And here we are at the end of another May. For a second year in a row I pulled off writing a post each day of the month. Some were more detailed and deeper and emotional, while others were more to the point or superficial, but I think they all at least had something to say.
I was talking with a co-worker just last night about blogging when she mentioned she was thinking about starting one. I’ve had this one going now for about a week more than five years. It’s difficult to remember a time when I didn’t have this outlet available. I started it as another way to keep the writing muscles in shape and I feel it’s helped in that regard, but I think it’s also revealed quite a bit about me, and probably more than I originally intended. If someone didn’t feel they knew me very well and wanted to get a clearer picture of who I am, they'd only need to run through the some of the archive listed off to the left of the browser window and read. I’m pretty sure that between the things I chose to write about and what I said and how I said it, they would get a good connect-the-dots idea. The twist to that is how I’ve been broadcasting the makings of that perception on the Internet for the world to see while I'm so closely guarded in real life. It's still surprising when someone in my daily life will reference a particular post they read. Sure, I’ll see comments and replies show up, on the Facebook links I post more than anywhere else, but even after five years I can’t reliably say who reads these posts regularly, who might click on them occasionally, and who doesn’t even know they exist. The writer side of me would be very interested in knowing that, but the introvert side of me has a tiny mental hitch every time I find out about someone new who has read any of this.
When I finished last May, I thought about the progress in terms of numbers: Likes, comments, retweets, favorites, hits. This year I followed that all with more curiosity than active interest. Not sure what the difference was between this year and last year, but pulling back on that made the whole process more enjoyable. Hopefully that was reflected in the posts for anyone who read them along the way.
I also remember being pretty burned out on posting by the time I reached the end of the month last year. Happily that isn’t the case this time. It might be a week or so until I get some new content up again, but I am making it a goal to post more actively as my actual summer vacation gets underway, as well as beyond that. This upcoming break has a unique to feel to it, and I’m interested to see where it goes. But of course that’s still two calendar weeks away and I have a lot to do between now and then, most of which involves closing down my eighteen years in fifth grade.
But once that’s taken care of, and I’m able to switch over to my second job being full-time instead of moonlighting, and when the school year kicks in again and all the consistency to which I’ve grown accustomed will be redefined? You can count on me having something to say about it.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
Day 30 - Track and Field
There are certain landmark days in every school year: the first day, the last day, the last day before extended breaks, the days with parties, the days based around special events. Today we had one of those at MB when Track and Field Day came up on the schedule.
I'd imagine a lot of adults had their own track and field experiences during childhood. I was just thinking about one of mine on the way into work this morning. For some reason a memory I hadn't thought about in probably thirty years came at me out of nowhere when I thought of the time I was ready to run the 50 yard dash, but was told I couldn't participate because I was wearing soccer cleats and those weren't allowed. This ticked me off since even at 10 years old I knew exactly what had happened: The public school teachers down the road from us who had sooo graciously (you should read that as dripping with sarcasm) invited the constantly-maligned St. Andrews kids from down the road to participate in "their" event hadn't said anything to our teachers about cleats not being allowed, and now they were pulling the rug out from under me. I know this because some of my friends got stuck in the same situation. This is why we would refer to the kids who went to the public elementary schools in town as "Parker Pigs" and Lincoln Stinkins." But enough of my damage.
I always enjoy the idea of track and field day as much as I usually enjoy the execution of it. I referenced this a few days ago in a different post, but it's worth mentioning again: Our Phy. Ed. teacher really sets it up as a major event, and he's got it running like the proverbial well-oiled machine. The only hang-up we usually experience is the dunk tank, which I'm usually co-running. When you have to give an entire grade level worth of girls or boys three turns to hit the target and some of them do (sometimes very often), it's logistically impossible to stay on schedule. The number of softballs I had to chase down and retrieve today alone will guarantee that my knees won't have their full range of motion return until Monday, at the earliest.
As sore as I am right now, I can still say we had a great day. This was especially since I had the foresight to coat my exposed skin in as much SPF 50 as it would hold. I'll spare you the description of how easily I burn and what happened the year I put sunscreen on everywhere except the one rectangular patch on my arm that somehow I missed....
I'd imagine a lot of adults had their own track and field experiences during childhood. I was just thinking about one of mine on the way into work this morning. For some reason a memory I hadn't thought about in probably thirty years came at me out of nowhere when I thought of the time I was ready to run the 50 yard dash, but was told I couldn't participate because I was wearing soccer cleats and those weren't allowed. This ticked me off since even at 10 years old I knew exactly what had happened: The public school teachers down the road from us who had sooo graciously (you should read that as dripping with sarcasm) invited the constantly-maligned St. Andrews kids from down the road to participate in "their" event hadn't said anything to our teachers about cleats not being allowed, and now they were pulling the rug out from under me. I know this because some of my friends got stuck in the same situation. This is why we would refer to the kids who went to the public elementary schools in town as "Parker Pigs" and Lincoln Stinkins." But enough of my damage.
I always enjoy the idea of track and field day as much as I usually enjoy the execution of it. I referenced this a few days ago in a different post, but it's worth mentioning again: Our Phy. Ed. teacher really sets it up as a major event, and he's got it running like the proverbial well-oiled machine. The only hang-up we usually experience is the dunk tank, which I'm usually co-running. When you have to give an entire grade level worth of girls or boys three turns to hit the target and some of them do (sometimes very often), it's logistically impossible to stay on schedule. The number of softballs I had to chase down and retrieve today alone will guarantee that my knees won't have their full range of motion return until Monday, at the earliest.
As sore as I am right now, I can still say we had a great day. This was especially since I had the foresight to coat my exposed skin in as much SPF 50 as it would hold. I'll spare you the description of how easily I burn and what happened the year I put sunscreen on everywhere except the one rectangular patch on my arm that somehow I missed....
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Day 29 - Big Block of Cheese Day: The Return
If you didn't watch "The West Wing," you probably don't know about Big Block of Cheese Day. If you've read any of my previous Big Block of Cheese Day posts, you already know my somewhat inaccurate reason for using this title when I write a post made of a collection of various topics instead of one consistent idea. Hopefully that intro will be enough to catch you up on what to expect today.
Outside the Comfort Zone
Tonight I went to a retirement party for a former colleague where I had the chance to see several other people I taught with earlier in my career. I enjoyed seeing many faces from my past and catching up with them, but by the time I left I felt the introversion kicking in and my energy draining from being around so many people after a day of teaching and then a party after school. The thing is, I've got a long day of Track and Field tomorrow, which means there will likely be at least three times as many people at school than there are on a typical day. And when that all ends, there's a post-Track and Field staff gathering going on right after school. I'm going, partly because it's been awhile since we've had any kind of off-campus staff thing going on and I really do enjoy those kinds of things (I know, kind of a shock), and partly because I told someone else I'd be there and I keep my word. But I'm already planning how important it will be for me to find the right place to sit to make sure my batteries aren't completely drained after half an hour of celebrating. And this is to say nothing of a big family weekend centered on my cousin's graduation open house, so all of this means I'm not going to get a lot of recharging time until Sunday afternoon. Anyone who spends time with me in the next 72 hours who notices I'm a little off? Now you'll know why.
Accidental Societal Engineering
I've observed in the past that the school year still following a schedule established during an agrarian economy has its upsides: Saying goodbye to the students you've worked with so much and bonded with over the past nine months can be an emotional time. Luckily, a lot of these kids start acting up in the last few weeks of the school year because they can sense summer is almost here. This makes saying goodbyes a little bit easier.
Binge
There is nothing interesting on TV these days since we're in the lull between spring shows having their season finales and summer shows not starting yet. I do plan on restarting Netflix as soon as I feel like I've capped off the school year once and for all, and I plan on doing some show binges this summer while the account is active. I've got season 2 of "House of Cards" on deck, and I have every episode (so far) of "Fargo" saved on the DVR, with plans to wait for the series to end and then go through it all at once like I did this spring with "True Detective." I'm very open to suggestions of other shows people would recommend. (And since this seems to be an issue for certain circles of mine, I'll just offer this: I have never seen a single episode of "Veronica Mars" and don't know enough about it to be convinced that's a bad thing.)
I Like Tacos
If you've been following some of the more wandering comment threads that appear on my Facebook timeline over the past year, you may have come across the prhase "I like tacos" coming out of nowhere once or twice, or many times. My cousin Paul started this as what I can only imagine was originally intended to be a randomly dropped cognitive weapon meant to disrupt any conversation that was becoming too serious, or too long, or too unfocused. Several other of my relatives followed suit and before long it became an online catch phrase for us, one that developed enough staying power that it led to me hosting two, count 'em, TWO family taco parties at my house in the past year. And these weren't necessarily small - between the two parties we had people residing in at least four different states attending. Neither of them had been my idea, but it turned out planting the suggestion was enough to get the taco rolling. For the record I think tacos are fine, but I can honestly say I haven't had one in at least six months. Not even the scary new breakfast variety.
What a Crock
Speaking of food, I got a brand new Crock Pot for my birthday. I decided using one of these was a skill worth mastering, and summer vacation is a great time for a project like this. (I'm partially inspired to this by one teacher I know who, years ago, declared her project for the summer was to discover the perfect strawberry margarita recipe.) Since I live 700 yards from the Takeout Capital of North America, cooking in the summer has never been a big thing for me. But this summer that will change. If anyone has any slow cooker recipes they think I absolutely have to try, send 'em my way.
My Second Job
This time of year at school the topic of most conversations usually winds up at "So what are your plans this summer?" Happily I can say this year I'll be writing. Sure, I was last summer too, and probably the one before that and the one before that and so on, but this year everything about the purpose is different. I've spent the past month and a half doing a lot of editing, some early revising, and ton of developing ideas I want to use for when it's time to let the dogs loose and go to town on the revisions for real. I have a ridiculous amount of notes and ideas stashed away in four different locations right now, and I can't wait to tear into them. It feels like a dam about to burst.
Late Night
Does anyone watch Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show or Seth Meyers' Late Night? I will if I'm up late enough, and I couldn't enjoy their shows more. I loved watching SNL when they were both in the cast, and I'll sometimes catch reruns from that era on VH1 Classic. When I see an old favorite sketch come up that featured one or both of them, I'll feel a strange kind of pride for them to think these two guys I enjoyed so much on the show back then have gone on to bigger things.
The Zen of 5th Grade Closing
I plan on putting in a lot of late evenings at school next week, inventorying all of my 5th grade supplies to get them sorted for the new 5th grade team, throwing out the things I won't need anymore as I move on to another grade, and organizing the few materials my non-hoarding self has managed to keep after so many classroom moves of the past. It's a pain of a job, but a part of me really enjoys doing it. There's good emotional closure in putting aside the things you won't need anymore and preparing for what's next. As ready as I am for summer to begin RIGHT NOW, I feel like the last couple of weeks are going to end well.
Outside the Comfort Zone
Tonight I went to a retirement party for a former colleague where I had the chance to see several other people I taught with earlier in my career. I enjoyed seeing many faces from my past and catching up with them, but by the time I left I felt the introversion kicking in and my energy draining from being around so many people after a day of teaching and then a party after school. The thing is, I've got a long day of Track and Field tomorrow, which means there will likely be at least three times as many people at school than there are on a typical day. And when that all ends, there's a post-Track and Field staff gathering going on right after school. I'm going, partly because it's been awhile since we've had any kind of off-campus staff thing going on and I really do enjoy those kinds of things (I know, kind of a shock), and partly because I told someone else I'd be there and I keep my word. But I'm already planning how important it will be for me to find the right place to sit to make sure my batteries aren't completely drained after half an hour of celebrating. And this is to say nothing of a big family weekend centered on my cousin's graduation open house, so all of this means I'm not going to get a lot of recharging time until Sunday afternoon. Anyone who spends time with me in the next 72 hours who notices I'm a little off? Now you'll know why.
Accidental Societal Engineering
I've observed in the past that the school year still following a schedule established during an agrarian economy has its upsides: Saying goodbye to the students you've worked with so much and bonded with over the past nine months can be an emotional time. Luckily, a lot of these kids start acting up in the last few weeks of the school year because they can sense summer is almost here. This makes saying goodbyes a little bit easier.
Binge
There is nothing interesting on TV these days since we're in the lull between spring shows having their season finales and summer shows not starting yet. I do plan on restarting Netflix as soon as I feel like I've capped off the school year once and for all, and I plan on doing some show binges this summer while the account is active. I've got season 2 of "House of Cards" on deck, and I have every episode (so far) of "Fargo" saved on the DVR, with plans to wait for the series to end and then go through it all at once like I did this spring with "True Detective." I'm very open to suggestions of other shows people would recommend. (And since this seems to be an issue for certain circles of mine, I'll just offer this: I have never seen a single episode of "Veronica Mars" and don't know enough about it to be convinced that's a bad thing.)
I Like Tacos
If you've been following some of the more wandering comment threads that appear on my Facebook timeline over the past year, you may have come across the prhase "I like tacos" coming out of nowhere once or twice, or many times. My cousin Paul started this as what I can only imagine was originally intended to be a randomly dropped cognitive weapon meant to disrupt any conversation that was becoming too serious, or too long, or too unfocused. Several other of my relatives followed suit and before long it became an online catch phrase for us, one that developed enough staying power that it led to me hosting two, count 'em, TWO family taco parties at my house in the past year. And these weren't necessarily small - between the two parties we had people residing in at least four different states attending. Neither of them had been my idea, but it turned out planting the suggestion was enough to get the taco rolling. For the record I think tacos are fine, but I can honestly say I haven't had one in at least six months. Not even the scary new breakfast variety.
What a Crock
Speaking of food, I got a brand new Crock Pot for my birthday. I decided using one of these was a skill worth mastering, and summer vacation is a great time for a project like this. (I'm partially inspired to this by one teacher I know who, years ago, declared her project for the summer was to discover the perfect strawberry margarita recipe.) Since I live 700 yards from the Takeout Capital of North America, cooking in the summer has never been a big thing for me. But this summer that will change. If anyone has any slow cooker recipes they think I absolutely have to try, send 'em my way.
My Second Job
This time of year at school the topic of most conversations usually winds up at "So what are your plans this summer?" Happily I can say this year I'll be writing. Sure, I was last summer too, and probably the one before that and the one before that and so on, but this year everything about the purpose is different. I've spent the past month and a half doing a lot of editing, some early revising, and ton of developing ideas I want to use for when it's time to let the dogs loose and go to town on the revisions for real. I have a ridiculous amount of notes and ideas stashed away in four different locations right now, and I can't wait to tear into them. It feels like a dam about to burst.
Late Night
Does anyone watch Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show or Seth Meyers' Late Night? I will if I'm up late enough, and I couldn't enjoy their shows more. I loved watching SNL when they were both in the cast, and I'll sometimes catch reruns from that era on VH1 Classic. When I see an old favorite sketch come up that featured one or both of them, I'll feel a strange kind of pride for them to think these two guys I enjoyed so much on the show back then have gone on to bigger things.
The Zen of 5th Grade Closing
I plan on putting in a lot of late evenings at school next week, inventorying all of my 5th grade supplies to get them sorted for the new 5th grade team, throwing out the things I won't need anymore as I move on to another grade, and organizing the few materials my non-hoarding self has managed to keep after so many classroom moves of the past. It's a pain of a job, but a part of me really enjoys doing it. There's good emotional closure in putting aside the things you won't need anymore and preparing for what's next. As ready as I am for summer to begin RIGHT NOW, I feel like the last couple of weeks are going to end well.
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