Ever since we moved into our current house, we've know that we needed to remove the wallpaper in the younger boys' room.  It's hideous with multiple vertical stripes in multiple colors that still give the room the impression of being brown, a sort of dizzying brown.  Now, over nine years later, we're finally getting the stuff down ... and I'm reminded of why we didn't do this sooner.

Removing wallpaper is a sticky mess that requires a lot of humidity and a liberal dosing of heat as well.  It's obvious that the previous owners covered the walls with wallpaper rather than deal with a lot of the damage that was behind it from some shelving that must have been attached to the walls earlier.  They also didn't completely removed the glue from one wall that obviously had an earlier wallpaper on it.  That glue comes off feeling and looking an awful lot like snot.

With the wallpaper down, and the walls getting a good scrubbing, we still need to patch up parts of the wall before putting on a couple coats of paint.  The boys compromised on a light purple (one wanted dark blue and the other wanted pink).  I'm not looking forward to that either.

We've been back from our trip out West and I'm still not up to 100%.  I always seem to need almost as much time to recover from a vacation as I took on the vacation itself.  That I don't have much of a routine to return to doesn't make it any easier.  At least I got up before 8am today so that I could play tennis with my father.  Otherwise, I've been having trouble getting out of bed before 10:30.

My wife had a dyeing class to teach in our basement, so she has pushed herself and us to get things ready.  It's only through her diligence that our house isn't still packed with our luggage and dirty laundry from the trip.  I've done a couple of small things around the house, applied for an Ed.D. program, and applied for a couple of jobs, but it feels like much of my time has been spent playing Terraria.

I feel rather rudderless at the moment.  I have a FAFSA and some other forms that I still need to fill out, we have at least one room that we are going to clear of wallpaper, and I have a couple of game sessions that I need to plan for, but I feel like I'm just floating in the stream of time rather than swimming in an particular direction.

Vacations are hard.

It always feels like financial stability is just out of reach.  I've been so close now for a while.  I had to work multiple jobs to get me this far, and it's still just out of reach.  The thing is that I'm so much better off than I have been in the past.  The idea of starting over again somewhere else just drains me ... unless it's Alaska, and there I have the guilt of knowing that I should have focused my attention there a long time ago.

Again, we're still relatively well off.  The financial hits that this coming school year is going to thrust on us are all survivable.  It's just that I hate feeling this way.

I don't know what to do at this point.  Probably the smartest move would be to wait this out for a few more years, weather the current storm while taking classes towards the next degree level.  Once I have that (which I should have gone for long ago) I should be able to have more options available to me and get just that little bit further.

But I'm not always good at making the "smart" move.  I want to see mountains again, Gandolf.  Finances are never perfect.  Would scenery make a difference?  Too bad I'm just short of being qualified to make that jump too.

Today's First Reading and Gospel focus on miracles involving feeding multitudes.  In both cases, there was not enough food until it was broken and distributed, leaving more food left over than there was to start.  In the Gospel, this is the classic story of the loaves and the fish.

In my mind, this story foretells our modern Eucharistic feasts.  Millions of people come to the table of the Lord every day.  If the Eucharist is truly the body of Christ, the miracle of the loaves and fish shows how it could be given out to so many people at the same time, and still have more left over.

In the homily, we were asked to write about a time that Jesus affected our lives and send that writing (even if anonymously) to our pastor.  I'm not sure what I would write.  God's hand in my life has been so ever-present that I can't point out a specific instance.  I have a blessed life, even with the things that I believe aren't going my way.  Like the crowds, God has supplied for me what I need and then some.

Last year, we had a fantastic family trip into northern Michigan that I never posted.  I still have a list of highlights, but I planned on going back, adding pictures, and fleshing out the details.  This obviously never happened.  I now plan on going back and posting those highlights (without the added pictures and details) at some later time.  Rather than have that same delay for the trip that we just took this year, I decided to just post the highlights.  Here they are:

Road construction was a major theme of the trip.  Almost all drives were longer than expected, but we didn't have any major problems and the boys were mostly well-behaved.

Friday (July 17, 2015)
Jackson, MI, to Kasota, MN.  Lunch at Oasis (Panda Garden). Katrina, Connor, and Rowen rode with Janelle and I.  Trevor rode with my mother and father.  Evening with aunts and uncles.  Dinner at China Buffet.  Evening boat ride - boys get to drive the boat.

Saturday
Early morning 5 min. fishing - Connor gets one on the line.  Boat and swimming - rocky and shallow bottom, tour of lake, biting black flies.  Spaghetti lunch.  Kasota to St. Paul.  Wedding in museum (sand, Star Wars, the missing place-setting, Mom's non-dairy meal, kids' toys and books, candy, lots of goodbyes). St. Paul to Kasota - arrive after midnight.

Sunday
Up at 5am.  Dad and Katrina leave for Michigan. 7:30 mass at St. Peter and Paul's.  Pick up groceries for Mom.  Kasota, MN, lunch at Burger King (jalapenos for 25 cents more)  to Badlands (90+ degrees, 1st outlook spot, door and window hike, visitor's center [water!], fossil path and climbing), dinner at IHOP (severely understaffed), and then to Spearfish, SD.  

Monday
Still didn't go swimming at the hotel's small pool.  Left Spearfish at 9am to Devil's Tower.  Hiked the 1.3 mile path around the tower.  Lunch at Taco Bell (ordered one meal too many).  Connor having his own pop is not a good idea as we had to stop twice by the side of the road.  No real stops from Casper, WY, all the way to Opal (pronounced Oh! pal).  Boys didn't sleep for most of the trip.

Tuesday
The boys were up before everyone today.  Eggs, bacon, and toast made up our breakfast meal.  Visited Fossil Butte (took a 5.8 mile single lane road up and back to the over 8,000 ft vantage point).  Kemmerer ("Kimmer") for groceries and gas.  Visited the park in Opal.  Elk burgers for dinner.  Looked into the geodome ("Luke Skywalker") house.

Wednesday
Pancake breakfast.  Trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (picnic, driving ahead of the rain, dipping briefly into Utah).  Elk roast for dinner.  Boys got onto Minecraft on PC and XBox.  Visited my in-laws future house (another year of work before it's ready).

Thursday
LONG drive.  Woke up at 3am and left at 4am (Mountain time).  Lunch on the road (sandwiches).  Pizza Ranch for dinner (buffet of pizza, salad, and fried chicken dinner food).  Arrived at the cottage in Kasota at around 11pm (Central time).  Boys were awake for most of the trip again.

Friday (July 24, 2015)
Slow morning.  Picked up my mother (who spent the past week at the cottage).  Left the cottage just after 10:15am (Central time).  Lunch on the road again (summer sausage, smoked salmon, and cheese curds).  IHOP (now the boys' favorite restaurant) for dinner.  Arrived home a little before midnight.

Last night, around midnight, we returned from a week-long trip out west.  I didn't post about it either here or on Facebook as a security precaution.  Not knowing how available the Internet was going to be for my, many of my posts for the past week were written ahead of time and published via an app on my phone.  I would have had one for yesterday, but I had thought I was going to be home soon enough (and energetic enough) to write one before I went to bed.

It was a great trip (highlights to come on my next post).  Coming back to reality has been a little harder.  I did notice that, as much as I want to get a new mattress, I was tremendously happy to sleep in my own bed again (same is true for using my own bathroom).  Unfortunately, there was suddenly a lot of movement between our union and our school district which led to a meeting and a vote in which I could not participate.  I've been trying to wrap my head around some of the changes that are going to hit us this next school year.

I'm truly happy that we went on this trip.  While there was a LOT of driving involved (the past two days in particular), we got to connect with family, see some amazing sights, and really build some experiences with each other (all of my kids love the Badlands).

I'm still rather groggy (my parents' freezer died this morning requiring me to wake up sooner than I planned), so I don't know how coherent this post has been.  Still, it's good to be home.

I suppose that since I wrote a post about the call of Alaska, I should probably give a little bit of time writing about what is holding me back from being there.

Probably the most important is family.  I currently live no more than four hours away from all of my brothers and sisters.  My parents live close enough that we go to church together, share a meal at least once a week, and do some sort of weekly exercise together at least once a week.  My children see most of their cousins (from both sides of the family even) on a relatively regular basis.

The same is true for friends.  While we have still have friends in Alaska, few of them live near each other and we now have decades of time separating us.  Chances are also small that I will be able to get a job near where any of them are due to limited teaching opportunities in the more populated areas of Alaska.  Meanwhile, our friends here are amazing.  They have been supportive, helpful, and entertaining in ways that I had never thought possible.

Alaska is isolated.  While the isolation is part of Alaska's call for me, it also means that many things are more expensive, and some aren't available at all.  If not in one of the main metropolitan areas, you have to rely on shipping for a number of products, and shipping to Alaska is more expensive.

For that matter, almost everything is more expensive.  While this is slightly offset by the fact that there are no state taxes (and even a permanent fund dividend after living there for a year), costs are simply higher for homes and many groceries.  This also includes travelling to anywhere outside of Alaska, which we would want to do to see family.

So far, these negatives (as well as the normal problems of finding a job and a place to live) have been enough to keep us from moving back.

Whether it's because of the number of people I know who have moved to new homes, the current troubles at my school district, or just some sort of mid-life crisis, I have been more strongly hearing the call to return to Alaska.  When people ask me what this call is like, I can never adequately describe it.  In general, it is a feeling that Alaska is where I belong.  This is a little strange as I'm not enthusiastic about fishing or hunting.

I know that some of it is about the weather.  I certainly prefer the cold and I don't do well in warmer temperatures.  I love snow, and while we've had a few good storms this past year, generally we have not been getting the amount of snow that I would want.  I even like the sunlight extremes.  Despite being a people person, I also like the isolation.  While I would not want to live in "bush" Alaska, I prefer the smaller populations of Alaskan towns and cities to even how busy Jackson has become.

I love the beauty of the parts of Alaska that I have visited.  In particular, I love the mountains.  While the variety of trees is less than I would prefer in the interior of Alaska, it makes up for it in the total number of trees and forests.  And although I would prefer to not have a face-to-face meeting with a beer or moose again, there's something to be said for how close people are to nature.

There are disadvantages to going to Alaska, of course, but those always seem to pale in comparison to the call.

Politicians have been trying to scare people about the instability of social security since its creation.  During George W. Bush's presidency a number of fact were manipulated in an effort to privatize the system (putting more money into the hands of banks and investment firms).  The biggest of these was that Social Security was about to fail and not be able to make payments.  The date of this doomsday prediction was always one to two decades in the future.  It's simply not true.  

Even with the massive downturn in the economy, it wasn't Social Security that was in even minor danger, but the excess gathered from Social Security that's put into its Trust.  Should the Trust stop growing two decades from now (whenever now is), Social Security would still be able to make payments for another three or more decades with no changes to how its collects revenue or distributes payments.

The most disturbing truth is that Social Security could be completely funded if one loophole was closed: the cap.  Until a few years ago, income above $100,000 did not need to contribute to Social Security.  This cap was not tied to inflation.  As part of a political compromise, this cap was recently raised to $200,000 (still well-below the inflation rate).  Simply tying this cap to inflation funds the Trust indefinitely.  Removing the cap entirely would be able to fund Social Security as well as an expanded Medicare and Medicaid (meaning making them available to all citizens).

Yet people would rather believe the banking and investment firms ...

I just turned it on for a little bit to look at the new update changes while waiting for Janelle, but that was all it took.   Now I'm thinking in terms of side-scrolling digging and building.  This game is able to suck me in quite quickly.  I haven't played for long (relatively), but I've already noticed some nice additions.  

One of my favorites is the "no-gore" option.  No longer do I need to watch pixelated bunnies get decapitated as I'm running around the game.  It also seems to stop the game from lagging when hordes of zombies are attacking during a blood-moon.

The second, and maybe most important, new addition is being able to connect multiplayer through Steam.  No more will I need to dig around computers and write down IP addresses every time my kids want to play the game together.  That is a major hassle averted. 

On top of those, the backgrounds are nicer, the underground caverns seem more natural in their formation, and there are TONS of new things to build and items to collect.  In particular, I have received banners for defeating monsters in quantities of 50.  These banners make it easier to defend the home from said monsters later.  I also have enjoyed the new yo-yo weapon.  It's a little ridiculous, but effective nonetheless.

Terraria is an inexpensive game that provides a huge return in terms of enjoyment.  It truly is fun for the whole family.

Today's readings focus on the role of the shepherd.  The first reading warns those who are false shepherds who have led God's people astray.  I often think of this reading when I hear of people like the leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church who take Christ's teachings of love and turn it into justification for hate.  I also worry that I could fall into that same trap as a false shepherd.  As a teacher, I have a lot of pull with my students.  I worry that some of our discussions (especially when I play Devil's advocate) might lead students away from God.  I have good intentions, but there's a saying about that ...

In the Gospel, Jesus looks at the crowd of people gathered to hear Him and comments that they are like sheep without a shepherd.  I remember a Christian comedian remarking once about the fact that believers are often referred to as sheep.  He said the reason was simple: "sheep are dumb."  I equate that with the idea "people are stupid" in that we are so easily led astray.  This certainly holds true for myself.  Without a guiding hand, I so easily fall into behaviors that aren't in my best interest, but are quick, temporarily satisfying, and easy.  Jesus's teachings aren't meant to restrict, but to protect, like a guide-rail on a mountain road or like a shepherd leading his flock.

My wife has purchased a few superhero t-shirts for me that I like wearing. Not only do they show my support for various superhero franchises and make me feel a bit like a superhero myself, I find that I get much more positive resposnses from young children, especially boys.

Not counting my own family, in the past week I had two quick positive experiences while wearing superhero t-shirts. The first was simply a couple of young boys who seemed be giving their father a bit of a hassle in te parking lot. One of them saw my Captain America shirt and pointed it out to his brother and father. That was it, they then quietly walked with their father into the store.

The second experience was also at the store. I was walking down an aisle and a toddler started smiling at me. I checked behind me to see if there was someone else behind me, but no one was. I smiled and waved, and he waved back and gave me an even bigger smile. It wasn't until I passed that I was wearing my Batman shirt.

I like superheroes for a number of reasons, moments like these are just icing.

I caved a little.  Due to a sale on Amazon, we purchased the 5th edition Player's Handbook and Monster's Manual (we already had the Dungeon Master's Guide).  After now reading the PHB, I still prefer 3.5 (especially with my homebrewed 3.6 rules), but I understand the appeal.  As there is a chance that we will at least go on an adventure (if not run an adventure) in the new system, I started working on building a character spreadsheet on GoogleSheets as I had with both 3.5 and 3.6.

It's not been easy.  There are a lot of changes.  Many of the pages on my original sheet will need to be entirely changed.  A problem that I always face is deciding which calculations should be automatic and which should be inputted by the players.  The other major problem is organizing the information in such a way that the players can find what they are looking for without too much trouble.  In this system, I think that will mean that my pages will be divided up in the same way the book divides up the character creation process, but I'm not certain.

The 3.5 and 3.6 sheets took me an entire spring break of at least eight hour days to put together, plus months (years) of tweaking since then.  I suppose I should expect something similar for the 5e sheet as well.  Oddly, I look forward to the challenge.  

It's not through the woods just yet (as far as I can see), but the Every Child Achieves Act might finally fix the numerous problems that the No Child Left Behind Act created.  There is a lot about this bill that I still don't know about, but it looks like it ends most of the punitive restrictions that NCLB had created while getting more funding back to those schools and programs that need it the most.

Most importantly it ends AYP (adequate yearly progress) which was a nightmare of bureaucracy that created hostile environments in schools and brought punitive measures down on those schools that needed the most help.  ECA also changes the amount of testing needed to get federal aid.  All-in-all, it looks like a step in the right direction.

This doesn't mean that public schools will be perfect, but this at least unties a lot of the knots that the federal government had put into the system.  There are still a number of knots that Michigan has put there that also need to be untied, but this is the first education bill passed in over a decade that hasn't felt like it was putting a vice on my chest.