Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

End of May 2016

5/30/2016

Again, the months seem to fly by with greater and greater speed. I suppose that's a good sign if the "time flies when you're having fun" rule applies. I try so hard to not wish my life away by saying things such as "I can't wait until ...", but time seems to have a way of slipping past regardless. May was another month feels like it has ended almost as soon as it had begun. Some of the main points:

Katrina is now 21 years old. Talk about time going by all too quickly. Thankfully, she also just got tickets for a visit here in Alaska (I'll try not to wish away the time in between). Rowen also turned six (his "golden" birthday: six on the sixth).

Connor had his First Communion. It still entertains me to watch him receive the Eucharist as he tries not to make a face, and it makes me proud to see him do so with reverence.

Janelle and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary in a low-key fashion. Considering our effort to decrease sweets and carbs in our diet, Janelle surprised me with a banquet of savory treats and we watched some Downton Abbey.

My first year teaching at Skyview reached completion. Not only did I survive the return to middle school, I feel that I thrived. It's a great place to work with wonderful people.

I also completed my first season as a hurdles coach. Our track team had an impressive season and I both enjoyed my time and learned quite a bit from it. I look forward to do it again if they'll have me.

We both got out more this month and had more people over. Granted, we're only just now starting to settle in our new home, but it's nice to get to see more people more often outside of work.

I finally reached 100% on the Wings of Liberty campaign for StarCraft II. I know most of you don't consider that an accomplishment, but it was quite a feat for me.

I suffered through a cold that held on for weeks and managed to get my nose cleared up just enough today to watch the cottonwood fly.

I bought pants (well, shorts) a waist size smaller and my doctor suggested that I stop one of my medications starting today. In general, my health is still improving.

And finally, our new house began to feel more like our home this month. There are still many things to be done, but it's a truly lovely place that I hope more of my friends and family get a chance to see.

Well, I hope June is at least as good; it's certainly going to be busy.

Memorial Day 2016

5/29/2016

Today sort of crept up on me. Usually Memorial Day signifies that summer (and summer break) are just around the corner. For the first time in my experience, I was already on my summer break when the holiday appeared. Even more strangely, Janelle had to go to work, starting her early morning shift schedule.

Thankfully Robert and Shawna came down yesterday evening and kept the boys and I company through the day. We introduced them to Carcassonne and upgraded their Catan experience to Cities and Knights. Shawna, again, showed her talent for these games to the point that we all ganged up on her one set to keep her from that final game-winning road. The kids all seemed to have a blast. With both the Jack family's visit and yesterday's lake excursion with Michelle Kallus Yeager and family, we have definitely been happily entertained.

I know that Memorial Day about more than seeing friends, having fun, and looking forward to summer (and I have written such in previous years). Still, I am happy for any reason that we can have to enjoy the company of others.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

5/29/2016

Today's Gospel tells the story of the loaves and fish that miraculously multiply for the crowd. It was the Apostles who brought the problem to Jesus, asking Him to disperse the crowd so they could get something to eat. Our priest today pointed out that Christ's response to them is similar to His response to our problems: He tells them "Give them some food yourselves."

So often we complain about the state of the world, the conditions that people live, the situations we see that break our hearts. We talk about it, we think about it, we pray about, but so often we do nothing about it. Even when moved to the point of putting a few bills in the basket, we are still not following Jesus' suggestion. He doesn't tell His disciples to pay someone else to get the food, to send others out to bring in food, or even to pray that God drop food from the heavens. He tells them to hand out the food themselves.

They probably felt as we do when faced with the multitude of problems in our world. There's too much for us to fix; there's no way we have enough time, talent, or treasure to help everyone. Yet, and this truly says something about the disciples, they try anyway and find themselves with bushels left over. God provided through their works, just as He provides through ours.

Staying Cool

5/27/2016

Trevor's computer has been having problems for the past few months. Just when I think I have it figured out, the CPU temp causes it to shut down again. At least we have a temporary solution worked out. Currently, I have a fan blowing in directly from the side vents into his computer. Even when playing StarCraft II, it stayed at a cool 56 degrees Celsius. This, of course, makes Trevor quite a bit happier (when he is allowed to play his computer considering the summer restrictions he's on due to his grades).

We also moved his computer from the main living room (which heats up in the sun) to my office area. Trevor misses the view that he had, but says he likes having his computer in my office better because he and I can communicate more easily when playing the cooperative missions on StarCraft (and Borderlands, when we get back to playing that). I'm just happy that I don't need to replace a motherboard.

Firefly and Serenity

5/26/2016

We just finished our full-day marathon viewing of the TV show Firefly and its follow-up movie, Serenity. I'm amazingly exhausted for a man who basically just sat and watched television for nearly 15 straight hours, but I had a lot of fun. I'm glad that I got to share the experience, and I hope that those who came enjoyed themselves as well.

I love watching Serenity and am saddened that the movie didn't reinvigorate the Firefly series as people had originally hoped. Still it's a fantastic cap to the series that exists that brings great conclusions to the arcs of River's and Mal's character stories (especially Mal, as a person who loses his faith in the first episode of the TV show and finally restores his belief, if not in religion, by the end of the movie). These arcs are much clearer when watching the entire season and cap in one day. If you haven't done this yet, I highly recommend it.

Touch Ups

5/25/2016

For the last couple of days, I've been working at repairing the hole in one of the bedroom closets and the holes along one of the boys' bedroom walls due to the electrical work that was done a few weeks back. This has involved fun with drywall, plaster, sanders, spray coating, and paint. I wanted to have at least the boys' room ready before tomorrow's marathon viewing of Firefly and Serenity. The closet work is more for when Alex gets here.

Thankfully, I got both done, the lawn mowed, and some other odds and ends done. Especially with the work that Janelle put in, our home is looking really nice. Even the boys cleaned, sorted, and organized. Sure, there are still some areas that need work and improvement, but they mostly feel like touch-ups now rather than full-scale projects (although there are still one or two of those). I'm looking forward to showing the place off as people come over tomorrow.

Hanging Pictures

5/24/2016

We emptied a couple more boxes today. This time, they were filled with pictures. We now have most of them up on the walls, and now our house has transformed even more into our home.

One thing I really like about this house is the amount of wall space that it has for hanging pictures, wedding certificates, plaques, etc. It makes it feel like there is plenty of space to add these mementos, to add more of our lives. It feels like we have space to grow.

With our pictures on the walls and the two day conference I attended complete, I feel like I have been able to take my first truly relaxed breaths since I came up here in August. Sure, there's plenty more to do (especially with a Firefly/Serenity TV marathon on Friday, the Salt Lake City trip starting next Wednesday, and our first renters coming while I'll be gone), but for now it's nice to have a few moments to just relax at home, looking at the pictures of the ones you love.

Blended Learning

5/23/2016

The subject of today's conference was blended learning: incorporating self-paced (usually online) student activities with traditional classroom-based instruction. The high point of the event was the presentations by other teachers who have embraced blended learning in some way, shape, or form in the past couple of years.

I find myself both invigorated and overwhelmed. I am concerned about the time and added effort that applying these systems will involve, but I think the benefits outweigh the cost.

This isn't my first foray into blended-learning. I taught hybrid classes at Baker College for a couple of semesters, and I made an attempt to "flip" my instruction for half a year's high school world history class (before our administration and our tech plan switched). Both experiences required a lot of energy and prep time and I felt that both were fairly successful (even if that last hybrid Baker class ended up being my last class taught at Baker).

It would be nice to build something that lasts a bit longer this time.

Costco Run

5/22/2016

Due to mine and Janelle's work schedules, we haven't been able to make a Costco run for several months. We rectified that today, loading up on a number of items (especially meat) that will hopefully last us for a couple of months. As I have a conference to attend tomorrow, we didn't have a lot of time up in Anchorage, but we did get to eat some Chinese food and play a game of Catan with Robert and Shawna Jack.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

5/21/2016

"Will the real God please step forward" was the main phrase of today's homily. We have so many ideas about what God is or isn't, but the truth is that anything we come up with is but the whisper of a shadow of what God truly is. Today's celebration of the Trinity certainly illustrates that idea. We Christians follow one God who is also three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That doesn't fit into a neat humanly understandable box. Any categories that we try to fit Him into are of our own making as we try to put God into an image of our own choosing.

I remember a discussion about world religions when a fellow teacher remarked on the irony that Christianity claims to be monotheistic but has three powers to follow; meanwhile Christians refer to the Hindu faith as polytheistic when many Hindu followers claim that all their gods are just aspects of the Brahman. So, is Christianity a monotheistic or polytheistic faith? The answer: God is God, both unknowable and personal, both eternal and here in the present, both limitless and residing in a single person.

Our priest today said that he often hears the question: Does God exist? However, he said that is a secondary question; the first should be "What god are you talking about?" When he asks atheists and agnostics to describe the god they don't believe in, he says that what they describe is not the God that he believes in either. God is greater than the labels that so many have placed on Him. He is more than what we have tried to define.

Ask for "the real God to step forward" and He will. He is eternally ready for you to be ready for Him.

Firefly and Serenity

5/21/2016

It is my plan to watch a marathon session of the TV show Firefly followed by its movie, Serenity, next Friday, May 27. If you are interested in coming and watching with me, please send me a message so I can send you directions. The plan is for there to be a five minute break between episodes, but no dedicated time given to meals. We will have some makings for sandwiches, but people are encouraged to bring whatever snacks, foods, or beverages that they would like to eat, imbibe, or share. Our seating is a little limited, but there is plenty of sitting space if people want to bring cushions.

For those of you unfamiliar with Firefly, it is a short-lived (but arguably the best) series created by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Avengers movies). It is best described as a "space western." While we have watched it with all of our children, there are a couple of parts that you might not want younger kids to watch. We will have toys and Netflix available in other rooms as well as a large yard.

You do not need to come for the entire event. I believe these shows are also available on Netflix and Hulu (we will be watching from my DVD set), so you can check the first couple out in advance if you want to check out the show first or you just don't want to come quite that early. As children are invited, we will have the subtitles on.   There should be plenty of parking available. The tentative schedule is (shows marked with an "!" are my favorites in the series):

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM        Serenity (premiere) Parts 1 & 2 – 90 min
9:35 AM – 10:20 AM       The Train Job (!) – 45 min
10:25 AM – 11:10 AM       Bushwhacked – 45 min
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM        Shindig – 45 min
12:05 PM – 12:50 PM        Safe – 45 min
12:55 PM – 1:40 PM        Our Mrs. Reynolds (!) – 45 min
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM        Jaynestown – 45 min
2:35 PM – 3:20 PM        Out of Gas (!) – 45 min
3:25 PM – 4:10 PM        Ariel – 45 min
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM          War Stories (!) – 45 min
5:05 PM – 5:50 AM      Trash (!) – 45 min
5:55 PM – 6:40 PM        The Message – 45 min
6:45 PM – 7:30 PM        Heart of Gold – 45 min
7:35 PM – 8:20 PM       Objects in Space (!) – 45 min

8:25 PM – 11:04 PM        Serenity (the movie) (!) – 159 min

Socializing

5/19/2016

It's late, so I'll make this short. I'm writing this later than normal today because we just got back from a double-booked evening of hanging out with fantastic people. First was the "Mom's" Group from our church where we had our monthly dinner and fellowship. The second was an end-of-the-school-year celebration held by Andrea Eggleston. Both were lively and fun. I'm happy, a bit smokey, full, and tired. Goodnight.

Summer Vacation

5/18/2016

Today was the last day that I had to report to school until mid August. Thus my summer vacation begins.

Unfortunately, it started with a bit of a whimper since I went home and only wanted to take a nap. I've been a bit whiny, sore, and headache-y today. Hopefully with a bit more time to sleep in, I'll feel more like I'm on summer vacation tomorrow.

I do have a number of plans for this summer. I hope that I can achieve most of them. Ten of them are (in no particular order):

1. Rent our cabin. It's listed through AirBNB. We have a bare-bones website here: http://serenitycabinrental.weebly.com/

2. E-publish Dragon Hunter. One of our friends had her high school graphic design students create possible covers for my novel. With that, I feel confident that I can sell at least one e-book through Amazon. This will probably be a mid-June project.

3. Go fishing. I've already been invited on a few possible fishing trips with some of my colleagues. Despite my lack of experience, I'm looking forward to this kind of adventure ... and having fish in our freezer.

4. Grade high school essays. I'm getting an all expense paid trip to Salt Lake City for a job of grading AP World History essays again this year. While the actual job is a bit demanding and draining, I'm looking forward to the trip (and need to start planning out my week there). This will occupy the first week and a half of June.

5. Visit Michigan and bring up the rest of our stuff. I hope I get the chance to spend some time with the many people whom I miss in the short while that I will be down there. Then it will be another cross-continent trip which will either bring Alex and I closer together, or make her absolutely sick of her father. This will take place at the end of June through the first week or so of July.

6. Play some D&D. While I've had a couple of GNOME sessions (Guy's Night of Monster Evisceration) since coming up here, I find that it has not been enough to scratch my role-playing itch. Hopefully, I can convince some of our new friends up here to get their geek on and become dragon-slaying heroes.

7. Get nearly completely unpacked. Especially once we have the final load up in early July, I want to try and arrange everything so we aren't continually hunting for what we want in mounds of boxes. I know that it will make Janelle happier too.

8. Beat some video games. I have a few games from Christmas (and even earlier) that I would like to get through. I know that it's a low priority goal, but hopefully it will also be one that I can check off.

9. Complete the requirements for my Alaskan teaching certificate. This means completing the two online classes that I "started" at spring break (I have two books read and one assignment turned in at this point). Yes, I understand the irony of placing this under the video game goal.

10. Be a tourist. There are a number of places in the nearby area that I still haven't visited. I'd like to see some of the sights that I moved here to see, especially while Alex is up here.

Last Day of School 2016

5/17/2016

As teachers, we still need to report tomorrow, but today was the final day for students. Everything seemed to go well. The eighth grade ceremony was nice. Although I've only known him for less than a year, the speech given by Rob Moore (who is retiring this year) moved me. It's amazing how quickly we develop attachments to other people. In this case, I'm especially missing the potential camaraderie that could have been.

The talent show that followed also went well. There was a pants rip during the dance of one student who was imitating Michael Jackson. I didn't know until after the performance, or I may have stepped in (although I'm not sure I would have thought to do so), but the young man continued on like a true performer. The other acts went well and I received a number of compliments on both my MC capabilities as well as the duet that I sang at the end.

What remained of the day was largely filled with end of the year games both indoors and out. We ended the day by waving to the students as their buses left for the final day of the school year.

In a sense, I can't believe that it's over; it just doesn't seem real to me yet. Perhaps next week, when I won't be waking up quite as early, I'll start to believe that my summer has actually begun.