High School Memories

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013 meisajDaily Life

Coach Hoek was the cross country coach when I was in high school. At least for three years. He also taught English class. My Senior year he went from a teacher I looked up to to someone I really wish I never took a class from.

In my Senior year he taught a Senior writing and speaking class. One of the assignments was to give a presentation in front of the class with the goal of teaching something to everyone. One of the more popular choices was “how to make brownies.” I don’t think anyone prepared for this, someone did ‘How to play guitar” but he started his lesson by saying “I’m not going to teach you how to play guitar, go get lessons if you want to learn. I’m just going to play for ten minutes,” and he did. And he got an A. One person was going to teach us how to change a car stereo but didn’t bring a stereo in, or wires or do any drawings. Just talked us through it. He got a B+. Colin, I’ll admit, did a pretty good job with a presentation of “How to sneak out of school without getting caught.”

I didn’t prepare much for my presentation. But I had decided to do a lesson on drawing stick figures, and how to use it as a stress reliever. I drew a lot at that time, and at one point thought about becoming a political cartoonist. But that was aside from the point, I drew my stick figures on the board, showed how you only need one unique feature for each stick figure to make it stand out. I drew short comic strips, drew out some frustrations, and other such randomness. I’m sure it wasn’t great, but then again, other than Colin’s, no one’s was great and mine was no worse or better than theirs.

I got a C. Scoring was 50/50 on this project. Students got to grade and rate each others; giving it a grade and then ranking what they thought were the best presentations. The other 50% came from Mr. Hoek. So when I got my grade back and saw that students had given me an ‘A’, and Mr. Hoek had given me a D-. His
The guy who played guitar. He finally did the presentation three weeks after it was due. And he got a better grade than I did. I actually confronted Mr. Hoek after finding out what he gave that student. Mr. Hoek’s words to me were along the lines of “An A means more to him than it does to you. He needed that grade more than I did. Never mind that he didn’t actually do any of the requirements of the presentation other than sit up in front of the class for ten minutes.explanation that went along with my grade was that he felt he didn’t learn anything from my presentation. The guy who played guitar for ten minutes without explaining anything, that guy deserved a better grade than I did. The people who read instructions off of a Brownies Mix box. Deserved a better grade than I did. The guy who put his feet on the table and tried to explain how to put a car stereo in without pictures or examples. Yeah…. he deserved a better grade than I did. Apparently he learned things from all of them.

It stands out in my mind as just awful teaching. Yes I could have and probably should have done more for my presentation, but as a teacher you can’t just arbitrarily hand out grades. And that’s what Mr. Hoek did. He felt others deserved or needed or earned better grades doing the same or less than I did.

I don’t know why I thought about this today, but I did. It irks me still, and I’m 16 years removed from High School. I think I did well in the class regardless of that presentation, but man it still irks me.

Well, I’ll never see Mr. Hoek again so that’s that. I think he still teaches at QHS. And I’m sure in the last 16 years I have built this story up more than it should be. All those grades probably weren’t ‘A’s’, but they sure as hell were better than what he gave me.

Best Spring Break Ever

April 1, 2013April 1, 2013 meisajDaily Life

It’s my Spring Break. So what to do on a Monday morning on Spring Break… dentist.

Yes the dentist. A place of unabashed humility. You show up on time and wait 30 minutes. You pay to have someone point out your weaknesses.

My by and far favorite visit to the dentist was several years ago when I didn’t have dental insurance and had to go to the dental school. When the student I was assigned to looked inside my mouth his first words were ‘So I see you’ve bad a lot of work done.’

Now I’m not proud of how many cavities I’ve had, but I try to take good care of my mouth. I brush and use mouthwash nightly. I floss a couple times a week. I even started using a water pick again after Sam purchased a new one a few weeks ago.

I will admit that I drink more coffee than the average person. Also that around Easter and Halloween my candy consumption peaks. But it’s not bad the rest of the year. Much lower than it used to be, even compared to a few years ago. I also don’t drink soda, unless I’m at the movies.

I do all this but still have bad teeth. So I try not to feel too bad about it.

Today is taking care of some fillings. I’m all numbed up and ready to go. I swear dental needles hurt more than most. I could care less about a needle at the doctor, at the dentist though.. It’s a whole other story. When they numb me up good I lose the ability to breath out of the good side of my nose, which sucks. I think he also hit a nerve. I could feel every hair in my chin like they were on fire with pain when he numbed me up. I’ve never had that before. It was strange for sure.

I also hate the pictures here. The people either have perfect big white teeth, or look like a witch with blackened teeth and a toothless smile. So I either feel ashamed or great based off of the pictures. Or both at the same time. Thanks doc.

Angelo and Skunky

April 1, 2013April 2, 2013 meisajDaily Life

Angelo has been getting more and more active in the last few weeks / months.

He’s been sick for a while, some sort of intestinal thing, and I think the steroids he’s been taking for months have finally built up enough in his system that he thinks he’s a “He-Kitty” and thus Master of the Universe. Or at least the apartment.

Angelo will now stare us down if we are in his spot (any corner of the couch or bed) and makes sure he flashes you his butt as he turns around in front of you. He also bats at thinks, and goes crazy several times a day clawing at furniture. Sadly I don’t think he knows he doesn’t have front claws.

And of course, his new best friend is Skunky. Skunky is a squeaky toy shaped like a skunk (obviously). And every time he is touched he squeaks loudly. I’ve woken up to find Angelo batting him around at 2am at several occasions. I also knew he played with skunky because I will consistently go to bed with skunky out in the living room and wake up to find skunky at the foot of the bed.

Saturday I got to see Angelo and Skunky in action. It was awe inspiring. Here’s my 13 year old kitty being all rough and tumble with Skunky.

You go Angelo.

Angelo vs Skunky Video

The only 2 mugs that matter…

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013 meisajDaily Life

I have a bazillion coffee mugs. that’s an actual number not an exaggeration.

I’ve thought about getting the actual number down to a hearty 6 maybe. I can’t ever see needing more than 6. Of course, those 6 don’t include….

THE ONLY TWO MUGS THAT MATTER!!!!!

Lots of emphasis there.

The only two mugs that matter are my Denny’s mug and my PRS mug. These are my mugs. I don’t get made when someone else uses them, but I would prefer, maybe heavily prefer, that no one else uses them but me. They both have different uses.

Denny’s Mug

I stole this mug from a Denny’s in Queensbury. It happened during one fateful summer where I made numerous late night Denny’s trips with Kevin, Reggie, Shane, and Colin. I don’t really need to add the ‘late night’ preface there, I’m pretty sure no one ever goes to Denny’s at other times. At least we didn’t then.

It was the time period where I had actually been made fun of at college by Keifer because 90% of the stories I told started with “At 2 am” because we all worked that summer and did nothing but play frisbee and go to Denny’s. Or maybe I’m combining summers. Whatever. Your memory is no better than mine.

Regardless of my memory, I stole this Denny’s mug. And when I make a cup of coffee in the morning, I drink from my Denny’s mug. It’s speckled, authentic, and awesome. And it was stolen from Denny’s. By my hands, because I wanted it, would cherish it, and use it all the time. I will not, will not, let anyone else use it. It’s mine. But that’s not true, Sam is envious of it, and sneaks it to use when I’m not around. I suppose I’m ok with that. But guests, sorry, get your own if you can.

PRS Mug

Years ago (like 5) Josh ‘the man’ Wallens lived near Baltimore and worked at PRS. PRS is Paul Reed Smith Guitars. It was pretty awesome. He worked hard to get there and had the job for a few years before the economy left him without steady employment.

But that first year Josh sent me a PRS mug and shirt. I still wear the shirt all the time. Love it. But the mug, I saw how it could become lost among the masses of coffee mugs I already had unless I gave it the status it deserves. So it became my wine mug.

When I drink wine at home, I drink it out of the PRS Mug. It is fantastic. It has this unique little peak, a pointy edge at the top of the handle, where my thumb continually rubs against it while I use it. Makes it special and unique. We had guests once and one of them, despite being told not too, used PRS to drink wine out of. I was pretty livid. Tried not to be. Kept it together. But when he joked about stealing it I told him he wouldn’t make it out the door with losing the hand that was holding it.

Its a fantastic mug. Period. Nothing else to say about it. It sits up in the liquor cabinet away from all the other coffee mugs reveling in its prestige. It deserves it.

Room of Living

March 27, 2013 meisajDaily Life

We spent a good deal Sunday rearranging our living room. Not to any great lengths, but I wanted to move my trainer out of the living room (even though it was pushed to the far side) and replace it with our second couch that had been in the office.

This is a miracle couch. It’s been in my possession for a decade or so, since my first post-college roommate, Alena, bought it for our apartment off of a neighbor from where she grew up. The print shows it true age of 30 – 40 years old. I’d say at least my age.

When Alena got she hand-made a fitted cover for it. She also made cushion covers with zippers so they could be washed regularly. Sadly on the move out to Cleveland the fitted cover was lost (It had been stuffed into a garbage bag and accidentally got tossed in the garbage instead of the U-haul. Also on the move one of the legs was broken (a thick screw broke, so it would have to be placed in the spot instead of held in spot). So for the last five years of its Cleveland life it has sat low to the ground instead of up on legs. Another plus.

Since then its been in my bedroom, in my living room and in the office. It got replaced by the futon couch for practical reasons. The futon couch was larger, so it was easier to move this couch out of the way. It currently is covered by sheets and pillow cases for the back cushions, but doesn’t look bad.

BUT my dream of a two couch living room, and of the supreme comfort this amazing couch provides (Reggie can attest to that) has never left my mind. This is the kind of couch you would want in a garage or basement. A crash couch of epic comfort.

So Sunday it made its way into to our living room. A deep cleaning and some febreeze (for everything in our apartment since its still cold and preventing windows from being open) and its home in its new spot.

I love it. The couches frame our living room without taking away any space. It has allowed us to keep the middle of the room free and open, given us a couch that is more suited for laying back on (the futon couch has an angle that is great for sitting on, but tough to lay on for longer periods of time) and is directly under a window for sun.

I’d call that a success.

Three Days til Spring Break

March 26, 2013 meisajDaily Life

Friday is the start of Spring Break.

The weather forecast is not promising. Saturday and Sunday it’ll be almost 50 degrees (Fahrenheit). Monday through Wednesday low 40’s and wet. Thursday through next Sunday it’ll be in the 50’s and wet.

I’ll say it. A crappy spring break. I’m not going anywhere for Break. I was planning on having a Break similar to last years. Just bike everyday and hope to get close to 200 miles in one week. However, I won’t get on the bike until it is at least in the mid 40’s. And not until it’s dry. I have a new bike waiting to be picked up on layaway, but I’m not going to get it until I can ride it consistently.

Ohhh.. did I tell you I have two dental appointments. Getting some cavities taken care of (not new cavities mind you, old ones that were filled once and need to have them replaced) and getting a crown on my first root canal (it never had a crown on it). That’s exciting, in that kind of not really sort of way.

I’ll figure something out. Damn you mother nature for not cooperating. Its spring dammit, start acting like it.