In the library

I got booted out of my room so Mr. Kanaby could give a test there. It's all good. I get tired of being cooped up in that room everyday anyway. The weather is getting hot. I found myself sweating today just standing outside. Yeah, I know, gross.

Justice came to me this weekend in the form of the Miami Heat getting swept. Let me tell you how hard it was being a Pistons fan last year about this time. When they lost to the Heat I got no less than a dozen phone calls and pages from everyone I ever met from Miami, laughing and mocking my home team. Well, who's laughing now? It was a sweet, sweet Sunday afternoon as I sat in my in-laws front room with the family watching the Heat struggle and fall. Ahhh, the shocked silence, the sniffling sobs, the sounds of justice. It could only have been better if it would have been the Pistons (who look really focused btw).

Wow, ok, 18 more days of school, and then I guess I'm going to write another book. Between that and trying to get my first book published it should keep me pretty busy. I can really focus on getting the first manuscript out to more publishers than just one (even though the manuscript hasn't been rejected) and putting together a well-written sequel. Man, am I rusty right now, but it comes back quick.

Last night I did some arenas and three AB's with friends. The last AB we got mobbed by an entire team of tauren spamming "mooooo" e-motes as they descended upon us. It was frightening and probably the closest I'll ever get to being in an actual stampede. Arena was tough. Everytime the other team sported a pally we lost. Everytime. I think I would like to do an all stealth class team, 3 rogues or 2 rogues and a druid. I was getting a little frustrated when we went 4-12 but it was our first night and Nas was lagging bad. I thought I was really sucking, but I topped the charts in our AB matches so idk. Something to work on and way more fun than raiding.

Tonight, I'ma start laundry and do dishes, and pick up the house a bit. Then, who knows...the night is wide open.

Good ole Days

Gotta get the oil changed after school today. Looks like I'll be leaving football practice early. Oh yeah, gotta pick up the dog too. Sometimes my thoughts become a list of what I need to do. Like what happened just now. This is not a creative mindset. You can't write anything good when you are thinking about putting the lightbulb in the garage door opener. Believe me I've tried.

So...this Mountain Dew should get me through first period and the first half of practice. After that, I'm on my own.

Remember the good ole days? I bet alot of you who read this are thinking about the same times as I am. Or not. But really, when the good ole days were happening, I wasn't thinking about them as especially good, and they weren't old at the time since they were in the present when they happend. It's an interesting process, getting all wistful over the past and things that happened then. At least for me, my memory seems to gloss over the parts that weren't so good. Now I'm rambling.

Get back to me in 10 years and we can talk about how today was one of the good ole days.

PS-32 is the new 22

PPS-Ricker, sorry for not believing you about the Safety Dance. You were right all along.

Is it National Poetry Month?

Here's a poem I wrote.

Musings on a Fallen Oak

Totem of this dying place,
I stand before you,
Tower of decay,
Your limbs reach up,
As do mine,
You stretch skyward while I pray,
We groan together,
In this time of travail,
I see my end in your great corpse,
Your ancient crown once tall and proud,
Now bowed in humble reverence,
To the Maker,
The Giver and the Taker,
How long ‘til I am so arranged?
With naked limbs and weathered skin,
A hollow trunk,
In which no life resides.

NBA Weekend

I was watching the Spurs and Nuggets last night. The experts, of course, are all up on the Spurs because they have been so dominant in the West for so long. They are tough and poised with a superstar player (Duncan) a couple of stars (Parker, Ginobili) and a alot of quality veterans (see Robert Horry). It is really hard to pick against them. They are a disciplined and well coached, but as we all know, in the NBA, especially during the playoffs it's about the matchups. And the Spurs do not match up very well with the Nuggets. Nene was an absolute beast, Camby did his thing, Blake was solid and composed, Carmelo looked like the superstar he is supposed to be. But there was one player that was a matchup nightmare for the Spurs, Allen Iverson.

Allen Iverson gives the Nuggets a chance to win the series. Allen Iverson owns the second best playoff scoring average right behind, yep, Michael Jordan. He shoots over Parker, he goes around or gets fouled by Bowen, he challenges the defense everytime down the court. Melo cannot get double or tripled teamed with him on the floor. Allen Iverson single-handedly won games for Philly and now he has a athletic team and another superstar to rely on.

The Spurs better be careful or they're gonna be starring in their own post-season defeat sit com cleverly titled: "Who's Guarding Allen?"

Now to the Pistons. Chris Webber is the key to their winning it all. After the heart-wrenching loss to the Heat last season I knew the Pistons as we knew them were through. The formula that had worked so well for so long had broken down and changes had to happen. That's why I really can't hate on Ben Wallace. It was time for a change. Ben is a great defender, a great leader and a great energy guy/rebounder. But Ben killed us offensively last year in the playoffs.

Webber is the prodigal son of Michigan sports. He is finally back home in Detroit. He wants to win. He is crafty, he is a great passer, he hits most of his free-throws, he can score inside and outside, he is tough and though his knees are not what they once were, he can still throw down around the bucket. The rest of the players we know well, we know what they can do. The bench is deep and talented, the backcourt is the best in basketball. Prince is so underrated and so consistent and is a matchup headache. Rasheed: Rasheed has the God-given talent and physical abilities to be the best player on the floor in every game. He can score from anywhere, he is an excellent defender, when he wants to be. I hope he wants to be this playoff season because if Webber plays hungry and Rasheed plays to his potential we'll be raising another banner in June.

This school day is boggin me down. I was in a great mood coming in today and my 3rd period nearly stole my joy. Thank goodness I got it back.

Saturday Church

Going to church on Saturday is no different than going to church on Sunday as far as the day goes. If my local church suddenly switched days, Iwouldn't stop attending.

Romans 14:5 and 6

5
¶ One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Col. 2.16

But what about the Sabbath day? Isn't that THE day we should be having our services if we were really following the Scripture?

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Ex. 16.23-30 ; 31.12-14
13
Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:
14
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, Ex. 23.12 ; 31.15 ; 34.21 ; 35.2 · Lev. 23.3 thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

I don't see any kind of gathering or service or any kind of organized worship mentioned anywhere in the commandment. It looks like it is a day of rest to remind Israel who it was that gave them the opportunity to enjoy a day off, the LORD, and to thank Him for delivering them from bondage in Egypt where they had no rest.

Colossians 2:16 and 17

16
¶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Rom. 14.1-6
17
which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

I love these verses because they are about the freedom Christ brings to us, freedom from legalism. Instead they offer beautiful grace.

So, if your Bible-believing church meets on Saturday it doesn't matter what people think, or what "traditions" we have imposed on ourselves, go and worship.

Talk to you later.

Church Folk

I was reading a friend's blog and the honesty of what he was saying really hit me. What about church? Why do we go? I have been through two vicious church splits personally and I was able to encourage a pastor friend of mine about a year ago because of my experiences. I am always struck by the capacity of the head deacon or assistant pastor or song leader, any leader in the church really, to turn into a servant of the devil. I know, everyone sins, but these men are supposed to be spiritual leaders in both the church and the community and I'm not talking about forgetting to thank God for the food or not giving to the Lord. I'm talking about keeping notes to use against the pastor at a later time while openly supporting him in business meetings, I'm talking about trying to desperately show why a pastor is unfit to preach by wildly attacking his family. Backstabbing, lying, hateful things. And the vast majority of the people who have supported the pastor for years and years just sit there and watch him take it, or worse jump in with harsh words that they'd been storing up and suddenly found an opportunity to use.

Why meet weekly with hypocrites who really desire nothing more than to have power and found that a church setting is one of the easiest venues in which to achieve some level of noteriety? After all, show up to church, keep your real feelings secret, quote some scripture and wallah, you're a trustee in charge of all the funds God gives the church for it's various needs. Nice powerful position.

Well, I've asked myself these questions. But I keep coming back to the same answer and thus to church.

"Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is."

There it is, in the Bible right in front of my face. Not a suggestion, not a maybe, that's what it says. Also, I find it hard to give my offering if I'm not at church. Sure, I could always mail it to a ministry I used to attend or one I am familiar with, but that still doesn't get me around the scripture.

There are genuine christians at church, good people who love the Lord and live their lives by the Bible. I try not to view things by my past experiences. My pastors were always a good example to me in that when they were treated wrongly by the people they commited their lives to minster to, they just saw it as God's way of moving them along in another direction. I know they were hurt, their families were hurt, but they saw God's will in it all.

So there it is. Am I reserved around "church folk"? Yes, I am more cautious than I was growing up in church. I try to take people as they are. Are they christians because they say so and go to church every Sunday and Wednesday? No, they're not. You can tell by what people say and do, if you are around them long enough, whether they are truly christians. (Sometimes it doesn't take very long) Does that mean my negative experiences should keep me from fellowshipping and keeping Gods commandments? No, all experiences are learning experiences, I just have to use what God has taught me for his glory and continue to follow His leading.


PS-Chuck, you have no blog. When will you begin your own blog? You need a blog Chuck, a blog I say!

Friday

The dream is over. We lost last night in a close game. We, as a team, are going to get together one more time for dinner. It was a good run.

On the flip side, today is Friday: Gateway to the Weekend. And it is really nice outside, mid-80's with a nice little breeze.

At lunch a colleague and I were talking about how teaching is dehumanizing. The kids, because some of them are very evil, can get to you and because they are with you so much in such close proximity their personalities and habits rub off on you and you have to constantly guard against becoming like them in any way. It's insidious the way it tries to creep into you. Its like spiritual and moral mud. It gets on you. You have to constantly be centered to keep it from affecting you.

Let me clarify, because some may say that the word "dehumanize" is too strong. If people mistreat you long enough while you are trying to help them reach a goal, you will begin to do whatever is necessary to try to help them reach that goal (end justifies means). You will begin to lash out at those who have mistreated you day after day after day while all you were doing was trying to help them. Thus you feel that those who are mistreating you are forcing you to become less "good" than you originally were. But you rationalize that you have to do whatever it takes in order to accomplish your goal (because your goal, in this case education, is very important. And it is). This way the "human kindness" is squeezed out of you and you resort to tactics which take away the humanity of your pupils and thus your own humanity is stripped away in the process.

A wise teacher will remember what is really important, doing right. If you find yourself calling your students names or lashing out at them verablly in order to get them to finish their verbs worksheet stop and think. If I call my students worthless and berate them constantly they work harder and get better FCAT scores, but isn't it more important to discipline justly and righteously in my classroom and maybe have lower scores. If your students don't understand how to live rightly, or at least see justice in their teacher they can get all 100% 's and still be failures.

Again, balance is the key. Discipline consistently, be firm and fair. Treat your students like humans that you want to see succeed at life, not just at a standardized scantron test.

I never check my blog posts throug MS Word though I was contemplating it (nah!). So yes, my spelling and grammar are that good. =p

To my nephew who is checking into a "resort" for a while. I saw Secret of the Nym, and if you build a secret civilization beneath a rosebush after you escape from that place with the help of laboratory rats I want in, Mr. Jonothan Brizbee.

Well, one more class and then I have to go pick up my dog and my wife, do the dishes, pay the mortgage, mow the lawn, get a haircut and the oil changed (not necessarily in that order). And I'd like to get some writing done this weekend as well. Hmmm, so much to do, so little weekend.

Wednesday

I get a little self-conscious about writing straight onto the blog and not spell-checking with Word first. Maybe it's because I'm an English teacher and I'm afraid parents might read this and say, "Whoa, this guy does not know how to spell. I wonder how my kid is doing?"

Don't worry, your kid is just as ignorant as when he came to my class. Ah, I kid, I kid. Teaching is hard. Well...yeah teaching is hard. I was gonna say that it's hard where I'm at but it's hard everywhere. It's got many facets that's probably why I'm not bored with it yet. I get bored with jobs sometimes. I figure them out and then there's no more fun. Teaching is different every day and I try to make it interesting. I wish I was more organized though, that is my downfall. The classroom piece, not to bad, the filing piece, no thank-you. But, if I had to pick one to be good at, good with kids or good at filing etc., I'd take good with the kids everytime. Bending 30 little, evil minds to your singular will and purpose is fun.

Today we got on the topic of 666 which I was able to explain from a biblical (and not a superstitious) perspective. I am glad the Lord gives me opportunities like that, cause where else are they gonna hear it. Half of them don't go to church and the other half are catholic...yeah. Anyway, being married to a Latino woman has helped me alot at my present school due to the large population of Mexican and South American kids. My wife's culture is different of course than the Mexican culture but alot of the same principles apply. I know what Damas are for instance.

I need to write. Not that I should write or hey, writing is fun. I need to. If I don't I get all cranky and out of sorts. So my wife thinks I should write a new novel, completely different from the one I wrote before. I'm kicking some ideas around. I do feel like I need to finish what I started though, so I'll probably do that and wrap up the trilogy. Hopefully I can crank out a book, or most of it, over the summer.

Tomorrow night is our final night for league basketball. We play at eight and then, if we win, we play for the championship at nine. I'm ready.

WoW preys on my competitive nature and uses it against me. Why else would I run Sethekk Halls and lose on every roll that I even vaguely needed while guiding a group of noobs through an instance that I had already run half-a-dozen times? I want to be able to compete. BAH! Fie on thee WoW. From henceforth I shall be know as casual gamer.

We're reading the script to an old Twilight Zone episode today in class. Hey, it's in the textbook. It's fun and a cool story.

Our first football game was last evening in a torrential downpour. We won 20-6. Our team looked good. We have alot of speed and an aggressive defense. Seriously though we were soaked to the bone.

Well, I'd better grade some papers or do some other teacherly work.

Talk to you all later.

Walrus Muffins!!

Well, I've been sick all week. I left work at noon on Tuesday and had to take Wednesday off. Despite my sickness I decided to go to my basketball game last night. It was the second round of the playoffs. We (Justice League) being the 2nd seed had a first round bye. Only six of our guys showed up and our starting point guard was sick so I slid over and took on some of the ball handling duties. They had like ten guys and kept rotating them into the game trying to fatigue us. But we controlled tempo and our post players wore them down. It was a Piston-esque slow-down-grind-out. So next week we have to win 2 games in one night to claim the championship. Fun.

I am over school. And I want it to be over.

Today I have many house cleaning duties to attend to. Which reminds me I'd better go throw in some laundry...

Back. Had to throw in some colors. We always have more colors than whites.

My school's first football game is Tuesday at home. Armadillos had been diggin up the field, the filthy blighters, but the athletic director at my school bought some soil and filled in the a-holes (a=armadillo) so we would not get sued when the opposing team's star reciever breaks his tibia.

In other news I have a four day weekend, YAY. I think everyone should have a four day Easter weekend because of what is celebrated during that time. I'm taking it off next year even if the school changes our time-off schedule (which they have).

Well, I have dishes to do and I need to pick up the bedroom some. Tissues everywhere looks like Christmas in Norway only with more mucus.

Ok that was gross, sorry, I have to go work on my jump shot and then fold clothes.

C YA