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The Land of the Weird

Hay Tunnel

10/16/2018

Once again, the boys decided that they wanted to go with their Cub Scout Pack to the Hay Tunnel at Solid Rock Bible Camp. For $6 each, the boys were able to spend over an hour crawling through hay bales set up as a labyrinth within a barn. High points included a bridge, a stairway, and a slide. Connor also found a slight cubby which he used to scare people as they went by.

I again elected not to go in. My claustrophobia didn't even like me toying with the idea. I could too clearly imagine myself contorted at one of the corners, afraid to draw attention to my situation. Last year I had recently injured my back, but I didn't have that excuse this time, so I felt a bit cowardly in declining. Still, I enjoyed hanging around the campfire and talking with the other parents there.

It took a bit of coaxing to get the boys to come out at the end. Rowen was the first to come out, and he was more than willing to do another quick run-through (less than five minutes) to collect his brother. It helped that I reminded them that they get to go again this Saturday, this time with their Faith Formation group. If I had any concerns that they would be uninterested in going a second time, they certainly set them to rest with their enthusiasm.

I wonder if they'll talk Janelle into crawling through it.

School Board Meeting

10/15/2018

We had another great turnout at tonight's school board meeting. There were solid presentation by Ninilchik and Soldotna Elementary (including a couple of Mind-A-Mazes demonstrations). Many people made passionate pleas to the board in regards to settling the contract and revisiting the way the pools' activity fees (I was one of the former). Board members talked about the various events they had attended around the community. Our superintendent discussed positive aspects of our schools and sports teams. It was very civil and respectful.

I stayed until the end as I have not done so for a school board meeting here before. It certainly was enlightening. It did not, however, reduce my irritation with the current negotiations (as we have been working this school year without a contract). The fact that the room was overwarm for my taste did not help my temperament. Hopefully, that didn't come through during my public comments.

This week is packed with evening events, including an open-to-the-public negotiation session on Wednesday. I tend to only go to these sorts of things in times of crisis. I certainly have great respect for those who attend them on a regular basis.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

10/14/2018

Jesus often speaks out against wealth and possessions. In today's Gospel, He tells the young man who wants to follow Him that to do so means giving all of his possessions to the poor; this makes the young man sad because he had many possessions. In today's homily, our priest told us that this is not just about wealth, but about us holding on to the things of this world rather than relying on God.

This is the true danger of wealth--it often consumes the people who have it even more than the people who seek it. I remember reading a book on poverty that explained why people were so willing to give the little they had to those who asked. To many of the poor, money is such an ephemeral thing that they would rather make others happy even for a little bit than concern themselves with accumulating it. Meanwhile, the wealthy are often so absorbed with keeping (or increasing) what they have that they miss out on the joys of life and the benefits of helping others. Instead, they are in a perpetual state of jealousy (fear of losing what one has) that infects all of their relationships.

But this does not have to be just wealth; it can be any sort of obsession, anything that we hold on to tighter out of fear of losing it, anything that we are afraid to share with others. For me, it is often time. I am often so afraid of the time that I am losing that I lose time in my worries about it, or I don't start things because I'm afraid I won't have time to finish them. Instead, I fill small moments of time with pointless thoughts or activities. I need to learn how to give that time up to God and allow Him to guide me to the activities and events that truly matter.

Worms and Contraptions

10/13/2018

The heavy rains from last night and this morning had a surprising side effect: a mass worm migration. Tiny worms, escaping their flooded homes, coated our deck, front door, side of our house, and dog fence. It was like something out of a horror movie, perhaps one that is dealing with signs of the apocalypse.

Once the rain stopped, most of the returned as mysteriously as they appeared. Only slime trails on our glass door gave evidence of their passage. The rest dried up quickly, leaving behind a disturbing number of worm corpses.

Meanwhile, today's main event was Connor's Mind-A-Mazes competition. His team--called Greninja (his friend is a big fan of Pokemon)--has spent the past few weeks building a Rube Goldberg-type invention. The goal is to have as many simple machines complete as many tasks as possible with only one starting point. The Greninja group had scored high enough at their school level to perform in today's district competition.

Unfortunately, the ramp failed to fall after Connor snipped the thread that was supposed to start it. This left the group with no points for 75% of their score. They were not the only team in that spot. One young lady had her entire project collapse just as she was getting it ready to go. Thankfully, all of the kids took their setbacks in stride.

The Greninja gang did well on the spontaneous task. They were given a series of materials that they needed to fashion into a working jump rope. Connor managed to jump rope twenty-two times before theirs fell apart.

In the end, he and his friends seemed eager to try again next year now that they have a better idea about how to tackle the problems presented to them.

Certifiable

10/12/2018

I wasn't really expecting anything in the mail today, so it came as a surprise that I had a large envelope from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. In it was my Professional Teacher Certificate for the State of Alaska which endorses me in history and English until my birthday in 2023. I immediately went to the Borough building and handed them the district copy of the certificate.

As I handed it over, I was flooded with memories of the frantic steps I took when I first came up to Alaska over three years ago. The process of getting officially hired and certified was bizarrely complex. It was full of twists and turns with multiple trips to the UPS store and several overnight packages.

Oddly, that sense that this process might all fall apart due to some bureaucratic snafu has been haunting me through every extension and application. I did not realize how much of a shadow this fear had cast over me until I handed over the certificate today. Immediately, despite the heavy rain, it seemed as though the world was brighter.

Being up here has been like a dream for me. I keep expecting something will take it away. Finally, by receiving tenure at the beginning of this year and now being fully certified in the state, I feel more secure in my career up here.

Pleasant Dreams

10/11/2018

Despite reading a series of books with a rather depressing setting and watching episodes from the final season of Battlestar Galactica (which seemed to have depression as a theme), I've had some rather enjoyable--even happy--dreams these past few evenings. I only remember one of them vividly. The rest have just left me with a feeling of contentment when I wake up.

Many of them seem to involve a road trip of some kind that takes me to a mountainous coastline (sometimes warm, sometimes snow-covered). Perhaps I've been taking imaginary vacations in my dreams. The one I remember was pretty straightforward: It was the end of school and I was rubbing it to my friends in Michigan who still had to teach. I specifically remember posting selfies of me doing fun things with comments like, "I'm sure glad school is out already."

I understand that remembered dreams come about when our conscious mind is made aware of the neural pathway rebuilding that happens when we sleep. We unconsciously try to make sense of the ideas, sensations, and images that are part of the process, creatings our own unique narratives as we do so. Often, these narratives are expressions of whatever has been part of our day-to-day thoughts and feelings. Thus, we tend to have nightmares when we feel anxiety (which then causes more anxiety). Considering the stresses I've been feeling these past few weeks, I'm surprised then that mine have taken such a comforting turn lately.

It's nice to look forward to my dreams.

Listen to Your Elders

10/10/2018

When I was a teenager, I never expected to live past 24. I don't know why that was the age that I thought would be the end of me, but having that in mind allowed me to ignore those pesky long-term consequences that older people kept warning me about. Unfortunately, I've now come to realize that I probably should have followed a great deal of that advice--especially about eating healthier and exercising regularly--right from the start.

A colleague and I were bemoaning our aches and pains this morning and the comment was made that we should warn our students that the choices they make have these kinds of consequences. We quickly realized that we had been told such advice ourselves when we were their age. Obviously, we paid about as much attention as our students (although, I do have former students who sometimes post about things they weren't taught in school that I distinctly remember teaching them, so maybe they paid a bit less attention).

Come to think of it, I probably still don't listen to my elders as much as I probably should.

Near Misses

10/9/2018

Today, just on the trip to get the boys and back, we were nearly hit by two different people in two different locations who were turning left onto the Sterling Highway. Both of them had a phone to their ear and did not check both ways before starting to pull onto the highway. One stopped before ramming into me, but was stopped across a lane of traffic until after I passed. The other pulled out across in front of me and it was only due to good brakes, a dry road, and my distrusting nature that I didn't t-bone her.

Honestly, I haven't had a problem like this often. Generally, I feel much safer here than I did driving nearly anywhere Michigan. Still, having a near accident with almost identical circumstance occur twice on one drive shook me up a little bit. It's a good reminder to stay alert when driving no matter how familiar I am with the route.

Occam's Razor

10/8/2018

My mind must really be muddled. I've been more tired than normal lately, and I think, "Not enough sleep." My nose has been running more than normal, and I think, "There's something in the air." My throat is scratchy, and I think, "I'm just not drinking enough water." My head feels full of cotton, and I think, "I just have too much on my mind."

Only just a minute ago did I think that I might be fighting off one of the many bugs that travel around schools. Well, better sleep, more fluids, and less stress will go a long way in dealing with that too. Sometimes I'm so focused on the symptoms that I don't look for a cure.

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

10/7/2018

Today's readings felt a bit disconnected as the First Reading was specifically about the First Marriage, but that concept was then apparently dropped for the next two. Janelle pointed out that our priest actually skipped the majority of today's Gospel, ironically reading only the portion that would normally be cut out of the short version. Had he left the original reading as was, the theme of marriage would have then been further developed, with Jesus saying that no human should separate what God has joined.

Instead, our pastor focused on Jesus' acceptance of children, even when others felt they were wasting His time. Jesus rebukes His disciples who try to keep the children away from Him, and then encourages them to be more like children in their own faith. He tells them that they need to believe in heaven as children do if they wish to enter it.

I wonder if the switch in focus was deliberate. In refocusing the readings, today's homily focused more on what we should do with our lives, how we should open our hearts to the downtrodden and forgotten, rather than passing judgement. I certainly have difficulties with being childlike in my faith and more trusting of others.

Learning a Smartphone

10/6/2018

My mother received her first smartphone (an iPhone 6) this week. I've been excited that she finally has access to texting, Internet services, GPS, and more as well as having a reliable way to get in contact with her no matter where she is. She's had a cellphone for a while, but due to its limited functionality and pay-per-minute calling and texting, it is often not an effective way to get ahold of her.

I know that the features of smartphones can be a bit overwhelming. Thus several of our conversations this week have been about how to use the phone. This made me realize just how familiar I've become with these devices. Often, it was hard for me to figure out how to explain how certain elements worked as we are still working on building a common vocabulary (e.g. "home button").

It still amazes me how quickly this technology has become ubiquitous in our society. I still remember having to tell some of my students to turn off their beepers. How far we've come ...

It makes me wonder what technology will be like twenty years from now.

Posting at Night

10/5/2018

I think that the world might be a better place because I post later at night. Earlier in the day, I am full of vim and vigor, ready to tackle and solve the problems of the world ... or at least provide eloquent and powerful responses to the variety of issues that dominate my news feed. Thankfully, by about this time, my fire has dimmed and I really don't feel like fanning the embers necessary to truly and fully write my thoughts on these deep issues.

I also often am given the chance to look through the varied venomous posts that have drawn their own lines in the sand. Usually, I realize that I do not want to add the growing partisan bickering, especially since I usually understand (even if I don't agree with) both sides. Putting my unsolicited opinion on these matters out into the world usually invites challenge, not better communication.

That's not to say that I don't have strong opinions on the issues of the day, because my views are quite strong. Nor does it mean that I won't make politically controversial posts from time to time (sometimes, I just can't help myself). Rather, the tiredness I feel right now makes the effort to reward ratio quite clear.

That, and it saves the world from most of my diatribes.

Sneezy

10/4/2018

I'm not sure what's in the air, but I've had some powerful sneezes today. I'm talking about the full-voiced, minor explosion, shakes the entire body sort of sneezes. I can feel these from the toes on up.

Oddly, they're kind of pleasant. Sure it feels like all of the air is being crushed from my lungs, but there is something cathartic in such total expulsion. I can almost understand why people in the past worried that a person's soul might get expelled through such a process, inviting evil spirits to inhabit the body (thus requiring a "bless you" to protect the body until the person's soul finds its way back).

For me, the moment I feel a sneeze coming on, I try to force the issue by looking into the brightest light that I can find. I don't know why sneezing is photoreactive, but the trick usually works. When it doesn't, I feel unsatisfied and incomplete.

In the end, I look forward to these sneezes, even if I hope that they are not harbingers of an actual illness.

National Warning Test

10/3/2018

I did not receive the Presidential alert today. I knew that it was supposed to happen due to a news article that I read yesterday, so I was planning on it happening during school. The only reason I know that it went out was because a student of mine came up to me and apologized for his phone going off during our class discussion. The sad thing is that I didn't even hear his phone.

I am for a national alert system. Considering the technology available, it makes sense that we have a messaging system like this available in times of national distress as a way to cut through the fog of confusion should ... say ... a zombocalypse (which no longer registers as a misspelled word) occur. I know that a number of glitches showed up in the system today, including entire areas losing cell service, but that's why we want to run these sorts of tests instead of encountering these problems in the crucial early stages of a zombie outbreak.

Still, I couldn't help but feel left out. It makes me concerned that I am part of a group of people selected to not receive warning in the case of an emergency. With that in mind, I'm a little worried that the test message didn't appear on my phone. Instead, no messages appeared on my screen that I couldn't dismiss, my phone didn't lock up, and my cell service continued to function normally.

You would at least warn me, wouldn't you?