Ramblings about life and some other stuff that I can't remember right now.
I sometimes get stuck in a rut and don't know what to write about. Actually, that happens pretty regularly. One of the ideas that I've seen quite a few times is to go to dictionary.com and use the word of the day to help get inspiration or an idea. I tried that today. Here's the [...]
When I was little, I remember my older brother was a fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That, in and of itself, wasn't particularly memorable. What I remember most was the pin he had that said "Don't Panic!" He let me wear it once, and I thought it was so cool. Then, like [...]
This week I lived through my 19th first day of school as a high school educator, and, except for my very first year, I don't ever remember being more anxious about the start of a year. It was fine...just very different. The halls were empty, and the only students in my classroom were my own [...]
When our COVID lock down began in March, my wife and I wanted to create some sort of normality in the household for our sake, but especially for the kids. One of the daily routines that happened organically was our trip to the mailbox at around 3:00 every afternoon once my wife and I were [...]
When I was eight years old, my parents took me to Disney World. One of the most memorable parts of that trip was getting stuck on the Carousel of Progress. (As I typed that sentence, the irony just smacked me in the face.) I freaked out. Not like a little scared. Like I was crying [...]
This morning, our high school had the first of two graduation ceremonies. Because the class is so large (around 1100 students) social distancing procedures required that graduation be split into two. Watching the first ceremony on the Internet this morning was surreal. The chairs spread out all over the football field so graduates were not [...]
I graduated from the University of Texas twenty years ago today. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The word "old" comes to mind. My time in college was very pivotal for me. I changed more in those four years than I have during any other four year span of my life. And most [...]
I was reminded a couple of weeks ago by my principal how much of a perfectionist I am. Teaching from a distance and not being able to check up on all of my students has been very difficult for me to stomach. He reminded me that I'm doing the work, and that's all I can [...]
I've noticed that I'm spending a lot more time tending to my garden beds lately since I'm home all the time right now. I was texting a friend the other day that I don't have any weeds in my garden right now because I check it about three times a day. I was kidding when [...]
Trying to look on the bright side of life here... One of the nice things about teaching high school from a distance is that I can really focus on the content and how I am delivering it. While recording my lessons, if I mess up, I can stop and do it over. I also don't [...]
There's so much that I want to write, that I'm having a hard time writing anything at all. There is a new normal for so many people right now. I'm having to learn how to teach two Advanced Placement classes remotely while also trying to help my wife (who is remotely working as a school [...]
A quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln seems fitting right about now. "Life is hard but so very beautiful."Attributed to Lincoln, but I have not been able to verify this. Still, it's a great quote. There is a lot of uncertainty right now about what will happen next. All of the schools in our areas [...]
I typically use the time during Spring Break to relax and get recharged for the final quarter of the school year. I guess I have done that to a certain extent so far this week, but we are also still using the break to get things situated in our (relatively) new house. Sunday was the [...]
Since I teach social studies, it happens from time to time that I can use current events as real life application for what we're doing in class. I actually wish it would happen a little more often, but for AP US History, we don't spend much time at all on recent events, and for AP [...]
As if getting hearing aids at 38, bifocals at 41, and having creaky knees wasn't enough, I got this in the mail yesterday. Really?!? I really don't want or need any help feeling older than I am, thank you very much. I also know that this probably wasn't actually for me. Many of those advertising [...]
