Not So Bad After All

Well, I haven't posted since June, but I just went back and looked over my posts. I guess I don't feel too embarrassed about anything I have put into words here, some of them even seem to make more sense the more time I put between myself and them.

So much has happened since I wrote last. The biggest thing has been the birth of my son, Liam. It's strange to write his name still. It's strange to say his name. The way it makes me feel is something I guess I haven't felt since I first fell in love with my wife. He is amazing, and if you haven't gotten to meet him yet, I hope you do soon.

Liam has only been here three weeks and he's already had two surgical procedures, with more to come more than likely. He was born with the same condition I had at birth. We are more alike than I wish we were in that way. Once again I have to thank my family for being such a wonderful, supportive, loving, bunch. My parents have been staying here in Iowa, despite the weather turning cooler, to help us make sure we get everything done for Liam we possibly can. So far, things are looking very similar to what I went though, but my parents have the experience of having gone through it before, so they know what questions to ask.

I'm going to wrap up for now by saying that it's 1:11 am as I write this. I have been up making sure Liam is comfortable. It is amazing how little sleep you get when you have a new baby. I better post this before I fall asleep at the keyboard.

The Story

So, I haven't written in many many months. It's not because I don't love all my fans, it's just because I haven't had much to say. I still don't have much to say, but due to popular demand, I am going to say something anyway.

I've been thinking lately, some might say reflecting, about stories. I tell lots of stories. I love stories. The thing is, stories are never good the first time... well, they can be good, but they are never great. It takes a few tellings before you find the important parts that make the story perfect. There is a cadence, details, side tracks, back story, expressions, and the random elements you can pull from the current situation that add the right flavor.

I think that's why I don't use this blog much. I am always worried that my thoughts come out half baked. I am always worried that I will go back and look later and see how terribly I put my thoughts together. In other words, thanks for reading my semi-constructed thoughts here. I hope you all enjoy them very much.

There will be more when there is more.

Overwhelming

Well, I skipped a couple weeks of the ol' blog here. I'm sure many of you were wondering what had happened to me. I can tell you that I am doing all right and I will try to get back in a regular habit of posting once a weekend.

There has been a lot of excitement for Brooke and I lately. We are just about to close on our first home. It's a lovely 2 story out in the Morningside area of Sioux City. We are so excited about it that we hae already obtained a puppy to go with the house. His name is Luigi. He's a mut of a dog that looks an aweful lot like a collie.

School is really kicking now and I have been swamped with work. I'm really thankful for the weekend. This weekend will be filled up with our big garage sale, though, so it won't be very relaxing.

Well, I better get back to work. I'll try to have something more important to say next week.

Labor Day is over and back to the mines we go.

Well, working in education is a bit like mining. You get up each morning not knowing whether you're going to spend the whole day banging away and not see much result for it, or if you might just happen to strike upon an incredible vein of riches that stretch deep into the heart of the mind you're working with. Alright, it's a bit of a stretch, but whatever it takes to keep my going, right?

So this has been an eventful week here in Iowa. i am working with some really wonderful students at North Middle School and every day is a surprise and a joy. This last Tuesday we had an open house for parents of our students and I was really pleased to see so many people coming down to my room to find me. It was actually a bit of a shock since I'm just a lowly teacher of a non-core exploratory class.

A couple of weeks ago Sunday we were out looking for houses, and we found one we think might just work for us. We are pretty excited about the prospect of buying our first home, but it's pretty intimidating as well. If we do wind up in the house, I'll try to get some pictures up.

Speaking of pictures, I'm sorry I'm not better with them. That software is just something I'm not totally comfortable with, and I have to admit that part of it is just that I don't know what looks great in a picture. I thought I knew, but some of the pictures I take, other people seem to think are not so wonderful.

I hope you are all well and that our paths will cross again soon.

One week in the books

Well, the first week of teaching at North Middle School is done. I must say, I had a good week. I am tired, I am still feeling a bit out of place, I am only slightly nervous, and I am extraordinarily excited.

I have wonderful colleagues. I should probably ask them how much I should say about them here in my blog, but for now just believe me when I say that I simply could not do my job without all the support and encouragement I have received from the staff of NMS.

So, outside of work, I have also been enjoying life. I can't get over how great it was to see my family in the last couple of weeks. In very exciting news, I have a cousin-in-law who just got engaged, and we are all pleased as punch. Her sister is also going away for her first big year in C-O-L-L-E-G-E. Let's hope she won't be forced to wear a beanie like Marta her freshman year. Actually, beanies are kind of in right now, it could be cool.

Tonight, I played a little Rock Band. It had been awhile. That game can really make a room rock!

I know this blog post has been terribly exciting, but hey, if you're still following this, what more could you expect?

Love and peace to anyone who reads this thing, by the way.

What It's All About

My answer to that question for today is: Family!

I have recently been spending a lot of time with my family and I am pleased to report that they are all still as wonderful as I remember them to be. Last week I was in Arkansas at my parents' new house (which is lovely) and I got to spend lots of time with my parents, my older brother, John, and Irena, his extraordinary girlfriend. During that time we also had a fun day filled with cousins, aunts, uncles, and cousins' kids from my mom's side of the family. The most unique time last week, though, was when aunts, uncles, cousins, and the like were gathered from both my mom's and dad's side of the family for a boisterous dinner at Bucca de Beppo in Kansas City. It was amazing to see everyone there.

There were lots of pictures taken of these events, so hopefully some will be finding their way online soon.

This week I will be returning to school at North Middle School here in Sioux City. I am excited to be teaching computer classes along with one section of geography concerning Africa. I'll try to let you all in on the trials and thrills of working with 13-16 year old students, so keep on checking back once in awhile!

The Electric Car

Last summer, my father-in-law bought a new "car". This car is special because it never has to visit a gas station. This car can plug in to any standard outlet and will get you about 40 miles on a charge. It will travel at about 40 miles an hour, faster if you're on a good hill. This seems really ahead of its time right now because so few people have ever seen an all electric car. People have been told that electric cars have a limited range, take a long time to charge, aren't durable, and will never work.

Last night, I saw a film entitled "Who Killed the Electric Car?" I recommend everyone check out this movie because it introduces the EV-1. This car, released and recalled by GM during the late 1990s could go 80 miles an hour, had amazing pickup, could travel 100 miles on a charge, charged in about 1 hour, and was really sexy to boot!

This film was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. I suppose it made me look forward to the future of plug-in hybrids, but it makes me very angry that no one got the chance to buy these vehicles.

Well, that's enough of a diatribe for now, but you might want to check out this website for more information:

http://www.pluginamerica.org