Adorable/Awkward/Hilarious/WTF?! child moment of the day

Today, while in the second lunch period (I'm the lunch lady on Tuesdays) which is when the kindergartners come in, a whole table inquired if I had a girlfriend. Catching me at one of the rare times in my life when I actually have a real (real meaning not a famous movie star or singer who I claim wants to be my girlfriend) significant other, I proudly said, "Well yes I do, little girl." I actually didn't say "little girl," as that would be creepy, but I don't want to use her real name. The conversation that followed contained the typical kindergartner questions of if I was going to marry her, how old she was (their first guess was 37, because that was how old they guessed I was, which is funny considering I'm pretty sure we had a "guess Mr. Awesome's age" session last week at lunch during which they were aiming up in the 45 year old range- it must be the beard), etc. However, they quickly got bored with talking about me and decided to move on to the more interesting topic of talking about themselves and their relationships, which is awesome because, remember they are 5 years old (some are 4). One of the young ladies decided to tell me that, well she had two boyfriends. She then named them and pointed to them, as they were both sitting at the table across from her. I just want to point out that this girl, who is totally playing these two boys, just blatantly says it in front of them, like it's no big deal. Then one of the boys who she singled out as one of her two boyfriends replies, "Yeah, but it's not like we're going to get married or anything." Another boy jibes back, "yeah right, you're her fiance," which he pronounces adorably incorrectly. We then went on to chat, back and forth, about how it's cool that they're just playing the field and having a good time right now, and that, yeah, they're just not ready to get serious yet.

It's nice to hear that there are some people out there who are comfortable and open about where they're at in life. I found it refreshing to hear, even if it was from a group of five year olds.

P.S. After this delightful conversation ended, a girl from another table came over to tell me that she had two boyfriends and one girlfriend, who they were, and why she liked them. Awesome!

Bottle sabering 101

In case you were wondering folks, this is a good example of how it is NOT supposed to work.

Or did it just work too well?

Today, I wore black.

Every day, on my way to work, I pass by a make-shift memorial on the side of the road about half way through a curve. It is just south of Belmont on River Road and is set back a bit into the woods. There is an obvious gap in the forest there which leads me to believe some vehicle crashed through and tore open a hole in the forest. There are flowers and a statue of the Virgin Mary, and candles and a few other nick-nacks that I am, usually, driving be too fast to identify. My best guess is that there was a car accident there and that someone died in way that was tragic, possibly being hit by a drunk driver. From time to time, however, I have noticed that the flowers are sometimes fresh and that things that get moved or taken away are replaced, but I've never seen anyone there until today. This morning, as I drove by, I saw a car parked on the shoulder near the site and a woman kneeling with her head bowed at the foot of the small statue. I don't know why, but I felt very strongly when I saw that scene. Not sure what the emotion was, but I was moved.

I am also dressed for the occasion, I'm in all black today. We have a "Faculty Fun Night" this evening at work and my team for the activity is dressing in all black, we're badass like that (the attire goes along with our team theme, it's not like an emo look or anything so don't worry that I'm turning into an eighth grader or anything). Either way, the whole scene was somber, yet surprisingly uplifting in a way. Just the fact that this woman obviously visits this site regularly to remember the person who (I assume) she lost there, would mean a lot to me.

Anyway, Happy Friday.

"That's so Metal/Cute?" - Child Moment of the day

Caleb (thanks for reading my blog and not stabbing me in the eyeballs, even if it makes you want to) replied to my previous post with:

Speaking of salty, the two later ended up playing a game (in which the older, louder one was constantly cheating) that involved trying to roll a "Knex" wheel past each other. As you may remember from your days as a young boy, the Knex wheels are just shy of a hockey puck in the way of weight and density. The game of course ended up with the younger child getting hit in the face with the wheel and crying. So I sat him down next to me and as we chatted and he calmed down he was licking the tears that were rolling down his face. I asked him why he was drinking his own tears; he said he liked the taste. That's so metal/cute.

Adorable/awkward/hilarious/WTF?! child moment of the day...

An argument just erupted between a boy with a serious speech impediment and a very sweet girl who was trying to convince him that her younger friend was very smart for his age. The argument, as is usually the case in situations like this, went quickly to what level of math they were in (only after a short stop in "well if you're so smart, kid, what is 3x/19 + 5 = 16" land). As it turns out this kid who is in 2nd grade is doing pre-algebra (I think I was doing this in maybe 6th grade). Anyway, little 2nd grade boy seems to have it, even though the older one is doing algebra. This is the kind of thing I see all the time. I remember getting into it with other kids over who was smarter, but it wasn't usually about who was doing more advanced math, it was more like who could do math.

Adorable/awkward/hilarious/WTF?! child moment of the day...

A student, let's call him Saul, he's about 13 years old and just under six feet tall, showed up at the door of the computer lab today ready to take his make up, standardized reading test. I saw him pacing back and forth in front of the door out in the hallway. When I went over to let him in he had that "I'm-13-and-I'm-making-this-decision-into-a-big-deal-even-though-I-know-it-isn't-but-I-can't-help-it-what-do-I-do?!" look about him. He was holding a balled up grey... hair-ball looking thing and fiddling with it nervously. I asked him if he was ready to come in and start his test, to which he replied: "Yeah, but can I bring in my beard? I'm not supposed to wear it during school so I keep in in my pocket." I gave him a WTF look followed by an IDGAF (sorry couldn't resist) look and ushered him into the lab. He began stuffing the beard, which contained enough fake hair to cover most people's heads (I believe it was some sort of Socrates kind of style), into his pocket as he walked over to the computer I had set up for him. He is now sitting there with half a very large beard-wig sticking out of the pocket of his jeans which are too short for him.

P.S. I know of only perhaps two, count them, TWO, boys who attend this school who's pants are not at least two inches too short.

Gifted Education

I had an interesting conversation with some of the neighbors while at Hannah's (Mitch and Doreen's dog) birthday celebration this weekend. Now, I had just inhaled two bowls of what was quite possibly the best chili Mitch has ever made which, as you might know, means the best chili I've ever had. I had been asked how my new job was going, if I liked it, etc., and after answering "well" and "yes," respectively and rather enthusiastically, I began explaining why my experience was also quite fascinating to me.

The school I work it could not be more different from the schools I have attended in the past. It is a small, very small, private school in the north west suburbs of Chicago. That in and of itself would be enough to make it starkly different than my educational experience. It also happens to be a school for "gifted" children. Now, there are all kinds of implications with the word "gifted," some good, some bad (actually when I first told Dave that I would be working at a school for gifted kids, he asked if it was Professor Xavier's school- think X-Men), but I feel I've been able to keep an open mind about the whole idea.

Initially, thoughts like "these kids are going to be smarter than me," crossed my mind. The teachers that I met before school began repeated over and over how "different" the kids were, and that I was sure to have the same feeling. I have to say, however, that had I not been set up to look for the signs of "giftedness" (I have a problem with the use of this word in this context, but I'll save that for later) I probably would have thought nothing of all the quirkiness walking around the halls. I have to admit though, I may have noticed a rather high incidence of nerdy/geeky/awkward-ness even if I wasn't told about it outright. When the kids skip recess for chess class, or when the Diablo and Devilsticks are the games of choice on the playground instead of kickball and football, one begins to wonder. Not to say that it's wrong or strange by any means, it's just not what I have observed elsewhere and certainly would lead me to believe there is something different about this school.

Now I have been developing my own impression of the overall (meaning this includes academic, social, behavioral, emotional, financial, etc.) cost/benefit breakdown of the idea of "gifted" schooling since I had my interview and I have to admit I have changed my mind a few times. This is where the conversation went over the course of my second bowl of chili. I was asked what I thought of the whole thing, was it worth paying for? Was it worth missing out on all the social growth one could gain by learning how to navigate in a diverse social setting like a public school? Did I think it was all about the parents? I knew that the parties asking the questions already had an opinion on the matter, and I also had a pretty good idea what that opinion was. So I began my answer with the skepticism that I felt before I began working here (some of which has not been lost). First of all, and I was not the one to say this, but I think it's worth noting; every parent thinks or wants to think that their kid is gifted. Why wouldn't you? Having a child is the crowning achievement in many people's lives. Therefore, when we start separating the "gifted" from those who then get labeled by default as "not gifted," we cultivate feelings of anger, disappointment, and jealousy for the parents and in some cases, the kids themselves. There is also the argument that because these kids are told they are "gifted" (which in so many movies, comics, stories, etc. is how super heroes are described) they get a swollen head and, without the jocks and bullies of public (or not gifted) schools around to cut them down every once in a while they can not handle criticism later in life. There is also the general question of whether homogeny is really good for students of any kind (more or less because of all the questions raised in the previous statements).

I have to say, I can not disagree with any of those arguments, nor can I say that I don't worry about some of the kids at my school for those reasons or other similar ones. However, I have warmed up to the idea that "gifted" ("gifted" does not necessarily mean "homogenous") schools can be beneficial on several levels. One thing I want to say right away is that, though the students here tend toward the nerdy/geeky side of the social spectrum, this is still a school and the same social structure does develop itself here as any other. There are still cliques, social hierarchy, inclusions and exclusions, fights (though they are usually rather pathetic), disagreements, and diversity of all kinds throughout the school (and just like every other group of kids, they cannot agree upon the rules of Four Square if their lives depended on it). Just because the kids here have been "separated" into a single group does not make them all completely the same by any means. This being the case, I believe that they are, in fact, getting the social education they need to navigate life beyond the walls of this school. They may still be in for a bit of a shock when they move on the another school. Perhaps they were a big shot here and will be right at the bottom of the pecking order at their next school, but does that not happen everywhere? In fact, spending some time at the top is not really a bad thing for the nerds and geeks of the world, it is certainly an opportunity that is not afforded to them in most other schools. The way I see it, these kids are being prepared sufficiently to handle the next step in their lives both academically and socially. Is there more that could be done? Yes. Are they missing out on some social interactions that might prepare them for the world? Yes, but so are kids in most schools (they are just missing out on different things). I guess I can not say I do or do not support "gifted" academic schools like the one where I work. They are what they are, and they do what they do. Are they worth the price of tuition when other schools are free? Again, it depends very much on the child's disposition (more so than his or her "gifted-ness," I believe), how much the price of tuition affects the family's financial situation and what the alternatives are in the area in which they live.

On the lighter side of things I want to say that I have really enjoyed getting to know the students and the faculty here. There are some fantastic people here that I am proud to call my colleagues/mentors/friends all of whom do excellent work for the children they teach.

Quick follow up...

I lost a hub cap today on the way to work, not sure where. It makes my car look even more creepy. Although I already had four different hub caps anyway.

Too many keys, not enough brain cells

I had a bit of a "senior" moment today at work, nothing big, just got sidetracked by a teacher with an email problem and forgot to do what I had been heading down that hallway for in the first place, but it set the tone for the following two and a half hours.

For those of you who don't know, I recently purchased a vehicle: a lovely 1992 Plymouth Voyager SE.

This isn't actually my car, but if you just picture this beautiful piece of American engineering with a bunch of rust, a sweet roof rack, some duck tape here and there, and not majestically perched on top of a mountain, you've got my hot new ride (oh and I've got the Grand Voyager version with the extended back end). Also, it looks like the hub caps on this one match, that is not the case on my car. I have to say, however that I am extremely happy with my new ride. It has low milage (for its age of 17 years), and it has a tap which makes it very easy to hook my ipod up to the stereo. Matt has already named the car "Silver-back," more than appropriate I'd say not only due to its size and color, but when it's on the road, you know who's in charge... I bought the car for a song from our the Franklins (thanks you guys!!!) across the street, where it spent the last few years delivering Jonathan's paintings. They bought it new in '92 and they still think it's weird to see it parked in front of someone else's house.

Anyway, I digress. The key piece of info you need about my car really is that, though I've had it about a month now, Jon keeps finding more keys for it and giving them to me. Unfortunately some of these keys work for the doors and some for the ignition, and some, as I found out today, for neither.

So, after a lovely Monday at work, which is about an hour commute in rush hour, and my little senior moment toward the end (which the teacher I was helping diagnosed as "brain overload" - to which I replied "I hope you're right and it's not an underload of brain"), I headed out to my car, reached for the set of keys in my pocket and tried to unlock the door. FAIL! Neither of the two keys on the ring were successful at unlocking the door. Apparently, when I entered the car in the morning (this was all coming back to me now) I had used another set of keys to unlock the door, found out that they would not start the car, and used the set in my hand to turn it on. At this time I also recalled how I had, instead of doing the smart thing and putting the first set of keys in my bag and kept them with me all day, left them in the car. Long story short, Matt was nice enough to come and deliver another set of keys to me all the way from home (thank you Brother!!). But my episode of dementia was not over.

As I was driving home on Roosevelt Road, I remembered that I needed some deodorant and soap. I stopped at the Walgreens a couple of blocks from our house and as I walked up to the soap isle I had one of those (prepare yourself for an inside joke) "Al you dingleberry!!" moments. I had, once again, locked myself out of my car. Once again I was standing outside of my car with a set of keys that would turn the car on, but not unlock the doors.

I'll spare you the rest of the details, but rest assured, I will be turning off my brain for several hours this evening.

----------------------------------------------------

Originally I wanted to write a few things about CHC this weekend, but I felt that the "tale of too many keys and not enough brain cells" was worth telling. So here they are in brief.

Frisbee is fun, driving to and from frisbee is not fun (no sense of direction in this case - went very far in the wrong direction both to and from the tournament on Sunday).

I had a frustrating weekend. Haymaker is a very good team, but I feel that there is just not enough young blood to compete with other teams who can run hard all day without injury, who don't have weddings to attend (I am just as guilty as anyone for not showing up to tournaments/practices by the way), or other engagements, etc.

I got a wake up call with my fitness. I really believed I could run with anyone, the way I've been training and the speed I've gained, I feel like I'm the fastest I've been in a long time, possibly ever as far as top speed goes, but some of these guys we played against can just keep it up longer than I can. Or, perhaps, they just care less about breathing than I do. Even Edward mentioned that I looked faster, which I take as a great compliment, but I still need to develop the killer instinct that gives you that little bit extra.

As a team, we only came up with one win on the weekend. There were, however, several impressive showings against very talented teams, but we were not able to close them out, which is tough to deal with.

I completely lost my voice and got terribly sunburned on my face and neck. I need a hat and a bullhorn.

There were some points where I felt... exultant (ten dollar word of the day): scores we needed badly and got easily, plays where I felt no one could touch me (chest pounding, shit talking, all that stuff you don't see me doing too often).

There were some points where I felt I was out gunned, got ran circles around, had my mark broken, made a weak play to the disc, etc. (no chest pounding here).

I seem to be checking my g-chat list much more often these days...

First Weekend

Had my first real weekend since I was in high school. That is to say, I worked five days in a row and then had two days off (both Saturday and Sunday). It was nice having a little time to wind down and not have to worry about the next day. My weekend did feel pretty busy though, had Haymaker practice Saturday morning after working at Lush Friday night, then had friends over Saturday evening for a fire and dinner - made some, if I may toot my own horn, delicious fish tacos with mango salsa and fruit, and Sunday I slept in and went to the Chicago Fire game with the frisbee people (yes, that's what I call you guys when my parents ask for the names of all the people I'm hanging out with and I don't want to list the whole group). Kevin came along which was nice, I feel like I never see the Rhombergs anymore, what's up with that? It was great having people over here the past couple of weekends, not that hanging out with the "roomates" isn't fun, but I feel better when I do some organizing of my own, it makes me feel like I have a social life...

Mom hitched a ride to Niagara Falls this weekend and went to see Rusted Root with the Savvy Joes, man I wish I could have gone!! I sent some cd's of Ruthie Foster to Joanie via mom, I've been meaning to get them to her for a while. I can't wait to get out there and catch up with everyone, I always feel extra good after a visit with the Sauvageaus.

Yosemite!!!

I feel a little nuts for not visiting more of our national parks sooner. After Edward and I visited, for not nearly enough time, Yellowstone, I got the idea I was missing out on something incredibly beautiful. That in mind, I can't believe I almost passed on the opportunity to spend five days in Yosemite National Park with five other friends (well now they're friends-I had not met two of them before). Initially I was a little worried about my finaces, but looking back, I spent very little money compared to other vacations I've had, and the majority of what I needed for the trip I had already purchased.

Our plan was to fly into Reno, Nevada on Thursday, drive to the park where our trail reservation provided for a campground site the night before and after we are on the trail, camp one night, backpack for three nights, camp one more and drive back to Reno and fly home (we found out later, via Phoenix). The reality was...different, but you might say it enhanced our trip in more ways than it detracted from it.

Our plane from Chicago left over two hours late due to what the pilot described as the equivalent of the plane's hard drive crashing. Any time you hear the pilot of your airplane start an announcement out with "don't hate me, but..." be prepared to seriously alter your plans for the day. The whole ordeal caused us to miss our connecting flight to Reno from Las Vegas, fly to Salt Lake City and connect to Reno. However, after leaving Reno with a belly full of In and Out Burger (animal style!!!!) in our fifteen passenger van and accidentally getting off the highway at the wrong place, we ended up driving up to a beautiful beach in Lake Tahoe just as the sun was setting over the mountains behind the lake.

Seeing the beach and feeling more than ready to take a dip, I asked the guys if they felt the same. I was not surprised by their enthusiasm toward taking a break from traveling and get our first taste of nature. We were excited to say the least.




After watching the sun set from atop a pile of large rocks donning a sign that said "No Climbing On Rocks," we dried off and hit the road. I drove the van through the mountain passes leading up to Yosemite. It was a little hairy at times being my first time driving a vehicle that size and the end of a very long day, but we made it safe to the park, eventually. I think it was about 1am or later local time (which as you probably recall is two hours earlier than the time zone we left from that morning). Obviously when we entered the park, there were no rangers posted at the gates or campground so we were on our own for figuring out our campsite and bear storage for the night. Apparently this was a busy night for the backpacker's campground (where we were guaranteed a spot one night before and after our trail reservations) because there was not a free spot in the whole place, nor was there an available bear box to store our food (it is illegal to store food in anything but a bear box or can, not even the car). We snooped around and decided to check out the car camping area as well and stumbled upon a free site with an empty bear box. Due to the late hour and the fact that taking this spot was more or less squatting, we decided to hastily get all the food and toiletries into the box and just sleep in the van, get up early, and get out before a ranger could see that we weren't supposed to be there.

We woke up with the sun, I say "woke up" but that would imply that we would have actually gone to sleep, which certainly didn't happen to any significant extent with me and, I'd say all of my companions as well. It was COLD when we got up, the sun had not come over the mountains yet and it was chilly!! We warmed up by hard boiling some eggs and making oat meal and coffee. We hastily ate, and broke "camp," getting out of there as soon as we could so as to avoid any suspicious rangers.

The line at the ranger station that morning was moving very slowly so Matt and I got to chat and listen to a few other people's plans for backpacking in the area before we got our trail pass and bear cans. By the time we packed up and set out on the trail it was late morning and the sun was high, our packs were heavy, and we'd had almost no sleep... Ready to rock!!

More to come later...

A Lot's Happened Since Then

After going so long without posting here, I'm not sure what to write. It feels like I should have something really profound to say, or at least be super excited to post. I get that same feeling that I have when I save a nice bottle of wine or beer; the feeling that no occasion is good enough to open it the longer I save it. I guess a better way to approach it would be like getting back to the gym after a long time off and just take it easy and slow. Either way, I still think I post more than Morley...

For those of you who don't know, I started Grad school in January to pursue a Master's of Education. Things are going well, very slowly, but I think that's good because I have more time to get my work done. Grad school is kind of weird, probably more so for me because I am in a cohort program which seems to take all the weird little differences about graduate school and exaggerate them. For instance, I have class one night a week and take one class at a time. Also, I found it strange that, because the expectation in grad school is that you are self motivated and truly want to be there, you get A's as long as you do the work. Not that I think my work has not been quality, but I am not used to the concept that teachers create a grading scale in which the process is the important part and the teachers take responsibility for creating a curriculum
that, if completed, will reliably elicit learning and competence. I really enjoy this style and find that, with the pressure off, I do very good work. I even find myself wishing I had class more often.

In order to afford school without going into insane amounts of debt, I made the decision to move back in with my parents who have been more than gracious to me and very understanding with me as a roommate. We are on very different schedules, which I'm sure is a strain on them, but they have been wonderful and more than willing to help me out. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

That being said, I have found myself regressing a little as far as my self-reliance and independence go. I could be a lot better about keeping my room clean and helping out around the house, and I will do my best to improve in this regard.

I have GOT to stop watching so much TV!!! What a waste of time!! Man movie channels are a killer, there's always something on!! Sadly enough it's never really anything worth watching. (I watched a terrible movie called "Hollywood Flies" that starred Vinnie Jones, and stayed up way too late-OOPS!)

No summer Ultimate program this year, which sucks, because that was a nice chunk of money and made for a great summer lifestyle last year. I was at Humboldt Park and could bike over to the beach everyday for some volleyball after work before I went to either work or frisbee, what a life I had!! Since the word came down about our program being cut I've been edgy and uncomfortable because I don't know what my summer will be like. But Lush has been able to pay the bills so far and I've been very happy working there this year.

As for what I have coming up this summer, I'm mostly sticking around town, playing Ultimate, working at Lush, and taking classes. I am excited to say that I will be heading to Yosemite in late July for some backpacking (something I really missed doing last summer). I've never really been anywhere in California other than L.A. and am looking forward to checking out what's up north.

Also on the radar in the distant future is a possible trip to Colombia over New Year's. My friend Jorge has family down there and we've been talking about how sweet it would be to get out of Chicago right about then. Plus, I assume because people are afraid to go there, flights are cheap. So if I can pull it off financially, I'm there!

In other news, I miss the Savvy Joes and the Seattle Flynns (as well as Seattle in general), and I hope I get to see you all very soon