endings & beginnings

School is almost done! And there was much rejoicing. End of the year exams start tomorrow, and the last day for students is June 4th (teachers get out on the 6th). It's been an interesting year. I really struggled with whether or not I wanted to stay in teaching. Reasons not too - Freshmen, lack of pay, getting up at the butt-crack of dawn, lack of competent decision making by administrators, general stupidity and apathy of teenagers. Reasons to stay - summer break, spring break, Christmas break. All in all, it's not that bad. I've been allowed to be myself at my school and am accepted. I can have my long hair and wear Vans. I have a fan club. Yes, the pay sucks and is only going to get worse. But I have to ask myself if I would be truly happy doing anything else, and I can honestly say, "no". I really do like working with teenagers, and enough of them show me appreciation to make it worth staying.

As I said before, I cut off about 10 inches of my hair. Sometimes I look at myself and regret it, but I know it'll grow back. Speaking of hair, I am going to try something new next Monday - getting my legs waxed! I've been shaving for 20 years - it caused quite a stir in the Freshman dorm at MVNC - and I'm kinda getting tired of it. Yet I can't stand any hair on my legs at all. Visions of "40-year Old Virgin" dance in my head when I think about it...

Well, I tried something I thought I would never do over Memorial Day weekend. I went to the Dallas Bull, which is a country bar/dancing club in Tampa. Stephanie really wanted to go dancing, and that's where she wanted to go. In all honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was very surprised by the diversity of the crowd - young college kids all the way up to some good ol' cowboys. And they were happy. Most people I have seen at other clubs are usually massively depressed or angry. These people weren't. It was kinda refreshing. I'm honestly thinking about taking line-dancing and couples dancing lessons. Egads!

hair today, gone tomorrow

After four years of letting my hair grow, I cut a large chunk of it off yesterday. It had gotten to the point where it was getting caught in my car door, between my back and the chair I was sitting in, getting in my mouth while I ate, and generally being a nuisance. Although it was beautiful with long, flowing locks and curls, it was time for us to part our ways. But I didn't just want to have it cut just to be swept up and deposited in some type of crude refuse receptacle. So I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love, an organization that creates wigs for kids with cancer. I am still able to pull it into a small ponytail, not unlike Steven Seagal during the glory days.

let's go to the show

I got roped into doing another show this weekend. I don't mind, really. Anything that involves local music, I like to be a part of.

The son-in-law of one of our teachers got killed in Iraq last week. It was fairly traumatic for our little community and the neighboring one. He's a local grad and knew alot of people around here, so his death touched alot of lives. His sister-in-law is a former student of mine, and she thought it would be a great idea to have a benefit concert in his honor to benefit the NJROTC program at my school. So that's how I got involved. I'll be running sound along with playing in one of the bands. It's not my band, but I'm filling in for the bass player who has to go to prom. The band's name is "Lamenting Lavinia", and the drummer and guitarist/vocalist are twin brothers who I have known since they were Freshmen. Should be interesting...

back to the grind

Well, I'm back. Had to take a break for a while as my computer went on the fritz. It has been returned, so I can write again.

Another sign that you're getting old - mysterious injuries. About 9 years ago, I began to have problems with my lower back. To start with, I lean. One leg is shorter than the other and I have mild scoliosis, so I lean to one side. If I'm ever lost in a desert, I'm screwed. Anyway, one night about 9 years ago, I bent over to lift the toilet seat and it felt like someone wrung out my lower back like a wet wash cloth. Being the stubborn man that I am, a few days later I played a game of tackle football with some rather large boys from my youth group. The next day, I could not get out of bed. After many weeks of chiropractic treatment, things were better. However, the chiropractor told me that I would have problems with this for the rest of my life.

Well, the rest of my life popped up in November. I hit a patch of sand on my bike and although I did not fall, I twisted rather awkwardly to not fall. The next day, my back was rather sore and painful. The pain and stiffness did not go away, so back to the chiropractor I went. The treatments went well but I have to have a monthly adjustment.

How does this all lead to "mysterious injuries" you may ask. Well, here goes. Last Wednesday, I went to bed with no problems. When I went to get out of bed Thursday morning, I couldn't move. I ended up in bed for two days. I'm better now (I'm not dead yet), but to twist your back in your sleep is not a good thing.