an invited guest

i had a fun weekend. a friend of mine came down from michigan on saturday. we hung out most of the day. actually, it was strange, a good strange, but strange none the less- she desprately wanted to play mario kart! (kinda rare for a girl, huh?) she wanted to play it on my ds though, so i was stuck stareing at the wall. not really, i played 'ssx on tour' on the gamecube while she DSed it. that was quite fun actually, we were both in our own little worlds, but we were both able to genuinely enjoy the fact that we could be together. even if we werent talking to each other.
after that we headed out to eat. when we got back we watched a few shows- i had an episode of 'the office' that i hadnt seen yet, and its a favorite of both mine and hers. after that we played a few games that she brought down with her. we played the movie trivia game 'shout about movies' or something like that, then we played the sequel pack for 'scene it', then we played 'trivial persuit snl edition' which totally sucked because it was way too hard.
by then it was really late so we called it a night. we were able to hang out a while on sunday too, then she was off! all in all a fun weekend was had by all.

my new theory

i have this theory. i call it the "back in my day..." theory (or the BIMD for short). here is my theory: each person has about 15 years of molding and then they are done. let me explain. we have a 15 year period of being molded by pop culture, and then after that time we step back. the age this molding starts is between 10 and 15. during this time we are open and receptive to anything the media puts out. think about it: almost every child in that age group likes every movie directed at them (how else could you explain the sucess of cheaper by the dozen 2?), is really into current music and thinks its actually good music.
thsi phase lasts between 10 and 15 years, on average. for some its longer, and for others its much shorter. at the end of this phase (aprox. 25-30 years old) there is a growing disinterest in pop culture and a cynicism that was never present before. one doesnt blindly accept all the movies directed at them, and starts to feel like current music is so much worse than what was around at the begining of their phase. (this is where the theory name comes from: 'back in my day...') at this point there is often a decision made to take a step back from pop culture. thus the phase of nostalgia is often entered. (an alternate phase is one ill have to explain later, but i call it the "who's that old creepy guy trying to be cool?" theory).
what do you think, am i on to something here?

internet humor ha ha

i cant exactly explain why, but this is probably the funniest thing i have read online ever. ever.

a real workout

today during my planning period i was chillin out talking to the gym teacher. he mentions that he's teaching badminton. oh, happy days are here again! if you know anything about me then you know that i dont care for sports in the slightest. any of them. except badminton. i always remember in high school looking forward to the weeks we would get to play.
when he told me he was teaching badminton i asked him 'when do we get to play a match?' 'lets go right now' was his response. and we did. wow, i was quicky reminded how out of shape i am! all things considered though, i think i did alright. the first game i had him 7 to 2 for a while, then he rallied and got me 15 to 7. so, i did what any man would do in this situation: 'best two out of three!'
the second game was closer than the first. as we were playing the students started coming in to head to their next class. for a few minutes we had a rather large crowd watching. most of the kids were rooting for me (because the gym teacher offered a free lunch to whoever beat him, and even if they didnt beat him, they wanted someone to get a free lunch...)
we both realized that we needed to go to our classes and teach, so we stopped and agreed that we would pick it up from there next time. fortunately for me, the score and this time was 8 to 10 in my favor. next time hes going down!

a glimmer of spring

what a lovely day outside! it would seem that winter has broke for a little while and allowed us a short glimse of that bright thingy in the sky... whats it called again? it has been many months since i have seen it i had thought it was only a myth- but behold- i see the ball of light over head! victory!!!
wow. sorry about that. i guess i got a little overly dramatic about that for a second. dont worry, im better now...

pigskin at the alma matter

cool. i just visited dordts website for the first time in many months and i saw that the school is starting up a football team! dang. i was never into sports when i was in college, but if they had had football when i was there i would have been all over that! in high school i actually thought about joining the football team. the reason i didnt was because it started in the middle of the summer and i didnt want to be at school in the middle of the summer. oh, and because i was really out of shape. and lazy.

you are getting sleepy...

i totally need a nap. i have no idea why, but today has been a really rough one. i got enough sleep over the weekend, go to sleep in a little extra on saturday and everything. i went to bed around 11 last night. nothing out of the ordinary. but for some reason i just cant get myself to snap out of this sleepy haze. sometimes the sleepiness will last till 10 or 11 on a work day, but today it never left! i have plans for tonight so i cant just crash when i get home. shoot. hopefully ill at least stay this tired around 10 tonight. i have a terrible habit of being tired all night until i actually get ready for bed then suddenly im wide eyed and ready for the world. thats annoying.
well, if i have any problems sleeping tonight ill just hypnotize myself. that usually seems to work.

vacation is over

... and the first week back comes to a close. alright, it was only a half week, but it was still rough. its always a bit of a wierd thing to come back to teaching after a long break. we had almost two full weeks off. alot can happen in two weeks. in fact, i can remember moments here and there during that time off where i actually forgot i had a job. well, you know, i didnt forget i work, its just that there were some times during the break where i didnt identify myself with it. i would have moments of just feeling like a college kid again on break and no responsibility.
its kind of tough to come back after that, to get my head back in the game. the first morning after a break always is a bit strange. it isnt usually until noon, or sometimes the next day that i feel like im back in top form. its even worse in the summer. as summer draws to an end i always get rather nervous for the year to start. at that point i havent taught in several months so i often have flashes of wondering if i still know how to do it. i always settle into the grove, but its often a bit of a bumpy landing.

christmas eve

saturday, dec 24: in the afternoon my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids came over for the fun and festivities. we never wait until christmas morning to open gifts (well, to be honest, i never actually see christmas morning because i usually sleep till about noon!) we typically open gifts on christmas eve night.
anyway, they came over and we hung out for a while and then we had an early dinner. it was really great, my mom decided to personalize it and made each of us one of our favorite foods. my dad got that orange jello stuff he always likes, my sister got some kind of wierd salad she always likes, etc. it was a really nice dinner.
after dinner we got ready to go to the candle light service at my parents church. we got there and i soon realized it was going to be my responsability to watch my three year old nephew through out the service. yikes. he actually behaved himself fairly well. but the thing that i was struck by was how much he actually picks up on- that little guy is getting smart! i just kept watching him and laughing at the things he would do or say. he would love to watch the singers and band members while we sang and he would like to just look around during the sermon (or he would like to drop his toys and cause a racket...)
after church we headed back home and did the whole opening presents thing. it was a lot of fun. it was nice to get all that stuff, but the best part of the night was just hanging out with the family, cracking jokes, and remembering the old times.

christmas with the extended family

over break i didnt post much, so ill try and catch up. friday dec 23: i slept in (this was a recurring theme through out the whole vacation time) and finally got my but moving to drive up to michigan. arrived about 15 minutes before the big family get together, so i had to rush over and quick wrap the gift for my cousin. it went well. i always love getting together with that side of the family. although i usually feel a bit awkward or uncomfortable with them. im not entirely sure what it is. growing up my cousins and i were always able to get along great, we would often get together in the summers and go swimming, or ride bikes, or other things kids do when they go out and play. but for the past 8 or 9 years it has always felt strange to me.
well, heres the thing, almost all of my cousins (about 15 or so) never left. they finished high school, called it quits, and started working construction. or those that did go to college stayed close. but i didnt. i left, i went far away to iowa for college, and then i didnt come back to live. i guess i shouldnt really be too surprised that i dont feel like i really fit in. i often keep to myself during these get-togethers (which, if you know me, is quite unusual). over the past couple years ive been getting better at it. i figured this year would go well because i was going to challenge myself to make an effort to talk to everyone.
and it was better. except that it was worse. i noticed a change in my cousins that i didnt expect- they grew up. i realized that just about all my cousins are married now, most of them with children too. dang, when did this happen?!? i knew they were married and i remember the birth announcements, but i just hit me that night. i realized that they were moving on to that next step of life. thats what was so jarring that night, the discovery that my cousins, even the ones younger than me, have passed me by. im not saying that i envy them, i knew my life was going to be a bit different when i chose to leave for college and then move further away to start my career, but its just a bit shocking to see just how those decisions have changed who i am and where i am in my journey.