7 Out-of-Place Quick Takes

Because I don't have time to write a blog about each one of these at length, here's an abbreviation of all my most common blog features.

-ONE: End of the Semester-

My first semester of BCC ended in a bittersweet way.  I saw some students work themselves out of a pit while others dug themselves into one.  Even though I was told by other instructors that this would happen, it is still frustrating for me to see.  This is especially true for the students that I know are capable of passing, but instead chose not to for a variety of reasons - both the good and poor reasons.

-TWO: New Music-

My radio station of choice in the Southern Tier, The Effect (88.1), broke the mold of playing modern Christian rock and slipped in two or three Christian rap songs, including the one below by Trip Lee.  I took the liberty to listen to the rest of the album - Between Two Worlds - on YouTube and I was very pleased.   Now I have something to mix John Reuben up with.

-THREE: Cheap Change #5-

Sometime near Thanksgiving, Andrea and I were graciously given scratch off lottery cards from her Grandma that she had won from a local raffle.  We used the $4 to tip CyberWest Cafe, buy some chocolate bars for some child's fundraiser and get Hornell's best kept secret: the 75-cent car wash.  Not more than three days ago, Mr. Nealson gave us another survey to give information about our (lack of) television watching.  Also included was the $2 initiative to turn the survey back in.  And speaking of sending money in the mail, why did the Disabled Veterans of America send Andrea fancy mailing stickers and a nickel... twice?

Cheap Change #5: $6.10

Cheap Change Total: $62.29

-FOUR: Other Money Considerations-

Our church, like many churches this time of year, made us aware of our financial situation and followed it up by dedicating a sermon to tithing.  I know I have written about tithing before in r2r, but at this particular time, I found myself wholly convicted by by the Holy Spirit to actually start tithing myself.  Up until landing the job at BCC, Andrea and I have been saving every penny to fend off the bills, loans and costs of living.  But now that our situation has stabilized, I'm looking forward to dedicating myself to my church on another level.

-FIVE: Cleaning House-

I love to host the New Years Party.  Maybe it's the concluding holiday of a busy month and a half rush, or being around a less-stressing environment than what my family provides, but none-the-less, I've made it my thing.  It also doubles as a motivation to clean up the entire house.  Right now, I've only gone through some smaller tasks, but before too long, I'll be cleaning, dusting and washing everything before the New Year - and probably not to a single thing again until after the last snowfall.

-SIX: Andrea's B-Day Party-

In typical Andrea birthday party fashion, I managed to mess it up this year by planning a party at Midway Lanes in Vestal.  I'm telling you the place because I was treated poorly there for reasons I am still in loss over.  So when I do go bowling again, I know where I am NOT going.  However, I am thankful that once some lanes were made available for us, everyone appeared to have enjoyed themselves.  To top it off, my present for her came in the mail 4 days after her birthday even though I had ordered it a full week before.  Happy 25 years, Andrea!

-SEVEN: Christmas Decoration-

Before Andrea's birthday we had successfully decorated the living room to fit the Christmas spirit.  The cat has also enjoyed all the little things she can knock to the floor.  Even as I am writing this, Andrea is in the middle of a Christmas cookie royal-rumble.  If not for the food and other yummies consumed during this time of year, it wouldn't be worth all the madness provided by commercial and familial expectation.

Have a happy Christmas and a merry New Year if I don't get another entry for 2010!

Carry's Inheritance

A while back, I wrote about the accident and destruction of my second car, Carry.  Although it was inconvenient at the time, I would be lying if I said it was a complete loss.  In fact, I was happily smug knowing that all its problems were going to be exchanged for an unknown cash sum.  After considering all the unreliability and unpredictability it brought us, I can accurately say that Carry's best feature was her inheritance that she left us.  To convince you that I'm not a cold-hearted car owner as I probably sound, here's a list of reoccurring problems:

1.  ABS Light.  About a month before the accident, the emergency ABS light had turn on, letting us know that when the snow started following, it wasn't going to bother pumping the brake for us.  Meaning it would have to be done manually over a much longer period of time -- not exactly desirable in an emergency situation.  Diagnostics on any dashboard light in your car is $60 and any repair on the brakes are at least $400.  Crisis averted there.

2.  Coolant Cap.  I'll admit that I lost the original cap when I was putting in new coolant.  However, I made an honest attempt to obtain another one through Gary's-U-Pull-It and other commercial means.  Unfortunately, the threads had become warped due to the extreme heat.  Without an air-tight cap, liquid evaporates much more quickly, so I had to buy engine coolant about two times a year.  But paying the $60 a year was cheaper than replacing the entire cooling system -- a $350 value.

3.  Wiper Motor.  During a particular Christmas break, Carry fell victim to an ice storm that cost her the use of her wipers on her lowest setting.  Wiper motors run for about $300 an installation and I am a tightwad, so I decided to manually hit the wiper lever every time it rained or snowed in the Southern Tier.  Needless to say, I enjoyed sunny or very rainy drives, but nothing in-between.

4.  Driver's Seat.  At the same time the ABS light went off, the electronic settings on the driver's seat stopped working.  Because it failed when I was driving it, it wasn't really a problem for me.  But when Andrea wanted to drive Carry, she couldn't move the seat forward or up or anything, which was a bit of a problem.  You'd think the engineers would have a manual override for something like that but Carry was a Saturn.

5.  Paint Peeling.  The running joke about Carry was her back bumper paint gradually peeling off.  I'm unsure about when it started, but I'm sure the day I dropped my mini-fridge on the bumper didn't help either.  The rescue effort to decrease crack propagation involved a commendable number of scotch tape repairs, which were amazingly effective.

6.  Wheel struts.  From the first day until the last, I had to pony up the dough to replace three out of the four struts on the wheels.  The first strut completely snapped on the front-driver's side wheel, and the front-passenger's side wasn't much better, so I had to replace them at the same time.  Struts themselves cost anywhere from $50-100 each, but after labor and $70 wheel alignment, you're looking at a $300 job.  Imagine my joy when the rear-driver's side went too.  Magnify that joy when I learned immediately afterwards when I found out the rear-passenger would have to be done in a month or two.  Thankfully, the accident happened before that day came.

7.  Cabin Air Filter.  Most people know about the filter they need for their oil change, but there is another one between the engine and dashboard that prevents your car to not smell like and engine.  And mine decided to stop working in the middle of last summer.  And when they go, it reeks -- badly.  So even after I had bought a new one (only $20-40), I had to use a body spray on it to make the scent (kind of) go away.  Scent of choice?  Mountain fresh air.

So after reading all this, you should understand why my second question to Andrea was, "What car did you take?"  And the joy I felt knowing that Andrea was alright and the Saturn would be replaced with a shiny new commuting bike this Christmas; a holiday miracle indeed.

Naruto Night

Since September, Andrea and I have been watching Naruto, a highly watched and very popular in Japan, the United States, and many other parts of the world.  Although it is not our favorite anime, it has been enjoyable to watch and does receive a favorable recommendation.  Anyways, as a routine source of comic relief, Naruto Uzumaki - the main character - has an obsessive love for eating miso ramen soup.  Inspired by seeing it so many times, Andrea was ambitious enough to locate all the specialized ingredients from local Asian shops and made her own version of Naruto's miso ramen soup.  It was delicious!

Andrea's Miso-Ramen Soup

Naruto's Miso-Ramen Soup

If you're interested trying the recipe (or want some of the ingredients), let us know and we can give it to you.

And here's a bit of Naruto trivia: Naruto's name is a slang term for those fish swirlies in the lower left part of Nartuo's bowl, and his last name, Uzumaki, means whirlpool.

Just wanted to post something today...

Falling Up  - Good Morning Planetarium

The fight is over now; the bright lights turned somehow.

The strength I have is running out; the current pulls me down.

I'm wondering

Is anybody out there? Who's cold and incomplete inside?

I can hear Him calling, "Come and follow me, my child"

The twilight burns to day with all your love displayed.

The stars they bow in awe when the lost return to you.

Draws up my heart deep from the well.

I know He's finding every lost and broken dream.

7 Quick Takes

-ONE-

All eyes are set on the annual IV Squaredance in Alfred tonight.  Not only will this be a wonderful time to catch up with current Alfred-IV students, but there will be a decent number of alum there also.  But the days of catching up with old friends in this manner, I fear, is coming to an end.  Those who were freshman when I was a senior are seniors themselves now.  Although I am proud of their academic and spiritual growth, its going sobering in some regards to not have everyone together like that until Heaven comes down.

-TWO-

And speaking of Heaven, the Saturn is now completely out of our lives.  The car has been towed and the check has been cashed.  This was our second week as a single-car subscriber and it's been going well so far.  Although driving Andrea to and from work has been time consuming, it's been nice to have that downtime to talk with her. What I'm really waiting for is for Spring to get here so I can ride my bike that I don't have yet.

-THREE-

My Christmas shopping is already half done and its nearly halfway to November.  I'm running a good pace, but I need to pick it up if I'm going to be finished by Black Friday.  I predict next weekend will be a big step in getting that done.

-FOUR-

Both of my Spring classes at BCC are filling up at reasonable paces.  Already, I am starting to think about the work that is going to be involved in having two different sections.  So I have prepped myself to have everything for the Fall Semester done before the end of November - about 2 weeks before the end of the semester.

-FIVE-

Having one car though has not stopped me from sub-teaching.  Wednesday, I went in to sub for a special education teacher.  Lately, I've had pretty good luck calming and maintaining the children and their different "learning opportunities."  But Wednesday morning, I got spit on by a 5 year old girl.  I (still) enjoy working with the special education and disabled children, but the incident reminded me that I wouldn't be cut out for the special education profession.  Also also, they don't pay those teachers enough.

-SIX-

I can't believe that I forgot but... our team won at trivia on Monday night.  Even more remarkably, I found myself somewhat contributing to the victory.  I know roughly how many blades of grass are in an acre (174,440,448) and who won the Stanley Cup in 2008-9 (GO PENS!), both of which were questions which fell into my field of expertise -- pun intended.

-SEVEN-

I don't think I've updated recently about Mission Group or Sunday School.  Both of which have been going very well.  Mission Group in particular has been growing and thinking about my spiritual life (privately and publicly) in ways I haven't before.  Also, it is important to note that all of us our 20 - 39 year olds who are still trying to figure out where we fit in the scary outside world.  So between our really big ideas and self searching, there is plenty to talk about.

If you're looking for more quick takes... see Jen.

Cheap Change #4

Part 1: BCC is not a Green Campus

I can't explain why or how the idea got in my head, but ever since I have been looking for a teaching job, I've always had this vision of turning my full-time place of employment into a mean green recycling machine.  If BCC is where I end up, I will certainly have my work cut out for me.  In particular, I have noticed there aren't any recycling bins in any of the classroom that I have been teaching in.  With all the energy drinks and soda that college students consume during classes and considering that BCC is always looking for new ways to fund themselves, maybe they should try to profit off the 5-cents each container would be worth.  I wonder how many cans and bottles are abandoned there daily.  So since they aren't taking advantage of this opportunity, I took it upon myself to adopt any orphaned bottles that I see walking around campus.  How many, you ask?  Well to date I've been able to take off $1.90 my grocery bills.  So that's 38 cans and bottles.  Expect this to be a recurring item in Cheap Change.

Part 2: The Forgetful Painters

Awhile back, I mentioned that our house was being painted.  They had finished shortly after I blogged about their mysterious presence, but a week later I left the house out of the back door to better admire the work they had done.  To my delight, I saw a dime and a penny on the staircase looking for a home.  As virtuous and caring as I am, I gave them a warm and loving home before the winter season.

Part 3:  The Search for a Mini-Backpack

I have a good friend who was looking for a very particular type of mini-backpack.  Not one to mince other people's words, here's the source text.

The problem: it is no longer 1996. Mini-backpacks have not been around much for some years now, and while I hope in my heart that they will soon make a comeback (every 20 years things are supposed to, right?), I can't wait much longer. I own a purse, but purses are not the same. You have to carry them on one shoulder. I want one with two straps. But not one of those single-compartment drawstring bags made out of the stuff they make windbreaker jackets out of, or whatever. I want one with a main compartment and at least one smaller secondary compartment. Also, I want one that, while not real leather if possible, would serve for a semi-dressy situation (say, something I could bring to school if I were wearing my teaching clothes) as well as a more casual one.

Having no sense in modern fashion, I thought it would be a noble quest to help out my friend.  My wife, however, was much more up to the task.  In the three minutes after informing her of said noble quest, she went through her 3509873053 bags and purses and found something legitimately close and gave it to mini-backpack wanting friend.  We also found a dime and two pennies amongst the purse and bag melee.  Everyone is a winner in this story.

Cheap Change #4: $2.13

Cheap Change Total: $56.19

Trunk or Treat

Andrea dressed up as a Hobbit-lass (note the furry feet) and I went as a ninja.

This Halloween, Andrea and I did something I never had heard of until this year called a "Trunk or Treat." Advertise the event with your local group or church, get a bunch of cars together in a parking lot, get a costume, and hand out candy to cute little kids.  Although I wasn't looking forward to it for most of the week, I actually had a pretty good time.  Our church held the event yesterday while giving away free tracts for children as well as games, cider, hot chocolate and donuts for any children, adults, monsters or any other living thing that asked politely.  Someone also brought a trebuchet to launch candy in the parking lot as well.  We had a decent turnout - more than I expected at least - and everyone seemed to have a good time.

The Death of Carry

The following is an account of the death of my not-so-loved 2000 Saturn L-Series 2, named "Carry" (pronounced kar-E').

On Tuesday, Andrea was driving to work at the church, but never quite made it there.  Instead, she experienced her first accident.  If the picture doesn't make it obvious, she was hit from behind.  But unlike most rear-end accidents, she was actually hit after she started moving forward by woman who wasn't paying attention to the road in front of her (obviously).  Andrea wasn't injured or hurt, praise God, but is still recovering a little whiplash she received.  Thankfully, Andrea will fully heal, but unfortunately the car isn't blessed with her inter-cellular structure that repairs itself over time.  The rest of this story highlights the slow and agonizing death of a car that was never really reliable or worthy the high-praise comments of my first car (The Reverse Twinkie).

From the very first time I drove Carry during the Spring of 2007, I knew it was going to be trouble.  When I drove it around Vestal it was fine, but once you hit 55 mph on the highway, the car would start shaking and vibrating in ways that seem like the car was pulling itself apart.  I immediately brought it back to the dealership to have it fixed and they claimed to have fixed it.  When driving the car back to Alfred, I realized that when I drove past 65 mph the same vibrations occurred.  Not having the time or patience to it fixed, I decided to make a commitment to never drive over 65 mph ever again - something I should have been doing anyways.  This brief glance snapshot into Carry's past would set the tone for the many problems it would have during its lifetime in my sometimes less than adequate care.

When Carry was hit last Tuesday, I didn't think it would be the end of its service.  However, when Andrea and I went to get the car estimated on Wednesday, the person appraising the car wasn't giving us any confirmations or comfort that Carry would be smelling the sweet air of open road.  Keep in mind that if a car is damaged more than 75% of its value, then the insurance won't fix it for you.  Instead, they cut you a check for the car value and take the car from you.  By the end of the morning, we informed that the way the car was damage is unique in that it damaged five different panels of Carry's exterior.  (If we were hit directly from behind, only the bumper and trunk would have to be replaced.)  The cost of repairing the car determined to be 90% of the car value.  Carry was totaled; funeral arrangements were arranged.

Expecting the worse on the actual value on the car, I began researching on a few different pricing websites to get an idea of how much condolence money we would receive from our insurance company - Liberty Mutual if you're interested.  Having the Internet made the process relatively easy, so I just prepared for the worse and hoped for the best.

To my surprise, I got the call in two days telling me that I would be paid the higher end of what I guessed.  After hearing some horror stories on the Internet, I was happy not having to argue or negotiate the fairness of their price.  Since it was late Friday, I was told to remove my plates and belongings and that a tow truck will arrive on Monday to take Carry to its final destination: the crappy car graveyard in the sky.  Peace out.

What's that Ruckus? #1

For pleasure or for expansion of the mind, people read books, perfect a craft or skill, watch movies, study the outdoors or exercise some form of writing.  And although I have done many of the same activities, only one has endured through all the phases in my life: music.  Even as young as four or five, I have had an affinity for music appreciation.  When I was old enough to start playing an instrument and studying music, I did so with a loving embrace.  Once I felt comfortable with learning one type, I learned another.  Today, I have a solid foundation on four different musical instruments and even developed my voice a bit by the times I finished college.

At my youngest ages of appreciation, my tastes in music was directly influenced and controlled by my parents, listening to artists they enjoyed such as Billy Joel, Elton John and Jackson Brown.  As I cot older, my dad starting sharing with me some of his 70s and 80s rock (which I didn't enjoy very much) as well as 90s grudge music (which I had a bit more tolerance for... but not much).  In my teenage years - the years of the first Napster - I went crazy in downloading all different types of music that I had heard since 1990.  From my late teenage years to where I am today, a large amount of Christan music (traditional and contemporary) has invaded my musical library.  But no matter what it is I am listening to, it will probably remind me of a particular season in my life, a certain person or group of people, or a life-defining circumstance.  Although a bit corny to say, my musical library is like a soundtrack for my entire life.

Or to put it very simply, I love music.

The "What's that Ruckus?" series will be something I'll be posting every now and then to share and archive all the music I've grown to love.  Please feel free to comment about alternative meanings or received revelations by any of the songs.  Also, I encourage you to share with me any of the music that has been important in your life.

That was a long intro... without further delay, here is the first installment.

To kick off the series, I've decided to share four of my favorite songs that I've been listening to recently.  Keep in mind that my any list of favorite songs, artists or albums are liable to change randomly and often.

Third Day - Blind

A bit on the lighter side of what I listen to, I have been convicted by the message of the song, particularly the pre-chorus: "My heart I could not trust/ because it lies to me too much/ and the mind cannot just understand it all."  It reminds me for the days where I looked for truth and purpose in my life, but came up empty handed because nothing in life seem to remain consistent.

John Reuben - Time to Leave

I really wanted to post "Life is Short" but I can't find the video anywhere in all the Internets so I settled for my another favorite.  I wrote a whole blog about this song on r2r if you want to check it out.

Falling Up - Escalates

I don't pretend to know all the meanings going on in a lot of Falling Up's songs, but I interpret this to be about someone who can not find purpose in their life or they are hiding a heartache.  Either way, they continue to exist pretending everything is fine on the outside, but knowing inside it isn't.  It's message seems tells us that when we choose to wear our happy plastic faces, one consequence is that no one really understands each other on any meaningful level.

The Fold - Sink of Swim

This song was written as an encouragement to a friend.  It also serves as a reminder to us all that the culture around us is as large and powerful as the ocean tides.  All of us make choices on a daily basis and those choices determine who we are.  However, if we do make regretful choices, our history and shortcomings do not have to define us.

7 Quick Takes - Saturday Edition

-ONE-

The winter clothes are in our drawers, the summer clothes are in the attic, the windows are sealed and the heat is now on.  Andrea and I finally succumbed to the approaching winter season.  In fact, today was the first day we've had heat running through out house.  This is always one of the saddest days of the year for me because it marks the beginning of ridiculously high energy bills.  Our apartment is old and drafty, so it doesn't hold up well against the elements.  Pretty soon, I'll have to buy my first ever snow shovel because that last blizzard we had in March claimed the life of our old one.  Winter -- here we come.

-TWO-

Yesterday, I was observed by the head of the math department at BCC.  From the conversation we had after class, it sounded like I did well.  However, it was certainly far from perfect.  Because I haven't been in the traditional public school setting for a while, it was a good reminder that I still need to work on the many different aspects of effective teaching mathematics.  I wonder if this was a test for me to see if I would be picking up more section(s) next semester.  We'll find out soon!

-THREE-

After a slow start, October is producing its fair share of subbing days.  Already I have three days tucked away with another one on Wednesday.  I've been studiously been working on lesson plans for the BCC as ofter as I can so that I can continue taking assignments and earning what will become Christmas money.  Forget retail; subbing is the way to go.

-FOUR-

Sunday school has been going well so far.  I'm actually enjoying it more than I thought; I hope the children are too.  The answers to some of the questions have been well above what I had expected and they have even taught me as well.  Attendance leaves something to be desired though.  Apart from two kids, its sporadic in who shows up, but consistent in that we never have more than four or five children per Sunday.  It's kinda a drag for curriculum I have "planned" out, but I suppose consistency one of the keys to any successful educational program - spiritual or academic.

-FIVE-

Mission groups on Wednesday night as gone equally as well.  I'm excited to have such a talkative and eagerly participating group.  It's reminiscent of the days spent at Alfred and all the great conversations that would occur on a weekly basis.  This group in particular is also unusual in that it contains a lot of people with multiple collegiate degrees from a multitude of disciplines.  Although it provides for very rich conversations, I also pray in hopes that its tangents doesn't lead us off on too many bunny trails.

-SIX-

In what's being reported as unbelievable, this year my fantasy football team, Favre's Turf Toe, is a perfect 5-0 on the season thus far, despite not drafting (fortunately) Favre himself.  Even better, hockey is officially 5ish games into the season, and it's all but certain that my team, Malkin in the Middle, will be on top of my fantasy hockey league, despite not drafting (unfortunately) Malkin himself.  Bad news?  The Pens are struggling with a 2-3-0 record right now.  *Gag*

-SEVEN-

Although the fall leaves this year were less than stellar because of the strange heat and cold waves over the past two months, Andrea and I went out last Saturday taking pictures of what we thought might come out well.  While out, we also scored geocache #29 (left army guy, picked up dinosaur) for team Golden Grunty.  And writing this just reminded me... Tom: with all the hiking you're doing in South Korea, think you can score us some caches?  Surely Team Ferret's empire-like reach hasn't infiltrated the caches in your fine country.

Looking for more quick takes?  See Jen.

Objectifying Women Awareness Month

When I was on Facebook yesterday, I saw a message from one of my female friends calling out the inappropriate attention by others' status messages in the form of "I like it on the ____."  For those who haven't caught on or aren't aware of the stint, it is supposed to be a way for rising breast cancer awareness, and the blank is filled in with where you (a female) place your purse.  But at quick glance to a sex-infused nation, it is first (and sometimes only) seen as a perverse and sexual statement.  And unfortunately, this isn't the first time that breast cancer awareness has presented itself in an ineffective and hyper-sexual and/or objectifying way.  Remember...

... that this isn't the only Facebook campaign?  Earlier this year, women were posting their bra color as a status message.  I so much don't have a sexual-sensory problem with this one (though I can see where one might occur) however, I don't see how this raises awareness or informs the public about anything other than the clothes you are wearing.

... when athletes didn't wear pink sports gear?  As with the case above, I don't think its really effective in making people more aware of the situation at hand.  However, if the athletes or the sport organizations are donating money to the cause, I think that its at least giving their money to research or support for those who truly need it, unlike the other examples read here.

... those bracelets, bumper stickers, body lotions, socks, and anything else that you can logo with suggestive phrases?  These products are crazy popular in many of the middle schools, high schools and colleges by both men and women.  I place a heavy blame on administrators and officials in public schools who have let this go without consequence.  Many of the kids who wear this type of paraphernalia are just looking for an excuse to push the envelope and having something that says "breast" or "boobies" on it; they could careless about the actual cause itself.  You and me and everyone else was an uncomfortable teenager at one point; are we that naive to realize that we are just encouraging that behavior by not calling them out on it?  You don't need a psychology class to figure this out.   And to a further degree, I'm rather upset and unsettled that some females actually are encouraging this amongst their girl and boy peers.  Why?

All these immature tactics and attention objectivities the woman, or at the very least, a particular body part of the woman.  The attention that women are bringing to themselves here is not healthy and is not helpful in reducing cancer rates.  Currently, most media watching Americans (and probably some non-media watching Americans) are very well aware about breast cancer, the challenges and the risks that it poses to both women and men who suffer from it.  It's time to start turning all this attention into meaningful action.  And if selling merchandise is one of the ways you want to bring in money, then try not to objectify women in the process.  There has been a lot of progress in the past century  in trying to create equality between women and men, especially in this country; however, this is a step in the wrong direction.

If I (a male) am fighting against this, shouldn't I be seeing droves of women fighting against their objectivity, too?  Do you want to be recognized for your merits, your education, your abilities, your kindness, and your strength?... not just for your body?  That's what I have been hearing among women since I could understand the issue.  I hear (and agree) that you want to be treated as equals.  But you aren't going to get the respect among your male peers until you fight for every issue that devalues you because of your gender - a choice nobody makes.  And I will fight alongside with you as well, but we need to make a stand on this together before it gets out of hand.

To make some real progress, click somewhere around here to make a donation.

7 Quick Takes: October Version

-ONE-

Over the past two weeks, four people wielding scrapers and paintbrushes have been working on our apartment.  Although the banging, people looking through our second story windows and oldies music has been a trial of patience, it looks wonderful, fresh and new.  I just hope it still looks nice after winter is over.

-TWO-

After thinking that I wouldn't be subbing much early in the school year, I wrapped up September with four full days of subbing fury.  Looking forward to the next two months, especially because flu season = sub season.  Also, a new local school district called me about subbing there for the year, so an interview will be lurking.

-THREE-

(Small) Mission groups will be starting up this week.  I haven't been in a local Bible study since Spring 2008 in Alfred, so I'm really excited to be involved in a group again.  Please be in prayer for lots of members and lots of spiritual growth for everyone involved.

-FOUR-

Two of my BCC students are MIA.  The first exam was last week, and neither of the two showed.  I sent out e-mails that have fallen on blind eyes, and I haven't seen them in classes for over a week now.  With midterms approaching, I wonder how many more will follow suit.

-FIVE-

Just found out today that it looks almost certain that my Mom and Jeff will be moving out of "The Greatest State in the Union" Vermont and back into New York by the end of the month.  Jeff will be getting a promotion and a new coverage area - the Catskills - and mom will be a bit closer to everyone.  This should make holidays a lot easier and I finally won't be pressured into having to visit Vermont anymore.

-SIX-

If you haven't heard already, Andrea and I had kickin' time in Alfred last weekend.  You can read all about it by poking around in this blog, or clicking here or here.

-SEVEN-

As I prepped myself to do school work, I was overcome with the urge to write about a particular song that I've been listening to for a while now.  Content includes understanding worldly wisdom over Godly wisdom, and how we need to live this our in our lives daily, regardless of the cost.  If you're interested, I'd be delighted if you checked it out.  (Warning: the website is under construction, but still readable.)

As always, check out Jen's 7 as well.

A Public and Family Business: Lain's Cider Mill - Canisteo, NY

As promised, here's an informative, but informal Lain's Cider Mill Tour:

1.  Import the Apples.  As I mentioned in the other post, they don't own an orchard themselves, which is kinda interesting considering they have one of the best cider mills I've ever been to.  Although if you're going to do something well, focusing your efforts is a great way to do a great job.  Anyways, they make it work.  Something I was impressed by is that they bring in all their apples from local providers.  This just makes sense because the raw product is going to be healthy, have higher yield and it definitely keeps transportation (and operation) costs down for everyone involved. Additionally, they bring in a wide variety of apples.  In the picture, you can see there are about 12 large crates of apples and each one was a different variety - some of which I never heard of sold in grocery stores.  So chances are, if you can think of a type of apple, they had it.  Also, you're free to try out any apple for free, right from the crate.  Don't like it, or don't finish it? Throw it in the white bucket there in the background: the cows aren't as picky or wasteful as you.

2.  Clean those Apples! When it's time to make cider, they dump all the apples onto a conveyor belt (that they built themselves) and it goes into the cleaner.  The man explaining the process to me said this is once of the places where they are distinct in their operation.  At the end of the ride, apples are dumped into a washer and spinning brush cleaner.  The cleaning process is obvious, but the brushes are especially designed to pull all the excess of the apples.  The bristles of the brush tears away and removes the stems, leaves and any other impurities.  The picture here is the bottom of the washer-brusher and contains all the junk that usually ends up in your cider.  No stems, sticks or leaves in my cider thank you very much!

3. Under Pressure.  Back when the mill started in the 1940s, apples were sent to the manual press where the operator used a number of large bolts to press down on the fruit.  They still own their manual press and it is on display.  I couldn't take a picture of it because the sun was setting and it was too dark.  Today, they used an automatic (hydraulic) press, which takes considerably less effort and less time.  The picture doesn't give it justice, but that red bar is actually a large metal plate and it presses the apples into the wooden base.  Overtime, the sweet apple juice comes out of the slot and into a strainer, sending the juice to be mixed with the other ingredient while leaving the solid apple film left at the top.  I didn't ask what they did with the film, but they put it in a machine, presumably where all the other firms are kept.  Unique to this mill compared to the other ones I've been to, you can come here and bring your own apples and they will press them for you.  And even though it's not a free service, it's cheaper than buying from any grocery store for the amount you get.  This is of special interest to me for two reasons.  #1: You could try out different ciders from the different apples provided by the mill over the course of several years.  I can only imagine all the different flavors apple cider can have.  #2: You can also throw other fruits into the press as well to get even more different tasting ciders.  If you know the McClains, they own both an apple and pear tree.  Just for kicks, they were going to visit here this week and throw some pears into their cider mix.

4.  Mix it Up! The juice is then moved from the press into the mixing basin where all the other ingredients needed for accelerating the fermenting process are added.  It would be important to note here that when you buy from the mill directly, they don't put any preservatives into the cider.  Why?  Although preservatives do make the cider last longer, it also corrupts that delicious flavor.  Having put so much effort into keeping the product fresh and clean, why take away all that hard work by adding chemicals?  And besides, they know and you know that cider isn't going to last more than a week in your fridge anyways - even if you do buy a gallon.  Also, this probably saves them a little money too.

5. Still not Impressed?  They do sell more than just apples and cider at the mill.  In fact, we ended up buying two dozen donuts as well.  Of course they make the donuts themselves on site.  They only come in two flavors though: plain and cinnamon.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of plain donuts, but even those were extraordinarily delicious.  They're in the back near the manual press I was telling you about.  And speaking of that old manual press, that is where they sell their hard cider kits.  Personally, I'm not much into any product that has or could make alcohol, but when we visit next year (and there will be a visit), I might purchase a kit.  Not only does it include everything you need to make it, but it comes in a variety of flavors: apple, pear, blueberries, apricots... basically any fruity flavor you can think of.  So if you're over 21, maybe that might peak your interest.

That's all I got.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  I strongly recommend you just take the trip yourself.  Too late for this season?  Don't worry, there is always next year.

Apple Weekend in Alfred

It seems like forever since Andrea and I spent a weekend in Alfred and the course of events have gone well (barring the AU/A-State graduation trip with Kellie).  But this weekend was different in a marvelous way.

When we arrived in good ol' Alfred, it was lunchtime, so we headed down to see "new and improved" 'Jet with Adam and Anna.  Conversation was a little bit of catching up and, somehow, talking about the first (and maybe only) vacation I took with Andrea's family during the first year we were dating.  The vacation was a pretty dramatic experience for me, but now in hindsight, it's all waves of laughter.  The food there was just as good as I remembered, but I was a bit disappointed in the atmosphere.  Maybe because it was Parent's weekend at the University, but maybe because it isn't as cozy at it used to be, but was a little strange not eating at the traditional location.  I'll get over it.  Bacon Meter still gives it 4/5.

After lunch we went geocaching; but even with boy scout (Adam) we were still unable to find the cache hidden around Kanakadea Creek.  At this point, I had lost the point-and-shoot camera (at the 'Jet), so no pictures of the adventure.  Sorry!

Per Kellie's suggestion, the four of us headed to Lain's Cider Mill before dinner.  Getting there proved to be just as much as a struggle as looking for our cache, but 45-minutes and a phone call later we arrived to the sweet smell of apples and a homegrown apple milling operation.

Also, this:

It may not look like much on the outside, but there's a good reason why Lain's Cider Mill has been in local business since the 1940s.  I'll detail the operation in a blog immediately following this one, but with the exception of picking the apples (because there's no orchard within the immediate proximity), they are the true definition of friendly, high-quality, and family owned business.  The people were very friendly, polite and informative - all things you have come to expect if you happened to have known Jamie Lain in your Alfred years.  On site when we visited: 12 huge crates of apples of all different sorts, apple pies, apple cider, plain and cinnamon donuts, and a make-you-own hard cider kits in apple, blueberry, blackberry, peach, apricot and other flavors, complete with the classic glass jugs.  So if you're ever in the area, this is a must see attraction.

The rest of the day was pretty much dinner and a movie (The Great Escape [1963]).  Oh, and the Penguins won their third pre-season game.

Sunday was a visit to InverVarsity Chapel in the morning, the recovery of the point-and-shoot camera, and a whole day of making apple delicacies such as apple pies, apple dumplings, apple rings, applesauce, and caramel apples with chocolate.  Where did all the apples come from?  The McClain's apple tree.  Although the food was delicious, what made the day was the fellowship.  It was nice being able to catchup and chat with Marissa and Nadine after not having the opportunity very much of either of them the last few semesters.

The trip back was enjoyable because I knew it was a weekend well spent.  And the house wasn't destroyed by Penelo.  Best weekend in a while.

7 Quick Takes

-ONE-

After working at BCC for four weeks now, everything seems to be running smoothly and successfully.  I'm finally working at a job I enjoy and I think most of the students are picking up well on the material.  Never did I think I would be teaching at a college and I certainly didn't think I would have this much fun doing it.  My only regret is that I don't have more classes - maybe next semester.

-TWO-

My mom came down from Vermont last night on another "all-of-a-sudden-but-for-no-reason" visit.  Pleasantly, it looks like Jeff (my mom's boyfriend) is getting a promotion and possibly moving someplace closer to Binghamton.  Both Mom and Jeff seem delighted by the news.  I wouldn't mind if she lived a bit closer either, because I think she would enjoy being involved in the many activities that our church does.  My prayers are in God's hands.

-THREE-

Saturday's End of Summer and ice cream party seemed to have gone well.  Although it was not the usual bunch of people we have during these parties, it was refreshing and enjoyable to see some new faces and different interactions.  Tomorrow, Andrea and I are going to another party with many of the same people invited (and this time going)!  Should be great.

-FOUR-

OH! And I can't believe I didn't remember until now, but our team - with all members attending, for once - finally won trivia on Monday night.  Although I didn't really help too much, it was fun after so many weeks of going to be on the winning side.  Notable highlights: I knew who the 2006 Sexiest Male (George Clooney), and the 90s boxer with the nickname "The Real Deal" (Holyfield).  We return this Monday night to defend our (possible fluke) victory.

-FIVE-

I start teaching my Sunday School class in two days and I don't know what my first lesson is or what the overall objectives are going to be.  Last Sunday I received a model of the Second Biblical temple that was supposed to serve as a guide for many, many weeks of Old Testament explorations in Christian symbolism.  However, upon reading about Solomon's Temple in the Bible, I came to the conclusion that the Second Biblical temple was the one started by Ezra and Nehemiah, then extended on by Herod, which is why it's most commonly known has "Herod's Temple."   So now I'm up the creek.  At least I have a really sweet Biblical timeline wrapping around the classroom, maybe I'll do something with that.

-SIX-

I was reading an article this morning about how NYSEG (or REG RG&E, if you're from Rochester), will be increasing rate hikes.  Listen, I know its a recession and we already have one of the highest utility bills in the country.  Walk a bit in their shoes.  This is the first rate hike in 17 years; if you're working for a company for 17 years, how'd you feel about it?  This is overdue, and besides, "death and taxes."  If you're really upset about it, turn down the heat a few degrees, turn off the AC, take shorter showers, etc.  Maybe now it'll be a good time to start looking into some personal, alternative energy sources instead of buying that very unnecessary big screen TV.

-SEVEN-

Because I hate doing it during the final months, I have already started my Christmas shopping and putting together my Christmas list.  In every year since college, I have been told that I am a difficult person to shop for.  Well, I'm making up for it this year; my personal want list has already started.  No whining this year!  

Check out Jen's site too!

Cheap Change #3

So in a long overdue blog, I want to announce my official (and foreseeable) retirement from JCPenney's.

I started working there back in October 2008, thinking it was going like most of my other jobs: work hard for about a year, then quit because I had a better job lined up.  Well, as you can obviously tell, this wasn't going to fall into the "like most of my other jobs" category.  From October 2008 through August 2009, I worked there until I started my student teaching.  Because of the "great promise" that math teachers will "surely be hired immediately after student teaching" plan did work the way I was told, I stuck around until BCC hired me three weeks ago.

By far and large, this was the most difficult annoying job I ever had: it paid minimum wage, it dulled the mind, and it was in retail.  On the best days - which were few and far between - you felt you accomplished something and the mangers treated you like a human being.   Most days were filled with monotony - without encouraging or rewarding creativity - and you were treated like you never knew what you were doing.  Perhaps this feeling was exhausted in full because I had a mechanical engineering degree when I started and then obtained a Masters in Teaching as I was there, while many of my co-workers and supervisors held no degrees at all.

I won't say though that the job was all bad though.  Throughout the two years I worked there, I met a few cool people (my co-workers) who were open to having real conversations and dialog about the tough stuff in (each other's) life.  Although, admittedly, it sometimes happened during company time instead of break time, but you had to do something to pass the time.  I learned what it's like to have (another) crap job so now I can better respect the worker who has nothing but that dead-end job.  And I always found value in spending time and talking with struggling students, unemployed teachers, single-mothers, and grandparents that really run JCPenney's store 0130.

Why titled Cheap Change?  For some reason, lazy employees loved leaving spare change and empty returnable bottles among their other possessions that needed to be thrown away.  So at the request of the management I enlisted myself in the "clean-up efforts" and collected  $3.05 in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, and another $0.80 in 5-cent returnable bottles.  It's a dirty job, but someone not named Mike Rowe has to do it.

Also, when we headed up to the Great New York State Fair, we found a $20 bill on the ground with no one around in sight to claim it.  For those that don't know, Andrea and I adopt a boy in Burkina Faso through Compassion named Adama, and he will be receiving a generous birthday gift this year. If you don't sponsor a child through Compassion, we strongly recommend that you do so.  It's only $38 - a buck and some pennies a day - and it provides the child with nutritious foods, healthcare and basic education.  And if that is too much of a cost or commitment, also check out the many different events they do throughout the year; the biggest one - Operation Christmas Child - is coming up.

Cheap Change #3: $23.85
Cheap Change Total: $54.06

Gotta Hurry, Friday is almost over!

-- ONE --

Apart from not having an e-mail address for a week and half and a key that doesn't unlock my office, teaching at BCC has been a great experience so far.  I don't think the students (will) think the same once I get done grading their quizzes today, but I'm very thankful and happy about the opportunity to work there.

-- TWO --

My car (the Saturn) has been smelling like melting chemicals over the past few weeks.  Turns out that was my cabin air filter doing just that.  I had the time this week to take my monthly Midus trip and got everything taken care of.  Now it smells like minty, melting chemicals. Mmmmm, so good!

-- THREE --

Didn't go to church last Sunday and I'm regretting that I didn't for beyond the obvious reasons of going.  Our pastor cut his Achilles tendon clean in half the previous Saturday and missed his sermon while hyped up on pain medications.  Worse yet, he still hasn't had surgery and won't be until Wednesday.  Pray for his safe recovery and the family's sanity.

-- FOUR --

Got a letter from Harpursville about the new substitute procedures.  No, I won't bore you with that.  I just want to mention that NYS public schools start 5 days from today and I'm excited to be subbing there again.  Although I probably won't enjoy it more than teaching at BCC.  Currently, it looks like I'm only registered to sub at Harpursville and Broome-Tioga BOCES.  I'm not counting Union-Endicott until they actually call me someday: 2 months and counting.  I heard about subs needed at Chenango Forks.  Maybe I'll take my business there.

-- FIVE --

Tomorrow is my last day of work at JCPenney's. I'm thrilled beyond words.  There will be a separate entry about that later next week though.  No spoilers here.

-- SIX --

There has been a spirit of refreshment and renewal going around in my area of the neighborhood lately.  This week the loud neighbors next door were evicted, Andrea and I cleaned and rearranged our apartment, the downstairs neighbors cleaned and rearranged their apartment, and the landlord hired a guy who owns about 5 different chainsaws to cut down all the misbehaving trees that near or (in some cases) in our apartment, but also taking extra care to trim and maintenance all the beautiful and nicely-behaved trees.  When I came home to the sight, I envied him for owning so many chainsaws.  sigh.

-- SEVEN --

I took my only summer student out for ice cream today to celebrate her passing the Algebra 2 and Trig regents.  We went to Pat Mitchel's in Endicott (not Binghamton), and it was the best ice cream I've had while living in the Southern Tier -- hands down.  We also had some great conversation as well.  As thankful as she was for my tutoring service, I am just as thankful (if not more so) to be given the chance to teach and watch her succeed.  It gave me a confidence boost in my early teaching career and paying for a lick of ice cream in the dog days of summer was more than worth it.

The end of summer is upon us.  Before you know it, we'll be in the middle of our eight months of winter.

Check out Jen's stuff too at Conversation Diary.

Peace!

The Great New York State Fair

On Thursday last week, I finally got an opportunity to return to the New York State Fair, after not having a chance to go in over five years.  Although originally set as a date during the vacation that never happened, we opened the invite up to a couple of friends, but only Kellie was able to come up with us for the day.  And we certainly made the most of our day up there. 

Rather than giving the “guided tour” approach, I would rather strongly encourage to try to get up there sometime during your time here in New York if you haven’t experienced yet.  I would also highly recommend visiting during different stages of your life.  When you’re a kid, you tend to enjoy the rides, games, maybe the animals and possibly a few other things here and there.  When you’re a teenager, you pretend that you’re too cool to like anything but the midway.  But when I went this time, I found myself enjoying different parts that I known had always existed, but never had an appreciation for; so in a way, it was like rediscovering and enjoying the NYS Fair all over again.

When I was in the horticultural building, I was reminded of something that I heard on the radio earlier this summer that I really wanted to share.  When you really stop and take some time to consider the difficult cultures and communities of New York State, hopefully you come to the realization that not many states in America have the vast variety that we do.  In the southern part of the state, you have the capital city of Earth, New York City, which is obviously home to retail, fashion, finance, tourism and the world headquarters of some of the world’s most successful and business-driving corporations.  Just a hour or two north, and then stretching north from Canada and westward towards Lake Erie you have a vast area of agriculture that drives the rest of the state.  To the surprise of many, New York State, by land area, is mostly comprised of farmland, although sometimes I think we forget about that.  And sprinkled over that farmland are small cities that are driven by commerce and universities.  Although places like Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Syracuse and Binghamton hold most of the upstate population, they really are just surrounded by vast wilderness and the farming way of life.  And finally, up north you have the Adirondack Mountain Range, which has even less people living year-round in the area than the rest of upstate New York, which is hard to believe if you have travelled through some of the back roads.  Among other geographical features, we tout the Finger Lake Regions, the Southern Tier river valley and the historic Erie Canal villages, in addition to acres of state parks and one of the best roadway and public school systems in the country.

Now don’t take me to be ultra patriotic here, I despise our political position right now in the state. The taxes are pretty harsh and, from what I hear, property tax in New York is one of the worse.  Tensions between upstate and downstate are also existent, especially when it comes to funding and gaining attention in the issues that really matter.  But just taking a look at all the different types of activities and cultures and activities that our state is involved in, I became a bit more appreciative about everything the New York State government and agencies do for us on a daily basis.

If you don’t live in New York State, take the time to visit and enjoy all the great activities we have to offer here.  If you do live in New York State, I’m telling you to go out and enjoy everything the state has to offer because your tax dollars already paid for it.  And in similar spirit of spending a few days to visit the sights of New York, make sure you do likewise at the NYS Fair.  Because there really is so much to see, to do and to eat that will take a few trips to have said you’ve experienced it all.

Getting Hired to Teach Two Days Before Classes...

... is at times extremely stressful and annoying.  If you haven't found out already, vacation was cancelled a few hours after I had posted that I was going on it.  I got a call from Broome Community College (hereafter referred to as BCC), and I am teaching a section of Elementary Algebra and Trigonometry.  Although I've only taught two classes, I'm already very much excited to be there and excited to finally be teaching.  Not to say I'm not nervous a little bit, but to have students and a class is wonderful.

What isn't wonderful is that apart from having a class and 24 students, I really have nothing else.  The first day of classes was spent running to one end of campus to the other attempting to obtain any of the objects required for a staff member of a college.  On the first day of classes, I have no e-mail address at which to be reached at, no payroll information, no parking pass, no ID, no computer access, no class list, no office, and no office hours.  Since my class also involves some online material, I also didn't have any of that and let alone any of th knowledge to know how to us it.  Three days into the whole experience, I've only managed to obtain a class list and a few pieces of software and code I need for the class.  With those victories at hand though, I feel accomplished, but realize there is a lot more to go.  Hopefully by the third week, teaching at BCC will feel like a well oiled machine... but maybe that's me being too optimistic.

Since I've vented, I'll go back to tell you how content I am with the situation.  Getting hired by BCC not only gives me some much needed experience to put on my resume, but it also keeps me in the area a bit longer so I can continue being a part of the church community that I'm becoming a part of.  Also, because I got a late-afternoon class, I'm still able to substitute teach at the public schools, which keeps me plugged in to what's going on there.

This has been wonderful to write because a year ago, I didn't think I would be in this situation.  I thought I'd have my own classroom, with five classes of students, and teaching math in a public high school.  However, God has shown that sometimes our vision for our life isn't what we thought it would be.  And if you had asked me a year ago if I would have been content with anything but that, I would have answered no.  But writing this today, I am content with what has been given to me.  From a spiritual point of view, it is easy to see how God has been steadily working and molding me for a situation like this.  And I'm confident I am here for a reason.  It's now up to me to uncover it.

Should be an interesting four months!  Certainly, it will be a new adventure for me!

7 Quick Takes

1.  Just got done with an interviewing stint with Elmira Heights.  I thought the first interview sucked and they called me back for a second one with the superintendent.  I thought the second interview went well, and before I got into my driveway I already received the voice mail telling me that they found a "more experienced candidate" for the job.  Big surprise there.  The more I interview and apply for public schools, the more I am upset with their treatment of their potential employees.  The private and Christian schools that I've interviewed with actually try to validate you as an intelligent human being.

2.  While on the education note, school is quickly approaching and I couldn't be more delighted.  Even though I won't be teaching full time, I'm eager to do more tutoring and start subbing again.  I'm quite bored around the house and engaging with the youth should change that dramatically.  More than once I've thought how "my 8th graders" are doing, and I need to remember that they are 9th graders now.  Kinda relatedly, I'm anxiously awaiting the test score of the one girl who I tutored this summer.

3.  A bit late on this, but last week a girl came knocking on our door asking for a ride to one of the county courthouses.  She couldn't have been more than 17 - 18 tops - and I was saddened that someone of her age is already having to attend court dates.  Hopefully the Holy Spirit will move into her and redirect her life.  I did as much as I could on the ride to not sound like an over-zealous Christian with the hope she'd be curious, but I think she had other things on her mind.

4.  Good Shepherd is preparing to ramp up its Fall programs and it looks like I'll be teaching a Sunday school class for 9-12 year olds and leading a small Bible study group when October rears its ugly (and cold) head.  I am looking forward to both and I wouldn't be surprised if they are the reason why I haven't been so fortunate in finding NY teaching jobs.

5.  Our new cat, Penelo, finally as a nickname: Bad.  She's fairly docile and happy when it comes to being with people, but she respects no property or possessions.  And we're still trying to teach her how to not wake us up in the middle of the morning.  The nights that aren't successful are always disastrous and destructive.  I'm hoping this is just a kitten phase that she'll grow out of soon (but not soon enough).

6.  My friend Tom has landed in South Korea and has already started teaching.  Please keep him in your prayers if you know him (or even if you don't), because this is a big step of faith for him and he also isn't a fan of spicy Asian food.  It's going to be a long year for him.  Also, my brother-in-law, Adam starts his second year of college, but his first official year in his new major.  Pray for him that he does well in all his classes.

7.  Andrea and I are going on vacation starting Sunday.  Don't confuse this with the "vacation" that Andrea took earlier in the summer.  Although Andrea wasn't working, she still did a lot of work around the house and it barely seemed restful or relaxing.  We'll be heading up to Cayuga Lake, visiting Kenni in Rochester and also going on some fun little adventures.  It's going to be great.

Just for reference, this originally my own.  A woman named Jen started it, so her's will be linked down here every week when I do this.  And no, I don't know who Jen is.

Enjoy the end of summer everyone, there isn't much more left.

Busy Weekend

So what I thought was going to be a quieter weekend ended up being very, very busy.

After a Friday evening phone call from Erica Bartlett, Andrea and I decided to go to Lindsey's wedding after all.  And even though it's six hours round-trip of driving (all in one day!), the company couldn't be beat.  In a rare occurrence, Andrea and I got to hang out with THREE other married couples all day, specifically, the Palmers (Lisa and Andrew), Winquists (Chelsi and Dave) and Bartletts (Erica and Josh).  The day was beautiful, the celebration was unique and the food was outstanding (and homemade).  And even though it was only for a little while, it seemed as though I was right back in Alfred on one of their early fall or late spring days.  Lindsey had her wedding at home, so included below are some of the more scenic views of the Campana Homestead.

On Sunday, Andrea and I went to church, did some catching-up and socialized with our church family.  The highlight of the day came in the evening when we attended Shakespeare in the Park to see our trivia friend (and guru) Charles play the Duke of Albany in King Leer. Although he wasn't too active before the intermission, he did a phenomenal job in the second half of the play and had some really sweet lines.

Since moving into the area, there has been a core of us who partake in a trivia team on Mondays.  However, we rarely have a full team.  After the play, Charles seemed quite excited that so many of us showed up.  I didn't think too much about it at first, but I later realized later that we were the whole team minus one.  To have so many of us all together in one place is a rare happening.  So I'm glad that made his night.  After all the days he had to work, I'm sure it made it all worth it.  Maybe one of these days, all of us will be able to show up on a random Monday because surely with all of us (9) we would be able to win, right?  Here's to hoping.

Kitty, More Changes and Music

So if everyone hasn't already heard or read it by now, Andrea and I do have a new addition in our household.  It's not a child, it's a kitten.  She's 8 months old and right now her name is Penelo, but Andrea is giving it second thoughts.  I always grew up with cats in the house, so it doesn't bother me at all.  However, I am a little upset with the four-legged furry because it has been disturbing my already-fragile sleep cycle.  If you like pictures, these should help.

Also noteworthy is all the changes going on around here.  Andrea is starting training for her new job at church, my online Bible study could be ending this week, I might be teaching some classes at Good Shepherd.  You can read all of it in full over at r2r.

And when I driving home today from my daily errands, I heard this song on the radio and I like it a lot.  If you have ever been in a romantic relationship that didn't work out for whatever reason, I think it will have have a strong effect.  The idea of writing a "break-up letter" to sin is intriguing to me.  I might parody this later.

Disciple - Dear X (You Don't Own Me)

Dear pain, oh, it's been a long time

Remember when you were holding me tight

I would stay awake with you all night

Dear shame, I was safe in your arms

You were there when it all fell apart

I would get so lost in your beautiful lies

I let you go

But you're still chasing 

Go ahead

You're never gonna take me

You can bend

But you're never gonna break me

I was yours

I'm not yours anymore

Oh, you don't own me

Dear hate, I know you're not far

You would wait at the door of my heart

I was amazed at the passion in your cries

Dear anger, you made me so high

You were faithful to show up on time

Such a flame that was burning in your eyes

I let you go

But you're still chasing

Go ahead

You're never gonna take me

You can bend

But you're never gonna break me

I was yours

But I'm not yours anymore

Oh, you don't own me

Go ahead

Put a target on my forehead

You can fire

But you've got no bullet

I was yours

But I'm not yours anymore

Oh, you don't own me

You tempted me to look back

But everything that we had together was a lie