As per my resolutions, I am reinstituting my end-of-the-month recaps which I used to regularly write. It's a good thing that I remembered to do this today as I was otherwise going to write very angrily or overly philosophically. We are better off with both of those bullets dodged.

Here are some of the main events of this month:

This month started, as our years normally do, with us enjoying the company of the Jacks. Unfortunately, a power outage dampened the start of the new year a bit, taking nearly a day to get fixed.

I spent a while this month reflecting my experiences as a teacher. This included looking year by year on the courses that I've taught. I'm still not certain how I survived the years where I was working at both Lincoln and Baker. I was certainly burning the candle at both ends.

I also spent a while reflecting on snow, both the need to go sledding (which I at least did once) and on how sad I am to return to shoveling rather than plowing.

The Eternals was really bad.

We had another earthquake that Janelle and I fully noticed, but somehow the boys managed to miss ... again.

My Uncle Norman passed away.

I received an excellent graduation present from my parents that was crafted by my talented cousin, Thomas Swanson. For that matter, I had my graduation ceremony, even if I didn't attend it. I also finally assembled Volcanicus.

We had one of our extremely rare school delays due to the above freezing temperatures turning our roads to ice.

Connor had some unexpected driving practice as I had to push Mera in the deep snow that followed the ice rain.

I keep thinking that not much happens during a month, but these reflections really help me to appreciate how blessedly full my life truly is.

Today's second reading is one of my favorites. In Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, he outlines, defines, and describes the necessity of love. His famous description includes two things that love is (patient and kind), five things that it is not (jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, or quick-tempered), four things that it does not do (seek its own interests, brood over injury, rejoice over wrongdoing, or fail), and five things that it does (rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things).

This was the second reading at my and Janelle's wedding. It's a traditional one, but it was one that I wanted because it gives me something to aspire to. Paul was describing the perfect love of God, something that is beyond our human failings to fully accomplish. However, Paul also indicates that this is the love that we will eventually achieve in heaven; love, along with faith and hope, are what will remain of us. 

I have faith and hope that I can get better at love. Sure, I clearly have problems getting past "pompous" and "inflated" let alone "seeking my own interests," but I have such great people on whom I can practice my love. Of course, we are supposed to love everyone (and I'm struggling with that, but working on it); however, my friends, my family, and especially my wife, Janelle, make it fairly easy for me to be in love and to practice loving correctly and fully.

Volcanicus: The day finally arrived. Even though I didn’t watch my graduation, today was the day. It was finally time to combine my Dinobots into the super-robot, Volcanicus. Slash doesn’t fit into the larger form, so I decided to have her ride his shoulder like Wheelie did with Grimlock in the one true Transformers movie.

In the long run, I will probably keep them in their dinosaur forms, as those are my favorite. For now, I have them hanging out with my favorite version of Optimus Prime (who was my present to myself when I graduated with my masters in 2004). It was quite a journey getting them all together, but I feel that it was worth it.

Today we reverted to our standard backup plan for dinner: pizza. For us, that means using the carry-out special at Papa Johns as we can get four large 3-item pizzas for about $45. Even though the boys are not quite as overly enthusiastic about it as they have been in the past, it is still the one, consistent choice upon which everyone can agree, even if everyone has different ideas about what they want. 

For Rowen, the only pizza worth eating is a Hawaiian pizza. With the carry-out special, we get pineapple, Canadian bacon, and bacon. Janelle, Connor, and Trevor seem to prefer the chicken bacon ranch pizza and the Philly cheese steak pizza. I can replicate those by asking for ranch sauce instead of marinara. The chicken bacon ranch has the items listed plus Roma tomatoes. The Philly cheese steak has the Philly steak, onions, and green peppers. For me, I have consistently enjoyed marinara sauce with bacon, olives, and pineapple. Sometimes, I throw in an order of their bacon and cheese breadsticks.

I like being able to order online without having a confused conversation over the phone. The pizzas are usually ready within 20 minutes, which gives me a few minutes to wait before driving over and picking it up. Even with three hungry sons, the pizzas are usually enough for a couple of meals. It really is no surprise that this is our go-to choice when we can't come up with any other ideas.

We received at least six inches of snow at my house by the time I arrived home from school. It was deep enough that, with the ice layer underneath, Mera got stuck when I pulled out of the garage to go pick up Rowen. I called Connor out (using the phone) and tried to have him give me the little nudge that I thought I would need. Unfortunately, it was not enough, so I switched spots, letting Connor sit behind the wheel while I pushed.

Considering that he could get his driver's permit if he wanted, I thought he would be more interested in driving, but instead, he seemed quite nervous. He has had to take the wheel before when we've been in a similar situation, but he clearly didn't remember what to do and his question was which pedal was the gas. After reminding him which pedal was which, I told him to put Mera into drive and to press the gas pedal until we got unstuck, at which point he should hit the brake.

"Which one is the gas?" he asked, so I explained again.

I saw him put the car into drive, and I started pushing while the engine revved. I barely made any progress. This was quite frustrating as there was not THAT much snow and I was running late to get Rowen. I decided to shovel out a bit and try again, but I only managed to push Mera forward a few inches. I went over to the driver's side window (which was open) to see if a different angle would help. Again, Connor pushed the gas down, the engine revved, but almost no progress was made. 

I wondered if the anti-slip traction was acting up, so I told Connor to put the car in neutral. I watched him flick the lever the correct way, but I noticed that the dashboard did not register the change. Instead, the car was in "park." In fact, it had been in park the entire time he was behind the wheel. I realized that he had not been putting his foot on the brake when he attempted to put it into drive. I do it so automatically and was in such a rush that I had forgotten to tell him.

I explained to him what to do, and he successfully put it into drive. I told him to wait until I got back to the back before hitting the gas. It was not nearly as difficult to push it out with it in drive as it had been when it was in park. Unfortunately, the sudden freedom took Connor by surprise, and he forgot about the braking part of the plan. I was yelling, "The brake is on the left! The brake is on the left!" as he steered Mera towards the snow-filled garden in the center of our driveway.

Thankfully, he figured it out before he could hit the boulder on the edge.

​We should probably do some driving practice this weekend.

Today, I received a box from Walden with a graduation cap (square, not octagonal), tassel, a Walden pin, a graduation banner, a card, some other incidentals, and a LOT of ticker tape-like confetti. ​Last week, my doctoral robes arrived (with the proper octagonal hat). I even watched a portion of the graduation preparation video. What I didn't do was get any pictures of myself or celebratory videos submitted on time. Basically, the graduation will be a video of speeches and pictures with my name in there somewhere.

It doesn't sound like something that I want to do.

I've been to MANY graduation ceremonies over the years, and I still make certain to be there for the high school graduations which have my students. I enjoyed my own high school graduation (even if it had SEVEN valedictorian speeches), but most of that was because I got to crack jokes with Joel Lounds the whole time. I did not go to my graduation for my bachelors degree, and I've not regretted that. I did, however, go to my graduation for my masters degree and am glad I did so--being hooded by my mentor, Dr. Bader, is still one of my favorite memories.

I had wanted this graduation to be like my masters, but it really, really, really is not going to be like that. The virtual aspect just isn't the same, and the video presentation they gave to hype it up did just the opposite for me. It also doesn't help that it's been over four months since I received my CAO approval and a month since I received my diploma (which I only just hung on my wall this past weekend). I've even already had a congratulatory cake commemorating my achievement. At this point, the graduation itself seems anti-climatic, and honestly a little pathetic--I'm imagining me watching my computer screen while in my doctoral robes.

Yeah, I'd rather play D&D.​

Yesterday, the roads were terrible, so they delayed school today. Of course, the roads today were drivable. In fact, with the bit of snow that fell last night, they had more traction than they have for the past few days. 

Every school district I know of has dealt with reactionary precautions like today's. Districts sometimes to respond to community criticism after a crisis has past, only to find itself out of position again when the next crisis occurs. Like sports games, there are always plenty of people willing to give advice after the fact which then leads to the district acting with an overabundance of caution in the short term.

It doesn't help that I don't like school delays. I would much rather schools simply cancel classes for the day. Unfortunately, Alaska's government still holds to the factory-style version of education that requires districts to add days to the calendar for any days that they miss (although, they have made exceptions). I have always felt that this is a dangerous policy that does not serve a legitimate pedagogical purpose.

Still, delays (and half days) were worse when I worked at Lincoln and had to drive an hour to get there (and another hour back). Often, I wouldn't even find out about the delay until I was already on my way there--which does make me appreciate that this delay was announced the evening before. Our main issue was that Janelle had to change up her work schedule so she could take Rowen to school on her lunch break--again, the early warning gave her the time to make the change.

With all of that said, today's school delay did reinforce my belief that school should just start later in the morning. The 7:45 start time we have isn't the worst, but I do not believe it is the healthiest either. A later start time makes much more sense, but again, issues beyond pedagogy often determine district policies.

I received a surprise package in the mail the other day. I noticed that the return address was for my Cousin Thomas Swanson’s business, Adventurers LeatherWorks. As my parents had recently told me that I should check my mail, I gave them a call to see if they knew what it might be about. My mother’s response was that I needed to call her when I got home and could open it.

Enclosed was a leather bound journal crafted and painted by my cousin. My mother had commissioned the piece from him as a graduation present for my doctorate. She wanted something unique for me and asked him to recreate the cover from my novel. The effect is striking! The dragon eye in the center has scales that have been tooled into the leather. Especially considering that he hand-painted the cover, the resemblance to the book cover is amazing! The only real change is that he added a Dr. to the front of my name.

It’s a princely gift!

In the second reading, Paul makes the metaphor comparing the Church to a whole body with the individuals being the many parts that make it up. He mentions that each part plays a role, and that they cannot all serve the same function. While he is talking about the parts of the Church, this metaphor can be applied to any society, even the entire world.

I think about this in the case of being a teacher within a school. Even within the same department, I have come to recognize that it is healthier to have a people embrace their different teaching styles rather than try to have everyone teach the same way--or even the same thing. What and how I teach appeals to some students, but not others while other teachers might reach students that I have not. 

This has not been an easy idea for me to accept. There have been people whom I have worked with whose teaching style bothered me quite a bit. I was taken by surprise to discover that some teachers whom I particularly did not appreciate had students who thought that they were the best teachers they ever had. 

This is true in our society. It is natural, and even healthy, to have people who disagree with one another, who see the world in a different way than we do. Certainly, extreme views can go too far, especially if they work towards damaging the "body" of our society. Still, I believe that most people are working towards what they believe is right and good. If we could recognize that in one another, I feel that we would have a healthier dialogue and be better able to strengthen our mutual body together.

While not unprecedented, we are in for another several days of rain and above-freezing temperatures in the middle of winter. Some of the roads have already turned into a sloppy, slushy mess. According to the forecast, our weekend of melting will be followed by a freeze with lows in the single digits. I am not a fan.

This is certainly not my preferred winter weather. Although some people are sick of snow the day after Christmas, I enjoy living in a winter wonderland until mid or late February. It's one of the reasons that Alaska is such a draw for me. The last couple of decades in Michigan seem to have brought more rain than snow during the winter. Hopefully, this weekend melt does not cause too many problems as I know several people who are travelling this weekend. 

Perhaps I should have worn my snow sweater today.

We were shaken again today by another earthquake. This one was relatively close and registered as a 5.1, but other than rocking us for a little bit and freaking out the dogs, it really did not effect us much. We were downstairs finishing up the final episode of SG1 after a late dinner when it struck. Rowen, who was still eating and who was fascinated by the show, did not even notice; although, he did think that the dogs were acting strangely.

My first reaction with an earthquake is just to freeze while stretching out with my senses in the hope of figuring out if the quake is just going to settle--like this one did--or start ramping up as a few have done in the six and a half years that we've lived here. There's a part of me that enjoys the moment; something about earthquakes fascinates me, making me feel like I missed out when I discover that I didn't notice one. However, another part of my becomes deeply concerned about the damage that could result, not only on the large scale but in small cracks or pipeline breaks that can go undetected.

In the end, I feel much safer here dealing with earthquakes than I did in Michigan with its tornados. Of the two, while earthquakes are more awe-inspiring, I believe that tornados are more damaging and deadly. They also seem more capricious in their behavior. I'll take the occasional slow roll of this sleeping giant we live on over the vindictive and screeching winds that randomly and viscously strike. 

I'm tired, so I have just a short event from today to share.

A friend of mine warned me that he remembered the dad joke he wanted to tell me the other day. It went something like, "I hope they don't name the next COVID variant 'Pi' because then it would go on forever." Thankfully, I was thinking quickly on my feet and replied, "You shouldn't worry; that's just an irrational fear."
​
​I laughed, but he left saying, "No. Just no."

While I did not manage to force myself to go out last week, I promised myself that I would do some sledding today. The weather was the perfect temperature, and I had the time after school while there was still daylight. The only thing barring my path (literally) was the tree that hit our house earlier this winter.

Thus, my first step was to pull out my chainsaw and start cutting away. A portion of the tree got buried by the snow that fell from our room recently. It is stuck tighter than Luke's pack was to the roof of the wampa cave. However, the rest of the tree cut easily, and Rowen and I were able to move most of it out of the way in a short period of time. 

The next step (it was actually quite a few steps) required that I blaze a trail up the hill--which was more difficult than I expected. Not only was the snow leg deep, but there were hidden bushes and parts of trees that were lying in wait to trip me up. It certainly doesn't help that I'm out of shape as I was breathing quite heavily by the time I got to the "top" (we have a stopping point that I'm pretty certain is still within our property boundaries).

I then made the initial sled run. With the depth of the snow and my weight on the sled, it was slow going. By the time I pulled myself to the bottom (panting heavily), Connor decided to join us--wearing tennis shoes.

After the initial run was set, we got down to the business of having fun. A few hidden bumps meant that we had multiple paths by the time we were done. The surprise detours led to a lot of laughs.

After about half an hour, we decided that we had enough for the day. Connor was the first to go in because--surprise--his feet got cold. Rowen and I put in one more run before heading in. My last run was quite a bit faster than I expected. I decided to stop there as I wanted to end on a run that didn't involve a crash (as a few of my other ones did).

I'm glad that we finally got out there. It felt like something was missing all winter. I certainly feel better knowing that we have a sled run ready to use.