Sometimes kids say the wisest things...

Hey everyone! I've got more to post, much...MUCH more to post, but I'm going to do it in pieces...so, here's one of 'em.

My 7-almost-8 year old sister-in-law wrote a very special book as a wedding present to Bibi and I, and I'm going to transcribe it here for your reading pleasure...

Here it is,
"Marriage Is..." by Ami.

"Marriage is being together...
Loving one another...
Standing up for one another...
Discipline...
Taking care of one another...
Jobs...
Money...
Fun...
Sadness...
Joy...
Anger...
Work...
Generosity...
Celebrations...
Talking...
Plans...
Going new places...
and most of all Love."

We just think that is the coolest thing...and, we really wanted to share that with all of you. (c; So, hope you enjoyed it.

Oh, and our wedding pictures are now up on the web, for anyone who would like to go see them...

www.collages.net

Username: 061006
Password: 10799

(They look GOOD!)

All right...I"ll give you all the juicy details about the wedding, the ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon...losing my ring (in the ocean)...parasailing, plane rides, the MASS NUMBER OF HONEYMOONERS we met...and more....later. (c;

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

I'm Back.

(c;


More later....

break from posting...

Hey everyone...um...well, I won't be able to blog for the next week and a half or so. Why, you ask? Well....um...I'm getting married tomorrow. So, that's why. (c;

books...hmm...what are those?

Well, I realized that the roots of this blog--the books that I'm reading--has largely been ignored lately, and this post is an attempt to rectify that glaring transgression. (It's also an excuse to use big words.)

I finished a new book by Steven King a couple of days ago, entitled "Cell". It's about a frequency transmitted by cell phones that creates a new national terror: Zombie-like creatures. (Anyone who has stood in line at a grocery store lately knows that this isn't too far a cry from what cell phones actually do!)

The book was interesting...I found that it recalled King's greatest work (in my opinion) The Stand. A small group of survivors attempt to place some level of normalcy into their lives after some horrible tragedy (The Stand: A plague; Cell: Zombies) knocks out seeminly all of the much relied on infrastructure of our country. There is also a "bad" guy (Stand: The Trashcan Man; Cell: The Raggedy Man--also called The President of Harvard--I prefer the second name.) The similarities between the two books were striking, and I thought a little distracting. It was, in all honesty, a bit disappointing. I used to love King's work, and this just seemed to lack originality. All in all, I would suggest reading the Stand, and skipping Cell.

(One note, King did make use of the post 9/11 terrorist fear that has America in it's grip, and that was interesting.)

I just finished another book today, one entitled Amish Confidential, by Chris Burkholder. I found that my expectations for this book FAR out weighed the actual quality of the book. It was VERY poorly written, again, in my opinion. I was really interested in finding out about the Amish culture, especially from someone who has experienced it first hand, and found that it was very boring. The writing was very immature...it felt like it was being written by a fifth grader. He was redundant, and the book lacked any semblence of organizational structure. It was confusing and the lack of a logical flow made what should have been shocking revelations (beastiality, incest, sex, drugs, abuse) dull and lackluster.

Wow...I don't think I've ever written such negative reviews of books before, have I? Hey, Hadler, apparently I don't love EVERYTHING I read, do I? (c;

Just started another book, entitled "Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About" by Mil Millington. Only about 10 pages into it, but already I've laughed out loud enough times to frighten Buddy the dog. (Poor Buddy...he doesn't understand good literature.)

All right...that's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

HOLY TUESDAY BATMAN!!!!

Hey ya'll! Well, since I've arrived in KC, we've just had an amazing time. We had lunch with my mom, stepdad, and one of my sisters, and that was awesome. Great time relaxing, and my sister has a wonderful house, and it was just really nice and relaxing. Hung out with Bibi's family, and that was great, too. Good times abound.

Sunday night we hung out with friends, and that was nice. Yesterday, we got together around noon, and made our itinerary for the wedding, which was good. Every little thing we do that needs to be done before the wedding, seems like a symbolic huge step towards actually getting married, and I get more excited with each step!! I've had a perpetual grin/smile on my face since we got here. (And, even more importantly, I've had what an old friend used to call, a "soul grin" on the whole time. MAN I"M EXCITED!!!)

We also were able to line up someone to play the song that we really wanted to have played at the wedding, and that looks like it's going to go really well.

Oh, and along the excitement lines...
BACK STORY: Junior Year of high school, a Sunday in the spring, after church: I was absolutely stoked about joining the peace corps. IN FACT, I called them and asked about the possibility of joining before college. Realized, that wasn't going to happen. (They aren't that needy, they can actual limit volunteers to college grads (for the most part.))

FLASH FORWARD TO 16 MONTHS AGO: Bibi and I discussed how we had both kinda wanted to do the peace corps at one time. Conversation fizzles.

FLASH TO A MONTH AGO: Bibi and I realize that we want to wait to have kids for a couple of years, we are going to be in Kirksville until next year, but after that, well, the whole world is open to us. Why not? Why NOT?! Heck, let's go for it!! C'mon, when will there be a better time for us? So, yesterday we spent a bunch of time online researching and we're absolutly psyched about the whole thing. And, there is a conference in July about the Peace Corps in St. Louis, and we're planning on going. WHOO HOO!!!

All right...more later!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Monday, Tuesday, Happy Days....

Hey everyone! I'm sitting here in our living room, typing away on my laptop--which is now internet enabled!!!--updating my blog. whoo hoo!!!

Bibi and I are leaving here in about 20 minutes to go down to KC for the rest of the time til the wedding. I. Can't. WAIT. !!!!!

Just had to pack for the next two weeks, as well as for the honeymoon. (THAT was awesome!!!)

All right....I"ll update from KC...hope everyone is doing well!!!

Oh, and Steven King's book, Cell, is really really good. More later!

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

...

Well, at last the day is here. I am done with school for another
year. It's always a bittersweet time. I'm going to miss these kids a
great deal. They're a good bunch, and I have a lot of fond memories. Good
times, good times.

Wedding plans are coming together. Bibi is amazing. She's really doing an
amazing job of organizing and situating, but I really feel like I'm a part
of the process--as much as I can be, before school is out.

Today is another one of those cool days where I get to play a fun song for
the kids...."School's Out" by Alice Cooper. Yeah, that's right. I'm THAT
teacher. (c;

Oh, and I found a HIlarious clip of the Peanuts Gang dancing to OutKast's
"Hey Ya", which I'm showing to the kids, too. (Thanks, Matt! It's
AWESOME!!!!)

Well, until later...God bless, and have a great day!

Thanks for reading...

tommy

Update

Hey everyone...

just wanted to drop a little note.

The year is winding down. Tomorrow we go on our major field trip of the
year. At 7:15, we (7 of 8 fifth grade classes) will board school busses
and ride two hours to Nauvoo Illinois, where we will spend our day touring
an 1840's village. Good times, good times.

We've gotten Bibi's things moved into our house, and she's leaving this
afternoon to go back to KC til the wedding. It's getting down to crunch
time, and we'll admit, it's a bit scary. (Not the actual being married
part--we're both cool with that--but the throwing of a huge major shindig
has us both a bit harried.)

On a much sadder and personal note...Kaya, my beautiful boxer is not doing
well. She's doing very poorly, actually. She's been incontinent for more
than a year now, and it's not gotten better, even with different
medications. I talked to the vet, and he told me that basically, at this
stage with her age, we can put her through an extensive and costly (+$2000)
set of tests, which will (given the aforementioned age) have slim to no
chance of providing helpful answers, or we can consider what no dog
owner/lover wants to consider.

She's been an amazing dog, and Bibi and I will miss her immensely. We
spent about half an hour last night taking pictures of our little girl and
I'm really not looking forward to the appointment tonight. Someone sent me
a really sweet poem/story today about the "rainbow bridge" and that was nice.

I'll talk to you all later, and God bless....

thanks for reading...

Tommy

greatest news today.

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

greatest news today!!!!

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Testing

So, we're going to test this new-fangled thing out...so, this'll be short
in case this doesn't work.

My thigh is the color of a smurf. And, it hurts real smurfing bad.

Today starts the beginning of the end of the year for me. I've gotten
everything planned, everything scheduled and the end is in sight. So, I
got that going for me.

Oh, and seriously, if you haven't read "Lamb" by Christopher Moore...what
are you waiting for? It's ded-funny! (Oh, um...except, if you happen to
think that God doesn't have a sense of humor...then, um definitely DON"T
read the book. Yeah.

Karaoke tonight, looking forward to that. And, I'm taking requests if
anyone has one.

"Lost" tomorrow night. Wow, what a great show.

What About Brian? was great last night....left Bibi and I both SCREAMING
for another episode. (If you haven't watched it yet, check it out in
re-runville this summer.

That's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Hey ya'll!

So, just tried something, and we'll see how it goes.

Things are going well. School is gearing up/winding down, and I"m enjoying myself, and I believe the kids are, too. I'm getting married in less then 5 weeks, and I can't wait.

I'm in our new house, and I love it. Great location, nice time.

This weekend I had my bachelor party, and that was fun. My stepdad came up for it, and brought me his old bike. It's great! I rode it to school today, and promptly proceeded to run into a telephone pole on the way home. (Please--don't ask.)

The bike's ok. (The front brake needs to be checked out.) And, my thigh has a MASSIVE bruise on it. Yeah!!!! (Sarcasm.)

I'm re-reading "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." I LOVE this book. Absolutely hilarious and really interesting look at Jesus' human side. Good stuff.

All right, I think I've worked out so that I can post more frequently. We'll see.

Off to watch the Season Finale of What About Brian?

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Midweek Update, and a request...

So, things are going really well. The new house is awesome, school is fantastic, Bibi is great, and things are good in general.

I just finished up "Thank You for Smoking". Really good book. Very funny. I wanna see the movie now.

I took up "Assassins of Memory" again. It's about people who reject the idea of the Holocaust. It's very interesting, but really sad. Scary, too.

The request: Jim, you mentioned that I can post by sending an e-mail...can you send me an e-mail so that I can learn how to do that? Thanks!!!

Tommy

Hey ya'll. Just a quick note. Bibi and I moved me into the new house...and, it's awesome!!! I got out my record player, which I haven't had out for a while, and that was awesome. I put on The Who's "Baba O'Reilly", which, as my avid readers know, is my favorite. School's good, everything's great. My bachelor party is coming up, and I'm excited.

Looking forward to this weekend. Great band on Friday night, and I'm going home for the day Sunday. Good times.

Later...

Tommy

Update

So, went to the doctor today. My REAL doctor. Found out this morning that the guy I went to at the ER has almost killed three people by misdiagnosing, and thought to myself..."hey! Self, you should get to the doctor!" So, I did.

The real doctor told me that in all liklihood (sp?!) I pulled/strained/twisted something before the pain set in, and wouldn't have felt the effects until long after, when the muscles had a chance to tighten up. So, there ya go.

Oh! Bibi and I have REALLY exciting news!!! WE have someone to marry us now!!!! Dr. Dereck Dashke, of Truman State University has been ordained, and he will be officiating at the ceremony. It's awesome...he's a good friend of ours, his step-son was in my class last year, he goes to karaoke every week, and I was the photographer at HIS wedding, last summer! (It's a small world after....anyway.)

So, that'll be good.

This weekend was fun, and now Bibi and I are realizing that we are absolutly SLAMMED between now and the wedding. Every single weekend from here on out has multiple goings-on, and the weeks are just as busy. We are currently moving me into our new house, and it's EXCITING!!!! (c;

All right people...thanks for reading, and for what will MAYBE be the last time...
Life soundtracks, anyone? (c;

Tommy

pain in the....back....

So, I woke up today, feeling pretty damn good. My back felt great, and I felt fine. I was going to go sans coffee today, in order to kind of facilitate cleaning out my system. Everything was going fine...head was good, class was good, everything aces...until after lunch...just shortly after lunch.

Up until then, I have to admit my pain, on a scale of 1-10 had been at most a 5. I thought it was bad, but in retrospect, given what I know now about pain, it was AT MOST a 5. We were playing a spelling game after lunch, and I started having this intense stabbing sensations in my back...and, within five minutes, I was almost on the floor...I swear, I held the tears back until I went out in the hall. (Then they flowed like wine.) I got a sub, Bibi picked me up, and we took me to the hospital. There I had multiple tests done, x-rays, etc, all so that the doctor could tell me:

I have one leg that is longer than the other one. This, in turn, has set my spine off kilter from my pelvis, which in turn led to me crying like a little girl.

However, they gave me some kind of pain medicine that is one step down from morphine, so I feel fine now. (c; (mmm....happy tommy....)

Oh, and my new addiction "Deal or No Deal" was good tonight.

That's all.

Oh, and Bibi and I are going to KC this weekend for her sister's birthday, and some wedding stuff. It'll be good to get out of town for a bit, and I don't have school Friday, so that'll make the weekend extra sweet.

All right, more later...

Tommy

boo

So, I was going to post this morning before school started, but came to find out that my employer has blocked blogger from the school web. So....no more blogging for tommy, 'cept at Bibi's house. (I love you Bibi!!)

Today was decent....I woke up yesterday with this unbelievably bad back pain...it felt like someone was stabbing me repeatedly in the back. Didn't think anything of it...just though maybe I slept on it wrong. However, my overactive imagination has turned it into kidney stones, kidney infection, or perhaps I woke up in a tub full of ice, and there is a slit in my back, and I don't remember....

Finished New Religious Movements. It was REALLY good. Very enjoyable read, and very readable, at that. Plus, I have it on good authority, that Bibi and I might be getting the author to officiate at our wedding! (c'

I'm reading a book I picked up from a good friend of mine who teaches high school. It's called Assassins of Memory, and it's about people who deny the holocaust. Interesting so far.

All right! More later!

Thanks for stopping by!

a quick note...

Here is a link to where Bibi and I will be spending our first week of wedded bliss...

http://www.lacabanaaruba.com/Images/HighResort.jpg

How was your weekend?

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

struggling...

this week has been really hard; really, really hard. It's had some massive ups, and some fairly substantial downs.

I'm struggling with the concept of personal responsibility. Specifically, how I'm going to emphasize this unbelievably importnat concept to my students. There seems to me to be a complete and total lack of this value/quality/characterstic in my (some of my) students..and it's really frustrating. I can't really say anything more than that, but suffice it to say, I'm cooking up some lessons on accountability. Any suggestions will be duly noted and utilized.

On the up end of the week, Bibi and I are officially going on a honeymoon, and we're ecstatic! We're going to Aruba, and we bought our plane tickets earlier this week. (Thanks Bibi!)

I'm reading New Religious Movements still, and it's fascinating. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Rastafarians, and the Family Movement. Very intriguing. Curious theological ideologies. I found the idiosyncratic language used by Rastafarians quite inspiring, in all honesty. I've heard the whole Jamaican "I and I" phrase before, but I did not understand that it symbolizes the unity in the Rastafarian community, in that all people are connected, and when you say "I and I" for the pronoun "we" you are signifying the interconnectedness of the group. Really cool.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Tuesday

So, I voted today.

Voting always--and, I'm honestly not being sarcastic here--fills me with a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. I turned 18 the summer before my senior year in high school, and was able to vote in the 96 election for president. It was really cool to be able to vote before all of my friends, and it really showed me how awesome a responsibility--and priviledge!!!-- it is to be able to vote. Every time I vote, it really makes me feel good, and I love talking politics--in recent years I've become more interested in what other people have to say as opposed to telling people what I think--and today was no exception. Good times...good times.

Oh, and New Religious Movements is going really well. It's interesting reading about this groups from their perspectives...instead of just hearing about it from an outsider explaining what the religion believes, you know? So, if anyone wants to read it, let me know!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Interesting fact...

This wednesday, at 1:02 and 3 seconds, the official date and time will be...


01:02:03 04/05/06.

Pretty cool isn't it?

That's all....reading a really good book called New Religious Movements about...well, new religious movements...VERY interesting stuff...I'm finding out things I really didn't know...I'd recommend it. (Plus, a couple of friends of mine wrote it!!! (c; )

Have a great Monday!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

morning constitutional...

So, about a week back, Bibi's car went kaput. We talked and decided that we were fine as we are, and we didn't need to worry about getting a replacement...we became a one car family. I gotta say, it's been a breeze so far! I mean, I'm at work all day, so I obviously don't need a car, and the town we live in is small enough that, in all honesty, I really don't need to worry about it all that much anyway. Take today, for example.

Bibi had a late night of studying last night, so this morning I drove over to her house, and dropped off the car. I didn't want her to have to get up, so I walked the rest of the way to school. It was about four blocks-ish, maybe a quarter to half a mile. (FYI--My ability to judge distances is not to be trusted...). It was 7:00, and I had to get to school in time for a meeting about the infamous MAP testing. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to the meeting, but couldn't help but enjoy the walk...it was a breezy 40 degrees, I'd wager, and the sun was shining...it was absolutely peaceful and serene...I had my coffee, the sunshine on my face, and a balmy (Bibi and I looked it up...it means mild and refreshing!!!) breeze brining alive every inch of my skin. It felt glorious..it really did! In fact, the morning has been less than ideal, (challenges, problems, situations, etc.), but all I can think about is how damn good my morning is REALLY going!

I might want to continue doing this!

Maybe not when it's raining though...(c;

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Personal Update

So, before you read any further, know that this is a post that will be delving into a fairly personal topic. However, if you would like to read on, please do.

Bibi and I have discussed in the past the idea of "charting" as family planning, and pregnancy achievment. I had ironically read a little about this at a friend's blog, and my favorite tv show has done some really funny episodes all about cervical mucus, cervical position and temps. So, I was prepared somewhat.

However, Bibi's mom gave us a book called, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility", which is basically a really well written guide to fertility and the changes a woman's body goes through during their monthly cycle. Bibi and I agreed that we would read it together, and I have to say...it's been AWESOME. The book is absolutely fascinating, and we are having such a blast learning about the charting process as a couple.

Just a couple of things that I've though about as I've been reading...(nothing profound, but interesting nonetheless)

--why is it that most of the "responsibility" for birth control is placed on women, when women are fertile for only about a 1/4 of their cycle, and men are fertile ALL the time?!

--why do they not tell men about the crazy range of side-effects related to common birth control methods, so that we could possibly be a bit more understanding?!

--the human body is absolutely AMAZING. it's awesome, in the TRUE meaning of "awesome". It's awe-inspiring.

All right...that's all.

Oh, still reading Good Omens, still enjoying it. Also bought a book yesterday called "New Religious Movements," that was edited (put together) by a good friend of mine who works at Truman. I'm excited about it!

Ok...thanks for reading...

Tommy

Good Omens

I'm reading a new book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, called Good Omens. It's mainly a humorous take on the end times, with the misplacement of the Anti-christ, all hell breaks...well, um....loose.

Anyway, I liked this one passage, and thought I'd share it...

"It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people."

Yeah.

Tommy

Pimp name

So, in honor of....well, um...it being a....Monday...I though I'd revisit an old site and rephresh things....so, here it is...my pimp name.

Fine Ass Estlund Skillz

Word.

Peace out Homies....I be chiggity checkin' you all latas....

today

Well, we just had a "distinguished guest" in my classroom...the honorable president of our local university came to our classroom to see our 7 wonders of kirksville project. It was cool...the students--entirely on their own--spoke about the wonders of the CDC (now defunct, thanks) and the theatre department (which is basically being shat upon regularly.)

It was quite heart-warming to see. (c;

Oh, and here are my 7 wonders of kirksville...

1. The window seat at Java Co. (Left hand side, facing the square.)
2. The steps of Kirk Memorial building.
3. The "fort" at the old school building adjacent to Centennial Hall.
4. The house on Jefferson Street where I used to sit on the porch drinking iced tea with Souther Comfort with Brendan and Brad.
5. Rainbow Basin.
6. The lounge in the 300's of MO Hall, where I spent so much time my freshman year.
7. My classroom. It's where I learned what teaching meant, where I learned so many lessons about life, and love, and human nature, and most importantly...where I met the love of my life.

Oh, crap, that sounds REALLY bad. My fiance, Bibi...we met when she was observing in my classroom. Yikes....gotta be careful how I put that, eh? (c;

All right...

later!
Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Oh, weather report says 5-10 inches of snow....here's to hoping....

Hello from KC...

Hey everyone! It's me! I'm typing this at Dave's computer, pretty late in the night, over Spring Break. I hate his keyboard, so this will be short. Bibi and I came to KC last Friday, and we've been going going going ever since. I will say two things... (maybe more...I'm not really planning this thing...)

1. LOVED the book Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbradnt. (Spelling?!) Absolutlely amazing storyteller. I couldn't put it down--a man who hasn't watched a single horse race in his ENTIRE life. GREAT story.

2. Wedding planning has been great. Got the tuxes, got the food, working on the DJ. Great stuff.

3. www.chucknorrisfacts.com is FREAKIN' GREAT!!!!!!

4. I love Bibi.

5. Reading Portnoy's Complaint by Phillip Roth. It got a lot of flack as being quite controversial--which it deserves, but the underlying themes are pretty damn good.

That's all. Back to KVille tomorrow. Fun times, fun times.

Thanks for reading...how's your week going?

Tommy

Realization...

You know...

I'm pretty damn blessed.

That's all.

In other news...

Todays been a really great day. Other than the very sad news this morning, today has been very good. I'm enjoying a new book (Postville turned out to be an excellent book...you should read it Brad!) on Seabiscuit. The woman who does Karaoke in town bought it for me at a garage sale about a year ago. (talk about small town life; it was very sweet of her.) One of the after school teachers is sick, so I've got about 8 more students in my group than usual, and it's going REALLY well. I've got a couple of the kids that teachers talk about (vis. problem kids) and it's going swimmingly. They don't really know what to think of me, (they've seen my around, know that I'm somewhat strict, but they're a little afraid to test me.) I like it. (c;

All right...more later...

Tommy

Kirby

Today is a sad day. It's a sad day for baseball, for America, and for me. Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins great, died yesterday, one day after having a stroke. The reason this is so striking, is that when I was growing up, one of the things I remember so vividly is watching the Twins playin the world series with my dad. I still have The Twin's Homer Hankie from '87. My dad let me stay up late just to see the Twins play, and Kirby was our favorite player. In fact, my dad's Golden Retriever is named Kirby, in honor of Puckett.

He will be missed.

Postville Part Deux

So, almost finished with Postville. I have to say, it has turned out to be quite interesting. Once I got past the constant stereotyping of Iowans, it was really well written. The author, Stephen Bloom did an excellent job of laying out the complexities of the conflict. You take a group of Fundamentalist Hasidic Jews, who believe it is crucial to separate themselves from those around them as they are the Chosen People, and put them in a very unique setting, such as rural Iowa, and it set the stage for an interesting battle ground.

Bloom was sympathetic to both groups, all the while struggling with his inherent link to the Jewish population as a fellow Jew. Throughout the book, the reader sees Bloom's open and honest struggle with what is right and wrong. He sees how off-putting the Jew's behavior is (arrogant, condescending, racist--and proud of it!!--, and their immediate claim that any and all arguments against them is anti-semitism) as well as the close-mindedness some of the Iowan's exhibit. Sometimes, as we see in this story, there are reasons that generalizations are made, (not to say it's right) and it's easy to get caught up in an emotional state. Bloom is often caught in the middle of these two battling groups, and comes to find that he is reluctantly--but inevitably--drawn to the Iowans in this conflict. The behavior of the Jews of Postville--while right in their own minds--is too much to expect the Iowans to put up with. The pentultimate and proverbial last straw was a crime--viscious and unimaginable that was ignored and condoned by the Hasidim. An elderly shop clerk was shot, at point-blank range, by one of the Hasidim, and the Lubavitcher's (the Jew's in Postville) came out in force to show their support. For the SHOOTER. Because the victim was "just a gentile", it wasn't that big of a deal, and was not worthy of their sympathy.

Obviously, this is an accouting of the situation in Postville, and this case-study should not be extrapolated unto any other groups, and certainly not used as a description of Hasidic Jews as a whole; but it is an interesting view of one horrible experience of race problems in recent history.

I'd recommend it as an interesting look at race/religion relations in present day Middle America.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Lent

I'm giving up Sarcasm for Lent.

I feel like I'm in a bad episode of Friends.

And, it's going to last for 40 days.

New Deal

I recently stopped reading a book, which I rarely do. In fact, I don't think I've "quit" on a book in almost four years. Last time I did it was shortly after my sister moved to Kansas City. Man...how long ago WAS that Sarah?

Anywho, I'm not reading a book I bought about 6 years ago, that I never got around to. It's called "Postville", and it's a recounting of the conflict that occurred in Postville Iowa between the residents of the town and the Hassidic Jewish population that moved in, in order to run a kosher slaughterhouse. So far I'm only a little way into it, but it's been exceptionally frustrating. The author is a self-proclaimed big-city journalist from San Francisco, who is blown-away by the quaintness of small town Iowa. He moved to Iowa City (just 25-30 minutes away from my hometown of Cedar Rapids) and continually lambasts the community for it's "backward" qualities. He mocks the "behind-the-times" rebelliousness of the U of I student body, the back-roads, country-bumpkin, hill-billy, barely veiled antisemitism he meets at every corner.

Now, to be sure, I have no doubt that he--unfortunately--met with some ignorant people in his time. But his only visit to Cedar Rapids was to visit the Linn County Pork Festival (which, by and by, I've NEVER heard of) instead of visiting the Science Station, the Symphony, the Community Theatre, or the Cedar Rapids Art Museum.

It's frustrating to see my home town portrayed in such a two-dimensional and stereotypical fashion. I'm sure that moving to Iowa was a shock to his system, but his account of his co-workers at the University of Iowa only choice of recreation being hunting, is hardly the case. Sure, people in the midwest hunt. But there's more to do than that!!!!

When I bought the book I was looking forward to an analysis of two very different cultures coming together in an unusual way...not a static and one-sided description of how small-minded and sad our midwest way of life is.

I will continue...I will read on...but I'm frustrated for now.

That is all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Yea Hump Day

So, today has been incredible so far. Man! Last night started it all off. It was kind of...um, well...crappy for Bibi. Her basement is flooded with sewage. Um...again. So, her landlord put her and her roommates up in a hotel her in town, and we all hung out in the hottub for a while. Then, I went to karaoke, which was great, and I overslept a LITTLE this morning, which meant that I'm well rested.

Today though...man aLIVE today. (c; Well, I absolutely LOVE teaching Social Studies, and this morning has been a Social Studies-tastic day. Both classes have been ON. I mean, bing bang boom, we're answering questions, explaining causes and effects, etc. etc. etc. It's been GREAT!!!!

And, it's like 65 out, which translates to NICE. (c;

All right, I'm going to go spread my sunshiny happiness somewhere else. Have a GREAT Wednesday everyone!

(c;

Tommy

doodads

So. I was cleaning off my desk at school, when I re-noticed a paper weight I have on my desk. I was given it as a Valentine's Day Present by a girl I dated my second year teaching. It says, "Mr. E" on it; it's a glass circle about an inch thick and about two inches in diameter. I'm not using it as a paper weight, I'm using it as a decoration on an already cramped and crowded desk. Do I keep it?

soundtracks...

Hey ya'll! So, I've upped the number of "Life Soundtracks" I've received. I now have 10, although that's not from ten different people--some of you have made Life Soundtracks Volumes 1-4. (Although the four disc is actually going to be an anthology...the four I have are just of the years 20-25.)

So, for those of you who were thinking about doing it...and didn't...or thought I'd forgotten, well, GET CRACKIN!!!! (c;

This weekend was good. Saw Lewis Black at Truman Friday night, and had a small scavenger hunt for Bibi afterwards for her b-day. Saturday was relaxing...did laundry, read, organized CD's, etc. Bibi's new sorority formal was Saturday night, and we go there a bit later, which was great, b/c evidently there was some drama--imagine that...drama at a sorority event...huh--and we missed it. (I prefer no drama with my festive events, thank you very much)

Sunday was a lazy day, lounging around and relaxing....Grey's Anatomy was GREAT last night.

Still working on The Best and the Brightest. It's a bit slow going, but you can't exactly gloss over the events leading up to the Vietnam War, can you? (c;

Oh, and for those of you who aren't paying attention to the Dubai Ports deal; The company that is attempting to purchase the ports has requested that we take time to fully investigate the deal and the company to make sure things are on the straight and narrow.

Sounds solid to me. (As it did to the three government agencies that all investigated the deal prior to approving it....which, you know, they did. (c;)

Love ya all...thanks for reading...

Tommy

PS

Oh, one other thought...Bush just claiming, "People don't need to worry about Security"...well, golly that's not REALLY gonna make people feel better, now is it? So...after all of the other thoughts...he's just not really doing much to further his cause.

Views in the News

For anyone who reads the news, you can hardly read two lines, or listen to 2 seconds of the news before hearing about the controversial Dubai-Ports deal. It strikes me as very interesting. First of all, I do NOT claim to be an expert on all things UAE, however, I have done some (limited) research on Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, and I thought I'd use this forum to throw out some ideas.

The UAE HAVE indeed been allies to the US and Britain in the "war on terror". There is also evidence to show that the 9/11 terrorists used UAE transportation (airplanes, boats, etc) prior to the attack. I believe it's also been suggested that one or two of the terrorists were from the UAE. (I'm not sure about that one though.)

However, the UAE has been making dramatic strides in promoting freedom, peace, capitalism and democracy for the past 50 years. While the so-called "terrorist connection" may look bad, I'd like to remind you that the terrorists got flight training IN the US, I believe, because we're a free country...we don't like to question or stifle people's freedom's. (In the UAE, they're trying for the same idea--freedom).

The whole "port-authority" issue has been blown a little out of proportion. Some may not understand exactly what the deal entails. First of all, the US did NOT sell to the UAE. The ports in question (six of them in all) were ALREADY owned by Britain. So, in fact, Britain (one of our strongest allies) sold the ports to Dubai. Second, security would NOT be under UAE jurisdiction. That would still fall to the US. WE would be in charge of that. Furthermore, historically speaking, when ports ARE owned by other countries, the employees of said port are generally speaking natives of the host country. (Americans would still be the main source of labor at the ports.) So, it's not like the sale will mean an influx of "scary and questionable people of Arab descent." And, this brings me to my final point...

I decided to see what the UAE perspective was on all of this. I quote from the Dubai.com website (yeah, yeah, no accounting for bias, but that's another issue all together!!!):
If the United States can't work with a moderate, friendly and socially liberal Arab ally like Dubai, it may not be able to work with any Arabs at all.

It's important to remember that Islam is not the cause of terror. It's important to remember that Arabs are not Terrorists. It's important to remember that one major goal in the "war on terror" that has been overlooked for the most part is fostering positive relationships with other countries around the world. Arabs DO NOT hate the US. The UAE, specifically wants to work with us. (Of course, this deal will be beneficial to Dubai, and all UAE citizens, but we can't fault them for wanting to grow as a country.) We should NOT close ourselves off to friendly countries because of a specious argument. To other countries, our reticence looks like Arabphobia, and that we can't afford.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

The Pearl--Revisited

I've decided I want to talk a bit more about the Pearl.

Steinbeck does something quite amazing. He sets the story in a "primitive" village, where the main characters--a husband and wife, and their baby--live by diving for Pearls. After their baby is bitten by a scorpion, they realize that living day-to-day is taking a horrendous toll on their existence. Kino finds the "Pearl fo the World", and immediately all of his wildest dreams are realized. He speaks them--which sets in motion unavoidable obstacles. It is clear now that riches have changed him. He is isolated, separated, and cast out into the world. The people around him--his neighbors, friends, townspeople--are all viewed in a new light.

This book, this story, this look at ourselves, is a mirror. How often have we simply wished that we could get that lottery ticket, some mysterious benefactor would bequeath us with some exorbitant sum and all our problems would drift away. If we could just get 'enough' all would be made simple; right? Money is our problem, and if we could just get a little more...the problems would be gone. Right?

In reality, it's not the money that's the problem. It's ourselves. We get ourselves into situations that cause strife. We are the problems...not money. Steinbeck shows that money, wealth, materialism are realities in our world--we can't ignore them. Living does take money...(when Coyotito is bitten, he really does need medical attention, although the doctor that treats him is a jackass) and so we can't remove ourselves from that scenario, but recognizing it....recognizing the ACTUAL causes of our conflicts, instead of pawning them off on an easy scapegoat, will bring us just that much closer to an actual solution.

Hmm...these blogs can be dangerous things...for anyone that is reading this...these revelations are all directed back at me, and should not be taken as an indictment of anyone else. Except you. (c;

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

e-mail

If anyone has e-mailed me since yesterday at about 4:15, I haven't gotten it...my e-mail is not working. Argh.

Weekly update

Hey ya'll!

Well, it's been awhile, b/c we've had an unexpected vacation! On Wednesday, we knew that it was going to be messy over night, and it might get kind of slick. Well, Thursday I woke up and it was VERY icy, but I didn't think we would be let out of school, so I went ahead to school. After sitting in my classroom for a half an hour working, I decided to go down to the main commons area and chat with some fellow teachers; it was then that I found out school was cancelled. Unfortunately, many kids were already on their way/at school, so they had to turn around and go back. It was a very confusing an unfortunate situation.

We also found out Thursday night that school was cancelled for Friday. I had been subpeonoed for a child custody battle, and that was settled out of court, so that meant my Friday was completely free. (Oh, and we didn't have school yesterday, which added up to a five day weekend for yours truly. Whoo hoo!!! (c;)

Friday night I held a huge party for Bibi, as her 22nd birthday is tomorrow, and her sister and best friend were able to come into Kville for the weekend. That was fun--although, afterwards, when we went to Pancake City for grub-postparty--a college student called me sir. SIR! Can you believe the nerve?! Dammit--I'm NOT a SIR yet. Argh.

The rest of the weekend was relaxing and nice. Oh--since last I talked, I've read a few books. The Shroud of the Thwacker was amusing. It was kind of monotonous, but overall enjoyable. And, for the record--Sara!!!--I did not LOVE it. It was good, but not fantastic or anything. After that I read "the Pearl" by John Steinbeck. HOLY crap. WHAT an amazing book!!! (That one I did love!) Steinbeck--can he do anything wrong?! I submit that he cannot!! (Well, literary wise...I don't know what kind of a person he was or anything.)

Now I'm reading a book by David Halberstam. He's one of my favorite non-fiction authors. It's a book called "The Best and the Brightest", and it's a look at the Kennedy administration's involvment in the Vietnam situation. Basically, Halberstam takes a look at all of the people involved in the administration--how their strength's and weaknesses, their power--and lack therein--led to the inevitable quagmire that was Vietnam. I'm nuturing a growing interest in the politics of the early-to-mid 20th century, and the national attitude towards media, communism and politics in general is absolutely fascinating!

All right...have a great Tuesday! (c;

Thanks for reading...
tommy

v day

Imagine, if you will...a fifth grade classroom. On Valentine's Day. Every single student pumped so full of chocolate that they literally cannot control themselves. Noise, energy, excitment, confusion, joy, unnaturally high levels of endorphins running through their little bodies. Can I tell you how much I'm looking forward to after school today? Third graders running on cupcakes, cookies, sweetarts, and smarties. Ugh. I wanna brush my teeth just thinking about it....

tommy

Yesterday

So, yesterday something cool happened. I don't know if you remember, faithful reader, that at the start of the day, even before my students were in the room, I was prepared for a good day. I had listened to my 'good day' music, and was pumped.

Well, during the morning routine, I decided to tell my students that it was going to be a good day. I told them that it was entirely possible to wake up and just decide that the day was going to be a good one.

Jump to Social Studies. After our last test--which, in all honesty--SUCKED, I had really upped the effort in this chapter; we took the test yesterday, and we discussed it when everyone was done. I asked them what they had thought of it, and one student raised her hand and said, "well, some of the questions were kind of fun to answer....like, I knew a lot about the question, so I could really write a lot and that was fun." HOW COOL IS THAT?! I just smiled and said, "who remembers what I said at the start of the day? It's a good day!!!"

ok...that's all.

Tommy

Musical tastes...

I've been listening to some random collections of music lately...and here's what I've decided.

I like happy music. I like 'upbeat' music, melody-wise. Songs like Wonderful, by Everclear, Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve (I think?!), 100 years by Five for Fighting, Beautiful Day by U2, and of course, Baba O'Reilly by the Who. Songs that get you pumped, songs that have that unknow quality that just gets the old heart beating a bit faster, puts a smile on your face, and a bit of a strut in your step. I don't know what it is, exactly, about those songs...but man, those and a few others just get me going like NOTHING else. I'm ready to take on anything, to do my thang, as it were. I'm listening to Jack and Diane right now, waiting for the kids to come back to the room, and that's another one. (c;

It's gonna be a good day.

tommy

...

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love snow.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Wednesday.

The Comfort of Strangers

All right...

So, going into reading this book, I knew it would be strange. It was described as a twisted and wholly disturbing little book. Well, the friend who recommended it usually has very good taste in books. We can almost always discuss at length nearly any topic, as we both read a lot, and we both read a very diverse selection of literature.

This time...oh, this time...

I stayed up until 12:30 (for a teacher--that's REALLY late) finishing this damn book. I was about half way into it when I went to bed, but it just kept getting odder and odder; and, in all honesty, it was a lot like a horrific traffic accident that starts out small. At first you kind of gawk because you're interested, and then you want to see where it's going and when it's done, you're left in a daze, completely unable to do anything other than mumble incoherently to yourself about the awful things you've just seen. Only, in book form.

Yeah.

Starting "The Shroud of the Thwacker" by Chris Elliot next. (Yes, THAT Chris Elliot.)

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Monday Monday

Hey ya'll...

So, this weekend was kind of eventful. Friday night Bibi had sorority stuff, and my man Dave came into town. Hung out, went out, had good times, by all. Saturday we went to Java Co., read, relaxed, etc. Sat afternoon Dave decided to go back to KC, and I got ready for Bibi and my date. We were re-enacting our first date. That was awesome...we had a great time, had good food, watched "Garden State" (if you haven't seen it...I highly recommend it) and just relaxed and had a VERY pleasant evening.

Sunday, after we went to Java Co., we went back to Bibi's house and decided that we needed to investigate the stink that had been emanating from the back area of the house all week. After cleaning the area, Bibi was really concerned. (And, with good cause.) Finally, either Bibi or her housemate thought we should check out the basement/cellar. There is a trap door right in front of Bibi's room that leads to the basement. So, we opened it up, and I started down the steps. At which time Bibi said, is that water down there? then we noticed the smell was a lot stronger. Then we turned on the light. Then we all almost threw up. Eight and a half inches of poo-water was standing strong in her basement. We know it was eight and a half inches b/c yours truly measured that nasty-arse stuff.

With a ruler.

Oh, and someone drove their car into Ophelia Parrish yesterday, too.

Watched the SuperBowl at Il Spazio. The guys who own it were trying some new dishes, and we got to try them out. VERY good.

Then we watched Grey's Anatomy. VERY VERY VERY Good.

Now it's Monday! Woo Hoo!!!

Oh, and I finished The Prophet. Unbelievable. Probably one of the most impactful (is that a word?!) books I've ever read. It was fantastic...I'd recommend it whole-heartedly.

Now I'm reading The Comfort of Strangers as per a friend's suggestion. (Thanks Brad.)

thanks for reading...
Tommy

Serendipity, Fate, Hand of God...you know, good stuff

So, something very cool happened last night, after something not cool. Let me explain.

I got home from school, and went apartment shopping with Bibi. Then we had dinner, and she went to her sorority function, while I went home to read. Well, I went home to read, but decided to play Nintendo instead. (This factors in shortly.) My friend Dave called me, and he and I chatted...he and his wife are having a hard time, and he's coming up this weekend b/c she's moving out. We talked, and it was a good conversation.

I stopped playing my game, and decided to read a little bit. I went to get "America" but realized that I had left it at school, which has NEVER happened before. No biggie, a book from www.bookcrossing.com had arrived yesterday in the mail. I tried to read, but really couldn't concentrate. Bibi called me, and i went over to her place with my book. She noticed that I wasn't reading, and was really sad...I know that Bibi and I are not Dave and his wife; but seeing your best friend get divorced after 7 months of marriage makes you think about all the things that are out there that you can't possibly be prepared for, try as you might. Bibi was sitting on her bed trying to comfort me, and she saw the book. "The Prophet" by Kahil Gibran. She opened to the page I had read about 17 times--and not caught a single word--and started reading.

"And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you, believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden."

She looked up at me, and I looked at her, and we both smiled. Yeah, love is hard. It's going to be hard, and undoubtedly, there are going to be times of difficulty we can't prepare for. But we are choosing love, and we are choosing to follow love together.

Biblically speaking, a Prophet did not NECESSARILY read the future...a prophet was one who saw through the present to the reality of the situation. I have to thank Kahil Gibran. We still have prophets today.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Interesting thoughts...

After last night's State of the Union address, many interesting conversations have been had, I'm sure. One thing that I was pretty bothered by was the "obvious violation of freedom of speech" in the arrest of Cindy Sheehan. I thought it pretty horrible that she was removed from the gallery of the capitol for wearing an anti-Bush shirt, until I read this article on cnn.com...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/sheehan.arrest/index.html

Evidenly, it wasn't as cut and dry as I thought. Seems a congressman's wife was removed for wearing a shirt that said, "Support Our Troops." So, it wasn't just a case of Cindy Sheehan being gagged, and her freedom of speech being trampled...it was a bit more complicated than that...there are rules in the Capital that prohibit "demonstrations." Whether one agrees with that rule--the fact of the matter is IT IS a rule--and in this case, it was enforced in a non-discriminatory fashion.

Huh.

Reading "America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" by John Stewart. REALLY funny stuff. (I got it for Christmas a year ago, and my pile of books JUST got down to where I'm reading it now.)

Good stuff...oh, and I feel kind of cool. Evidently my description of "For the Time Being" was pretty persuasive, as a friend has requested to borrow it. I feel cool! I was able to convince someone to read something based on this site!!! whoo hoo!

Oh, and a coworker gave me her Life Soundtrack today. Great stuff!!!

thanks!!

(for reading....)
Tommy

Another Quote...

Here is another quote from "For the Time Being" that I thought was awesome....


"Ecstasy, I think, is a soul's response to the waves holiness makes as it nears."

Think about it.

Oh, and grey dress shirt, grey slacks. Yeah, totally dropped the ball on getting dressed today. Yikes.

tommy

Color Blindness

I don't think I match today.

For the Time Being

I just finished "For the Time Being". Wow. I don't know really what else to say, but I'll try...

This book is about the human experience, the things that connect us all, on every level. The book uses two major metaphors to compare the sum of humanity; an ocean, and a desert. Within these two concepts, we see that life is contradiction. Life is nothing--if not a paradoxial conundrum. We see this in everything we do...we are utterly and entirely alone in the world, and yet we are intricately and inherently linked to all human beings who have ever lived. We are utterly unique and individual, but this makes us absolutely the same as everyone else. God is in everyone, and therefore we all share a little of the Divine Spark with everyone else.

We are carving through the present like a canoe carves through the wake of a wave. We are granules of sand, battered thoughout the world, carved by wind, moved though different situations and experiences. We are standing on history...literally. Our world is built upon the vastness of history, as time, soil, and sand buries all things. All of humanities successes, pains, tragedies and triumphs are inside ourselves.

At least, that's what I got out of it.

Tommy

Weekend Update Monday

Hey ya'll! So, this weekend was good. I went to Kansas City Friday night, and it was a fun time. Went out to a couple of different establishments, and my friend and I enjoyed ourselves, immensely. Good times were had by all. Drove back Saturday and Bibi and her roommate, her roommate's boyfriend and I all made vegetarian lasagna. It was AWESOME!!! (Thanks for the cookbook Sarah, it's AWESOME!!!!)

Yesterday went to Java Co, and that was fun. Bibi had some work to do, and finished my book. Yeah, I think the process of me officially becoming a dork has been finalized. I read a History TEXTbook for FUN. Who DOES that?! Ugh. I remember making fun of a guy I went to high school with, because he read math books for fun...so, you know, at least I'm not that bad. Um...yet.

Now I'm reading this REALLY interesting book called "For the Time Being". Now, as some of you know, I don't read the backs of books, so I go into them completely unbiased. So, I'm not positive yet what the book is about, but so far its very intriguing. Here's a quote I found amusing...

"There are 1,198,500,000 people alive now in China. To get a feel for what this means, simply take yourself--in all your singularity, importance, complexity, and love--and multiply by 1,198,500,000. See? Nothing to it."

As for the rest of the book? Well, what I'm getting out of it is an interesting cross-section of different global time periods, as told by an isolated viewer...a "traveler" if you will. This traveler is observing, watching, and painting a vivid description of what our world looks like. It's almost like the connection between the three different women in "The Hours". It's about the mundane, the spectacular, the everyday common place, and the extraordinary, and how these things are all connected.

It's interesting.

Oh, Bibi and I are really excited...this Saturday marks the first anniversary of our 1st date, and we're going to reenact it. We're going to Java Co, and then we're going to walk around the square, and then we're going to watch Garden State. Good times!!

Thanks for reading ya'll...
Tommy

update

So, I decided that I was going to do my own 7 Wonders of Kirksville, and I'm presently working on that. If I get enough time I'll post that this afternoon, otherwise, it might be Monday. I'm heading off to KC after school today. It'll be the first time I've left town without Bibi since last Spring Break. I know we'll be fine, but it'll be weird. (c; Ok, well, I've got to take the class to lunch, and then I'm going to go eat outside, because it's 50 degrees, and sunny. Man...gotta take advantage of that, don't ya? Lata ya'll....

Thanks for reading....

Oh, I'm on the final stretch of the American History book...I just reached the Clinton years; I think I have about 33 pages left. Whoo hoo!

tommy

Seven Wonders...

So, I started a new book with my class yesterday...it's called the Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs. It's about this kid who wants to go see the 7 wonders of the world, and his dad convinces him to look for the wonders around him. He lives in a small town in Missouri (ahem...) and he doesn't think that it's possible. I decided to scrap my lesson during English, and have my kids come up with their own lists of the Wonders of Kirksville. So, I read through them today...and, man. I was so impressed. Some of the kids talked about the woods behind their houses, where they were able to go and be by themselves and watch the stars. One of the kids said the ditch in front of his house, because he and his brother would build forts there. About half mentioned their parents as a wonder. Man. It was just really special to see.

So, to conclude the project, we're going to make a class presentation of the Seven Wonders of Kirksville, and put up our projects around the school...good times, good times.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Better

Hey ya'll! How we doing this morning? Good? Glad to hear it!

Well, I'm much better now. Nothing like a night of relaxing and spending time with friends and loved ones to make things appear better....my rebound time for devastating news is apparently one day, cuz man I feel good. I'm going to KC this weekend to hang with one of my best friends, have some good times in the KC, you know.

All right. Hope you're all doing well. I've got the song "you say it best, when you say nothing at all" going through my head; it's from the Mellowing Out with JNo soundtrack. Good stuff, JNo. Good stuff.

Had some time to read last night, and I got up to about the middle of LBJ's presidency. Good stuff. Although, it struck me as odd...if you were to ask me about the most important president in the last hundred years, I would automatically think Kennedy. I don't know why that is, but it seems like everyone I know that is somewhat older than me always thinks back to that time as the pinnacle of life in these United States. I think the bookspent half a page on his entire tenure. (No, I exaggerate...it was three quarters of a page.) But seriously, put in context of the entire period of time from Reconstruction up to the Second Bush Presidency, Kennedy was just one small part of the whole. Maybe this is all no-brainer stuff to you guys, but it was noteworthy to me. So. There. (c;

So, drop me a line and let me know how your Thursday is going.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

...

For those few who didnt' get linked to Bibi and my engagement pictures...here's the 4-1-1.

www.collages.net
Username: estlund
Password: 10799

Enjoy!

and now back to your regularly scheduled blog...

I'm stumped. Something is going on with a friend of mine, and it's really affected me emotionally. I mean, I care a great deal about this friend, so it shouldn't be a surprise that this turn-of-events should do something to me, but man! I just can't believe it...I wish I could be more specific, but, well, can't.

Man, this sucks.

Tommy

New Info

Just passing this along...I'm not usually one for boycotting stores. In all honesty, I don't much care for the argument against WalMart. Corporatization of the business world doesn't bother me all that much. However, health does.

So.

Read if you wish...

http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html

Thanks www.jenorama.com for the info.

And, as always...thanks for reading...

Tommy

American History

So, during college, having attended the prestigious Truman State University, one of the favored past times of my fellow students was telling tales of woe about our university's namesake. In other words, Truman was a horrible, racist, white man. He embodied all that was wrong about our country's history. Etc., etc., etc.

In my reading tonight, my book made a really good point. People change. Duh, right? And, people do what they learn. For crying out loud, Truman was born and raised in RURAL Missouri! I mean, we still have rampant racism today, and we're talking 60 some odd years after the fact!!! Truman was born and raised to believe that both blacks and whites wanted--and benefited--from segregation. Truman hosted a delegation on race issues who gave him graphic depictions of happenings in the south, and these descriptions appalled him. He then created a permanent civil rights commission to investigate abuses. He also made it illegal to discriminate in hiring federal employees, and later it was Truman that issued an executive order to end segregation in the armed forces. (Although the army dragged it's feet for a few years.)

My point? People can change. Truman was raised to be racist. He learned to change his perceptions and expand his view of the world. He was able to accept when he was wrong (whether or not he admitted it to others is neither he nor there) and make changes to remedy the situation. I dig that. Moving forward. Making changes....improving the way one relates to people in this world. That's a great ideal...don't you think?

That's honestly what I love about reading. To some people reading is simply an escape...a way to leave the worries of their hectic lives. And, for those people, that's awesome! In the past few years, I've found that most of the books--kids books, fiction, non-fiction--have profoundly affected the way I view my life, and my relationships. I've read SO many books that have made me reasses the way I see my family, that it would be pointless to begin naming them. But, because this is my site, I will anyway: One True Thing, The Red Tent, The Princess Bride, Little Women, The Joy-Luck Club, etc.

Little Women made me sell my house. When Meg got married and moved into her knew house, I realized the importance of having our first home be "our first home." That's why I sold my house...so that Bibi and I could have a chance to make OUR home...well, OUR home.

There are other things, too...books that make you see humor where you didn't before...books that make you see tragedy where you didn't before...books that make you see....where you couldn't before. All of these things? They're gifts from God. Whether your book is just an escape or a life-altering experience...God is in the pages of the books we read...He gives us the ability to take away from a book that which we are able to.

Yeah.

Thanks for reading...

Weekend Update--

Hey ya'll! Had a good weekend. Actually, it was pretty great. We were supposed to have a Trivia Night for the school district, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. So, Bibi and I ordered in Chinese food, and had a nice RELAXING night. It was good. Woke up Saturday and we went to Java Co for a while. That was good. Hung out with friends. Saturday evening we had some of Bibi's roommates' sorority sisters over to my house for an improptu shindig, which was fun. Then a bunch of us went out to a pub here in town (Bibi and I walked!!!) and hung out. Afterwards, we went back to my house and had some more people over.

So, here's why that all was noteworthy. One of Bibi's friends had a friend with him. Now, Bibi and I are very gracious hosts (I'd like to think) and this guy walks in and just IMMEDIATELY exudes haughty disrespect and condescending rudeness. Case in point? He walks in, I introduce myself to Bibi's friend, and then I say, "hey, I"m Tommy. What's up, man? What's your name dude?" And he looks at me, shakes his head, and says, "my names not of consequence" and then smiles this damn self-satisfied smile. Then, he proceeds to mock and insult with subtlty. He was just really unpleasant, and he was mean to Bibi to boot! (Now, I would have no problem asking him to leave, or just saying something to him about the behavior, but Bibi is one tough lady, and she told him. It was cool. (c;)

Yesterday was Java Co, then laundry, and I read all day. Oh, Grey's Anatomy was good.

So, as I've said, I'm reading this history book, and I'm really enjoying it. Yesterday I read the chapters leading from the Depression up to, and including World War II. Earlier in the year I read one of Bibi's books from another class, called Ghost Soldiers, about a real-life prison break during WWII. Now, reading about the entire war, has again put that into context. Ghost Soldier's focused--as you would imagine--on the soldiers in the prison camp, and the US administration's response to their plight. Very little time, if any, was spent on what was going on in Europe, or other parts of the Pacific Theatre. So, reading the chapters yesterday kind of put into a different perspective the decisions that US leaders had to make. It's kind of neat to read the two books close together. It's kind of like when you look at a map? Sometimes you see the whole state/country, and there's an enclosed portion that is then brought out and focused on in detail. So, reading this history book now, I get to see the bigger picture, and having read Ghost Soldiers, I was able to read about the fight that a relatively small group of men went through. Good times.

Ok. I've gotten one reader's life soundtrack. Listened to it alot over the weekend and the end of last week. So, what are you all waiting for? Get burning!!! (Um...CD's that is...don't burn anything else....)

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

update

Hey ya'll....just wanted to let you guys know, if you're trying to get a hold of me...every school within a two hour radius...EXCEPT Kville has dismissed, due to ice. So, I'm stuck at school, and we're getting slammed. Plus, my e-mail is down, and so I'm getting alert messages that people are sending me messages, but I'm not able to actually read the e-mails. ugh. So. there we go. oh, and Trivia Night tonight was cancelled, so I have unscheduled time on my hands. (Veiled Sports Night reference.)

Nerd Quotient

Just took my nerd quotient quiz....I got a ten. Out of a hundred. I am SO not a nerd. IN YOUR FACE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL!!!! (c;

Just kidding.

Nerd Quotient

1 comment:

Real-Life Simpson's References...

So, I just finished up with my American Revolution Unit with my class. To cap things off, as kind of a fun little summary, we watch an edited-for-television version of the Mel Gibson movie, "The Patriot". Great movie, right? And, thankfully, TBS made most of the really bloody sequences look like mud, and most of the language is cut out. (There are a few damn and hells, but nothing too disconcerting.) Now, I ALWAYS explain that this is a movie about war, that in times of war, adults may--at times--resort to using language inappropriate for school, and that, if someone is getting shot right next to you, it would seem silly if the film had Mel Gibson saying something like, "Golly. That's unfortunate."

So, it's never been a problem. Well, I got a call yesterday that one of my parent's do not want their child to watch the movie. No problem. None at all; of course I"m going to respect their wished, and that's absolutely fine. However, a line from the Simpson's just popped into my head on the way back to my classroom. When Mrs. Krabapple is showing "Fluffy Bunny's Guide to Sex", Ishmael and Shadrach are excused from the room at their parents wishes. Mrs. Krabapple says, "You two may go out into the hall and pray for our souls."

Ok. That was a HUGE setup for VERY little pay off. I'm sorry. That was really funny in my head, and I've seen here...ONLY in my head. (c;

GET CRACKING ON YOUR ASSIGNMENT AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!! (c;

thanks for reading...
Tommy

Update...

I've already received one Life Soundtrack (thanks JNo!!!). Keep 'em coming people!!!!

I'm also reading (still) "America: A Narrative History". It's REALLY good...it's a bit long (it is a text book) but ultimately, I found it very captivating. It's interesting to me, seeing how historical events fit in together. I've found that I don't really have a sound context for understanding events in the last hundred years (embarrassingly enough!!) but it's been very exciting to see things put together. I've found reading about some of the movements (socialist, social darwinism) fascinating, and the "unknown presidents" have been very interesting.

My friend over at www.jenorama.com loaned me a book, which I'm looking forward to reading, just as soon as this one is done.

This past weekend was awesome. Had game night Friday night ( I LOVE CATCHPHRASE!!!), went to a trivia competition on Saturday (yikes;) and made the MOST delicious meal on Sunday with Bibi. We had SUCH a great time cooking together. We put on my Beatles CD's, and made Choley (no clue on the spelling.) It was awesome.

All right...thanks for reading...

Tommy

Assignment America

Ok. So, in honor of the discussion had at Karaoke last night, and in the spirit of musical appreciation every where, I have an assignment, a mission if you will, for anyone who cares to accept the challenge.

I want your life sound track. However you take that phrase, "life soundtrack" that's what I want. Just send me a comment and I'll send you my address, and you send the CD of your life on to me. (I LOVE hearing what other people are affected by, and music is SUCH a personal thing, that I think this'll really give me an insight into what people are like.) So. There you go.

GET TO WORK!!!!! (c;

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Seriously...

I ask for people to tell me their driving songs, and the only response I get is from some person in Portland, who I've never met, and certainly had no idea read my blog. (Thanks Stace!) What the crap?! C'mon people! What's your favorite driving song? Show me a little love!!!!

Tommy

Thanks Kirby

So, tonight after school, Bibi and I were planning on making dinner together. I was all excited, because we were having Frito Pie. When I called her to ask what all I need to get at the store, she told me that she was enjoying a "vacuum demonstration." I chuckled, and said, "ok." And thought it'd be over by the time I got there. Ha. Those @#$%er's stayed for like 19 hours. Ok, it was more like 3, but when they said it'd take 30 minutes tops, that's just regoldarndiculous.

I felt really smug though, because it was the least original presentation EVER. It was SO text book bad-movie-cliche dime-story cheesy salesmanship, that it was literally laughable. I had to leave the room every five minutes so as to not insult the saleman. It was just plain bad. They tried to ingratiate themselves to me, like I was the man of the house (it was Bibi's house) and they were acting all buddy buddy. Finally the guy was like, "you know what? I'm gonna take $1100 off the price, and give it to you for $29 a month." I'm like, "all right...I tell you what...you give me a phone number to call you, and if we can get that price, we'll talk it over and call you in a couple of days." There was a tense moment when all three of the salesmen (yeah, it was a "team effort") were waiting for the boss' word, and he said, "well, I'm not supposed to do that...but, for you...ok". They left, and Bibi looked at me. I looked at her. We threw the number away. ANYTHING to get the guys outta here.

Damn. That's ALL I'm saying. So, to all those people out there making money off selling things door-to-door? NO! At least don't make it look like a bad Lifetime movie, ok? Sheesh.

Thanks for letting me vent...
Tommy

moodiness

So, unfortunately, sometimes I can be moody. Duh, right? No big surprise there. The thing that I don't like about my moodiness, is that sometimes--entirely unintentionally--it can leak into my job. If I'm having a bad day, or I'm just tired, or I'm just not in a great mood, sometimes the little things the student can do, that normally would be absolutely fine, and would not provoke any kind of negative reaction from me, cause me to be very irate and short with them. I feel really bad about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like I yell at my class, (I find it a very ineffective method of discipline) and I'm never mean to them....but I just get short-tempered and a bit snappy. Ugh. I guess today's just one of those days. I think I'll pop some Hendrix into the CD player on the drive home. Either that or the Who. Yeah. The Seeker. Loud. Maybe I'll drive a little out of the way just so's I can play the whole song. Hmmm.....

blah.

Thanks for reading....

tommy

De-Lurking Week

Ok. So, nothing is really going on. The weekend was great...very relaxing, and it was in the 50's and sunny here, so I was outside and enjoying that...walked Kaya both days, went for a really long drive on Saturday blasting the Who and Hendrix the whole way. There's just something about driving 80, through nothing but empty fields while listening to Pete Townshend sing...

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland
Sally ,take my hand
Travel south crossland
Put out the fire
Don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older
Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh, oh
Teenage wasteland
They're all wasted!


I don't know why, but this is my driving song.

What's yours? And, just in case you wanted to answer, but don't usually post comments, this is national "de-Lurking" week...which means that people all over are leaving comments on the blogs they visit, instead of just reading and leaving. So, again...what's your "driving song"?

thanks for reading...and commenting....

Tommy

Fun at Work...

An actual sign, as seen in my school:

"The teacher work room will be closed today from 12-3. Sorry for any disconvenience."

Wow. I'm so proud of my workplace.

something interesting

From "Tying Rocks to Clouds"...

Question: Why is there suffering?

Answer: "...There is suffering partly because we have evolved as human beings, as sensitive people. If we didn't care, there wouldnt be suffering. There would be death, illness, broken bones. There'd be murders, car accidents, earthquakes, and plane crashes, but there wouldn't be suffering; there would just be things happening. Since we want the world to be good and we want life to be satisfying and pleasant, we're hurt and outraged when bad things happen...To rid the world of suffering, people would have to learn not to care that their parents die. I'd have to be able to shrug off the death of my father...That kind of suffering is the price we pay for being humanly committed and for running the risk of love." (Rabbi Harold Kushner).

Interesting.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

School House Rocks

Due to a scheduling situation, I have a bit of time with my kids this morning. So, we're watching School House Rocks. I got a DVD over Christmas with the entire collection of cartoons and songs from the program. Right now we're watching No More Kings, but my favorite is coming up; "I'm Just a Bill". Man, this is awesome! Have a great day!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Home-Town Pride

So, it's interesting to me the fact that people often times have more pride for their home when they don't live there anymore. Most people from Iowa, or Cedar Rapids LOVE Iowa and Cedar Rapids, when they don't spend their every waking moment there. I don't know; I know I'm not breakin' any ground with this observation, but it's just funny to me.

Case in point? As I'm teaching the Revolutionary War, I love talking to my class about Francis Marion, A.K.A. "the Swamp Fox." He was a good country boy farmer who led the Patriots against the British down near New Orleans. Now, this has nothing to do with Cedar Rapids, right? Well, wrong. Marion, the little suburb of CR was named for the Swamp Fox. He's my favorite "character" in the whole deal. I mean, Washington was cool, Marguis de Lafayette was a great leader, and Baron Von Steuben was "peppery" and his men loved him. All of these guys are great; but the man who really stands out to me? Francis Marion. He was just a farmer. Francis Marion was a farmer from South Carolina. Unschooled, unsophisticated, but when the king sent his army to terrorize the colonists, who wanted nothing more glamorous than their birthright, Marion and a hundred other farmers stood up to the British Empire with a bunch of crappy rifles and their farm implements. He's an inspiration.

Anywho...that's all I got. Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Tying Rocks to Clouds

Hey there sports fans! It's a G-R-R-R-R-R-R-E-A-T day!!!!!

Man, I just love these first days back....the whole newness that covers everything...no one's been acting out inappropriately, no one's turned anything in late (or not at all), everyone's rested and fresh for the day...oh, man I JUST LOVE IT!!!! (c;

This morning, during Social Studies, the lesson ended with a semi-cryptic sentence, "back in Europe, the French were overjoyed at the loss suffered by their old enemy, the British." (Battle of Saratoga, Revolutionary War.) So, I asked my kids, to see if they could make the connection, why the French were happy. Half the class put their hands up in the air, one quite enthusiastically. So, I called on him, and he said, "Well, just before Ponitiac's Rebellion, the French lost almost all of their land holding's in North America, thanks to the British win during the French and Indian War. The Treaty of Paris set up the new boundaries, which showed all of the land the French lost." A fifth grader knows that! We talked about that back in the beginning of December, and they still remember!!! whoo hoo!!!

So, I'm reading this new book (I took a break in the middle of Bibi's text book) called "Tying Rocks to Clouds". It's basically the transcript of one man's interviews with spiritual and intellectual leaders throughout the world. It's really interesting getting all the different perspectives in one concise format. It's been pretty readable, and surprisingly funny. Plus, it's a friend of mines, he's a college professor, and it's got all of his notes. (c;

It's interesting to note the similarity and connectivity present in all of the answers so far. It's also interesting to see the "intellectuals" separate themselves from the "spiritual" leaders.

It reminds me of the conversations my old roommate Brad and I used to have, when he was taking a class on William Blake. We would debate the merits of Faith vs. Reason. I don't know....it seems to me that we are such a "reasonable" people, that we rely so wholeheartedly on our reasoning abilities, that there has to be a flaw there. Now, don't get me wrong....I'm a fan of logical action and thought as much as the next person....but how many times have you argued with someone and thought that their argument was tragically weak logically speaking? However, they probably thought you were being daft, too! I guess I just have a healthy distrust at the human mind's ability to figure EVERYTHING out based on reason alone.

For me, Faith has always been more interesting. Faith isn't believing the firemen will catch you when you jump; Faith is you falling through the air towards the net. I think Faith's attraction to me is the fact that it is what God calls for. Ok, this is a cheesy example, but go with me. In Elf, the Will Ferrel movie? Buddy's brother asks Santa why he can't just show himself to everyone so that they'll all believe in him. Santa tells him that that isn't what believing is all about. Faith, to carry this on, isn't just a belief, but the way you act based on your faith. God wants us to believe in God not because there is irrefutable evidence obvious to all. God wants us to believe in God because we have Faith in God and God's promises. Faith is so much harder and yet, SO much more fullfilling.

The beautiful thing about Faith? God tells us that, if we want Faith....God will give it to us. God will GIVE us that amazing thing that God wants from us.

Reason is great. Reason is useful. Reason is a wonderful part of who we are as a people. But Faith? Faith is a gift from God.

I'll take Faith ANY day.

Thanks for reading....(hope I didn't get too preachy....)

Tommy

Long time no post

So, here is is for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting a new post....

Well, a lot has happened in the past week. School was great on the 21st. School got out, and I left to do many errands before I left for the holiday. Bibi and I hung out and watched Scrubs. (She got me Season 2 on DVD...it ROCKS!) We got up Friday morning and I ran some more errands. We got a little bit of late start heading out of town, but it was very relaxing, and it was awesome just being able to do all that with Bibi.

We got home and hung out with my Mom, Step-dad, and sister. It was nice. My dog is now officially a bully, after taking off part of my sister's dog's ear. (sorry amy!)

We went out to dinner with my dad at a great Italian place and that was nice. We woke up Christmas Eve Morn and had a relaxing day, although it was determined that I am no longer able to wrap presents. Ever. (c;

Christmas Eve we had dinner, opened presents and had an over all great time. Went to mass, and it was really surreal being back at the old church. They've done MASSIVE renovations, and it was like being in a totally different church. (Lesson learned from freshman Philosophy class: You can go home again, as long as you realize that home is a place you've never been before.) After mass we came home to find that my sister's dog had eaten an ENTIRE PECAN PIE! (Have your choice of movie quotes to make that funny: "Would you like to partake in my pe-can pie?" or "You...you ate an entire pecan pie? I'm not even angry...I'm impressed!")

Woke up Sunday morning and my sisters and I helped clean up a little and then we went to our dad's where we played a never-ending game of Trivial Pursuit. Then, I went out and rented a copy of "the Never-Ending Story" (Atreyu!!!!!). Good times.

Christmas Day Eve was great, got tons of great stuff, great times with family and Bibi. (My new family!)

Monday Bibi and I went on the Never-Ending shopping trip, which was fun. Had dinner with my (ok, pay attenion here...) Mom, Sister, Step-dad, Step-brother, Step-neices, step-brother's girlfriend, and her two sons. Good times.

Then, went out for a beer with my friend Chuck. It was GREAT seeing him, and had a great conversation.

Tuesday morning had coffee with my old r0ommie brad. He was great as ever...had a nice chat. Left town and got back into Kville.

Where I promptly fell ill with a temp of 103.2. I felt like I was DYING. Bibi nursed my for the duration, and I'm on the mend with a stuffy nose (damn dry weather) a massive cold sore and a nose that looks like I got pummled my goldengloves boxing champ.

New Year's Eve was nice and relaxing. Bibi and I put together a puzzle (you try doing it colorblind ya jackasses!!!!) and made Cranberry Salsa. We got the first couple of episodes of Soprano's on DVD and rang in the new year quiet-like. It was nice. (c;

All right...oh, and for those of you who never found the answer to the trivia question like 15 posts ago? It was Toto. (c;

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Christmas Time

So, I opened up my class Christmas presents today. One of my students wrote a poem for me, and rolled it up as if it were a scroll. I will copy it here, for your enjoyment...

'Twas the Day Before Christmas Break...

'Twas the day before Christmas Break,
And all through the room,
Not a face showed unhappiness, not even some gloom.
For Mr. Estlund was their teacher, so funny and cool.
He was the best teacher they'd had, the best in the school.
Mr. Estlund at his desk, and us in our seat,
We'd just settled down, for a party no one could beat.
When out in the hall, there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our seats to see what was the matter.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a man in a suit, standing so near.
"May I come to your party?" he asked with some zest,
"With Mr. Estlund as your teacher, it's always the best!"
"Yes!" We all cried, "Mr Estlund's one of a kind,
He teaches us well, he fills up our minds!"
So we partied together, a right happy bunch,
With cookies to eat and popcorn to munch.
And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,
"Oh Captain, my Captain,
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

I really liked that. (c;

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and to all a peaceful and loving New Year!

Thanks for reading....

Tommy

Books...

I finished "I Know This Much is True." Wow. What an awesome book...there were so many themes and elements running through the whole book, it's going to take some time to process it. But, yeah...great book. I've started a new book. "America: A Narrative History" which was one of Bibi's text books for her history class last year. It just looked really good, so I'm reading it. (c;

Later!

Hump day

So, yeah, I was just kidding yesterday when I said that I was going to give you the answer to the trivia question. However, typing doesnt' quite express the appropriate tone that my voice (or, at least what I HOPE my voice) does. So, instead of being clever and amusing, I just looked forgetful. So the answer is...

Today is Wednesday. My class is having a Read-In. We are going to relax and enjoy ourselves while reading for pleasure. (I think it's absolutely crucial to instill a love of reading in my kids.) Then, this afternoon I'm taking my class to the local Humane Shelter to donate all kinds of stuff to the shelter, and to play with the puppies and...(ugh)...cats. Tonight some friends are having a Winter Solstice party, and Bibi and I are looking forward to that. Tomorrow is one big party, and I"m playing Santa Claus for the kids. Good times....good times.

Last night, to celebrate selling my house, Bibi and I went all out and had a REALLY nice dinner together. We just sat and chatted for a long time and enjoyed each other's company. It was great.

Home on Friday and Christmas with the family!!!

Hope things are going so well for everyone reading this...

(A: Toto.)

...Tommy

Trivia Answer...

Ok...here's the answer....

Trivia P.2

Anyone know what band performed the background music for "We Are the World?" (c;

Quickie

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I do trivia with my students. It's a chance for them to get a comfortable looking up different pieces of information, often times very random, and fairly obscure. (I.e: What was Jane's last name in Tarzan? A: Porter; What animal were the Canary Islands named after? A: Dogs.)

Well, I have a legal pad full of REALLY good questions, and I've not been able to find it all year, and it was REALLy getting me down. I FOUND IT!!!!! WHoo HOO!!!!

Oh, and my new house is great. I accidently set my alarm for 6 PM instead of 6 AM, and woke up at 6:30, but was still able to get to school (without rushing!!!) by 7:10. Yeah!

All right...thanks for reading...

Tommy

"have a little help from my friends..."

All right, so last night the moving began. I had packed up about 10 boxes worth of my crap (not to mention thrown out about 5 garbage bags FULL of crap) and I got all that moved over to my new house. My friend Dan came over then to help me move. Well, I was out of boxes. God bless him, Dan...was not out of boxes. He had a plethora of boxes, of all sizes. So, while I helped Bibi jumpstart her car (love you babe!!!) Dan went to his house and got the boxes situated. Then, we spent about an hour and a half boxing up more of my crap, listening to the Who (greatest band EVER) and then hauled the stuff back into town. (I'm SO excited about not having to drive that drive anymore.)

So, to Dan...who is as strong as an ox and as anal as an OCD librarian, who understood the need to pack the books I HAVE read and the books I HAVEN'T read in different boxes. Thanks man. I owe you a beer. (Or two or three or...)

Peace out...

Thanks for reading...oh, wait! "I Know This Much is True" is AWESOME! I'm REALLY enjoying it. It's been a very interesting journey; the book discusses family, history, patterns in one's life, grief, blame, forgiveness, religion, spirituality (of course theres a difference) as well as a host of other things. One of the lines in the book, and, I just tried to find it, but I couldn't, so this is a paraphrase, says something to the effect of, "books reflect ourselves. Through reading, we are able to look at ourselves and see who we really are." Ah, that was horrible, but you get the idea.

Oh, and from www.bookcrossing.com: books change people....people change the world.

Ok, really...thanks for reading...
tommy

Good morning!

So, the weekend was fairly eventful. My friend Dave came into town, with the idea that he was going to help me move. However, the renob that was bidding on my house decided that he wanted me to lower my price by a LOT in order to cover EVERY single item on the inspection list. (For those of you who are unaware, the inspection USUALLY highlights SAFETY concerns, not cosmetic crap.) So, we needed to get something checked on over the weekend, so I was unable to move. Dave and I had a good time. Spent all of Saturday afternoon looking at teacher's magazine's for new lesson plans and new theories in the world of education. It was very cool. We also went out and got each other Christmas presents. I got him two Kanye West CD's (he's REALLY good!!) and he got me Season 2 of Arrested Development. (Which, by the way, is just one more piece of evidence that FOX is run by a bunch of constipated monkeys--why that show got cancelled, well, I'll NEVER understand.)

Anyway, so, yesterday when I left school I called my realitor to see what we should do. He told me that I should lower my price by a fraction of what the guy was asking, and if he didn't accept, then walk away. I told him that was totally fine by me.

He accepted. However, as is the case with this mental case, there is a catch. I've gotta be out by Friday at 4.

Any friends wanna help me move? (c; (I'm taking Friday off to do it!!!)

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Almost the Weekend

Hey ya'll! Well, last night was a blast. I was Elvis for the Fifth Graders' Music Program, and it went really well. Bibi came to it, and that was really cool. Afterwards we hung out at her house and just enjoyed each other's company while sipping piping hot cocoa. Tonight I am Santa Claus for the neighbor/coworker's kids. That'll be fun. I'm very excited about it, and my friend Dave is coming into town for the weekend. Good times will be had by all. (Oh, I'm not moving this weekend. The guy who is bidding on my house is playing hardball and trying to screw me over. Rest assured, I'm standing strong.)

Ok...well, have a great weekend, and all of you who might have finals coming up...Good Luck! And, to all of you who, like me, are out of school....heh heh heh...we don't have finals anymore!!!! (c;

Love ya all...and thanks for reading....

Tommy

school dayze

So, things are winding up toward a screeching end of the semester. I'm moving this Saturday. Thursday night, the fifth grade is putting on their musical program (a review of the last five decades of music...guess who's playing Elvis?--I had to learn the words to Teddy Bear), and Friday night I'm playing Santa Claus for the kids of a few of my coworkers. That'll be fun...I did it last year, and it was a good time.

However, the coolest thing that's coming up in the next few weeks, as far as school, is my class Christmas party. Instead of having a gift exchange, we're going to raise donations for the local Humane Society. Then, the day before break, we take a field trip out to the Humane Society, and play with all the animals for a hour or so. It's a really cool way to focus on someone (or something) other than themselves this time of year, and besides, it's good for the animals, as well as the kids. (I think there were a couple of adoptions after last years trip.

Oh, and we have a small Christmas program the day before break, where we sing carols, and have a rolicking good time. Last year, during Frosty the Snowman, I dressed up in a Frosty costume and came out dancing and prancing around the gym. The kids LOVED it. Well, this year, the kids are learning a song, "Skateboarding Santa." So, yours truly is indeed going to be dressed as Santa...and I'm going to SKATEBOARD around the gym. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully someone will be videotaping, so there will be documentation of the exact moment I break my head.

Oh, and as far as books? Still reading "I Know This Much is True", and so far it's GREAT. Really, really enjoying it. Oh...and it's snowing out...so it's absolutely beautiful.

Ok...well, have a great day...and thanks for reading.

One final note...I was asked where I'm moving to...well, lucky me...I'm moving to a house about four blocks from my coffee shop. (c; (You should see the contented smile on my face....)

Bye!

My House

So, Bibi and I have been discussing for a while our need to sell my house, so that we can have a 'home' together. So, I put my house on the market to see what kind of response I got. Well, today a guy accepted my asking price, and wants to close in two weeks. SO...that means, baring any unforseen complications, I could be moving next weekend. Whoa. So, obviously, I need a place that allows dogs, and I can afford. Well, my realitor is going to give me a REALLY good deal on a four bedroom, two bath, two story hard-wood floor rental for, what basically amounts to, what I'm paying now in my mortgage (which is rediculously low). I'm going today after meetings to see the house. Wow...I REALLy didn't expect this to happen quite so quickly. My head is SPiNiNg. Wow. So, anyway, that's all that.

Have a great weekend, and I'll keep ya posted...
thanks for reading...
Tommy

update

So, in response to the question of what book I was thinking about dropping; it was "The Majority Rules", by...oh, I don't know...some judge...Eugene? I don't know. Well, I finished it. The story was great, but the writing was subpar. The author MAY have been trying to use repetition for effect, but came across very poorly. It seemed like he was afraid that his audience might not follow, so, he beats you over the head with important "subtleties." (Unfortunately, subtlety was not his strong suit either!)

However, like I said, the story was good. All about case-rigging in the U.S. Court of Appeals, murder, intrigue, etc. Good story.

So, now I'm reading "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb. So far, it's GREAT! I don't want to get too much into describing it yet, but it's really captivating so far.

Ok...well, tonight's my first Friday night not working at the Spaz that I'm in Kville, and I'm looking forward to it. Bibi finished her Senior Seminar class yesterday for one of her majors, and that went really well, so we're probably going to celebrate a bit. Good times.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy