Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

R.I.P. Schuyler Mcknight

8/17/2019

Earlier this week, we received the tragic news that our nephew drowned while canoeing on a large, glacier-fed lake near where he lived in Southwestern Wyoming. He was apparently heading towards where the rest of the family, including those visiting from Michigan, were camped when he encountered problems, was separated from his canoe, and succumbed to the cold water before anyone could reach him. As of this point, they have not been able to locate and recover his body. He was twenty-two years old.

Our family is in shock at the loss of this vigorous young man. Janelle flew down yesterday be with her brother, who is Schuyler's father, and the rest of her family to provide comfort and support in this difficult time. She spent most of today out at the lake.

Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the healing of our family.

Preparing for School

8/16/2019

I've made good progress this week at getting my room ready for next Tuesday. A great deal of thanks goes to Janelle, who helped me shop for supplies (especially in picking out fabric to cover the bulletin boards), and the student teacher who Nicole Hewitt is sharing with me this school year (who helped set up said bulletin boards). I still have a lot to do in getting the actual courses ready, let alone making copies based on those preparations.

So many things are different this year. My room, the courses I teach, and my responsibilities have all changed this year. Like many people, I am sometimes fearful of change. I like feeling comfortable, and routines provide me comfort. However, they can also make me complacent. As much as I have concerns about some of these changes, perhaps these are the very forces I need in my life to help me grow.

At this point, I have figured out my first day for all of my classes. I have a strong plan for one of them, a general outline for another, and the wisps of ideas for the other two. I should be able to firm all of these through this weekend. My goal is to have at least the first week (or two) set and anything that I need to hand out ready to print and copy by Monday. This is an achievable goal.

For all of my concerns, I'm looking forward to seeing my students (even those I haven't met before). This will be an exciting year!

Strike Information

8/15/2019

Somehow, I was roped into being a "zone coordinator" for the strike that might occur in our district if negotiations break down (they are currently making moderate progress). This means that I am responsible for getting information to all picket captains in my region (which are all of the schools in the Soldotna area). However, we first need picket captains (contact people at each school who are willing to help organize and be the point person at the school). This is going to take a little while to organize ... as if I didn't have enough going on.

Below are my personal answers to the main questions I've been asked lately. They are based on my best understanding of the situation and do not necessarily represent the views of the unions or the district. Feel free inform me of anything I may have gotten wrong.

Why are we talking about striking? We have been in negotiations for over 500 days and without a contract for over a year without coming to an agreement. We are currently the lowest paying district in Alaska (even though we get to a top amount of around $90,000, that's only after around twenty years of service and with at least 60 graduate level credits beyond a master's degree). The faculty and staff currently pay more for health insurance than any other school in Alaska. When the two are put together, that makes our mandatory health insurance unaffordable for many of our lower paid staff members.

Aren't a lot of people are dealing with lower salaries and more expensive insurance? Why are you teachers making such a big deal about this? First, when bad things happen, you should try to stop them, not hope that they happen to someone else too. Second, teachers have taken a greater hit in these areas than nearly any other profession and for a longer period of time. Third, when members switched to a plan that saved the district more money (to the tune of about 1.4 million dollars) the district pocketed that money (rather than use it to offset the costs to it employees) and raised the amount we had to pay--i.e. the staff made sacrifices and was punished for it.

Why didn't you figure this out over the summer? The district did not allow us to bargain with them. They met once in June with no new offer just to say they met and set the next bargaining day for the first day that teachers were back to work.

When will the strike occur? We will not go on strike until negotiations break down entirely (there is still a small amount of movement). It would not happen sooner than the second week in September due to the current negotiations, the start of the new school year, various regulations, and the fact that we are still organizing (see above about needing picket captains).

Why would you stop sports and extra-curricular, which especially hurts seniors considering the already limited seasons? The unions made no decision to do so. It was the district that announced it would shut down all such activities if a strike occurred.

Why would you, who claims to love kids, be willing to go on strike when you know it will have negative effects on them? The long-term health and well being of our faculty and staff has a direct impact on our students. Ironically, our district-wide meeting today emphasized the need for teachers to take care of their social and emotional needs so that we can better help our students in those areas. The metaphor was: on airplanes, parents are told to put on their oxygen masks before putting them on their children. Similarly, we won't be much help to our students if we are not dealing with our own needs. There are many, many employees in our district who are not receiving adequate medical treatment because they cannot afford these costs. We are also not able to attract (and are actually losing) high-quality faculty and staff; that is a greater negative for our students than any strike.

Why doesn't the district just hire "scabs"? Currently, the district has not even filled all of its open positions. This past year saw one of the largest departures of teachers and staff from this district ever. Wonderful educators and support staff are leaving because the state and the district are not taking adequate care of them.

I don't want to go on strike. A strike will be difficult to deal with and will require a lot of extra work, not to mention its effects on those people I care about. However, I will go on strike should it be called as I believe the health and well-being of this district's employees is a priority when providing for the health and well-being of our students.

My Marvel Movie Marathon

8/14/2019

Today was the conclusion of this summer's long-running movie marathon series. Starting at the end of May, we watched three movies every Wednesday except for the weeks where I was away and last week while we waited for Endgame to finally come out. Now, twenty-two movies later, I have to say that I would do it again.

Sure, there are a couple of lesser films, but all of them were worth watching, and all of them tied into the final, amazing culmination that is Avengers: Endgame. This was also a series that I felt got better with time. While two of my top movies are in Phase II, every Phase III movie showed that Marvel (and Disney) have been continually raising the bar. Honestly, I don't know how they could ever top the Infinity War-Endgame duo. I think that they will have to go with smaller movies for a while before trying something like that again.

I don't think that I would structure any future marathons quite the same way. While three movies was a good amount to take in on a given day, the stretched out format ended up feeling a bit disconnected by the end. I also made the mistake of putting them on Wednesdays; unintentionally creating a conflict with Wednesdays in the Park. Thursdays would have probably been a better choice.

All-in-all, it was a fun experience that helped to show the interweaving threads which bind these twenty-two movies together.

Connor's Birthday

8/13/2019

Connor turned 12 today. While I was repairing chairs and working to finish my move between classrooms, a friend of ours took Connor and his brothers to see Hobbs and Shaw (which they liked) and then play at Jumpin' Junction (which they loved--except Trevor, who was a bit overwhelmed). They played for almost the entire day.

They came home in the evening so Connor could have his favorite food: mashed potatoes. He also opened his presents (his own set of dice in his favorite colors and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) which were surprises and made him quite happy. After having some ice cream cake, we then took him to a friend's house for a sleepover. He said that this was one of his favorite birthdays.

Back in the Classroom

8/12/2019

Due to the consolidation of the 10-12th grade Soldotna High School with 9th grade Soldotna Prep School, we were given two additional paid days to help get everything ready for the beginning of the school year. The first one was at the end of the last school year, before much was ready for us to move, so I didn't use it. However, I was in today.

I spent the entire day moving items and getting my new room ready. I still have a long ways to go. One issue I have to deal with is the repair of about a dozen of my chairs. I have the old soft chairs from the library. Some of them are just loose, but a couple need reinforcement. I got supplies and will be working on them when I get the chance.

Janelle also accompanied me to JoAnn Fabrics to pick up material to cover my bulletin boards. Not only does it cover some of the graffiti that was there, it should hopefully give the room a little bit of character. I was hoping to get fabric that looked like it came from Hawaiian shirts, but settled for starry sky fabrics instead.

I'm pretty beat. I was on my feet for almost the entire day, and there was a lot of heavy lifting involved. Thankfully, I was rejuvenated a bit at lunch by going to Odie's with some friends.

Tomorrow has meetings scheduled, but I'm really hoping the meeting is focused on getting to know our classrooms better.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

8/11/2019

"How do we use our time?" was the main question in today's homily. In the Gospel, Jesus warns that the Lord might come at any moment and that we need to make certain that we are spending our time in preparation rather than hoping that we will still have time later. Yet or world is full of distractions that can drain what time we have if we let them.

I let them. Often. In desperation, I can get a lot of work accomplished in a compressed amount of time. Unfortunately, this tactic has be successful for me nearly always. Thus, my mind rationalizes that I can procrastinate tasks up until the critical hour.

It doesn't help that advanced preparation on my part has often not paid off. Starting with the summer leading up to my second year as a teacher, I have found that the summers that I spend the most time preparing for the following years' classes are the summers before the school year when all of my classes will suddenly change. In a form of Murphy's Law, the classes I prepared for the most are the ones most likely to disappear. This has happened for the majority of my years teaching.

It similarly happened with my dissertation. I had nine months of working towards a particular direction with advance work on the following steps only to have it all have to change due to one review. It makes it difficult to work on it even though I know that time (and money) is trickling away.

In this sense, I look forward to each school year as I tend to be more focused with time constraints than I am with an open vacation schedule. I have a lot on my plate again this year, but that might be a good thing. I might be able to make better use of my time.

Rocky

8/10/2019

On one of my trips to the Target in Anchorage this summer, I picked up a collection of the first four Rocky movies. I have fond memories of II, III, and IV (I don't remember seeing the first one--at least, in its entirety) and thought that the boys might want to see them. Just looking at the package was enough to have the soundtrack run through my head and invigorate me; however, I was concerned that they would end up disappointing me as some of my favorite movies and shows from my childhood have done as I've grown older. I was surprised to find that, not only did the boys enjoy them (Connor especially), but that they would still stand up as quality movies so many years later.

Not wanting to stop there, I picked up the next two Rocky movies (V and Balboa) as well as the two Creed films. We just finished watching the second Creed today, and I have to say that I was impressed throughout. Stallone's performance in the first Creed movie was deeply moving. Yet what really stood out to me was that these eight movies told such a complete story; we get to see Rocky's life through his climb to fame, the difficulties he has there, his ability to find a sense of balance, and then his passing on his legacy.

Of the eight movies, my favorites were the first Rocky and the first Creed. Both of them have a great deal of heart in them and dig deeply into their characters' stories. The first Rocky stands out because it was the first, and it was done on such a small budget. The film, like Rocky, was an underdog that captured the hearts of its audience. The first Creed manages to tie into the legacy of the six films that preceded it, yet still tell its own, unique tale. Moreso, some of the cinematography is nothing short of amazing--especially some of the long-no-cut fight scenes.

Meanwhile, Rocky V sits at the bottom of the pile. It wasn't the story that bothered me as much as how cartoonish some of the other characters, especially the evil publicist, were portrayed. Surprising, I actually liked the movie more than I expected. As a piece of a larger story, it was certainly a low point, but I think that the later movies helped to redeem it.

I've heard that they plan to keep making Creed movies (once they can figure out how to get around the director's Black Panther schedule), but that Stallone will not be a part of them anymore. I'm not certain how I feel about that. Just over the course of this summer, Rocky has come to feel like a friend. I believe that the Creed movies can continue to be good, but they will certainly be missing something special without Rocky in them.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

8/9/2019

I have yet to play a Pokemon game. The closest I've gotten is playing Pokemon characters in the Super Smash Bros. series. I tried watching one of the cartoons, but only made through about 15 minutes, at which point I realized that I had no idea what was going on. Still, I was looking forward to watching the Detective Pikachu movie if for no other reason than the fact that Ryan Reynolds was voicing the titular character.

Even though we ended up watching the movie over two days, I ended up really enjoying the experience. Sure, I don't have the understanding of Pokemon lore, but it turns out that the movie was easy to follow anyway. The characters were all fun and the story had twists that--even if I figured them out early on--were quite enjoyable. Certainly, I was laughing loudly through good-sized portions of the film.

While Ryan Reynolds' performance easily steals the show, I liked the other leads as well. I also really enjoyed the other-worldliness of the settings, as this seemed to be set in a Earth-like, yet clearly foreign world. I was also deeply impressed by how seamlessly virtual characters remained true to their original art design, yet still blended in with a realistic world.

The younger boys also really enjoyed the movie--which is good since I ostensibly bought the movie for them. I think that all of us would like to see it again. And that, for me, is the true barometer of what makes for a good movie.

End of Summer Break

8/8/2019

Although Tuesday is the official end of summer break, those of us at SoHi have been offered extra pay to come and help with the consolidation. As of Monday, there was still a great deal of work to do, so I expect next Monday to involve a lot of heavy lifting. For this reason, tomorrow is my last day off of the summer (weekends don't count).

This break has been full and fun. From my parents' trip up, to my time in Kansas City for the AP World History Reading, to the two Scout camps (and one campout), to the Wednesday Marvel Movie Marathons, to a dipnetting excursion, my calendar stayed pretty packed throughout. We also had one of our busiest summers for our cabin rental since we started AirBNB four years ago.

There are some areas where I fell short this summer. My exercise regime was often lacking even on the weeks when I was home. My prospectus has still not managed to pass muster at the university review level, meaning that my dissertation is still rather stalled out (although there were only a few areas of "alignment" that needed adjustment this week). I also have not done much in the way of creative writing.

Still, I also feel like I made progress. I made a large effort to spend more time doing things with the boys this summer. We finally got our firepit in and completed. Overall, my weight has been down, and aside from this persistent cough, I'm feeling healthier.

There's a lot of worry and anxiety going through my mind about this upcoming school year, so I'm glad I've had a pretty good summer to get me ready for it. I'm a bit sad to see it come to an end, but I'm looking forward to what the future holds as well. I just want to enjoy this last bit.

Persuasion

8/7/2019

I wish I was more convincing. Instead, it feels like I tend to make people dig in their heels and cement their position rather than getting them to see the issue at hand differently. Certainly, some of the problem is that people tend to be set in their ways ... and some of it is that I often comment with a snarky response. However, I think a good deal of my problem is that something about my nature makes people take pleasure in proving me wrong (or at least wanting me to be wrong).

I have been told, quite directly--in fact, that my facial expressions are often my downfall in this regard. I have a terrible poker face and must project either an impatience with or a lack of regard for what a person is saying. I know that impatience is a problem limited not just to myself, but my family. Often, our conversations tend to have us finishing each other's sentences, not because we agree, but because we know where the conversation is leading. Perhaps that's a problem with how we tend to think in general ... always looking several steps ahead. This might make us impatient with conversations which often lead into inevitable directions.

I know that this goes beyond my face as it's certainly an issue in written correspondence as well. While this is especially true in social media, it creeps into my emails, and even some of my online class discussions. I think it might be even harder to convince someone using writing as people tend to be on the defensive when reading to begin with. Still, it is frustrating to take the time to put research and write on an issue only to have it dismissed so easily.

I may never be able to figure out why I'm not more convincing, but it would be nice to be more persuasive in my dealings with others.

... I suppose I'll just have to settle for knowing that I'm always right ...

Rolling Up Characters

8/6/2019

It's been over two years since I've been a part of a dungeons and dragons campaign, longer since I've played as character rather than a DM. Our visit to Bosco's last week rekindled the desire to do so again--Janelle even bought a new set of dice. With all of the other things ramping up at this time (more work on my dissertation and a new school year with four different types of classes that I didn't teach last year), it will be difficult to fit in time in the schedule, but I think it will be worth it.

For now, Trevor is going to lead us on a short campaign before he leaves in a couple of weeks. As he's the only one to play 5th edition, we're having him be the DM. Although Rowen is younger than our other children were we started them, his enthusiasm is one of the driving forces for this particular family adventure.

Although we haven't actually started the campaign yet, just building my character brought out a great deal of joy. Sure, Romero is not going to see a lot of play time (until maybe next summer), but I enjoyed the process of deciding his background (a story-telling bard who has hit a midlife crisis and wants to be a part of adventures like the stories he tells--yes, this might be a bit close to home), his appearance (think Dr. Strange), and his abilities (he dabbles in magic to make his performances more impressive). We should get some play time in tomorrow.

There's something about creating new characters, whether for role-playing or for writing, that fills me with anticipation and joy (even if they ARE a bit derivative--especially about my own life). I used to roll stats and set up backgrounds for all kinds of characters that I never player or used in my writing. Come to think of it, it might be fun to both do that and also look over some of those old notes again.

Audio/Video Desynchronization

8/5/2019

As our Internet connection is not always the best (especially when the ground is wet), streaming video through Netflix or Amazon is not always bug-free. Recently, Janelle and I have been watching shows on Netflix through our television directly. Previously, we used the WiiU, but the main pad's volume can no longer be turned off.

I don't know if it's an issue with Netflix itself, or it's the receiver on our television, but the shows we watch have had slight hiccups that then desynchronize the video from the audio. In some cases, we'll see the characters' lips form a word before we hear it. In others, the sound will come a half-second before the action that made it.

It really bothers me. The problem will go away if I stop the video and then play it again, but it will pop back up again in a few minutes. One saving grace is that we watch with the subtitles on, so we can still follow what people are saying despite the distraction (although we had a problem with the subtitles being desynchronized when we watched The Expanse earlier this year).

I suppose this is another reason why I still prefer DVD to online digital.

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

8/5/2019

Today's readings and homily focused on the problem with greed. In each focus, the focus on worldly desires leads to various mindsets that are ultimately detrimental to the person. In the Gospel story, the rich man makes plans to build larger barns to house his surplus, only to die that very night. What had seemed like a wise choice ended up meaning nothing to him.

Too often are our thoughts on keeping what we have or finding ways to acquire more. When, instead, our focus should be on making the most of our lives. So often we put off those things that we know we need to do while fe focus on temporary desires. Had we put our focus where it was needed, not only would we have accomplished more, but the guilt and worry that we store for such poor choices would not be there either.

I am a greedy person. I like my comforts and tend to indulge them rather than do the long list of other things that I continually put off until later. I don't believe that God is asking us to completely cut ourselves off from the world and the joys that can be found within it. Rather, I believe that I need to achieve a better balance in my life that helps me to give of myself, my talent, my treasure, and my time, rather than hoarding them away.