Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

Heading to Kansas City

5/31/2019

My flight from Kenai arrived in Anchorage so early that I had to wait an hour and a half to check my bag. By the time I got to the line for security, which had been minimal when I first arrived, the process took half an hour. Currently, I am awaiting my flight to Seattle not sure if I should get some coffee or let myself doze for the next couple hours. I’m leaning towards the former.

I’ve had some nice short conversations with random strangers. I have openly sympathized with a couple of screaming children. I have been pretty well-behaved despite clearly being tired and irritable.

Hopefully the rest of this trip goes smoothly.

Flying

5/30/2019

I don't enjoy flying as much as I used to. The seats are quite a bit closer and the amenities have decreased considerably. I still believe that the hassle given at the security areas is largely to make people feel more mentally vulnerable and more willing to put up with declining conditions.

Added to that is the difficulty in getting connecting flights with reasonable layovers (heaven forbid that I get a direct flight) and the increasing side costs for items that used to be part of the ticket--like checked bags and now even carry-ons for some airlines. Even with my flights to and from Kansas City covered by the company that runs the AP Readings, I still had a difficult time scheduling the trip and have to deal with some hefty layovers. I also noticed that the ticket prices were considerably larger than even last year.

All this so I can be put in a confined space with too close neighbors and not enough air movement to make a mildly claustrophobic person, such as myself, rather unhappy. With the joys of ear pain that comes with the takeoffs and landings (and my low threshold for pain), the entire experience has lost a great deal of its past luster.

Still, there's something to be said to watching the ground pull away and to ride amongst the clouds. I suppose that flying isn't all bad.

Memory Notes

5/29/2019

I've taken to writing more things down lately as I am thinking about them to deal with my increasing memory lapses. Unfortunately, the process is not always a perfect one. Sometimes, the notes I leave for myself don't make much sense once removed from their context. Sometimes, I don't look at a particular note until well after its usefulness has passed.

Frustratingly, I still often do not write down the note in the first place. Often, it's due to pure laziness--it takes effort to put a memory down in writing. Today, it was due to the inconvenient timing of the idea.

I was in the shower when I realized something that I should get for my trip to Kansas City. I was heading to Freddy's anyway, so it would be the perfect time to pick it up. Sadly, by the time I dried off, I could no longer remember what I wanted to get. I've spent a good portion of the day trying to recreate the thought pathway that took me to the idea, but to no avail. Doubtless, the idea will come to me after I need it.

Perhaps I need a chalkboard for the shower.

The War Renewed

5/28/2019

Today, I brought battle to the far side of my lawn again. A field of yellow-headed soldiers stood in open rebellion, daring retribution. They were but the distraction. As soon as I stepped forward with my powerful blade slashing, dive bombers of all types began to assail me.

The deeper I cut into their lines, the more frenzied they became. As I was the giant invader, they turned to guerilla hit-and-run tactics. They buzzed into my ear and made an attempted trench run up my nose.

The worst were the black flies. Foolishly, I did not don armor that covered my entire arms. One devilish attacker took a deep bite just north of my elbow. It feels like I've permanently hit my funny bone. Another made a valiant attempt to bite right through my shirt on my right shoulder.

In the end it was a drained battery and sudden drenching rain that caused me to flee the battlefield, leaving a broad strip untouched; the blooming dandelions were open wide in triumph. However, I had my revenge, making a sneak attack of my own just a few minutes ago, clearing the last bit of field and retreating before the resistance could organize again.

This is going to be a long war.

Shorts

5/27/2019

For me, the weather lately--especially when the sun comes out--has been perfect shorts weather. While the temperature has only been reaching into highs in the sixties (and sometimes only fifties), wearing pants in these temperatures tends to make me feel overheated. I'm a little worried about my time down in Kansas City next week as the weather is supposed to be quite a bit hotter (and muggier) than here.

Putting worries of the future aside, it has been nice be back in my cargo shorts. I like having the handy side pockets so I don't feel like I'm going to bend my phone. They might not be the most fashionable, but they are comfortable and convenient.

Still, sometimes jeans are the way to go. This is true for any kind of yard work or hiking. They are also my go-to for handyman work, especially in jobs where I might scrape up my knees. However, the moment I am done with any such tasks, I look forward to getting back into shorts.

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

5/26/2019

In our homily today, our priest told us that our faith is like riding a bicycle. Doing so requires two things: balance and making progress. In today's readings, the law of Moses is brought into question, specifically the part dealing with circumcision. The early church leaders, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit looked to see what of the law should be retained and what should be left for the sake of balance and progress.

God's Law is perfect. Unfortunately, human understanding of it is not. Moreso, our language limits what we can express of our understanding. Writing that language down further limits what can be expressed. What we have then is a transcription of a translation of a faulty understanding. Thankfully, God, as the Holy Spirit, allows us to use what is written to maintain our balance and make progress.

I've sidetracked from where I wanted to go, but I don't feel like deleting it.

The truth is that we need balance and progress in the many portions of our life. We can tell when we are out of balance or when we are stalled out. A spiritual weight drags at us. I know that I have not been making the progress that I need to in my faith, my relationships, my scholarship, and my job. A part of this is due to my lack of balance--especially when it come to my use of time.

It's time for me to get back on my bicycle.

Summer Plans

5/25/2019

Yesterday was my first day of summer vacation. We were given the option to come in for additional pay to deal with the school consolidation; however, I decided not to since it was my parents' last full day up here and we had already planned to go to Homer (which was great--go look at the pictures from yesterday's post). Today, Connor and I took them up to Anchorage (with not quite as spectacular of weather), did our Costco run, had dinner at Red Robin, and arrived at the airport on time. Thus began a busy summer.

The main focus of my summer has to be my research proposal. Considering I had to change gears and go in a different direction than I had been working towards for the past year, I have a great deal of catching up to do. I need to keep this as my priority when it comes to time.

The other large part of time will be getting the cabin ready between guests. Our summer rental is nearly completely booked for the summer already. Thankfully, there are several longer bookings, but there are plenty of quick changeovers as well.

I have several weeks where I will be gone. The first one coming up is the AP World History Reading in Kansas City. I will be back for a week before heading out for Connor's week-long summer camp in Juneau. I will then have two weeks off before Rowen's week-long summer camp north of Anchorage.

The month of July also has me on the hook for jury duty. Hopefully, that won't take up too much time. More importantly, I hope that they noted the note about my being unavailable for the week of Rowen's camp (I offered to be available for the first week in August to compensate).

Additionally, I need to spend time planning for the courses that I'm currently scheduled to teach next year. A couple of us (social studies teachers) agreed on a date to meet and hash out U.S. History (which I am currently not scheduled to teach, but was the only one teaching it this year). I want to tie it a bit closer to English 11 which is U.S. literature focused (and which I am also not scheduled to teach). I need to work on building AP World as not only am I teaching it again, but they are changing its structure ... again ... as they have every year for the past four years.

Janelle and I would also like to take the boys out on more outdoors excursions (aside from just the summer camps). I even bought new hiking boots in anticipation. I look forward to breaking them in.

Finally, I still plan on holding the Marvel Movie Mini-Marathons every Wednesday that I am home this summer. As we are merging schools, I sent out invitations to all staff members of both schools (well beyond the capacity of my house, let alone living room). I received some very positive responses, some very polite refusals, and a LOT of silence. I think it will be a blast!

Wow. I'm tired just writing that out.

Homer Trip:

5/24/2019

Today was our last full day with my parents, who came up for Trevor’s graduation. As it was also the first day that I had the entire day off, we decided to head down to Homer and do some sightseeing. The weather was the best that it has been for their entire trip, making for some gorgeous vistas. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Disney Musicals

5/23/2019

My youngest sons have seen almost none of the older Disney movies. I know that they saw some of them when they were much younger, but neither of them seem to remember them. As Janelle and I especially love the animated musicals from the late 80s and 90s, we figured that we would show them to the boys this summer. With the new, live-action Aladdin new to theaters, I have been mood to see the Robin Williams original, which we did this evening.

As many times as I have seen it, I still really enjoy watching that movie. I was happy to find that the little boys enjoyed it as well. I could tell that Connor really liked the humor, even if many of the Genie's impressions were references that he didn't understand. Rowen was bouncing through the action and hiding during any embarrassing or romantic sections. Both said they liked it.

Watching it was is a little bittersweet. Robin Williams is one of my all-time favorite celebrities. It's saddening to watch his genius on screen (or listen to it in this case), knowing that we will not see his like again. Still, it's nice to share my fondness for him with my children.

I look forward to showing the other movies to Connor and Rowen--if only to give me an excuse to watch (and sing along) with them again.

Trevor Has Graduated!

5/22/2019

Trevor has certainly come a long way in his school career. There have been many struggles along the way. He has persevered and even thrived. I’ve been particularly pleased with the school system and teachers here in Soldotna who helped a struggling middle school student become a senior near the top of his class, even while taking Advanced Placement courses.

It’s hard to believe that he is already done with high school. It still feels like he is my little boy, yet he’s become a bright young man. I look forward to see, but also harbor some fears about, what his future holds.

Feeling Terrible and Powerless

5/21/2019

One of my former students, a senior at SoHi, ended his life today. I am furious with him. He was a capable, intelligent, impulsive young man with all of his life ahead of him. He was always respectful to me and was the only senior this year (other than Trevor) to give me his senior picture. He also spoiled Infinity War in my class last year before I had a chance to see it. He wanted to do the right thing as well as be liked by everyone, but often took shortcuts that sabotaged his best intentions.

Tomorrow is graduation and his picture will be up on the slideshow. As the seniors haven't been in school, they will have heard the news (or not) from their friends. We will have support systems in place, but I do not envy any of the staff involved with tomorrow morning's graduation practice, let alone graduation.

I want to blame someone or something. I want to have a target to focus my rage, something that I can lash out and strike. I want to punish him for making me feel this way, especially now, especially today.

... I want him to alive and working towards a better future.

May the Lord watch over and protect his soul.

Last Week of School

5/20/2019

Today was final exams for our "odd" classes. My tables and chairs are set into "exam" formation and the day was generally a quiet one. I had the normal influx of students who finally care about their grades (at nearly the last possible moment) trying to beg their way into getting a higher grade or trying to do a semester's worth of work in a day. I certainly spent a lot of time saying "no" today.

The school is also strangely empty. We have an incentive called "Project Rewards" at the school. Students who maintain a B both quarters, accumulate fewer than 3 absences and tardies in class, and have not received a disciplinary action through the semester are allowed to not take their exams (or to have their exams count against them). This makes it so a large group of students do not have to even come to school this last week.

We are also in the process of moving classrooms. Due to the consolidation of our 9th grade house (SoPrep) in with the upper house (SoHi), most of the teachers are moving classrooms. I have to say that I am sad to leave my current room. It has been my favorite classroom to teach in thus far. It's spacious with a lot of windows. They even fixed the heating problem I had the first year (there was too much of it).

As we wrap up this year with so many changes, so many issues still up in the air, and so much politicking about our funding, I certainly feel that next year is going to be interesting (as in the Chinese curse of "living in interesting times").

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

5/19/2019

Jesus keeps it simple. In today's Gospel, He tells His disciples to love one another. That's it.

It's that simple for us as well. Jesus asks us to love one another just as He loves us. People are too often bogged down in the minutiae of their religious beliefs that they lose sight of this goal. This should be the continual touchstone in our dealings with one another.

The thing is, as simple as it sounds, this is really hard to do. There are people who shout at the top of their lungs things that I hate. Somehow, I need to find a way to love them. This does not mean that I should agree with them or take their abuse. It means that my interactions need to come from the core of love, and not just my definition of love, but love as Jesus taught us.

LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

5/18/2019

I need to stop watching movies like the LEGO Movies and the Toy Story series. I find myself anthropomorphising my own toys and feeling terrible for keeping most of them locked away in the "Bin of Storage." They should be played with, these movies often say. The first LEGO Movie even focused on the idea of not just keeping toys on display, but rather to ignore the LEGO instructions and build with the imagination. It's hard not to take that as a direct criticism.

At the same time, I really enjoyed this movie--if not as much as the first. I certainly liked the overarching theme better, even if there was an excessive amount of fourth wall breaking. I still was laughing out loud (literally) time and again throughout the film. The boys also liked it quite a bit, with Connor saying that it was his favorite of the LEGO Movies (including the spin-offs).

I would just prefer to not feel so guilty after I watched it ...