I was asked what my favorite food is. I responded with everything, except carrorts, tomatos, and basically any green vegetables.
Also, apparently women are like cheese because they both have milk in them :D
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Spring Break Adventures
What do I plan on doing over spring break? Well, I don't entirely know.
I gave up chocolate for lent so I plan on eating a lot of that. I also look foreward to spending time with relatives... and Skyrim.
I gave up chocolate for lent so I plan on eating a lot of that. I also look foreward to spending time with relatives... and Skyrim.
Breaking the Breaks
As a teacher, I catch snippets of what happens during spring break. A lot of it sounds like wholesome fun. And a lot of what I hear is what parent's nightmares are made of. As far as I've gathered, the negative experiences students have involve the usual: alcohol, drugs, and risky behavior. I imagine scenes like in the movie Project X except with more palm trees and beaches and things happening over the course of several days in what may or may not be a crime-ridden developing nation.
That's kind of scary. And yet it's become a rite of passage for many juniors and seniors. Often with parental endorsement. This does NOT apply to all kids, but definitely to some.
Yet even in the best scenarios, spring break is often an excuse to be self-indulgent. I get that. I love being self-indulgent: I've got my smartphone, my Playstation 3, my iPad mini, my DirecTv, some sperrys, some Hilfiger, some Ralph Lauren . . . the list goes on and on. And you know what, many of our kids have as much or more than I do. So there comes a time when I wonder if a traditional spring break trip to Florida or Mexico or elsewhere is really just cherry on top of an already overflowing ice cream sundae.
Maybe it can and should be different -- at least for ONE of four spring breaks in high school.
For the last, oh, about eight years or so -- as NHS adviser or Student Government adviser -- I've wanted to put together an alternative spring break. I've hoped for a spring break where students volunteer to go help some people in need. This is not a new idea. Where I first taught, it was a tradition to go to a different location and do something charitable like help build a house. There were typically few students who went -- maybe eight to ten -- but it wasn't about the size of the group. It was about the intent of the group.
I feel it's much more life-affirming, more global, more humanitarian to give up some time to help others. And I'd love to provide this opportunity to students at DeWitt High school. I think there is a need for doing something that big, of having a kind of adventure that doesn't deal with risque behavior. Oh, even the kids who go once on this kind of spring break trip may still partake in such risque activities, but at least they'll also have had an experience that asks more of them.
So, this year I've actually asked a student to begin planning a spring break trip. That step alone is as much or more than we have ever done before. Perhaps during spring 2014 we'll have a new option available for students. Surely there will be plenty of places that need assistance. It may even be likely we could help communities still suffering the effects of hurricane Sandy just like the Louisiana took many years to recover from Katrina.
I hope students and the community are supportive of this trip and we can make an alternative spring break a tradition at our school.
That's kind of scary. And yet it's become a rite of passage for many juniors and seniors. Often with parental endorsement. This does NOT apply to all kids, but definitely to some.
Yet even in the best scenarios, spring break is often an excuse to be self-indulgent. I get that. I love being self-indulgent: I've got my smartphone, my Playstation 3, my iPad mini, my DirecTv, some sperrys, some Hilfiger, some Ralph Lauren . . . the list goes on and on. And you know what, many of our kids have as much or more than I do. So there comes a time when I wonder if a traditional spring break trip to Florida or Mexico or elsewhere is really just cherry on top of an already overflowing ice cream sundae.
Maybe it can and should be different -- at least for ONE of four spring breaks in high school.
For the last, oh, about eight years or so -- as NHS adviser or Student Government adviser -- I've wanted to put together an alternative spring break. I've hoped for a spring break where students volunteer to go help some people in need. This is not a new idea. Where I first taught, it was a tradition to go to a different location and do something charitable like help build a house. There were typically few students who went -- maybe eight to ten -- but it wasn't about the size of the group. It was about the intent of the group.
I feel it's much more life-affirming, more global, more humanitarian to give up some time to help others. And I'd love to provide this opportunity to students at DeWitt High school. I think there is a need for doing something that big, of having a kind of adventure that doesn't deal with risque behavior. Oh, even the kids who go once on this kind of spring break trip may still partake in such risque activities, but at least they'll also have had an experience that asks more of them.
So, this year I've actually asked a student to begin planning a spring break trip. That step alone is as much or more than we have ever done before. Perhaps during spring 2014 we'll have a new option available for students. Surely there will be plenty of places that need assistance. It may even be likely we could help communities still suffering the effects of hurricane Sandy just like the Louisiana took many years to recover from Katrina.
I hope students and the community are supportive of this trip and we can make an alternative spring break a tradition at our school.
Spring Break!
It is early in the morning. The stars and moon are still out but they're are not visible. The are out shown by the neon lights that engulf the Vegas Strip. From my room, I can see the majestic volcano of the Mirage. I can see the fireworks erupting from the Sirens of TI. I can see everything but the stars. I decide it is time to reunite with my beloved stars. I leave before anyone can notice my absence. I go to reclaim my stars. I start with going to the Grand Canyon. I see my lovely stars. They are there but barely visible over the rising sun. I wait until they appear again and when they do, I am at peace again. I then go to Zion where I make sure my beautiful stars are still visible. I go to Arches where the setting sun matches the the reds and oranges of the surrounding mountains. Then when the sun is set, I once again see my stars. My stars are what is left to remind me of my beloved. For before he went, he told me he was going back to be one with the stars. So when I am sure my stars are still safe and still whole, I feel such peace and I know, I can go and rejoin my stars. To become one with my stars and have eternal night with my stars.
(Okay, this was written sort of quick and turned out way more sappy then I was thinking. It was supposed to be an adventure story in Vegas but, what can I do? :))
(Okay, this was written sort of quick and turned out way more sappy then I was thinking. It was supposed to be an adventure story in Vegas but, what can I do? :))
Thursday, February 14, 2013
"The Eighties" is Gross
The 1980s was probably the worst decade between the 50s and today. I try to find good albums that were made then, and I suppose there were a few, but by and large everything from that era sound "Eighties-itized." It's the ultra-slick, huge drum, electric electric, CD-friendly sound that sterilizes you on contact with your eardrums. If there's anything that defines gray, it'd be the Eighties. The fashion, while in some ways colorful, seems to be in over-pastelly, grey-to-the-max tones of bleak corporate fluorescent inflections. Business, the economy, Reaganomics *shudders*, and IBM computing were all becoming bigger parts of the mainstream public. It's no coincidence that the barcode, the ugly, ugly, ugly mar on every single buyable product since the middle of the decade, emerged along with the heightened focus on money and corporations.
All of the warmth and analog wonderfulness of the 60s and 70s were erased when the Eighties rolled around, with digital recording and compact discs taking over the place of magnetic tape and vinyl records. It's like, after having nice-sounding recordings for twenty years, they thought it'd be a good idea to completely switch up the method of recording. Due to its status as a new thing, it was heavily adopted by the industry. CDs came along with this digital wave, flaunting increased carrying capacity and portability at the expense of anything sounding nearly as good. Of course, this definitely wasn't an instant drop off into the musical abyss; rather, there had been a gradual decline in music quality since 1968. That was the year that humongous quantities of students and protesters took to the streets in violence, which marred the optimistic, psychedelic attitude of music from the previous year. There was still hefty amounts of excellent music being turned out, but perhaps not as much as the previous year. 1969 perhaps had more quality records than the previous year, but it ushered in the new decade, so it was a different sound. Many albums from the year were more laid-back/acoustic, maybe country-ish or else back-homey. Woodstock kind of solidified that. 1970 was similar to this, and 1971 was kind of the last high water mark. There numerous, numerous classics released that year. Progressive rock, a more complex extension of psychedelic music, kind of peaked in this era as well. 1972 was the year that decline became very evident, with glam rock, heavy metal, and slick production began coming into play more. By the mid Seventies, a whole lot of songs were super-slicked. Disco was the last straw for the Seventies. That, along with punk rock, put the public's listening interests too far off the edge for saving. John Lennon's shooting just brought into the mind what was already all but clear: Music had went off the deep end. It's a real shame.
Also, Happy Valentines Day!
All of the warmth and analog wonderfulness of the 60s and 70s were erased when the Eighties rolled around, with digital recording and compact discs taking over the place of magnetic tape and vinyl records. It's like, after having nice-sounding recordings for twenty years, they thought it'd be a good idea to completely switch up the method of recording. Due to its status as a new thing, it was heavily adopted by the industry. CDs came along with this digital wave, flaunting increased carrying capacity and portability at the expense of anything sounding nearly as good. Of course, this definitely wasn't an instant drop off into the musical abyss; rather, there had been a gradual decline in music quality since 1968. That was the year that humongous quantities of students and protesters took to the streets in violence, which marred the optimistic, psychedelic attitude of music from the previous year. There was still hefty amounts of excellent music being turned out, but perhaps not as much as the previous year. 1969 perhaps had more quality records than the previous year, but it ushered in the new decade, so it was a different sound. Many albums from the year were more laid-back/acoustic, maybe country-ish or else back-homey. Woodstock kind of solidified that. 1970 was similar to this, and 1971 was kind of the last high water mark. There numerous, numerous classics released that year. Progressive rock, a more complex extension of psychedelic music, kind of peaked in this era as well. 1972 was the year that decline became very evident, with glam rock, heavy metal, and slick production began coming into play more. By the mid Seventies, a whole lot of songs were super-slicked. Disco was the last straw for the Seventies. That, along with punk rock, put the public's listening interests too far off the edge for saving. John Lennon's shooting just brought into the mind what was already all but clear: Music had went off the deep end. It's a real shame.
Also, Happy Valentines Day!
To All the Girls I've Loved Before
Do you remember me
Girl at the LIFT
retreat at Camp au Sable
in 1990?
I hardly knew you but I remember
The hayride we took in the February chill
Our breath painting the air
in the glare of the tractor lights
and the counselor's searching beams
You were leaning against me
Your jaw-length red hair warming my chin.
I had met you just the previous day
But liked the way you smelled,
And the freckles on your nose,
And your smile drove away the cold.
A few weeks later --
At the Pathfinder fair --
I avoided you, turning when I
Caught sight of you from afar
Already having forgotten your name.
But do you remember mine?
Well, happy Valentines Day.
Girl at the LIFT
retreat at Camp au Sable
in 1990?
I hardly knew you but I remember
The hayride we took in the February chill
Our breath painting the air
in the glare of the tractor lights
and the counselor's searching beams
You were leaning against me
Your jaw-length red hair warming my chin.
I had met you just the previous day
But liked the way you smelled,
And the freckles on your nose,
And your smile drove away the cold.
A few weeks later --
At the Pathfinder fair --
I avoided you, turning when I
Caught sight of you from afar
Already having forgotten your name.
But do you remember mine?
Well, happy Valentines Day.
Valentine's Day and Happiness
Bonjour World! I am new to this blog so I should formally introduce myself. I'm Diego, and today I will explain the happiness of Valentine's day. Valentine's day can be the best day or the worst day of the year. It just depends if you have a GF/BF. I, myself, has just gotten a GF of my own three days ago. After a movie date on Sunday (which was great), I knew that I needed to ask her out. Monday: I was telling myself, "Okay, you've gotta do it. You've gotta do it." Tuesday: Same deal. Trying to be courageous. She sat by me on Tuesday at lunch but it was.... embarrassing. I left to throw away my trash and when I was walking back, she was walking out. She said that she "needed to ask about a test" when I asked her out suddenly. She smiled and said yes. We said our goodbyes and she left. I stood for a second then walked up to my friend. For our purpose, he's XYZ and his girlfriend is ZYX (just for the fun of it). Well XYZ told me that we should sit by ZYX. That was where my GF used to sit . When I looked, she was telling her friends about what just happened. ZYX was the table next to my GF so I don't think that she knew where I was. So today is Valentine's day, my day of happiness!
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