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.

home

ah, christmas time has come and passed. it was a good one this year, although i cant really remember a bad one. i came home on friday and met up with my moms side of the family for christmas stuff. always a blast to hang with the cousins. but i quickly ditched that party and headed out with my friends downtown grand rapids for the verve pipe show at the intersection- and boy did it rock!!!
saturday i slept in, then went shopping and got the rest of the gifts to give. the rest of the family came over, we went to church, then we opened prizes (thats what we call them, not presents. yes, i know we are wierd) and had a lot of fun.
this morning i slept in again (we went to church last night, so we called it good) and around noon my grandma stopped by for dinner. after we ate i went and visited my other grandma in the nursing home. i came home, hung out, then went to my sister and brother-in-law's place. we played trivial pursuit pop culture edition till two in the morning. it was a really great time. now i am home typing on the computer. its 3:09 and its too late (early?) to add anything witty to this post. sorry.

more converts

earlier this week i was at a friends house, a few buddies were playing poker, but i was playing scrabble with a friend (dang, i really do love that game...) she and i got talking about keeping in touch with people by checking out their blogs. i asked her if she had one. she said no. i decided that it was my responsiblity to fix this problem.
it was really fun! she didnt really know all that much about this blogging thing so i got to teach her the (very) basic things i have learned. it was really fun. i would share a link to her address, but she would probably kill me. (you know, first wants to see if its her thing or not)
also, another friend who was there was an old collegue i worked with for a couple years. she used to teach 4th grade here but left over the summer to be a missionary teacher in brazil (how amazing and crazy is that?!?) she had a blog started, but needed some help ironing out the details. her blog is here. its really cool stuff, her posts always have picture of what its like down there and some cool stories of the people she has met. check it out.

my christmas list

my family is always asking me what i want for christmas. i often struggle with this question- what do i want? inspired by this question, i am moved to write down what exactly i want for christmas. these are in no particular order, rather, they are listed in order of when i think of them. here goes:

1. world peace
2. the death of whoever is responsible for the 'career' of paris hilton (ditto for those who gave us nicole richie, hillary duff, ashley simpson, and lindsey lohan)
3. someone to stop smacking tom cruise over the head with the stupid stick
4. an apology from the guy who directed 'the longest yard'
5. more steve corell movies
6. my money back for 'war of the worlds'
7. people to finally realize just how stupid 'family guy' really is
8. more people to start watching 'office' and 'scrubs'
9. no more celebrity couple first names mashed into one
10. 'american idol' to be cancelled (oh, and survivor too)
11. a million dollars

i dont know, it doesnt seem like im asking too much...

me vs. my furnace

i have been having a fight with my furnace for a couple years now. actually, ever since i moved onto the place i live. usually its not a big deal because i like it to be a bit cold in my place. if its fifty outside i see no reason to turn on the heat, id rather just grab my fleece. the point is, if its cold enough for me to want to turn the heat on, its pretty darn cold so i really wont the heat on. anyway, heres the story:
my furnace always has a problem with being turned up. i usually keep it down around 62 during the night, and im only awake for about a half hour before i leave for work. so, the only time i ever turn it up is in the evenings, and even then i only turn it to about 68. here is the problem- my furnace does not know how to follow orders. i turn up the thermostat and it kicks on, but after about a minute of blowing it decides 'that aught to do' and shuts itself off even though my thermostat is set at 68 and the temp in the room is still only 62. this frustrates me. if i pester the furnace enough it will sometimes play along and actually get up to the temperature i want, but then it gets me back at night. when i turn it back down to 62 it will decide 'screw you!' and just take the night off and ill wake up with a house thats 53 degrees! (im a little bitter, because thats what it read this morning...) and that can make for a really cold start of the day. sometimes i can trick that little bugger into working, but it never stays tricked for long. does anyone know a heating guy who works for cheap?
oh, another important lesson i learned: yelling at inanimate objects doesnt help. i know, im shocked too...

by the way...

if you are coming around to check out my blog 'poke it with a stick', may i make a suggestion? this is only the main page of my blog, i also have pages designated just for music, movies, image gallery, and other random thoughts. the links to those other pages are right over there ----> under the 'poke it with a stick links', so if you are interested, dont forget to check them out too!

the eternal debate

pop. soda. which is it really called? this is the true eternal question... i think this is the real issue that is tearing our nation apart. blue states? red states? outdated. the new division is between pop states and soda states. something must be done about this before it destroys our country and leads to another civil war. and i feel i am just the man to bring about that resolution.

let me begin with my story: i grew up in michigan, and up there it is called pop. when i moved out to iowa i was shocked and amazed that other people around the country had other names for a carbonated beverage. soda? that sounded so strange to me. after many arguments and late night discussions i was finally shown the light. it isnt pop. but to be honest, it isnt always soda either.
the fact of the matter is this: officially the correct term is soft drink. if it is a dark soft drink then it is called a cola, if it a light colored, or clear soft drink it is called soda. so those who call it soda are not always right. i drink diet pepsi and i call it a soda, but that would be inaccurate.
so i guess the moral of the story is that we are all wrong. suck on that.

a shout out

you want to know who is really cool? its jeffry lee. i havent known him for nearly long enough, but whenever we get talking it always feels like we were brothers seperated at birth. that kid is a superstar.

oh, the pressure!

tonight i am going to a 'white elephant' christmas party. im a bit worried. ive never been to one of these types of parties, so i dont really know what to bring. do i go out and buy something or am i supposed to find something around the house? what if i bring something that i think is crappy, and it turns out it really is crappy? thats the problem, i dont know the caliber of the gifts were are expected to bring, so i dont know if ill be way off one way or the other. screw it, ill just wrap up a box of soap.

a fun game

i always like to look for fun new games to play in my classroom. earlier this week i found a totally cool one. ive played it before, but i never knew it had a name. the kids really liked it too. i first heard it called a "rotating corpse." a link directed me to a definition on wikipedia. they call it an 'exquisite corpse', but its the same thing. give the definition a look here. (thanks reuben and matt for this one...)

one mans trash...

you know that cheesy old saying 'one mans trash is another mans treasure'? well, recently i found that to be very true...
a couple weeks ago my family came down to help me redo my living room. we put in new carpet and repainted the walls. my couch was till the same old nasty couch though. i originally bought it at the salvation army when i first moved here (so that should be some indication of its nastiness) since then, two years have passed, and the couch got even worse. it was one of those crappy hide-a-beds. by now thought the bottom had busted and the seat i would usually sit in had caved in about three inches. and it had a most indistinguishable oder. i dont know what it was, but it was bad. my brother and dad were so disgusted by the fact we had to wheel it out to put the carpet down, and then wheel it back in after. as luck would have it, that afternoon my mom and sister were out shopping and they happened to find a couch at a good price that would match my stuff. so we got it and put the old one out on the curb. afterward, we went out to eat.
when we got home, about an hour later, the couch was gone!!! dang, that was quick! we all had a good laugh at the fact someone actually wanted that pile of junk! we went inside and hung out for a while. when my family was leaving we happened to notice, just three doors down, an old couch on their curb! at first we thought they snagged my couch, got it into the light and realized how bad it was- but no, it was actually their old couch! my junky couch was actually an improvement for them. yikes. i wouldnt really call that couch 'treasure', but it was certainly my trash.