End of the Semester

Tomorrow I give two finals and at 10:30am we'll finish the 1st semester at AHS. It has been a very good semester in many ways, but also very trying. Opening a new school is really tough and there have been many challenging moments.

Norma and I are both looking forward to the Christmas break to recharge our batteries.

I know I need to completely get rid of this crud (sinus infection) that has been bugging me since T'giving. So lots of rest for me.

Tomorrow we are planning on coming home and eating lunch and celebrating with renting a movie. It is not often we get a chance to see a dvd at home anymore. The baby keeps us too busy.

So that'll be fun.

Any suggestions on what I should rent?

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Sad Day at AHS

Today was a very sad day at our high school. We found out around 9 this morning that a beloved member of our faculty and community died suddenly this morning. It was a crushing and sad day. He taught US History AP and had many of the great students that I taught last year.

Over Thanksgiving he was hunting and climbing his tree stand when he fell and suffered broken bones. The doctors were very concerned about what might have caused his fall. He has been in the hospital and they have been running tests on him to determine if there was a cause. We do not know much else about how he passed. I am sure more info will be coming soon.

It really is horrible because he's been a big part of our community and education for years. Our principal today said that he had known him for 12 years. I did not have the pleasure to know him as well. This semester was the first opportunity for Norma and I to get to know him. He was a tremendous person. Very down to earth, caring and he went out of his way to be wonderful to Norma. He would come in and take his stuff to his room and then walk back and talk to Norma each week when she was at her duty station in the morning. Just a wonderful person and he is going to be missed in a big way.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the rest of the week is going to be tough to complete. Everyone was looking forward to ending this semester before this happened. Sure we are in a brand new school and it is beautiful and we have a lot to be thankful for. But, getting a brand new 5A school off the ground is a monumental task. The faculty and staff was already drained physically and emotionally and just needed a couple of weeks to put a semester behind us before we started 2007 with a breath of fresh air. Now that is going to be a lot harder to do. So many of us have heavy hearts and can't stop thinking about him and his crazy ties that he wore. He had his room decorated nicer than any person in the building. He had framed motivational pictures mounted and a bookshelf full of Mr. Potato heads that his kids had brought in for him over the years.

Such a great person and I am sad that I will not be able to learn more from him. He is going to be missed.

:(

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What does Santa say?

This week Aidan has been answering a question. "What does Santa say?"



What Does Santa Say? on Vimeo

Cracks me up. The video is dark, but the audio should be good.

We start finals tomorrow... whew, what a crazy semester. Finally coming to an end. Whoooo-Hooooo!

:)
We are ready for Christmas!
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Aidan Climbs a Tree

While putting up some Christmas decorations this weekend, Aidan had a ball outside. He LOVED the Santa SpongeBob blowup deal that we bought.

While we were putting up lights, our little guy climbed his first tree. Crazy boy. He is such a daredevil!


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James Kim - 1971-2006 RIP

I have just seen this story and gotten caught up on it. I had no idea it was going on. I have been so busy this week with the end of the semester that I had not pieced together that the man they had been mentioning in the news is someone I know. Sure, I never met James Kim. But, I feel like I have.

James was a tv tech personality on the old TechTV cable program. It was one of my favorite channels and I have kept up with all of the crew from that channel and followed them as they have gone their separate ways. I am just devastated tonight to learn that they have found his body and he is no longer with us.

CNET.com's James Kim Memorial

CNN: Father's effort to save his family called 'superhuman'MERLIN, Oregon (CNN) -- Hoping to save his stranded wife and children, James Kim decided Saturday to venture into the cold and unforgiving Oregon wilderness wearing only street clothes.

It had been more than a week since Kim and his wife, Kati, had begun the drive home after a vacation in Oregon.

They took a wrong turn and found themselves stranded in snow and lost with their young daughters on one of Oregon's treacherous backroads, which are rarely plowed during the winter.

Their food and options were running out.

What James Kim, 35, encountered searchers would later describe as rugged, steep, snowy terrain with sodden branches, slick rocks, downed trees and poison oak nestled between sheer cliffs.

Despite those conditions, authorities said, he covered an estimated eight miles before rescuers on Wednesday found his lifeless body in a ravine.

"It seems superhuman to me that he was able to cover that amount of distance given what he had and also that he had nine days in the car" before setting out, Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson said.

"I'm amazed," searcher Robert Graham told reporters. "We spent hours down there and made very little distance. ... The conditions were very rough. It's been cold, the terrain is so rugged, just spending one day out here is very exhausting."

Kati Kim and the couple's two daughters, Penelope, 4 and Sabine, 7 months, were found Monday when searchers saw the mother waving an umbrella. They had just set out on foot when they were found, authorities said.

The three spent a night in the hospital and were released Tuesday.

The family got stuck in the snow November 25 while traveling home to San Francisco after a Thanksgiving trip to Portland.

I have been crying like a baby over this one. It is close to my heart. When Norma and I took Aidan and tried to evacuate Houston last year to go to San Antonio and steer clear of Hurricane Rita, we were in a similar situation. The traffic was terrible. Temps the next day were going to be near 100 degrees. We were running very low on gas and decided to turn around and head home. Houston was a mess at that time, streets were clogged with traffic and it didn't seem like our hometown city. It seemed a very crazy place. I was frantic and was not relieved until we finally reached home almost 12 hours later.

Sure it is not the same as being stuck out in the wilderness like he was. But, that feeling of desperation and of having your young children at risk... it is terrible. I can not imagine how strong his wife must be to have survived that ordeal.

I am sick and feeling pretty crappy tonight. When I am sick like this I get emotional. So it is probably making this harder. But, this one really hit me hard. I just watched James on a video on my TiVo download of CNet Holiday shopping guide. It's crazy that he is now gone. Norma loved him when he was on TechTV and we used to joke that he was "her boyfriend" with a wink. He will be missed. A great guy and obviously a wonderfully devoted husband.

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This Really Made My Day

Today was one of those "typical" days as a teacher. You say to yourself after a class like my seventh period, "Why do I do this again?" They were just plain rotten today. It just wears you out some days. My other classes are great, but 7th is a lower level class and they just grate on my last nerve some days.

So the bell rings and four of my video game club officers show up at my door. "Mr. D we have something serious to talk to you about, regarding video games." I worried right away. Now what? So I said, "OK, give it to me, what's the damage?" They said, "We need you to do something...
open this Christmas gift." (SMILES BEAMING)

So I look and it's obviously either a DVD or Video Game. As I open it I think to myself, "There is NO WAY this is "Gears of War" -- it's far too expensive." As I rip open the wrapping paper, there is the distinctive neon green Xbox 360 cover and YEP that's it, Gears. Amazing.

I couldn't believe it. The game is $65 bucks. I was planning on getting it with some Christmas money. They knew I had rented it and decided to chip in to get it for me. Very, very cool gift. I was so stunned that I forgot I had a technology committee meeting in the library and I was late. But, I just bragged about my gift when I got there and it was cool.

Somedays as a teacher you think that you must be one step from the looney bin to do the job. It really can be a challenge. Then you realize what an impact you have on these kids and it makes it all worth while. To think that they thought enough of me to do this really blew me away.

Now I get to blow away alien creatures tonight after I check essays :) Awesome.

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It's the Busiest Time of the Year

No doubt the Holidays can really leave you dragging. For Norma and I that is definitely the case. I have barely had any time to read any blogs let alone write an entry. Since we came back from T'Giving Break I have been running and gunning. Today I went into work at 6 and didn't get home until about 6. I was busy grading my Castle Projects.

The projects went pretty well. I forgot my camera today to take pictures of them, but I will get a few pictures of them tomorrow morning. Some are just amazing, others fall apart as soon as you pick them up. The key to the project is the writing portion of it though - as far as the grade goes. But, there is a big battle for prestige for the kids to have a "cool" castle. I had one that was a guitar, another made of marshmellows, another that was made of Starburst. And I had the typical "Christmas Castles" and ones made out of playing cards. Every year seems to give the same kinds of derivations of castles. This year had some really good quality though.

The best, by far was this one:

Click on it to see a bigger picture. It is about 3' by 5' large. Much, much bigger than the rest.

It really is huge and it took 3 people to carry it in. Amazing how much time they must have spent on it. I am very interested to see how well her essay goes. I would hate to give her less than 100 on the project grade, but 30% of it is the paper that goes with it. So I will have no choice if it sucks.

I should have everything graded completely by Thursday. Grades are due Friday and Finals are the following week. I also completed my final exam tonight and I am just mentally and physically beat. I am going to go downstairs and get something to drink and head to bed. My eyes are tired.

The baby is feeling better and Norma and I will be too at the end of this week. Once we get through this grading period, have all our copies made for finals, and are ready to coast through the week of finals... we'll be feeling loads better. The semester is almost over. Today I had the pleasure of saying, "This is your final homework assignment "FOR THE YEAR" :)" Of course, that meant for the year 2006. We'll have plenty in 2007. '07 - doesn't that seem weird. I am not ready for that. Maybe in a week I will be?

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Thankful

After spending a week with my awesome two year old and my beautiful wife...

I am Thankful!

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Christmas Comes Early for Astros

Talk about BLACK Friday! The Astros got two big pieces to their 2007 puzzle today. Carlos Lee and Woody Williams are now Astros. Pretty sweet.

Left field in Minute Maid will now have a new name. Lee's nickname is "El Caballo," which means "The Horse." He was given his nickname by White Sox television announcer Hawk Harrelson. When he played for the Brewers, there was a sign in the left field corner that read "El Caballo's Corner." I can see the left field corner of the Crawford Boxes becoming The Big Horse's corner.

It will be fun to watch him work. The guy is a super slugger. But, he does not strike out a lot. He will provide a lot of protection in the order for Lance Berkman. I can see a lineup that looks like this:

1. Taveras, CF
2. Scott, RF
3. Berkman, 1B
4. Lee, LF
5. Ensberg/Lamb, 3B
6. Biggio/Burke, 2B
7. Everett, SS
8. Ausmus, C

It's a MUCH better lineup with El Caballo in there. It helps the weak bottom portion of the order. Everett/Ausums suck at the plate, but provide great D.

The starting rotation may look like this now:
1. Oswalt
2. Williams
3, 4, 5. Buchholz/Albers/Hirsh/Sampson

The 3, 4, 5 starters would be a battle in spring. Each of these young guys has shown some promise. Of course, Clemens and Pettitte could be back, but I am not counting on it.

Looking forward to Baseball starting in just a few months. I have something to look forward to now, The Big Horse is now the stable.

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Turkey Break

We are enjoying Turkey Week off of school and having time at home with the baby. Unfortunately we are all sick. I am recovering pretty well though. I went to the docs on Saturday and got a new dosage of antibiotics and oral steroids. Aidan went in today and got his antibiotics. Norma is tougher than both of us and just takes some cold meds and toughs it out (although I am pushing her to go into the docs, too).

So lots of rest for us this week. But, we also have a lot to get finished. We are working on Christmas shopping and getting up Christmas decorations. The shopping has gotten off to a good start. We purchased some good things on Monday and hope to get most of the shopping done tomorrow. The rest we can probably do online. :) Isn't the internet great?

We found out today that Aidan is in the 80% percentile in height and 75% percentile in weight. He's a big boy. The doc was a little concerned that he isn't talking much. He said if Aidan does not show some improvement (stringing a few words together) in 6 months then we should probably start getting him to a speech therapist.

I'm not very worried about it though. I didn't start talking until I was three. So it could be all my fault. :) Einstein didn't talk until he was 4. There is even a book about it: "The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late".

I think Aidan will come around throughout this year and start to become more verbal. He knows all the characters in his books. He can point to them and other objects that we don't even realize he knows the names of yet. It is amazing how much these kids soak up like a sponge all day long. I know that the verbal part will all come crashing down on us soon and we'll be looking at each other like, "When is he going to be quiet?"

Until then we keep trying to prompt him for oral responses, but get little satisfaction from our efforts right now. It will pay off in the end, I am sure.

I have also been playing Gears of War on Xbox 360. The game is an amazing feat of graphical, gameplay and action. Really an awesome game. I haven't gotten too far through it, but at every turn there is an added twist to the story. And at every turn there is a new beast that seems scarier than the ones that came before it. Really an awesome game. I haven't even scratched the surface with it, but I can tell it is deep-deep-deep. It is going to rescue the 360 this holiday season.

Not much else going on. I am going to try to get some rest and let my body chase off the rest of this infection. Aidan is fast asleep and Norma is about to jump on the computer and upload pictures. Yeah, we have a few of those to send out to family over Christmas. A few thousand!

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"Pretty Much" Nice Email

I just checked my work email. I usually check a couple of times a day over the weekend and during a break like Thanksgiving. We have the next week off. I saw that I had a few extra credit emails, the kids had to figure out what a hyroglyphic message on my website was and email it to me. I also had this email:

Mr. D, you're awesome
and pretty much my favorite teacher.
I'm really enjoying working on the castle project.
Happy Thanksgiving

As sick as I am right now, that really made me feel good. Probably better than the oral steroids and new dose of antibiotics that the doc gave me today.

Teaching is a great job. There is nothing else that I would rather do with my life. I love being able to hear kids say that my history class is their favorite. Or that I am their "pretty much" favorite teacher. That made me laugh.

The kids have a couple of more weeks to work on their Castle Project. It is a project that is probably the most creative and fun of the year. They design and build a castle and they have a lot of room to be creative. It goes along with the Middle Ages unit that we are studying.

I'll start getting some of them coming into school on the Monday when we return. We have the next week off for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see what the kids come up with.

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The Big Game - OSU vs. Michgan

Bo and Woody - together again

I usually root for both of these two teams to lose, even when they play each other. But, today I will be rooting for the maise and blue. Bo Schembeckler was a great man, a great coach and a great motivator. Will he motivate his Wolverines one more time? He did speak to the team this week before he passed away yesterday.

The other reason I would like to see Michigan win and beat #1 Ohio State is that I am a fan of the Nittany Lions first, but next I root for "college football chaos." Michigan winning would throw a wrench into all of the National Championship hopes. That's why I will also pull for Cal over USC tonight.

It would be great if there are a ton of 1-loss teams and an undefeated Rutgers team. We'll see what happens, but in my lifetime it would be great to finally witness College Football Bliss --- a playoff that determines the National Championship.

Michigan just scored to make it 7-0. Brent Musberger said it well, "Somewhere, Someplace Bo Schembeckler is smiling."

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