is a pretty huge problem and kids are sending thousands and thousands of texts in a month, but giving the students a phone isn't really going to stop them from wanting to text. Texting is about staying in touch with their friends, not the fun of technology. Just my opinion...here's the video about it. Is this really a Good Idea?

Hundreds of Cleveland teachers are losing their jobs this year as the school district is projected to run at a 50 million dollar deficit for next year alone. Cutting these teachers will save 20 million of that leaving 30 million to be picked up by Federal money. Why even have the schools if you don't have enough teachers to instruct the students and why did you have that many teachers in the first place if they aren't needed? Looks like competition for jobs in Ohio is only going to get stiffer...yay.

On a positive note, more and more wedding plans for the wedding which unfortunately still doesn't have a date set are being agreed upon such as a recessional and some more prelude/postlude music. It is truly fun to think about this stuff when distance is too big of an obstacle to finalize anything. Haha, I know it is wishful thinking to believe the wedding will plan itself, but most of the difficult decisions have already been agreed on and what will be left is finding ways to carry them out that fit whatever budget constraints we find ourselves under at the time. Next summer is looking really good...just saying.

Back to work...

Who Does That?

The other youth leaders and I were planning on taking our youth group to a servant weekend at Camp Pioneer in Angola, NY, which is along the coast of Lake Erie, again this year. Everyone was gearing up. I, for one, was quite excited about taking the trip in mid-May. Unfortunately, they have decided to double the price since the last time we went...two or three years ago. Who does that? Other than covering their cost for feeding us for the week, what more can you charge for people to volunteer to do your dirty work for you? This weekend is always used to prepare the camp for another season. Cleaning, cutting grass, raking leaves, tearing down old buildings, moving equipment, mattresses, and anything else is too much work for the camp owners to do. 45 dollars a youth as well as charging the counselors 25 dollars to come is extremely steep after the cost had always been 25 a youth and counselors free. Disappointment is running through the youth and us counselors, but hopefully we'll salvage some fun by having a lock-in and a more local and shorter time-period servant event that same weekend. Paying the cost would be annoying, but manageable if it weren't the year in which the youth group is asking members to support fundraisers so that our high school students can attend the LCMS National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. Plane tickets, hotel for 4 or so nights, and registration fees for that means using money, or asking parents for more money so that youth can go do a servant event is ludicrous.

On a less frustrating note, I had another rehearsal with the orchestra last night and had a lot of fun wearing down my chops on Tchaikovsky's March Slave, a very brass heavy piece and Beethoven's 1st Symphony. The concert should actually be a very good one on Sunday at 4pm if you are one of my readers living in this area.

My basketball shot is beginning to come back after the long winter off from shooting hoops with my nephew. He and I have been over to the school playground 3-4 times a week for the past 2 weeks and HORSE is going well for me. Taking ridiculous shots and chasing the ball vigorously after we air ball on running shots or turn-arounds amounts to decent exercise too.

As I began this post later in my break than usual, you don't have to read as much boring material as usual. Back to work...

Business as Usual

As is the norm in NE Ohio, the weather is great on a Monday, and probably will be all week after a bad weather weekend. Rain, wind, and cold plagued my weekend and today, while it is a bit chilly, it is sunny and warmER than the weekend was. That being said, I wouldn't have really had a partner for disc golf yesterday anyway so the opportunity to learn cribbage (that game everyone has a copy of in their parents' home, but doesn't actually know how to play) as well as send off a few more applications was pleasant enough. I'd be alright with a job in Ohio, I suppose. Cribbage isn't tremendously exciting, but I'm happy to have it in my repertoire of games anyway. It provided entertainment for an hour or so once I discovered that with some Hoyle Card Games book reminders, my dad recalled how to play from his youth. His help was much needed as my mom and I completely failed at interpreting the bare bones directions on the inside of the box we have.

I'm beginning to relinquish control of a few of my classes so that my cooperating teacher can take over once again when my requirements are complete in a short while. This is sort of a sad day because I would like to see this through to the end of the semester and some upcoming concerts and a musical. My journal entries are nearly finished and my editing of papers for the portfolio assignment is progressing at an acceptable pace, so hopefully I won't find myself very stressed out over the next few weeks with anything except finding a position for next year.

I'm looking forward to rehearsing with the orchestra tonight as last week I could not, what with a meeting and all and the week before was the day after Easter and therefore rehearsal was not scheduled. A concert approaches in just two short weeks and this should be fun. I've taken up practicing more regularly the last couple of weeks and I think it is helping with my sanity. Beginning to listen to music all the time once more is also helping. I have no idea why I ever allowed myself to go through days at a time without having music in the background while I worked or ate dinner or lounged.

I suppose that is enough for one blog post so I will refrain from continuing my stream of consciousness writing for now. Back to work...

Western Night

Our congregation had a western themed night last night to raise money for the youth going to the National Gathering in New Orleans in a few months. I believe nearly 400 dollars was raised from the 7 dollar admission and some donations. The people who planned the event did a really good job. We had silly games w/prizes, good decorations, sloppy joes/hot dogs with chips etc and sweet tea, and a DJ/line dancing instructor named...drumroll...Bubba! Those few times I denied Kristin the enjoyment of watching me attempt line dancing for the first time, and then I tried it last night and enjoyed it...who knew country music was dance-able. Electric slide at Emily's wedding reception this July, here I come! Since one of my readers in particular will laugh at me for enjoying some line dancing last night, I'd like to take this moment to defend myself by saying: First, I was only out on the floor for about a 5th of the time. Second, I only attempted to learn one dance. And Lastly, I have good rhythm and both a right foot and a left, not two lefts, so it was worth a shot.

I also got in a game of Twister and competed with a thin and presumably flexible high school girl until bowing out (no fall, no touch) so that she could use the restroom after complaining about it for literally about 5 minutes of our never-ending game. Then, I knocked off two more rooms in the Cosmic Wimpout Challenge (attempting to play it in every room of our large Parish Hall).

This morning, I've already played hand bells at the end of early service, don't fit into any of the Bible Studies and am therefore blogging now, and will have to return in about half an hour to play hand bells for the second service and then attend since I didn't get up for all of early. Later today, I hope that the temperature and general meteorogical conditions will permit a game of Disc Golf and a BBQ dinner.

That is all (I'm impressed I managed to blog on a weekend)...

Job Search Begins

Resume complete...check.
First application filled out and sent...check.

It feels good to finally be starting the official job search. Though, with the economy and my past being what it is and was respectively, I fear I may wind up taking a part-time position to get experience to hopefully be hired down the road. Trying to keep a positive outlook on it dictates that I approach this whole thing from the standpoint of...I know that I will be a good teacher, and there are honestly no doubts in my mind or those close to me that this is true, so if I can just get an interview...I think I can impress. It is amazing to finally be to this stage in my career as a student and as jobs are opening up, I'm definitely noting them and applying as quickly as I can.

Next few steps...
Tons more applications filled out and sent in.
Application for License (have it, just need to do it).
Pray that if I am offered a position it is near where the Fiancee gets one because another year far a part would perhaps be a deal-breaker for accepting, would have to consider the options first for sure.
Enjoy the little things along the way (have a best friend getting married this summer, I'm playing in an ensemble finally, friends from around here, spending time with family while I'm still here on a more permanent basis).

I've found a few things to satisfy my desires from a previous blog in the musical realm. Dream Theater is so technically and musically impressive that I think I may be finding a new band in them to add to the favorites list. A few guys getting together while attending at frickin' Berklee and forming a band that has now been around for 20 years pusing the envelope of what is possible technically, musically, and inspirationally is pretty phenomenal. Funkadelic is very satisfying, as mentioned before. And on the classical end of things...I have hours worth of one symphony by Anton Bruckner to listen to.

As is typical of NE Ohio...much like Valpo...the weather was pretty awesome the past few days but as i look out the window here on my break it seems to be preparing for a cold weekend...rain and wind are ruling the day.

That is all...

New Style for Consideration

As a follow up to my last post, last night I downloaded Funkadelic's One Nation Under a Groove. I was very satisfied with this as my new listening style. I'll have to find some more albums off of this website to download at a later date. Nothing like a little funk....inspired by my recent re-watching of Undercover Brother. It would not have satisfied my needs from the other night completely, but it's a step in the right direction...I've not listened to nearly enough funk, and I always enjoy it when I hear it in a movie or at a jazz concert.

Last night I washed dishes for nearly 3 hours and was sent home early upon completing them so that was just about all I did on my short shift. I had washed breakfast dishes before, but that didn't require cleaning out old ranch dressing, ketchup, mustard, and beef grease. The task is disgusting and if I had been feeling even moderately queasy to begin with, I definitely would have lost it. That being said, it is a very low key and relaxing way to spend several hours because no one bothers you and you aren't making food for impatient customers. I'd take it over most jobs in the store...as long as my stomach cooperates.

I'm sensing a strong need for another photography adventure. Someone needs to go with me (you know who you are)! If money weren't a hindrance any longer, after putting money aside to pay back my loans, buy a new car that will last me awhile, setting some money aside for a rainy day, setting money aside for a future house (nothing huge or fancy, but nice and homely with a big yard), and buying a piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, and cornet, I WOULD TOTALLY BUY A FANCIER CAMERA, because as I know I've rambled about before, I've discovered that taking photos while out on a beautiful day could very easily become a hobby of mine if I had the proper equipment.

And...as that is already too long of a post for my poor readers to put up with or remain interested in...back to the kiddies...

New Listening Desires

I'm not exactly certain what I am looking for. All I know is that I am looking and haven't found what I seek just yet. I have a strong desire to find some new music, not just another band that plays the same music with different lyrics and different musicians...I want something with a whole new feel and vibe. A couple months ago I stumbled upon Buckethead, but he could only fill this void for so long and now it has crept back up again. My musical tastes are shifting a bit over the past year or so as I'm not around Valparaiso people anymore. I've started to enjoy listening to more music without lyrics at all, such as Buckethead's solo albums, or Victor Wooten playing bass. Of course, this does not mean I've stopped listening to my other music all-together, in fact, it is rare that I listen to these new things. Some situations, such as talking to the Fiancee and a few other people late at night on instant messenger, just call for a different vibe than I can get from my usual stuff (i.e. Classical Music, Mainstream Rock/Metal/I really don't understand genres...but Mainstream stuff). If anyone has something I've never heard of before which isn't rap or boy-band-ish, I'm all ears.

Back to classes...

Meetings are Useless

I hate the formality of having meetings where students are given information they already know. That, however, was what I had to sit through for an hour and a half last night. That led to hanging out with a few friends and having a drink at the Winking Lizard. I also made sure to get outside and shoot a few hoops just for a bit of exercise and refreshing air.

I understand that yet another teacher in this area has been accused of having sex with a minor. First off, one must mention that this is completely disgusting, it is one thing to see a kid and think that they were your type when you were back in middle school or high school...it's another thing entirely to actually be attracted to them. Secondly, I have to ask, what comes over you that you would A. Have sex with a minor (particularly 13-14yr old kids) or B. Risk your livelihood and your freedom over an affair with a child? At most schools there are at least a few attractive adults, why not target them, instead of forcing a minor into it or getting their consent, which you know isn't legal and will come out in the future for money or whatever other reasons.

The Indians lost yet another Home opener yesterday, and so it continues...big offense (2 whole runs) and a record of 2 and 5 to start the season. The Cavs are tail-spinning into the playoffs because they've decided to rest all their starters for the last few games to keep them fresh for the playoffs. This strategy will almost certainly backfire on them when they meet their opponents and have to, first, shake off the rust of not competing at the high level of actual NBA games for over a week. The Browns, last I heard, are considering drafting Jimmy Clausen...our last major QB drafted was also from the University of Notre Dame and we all know how well that worked out for us. So, in summary, the state of Cleveland sports is set to remain the same for another year.

Time to eat some lunch before returning to teaching...

Good Night's Rest

Last night was definitely a good night of sleep. That being said, I wasn't very ready to start school again after a week's break from dealing with the little punks. They've been surprisingly good today taking into consideration the candy and good weather of the past week. Any tips on teaching syncopation to the munchkins?

Looking out the window as they day goes on is not helping me maintain a focus on the tasks at hand and I just found out I'm going to have to miss an orchestra rehearsal in favor of a meeting...not fun :-(.

What should I eat for dinner since I won't make it home before the meeting? Hmm...I'm going to have to go with food court bourbon chicken.

Back to class...

Sneakery

This week, I was off of school and yet managed to remain busy. No planning periods meant no blog posts, and for that I apologize, but I did talk to one of you readers for the first time in quite a while (way too long by the way) just the other night, so perhaps that made up for it a bit.

Tonight's activities are worth posting about, though. We have finally secured cones for cone golf. This was a necessary task for quite some time and the cones sort of fell to our grasp tonight. After finding them, I was sitting sitting on a playground after dark, which may or may not be completely legal, because some communities, Valpo included, allow you there until after 10, but others close at dark. No signs are posted, so if questioned, I would just apologize, say I didn't know and leave. A police officer pulled into a parking lot adjacent to the playground to use radar on cars passing on the busy road nearby, and failed to notice us. We managed to just stand up and casually walk away. As I describe the night's events, they are not as exciting as they felt in progress.

As you can see in this poorly put together post, I'm strongly considering returning to my stream of consciousness blogging...it is easier, didn't receive complaints, got more feedback, and can probably be posted more regularly as there isn't a need for content.

Friday night, I rode with the family up to Ann Arbor to see my niece perform with Concordia University's Wind Ensemble. The concert was fun to see, being crammed in a mini-van back seat with two other nearly full-grown people was perhaps not worth it, but it was fun. I also bumped into an old friend who happened to be playing trumpet with them because she knows the director. She and I played in CCB and Jazz Band together as well as talking in the VUCA fairly often over my years at Valpo. This made me wish I saw her more often, or kept in better touch at least as she was a lot of fun.

I also got out disc golfing, put some hours in at work, grilled for the first time this season, ate at TGIF's, and played pinochle with some members of our congregation this week. I think that is all that happened that is note-worthy for a blog post...time for bed before the routine sets in again.

Fog

There is definitely something inherently creepy about fog. Yet, it is very fun to walk in (notice I said walk, not drive). Yesterday NE Ohio was blanketed in fog for more or less the entire day. Especially the areas right by the lake. The commute to work was awful because of visibility of less than 100 feet most of the way, however, I made a trip to the lake to take some photos at around sunset/dusk and it was a ton of fun. I felt like I was in some movie set in Chicago or at a major port on the Atlantic.

I believe my resume is finished now and I can begin applying anywhere and everywhere. I feel pretty good about the resume, but will probably continue to work on it as time goes by. It is actually fairly impressive how much there is to put on a resume when you think about it. I don't really feel like I've done so much until I see it on paper.

The Cleveland Orchestra has some concerts this spring that I really hope I can pull in some student tickets for and spend 10 dollars for a night of amazing music. Seeing Chris Botti perform with them, or Bruckner's 8th Symphony could be two of the best opportunities. Time to find someone to attend with me. A recent relief in my stress level has led to my listening to much more instrumental and largely instrumental music over the past two or so weeks and I have to say that, without knowing it, I missed it a lot.

Half day tomorrow and then Spring Break! Probably means more work at the dreaded fast food job, but a little extra spending money never hurt anyone. Though, I probably should save most of it for looming loan payments, sadly.

The weather is improving a lot today from the past few days of cold and damp. Sun and 61 and then even hitting the 70s by the end of the week means I'll be trying to get outside as much as possible over this break.

Heart Surgery

How can a 90 year old man recover from a Triple Bypass surgery at all, let alone in the week that Ernie, the bassist from the community orchestra I've joined, managed to recover in? That is simply amazing. I think it is a testament, both to his personal health and to medicine these days. Not sure how much longer that type of medical attention will be available, but that's neither here nor there and I don't pretend to fully understand the massive overhauls in policies occurring.

We passed around a get well card for Ernie in our rehearsal last night...which can I just say, isn't it totally awkward to have to sign/write a note on a card for someone you don't know? I've been subjected to this numerous times throughout my life for Birthdays, Surgeries, Thank-Yous, and it always sucks. Get well soon...signed, the guy you don't know. I've only been in the ensemble for a month or two, I don't sit by the bassists, he's been out for several weeks in preparation and recovery from the surgery...oh yeah, and there's a 70 year age gap too.

I recognize that it is only a community orchestra, and that it probably falls last on the list of importance in most peoples' agendas because of this, however, don't you think that if you aren't going to show up for 4 rehearsals in a row, you might at least let the director know that you don't intend to play in the ensemble anymore? This is the situation that the trumpet section finds itself in as the 2nd trumpet for our last gig hasn't shown up since said gig and apparently hasn't contacted anyone to let them know if he still intends to play. This isn't all bad, because it has earned me the opportunity to sit 2nd regardless of whether he comes back or not and this ensures me a part on many more pieces, however, it is still just difficult to not know who will be playing the other trumpet part with us on the concert with that only being a few short weeks away.

A foggy commute this morning, and several long class-periods later...today is actually going fairly well...hopefully it will continue that way.

The Weekend

The weather...as has become my traditional update...was great on Friday and Saturday so I made my way outdoors to enjoy it a bit with trips to metroparks and such. Friday night I attended a concert in which my nephew played trumpet in an honors band for the district. They were really good for 8th graders and it was fun to see him perform. Saturday I worked, but got off early and managed to go to the Castle and take some silly photos which may or may not surface on Facebook. I also found out on Saturday that I was bringing my trumpet and playing for the Palm Sunday service the next day. That service proceeded to last for forever because Confirmation ocurred, Sunday School Children sang, and my father picked a lot of hymns...oh yeah, and the organist played them all too slowly. I played wedding music pieces as the Prelude, Offertory, and Postlude, not sure who got married though.

Upsets continue

I have to say, even though I hate Butler, I'm very happy to have Syracuse lose to a Horizon League opponent two years in a row. I also always like to see the 1 seeds fall. The more 1 seeds fall the better I like Ohio States chances to make some noise in the tournament.
I watched the game at quite possibly the worst establishment I've been to in Mentor. The service was slow, the fries were soggy AND greasy, both...and we were basically sitting on lawn chairs indoors. Still enjoyed kicking back, watching the games, and having a beer with a few friends though. It was needed after the debacle of a bell practice. Counting to 4 shouldn't be so hard, I swear. I deal with that all day long, I don't need to deal with it in the evenings too!

Figured I wouldn't title this one Weather Part 4 to avoid complete monotony in a monotonous week. However, I will comment on the weather again. Today it is both Sunny...and...Cold. A better combination than snowing and cold like last night. I should not be scraping snow off of my car when it is nearly April. The song title is not...I'm fairly certain..."I'm Dreaming of a White Easter." That being said, I should be more used to this sort of fluctuation in weather from Northeast Ohio even into late March. I just haven't been home for it in several years. My sinuses and general comfort level don't deal with 60 and Sunny one day and 35 and raining the next very well. Throw in 26 and snowing overnight and a day of intense fog and 45 and you've got a runny nose, sinus headache, and a nasty itch in the throat as you head into the weekend.

No major plans for the weekend...and I'm happy for that.

Weather...Part 3

And now we've returned to crappy cold/rainy weather. The students are surprisingly subdued today, so I have high hopes that today could be a good day. Yesterday was extremely long. Starting your work day at 8:30 and not being done until 10:45PM makes for waking up the next morning thinking you should still have a few more hours to sleep. I managed to get out of bed and get to school, though. Pirates of the Caribbean is a fun piece for the students, so even though I'm tired of hearing every HS, MS, and elementary school play it...I enjoy seeing the excitement out of my students.

A drink or two tonight, and hopefully a good weekend starting tomorrow night to look forward to, I'll survive the crappy weather and therefore painful commute home. I figure Buckethead will be the music of choice for the drive home...something with a good groove to it to make the miles pass quicker. A little job searching and then back to work today...fun fun.

Weather part 2

I am happy to report that as bad as the weather was yesterday, that is how good it is today. No headache, the kids are much better behaved and I'm hoping to do something outdoors in my small window of available before work but after school. Zydrunas Ilgauskus is making his return to Cleveland which is of course great news. I'm beginning to look forward to a service event I'll be taking the youth group to in May as the planning between myself and the other leaders is beginning to take shape. I used to go on this event when I was a member of the event, and every year tons of fun was had and yet you still felt like you were really accomplishing something to help this small camp stay open.

That is all for now...a single poorly written paragraph with several simple topical updates I could expand on, but don't feel require more explanation.

Weather

This weather today...terrible. There has been a thick fog all morning, and as I glance out the window now...it hasn't gotten any lighter either. The morning commute was awful between reduced visibility and a hard-driving rain. I woke up with what I am left to assume is a sinus headache which Advil has barely helped and to top it off....as one might expect...the students have been a pain today thus far. Halfway there though, just needed a break and didn't have anyone but you all to complain to. On the brighter side, many significant worries have been lifted from my shoulders over the past few weeks and I am finally completely focused on what will hopefully prove to be a fruitful job search. So it is difficult to be too down on the day.

Last nights symphony rehearsal led to me having claim to the 2nd trumpet spot after the previous holder's third absence in as many weeks of rehearsal. This is awesome because it means I will be able to play on my first Beethoven Symphony.

Well, without leading to politics or brackets, both of which I'm sick of reading about on Facebook...I think the only subject worth talking about I have left is wedding planning. Is my masculinity compromised by being excited about making wedding arrangements? I think not. Though none of them can be completely official as of yet, it is still fun to have the plan in place and talk about it often. Once we can set a date (are in the same place at the same time), this wedding will be as close to planning itself as is possible.

I made a mental note after my last post to try and keep future posts significantly shorter, but I think I may have failed today, and for that I apologize. Hope today finds everyone else doing well.

Family

Well, I realize I haven't posted in quite some time. There are two main reasons for this. 1. My brother arrived in town about a week ago with his family and i got to meet my newest nephew, Ethan, for the first time. 2. I got a really nasty cold that the Doc I saw refused to give me prescription grade drugs for despite my history of not having been to the Doctor's office in several years and the fact that I work with Elementary school children every day.

So here's your update:

I've begun the long process of looking for, applying for, and creating a resume for applications for...jobs. I'm not being terribly picky, because, frankly, I don't have a lot of room to do so.

I got really sick as you already found out. I've had a sore throat, bad head congestion, and an off and on frustrating cough for a week as of today. I missed two days of school this week, something I haven't done in years. My cooperating teacher heard my voice on the phone and said, we don't want you here, stay at home, haha. Fair enough, those kids don't need to get sick from their teachers.

My littlest nephew is really cute, but has confirmed for me once more that I can wait on children for at least a few years still. They are fun, if you can pass them to mommy and daddy when you've had your fill. I've been told by other people who feel this way that it is different once you have your own, and I'm sure that is true, but I have ample other reasons to wait too. I'm not married yet, I couldn't support a family yet, and I just like the idea of spending time with your wife before dealing with kids running around. Matt, the older of Jon's two kids has reached the inevitable stage children reach at which bedtime sinks to a level of evil previously only filled by hunger and thirst. He has been fighting his parents everytime pajamas or bed are mentioned and the volume level of our house when this occurs also reinforces my thoughts on waiting for children. These things aside, the visit has been great. I don't often get to see this branch of my family and my brother and I are quite close so every conversation, meal, and game are cherished by all present.

Lastly (for today), I'm going to be Cosmic Bowling on Saturday night as the sole leader of the Youth Group which sort of makes me feel like I'm 15 again. That, of course, is not to say that I'm not going to have a great time, it was always fun, so I'd presume that won't change except that I dread the music selection which is bound to play over the sound system all night.

I'm mostly recovered from my illness and will soon return to a home without added chaos so all is right with the world as I post this blog from Sunny and Warm Northeast Ohio.

Weekend Trip

I am packing my bags tonight and leaving for Valparaiso this weekend. After a perceived long, and very drawn out period of waiting, it has been determined that a trip to Valpo is acceptable for the Fiancee and I. This weekend corresponds with a Friday off for each of us and includes the Valpo-Butler game which has provided thrills in the past. The opportunity to see each other has been long coming and I can't say I'd like to wait another 3 months any time soon.

A random thought I've been pondering for a few days: Why are small dogs so much more agressive than larger ones. The most agressive dog my family has had was a little Sheltie-Corgie mix and was coincidentally the smallest dog by far. I heard about a Dachshund on my morning show yesterday which is being threatened to be put to sleep for biting a vet. If a vet wants to put your animal to sleep, something's gotta be up because they deal with a lot and love those animals. My theory is and has always been that the small dogs make up for their size with their bite/bark. If you mess with a big dog, chances are a little rough-housing won't hurt the dog and if it does get hurt, it knows it can fight back...the small dog may get hurt in rough-housing and attempts to scare you off by sounding intimidating.

Off to work before a "Weekend Trip" and seeing my girl for the first time in what seems like forever.

Bass

I'm sure you all care, but I now have a bass and a book from which to learn how to play said bass...finally! So now I will begin working on being able to play bass as well as hopefully picking up my trumpet more often.

This past week was hell...very little time for fun, and complete exhaustion was achieved most every day. Unfortunately, even with all that exhaustion achieved, and less than 6hrs of sleep enjoyed last night...and having been tired almost all day today, I'm now wide awake. Saturday night into Sunday is basically the only time for me to get a reasonable nights sleep, so I'm blogging in the hopes that as time passes and I do my facebook check, my blog post, my deviantart scoping and such, I will be able to reach a point at which I can fall asleep.

Today saw me get a pretty bad burn on my left wrist, which gets irritated everytime my watch moves up and down my arm. I managed to splatter the nasty liquid from the vats used to cook breaded chicken products and fish at work today, not fun. Fortunately, the day looked up upon having gotten off work and coming home. I practiced a bit, and then went to a party for the Contemporary Service volunteers. The food was good, fellowship was fun, and the evening resulted in sticking around longer to play Rock Band and other fun multiplayer video games. Once I got home from that, I managed to catch a bit of the Olympic speedskating prior to coming in here to begin my wind-down for sleep. I'm disappointed that the American got shoved and therefore lost his balance and had to struggle to pick up the Bronze in the 100m...the race was a lot of fun to watch, though.

I'm hoping for a trip to the alma mater this coming weekend, so keep your fingers crossed for me that my Fiancee and I can make the weekend hopes happen. And obviously, if you are in or near Valpo...I'll let you know if the trip comes to fruition once I know more.

On to my next phase of preparing for sleepiness...

No Rest

for the weary...probably my own fault that I got to bed so late last night, but today didn't help my being tired. The students were wired by the snow falling outside all day long and then a meeting after school caused a decrease in relaxation time before heading to work this evening. These things considered, after a trip to the bank to order a replacement check card (mine is hanging on by very little after my wallet took its toll on it) and cash a check, I decided nothing more productivity wise was going to happen before working at Seven and am now blogging.

Haven't watched much of the olympics yet, though I'd like to. My three day weekend was consumed with family and friend related activities. I finally got up to see the lake frozen, a tradition I have being as how I'm used to living 5ish miles from one of the Great Lakes. I also saw The Princess and the Frog with my parents, we took my niece and nephew since they had Presidents day off while their parents did not. We have now completed the top floor of the Parish Hall...on to the main floor. I watched Zombieland once more, never gets old...

Now to change, shave, and leave for work...

Concert

I went to the Collage concert at my alma mater last night. 20 or so groups and soloists performed spanning from bands, vocal ensembles, strings, and a jazz group. It was an impressive display of "Music Education in Action." ahhhh...Doebler flashbacks. Watching the logistics of 7ish different performance locations being used off and on within the auditorium so that the show would end in just over an hour and a half was perhaps the most amazing aspect of the whole concert. As one ensemble played, one was set up, ready to go and another was setting up. This concert has been an annual event since I was there and they've truly mastered the logistical aspects of the show. My niece performed in one of the two bands and a friend through the church was in several other ensembles so it was fun to see them shine.

The Cavs win last night was awesome. I caught the best 5 minutes of the game...the last 5. LeBron turned up the heat and Shaq and Delonte West assisted as the Cavs took the game from tied to winning it by 12 or so. Some of the moves LeBron made were sick. Statement game, I guess...trying to prove that Orlando isn't going to take them out in the playoffs again this year. As much as it pains me to say it...I think we are a better team with him than we would be with other players we could afford without him. I sort of want to see him go, and yet, watching what he can do on the floor is magical. Now, if he could just be less of an arrogant "D" everything would be perfect.

Almost the weekend...back to work...

Missed

I have to report on this cold and windy winter day, that it sucks to be 500 miles away from one's Fiancee on her birthday. Sure, you can send gifts and a card. Sure you can call. Sure she'll know you are thinking of her constantly and that it kills you to not be there. Somehow all of this does not, however, make the missing of said Fiancee any better. So this is a shout-out to mine...Happy Birthday, wish I could be there to celebrate with you as we have for several years.

That being said, today has been hilarious so far. My cooperating teacher is apparently not at all in the mood for kids to be behaving poorly. He's been using a sarcasm that escapes the grasps of the youthful and naive. This makes the entire day go more quickly, I feel like it is only about 10AM as I type this at 11:30. Sure, the guy sounds like a jerk, but I totally get how he feels, the students have been like this all week. My theory is that the snow is to blame. It's finally slowed up today, but I'm sure a good number of them were out playing in it all afternoon/evening yesterday and still have energy to spare. As for the middle-school students...pretty sure they are just upset that they didn't get a day off when many other schools around the area did over the past few days.

On another note, (I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it in an earlier post, and if I did, I still don't apologize for saying it again) I want a Papillon. They are pretty much the cutest puppies I have ever seen and would stay puppy sized for their entire life. I'm totally down with a lap dog if it is that cute.

back to work...

Snow

Today should have been a snowday...for sure. Not only because of the awful driving conditions, but also because on a day like this, students are not capable of behaving, all they can think about is all the fun they could be having if school had been canceled. Eyes out the window, restless behavior, talking in hushed, but excited tones, plans being made to go sledding after school. "Want to come over tonight, mom said it'd be OK." "I thought today was going to be a snow day." "I made the biggest snowball EVER and threw it at ___ last night, and it was so cool!" "I hope that recess is outside today!"

I'm becoming familiar with the life of working two jobs...unfortunately, I'm paid for only one, and it is the lesser paying position. A long teaching day with meetings after school followed by working a few hours at a chain restaraunt is a bit much for my tastes, however I enjoy having the income to make my Fox and Hound card worthwhile.

I got to the computer way too late today, so Back to Work...

Two Quick Things

First...I'm totally ready for warmer weather...who wants to take me to a southern vacation...and pay for it? haha.

Second...Why would a team like Cleveland want the Philadelphia RUNNING Quarterback...I'd really rather we didn't acquire him in the offseason.

Another day...another lunch post

Sitting in the teachers' lounge typing up a blog post. I was pleased with the result of the Super Bowl and I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of how mad Nixon was probably getting as his Colts were being man-handled in the second half. I'm not so much for the Saints as I am tired of Peyton Manning this, Peyton Manning that so I had to root for the underdogs this time. The commercials set a very high bar in the first quarter or so which they couldn't live up to for the remainder of the game, but all in all...those awesome Bud and Dorito commercials early on made this one of the better Super Bowl commercial performances in recent memory.

Last Saturday, I helped plan and put on the youth group event at my church...I had the youth play goofy and fun to watch "olympic" games. I was somewhat nervous that today's youth are not as silly and active as we were back in that day, but I learned that they just need the proper prodding...and one appropriate technique is to show them that the "leaders" aren't afraid to be silly too. Ruth, my sister, and I played along with them. One of the games was a ridiculous relay which can be watched on my Facebook. Other games included a modified and therefore funnier version of Duck Duck Goose and a more active version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. All in all, coupled with making Super Bowl Subs for the orders they had sold the previous few Sundays, the event was a success and I believe all parties had a good time.

Last night, I auditioned for, and got the third trumpet chair in the Lakeland Civic Orchestra. This orchestra is no big deal or anything, I don't think I even get paid for it, but I sat in on their first rehearsal and was pleasantly surprised that they aren't terrible. It will make a nice outlet for me to play in an ensemble once more after a semester+ dry spell. I'm secretly hoping that one of the the other two trumpet players decide they don't have time for the ensemble or something, because I think I could outplay them, but since it's more of a community ensemble, the conductor isn't going to give away their seats to a newer member.

A boring post, I know, but at least I'm getting back into the habit of posting...perhaps...

...back to work...

Back in Business

After a long absence, partially due to a lack of computer, but primarily due to laziness...I'm going to attempt to make my return to the blogging world. My desktop of 7 years has finally seen its better days. The time came to decide whether to limp, making expensive change after expensive change, or to just make the investment of getting a good laptop. I opted for the laptop, and now I'm blogging from a McDonald's between my two schools. I feel like an old man because the primary population of people eating in at McDonald's at lunch are senior citizens. I've been evesdropping on two old men who have covered such thrilling topics as gas prices, our below average snowfall totals, and social security.

After my first week with this laptop, I can say that I think it will serve me very well. Technology has improved so much since I got my desktop that I cannot believe how fast this computer is able to process any information. Being able to download gigs upon gigs of photos from flash drives in 15 minutes or so while surfing the web and using Word would have resulted in an insane amount of lag on my old computer.

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up on others' blogs either, so we'll see whether I start to review old entries of all of you or if I just pick up where we're at. I hope that this entry finds all of you healthy and happy.

Back to work.