Sometimes there are just certain memories that are made much more powerful through the stimulus that surrounds you at the moment it happens. The smell of fresh brownies in the kitchen for a birthday, the explosion of fireworks above your head during a first kiss, or the song playing on radio when driving home from a far away place.
The other night I was at the gym, happily stomping away on the elliptical for my cardio workout (and yes, I was in step with the music) when a certain song started to play on my headphones - "Let's Get Loud" by J-Lo. It instantly brought a smile to my face for the distinct memory it brought to mind.
When I was working in Rotterdam, we played a weekend match down in Luxembourg and the two teams drove down there in the school vans. It wasn't planned this way but it just happened that the Varsity piled in my van and the JV girls jumped in with their coach, Tracy. We had a successful weekend and the girls were in good spirits as we headed back to Rotterdam on the rolling highways of Belgium. And then it happened.
"Let's Get Loud" came on the radio and before I knew it, the volume was cranked and the girls were singing the song at the top of their lungs in the van. It was amazing, the energy of the girls flooded over me as the van bounced up and down the road as they jumped around singing - I was captivated by the moment. The song finished a few minutes later and the girls slowed back down to a more catatonic-like teenage state after their frenzy. I was smiling the rest of the way back to Rotterdam.
And so when the J-Lo song came on over my headphones, I was swept back to that moment and I smiled as I bounced on the elliptical myself. I was reminded of the wonderful girls I had on that team and the fun that we had playing volleyball. Cherished memory indeed.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
get a thicker hide
With apologies to MO, I'll do that story on college football here shortly. But for now, I've got something to rant about. Rosie O'Donnell and her comments made on The View that are getting groups up in arms.
From the Yahoo! news story (click on 'get a thicker hide' to read the full story), the following excerpt.
NEW YORK - Rosie O'Donnell says she's sorry for mocking spoken Chinese on "The View," but an association that represents journalists from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, including Chinese American, says it wasn't enough.
In a Dec. 5 segment, O'Donnell joked about how Danny DeVito's recent — and seemingly drunken — appearance on the ABC daytime talk show had become international news.
"You know, you can imagine in China it's like `ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, "The View," ching chong,'" the 44-year-old comedian said.
On Thursday's show, she told the audience: "To say ching chong to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, `Really? I didn't know that.'"
Karen Lincoln Michel, president-elect of Unity: Journalists of Color Inc., said O'Donnell's remarks "really didn't sound like an apology to me."
Lincoln Michel said Unity was waiting for Barbara Walters, who created the show, to respond to a letter asking her to publicly acknowledge that O'Donnell's remarks were "patently offensive."
Ok, so Rosie is clueless and her apology may have been lacking but c'mon folks, you gotta have a thicker hide than to allow something like that to get you all riled up. She said that she didn't know it was a bad word (or expression) and while ignorance isn't an excuse for a lot of things, people have got to understand that it was unintentional and move on. Educate and tolerate. Accept that people don't always know what they are saying and help them to overcome their own ignorance. Don't get all huffy about what someone on TV said and demand a public apology.
Listen, I've made a lot of mistakes traveling to other countries and I can't even count the number of times I must have offended someone by saying something stupid or doing something even worse. And to top it off, I've not apologized to those whom I've offended since I've not known that I've offended them. But hey, at least they are tough enough not to take every little comment as a personal attack on their culture and society.
So America - stop taking everything to heart. You live in a country where free speech is not only allowed but encouraged. It means that you are going to be offended by what people say sometimes. It means you can offend people without fear of going to jail (depending on who you offend). However, it also means that you need to be tolerant of those who say things that you don't agree with. If someone says, "ching chong ching chong" because they don't know a lick of Chinese, accept it and move on. In this case, it was intended as a joke. Laugh at it and move on. Chinese (both versions) is a hard language and the tonal nature of it means that many words sound the same to Westerners. You don't see me getting all pissed at people when I hear someone describe English as two dogs having a conversation (some say that English sounds like a barking dog). I realize that English is a funny language and accept that someone else's perspective is different than mine.
Stop the Political Correctness. Don't be so worried about always saying the right thing, just say WHAT you mean and deal with it later. Holy shit, Americans come across as being the bitchiest, whiniest, non-tolerant bunch of ignorant red-necks on the entire planet. Get over the comment and live your life. Stop worrying about what she said about you or what he said about them and start worrying about the things that ARE important in life. If people spent more time and gave more attention to issues like poverty, homelessness, and lack of a decent standard of health care, imagine what the US could truly be like. Now THAT would be an amazing country.
From the Yahoo! news story (click on 'get a thicker hide' to read the full story), the following excerpt.
NEW YORK - Rosie O'Donnell says she's sorry for mocking spoken Chinese on "The View," but an association that represents journalists from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, including Chinese American, says it wasn't enough.
In a Dec. 5 segment, O'Donnell joked about how Danny DeVito's recent — and seemingly drunken — appearance on the ABC daytime talk show had become international news.
"You know, you can imagine in China it's like `ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, "The View," ching chong,'" the 44-year-old comedian said.
On Thursday's show, she told the audience: "To say ching chong to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, `Really? I didn't know that.'"
Karen Lincoln Michel, president-elect of Unity: Journalists of Color Inc., said O'Donnell's remarks "really didn't sound like an apology to me."
Lincoln Michel said Unity was waiting for Barbara Walters, who created the show, to respond to a letter asking her to publicly acknowledge that O'Donnell's remarks were "patently offensive."
Ok, so Rosie is clueless and her apology may have been lacking but c'mon folks, you gotta have a thicker hide than to allow something like that to get you all riled up. She said that she didn't know it was a bad word (or expression) and while ignorance isn't an excuse for a lot of things, people have got to understand that it was unintentional and move on. Educate and tolerate. Accept that people don't always know what they are saying and help them to overcome their own ignorance. Don't get all huffy about what someone on TV said and demand a public apology.
Listen, I've made a lot of mistakes traveling to other countries and I can't even count the number of times I must have offended someone by saying something stupid or doing something even worse. And to top it off, I've not apologized to those whom I've offended since I've not known that I've offended them. But hey, at least they are tough enough not to take every little comment as a personal attack on their culture and society.
So America - stop taking everything to heart. You live in a country where free speech is not only allowed but encouraged. It means that you are going to be offended by what people say sometimes. It means you can offend people without fear of going to jail (depending on who you offend). However, it also means that you need to be tolerant of those who say things that you don't agree with. If someone says, "ching chong ching chong" because they don't know a lick of Chinese, accept it and move on. In this case, it was intended as a joke. Laugh at it and move on. Chinese (both versions) is a hard language and the tonal nature of it means that many words sound the same to Westerners. You don't see me getting all pissed at people when I hear someone describe English as two dogs having a conversation (some say that English sounds like a barking dog). I realize that English is a funny language and accept that someone else's perspective is different than mine.
Stop the Political Correctness. Don't be so worried about always saying the right thing, just say WHAT you mean and deal with it later. Holy shit, Americans come across as being the bitchiest, whiniest, non-tolerant bunch of ignorant red-necks on the entire planet. Get over the comment and live your life. Stop worrying about what she said about you or what he said about them and start worrying about the things that ARE important in life. If people spent more time and gave more attention to issues like poverty, homelessness, and lack of a decent standard of health care, imagine what the US could truly be like. Now THAT would be an amazing country.
Monday, November 20, 2006
drilled into me
Ok, so I'm going to have to admit just how much of a marching band nerd that I truly am. I'm not saying that being in a marching band makes you a nerd, to the contrary. The respect that was afforded to me on the campus of Ohio University when I was in the Marching 110 was amazing and I gained non-nerd status at the time. However as time has gone on, I've reverted in my ways and rejoined the ranks of being a nerd. How you ask?
As any person who marches knows, you always start with your left foot so that the downbeat is always made when that foot hits the ground. It was drilled into me so much that its hard to get that out of my head. Throughout my years of marching (high school and college makes 7 years plus the 3 that I was the assistant band director when I was in California makes it an even 10 years), one thing that has always amazed me is how people can get out of step and not know that they are. For me, its just too hard to walk out of beat and just as hard to not hit the downbeat with my left foot. And tonight was no exception.
I was at the gym tonight, on the elliptical trainer, groovin' to the beat. I've stacked my media player with tons of fast paced music that keeps my feet moving at a substantially higher rate than they would if I were not listening to music. But what I noticed tonight made me accept my marching band nerd-ness. I found that no matter what, I was always trying to keep in sync with the music, just like when I marched. Not only that, but I would alter my cadence to ensure that I was getting my left foot to come down on the downbeat! It just felt wrong to have my right foot coming down when I knew that it should be my left. It must be all those years of Pete Ulrich drilling it into my head that left foot = downbeat.
So thanks Pete, you've managed to make my workouts a head game as I attempt to synchronize my feet properly to the music. And I'm probably the laughing stock of the gym as I make that transition because I know I'm not graceful and look as awkward as a middle schooler trying to kiss a girl for the first time. But hey, at least I know I'm a nerd and can live with it, even be a little proud of it because I am a white guy who's got rhythm, in some elementary form...
As any person who marches knows, you always start with your left foot so that the downbeat is always made when that foot hits the ground. It was drilled into me so much that its hard to get that out of my head. Throughout my years of marching (high school and college makes 7 years plus the 3 that I was the assistant band director when I was in California makes it an even 10 years), one thing that has always amazed me is how people can get out of step and not know that they are. For me, its just too hard to walk out of beat and just as hard to not hit the downbeat with my left foot. And tonight was no exception.
I was at the gym tonight, on the elliptical trainer, groovin' to the beat. I've stacked my media player with tons of fast paced music that keeps my feet moving at a substantially higher rate than they would if I were not listening to music. But what I noticed tonight made me accept my marching band nerd-ness. I found that no matter what, I was always trying to keep in sync with the music, just like when I marched. Not only that, but I would alter my cadence to ensure that I was getting my left foot to come down on the downbeat! It just felt wrong to have my right foot coming down when I knew that it should be my left. It must be all those years of Pete Ulrich drilling it into my head that left foot = downbeat.
So thanks Pete, you've managed to make my workouts a head game as I attempt to synchronize my feet properly to the music. And I'm probably the laughing stock of the gym as I make that transition because I know I'm not graceful and look as awkward as a middle schooler trying to kiss a girl for the first time. But hey, at least I know I'm a nerd and can live with it, even be a little proud of it because I am a white guy who's got rhythm, in some elementary form...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
drag your knee
For those who aren't familiar with how fun this picture is, you won't understand why I've posted this shot. There's something to be said for taking a motorcycle through the curves and leaning it WAY over, to the point where your knee is close to draggin' on the ground. You can feel the excitement pulsating through your veins as you hover above the ground and gently torque back the throttle. You exit the corner, accelerating your butt into the back of the saddle, trying desperately to wipe the silly grin off your face so you can concentrate on the next curve just ahead.
Ahh, the joys of motorcycling...
Thursday, November 09, 2006
change in u.s. politics
Congrats to the Dems, you've won back control of the House and the Senate after 12 years of Republican dominance. But this take-over, what does it mean? Somethings to consider...
First - the Democrats of recent have been known as the party without a spine, wishy-washy flim-flams who don't have the balls to stand up with an agenda of their own and get stuff done. Now that the Dems control the Congress, what will they do? I have the feeling that the American public isn't going to wait around and see if you can finally get your shit together. It was because of the lack of decisiveness that helped the GOP get elected in the first place. Time to grow a pair and put the country heading in the right direction.
Second - the right direction doesn't mean having American troops stage a race to see who can get out of Iraq the fastest. I agree that going into Iraq may not have been the best of ideas of President Bush (unless you look at this 'regime change' as a way to lock in an oil source) but pulling out troops just yet is going to lead to bad things. In the absence of a superpower, the vacuum left behind if American troops leave the country will probably produce a bigger threat to America's national security. Leave the troops there but there has to be a better exit plan than the one that is in place at the moment. Dems - its time to grow a pair and tell the CinC in the White House that he needs to get his act together with the troops he commands. There has to be a better strategy for progressive troop withdrawal that still leaves the Iraqi people with a country not mired in civil war.
Third - American politics are just that - American. I'm tired of reading of how the world reacts to our political arena and how everyone is a critic. Ya know what, if you don't like America, don't deal with America. If you don't like the way that Americans do business in the world, then do something about it. America is the superpower in the world right now for a reason, because we have the strongest economy with the greatest spending power, and a vast array of natural resources that drive the country. We also have the greatest military of the era and have spent billions upon billions to make sure that we have one. We are the mightiest because we worked our way to this position and if you don't like what happens in America, then do something about it. Seriously, if you don't like what Bush (or any American president) does, then create your own 'regime change'. Just be prepared to deal with the world's strongest and best funded military (which is at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, the President). If enough countries are really that dissatisfied with how America does things, the US regime could be overthrown - just know that its going to take a war in which many countries are going to need to work together to overthrow the current administration (not just Bush's admin, but any admin) and that there are going to be a lot of casualties. The 3rd Reich was once a mighty power that did a great many things that people didn't like. Eventually the world had had enough of the antics of the Reich and overthrew it. The same thing can happen to the US and probably will one day. But until then, if you're a Frenchman and want to bitch about politics, complain about your own damn country. If you're a Cuban and want to voice your opinion about a dictator, speak up about your own dictator. If you're a North Korean - you've got enough problems to deal with considering the whack-job that is in control of your country so don't even think of talking shit about us. American politics are American and I don't want to hear how other countries want to see a change in our government. Worry about your own country and let the Americans deal with American politics.
I'm done with the rant for now, just needed to vent (especially that last part). Carpe Diem Dems, 'cause you may not get a second chance...
First - the Democrats of recent have been known as the party without a spine, wishy-washy flim-flams who don't have the balls to stand up with an agenda of their own and get stuff done. Now that the Dems control the Congress, what will they do? I have the feeling that the American public isn't going to wait around and see if you can finally get your shit together. It was because of the lack of decisiveness that helped the GOP get elected in the first place. Time to grow a pair and put the country heading in the right direction.
Second - the right direction doesn't mean having American troops stage a race to see who can get out of Iraq the fastest. I agree that going into Iraq may not have been the best of ideas of President Bush (unless you look at this 'regime change' as a way to lock in an oil source) but pulling out troops just yet is going to lead to bad things. In the absence of a superpower, the vacuum left behind if American troops leave the country will probably produce a bigger threat to America's national security. Leave the troops there but there has to be a better exit plan than the one that is in place at the moment. Dems - its time to grow a pair and tell the CinC in the White House that he needs to get his act together with the troops he commands. There has to be a better strategy for progressive troop withdrawal that still leaves the Iraqi people with a country not mired in civil war.
Third - American politics are just that - American. I'm tired of reading of how the world reacts to our political arena and how everyone is a critic. Ya know what, if you don't like America, don't deal with America. If you don't like the way that Americans do business in the world, then do something about it. America is the superpower in the world right now for a reason, because we have the strongest economy with the greatest spending power, and a vast array of natural resources that drive the country. We also have the greatest military of the era and have spent billions upon billions to make sure that we have one. We are the mightiest because we worked our way to this position and if you don't like what happens in America, then do something about it. Seriously, if you don't like what Bush (or any American president) does, then create your own 'regime change'. Just be prepared to deal with the world's strongest and best funded military (which is at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, the President). If enough countries are really that dissatisfied with how America does things, the US regime could be overthrown - just know that its going to take a war in which many countries are going to need to work together to overthrow the current administration (not just Bush's admin, but any admin) and that there are going to be a lot of casualties. The 3rd Reich was once a mighty power that did a great many things that people didn't like. Eventually the world had had enough of the antics of the Reich and overthrew it. The same thing can happen to the US and probably will one day. But until then, if you're a Frenchman and want to bitch about politics, complain about your own damn country. If you're a Cuban and want to voice your opinion about a dictator, speak up about your own dictator. If you're a North Korean - you've got enough problems to deal with considering the whack-job that is in control of your country so don't even think of talking shit about us. American politics are American and I don't want to hear how other countries want to see a change in our government. Worry about your own country and let the Americans deal with American politics.
I'm done with the rant for now, just needed to vent (especially that last part). Carpe Diem Dems, 'cause you may not get a second chance...
Sunday, November 05, 2006
wrong side up
I was asked by a friend of mine to recall my first time "off" the bike - meaning how did I crash. So I wrote down the story and send it to her as she had sent me a story of how she put a Yamaha R1 over a cliff. I thought I would save this story for posterity by putting it up here on my blog. And since its been a while since I've updated, this also serves a secondary purpose (keeping my readers with material).
The year is 2000 and I've been riding for about 5 months. At the time I owned a Suzuki Intruder 800, my first cycle and a nice bike to learn on. It was the end beginning of July, the 3rd to be exact. How do I remember the day so well? Easy - it was the day after my sister got married. The family and friends were gathered in a small town called Idyllwild in the mountains just outside of Palm Springs.
I was taking the bike home to where I lived (near Joshua Tree, CA) and enjoying the curves of the road as I descended down the mountain. A few miles into the trip, a blue BMW Z3 came up behind me, rather fast. I was going at my own pace and I remembered from the MSF training course that the quickest way to crash was to ride outside of your ability range. So I took my time, rode the bike to the best of my ability. The driver of the Z3 wanted to go a bit quicker and decided to pass me on a 100 yard straight-away on the road. As he started to pass, we both noticed an oncoming car. Rather than hit the brakes hard and slow to return to his spot behind me, he moved over back into the right lane, forcing me off the road.
I was fortunate enough that there was gravel by the side of the road as if there wasn't, I doubt I would have slowed down enough to avoid going off the side of the mountain. The front wheel washed out in the gravel and both the cycle and I hit the ground going somewhere around 30-40 mph.
The BMW never slowed, never came back, heck - never even touched the brakes. The oncoming car saw the incident and stopped to help me up. I had smashed the windscreen and lightbar on the bike, my jacket was a little messed up on the right side and my pants were slightly shredded. The bike and I both stopped about 4 feet from the guardrail, both a bit tattered but still in decent enough shape to make it home.
I ripped off the windscreen and got back on the bike after a short break. I got home and put the bike in the garage. My entire right side of my body was bruised but I didn't tell anyone except the girl I was dating at the time. If my parents or sister knew that I had crashed on the way home from her wedding, they would've freaked. So when my uncle punched me in the bicep the next day, I grimmaced and complimented him on how strong he was, not mentioning that I was in true pain from the crash.
But the safety gear did its job and I rode away. And any crash you walk/ride away from...
The year is 2000 and I've been riding for about 5 months. At the time I owned a Suzuki Intruder 800, my first cycle and a nice bike to learn on. It was the end beginning of July, the 3rd to be exact. How do I remember the day so well? Easy - it was the day after my sister got married. The family and friends were gathered in a small town called Idyllwild in the mountains just outside of Palm Springs.
I was taking the bike home to where I lived (near Joshua Tree, CA) and enjoying the curves of the road as I descended down the mountain. A few miles into the trip, a blue BMW Z3 came up behind me, rather fast. I was going at my own pace and I remembered from the MSF training course that the quickest way to crash was to ride outside of your ability range. So I took my time, rode the bike to the best of my ability. The driver of the Z3 wanted to go a bit quicker and decided to pass me on a 100 yard straight-away on the road. As he started to pass, we both noticed an oncoming car. Rather than hit the brakes hard and slow to return to his spot behind me, he moved over back into the right lane, forcing me off the road.
I was fortunate enough that there was gravel by the side of the road as if there wasn't, I doubt I would have slowed down enough to avoid going off the side of the mountain. The front wheel washed out in the gravel and both the cycle and I hit the ground going somewhere around 30-40 mph.
The BMW never slowed, never came back, heck - never even touched the brakes. The oncoming car saw the incident and stopped to help me up. I had smashed the windscreen and lightbar on the bike, my jacket was a little messed up on the right side and my pants were slightly shredded. The bike and I both stopped about 4 feet from the guardrail, both a bit tattered but still in decent enough shape to make it home.
I ripped off the windscreen and got back on the bike after a short break. I got home and put the bike in the garage. My entire right side of my body was bruised but I didn't tell anyone except the girl I was dating at the time. If my parents or sister knew that I had crashed on the way home from her wedding, they would've freaked. So when my uncle punched me in the bicep the next day, I grimmaced and complimented him on how strong he was, not mentioning that I was in true pain from the crash.
But the safety gear did its job and I rode away. And any crash you walk/ride away from...
Sunday, October 15, 2006
a fat ass costs more
Halloween is coming up in the not to distant future and its kind of a big thing here at school. The kids love it because they don't have to wear their uniforms and the staff enjoys it because it allows us to let our hair down for a day. Being one of the new teachers on the block, I wanted to make sure that I fit in with everyone else and so I recently had an appointment with a local seamstress to get a costume made.
The kids here have given me the nickname of Mr. Incredible because they think that I look like said superhero. I'm not going to argue much, there are much worse things that I could be likened to and Mr. Incredible is my kinda superhero. Since this character has become part of my personality here at school, I decided that I would have the seamstress make me a Mr. Incredible costume. I looked online and you can buy them for about US$90 (plus US$25 S&H) but there is only one problem - the costumes are designed for people who aren't really close to Mr. Incredible dimensions. The costume you can buy online only fits people under six feet tall. So I am getting a custom made costume (just like the real Mr. Incredible) and it will actually fit me (unlike what would have happened if I tried to order it in the US).
Luciana came to school (she does a lot of work for the school) and we started to work out what the costume was, how it was going to be made, etc. I asked for some additional muscles (I'm natural in every other way!) to be sewn in to the costume and as she started to take my measurements, she made some mental calculations about how much it was going to cost for my outfit.
After a preliminary set of measurements of my upper body, she quoted me a price of S/ 250 (soles are Peruvian currency) which equates to about US$80. I was happy about it and kinda smiled; what a great deal I was getting.
Then she took the tape and measured the dimensions of my ass.
"Oh Mister, I think I'm going to need much more material, you are a very big man. I think the price is going to be more like S/ 300."
Now if that don't just crush your self-esteem, I don't know what does. She measures my bum and makes the comment about how she is going to need a lot more material - no doubting what that statement conveys...
So yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a lot of "junk in my trunk". Maybe that's why I think J-Lo's posterior looks pretty darn good - its a reflection of my own image. Joy.
The kids here have given me the nickname of Mr. Incredible because they think that I look like said superhero. I'm not going to argue much, there are much worse things that I could be likened to and Mr. Incredible is my kinda superhero. Since this character has become part of my personality here at school, I decided that I would have the seamstress make me a Mr. Incredible costume. I looked online and you can buy them for about US$90 (plus US$25 S&H) but there is only one problem - the costumes are designed for people who aren't really close to Mr. Incredible dimensions. The costume you can buy online only fits people under six feet tall. So I am getting a custom made costume (just like the real Mr. Incredible) and it will actually fit me (unlike what would have happened if I tried to order it in the US).
Luciana came to school (she does a lot of work for the school) and we started to work out what the costume was, how it was going to be made, etc. I asked for some additional muscles (I'm natural in every other way!) to be sewn in to the costume and as she started to take my measurements, she made some mental calculations about how much it was going to cost for my outfit.
After a preliminary set of measurements of my upper body, she quoted me a price of S/ 250 (soles are Peruvian currency) which equates to about US$80. I was happy about it and kinda smiled; what a great deal I was getting.
Then she took the tape and measured the dimensions of my ass.
"Oh Mister, I think I'm going to need much more material, you are a very big man. I think the price is going to be more like S/ 300."
Now if that don't just crush your self-esteem, I don't know what does. She measures my bum and makes the comment about how she is going to need a lot more material - no doubting what that statement conveys...
So yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a lot of "junk in my trunk". Maybe that's why I think J-Lo's posterior looks pretty darn good - its a reflection of my own image. Joy.
Monday, October 02, 2006
i hope to hell there is a hell
Readers will know that from recent posts here, I am not a religious man. I believe that organized religion has been the major sparkplug for conflict in our world almost as long as religion has been spreading its own word. But after the events of the last few days, I do hope that there is a hell and certain people are in it.
I was fortunate enough to find a profession where I enjoy myself and I'm also really good at. I don't complain about my salary because as compared to other professions, I don't work the same number of months of the year that they do. This isn't to say that I don't work the same number of hours, rather I just do it during during a 10 month span instead of 12. I'm ok with doing the work that I do, I love working with teenagers (most people say I'm a glutton for punishment) but hey - there's nobody you'd want with your kid more than me.
Four years ago, I left the desert of southern California and headed out to the international teaching circuit and have been overseas since. I was having a hard time dealing with the status of American schools at the time (especially the one in California I was at) and I left the US to teach abroad. Luckily for me, I found a new sense of joy and pride in my work while working in Holland and at the end of my tenure there, seriously considered returning to the States to live and work.
After what has happened in education over the course of the last week, I'm not sure if I ever want to go back to a school in the US - even if you paid me hazardous duty pay. And like I said in the title to this post, I hope there is a hell and the assholes who committed those atrocities spend a long time down there suffering.
The teenager in Wisconsin who murdered his principal for disciplining him. He needs a serious mental exam and possible banishment to hell. His parents need to take a long look at what they didn't do when he was growing up and question whether or not they should be allowed to raise any more children. I have a good friend of mine that is a principal and gives out discipline to students. I truly worry about him because while a good and decent man, he is seen as a disciplinarian by many and I fear that his life could be in danger if he expels a kid. Imagine this - your life could be in danger for doing your job - even when you're not a member of the military or law enforcement. I pray for you Steve, I really do.
Then the sex-crazed lunatic that busted into a Colorado school to rape and shoot teenage girls - he's another winner of the purgatory award. This sick fuck molested the girls before turning the gun on them and himself. I guess he knew that his life would be a living hell on Earth if he was ever caught and sent to prison - imagine what the inmates would have done to him? Ahhh, only a small sample of the terror that those girls endured when he sodomized them. Send that bastard to hell after the correctional system gets done with him and let his soul think of what it did for a good long time.
And finally, today's crowning achievement - the milk truck driver who executed the young Amish women in Pennsylvania. This asshole needs to spend a long time burning in the depths of hell for his actions. His deep seeded neurosis that he had been wronged 20 years ago comes to fruition and he goes off on the Amish? What on Earth could an Amish person ever could have done to him that made him so whacked out that he would seal himself and the girls in that one room school house and execute them? I don't mean to generalize but the Amish are known as being one of the most kind and docile people of the western world - what could anyone from that community do to him that would make him bind the hands and feet of young girls and put a bullet into their brain? Did someone cut off his milk truck in their buggy? It sounds insane but clearly this guy was so it must have been something totally deranged that put him over the edge. To hell and no coming back for that motherfucker.
Excuse my language but I am passionate about my chosen profession and I, like so many others, are in it for the kids. I want the world to be run by these guys because my generation hasn't done anything to make it a better place. These kids are full of bright and innocent ideas that are pure and idealistic. They haven't been corrupted in their thought by what the status quo is and what other people say they can and can't do. I want kids from the ages of 14 to 18 years old to run the country for four years and see what happens - it can't be any worse than it is right now. And THAT's why I'm in education - to make things better for the future generation that will lead us out of the shittiness we have gotten ourselves into.
But how are they gonna do that if they fear for their lives every day they come to visit me? How can I teach the laws of physics and critical thinking skills when kids (and educators) are more concerned with survival from predators? Schools are soft targets (ever see a military checkpoint outside a school?) and until this generation pulls its collective head out of its collective ass, kids will live in fear of what might happen at school. Imagine Johnny coming home from a day at school and answering the question about how his day went with, "Not too bad, I think. I didn't pay too much attention because Sally got raped by some lunatic who walked into class and Mr. Johnson was stabbed trying to stop him. But that's about it, how was your day?"
I was fortunate enough to find a profession where I enjoy myself and I'm also really good at. I don't complain about my salary because as compared to other professions, I don't work the same number of months of the year that they do. This isn't to say that I don't work the same number of hours, rather I just do it during during a 10 month span instead of 12. I'm ok with doing the work that I do, I love working with teenagers (most people say I'm a glutton for punishment) but hey - there's nobody you'd want with your kid more than me.
Four years ago, I left the desert of southern California and headed out to the international teaching circuit and have been overseas since. I was having a hard time dealing with the status of American schools at the time (especially the one in California I was at) and I left the US to teach abroad. Luckily for me, I found a new sense of joy and pride in my work while working in Holland and at the end of my tenure there, seriously considered returning to the States to live and work.
After what has happened in education over the course of the last week, I'm not sure if I ever want to go back to a school in the US - even if you paid me hazardous duty pay. And like I said in the title to this post, I hope there is a hell and the assholes who committed those atrocities spend a long time down there suffering.
The teenager in Wisconsin who murdered his principal for disciplining him. He needs a serious mental exam and possible banishment to hell. His parents need to take a long look at what they didn't do when he was growing up and question whether or not they should be allowed to raise any more children. I have a good friend of mine that is a principal and gives out discipline to students. I truly worry about him because while a good and decent man, he is seen as a disciplinarian by many and I fear that his life could be in danger if he expels a kid. Imagine this - your life could be in danger for doing your job - even when you're not a member of the military or law enforcement. I pray for you Steve, I really do.
Then the sex-crazed lunatic that busted into a Colorado school to rape and shoot teenage girls - he's another winner of the purgatory award. This sick fuck molested the girls before turning the gun on them and himself. I guess he knew that his life would be a living hell on Earth if he was ever caught and sent to prison - imagine what the inmates would have done to him? Ahhh, only a small sample of the terror that those girls endured when he sodomized them. Send that bastard to hell after the correctional system gets done with him and let his soul think of what it did for a good long time.
And finally, today's crowning achievement - the milk truck driver who executed the young Amish women in Pennsylvania. This asshole needs to spend a long time burning in the depths of hell for his actions. His deep seeded neurosis that he had been wronged 20 years ago comes to fruition and he goes off on the Amish? What on Earth could an Amish person ever could have done to him that made him so whacked out that he would seal himself and the girls in that one room school house and execute them? I don't mean to generalize but the Amish are known as being one of the most kind and docile people of the western world - what could anyone from that community do to him that would make him bind the hands and feet of young girls and put a bullet into their brain? Did someone cut off his milk truck in their buggy? It sounds insane but clearly this guy was so it must have been something totally deranged that put him over the edge. To hell and no coming back for that motherfucker.
Excuse my language but I am passionate about my chosen profession and I, like so many others, are in it for the kids. I want the world to be run by these guys because my generation hasn't done anything to make it a better place. These kids are full of bright and innocent ideas that are pure and idealistic. They haven't been corrupted in their thought by what the status quo is and what other people say they can and can't do. I want kids from the ages of 14 to 18 years old to run the country for four years and see what happens - it can't be any worse than it is right now. And THAT's why I'm in education - to make things better for the future generation that will lead us out of the shittiness we have gotten ourselves into.
But how are they gonna do that if they fear for their lives every day they come to visit me? How can I teach the laws of physics and critical thinking skills when kids (and educators) are more concerned with survival from predators? Schools are soft targets (ever see a military checkpoint outside a school?) and until this generation pulls its collective head out of its collective ass, kids will live in fear of what might happen at school. Imagine Johnny coming home from a day at school and answering the question about how his day went with, "Not too bad, I think. I didn't pay too much attention because Sally got raped by some lunatic who walked into class and Mr. Johnson was stabbed trying to stop him. But that's about it, how was your day?"
Friday, September 29, 2006
mountain excursion (part II)
Once again, forgive me for cutting and pasting from my other blog but this one is even longer than the last and I have no desire to rewrite the whole darn thing.
day 2 of the trip to huaraz was an eventful one indeed. it started out early with a 6am wakeup call for breakfast at 630 and leaving the hostel at 7 for the trip to lago (lake) 69. we had heard that it was a beautiful place to visit and take pictures of so we decided it was worth getting up with the sun in the morning.
the group of 9 of us piled into the van that was taking us to our starting point 3 hours down the road and 800 m higher than huaraz. it was an ok ride there, the lady from seattle was constantly asking to pull over so she could take pictures of the local scenery and it was getting fairly annoying, even for me. the tour guides were getting impatient to get to the start point so we could do the hike and so was i. after some flat and some bumpy roads, we made it into the park where the lake is located and got to our departure spot - located at 3900 m above sea level.
we ate a bit of lunch before and peed on the local trees before heading off on our hike. a conservative estimate said that it would be a 2.5 hour hike up and a 1.5 hour hike back. we were told that the lake was at 4450 m so it didn't look like it was going to be that hard of a hike, only needing to go up another 500 vertical meters. the guides said that it was an easy trail so we didn't expect it to be that hard.
slight problem - we weren't acclimated to the elevation.
we started off and on the relatively flat sections noticed that we had a hard time talking between ourselves for more than 4 or 5 words at a time. there just wasn't the oxygen there to breathe and speak. we tended to get tired quickly yet found that we recovered quickly when we took a break. after about an hour, our group was starting to fragment into the hikers who were doing ok with the altitude and those that were not. i am proud to say that i was in the group that was doing fine and i was setting the pace for the 3 behind me that were all 10 years younger.
there was a flat valley as we approached the 2 hour mark and at that point, we were at 4400 m. with the joy of knowing that we only had another 50 vertical meters to go, the group of 4 headed across the valley and towards the last trail that would take us to the summit of our journey. we came across some people coming down and they said that the view was amazing but the hardest part of the hike was still to come. no problem!!! we weren't that tired and the skies looked clear. for about 10 minutes and then it started to hail. little tiny balls of frozen water bounced off my cap and shirt (notice i didn't say jacket, cuz i didn't bring one) and the sky changed from being a lovely shade of blue with fluffy white clouds to a sunless day with dark rain clouds looming overhead. oh frackin' lovely, i thought. i'm gonna get soaked at altitude without a rain coat and in relative cold (it was around 8 C)...
the last slope was wicked steep with loose rocks and a lot of vertical ground to cover. the 50 m we thought we had to go was a slight (!!!!) understatement and the 4 of us began to splinter into single hikers as we ascended the last slope. i would take 10 steps and stop to catch my breath. i was amazed at how hard it was to breathe, and the pounding in the back of my head from the altitude was getting rather severe as i continued to climb. when i busted out the gps, i noticed that i was at 4500 m and still not anywhere near the top of the hill. i figured out then that it was going to be a long afternoon even though it was only slightly before 1pm.
i managed to push my way up to the top and towards the infamous lago 69. it was a beautiful sight and i would have appreciated it more only i was physically spent. the gps registered the lake as being 4616 m above sea level and it completely felt like it. at this point i was getting nausea from the altitude and couldn't eat the snickers bar that i had brought with me to eat at the summit of the journey. how sad must i be if i can't eat chocolate????
the headache and nausea were too much so i started back down after only being at the lake for about 20 minutes. the signs my body were giving me told me that i needed to get down from that elevation and back to somewhere that i could get oxygen to my muscles (and brain). i began the trek back to the van and found the walk back to be as difficult as the walk up. the rocks were sliding everywhere and i had to take tiny steps to ensure that i didn't bite it and roll my way down the mountain. after a while, my legs started to cramp up from the lack of oxygen in my muscles and things went from bad to worse. i was going slower DOWNHILL than i was when i was going uphill. the fatigue of the hike was setting in and i still had 1000 vertical meters to descend (which should have taken me about an hour). it took closer to 2.
after about 30 minutes of hiking, my brain disconnected. the altitude was getting to me and the constant walking meant that there was a relative lack of oxygen going to my brain. i got to feeling like i was drunk, with a hangover, and in jeopardy of falling off a mountain. not a good combination and the reality of what altitude can do to a person was really sinking in. the slower members of our group were passing me on the way down and noted that i couldn't walk a straight line no matter what the terrain. it was not a good experience and i have a new found appreciation for what high altitude hikers go through. not being acclimated was biting me in the backside and i went from having a pretty good day to a bad one.
the terrain leveled out a little as i got closer to the van and i struck up conversations with anything that would listen. the cows, the burros, my shoes, even my hat (i told you i was in bad shape). and somehow i made it back to the van and collapsed in the front seat with a massive headache and burning desire to vomit. ugh, i definitely was going to remember this experience...
the van departed for huaraz and as we descended back to the normal elevation of where i could breathe, my headache went away and the nausea with it. i never did throw up and somewhere around 3700 m is where i felt like a human again. the ride back to town went well and although i was tired, i wasn't sick. to finish off the day, a couple of us dropped by a local restaurant for some pizza before we hit the sack around 9pm that night. i haven't slept that well in a long time.
day 2 of the trip to huaraz was an eventful one indeed. it started out early with a 6am wakeup call for breakfast at 630 and leaving the hostel at 7 for the trip to lago (lake) 69. we had heard that it was a beautiful place to visit and take pictures of so we decided it was worth getting up with the sun in the morning.
the group of 9 of us piled into the van that was taking us to our starting point 3 hours down the road and 800 m higher than huaraz. it was an ok ride there, the lady from seattle was constantly asking to pull over so she could take pictures of the local scenery and it was getting fairly annoying, even for me. the tour guides were getting impatient to get to the start point so we could do the hike and so was i. after some flat and some bumpy roads, we made it into the park where the lake is located and got to our departure spot - located at 3900 m above sea level.
we ate a bit of lunch before and peed on the local trees before heading off on our hike. a conservative estimate said that it would be a 2.5 hour hike up and a 1.5 hour hike back. we were told that the lake was at 4450 m so it didn't look like it was going to be that hard of a hike, only needing to go up another 500 vertical meters. the guides said that it was an easy trail so we didn't expect it to be that hard.
slight problem - we weren't acclimated to the elevation.
we started off and on the relatively flat sections noticed that we had a hard time talking between ourselves for more than 4 or 5 words at a time. there just wasn't the oxygen there to breathe and speak. we tended to get tired quickly yet found that we recovered quickly when we took a break. after about an hour, our group was starting to fragment into the hikers who were doing ok with the altitude and those that were not. i am proud to say that i was in the group that was doing fine and i was setting the pace for the 3 behind me that were all 10 years younger.
there was a flat valley as we approached the 2 hour mark and at that point, we were at 4400 m. with the joy of knowing that we only had another 50 vertical meters to go, the group of 4 headed across the valley and towards the last trail that would take us to the summit of our journey. we came across some people coming down and they said that the view was amazing but the hardest part of the hike was still to come. no problem!!! we weren't that tired and the skies looked clear. for about 10 minutes and then it started to hail. little tiny balls of frozen water bounced off my cap and shirt (notice i didn't say jacket, cuz i didn't bring one) and the sky changed from being a lovely shade of blue with fluffy white clouds to a sunless day with dark rain clouds looming overhead. oh frackin' lovely, i thought. i'm gonna get soaked at altitude without a rain coat and in relative cold (it was around 8 C)...
the last slope was wicked steep with loose rocks and a lot of vertical ground to cover. the 50 m we thought we had to go was a slight (!!!!) understatement and the 4 of us began to splinter into single hikers as we ascended the last slope. i would take 10 steps and stop to catch my breath. i was amazed at how hard it was to breathe, and the pounding in the back of my head from the altitude was getting rather severe as i continued to climb. when i busted out the gps, i noticed that i was at 4500 m and still not anywhere near the top of the hill. i figured out then that it was going to be a long afternoon even though it was only slightly before 1pm.
i managed to push my way up to the top and towards the infamous lago 69. it was a beautiful sight and i would have appreciated it more only i was physically spent. the gps registered the lake as being 4616 m above sea level and it completely felt like it. at this point i was getting nausea from the altitude and couldn't eat the snickers bar that i had brought with me to eat at the summit of the journey. how sad must i be if i can't eat chocolate????
the headache and nausea were too much so i started back down after only being at the lake for about 20 minutes. the signs my body were giving me told me that i needed to get down from that elevation and back to somewhere that i could get oxygen to my muscles (and brain). i began the trek back to the van and found the walk back to be as difficult as the walk up. the rocks were sliding everywhere and i had to take tiny steps to ensure that i didn't bite it and roll my way down the mountain. after a while, my legs started to cramp up from the lack of oxygen in my muscles and things went from bad to worse. i was going slower DOWNHILL than i was when i was going uphill. the fatigue of the hike was setting in and i still had 1000 vertical meters to descend (which should have taken me about an hour). it took closer to 2.
after about 30 minutes of hiking, my brain disconnected. the altitude was getting to me and the constant walking meant that there was a relative lack of oxygen going to my brain. i got to feeling like i was drunk, with a hangover, and in jeopardy of falling off a mountain. not a good combination and the reality of what altitude can do to a person was really sinking in. the slower members of our group were passing me on the way down and noted that i couldn't walk a straight line no matter what the terrain. it was not a good experience and i have a new found appreciation for what high altitude hikers go through. not being acclimated was biting me in the backside and i went from having a pretty good day to a bad one.
the terrain leveled out a little as i got closer to the van and i struck up conversations with anything that would listen. the cows, the burros, my shoes, even my hat (i told you i was in bad shape). and somehow i made it back to the van and collapsed in the front seat with a massive headache and burning desire to vomit. ugh, i definitely was going to remember this experience...
the van departed for huaraz and as we descended back to the normal elevation of where i could breathe, my headache went away and the nausea with it. i never did throw up and somewhere around 3700 m is where i felt like a human again. the ride back to town went well and although i was tired, i wasn't sick. to finish off the day, a couple of us dropped by a local restaurant for some pizza before we hit the sack around 9pm that night. i haven't slept that well in a long time.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
olympic home
I would just like to say hello to the reader from Lake Placid, NY. I don't know who you are (and would love to find out) but wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite places in NY. I lived in Saratoga for a short time and made it up to Lake Placid once while I lived there, a great little town indeed...
Not only is Lake Placid the home to Whiteface Mountain and the awesome skiing that the mountain provides but its also home to my favorite sporting event in history - the Miracle on Ice. Disney went on to make it into a movie (which I've watched too many times) but I still remember being a kid and watching the game live on a tiny B&W TV in my parents bedroom. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!!"
So to the reader from Lake Placid, thanks for tuning in and giving my blog a read. Better yet, thanks for reminding me of a wonderful place in New York. :)
The reader from Lake Placid can reach me at cavaliers948@gmail.com
Not only is Lake Placid the home to Whiteface Mountain and the awesome skiing that the mountain provides but its also home to my favorite sporting event in history - the Miracle on Ice. Disney went on to make it into a movie (which I've watched too many times) but I still remember being a kid and watching the game live on a tiny B&W TV in my parents bedroom. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!!"
So to the reader from Lake Placid, thanks for tuning in and giving my blog a read. Better yet, thanks for reminding me of a wonderful place in New York. :)
The reader from Lake Placid can reach me at cavaliers948@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
to the mountains!
I'm too lazy to type this again so here's a copy of what I wrote on my other blog about the recent trip to Huaraz I made with some other teachers. It will come in a few parts, so be patient while I get them all written. Cheers!
a group of us met at the bus station for our night-long journey to huaraz. the trip takes about 8 hours (350 km) and we booked our seats on a sleeper-bus. the chairs are big and comfy, reclining most of the way to horizontal to make it as nice as possible to sleep. i got stuck sitting next to the freaky woman from seattle who wanted the window seat yet constantly needed to pee. gee, thanks for that...
but i got some z's and was awakened at 7am on thursday morning when we arrived in huaraz. after getting off the bus, the first thing i noticed was how hard it was to get my breath. sure enough, 3100 m (10 000 ft) above sea level will do that to you. our group of 6 headed off to our hotel (hostel) to drop off our stuff and set off for the day. the crazy pee-woman from seattle had some idea of stuff to do for the day and so we followed this lady on her expedition to buy native goods.
what a mistake THAT turned out to be...
she said there was an artist's colony in some town called marcara, so we went there. it turns out that the place is there but doesn't allow visitors - they sell their goods in another town. so we piled back into a taxi cab and went to monterrey; another 25 minutes in a cab. we get there and have lunch before heading off to the artist's shop only to find out from the locals that the shop is actually a bunch of shops that are located up the road. grrrrr - we are not happy at this point. so she and some others head off to the hot springs that are in this small village (population 30, maybe...) while the rest of us decide to head back to huaraz to get a nap and relax for a bit.
so kelsey (a student teacher at the school) and i hop into a combi to head back into huaraz. what is a combi? its a mini-van that fits 17 people but are known to cram well over 20 people (like 27) into it. the cost to get to monterrey by cab - 25 soles. the cost to get back to huaraz from monterrey by combi - 1 sole. nothing like travelling like the natives - a true peruvian experience.
we all met at the hotel and relaxed for the afternoon, wandering about to take some pictures and shop at the local stores. alpaca (llama) sweaters and hats and all the other local wares were to be found. i think i found one in orange, i wonder if anyone would be interested in it... in any case, some shopping and some dinner eventually led us to planning the next day, a trip to lago 69 up in the mountains near huscaran (a glacier). friday was going to be a long day so we hit the sack earlier and prepared for our trek up to 4450 m.
details on the trip to lago 69 and the rest of the mountain expedition later.
a group of us met at the bus station for our night-long journey to huaraz. the trip takes about 8 hours (350 km) and we booked our seats on a sleeper-bus. the chairs are big and comfy, reclining most of the way to horizontal to make it as nice as possible to sleep. i got stuck sitting next to the freaky woman from seattle who wanted the window seat yet constantly needed to pee. gee, thanks for that...
but i got some z's and was awakened at 7am on thursday morning when we arrived in huaraz. after getting off the bus, the first thing i noticed was how hard it was to get my breath. sure enough, 3100 m (10 000 ft) above sea level will do that to you. our group of 6 headed off to our hotel (hostel) to drop off our stuff and set off for the day. the crazy pee-woman from seattle had some idea of stuff to do for the day and so we followed this lady on her expedition to buy native goods.
what a mistake THAT turned out to be...
she said there was an artist's colony in some town called marcara, so we went there. it turns out that the place is there but doesn't allow visitors - they sell their goods in another town. so we piled back into a taxi cab and went to monterrey; another 25 minutes in a cab. we get there and have lunch before heading off to the artist's shop only to find out from the locals that the shop is actually a bunch of shops that are located up the road. grrrrr - we are not happy at this point. so she and some others head off to the hot springs that are in this small village (population 30, maybe...) while the rest of us decide to head back to huaraz to get a nap and relax for a bit.
so kelsey (a student teacher at the school) and i hop into a combi to head back into huaraz. what is a combi? its a mini-van that fits 17 people but are known to cram well over 20 people (like 27) into it. the cost to get to monterrey by cab - 25 soles. the cost to get back to huaraz from monterrey by combi - 1 sole. nothing like travelling like the natives - a true peruvian experience.
we all met at the hotel and relaxed for the afternoon, wandering about to take some pictures and shop at the local stores. alpaca (llama) sweaters and hats and all the other local wares were to be found. i think i found one in orange, i wonder if anyone would be interested in it... in any case, some shopping and some dinner eventually led us to planning the next day, a trip to lago 69 up in the mountains near huscaran (a glacier). friday was going to be a long day so we hit the sack earlier and prepared for our trek up to 4450 m.
details on the trip to lago 69 and the rest of the mountain expedition later.
Monday, September 18, 2006
the crusades - *new and improved*
So here we go again, it seems as though just when you thought that the role of religion couldn't be used any more for non-sense, the latest bout of Islam vs. Christianity features the Pope's recent comments being used as fuel for the fire. Coming soon to a mixed neighborhood near you - the Crusades *new and improved*...
Once again, people are inciting the belief in their god as the reason why they should go forth and kill everyone else who has different beliefs. I think that historians will look back at this time in history as the time when over-population was controlled through the culling of humans through the process of war. Look back at the last hundred years and think of the hundreds of millions of people who have been killed for a set of beliefs. Nowadays it seems as though if any person wants to go kill someone else for whatever reason, they just claim 1) their god told them to do it or 2) their god is offended by the existance of infidels.
I'm going to go out and say it - organized religion is a bunch of crap and people need to stop listening to their leaders who base their decisions on what they interpret as what god wants. George Bush said that god told him to invade Iraq, Islamist fundamentalists say that Zionists are to be wiped off the face of the Earth because they are... Jewish? Ya know, in the past when people said they heard voices telling them what to do, we medicated the shit out of them, put them in "hug-me" jackets, and watched them roll around rooms with padded wallpaper through a slot in the door.
Now it seems like we are following the crazies to their own personal insanity. Since when did people lose sight of the fact that any creator, regardless of religion, gave us the ability to reason and determine who the crazies were? As far as organized religion is concerned, aren't the level-headed, god-fearing people of the community supposed to take care of those who can't seem to grasp reality?
Its no shock that I am agnostic, religion in its current form has just totally turned me off of a certain belief system. I believe that there is a creator (the universe didn't come from nowhere) but I am tired of the dogma that religious people subscribe to without even critically thinking about where that idea originated. Christ wasn't born in December and Mohammed probably didn't mind his picture being drawn (as long as it wasn't a caricature). To all the leaders in organized religion - GET OVER YOURSELF AND YOUR SUPREMACY ISSUES! No religion is the only way to "heaven" and stop killing people in the name of your beliefs. You don't see me running around and cutting off all your penises (or is it peni?) because I don't think you should be allowed to reproduce and spread your ideas, do ya? Its called tolerance folks and EVERY RELIGION PREACHES IT. Pay attention to your own beliefs and don't worry so much about the other guy, he's got his own godly problems to deal with.
Once again, people are inciting the belief in their god as the reason why they should go forth and kill everyone else who has different beliefs. I think that historians will look back at this time in history as the time when over-population was controlled through the culling of humans through the process of war. Look back at the last hundred years and think of the hundreds of millions of people who have been killed for a set of beliefs. Nowadays it seems as though if any person wants to go kill someone else for whatever reason, they just claim 1) their god told them to do it or 2) their god is offended by the existance of infidels.
I'm going to go out and say it - organized religion is a bunch of crap and people need to stop listening to their leaders who base their decisions on what they interpret as what god wants. George Bush said that god told him to invade Iraq, Islamist fundamentalists say that Zionists are to be wiped off the face of the Earth because they are... Jewish? Ya know, in the past when people said they heard voices telling them what to do, we medicated the shit out of them, put them in "hug-me" jackets, and watched them roll around rooms with padded wallpaper through a slot in the door.
Now it seems like we are following the crazies to their own personal insanity. Since when did people lose sight of the fact that any creator, regardless of religion, gave us the ability to reason and determine who the crazies were? As far as organized religion is concerned, aren't the level-headed, god-fearing people of the community supposed to take care of those who can't seem to grasp reality?
Its no shock that I am agnostic, religion in its current form has just totally turned me off of a certain belief system. I believe that there is a creator (the universe didn't come from nowhere) but I am tired of the dogma that religious people subscribe to without even critically thinking about where that idea originated. Christ wasn't born in December and Mohammed probably didn't mind his picture being drawn (as long as it wasn't a caricature). To all the leaders in organized religion - GET OVER YOURSELF AND YOUR SUPREMACY ISSUES! No religion is the only way to "heaven" and stop killing people in the name of your beliefs. You don't see me running around and cutting off all your penises (or is it peni?) because I don't think you should be allowed to reproduce and spread your ideas, do ya? Its called tolerance folks and EVERY RELIGION PREACHES IT. Pay attention to your own beliefs and don't worry so much about the other guy, he's got his own godly problems to deal with.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
small and insignificant
Now here's a video that will let you know just how small we really are in the big scheme of things...
Friday, September 01, 2006
where does it hurt?
The answer to that question is simply, "between my ears". Today was my first foray into the medical system of Peru, a journey into the surreal for me.
Last Saturday I strained my elbow while playing softball. It hurt like a son-of-a-gun at the time that I did it and I knew I had to get it checked out by a professional. Its amazing - the three years I was in Holland, I only had to go to the doctor once and that was because I got hit by a car. I'm in Peru for a little over a month and I've already managed to ding myself up. Nice job there sport-o.
The precedent has already been set for how bad my spanish is as my current hairstyle reflects. So I had no problems with asking others for a little help with arranging an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. I was given the number by someone at school and after having no luck with getting an appointment with him, I was referred to another doctor who was able to see me today. At the conclusion of the day, I packed my bag and headed to the Clinica San Borja to meet with my doctor - Dr. Diaz.
I had no idea that the clinic was just part of the adjoining hospital and never even thought that there would be more than one Dr. Diaz. Ummm, yeah - one should never assume that of a last name like Diaz in a latin country. The clinic is seven stories tall and has doctors ranging from neurology to podiatry and every body part in between. When I walked in, I was greeted by a gentleman who I was hoping would steer me towards the elevators and tell me what floor to get off on. Nope, he put me in the line to get medical insurance sorted out (b/c that was his job) and after standing in the insurance line for a few minutes, I was directed to go see someone else since I evidently didn't have all the correct paperwork.
So I made my way through the blue door with the smiley face on it and sat down to talk with Karina. Not the Karina from my previous posting, but the Karina that works at the clinic. Her job was to figure out how I was going to get my insurance to cover the cost of the consultation and being the efficient worker that she was, she also spoke so fast that I could barely understand my own name being read to me.
I must have gone wide-eyed and had a total look of bewilderment on my face because she looked at me and said (in spanish), "Do you understand what I am saying?"
I replied in my best gringo-accented spanish, "No, could you say that again slower and in smaller words. My spanish is bad because I have live here only for one month." Upon hearing this, she repeated everything she had said earlier - only faster. I guess she enjoyed watching my eyes glaze over as she rambled away, it musta been fun to watch the white guy with his master's degree sit there in total befuddlement - I would have probably done the same if I were in her shoes.
We eventually figured out that I had to pay the doctor's fee up front and then be reimbursed by my insurance company. With that in hand, I finally got to make my way towards the elevators that I was hoping to ride 45 minutes earlier. I made my way up to the 7th floor where I was greeted by another gentleman - and yes, I was a bit nervous about talking with him b/c I thought he might send me back downstairs. He pointed me to the right desk and I walked over to check in with the receptionist.
"Hello, may I help you?" Oh thank God!!! Someone who speaks English!!! "Yes, I am here for my appointment, my name is Expat Nomad and I have a 4pm appointment." By the way, it was 5 pm when I said this to her. "Yes Mr. Nomad, Dr. Diaz will see you now."
I walked off the elevator and into his office for a brief consultation that resulted in some guy telling me (in English too!) the same thing that I figured out on the internet - I have tennis elbow. He gave me a prescription to reduce the swelling, told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks and that I should come back in a week to see him. I paid my S/ 170 (170 soles is about $60 USD) and hopped in a cab to head home. I was tired of using my brain for the day and flopped into the back seat and spoke only to the driver when I needed to tell him what street to turn on to get me home.
But I'm better off. I've been told by a licensed professional exactly what is wrong with me and what I can do to fix it. The hard part is going to be staying away from sports for the next couple of weeks until this heals. Grrrr!!!
Oh well, gotta run for now. I need to get some sleep, I've got a softball game in the morning...
Last Saturday I strained my elbow while playing softball. It hurt like a son-of-a-gun at the time that I did it and I knew I had to get it checked out by a professional. Its amazing - the three years I was in Holland, I only had to go to the doctor once and that was because I got hit by a car. I'm in Peru for a little over a month and I've already managed to ding myself up. Nice job there sport-o.
The precedent has already been set for how bad my spanish is as my current hairstyle reflects. So I had no problems with asking others for a little help with arranging an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. I was given the number by someone at school and after having no luck with getting an appointment with him, I was referred to another doctor who was able to see me today. At the conclusion of the day, I packed my bag and headed to the Clinica San Borja to meet with my doctor - Dr. Diaz.
I had no idea that the clinic was just part of the adjoining hospital and never even thought that there would be more than one Dr. Diaz. Ummm, yeah - one should never assume that of a last name like Diaz in a latin country. The clinic is seven stories tall and has doctors ranging from neurology to podiatry and every body part in between. When I walked in, I was greeted by a gentleman who I was hoping would steer me towards the elevators and tell me what floor to get off on. Nope, he put me in the line to get medical insurance sorted out (b/c that was his job) and after standing in the insurance line for a few minutes, I was directed to go see someone else since I evidently didn't have all the correct paperwork.
So I made my way through the blue door with the smiley face on it and sat down to talk with Karina. Not the Karina from my previous posting, but the Karina that works at the clinic. Her job was to figure out how I was going to get my insurance to cover the cost of the consultation and being the efficient worker that she was, she also spoke so fast that I could barely understand my own name being read to me.
I must have gone wide-eyed and had a total look of bewilderment on my face because she looked at me and said (in spanish), "Do you understand what I am saying?"
I replied in my best gringo-accented spanish, "No, could you say that again slower and in smaller words. My spanish is bad because I have live here only for one month." Upon hearing this, she repeated everything she had said earlier - only faster. I guess she enjoyed watching my eyes glaze over as she rambled away, it musta been fun to watch the white guy with his master's degree sit there in total befuddlement - I would have probably done the same if I were in her shoes.
We eventually figured out that I had to pay the doctor's fee up front and then be reimbursed by my insurance company. With that in hand, I finally got to make my way towards the elevators that I was hoping to ride 45 minutes earlier. I made my way up to the 7th floor where I was greeted by another gentleman - and yes, I was a bit nervous about talking with him b/c I thought he might send me back downstairs. He pointed me to the right desk and I walked over to check in with the receptionist.
"Hello, may I help you?" Oh thank God!!! Someone who speaks English!!! "Yes, I am here for my appointment, my name is Expat Nomad and I have a 4pm appointment." By the way, it was 5 pm when I said this to her. "Yes Mr. Nomad, Dr. Diaz will see you now."
I walked off the elevator and into his office for a brief consultation that resulted in some guy telling me (in English too!) the same thing that I figured out on the internet - I have tennis elbow. He gave me a prescription to reduce the swelling, told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks and that I should come back in a week to see him. I paid my S/ 170 (170 soles is about $60 USD) and hopped in a cab to head home. I was tired of using my brain for the day and flopped into the back seat and spoke only to the driver when I needed to tell him what street to turn on to get me home.
But I'm better off. I've been told by a licensed professional exactly what is wrong with me and what I can do to fix it. The hard part is going to be staying away from sports for the next couple of weeks until this heals. Grrrr!!!
Oh well, gotta run for now. I need to get some sleep, I've got a softball game in the morning...
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
small, small world
So I had a pretty surreal experience last night. I found out just how amazingly small this world really is.
My co-worker Karina who lives above me in my apartment building had a guest stop in for a few days. She is a friend of Karina's family back in Colorado and was traveling around South America when she stumbled into some medical problems. Friends of the family are always great, you've never met them but you need to treat them like a long-lost relative even though you'll probably never see them again.
In any case, I stopped by to show Karina my new horrible haircut (my spanish DEFINITELY needs to improve) and get a woman's opinion about the extent of the damage. After I was assured by Karina that it wasn't too bad, she got a phone call and took it in another room. This left me alone with the familial friend, Mandee.
I found out that Mandee was a fellow international educator although not in the same vein as Karina and I are in. She teaches ESL to Bosnians in a language institute. We got to talking about how she got into the field since most people from Colorado don't rush off to Bosnia to teach ESL. It eventually came out that she had lived overseas as a kid (just like me) and chose her profession based on the idea of continuing to travel. Being the curious person I am, I asked her where she had lived and was surprised that we had a common school from our history - Jakarta Embassy School.
International educators will recognize that this is not the current name of the school in Jakarta currently - but it was the name of it back in the 1970s. I asked her when she was there and it turns out that we attended the same school at the same time! How amazingly weird! I've found this woman who went to the same school as I did 30 years ago.
I had goosebumps at this moment and couldn't resist asking her a question that men are never supposed to ask women, "How old are you?" When she replied that she and I were the same age, I was absolutely floored. At that moment we both realized that we were classmates from Kindergarden and 1st grade!!! Now THAT's something I never would have expected to happen on the average Tuesday night.
What a small world indeed...
My co-worker Karina who lives above me in my apartment building had a guest stop in for a few days. She is a friend of Karina's family back in Colorado and was traveling around South America when she stumbled into some medical problems. Friends of the family are always great, you've never met them but you need to treat them like a long-lost relative even though you'll probably never see them again.
In any case, I stopped by to show Karina my new horrible haircut (my spanish DEFINITELY needs to improve) and get a woman's opinion about the extent of the damage. After I was assured by Karina that it wasn't too bad, she got a phone call and took it in another room. This left me alone with the familial friend, Mandee.
I found out that Mandee was a fellow international educator although not in the same vein as Karina and I are in. She teaches ESL to Bosnians in a language institute. We got to talking about how she got into the field since most people from Colorado don't rush off to Bosnia to teach ESL. It eventually came out that she had lived overseas as a kid (just like me) and chose her profession based on the idea of continuing to travel. Being the curious person I am, I asked her where she had lived and was surprised that we had a common school from our history - Jakarta Embassy School.
International educators will recognize that this is not the current name of the school in Jakarta currently - but it was the name of it back in the 1970s. I asked her when she was there and it turns out that we attended the same school at the same time! How amazingly weird! I've found this woman who went to the same school as I did 30 years ago.
I had goosebumps at this moment and couldn't resist asking her a question that men are never supposed to ask women, "How old are you?" When she replied that she and I were the same age, I was absolutely floored. At that moment we both realized that we were classmates from Kindergarden and 1st grade!!! Now THAT's something I never would have expected to happen on the average Tuesday night.
What a small world indeed...
Sunday, August 20, 2006
the power of being bilingual
Its been a month now since I've moved to Peru and I must admit, I am having a great time. Now if only I could find the time to actually get work done. Even now, at 8:45 on a Sunday night, I am finding it hard to concentrate on the task at hand and find myself making an entry here instead of doing my work. I guess those habits learned as a kid die hard...
I just got back from a brief shopping expedition. I needed to get some new shoes for VB practice and I also grabbed a new nalgene bottle so I can drink some water at work while I teach. I walked over to Larco Mar - an upscale shopping area here in Miraflores and made my purchases. The fun part - I never spoke a word of english in the process and I feel really good about that. There's something gratifying about speaking the native tongue and conversing in another language.
Long time (or even somewhat recent) readers will recall my former position was in another overseas school, in Holland. They speak another language there and yet I never made any post about speaking Dutch over the last 18 months. Truth be told, I was one of the many English speakers in the Netherlands that never learned to speak Dutch simply because I was never required to since almost everyone speaks English. That isn't the case here in Peru. Almost no one speaks English and if you don't have a basic understanding of Spanish, you're sunk.
I was fortunate enough to grow up overseas and having lived in Mexico for two years back in the early 80s, I learned to speak a little Spanish. Thanks to Mrs. Huijsman at ASF in Mexico City for making this transition to Peru a little bit easier. *Odd note - Mrs. Huijsman was my Spanish teacher yet her name is Dutch; mere coincidence?* I can't imagine what it must be like for the other newbies here that don't speak a lick of Spanish. I mean, I know what its like to feel totally isolated because you don't speak the language so I guess I can imagine but its still not something that I want to relive at the current moment.
So even though tonight's shopping expedition wasn't the most trying of situations to need another language, I still did enjoy it. Just like the conversations that I have with the cab drivers (except the one about American politics - I never learned those words from Mrs. Huijsman and found it difficult to express my true opinion) and the maid and the other locals that I've bumped into, I find it nice to have the background that I do in Spanish and a little comforting to know that I can at least carry on a conversation as if I were a 10 year-old native speaker.
A 10 year-old with a wicked sense of humor... ;)
So to all those out there who haven't learned a second language I give you this little piece of advice - try one on for size. Its truly an empowering experience.
I just got back from a brief shopping expedition. I needed to get some new shoes for VB practice and I also grabbed a new nalgene bottle so I can drink some water at work while I teach. I walked over to Larco Mar - an upscale shopping area here in Miraflores and made my purchases. The fun part - I never spoke a word of english in the process and I feel really good about that. There's something gratifying about speaking the native tongue and conversing in another language.
Long time (or even somewhat recent) readers will recall my former position was in another overseas school, in Holland. They speak another language there and yet I never made any post about speaking Dutch over the last 18 months. Truth be told, I was one of the many English speakers in the Netherlands that never learned to speak Dutch simply because I was never required to since almost everyone speaks English. That isn't the case here in Peru. Almost no one speaks English and if you don't have a basic understanding of Spanish, you're sunk.
I was fortunate enough to grow up overseas and having lived in Mexico for two years back in the early 80s, I learned to speak a little Spanish. Thanks to Mrs. Huijsman at ASF in Mexico City for making this transition to Peru a little bit easier. *Odd note - Mrs. Huijsman was my Spanish teacher yet her name is Dutch; mere coincidence?* I can't imagine what it must be like for the other newbies here that don't speak a lick of Spanish. I mean, I know what its like to feel totally isolated because you don't speak the language so I guess I can imagine but its still not something that I want to relive at the current moment.
So even though tonight's shopping expedition wasn't the most trying of situations to need another language, I still did enjoy it. Just like the conversations that I have with the cab drivers (except the one about American politics - I never learned those words from Mrs. Huijsman and found it difficult to express my true opinion) and the maid and the other locals that I've bumped into, I find it nice to have the background that I do in Spanish and a little comforting to know that I can at least carry on a conversation as if I were a 10 year-old native speaker.
A 10 year-old with a wicked sense of humor... ;)
So to all those out there who haven't learned a second language I give you this little piece of advice - try one on for size. Its truly an empowering experience.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
home to pedophilia
Ok, so its been a while since I've updated and I should be writing more about my arrival in Peru and all the changes that have been happening since I arrived. I know I should be doing that but honestly, I've not been in the mood to reflect on all that at the moment. Instead, I question the reputation of my chosen profession with the public at large.
I just got done reading that the found the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey - a grade school teacher named John Karr. He fled the US to avoid the investigation and tried to get a job - teaching - in Thailand. Its yet another case of a terrible thing happening to a child by a person who is an educator. Why is it that this profession is always making the headlines with child molesters and murderers topping the charts?
I'm a professional through and through. I wear a tie at least 4 out of 5 days in the week to look like a professional. I am prepared for my job on a daily basis and always ready to help a child learn. I spend extra time with them when the concept isn't completely understood, sometimes meeting with them after school. But because this profession is a great place for pedophiles to find prey, I worry that the parents of my children will assume the worst when I spend extra time with their child.
Many people say that teaching is a noble profession and that I should be proud to be such an influence in the lives of youth. After the incidents involving Mary Kay Letourneau, Debbie Lafave, and so many male pedophiles (so many that I can't even begin to name them all), how am I to feel any honor in my profession? I know that 99.9% of teachers are decent, kind, caring individuals who know to keep their privates private, I'm just tired of the teaching trade getting the reputation as the place where pedophiles can get their fix.
I swear there should be a more severe punishment for teachers who do such things with children. We are entrusted with children and their well-being, maybe if some form of neutering was involved with punishment, people would think more about becoming a pedophile while being a teacher. I'm not one to want more rules or laws in the world but c'mon, what needs to happen to someone to deter them from hurting a child when they are in a position of trust?
I just got done reading that the found the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey - a grade school teacher named John Karr. He fled the US to avoid the investigation and tried to get a job - teaching - in Thailand. Its yet another case of a terrible thing happening to a child by a person who is an educator. Why is it that this profession is always making the headlines with child molesters and murderers topping the charts?
I'm a professional through and through. I wear a tie at least 4 out of 5 days in the week to look like a professional. I am prepared for my job on a daily basis and always ready to help a child learn. I spend extra time with them when the concept isn't completely understood, sometimes meeting with them after school. But because this profession is a great place for pedophiles to find prey, I worry that the parents of my children will assume the worst when I spend extra time with their child.
Many people say that teaching is a noble profession and that I should be proud to be such an influence in the lives of youth. After the incidents involving Mary Kay Letourneau, Debbie Lafave, and so many male pedophiles (so many that I can't even begin to name them all), how am I to feel any honor in my profession? I know that 99.9% of teachers are decent, kind, caring individuals who know to keep their privates private, I'm just tired of the teaching trade getting the reputation as the place where pedophiles can get their fix.
I swear there should be a more severe punishment for teachers who do such things with children. We are entrusted with children and their well-being, maybe if some form of neutering was involved with punishment, people would think more about becoming a pedophile while being a teacher. I'm not one to want more rules or laws in the world but c'mon, what needs to happen to someone to deter them from hurting a child when they are in a position of trust?
Friday, July 28, 2006
south of the border
So here I am, finally in the land of Peru. Its been a while since I have had a chance to put in an entry so I thought I would tell of an interesting day I had about a week ago. It was my first day in Peru and our group of newbies had a trip around Lima arranged. We were taken to some of the sights by a local and told a little about the history of Peru.
Our first stop was at an archeological find just outside of downtown Lima. We were shown the remains of a wall that was built around the old city as a means of protection. From what you might ask? Well, pirates of course! You know, the infamous pirates like Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Francis Drake.
Yup, this version of history portrays the "explorers" of the western world as being pirates who were only set on plundering the gold that the Incas had. Gotta protect them riches!
But as the tour continued, it was explained to us that Lima was not an Incan city (such as the legendary Machu Pichu) but rather a Spanish built city on the coast. The tour guide was proud to point out that the Spanish that came to modern-day Peru were not conquerors but rather people settling an uninhabited land. Afterall, the Incas were hundreds of miles (or kilometers) away in Machu Pichu and they weren't doing any harm to the Incas, right?
Here's where history takes a little detour in my book. I was taught that the Spaniards that came to the New World were called "Conquistadores" and did a demo job on the natives of the continents via swords, guns, and germs. A relative few did a massive number on the native populations and thereby inhabited the region. Hence how they got the gold from the Incas, right?
But wait, who's right in this case? What is the real version of history? Is this woman (of Spanish descent) correct in her telling of what she had been taught? Did the Spaniards and Incas live in harmony (except the whole "germ" thing) and have I been misled all these years? And are "great explorers" like Cavendish and Drake really just pirates? The walls were built for a reason - to keep someone out, but who? Did the walls go up to protect them from pirates or Incas who desired their gold back?
All very interesting questions indeed...
Our first stop was at an archeological find just outside of downtown Lima. We were shown the remains of a wall that was built around the old city as a means of protection. From what you might ask? Well, pirates of course! You know, the infamous pirates like Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Francis Drake.
Yup, this version of history portrays the "explorers" of the western world as being pirates who were only set on plundering the gold that the Incas had. Gotta protect them riches!
But as the tour continued, it was explained to us that Lima was not an Incan city (such as the legendary Machu Pichu) but rather a Spanish built city on the coast. The tour guide was proud to point out that the Spanish that came to modern-day Peru were not conquerors but rather people settling an uninhabited land. Afterall, the Incas were hundreds of miles (or kilometers) away in Machu Pichu and they weren't doing any harm to the Incas, right?
Here's where history takes a little detour in my book. I was taught that the Spaniards that came to the New World were called "Conquistadores" and did a demo job on the natives of the continents via swords, guns, and germs. A relative few did a massive number on the native populations and thereby inhabited the region. Hence how they got the gold from the Incas, right?
But wait, who's right in this case? What is the real version of history? Is this woman (of Spanish descent) correct in her telling of what she had been taught? Did the Spaniards and Incas live in harmony (except the whole "germ" thing) and have I been misled all these years? And are "great explorers" like Cavendish and Drake really just pirates? The walls were built for a reason - to keep someone out, but who? Did the walls go up to protect them from pirates or Incas who desired their gold back?
All very interesting questions indeed...
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
bling
I don't quite agree with what the rest of the bike has on it but that front wheel is BLING baby!!!!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
happy trails
I do believe the boys from Van Halen said it best...
Nmmmmmm dip dip Mmmmnnnnmm
Bum-ba-deeda-bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda (continued throughout)
Happy trails to you
Until we meet again
Happy trails to you
Keep smilin' until then
Who (Ooh-ooh) cares about the clouds when we're together
Just (Ahh-ahh-ahh) sing a song and think 'bout sunny weather
(two, three)
Happy trails to you
'Til we meet again
Nmmmmmm dip dip Mmmmnnnnmm
Bum-ba-deeda-bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda bum-ba-deeda (continued throughout)
Happy trails to you
Until we meet again
Happy trails to you
Keep smilin' until then
Who (Ooh-ooh) cares about the clouds when we're together
Just (Ahh-ahh-ahh) sing a song and think 'bout sunny weather
(two, three)
Happy trails to you
'Til we meet again
Sunday, June 18, 2006
distressed
Author's note - this is a totally personal entry and is just me venting. Just wanted to write it down, maybe some cathartic remedy in putting it down on paper (electronic paper but you know what I mean).
I recently took a scouting expedition to Lima and found many new and exciting things there. My new home will be an exciting and fun-filled place to live. There is a lot to say about it and I will do so after grad school is done. I got back to my house in Rotterdam (its mine until Thursday) and crashed for the night. My roommate was out with friends and I had the place to myself to watch the US - Italy game.
When I got up this morning, I found out that my roommate was actually out with someone that I had dated during this school year. We started last fall and broke up soon after and then started again at Christmas and lasted for a couple of months. We had a somewhat tumultuous relationship both times we dated that stemming from issues dealing with trust. Needless to say, we weren't the best of couples.
We had known each other for 2 years before we hooked up. We went out with some friends to a local establishment and before I knew it, she was drunk (I was a little tipsy too) and we were becoming more acquainted. Though the communication side of our relationship was lacking, the physical side was just fine. It was the problems in communication that helped with the demise of our relationship - there were quite a few problems but that was the central one.
Since our split, she has been on the prowl for someone new. There was a rumor around school about a one-night stand with the concierge although there was no verification of it. She is known to frequent a few local establishments in search of someone else and last night she was successful in her attempt to fill the void in her life (needing a man). What floors me is that she went out, hooked up with this guy, and brought him back to her house the next morning - all while her teenage daughters were throwing a party in their new house where lots of alcohol was being consumed. The man was surprised to enter her house and find kids still littering the floor at 6am the next day (as I would be as well if it happened to me). *Roommate provided me with this information*
So what's the point of this entry? I have so many emotions coursing through my veins at the moment that its hard to pinpoint just why I am making this entry. I am sad for her because she feels the need to constantly find men for fulfillment in life. I pity her girls for the example that she sets for them because they are starting to follow in her footsteps. But most of all I feel used.
I don't know why I feel this way - it wasn't a long relationship or deeply meaningful for that matter. We went out occasionally, spent time at my place relaxing and having dinner, managed to alleviate some stress in our lives through sex - nothing too dramatic, I've had relationships with a lot more invested in them. But this one is the first where I feel like I was just used as a stand-in for the purpose of having a man. Someone wanted me in their life just for the sole reason of needing to have a penis close at hand for her fulfillment needs. I know it happens all the time to people but like I said in the beginning of this entry, I'm on a rant and this is more for my need to vent than your need to comment. I can honesty say that I have made it through my 35 years (dating for half of those) without ever feeling this manipulated before. I've usually been a good judge of character and never been hurt like this before and when it does happen, I go through the same gambit of emotions just like everyone else does. I don't have a problem with her dating other people, I want her to find happiness (in some shape or form) but what I don't like is how she seeks that happiness. I feel like I was picked up in the same way as these other one-night-stands and that our relationship was just another fling, a way to cure her sexual appetite. Once I was out of the picture, she just starting trolling the bars again, looking for another was to get her fix. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to get laid once in a while but how she is doing it just makes me feel like I was used. Its not a feeling I am accustomed to and this is my venue to vent those feelings.
In my final days here in Holland, I'll enjoy the scenery and my friends before I leave. I will not miss the single social scene that I've been a part of here. The women I've dated in the last 3 years have all been unique and different and horrendous and selfish and so many other adjectives that I'll not comment on. Let's hope that Peru has something different to offer...
I recently took a scouting expedition to Lima and found many new and exciting things there. My new home will be an exciting and fun-filled place to live. There is a lot to say about it and I will do so after grad school is done. I got back to my house in Rotterdam (its mine until Thursday) and crashed for the night. My roommate was out with friends and I had the place to myself to watch the US - Italy game.
When I got up this morning, I found out that my roommate was actually out with someone that I had dated during this school year. We started last fall and broke up soon after and then started again at Christmas and lasted for a couple of months. We had a somewhat tumultuous relationship both times we dated that stemming from issues dealing with trust. Needless to say, we weren't the best of couples.
We had known each other for 2 years before we hooked up. We went out with some friends to a local establishment and before I knew it, she was drunk (I was a little tipsy too) and we were becoming more acquainted. Though the communication side of our relationship was lacking, the physical side was just fine. It was the problems in communication that helped with the demise of our relationship - there were quite a few problems but that was the central one.
Since our split, she has been on the prowl for someone new. There was a rumor around school about a one-night stand with the concierge although there was no verification of it. She is known to frequent a few local establishments in search of someone else and last night she was successful in her attempt to fill the void in her life (needing a man). What floors me is that she went out, hooked up with this guy, and brought him back to her house the next morning - all while her teenage daughters were throwing a party in their new house where lots of alcohol was being consumed. The man was surprised to enter her house and find kids still littering the floor at 6am the next day (as I would be as well if it happened to me). *Roommate provided me with this information*
So what's the point of this entry? I have so many emotions coursing through my veins at the moment that its hard to pinpoint just why I am making this entry. I am sad for her because she feels the need to constantly find men for fulfillment in life. I pity her girls for the example that she sets for them because they are starting to follow in her footsteps. But most of all I feel used.
I don't know why I feel this way - it wasn't a long relationship or deeply meaningful for that matter. We went out occasionally, spent time at my place relaxing and having dinner, managed to alleviate some stress in our lives through sex - nothing too dramatic, I've had relationships with a lot more invested in them. But this one is the first where I feel like I was just used as a stand-in for the purpose of having a man. Someone wanted me in their life just for the sole reason of needing to have a penis close at hand for her fulfillment needs. I know it happens all the time to people but like I said in the beginning of this entry, I'm on a rant and this is more for my need to vent than your need to comment. I can honesty say that I have made it through my 35 years (dating for half of those) without ever feeling this manipulated before. I've usually been a good judge of character and never been hurt like this before and when it does happen, I go through the same gambit of emotions just like everyone else does. I don't have a problem with her dating other people, I want her to find happiness (in some shape or form) but what I don't like is how she seeks that happiness. I feel like I was picked up in the same way as these other one-night-stands and that our relationship was just another fling, a way to cure her sexual appetite. Once I was out of the picture, she just starting trolling the bars again, looking for another was to get her fix. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to get laid once in a while but how she is doing it just makes me feel like I was used. Its not a feeling I am accustomed to and this is my venue to vent those feelings.
In my final days here in Holland, I'll enjoy the scenery and my friends before I leave. I will not miss the single social scene that I've been a part of here. The women I've dated in the last 3 years have all been unique and different and horrendous and selfish and so many other adjectives that I'll not comment on. Let's hope that Peru has something different to offer...
Saturday, June 10, 2006
good night and good luck
Well my faithful readers, this is it. This is my final entry from Holland - I am off to terrorize other parts of the world - mainly Peru. So if you hear of any major disturbances on CNN in that region of the globe, you'll understand why.
My time here has been eventful and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to live in the Netherlands. I've learned so many new things and been exposed to a completely new culture and while I can't say that I've loved every minute of it, my experience in Holland has overall been good.
However my professional time here has been wonderful. Three years ago I felt like leaving education and making my way into sales or something like that. Due to a few strategically placed students, that thought has left my mind and my passion for teaching rekindled. Thanks to Weezie and Libero and a whole host of other students at the American International School of Rotterdam for reminding me of why I went into education in the first place (to warp young minds!!!). I am still feeling the sorrow of leaving those amazing students here while I move on to Lima. *I may not be in Rotterdam, but you'll always be in my thoughts.*
So farewell Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, and Nederland. Its been real, its mostly been fun, so that means that its been mostly real fun. :) Take care of my kids until I come back to see them again...
My time here has been eventful and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to live in the Netherlands. I've learned so many new things and been exposed to a completely new culture and while I can't say that I've loved every minute of it, my experience in Holland has overall been good.
However my professional time here has been wonderful. Three years ago I felt like leaving education and making my way into sales or something like that. Due to a few strategically placed students, that thought has left my mind and my passion for teaching rekindled. Thanks to Weezie and Libero and a whole host of other students at the American International School of Rotterdam for reminding me of why I went into education in the first place (to warp young minds!!!). I am still feeling the sorrow of leaving those amazing students here while I move on to Lima. *I may not be in Rotterdam, but you'll always be in my thoughts.*
So farewell Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, and Nederland. Its been real, its mostly been fun, so that means that its been mostly real fun. :) Take care of my kids until I come back to see them again...
Thursday, June 08, 2006
tot ziens!
Well, the time has come and my days in Holland have come to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of school and I depart for my new home in South America on Monday. My tenure in Rotterdam has reached its conclusion - guess I'll have to change my tagline. The "Live from the Land of the Flying Dutchmen" will be replaced when I can think of something new - something that reflects my new home in Peru.
The last week has been filled with so much. I sold my motorcycle, packed my life into boxes and luggage for its impending departure to Peru or my storage facility in California, and have starting saying my farewells to my friends at school (both staff and students). Stress levels have been up and down, frazzeling me in every which way that I care to remember.
Luckily for me, I've found a great website to help me distract myself as I pack. Its called Pandora.com and you should give it a try. Its a great way to listen to your style of music while getting a broader perspective of what's in that genre. Personally, I wanted to find some more bands that have a funk feel to them (kinda like Tower of Power) and was happy to have this "radio station" play some new artists for me like Graham Central Station and The Drifters. You can customize your sound depending on your mood and make different "stations" for your different musical tastes. And just perhaps you'll give artists you had already written off a second chance. I never would have thought that I would like Prince without the New Power Generation - but hey, whaddaya know??!!
The last week has been filled with so much. I sold my motorcycle, packed my life into boxes and luggage for its impending departure to Peru or my storage facility in California, and have starting saying my farewells to my friends at school (both staff and students). Stress levels have been up and down, frazzeling me in every which way that I care to remember.
Luckily for me, I've found a great website to help me distract myself as I pack. Its called Pandora.com and you should give it a try. Its a great way to listen to your style of music while getting a broader perspective of what's in that genre. Personally, I wanted to find some more bands that have a funk feel to them (kinda like Tower of Power) and was happy to have this "radio station" play some new artists for me like Graham Central Station and The Drifters. You can customize your sound depending on your mood and make different "stations" for your different musical tastes. And just perhaps you'll give artists you had already written off a second chance. I never would have thought that I would like Prince without the New Power Generation - but hey, whaddaya know??!!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
which iPod are you? it don't matter - just do it!
An interesting new development that I read about today. The increasing merging of sports and technology brings Apple and Nike together. Here's a little something from The Street.com that I read today (click on title above to directly go to the story).
Long used on the run, Apple Computer's (AAPL) iPod soon will be customized for runners.
As part of a deal announced Tuesday with Nike (NKE), the company will soon release a kit that will essentially allow the digital music player to function as a pedometer, giving runners information on the distance they've gone, the calories they've burned, and the length of time they've been running. The kit will include a wireless antenna that will connect an iPod nano to specially designed Nike shoes.
Apple plans to release the package within two months for a price of about $30. Nike will begin offering shoes that include the pedometer sensor and the wireless antenna to talk to the one for the nano beginning next month. The shoemaker plans to update many of its shoe lines to incorporate the technology.
Many companies have been trying to tap into the success of the iPod. Car companies have been adding iPod connectors to their car radios and consumer electronics makers have come out with a raft of different iPod accessories, including speakers, wireless headphones and the like.
But the deal with Nike is one of the first efforts to connect the iPod to a nontraditional electronic device.
In addition to the pedometer information, the Nike+iPod kit from Apple will include software that will allow customers to designate a "power song" that they can play at the touch of a button during workouts, and to set up customized song play lists for use with particular workout routines. As part of the deal between the two companies, Apple plans to add a sports music section to its iTunes Music store.
Shares of Apple and Nike both rose following the announcement. In recent trading, Nike's stock was up $3.03, or about 4%, to $81.01, while Apple's stock was up 67 cents, or about 1%, to $64.05.
Hey, maybe this will help (not cure) in getting people off their sofas and into exercise a little more. Considering I detest both companies (Nike for the sweatshops they run and Apple on principle), this is a great idea. I might even consider this combo myself if my knee wasn't in such horrible shape.
Long used on the run, Apple Computer's (AAPL) iPod soon will be customized for runners.
As part of a deal announced Tuesday with Nike (NKE), the company will soon release a kit that will essentially allow the digital music player to function as a pedometer, giving runners information on the distance they've gone, the calories they've burned, and the length of time they've been running. The kit will include a wireless antenna that will connect an iPod nano to specially designed Nike shoes.
Apple plans to release the package within two months for a price of about $30. Nike will begin offering shoes that include the pedometer sensor and the wireless antenna to talk to the one for the nano beginning next month. The shoemaker plans to update many of its shoe lines to incorporate the technology.
Many companies have been trying to tap into the success of the iPod. Car companies have been adding iPod connectors to their car radios and consumer electronics makers have come out with a raft of different iPod accessories, including speakers, wireless headphones and the like.
But the deal with Nike is one of the first efforts to connect the iPod to a nontraditional electronic device.
In addition to the pedometer information, the Nike+iPod kit from Apple will include software that will allow customers to designate a "power song" that they can play at the touch of a button during workouts, and to set up customized song play lists for use with particular workout routines. As part of the deal between the two companies, Apple plans to add a sports music section to its iTunes Music store.
Shares of Apple and Nike both rose following the announcement. In recent trading, Nike's stock was up $3.03, or about 4%, to $81.01, while Apple's stock was up 67 cents, or about 1%, to $64.05.
Hey, maybe this will help (not cure) in getting people off their sofas and into exercise a little more. Considering I detest both companies (Nike for the sweatshops they run and Apple on principle), this is a great idea. I might even consider this combo myself if my knee wasn't in such horrible shape.
Friday, May 19, 2006
modern roman orgies
I hang my head in shame for what the world, more specifically America, has produced. In a day where there is still hunger and starvation in EVERY country in the world, a growing sport is emerging. It even has an official sanctioning body.
The International Federation of Competitive Eating sanctions more than 100 competitive eating events a year. That's two competitions a weekend of people ramming as much food into their bodies as possible. The participants involved call it a sport, some even call themselves 'athletes'. Heck, even ESPN is covering it (click on 'modern roman orgies' above). Flat out - its gluttony; one of the seven deadly sins, remember?
In a society where we acknowledge that kids and adults are too fat because of what they eat, we now have a "sport" where people try to do exactly what we tell them is bad for them - and the "sport" is growing both in the number of people involved as well as the caloric content being ingested. Why does an idea like this even enter a grown person's mind? I've seen teenagers attempt to out do each other just to prove their macho-ness but why didn't someone say, "That's just pure stupidity. Why are we promoting such behavior? Fire the the ad agency who came up with this idea and beat the moron who suggested it."
But no, this raw symbol of why people think Americans are the spoiled kids of the world continues to shine forth. Its greed and callousness and contempt all rolled into one. We know what the world needs but don't give a shit enough to help out. We'll free the people of a domineering dictator as long as they have oil, which serves our needs. We have so much stuff that we make competitions to see how fast we can make it go away. We are so self-absorbed in the drive to get all things materialistic that we ignore what simple needs others have. I think America would be better off giving the world the finger at the beginning of each press conference, at least there would be no doubt about our intentions.
So like the ancient lore of Roman orgies being one of the trademarks leading to the collapse of its empire, competitive eating has become a trademark of the good ole US of A. I'm ashamed indeed...
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
super slo-mo
This is a totally cool picture of a bullet smashing through a bottle of wine. The physics geek in me finds this amazing, especially the shockwave traveling through the wine. Its also cool in its artistic side as its well-lit giving it an etheral feel to i. The bullet striking it and the shattering of the glass is all frozen in a brief moment of time.
Art and science rolled into one. Wicked.
Art and science rolled into one. Wicked.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
unphotoshopped
I found this picture a while ago on flickr and decided to finally add it to my blog. The photographer has done a great job of composing this shot and getting the timing just right. What people can do with a camera absolutely amazes me sometimes and this is one of those amazing shots (at least IMHO).
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
credentials
Anyone think that they will take this as my 'official' credentials at my next school? Its worth a try, I'll send it tomorrow...
Saturday, April 29, 2006
guilty conscience...?
I just got through (literally moments ago) a unique situation to me. In my years of teaching, this was my first time dealing with something like this, although I know its happened to others. What's your opinion on the subject?
Here's the scenario - I gave an assignment to my 9th grade Earth Science class on Wednesday and told them to finish it for homework. Friday came and went and I forgot to collect the assignment, instead I put in a video and worked with a pair of my chemistry kids to prepare them for a test that they were to take the next period. I figured that I would collect it on Monday - something usual for my class (I often forget to collect assignments the day that they are due).
So its 7pm on a Saturday night and I'm chillin' on the sofa watching tv when a knock comes at the door. I open it to find one of my 9th graders standing there - trembling and on the verge of tears, let's call her April. She stammers out that she has something to tell me about what happened in school on Friday and I invite her in. I can hear some of you already - "Never invite a student into your house! Especially a female student! Oh my God, you're going to get accused of so many things!". I couldn't leave her standing on my doorstep like that, she was an emotional wreck at the moment and it would have been cruel of me to have her expose her crime while standing in a doorway.
April came in and the tears started to flow. She was sorry for what she did and wanted to tell me about it. Truth be told, I had no idea what she was apologizing for but I wasn't going to stop her from letting it all out. After a bit of stuttering and stammering, she finally let it go.
"Mr. Expat, remember how the lab was due on Friday? Well, I didn't get it done for homework and I copied the answers from a friend. I got caught copying the answers in another class and that teacher took both of our papers away. I told my mom and she said that I needed to come over and tell you about it ahead of time and be responsible for my actions." *the conversation has been paraphrased since I don't want to write it all down.
This was a first for me. A student was caught by another teacher copying answers to an assignment for my class and was confessing to the act before I even knew. But here's the kicker - technically she didn't turn in the assignment so technically she hasn't cheated yet. Or did she? I asked her if she intended to submit the paper as her own work and she replied that she did intend that, if she hadn't been caught.
Where does the line of cheating/plagarism start? While she did intend to cheat, she hasn't yet, in a technical sense. However she was caught before the act came to fruition and wasn't allowed to follow through with the actual act of submitting someone else's work. She should be treated like any other person caught cheating or is this something different? Our school states that cheating is punishable at the director's discretion, up to a day's worth of in-school suspension and a zero on the assignment. Does she receive the full broadside for the act when the act has yet to be completed yet? Does the letter of the law cover intent? What do you think should happen to April?
Here's the scenario - I gave an assignment to my 9th grade Earth Science class on Wednesday and told them to finish it for homework. Friday came and went and I forgot to collect the assignment, instead I put in a video and worked with a pair of my chemistry kids to prepare them for a test that they were to take the next period. I figured that I would collect it on Monday - something usual for my class (I often forget to collect assignments the day that they are due).
So its 7pm on a Saturday night and I'm chillin' on the sofa watching tv when a knock comes at the door. I open it to find one of my 9th graders standing there - trembling and on the verge of tears, let's call her April. She stammers out that she has something to tell me about what happened in school on Friday and I invite her in. I can hear some of you already - "Never invite a student into your house! Especially a female student! Oh my God, you're going to get accused of so many things!". I couldn't leave her standing on my doorstep like that, she was an emotional wreck at the moment and it would have been cruel of me to have her expose her crime while standing in a doorway.
April came in and the tears started to flow. She was sorry for what she did and wanted to tell me about it. Truth be told, I had no idea what she was apologizing for but I wasn't going to stop her from letting it all out. After a bit of stuttering and stammering, she finally let it go.
"Mr. Expat, remember how the lab was due on Friday? Well, I didn't get it done for homework and I copied the answers from a friend. I got caught copying the answers in another class and that teacher took both of our papers away. I told my mom and she said that I needed to come over and tell you about it ahead of time and be responsible for my actions." *the conversation has been paraphrased since I don't want to write it all down.
This was a first for me. A student was caught by another teacher copying answers to an assignment for my class and was confessing to the act before I even knew. But here's the kicker - technically she didn't turn in the assignment so technically she hasn't cheated yet. Or did she? I asked her if she intended to submit the paper as her own work and she replied that she did intend that, if she hadn't been caught.
Where does the line of cheating/plagarism start? While she did intend to cheat, she hasn't yet, in a technical sense. However she was caught before the act came to fruition and wasn't allowed to follow through with the actual act of submitting someone else's work. She should be treated like any other person caught cheating or is this something different? Our school states that cheating is punishable at the director's discretion, up to a day's worth of in-school suspension and a zero on the assignment. Does she receive the full broadside for the act when the act has yet to be completed yet? Does the letter of the law cover intent? What do you think should happen to April?
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
mama always said...
With me at the point of departure, I'm getting ready to sell my motorcycle before I leave Holland. I came across this on Google video - perhaps its a good thing that I don't ride sportbikes...
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
darling cherub
At the beginning of this year, I put up a post about what to do if you deal with the kids of teachers in your school. I only wish that one of the teachers at my school had read the article and taken it to heart. Today I was blindsided by this teacher, we'll call her Ms. Protective, and I wasn't too happy about it.
Ms. Protective's son is in my chemistry class. He has aspirations to go into the medical field and attend a good British university. Since I know this, I do my best to ensure that this darling cherub is ready for the rigors of university life. When he doesn't turn in his work, I ride him just like every other student. When he doesn't perform up to his ability, I 'promote learning' with a gentle nudge by privately saying to him, "If you want to get into dentistry school, you're going to need to do better than the C you just earned." In essence, I do what every other teacher does - encourage and cajole.
The darling cherub is also a musician. He is an excellent string player and attends many workshops aimed at promoting high-level musicians. Unfortunately for him, these workshops are usually a week long and he misses school as a result of it - throughout the course of this year he has missed 3 weeks of school to attend various workshops. Our school has a rule that if a student is going to be absent for functions such as this, they must see the teacher for work before they go on the trip. This darling cherub always waits until the last minute before getting his checkout sheet signed with his teachers.
Last Thursday was his last day of the week and he didn't have my signature on the sheet. No sig means no credit for work done during the week. So Ms. Protective bails him out by finding me at softball practice and asks me to sign his sheet. I do so but tell the mother that it is unacceptable for this to happen. A student needs to take responsibility and see me personally. I thought it was over and that the darling cherub would find me upon returning to school.
But no, it could never be that easy.
Ms. Protective finds me in the lunch line today and in front of staff and students alike, brings up the topic of his missing work. I tell her that I need to talk to her about it and that in the lunch line is not a good place. She keeps pushing and so I tell her that if she wants to get his assignments, she needed to come visit me in my classroom for them - just like every other kid would do. Hey, if she is going to take responsibility for his actions and cover him when he fucks up and doesn't get the necessary signature then she can go through the same song and dance that every kid has to deal with. She goes off on me in the lunch line about how I'm being rude (?!) and not giving her the assignments right then and there.
WTF???!!! I'm trying to eat my lunch here lady!!!!
So I tell Ms. Protective that enough is enough and that if she has a problem with the way I conduct my class that she can talk with the director about it. Being aptly peeved about the situation, I decide to bring the head honcho in myself. I'm tired of Ms. OVERLY Protective going off when her boy doesn't get what she feels is right or that he is "being screwed". Whatever lady, you've pissed me off one too many times. Let's get the powers that be involved.
We have our meeting after school (during which I miss a bunch of practice time with my softball players - ya know, kids that show up to school and are responsible) and it comes out that darling cherub is didn't get his sheet signed BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID OF ME. Yes, that's right - he's afraid of me, the giant teddybear. His reason for being afraid - "Mr. Expat tells me that I'm not being responsible when I come to him late with my signout sheet."
No shit Sherlock, what else would I say?
"Congrats on being late for the 3rd time. This time you get a prize!"
"C'mere - lemme teach you how to be even MORE irresponsible."
Better yet -
"So my teeth are a complete mess because you didn't bother to get the assignment you missed in dentistry school?!?! No problem, I'll just eat soup for the rest of my life."
No - I think not. I'm a teacher for crying out loud. I teach. I teach more than just chemistry or physics or math. I teach your kid how to be a responsible adult. I teach your kid how to be a good and moral person. If you don't like it, then get your kid outta my class because I ain't gonna stop teachin' that way.
What did the meeting result in? More excuses from Ms. Protective and more allegations focused at me. Yeah, I'm the one whose wrong. I'm the one picking on the darling cherub because I think like the rest of the world. Whatever lady, I ain't teaching your kid anything more than what the curriculum demands.
And if I ever see the darling cherub's name on a dentist office door, I'm gonna run away screaming.
Ms. Protective's son is in my chemistry class. He has aspirations to go into the medical field and attend a good British university. Since I know this, I do my best to ensure that this darling cherub is ready for the rigors of university life. When he doesn't turn in his work, I ride him just like every other student. When he doesn't perform up to his ability, I 'promote learning' with a gentle nudge by privately saying to him, "If you want to get into dentistry school, you're going to need to do better than the C you just earned." In essence, I do what every other teacher does - encourage and cajole.
The darling cherub is also a musician. He is an excellent string player and attends many workshops aimed at promoting high-level musicians. Unfortunately for him, these workshops are usually a week long and he misses school as a result of it - throughout the course of this year he has missed 3 weeks of school to attend various workshops. Our school has a rule that if a student is going to be absent for functions such as this, they must see the teacher for work before they go on the trip. This darling cherub always waits until the last minute before getting his checkout sheet signed with his teachers.
Last Thursday was his last day of the week and he didn't have my signature on the sheet. No sig means no credit for work done during the week. So Ms. Protective bails him out by finding me at softball practice and asks me to sign his sheet. I do so but tell the mother that it is unacceptable for this to happen. A student needs to take responsibility and see me personally. I thought it was over and that the darling cherub would find me upon returning to school.
But no, it could never be that easy.
Ms. Protective finds me in the lunch line today and in front of staff and students alike, brings up the topic of his missing work. I tell her that I need to talk to her about it and that in the lunch line is not a good place. She keeps pushing and so I tell her that if she wants to get his assignments, she needed to come visit me in my classroom for them - just like every other kid would do. Hey, if she is going to take responsibility for his actions and cover him when he fucks up and doesn't get the necessary signature then she can go through the same song and dance that every kid has to deal with. She goes off on me in the lunch line about how I'm being rude (?!) and not giving her the assignments right then and there.
WTF???!!! I'm trying to eat my lunch here lady!!!!
So I tell Ms. Protective that enough is enough and that if she has a problem with the way I conduct my class that she can talk with the director about it. Being aptly peeved about the situation, I decide to bring the head honcho in myself. I'm tired of Ms. OVERLY Protective going off when her boy doesn't get what she feels is right or that he is "being screwed". Whatever lady, you've pissed me off one too many times. Let's get the powers that be involved.
We have our meeting after school (during which I miss a bunch of practice time with my softball players - ya know, kids that show up to school and are responsible) and it comes out that darling cherub is didn't get his sheet signed BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID OF ME. Yes, that's right - he's afraid of me, the giant teddybear. His reason for being afraid - "Mr. Expat tells me that I'm not being responsible when I come to him late with my signout sheet."
No shit Sherlock, what else would I say?
"Congrats on being late for the 3rd time. This time you get a prize!"
"C'mere - lemme teach you how to be even MORE irresponsible."
Better yet -
"So my teeth are a complete mess because you didn't bother to get the assignment you missed in dentistry school?!?! No problem, I'll just eat soup for the rest of my life."
No - I think not. I'm a teacher for crying out loud. I teach. I teach more than just chemistry or physics or math. I teach your kid how to be a responsible adult. I teach your kid how to be a good and moral person. If you don't like it, then get your kid outta my class because I ain't gonna stop teachin' that way.
What did the meeting result in? More excuses from Ms. Protective and more allegations focused at me. Yeah, I'm the one whose wrong. I'm the one picking on the darling cherub because I think like the rest of the world. Whatever lady, I ain't teaching your kid anything more than what the curriculum demands.
And if I ever see the darling cherub's name on a dentist office door, I'm gonna run away screaming.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
something different
Now here's a picture that you don't see everyday. How many white peacocks have you ever even heard of?
Saturday, April 01, 2006
big brother
I was reading an article a few days ago on the BBC (click on 'big brother' above) about how Apple has introduced a feature in its iPods that will allow parents to control the maximum setting that a person can listen to. One of the reasons that they are doing so is because of a potential lawsuit from an American as well as US politicians who are calling for congressional investigation about hearing loss. After reading all of this, I have decided that its time for another rant.
First of all, let me go off on the frivolous lawsuit that John Kiel Patterson is bringing against Apple. He is suing because his iPod is capable of producing a sound level of 115 db (the pain threshold for humans is 120-130 db) and that prolonged use can cause damage. He bought an iPod last year and isn't sure if he has suffered hearing loss as a result of using this product. His lawsuit is focusing on the potential of iPods to cause permanent hearing loss.
Lemme get this straight. A guy buys a product, frequently sticks it in his ear and cranks up the volume to the point of causing pain. Now he wants to sue the people because he is such a dumbass that he didn't bother to turn down the volume. This John Kiel Patterson (and his lawyers) is such an amazingly stupid person that he should have his reproductive organs removed so that he can't spread his idiocy to future generations. Seriously, if you can't figure out to turn down the volume when your ears experience a painful blast of music, you shouldn't be allowed to operate a reproductive organ.
My second point is about the fact that there are 2 US Congressmen that are calling for an investigation into the matter. Edward Markey (D-Mass) and Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) are wanting the National Institutes of Health to look into this 'new' problem that Americans are having with hearing due to media players. Statistics from the American Speech-Language-Hearing (ASHA) estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from hearing loss or impairment due to the portable media players. Markey and Ferguson rely heavily on the ASHA statistics as a reasoning for a formal investigation.
I will come out and say this - I am a conservative liberal. I believe in the idea that the government should do certain things to improve our country but also believe that they should keep their nose outta my business as much as possible. Democrats are often considered to be pro "big government" while Republicans were also thought of to be pro "minimalist government". But now we have government permeating every part of my life and now even the minimalist politicans are wanting to check to see how my hearing is after listening to an iPod. GET THE HELL OUTTA MY PERSONAL LIFE. IF I WANNA LISTEN TO AN IPOD AT 150 DB AND BE DEAF WITHIN A YEAR, THEN LET ME DO IT. Stop wasting money on stupid shit like a multi-million dollar investigation that is going to tell you that hearing loss can occur from listening to music at high volumes. We've known that since rock and roll started over 50 years ago. Why not spend that money on something a bit more important - like finding an alternative energy source to oil.
Thirdly, Apple. Apple came out during the SuperBowl in 1984 with their fancy commercial about big brother watching you and how should break out of the mold and buy their product. What a total bunch of hypocrites! Apple itself has turned into big brother through all their products. For example -
Mac OSX - despite the fact that Windoze (any version from 3.1 thru Vista) can be a total pain, it will allow you to do almost anything you like. If you want to erase files that are essential to your OS, it will let you. Whatever you want to screw with, Windoze will gladly oblige and let you nuke your OS into oblivion. Mac OS doesn't let you do that. It treats you like a kid and won't let you do anything too destructive (well, at least as destructive as Windoze). You are only given certain options and can only change certain parameters. Ever tried to change a registry on a Mac?
iTunes - how much more big brother can you get than that? The new version has a Music Store that will track what you are listening to and 'suggest' other artists that you might want to try. How on earth do they know what is good? Easy, they keep track of what you are listening to and what others are listening to. The software is built on the premise of watching everything you do. And limiting the number of computers I can listen to my songs on? While I understand that piracy is an issue, don't limit me on where I can listen to my purchased music. I paid for it, I should get to listen to it on 1 or 1000 different computers.
iPod - the final straw. Now there is a limit to the volume that I can listen to my Science Friday podcast that I listen to because some idiot (see above) can't figure out what relationship the volume control and the bleeding in his ears have. Granted this feature has to be activated but why is it even there to begin with? We've had "portable media players" around since Sony introduced the Walkman back the early 1980s. But now Apple has decided to be cautious for all of us and install a way to limit my listening experience.
Why this rant? I want a few things to start happening in my native land; being an American can be somewhat embarrasing at times. First - pull your heads outta your ass and stop blaming others for your incompetence. If you are such a boob that you f**k up your hearing, then I guess you learned a lesson the hard way. Second - fix what needs fixing in the US and stop wasting money. Why does the government need to spend money on a research project that we already know the answer to? It has more pressing concerns than hearing loss from earbuds. Thirdly - let me have my freedoms - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Stop worrying about how I'm gonna hurt myself and let me ride my bike without a helmet. Sometimes I need to crash and smack myself good to learn my lesson. If you keep trying to protect me from all the "bad" things in the world, I'll never know how to make a decision when I need to because I've always been sheltered. Stop being my parent and make actual parents do that job (a topic for yet another rant). Let me be my own best advocate.
First of all, let me go off on the frivolous lawsuit that John Kiel Patterson is bringing against Apple. He is suing because his iPod is capable of producing a sound level of 115 db (the pain threshold for humans is 120-130 db) and that prolonged use can cause damage. He bought an iPod last year and isn't sure if he has suffered hearing loss as a result of using this product. His lawsuit is focusing on the potential of iPods to cause permanent hearing loss.
Lemme get this straight. A guy buys a product, frequently sticks it in his ear and cranks up the volume to the point of causing pain. Now he wants to sue the people because he is such a dumbass that he didn't bother to turn down the volume. This John Kiel Patterson (and his lawyers) is such an amazingly stupid person that he should have his reproductive organs removed so that he can't spread his idiocy to future generations. Seriously, if you can't figure out to turn down the volume when your ears experience a painful blast of music, you shouldn't be allowed to operate a reproductive organ.
My second point is about the fact that there are 2 US Congressmen that are calling for an investigation into the matter. Edward Markey (D-Mass) and Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) are wanting the National Institutes of Health to look into this 'new' problem that Americans are having with hearing due to media players. Statistics from the American Speech-Language-Hearing (ASHA) estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from hearing loss or impairment due to the portable media players. Markey and Ferguson rely heavily on the ASHA statistics as a reasoning for a formal investigation.
I will come out and say this - I am a conservative liberal. I believe in the idea that the government should do certain things to improve our country but also believe that they should keep their nose outta my business as much as possible. Democrats are often considered to be pro "big government" while Republicans were also thought of to be pro "minimalist government". But now we have government permeating every part of my life and now even the minimalist politicans are wanting to check to see how my hearing is after listening to an iPod. GET THE HELL OUTTA MY PERSONAL LIFE. IF I WANNA LISTEN TO AN IPOD AT 150 DB AND BE DEAF WITHIN A YEAR, THEN LET ME DO IT. Stop wasting money on stupid shit like a multi-million dollar investigation that is going to tell you that hearing loss can occur from listening to music at high volumes. We've known that since rock and roll started over 50 years ago. Why not spend that money on something a bit more important - like finding an alternative energy source to oil.
Thirdly, Apple. Apple came out during the SuperBowl in 1984 with their fancy commercial about big brother watching you and how should break out of the mold and buy their product. What a total bunch of hypocrites! Apple itself has turned into big brother through all their products. For example -
Mac OSX - despite the fact that Windoze (any version from 3.1 thru Vista) can be a total pain, it will allow you to do almost anything you like. If you want to erase files that are essential to your OS, it will let you. Whatever you want to screw with, Windoze will gladly oblige and let you nuke your OS into oblivion. Mac OS doesn't let you do that. It treats you like a kid and won't let you do anything too destructive (well, at least as destructive as Windoze). You are only given certain options and can only change certain parameters. Ever tried to change a registry on a Mac?
iTunes - how much more big brother can you get than that? The new version has a Music Store that will track what you are listening to and 'suggest' other artists that you might want to try. How on earth do they know what is good? Easy, they keep track of what you are listening to and what others are listening to. The software is built on the premise of watching everything you do. And limiting the number of computers I can listen to my songs on? While I understand that piracy is an issue, don't limit me on where I can listen to my purchased music. I paid for it, I should get to listen to it on 1 or 1000 different computers.
iPod - the final straw. Now there is a limit to the volume that I can listen to my Science Friday podcast that I listen to because some idiot (see above) can't figure out what relationship the volume control and the bleeding in his ears have. Granted this feature has to be activated but why is it even there to begin with? We've had "portable media players" around since Sony introduced the Walkman back the early 1980s. But now Apple has decided to be cautious for all of us and install a way to limit my listening experience.
Why this rant? I want a few things to start happening in my native land; being an American can be somewhat embarrasing at times. First - pull your heads outta your ass and stop blaming others for your incompetence. If you are such a boob that you f**k up your hearing, then I guess you learned a lesson the hard way. Second - fix what needs fixing in the US and stop wasting money. Why does the government need to spend money on a research project that we already know the answer to? It has more pressing concerns than hearing loss from earbuds. Thirdly - let me have my freedoms - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Stop worrying about how I'm gonna hurt myself and let me ride my bike without a helmet. Sometimes I need to crash and smack myself good to learn my lesson. If you keep trying to protect me from all the "bad" things in the world, I'll never know how to make a decision when I need to because I've always been sheltered. Stop being my parent and make actual parents do that job (a topic for yet another rant). Let me be my own best advocate.
Friday, March 17, 2006
how far can they go?
I've been a bit busy over the last week but I've been doing some research. It has to do with the topic that I've been thinking about recently. I'm curious as to what your opinions are on the following matter.
In the distant past, I had an issue with a student and their blog. I learned that students need to have a place to vent and have their friends chime in without having a grown-up checking in on them. Kids need to be kids and privacy is one thing that they demand as they get older.
Recently I was made aware of a situation here at school. A student wrote something on her blog about a teacher that she didn't like. Her remarks were what you would expect from a teenager - the usual bit about the teacher being horrible, dumb, and some other choice descriptions that kids are known to feel about their least favorite teachers - the usual stuff.
Well it turns out that the teacher found out about the blog and read her site. When the teacher stumbled upon the entry that said less than outstanding things, they took the issue to the director of the school. The student was called into the office, unofficially reprimanded and told to remove the entry. The student complied and then was directed to make a formal apology to the teacher. She did so and the issue is past.
But what this brings to light is the idea of free speech. The student attends a school were American values are at the forefront and one of our most treasured beliefs is the freedom of speech. I know that student newspapers around the US have battled the issue of free speech and censorship but what is the policy on blogs? Does a school have a right to enforce censorship on a student who has done nothing more than exercise their right to free speech when the blog isn't on a school site and wasn't written during school hours?
I've talked with a few people here at school on the issue and I find that there is a division. The students all feel that what was written on the blog was perfectly acceptable as each of us are entitled to our opinion. If a student wants to write bad things about a teacher, that's their opinion. The content of a blog is a personal statement and no one has the right to censor an opinion.
The teachers I talked to were a bit more divided. At what point does free speech become slander? Should a student be able to write their opinion publicly about a teacher? Shouldn't a teacher be allowed to do the same about a student? Teachers are expected to maintain a professional demeanor and not do such things - student affairs are supposed to be confidential. So since we are hamstringed from being able to talk about students, shouldn't they be required to follow the same guidelines? Or does freedom of speech allow us to write about our students? Is the student afforded some protection from the outside world when they are in a classroom? If they are, do teachers get the same protection from their students?
So what's your opinion on the matter? How far can they go? The 'they' in the question applies to student, teacher, and administration. Just what are the limits of freedom of speech, if any?
In the distant past, I had an issue with a student and their blog. I learned that students need to have a place to vent and have their friends chime in without having a grown-up checking in on them. Kids need to be kids and privacy is one thing that they demand as they get older.
Recently I was made aware of a situation here at school. A student wrote something on her blog about a teacher that she didn't like. Her remarks were what you would expect from a teenager - the usual bit about the teacher being horrible, dumb, and some other choice descriptions that kids are known to feel about their least favorite teachers - the usual stuff.
Well it turns out that the teacher found out about the blog and read her site. When the teacher stumbled upon the entry that said less than outstanding things, they took the issue to the director of the school. The student was called into the office, unofficially reprimanded and told to remove the entry. The student complied and then was directed to make a formal apology to the teacher. She did so and the issue is past.
But what this brings to light is the idea of free speech. The student attends a school were American values are at the forefront and one of our most treasured beliefs is the freedom of speech. I know that student newspapers around the US have battled the issue of free speech and censorship but what is the policy on blogs? Does a school have a right to enforce censorship on a student who has done nothing more than exercise their right to free speech when the blog isn't on a school site and wasn't written during school hours?
I've talked with a few people here at school on the issue and I find that there is a division. The students all feel that what was written on the blog was perfectly acceptable as each of us are entitled to our opinion. If a student wants to write bad things about a teacher, that's their opinion. The content of a blog is a personal statement and no one has the right to censor an opinion.
The teachers I talked to were a bit more divided. At what point does free speech become slander? Should a student be able to write their opinion publicly about a teacher? Shouldn't a teacher be allowed to do the same about a student? Teachers are expected to maintain a professional demeanor and not do such things - student affairs are supposed to be confidential. So since we are hamstringed from being able to talk about students, shouldn't they be required to follow the same guidelines? Or does freedom of speech allow us to write about our students? Is the student afforded some protection from the outside world when they are in a classroom? If they are, do teachers get the same protection from their students?
So what's your opinion on the matter? How far can they go? The 'they' in the question applies to student, teacher, and administration. Just what are the limits of freedom of speech, if any?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
killed the flow
Well, I can see from the lack of comments on my recent posts that I have successfully managed to kill the good vibe that I had going. How bizarre that my post about the winter olympics would garner the largest number of comments of any posting on this blog and then I have managed to have my subsequent postings illicit nay a single thought-provoking idea.
What can I say, its a talent...
But I'll see what I can do about coming up with some more entertaining posts that will get you all to talk a bit more. I hope you've at least enjoyed watching the videoes that I've posted. :)
Cheers,
Expat
What can I say, its a talent...
But I'll see what I can do about coming up with some more entertaining posts that will get you all to talk a bit more. I hope you've at least enjoyed watching the videoes that I've posted. :)
Cheers,
Expat
Monday, March 06, 2006
what to write about?
So I'm kinda struggling for a topic here. I spent the last week rolling about my house, doing a lot of nothing, and feeling good about it. It was our Crocus vacation at school and while my roommie was tromping around Prague, I spent time at home relaxing and being a single guy without any worries.
I also spent some more time on Google Video watching short and long movies. I saw a very provocative movie (shown below) about Sept. 11th called "Loose Change". Its done by a couple of filmmakers from NYC who attempt to bring to light new evidence about who was really behind the attacks on that day and what really happened. I'm not buying everything that these two filmmakers say but they do bring up some interesting arguments about the veracity of the stories that we assume to be true from those days' events.
Some of my time during vacation was also spent working on stuff that I need to do for the upcoming move to Peru and making arrangements for that. I'll get to spend a day walking around Amsterdam from consulate to consulate getting papers notarized and having people watch me sign other papers. Its all part of the fun when you're moving to another country. Shamash - you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?
Then today I made my way back to the classroom. Ahhh, a fish back in water. I never thought that I would be glad to get back to my job but the more time I spend doing my job the more that I realize how lucky I was to choose the correct profession. We are all given certain gifts and mine is dealing with teenagers who are too cool for the rest of the world - kinda like me. ;)
And now here's a little piece of conspiracy theory for ya - including the cheesy music and narration. Its about 80 minutes long so if you wanna watch, be forewarned.
I also spent some more time on Google Video watching short and long movies. I saw a very provocative movie (shown below) about Sept. 11th called "Loose Change". Its done by a couple of filmmakers from NYC who attempt to bring to light new evidence about who was really behind the attacks on that day and what really happened. I'm not buying everything that these two filmmakers say but they do bring up some interesting arguments about the veracity of the stories that we assume to be true from those days' events.
Some of my time during vacation was also spent working on stuff that I need to do for the upcoming move to Peru and making arrangements for that. I'll get to spend a day walking around Amsterdam from consulate to consulate getting papers notarized and having people watch me sign other papers. Its all part of the fun when you're moving to another country. Shamash - you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?
Then today I made my way back to the classroom. Ahhh, a fish back in water. I never thought that I would be glad to get back to my job but the more time I spend doing my job the more that I realize how lucky I was to choose the correct profession. We are all given certain gifts and mine is dealing with teenagers who are too cool for the rest of the world - kinda like me. ;)
And now here's a little piece of conspiracy theory for ya - including the cheesy music and narration. Its about 80 minutes long so if you wanna watch, be forewarned.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
piracy is good?
I found the presentation by Mark Pesce at the Australian Film, Television, & Radio School. Its been posted up on Google and my recent trend of putting video up on my blog demands that I put it up for others to see. So instead of you going to look for it, I have brought it to you. The actual presentation is about 45 minutes and then there is time for Q&A. If you've got the time to watch, its an excellent, well-thoughtout presentation about how the model of television can/will change. Enjoy.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
what is podcasting?
I'm so glad you asked. The ninja has an answer for you - just like I said he did in the last post!
changing face of TV
I've become addicted to a new podcast, Ask A Ninja. You can find it on iTunes or on their blog. Its a nice bit of humor that really challenges you to follow just what the ninja says. Adult humor at its finest.
But what the creators are doing is pushing the envelope of how content is being delivered. With the growing number of households adopting broadband as their way of getting electronic information, the number of people who are getting their content on their computers is on the rise. Couple this with the ease of storing that data on external hard drives (which are really cheap) and you've got a demographic that is getting their content (shows) instantly and watching them whenever they like. I am a part of this demographic - the nerds who download stuff to watch cuz they do want to be tied to a tv.
And that's just what is happening. Ask A Ninja's goal is to start breaking down the mold of today's content delivery (mainly tv) and to get a new business model in place for the new way that content will be delivered. I remember seeing a program given about a year ago called "Piracy is Good!" that I downloaded from Bit Torrent and the gentleman's presentation talked about how tv as we know it today can/will be totally different in 10 years. If you get a chance to see this presentation, I highly suggest it.
So Ask A Ninja is trying something new with content and Bit Torrent is a new way to deliver content. How long before tv figures out that they aren't the only source for video content any more and tries to adapt? Hmmm, sounds like we are about to see the beginning of something completely different. I wonder where this is gonna go...
But what the creators are doing is pushing the envelope of how content is being delivered. With the growing number of households adopting broadband as their way of getting electronic information, the number of people who are getting their content on their computers is on the rise. Couple this with the ease of storing that data on external hard drives (which are really cheap) and you've got a demographic that is getting their content (shows) instantly and watching them whenever they like. I am a part of this demographic - the nerds who download stuff to watch cuz they do want to be tied to a tv.
And that's just what is happening. Ask A Ninja's goal is to start breaking down the mold of today's content delivery (mainly tv) and to get a new business model in place for the new way that content will be delivered. I remember seeing a program given about a year ago called "Piracy is Good!" that I downloaded from Bit Torrent and the gentleman's presentation talked about how tv as we know it today can/will be totally different in 10 years. If you get a chance to see this presentation, I highly suggest it.
So Ask A Ninja is trying something new with content and Bit Torrent is a new way to deliver content. How long before tv figures out that they aren't the only source for video content any more and tries to adapt? Hmmm, sounds like we are about to see the beginning of something completely different. I wonder where this is gonna go...
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