Outnumbered at Home

Thoughts from New York

2007-07-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sarah talked about the ceremony and reception and the honeymoon. I will mention the points of the honeymoon that I remember.

1. Cab drivers in New York are really something else. We had one lady cursing up a storm that would make the most foul-mouthed sailor blush.

2. Lanes in New York are merely suggestions. We had cab drivers riding in two lanes for as much as a block at times.

3. Many of the diners and restaurants did not provide free refills. I was not a big fan of that.

4. Sandwiches in New York were overfilled with meat. Sarah ordered a club at Sarge's and she had to eat it in sections.

5. There is a ticket booth at the Marriott Marquis at 46th and Broadway that sells same day show tickets at half price. We got great seats each time.

6. The Marriott Marquis has a rooftop restaurant that rotates. The View rotates every 80 minutes and provides a great view of the city.

7. It can get hot in New York City. We knew it was a possibility, but if we wanted 95 degree weather and humidity we could have been at home in Birmingham for that.

8. New York City Harbor Cruise is great. We took the three hour cruise (save the Gilligan's Island jokes). There were great views of the Statue of Liberty and Yankee Stadium. I knew that the Rockefeller's were wealthy, but the cruise really shed light on how they may have had as much money as God.

9. Our tour guide was great. He was actually named the New York City Tour Guide of the Year 2006. His whole tour is in a book he wrote, Unique New York.

10. We stayed at the Affinia Dumont and it was wonderful. Our initial room was on the 9th floor. We asked for a higher room and the next day we were moved to the 29th floor with a great view.

11. The view from the top of the Empire State Building is everything it is cracked up to be. The price to go to the top was more reasonable than I had thought. Plus, it was only a few blocks from our hotel.

12. Foreigners are funny. A young gal brought her family from Germany to see Chicago and her uncle was a trip.

13. Jet Blue got some bad press this last winter for essentially trapping people on a flight for 9 hours on the runway. However, our experience was great. Normally I fly Delta. Jet Blue had a great deal going on plus each seat has its own TV.

14. Visiting Yankee Stadium was everything I had imagined. We got last minute tickets from Ticketmaster. It felt like it was going to rain in the first inning, but it passed and the rest of the evening was comfortable. We had hot dogs, beer, Cracker Jacks. The only negative was the A's lost. Oh well.

15. Using mass transit to the game was the environmentally sensitive thing to do. Getting back on the subway after the game was an adventure. It was rough battling through the crowd out of the stadium and up the platform. Once we got to the platform it was fine.

16. The worst part of the game were the annoying Yankees fans after the victory. I wish I could have been there for the final two games of the series when they got owned. I bet they weren't so full of it then.

17. We saw a number of shows in New York: Curtains on Sunday afternoon, Les Miserables on Monday, Swan Lake Ballet at the Met on Tuesday, Inherit the Wind on Wednesday afternoon, Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday night, and Chicago on Thursday night.

18. We dressed up for the shows and were appalled to see how many people showed up in casual clothes. It was apparent that people do not respect the theater!

19. The Bronx Zoo was real cool. We got there early in the afternoon and missed out on some stuff, but we were able to see the penguins being fed. They were so cute.

20. We didn't use the subway all that often and I guess that would explain the lack of freakshows that we met. A fact I will not complain about.

21. New York City is one of the holy sites for shopping and this was not a fact lost on us. We spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday shopping. The other attraction of the shops was the air conditioning. Sarah even got to go to Tiffany and Co.

22. There is no sales tax on clothing in New York City.

* Pictures to follow as soon as we put them on the computer

Wedding - Part II

2007-06-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

It is my stance that Sarah's dad may have chosen the wrong profession. Please don't get me wrong because I know he is a great locksmith. After we got in the accident he told us that bad beginnings made for good endings and that made us feel better. He has a way of making things better. So my thought is that he should have been a doctor because he could make any bad situation sound like there was a positive to come with it. This gift would turn out to be useful again.
My Friday was pretty low key. In the morning about nine of us went to the Waffle House for breakfast. Yes, you read that correct, on the morning of my wedding of all the places I could have invited my closest friends and family I chose Waffle House. It was delicious. The rest of the day I spent on my butt in my room shooting the breeze with my friends. I showered and got dressed and my groomsmen and I loaded into the limo at 4:20. At the same time Sarah and her girls were getting in their limo at the front of the hotel. What we all did not not know was that earlier in the day the chance of precipitation jumped from 10% to 60%.
When we arrived at the gardens it felt like it was going to rain. You don't have to have achy knees to know when it is going to rain sometimes. The gardens staff got the chairs all arranged and then since we were taking pictures before the ceremony I got to see Sarah. She was breathtaking. We took some pictures and then Sarah said, "I felt rain." We then all huddled under the pergola and then my groomsmen shielded Sarah and took her to another gazebo that was more secluded from the rain (thanks guys). In the South, summer storms can be here and gone in about 10 minutes. This was not one of those storms and we ended up getting married at the back up location in the Hilton. It was still great and we all adjusted the walking in for the new room.
Afterwards, we finished the pictures while they took a little longer than I would have liked people were waiting in front on the porch eating chicken puff pastries and bacon wrapped scallops. They were both delicious and it seemed like nobody thought of bringing them to the people taking the pictures for a long time! The reception was a blast. The food was delicious. The only issue was that the rain got us behind schedule and we had to rush some things like the cake cutting and toasts so the photographer could get those pictures before her time ran out. Oh yeah, and when it came time for the mother-son dance my mom was nowhere to be found. Therefore, our dance got cut a shade short. One of the highlights of the reception was my mom and stepdad waltzing across the floor, it was awesome. The other highlight was my father-in-law's toast. You just had to be there. After the reception we went to our room and decided the night was young and went down to the bar. At the bar, we continued to drink more than was wise, but hey, it was our wedding.
All in all, I think everyone had fun and everyone got along. Sarah and I could not have been more pleased. I will post pictures as they come and I will now leave the next part of the story to Sarah.

Wedding - Part I

2007-06-25T04:47:00.001-07:00

I am now a married man, kind of a trip when I first think about it. However, it was my idea after all (I did propose) and Sarah is great so it is pretty cool. All weddings have to be an adventure and full of excitement, but it sure did seem like ours was way full of it. We left for North Carolina on Sunday the 17th. We planned on getting the wedding license on Monday and that would have allowed me to play Pinehurst with Todd. We had already left Maggie at the kennel. We were a little over an hour out of Birmingham when we heard a pop. Sarah and I looked at each other and I asked, "What was that?" It turns out "that" was the sound of our left rear tire blowing out.
Next thing I know we are fishtailing on the interstate. When all is said and done we move across both lanes and stop after hitting the guard rail on the right side. We stopped on the shoulder and some people stopped as well to make sure we were fine. None of our stuff broke and we were fine, but the blown out tire was not the only issue. My back and front bumper are in bad shape and tail lights and headlights bashed out. I fear that while the damage does not seem extensive, insurance will just total the car since the repairs will exceed the value of the car.
I wish I could have handled the car better since as I mentioned it might be a total loss. Yet, all things considered, we are fine and we didn't hit anybody. The thing that seems to be bothering me the most is the concern over the guard rail and the idea that my insurance said that potentially the state could come after my insurance to fix any guard rail damage. I wish that did not bother me but it does. I can just see some huge claim to fix a guard rail because it seems government always over pays for such projects.
We ended up getting a tow back to our apartment in Birmingham and using Sarah's car cover to cover my car until we get back. Sarah's dad rented a car for us and that turned out to work pretty good. We drove a Chrysler Pacifica to North Carolina and it is way bigger than my car or Sarah's. The car is actually sitting in the parking lot of the hotel since it is significantly cheaper to let it sit there than do two one way rentals. Since I didn't play golf with Todd I didn't bring my clubs and now we have more room to bring back presents. Not only do we have to bring back the gifts from the wedding but also the gifts from the shower Sarah had back home in April.
We stayed in Richlands until Wednesday afternoon and then drove up to Durham. Most people started arriving on Thursday. The lone exceptions were my family (arrived at 11pm) and my friends Art and Todd. Art actually took Todd, Sarah, and I out to a phenomenal place called the Angus Barn. It is a steakhouse that has a lounge called the Wild Turkey Saloon. As the name suggests it specializes in Wild Turkey and it was all great. So thanks Art! I highly recommend it if you are near the RDU airport and want a great meal. Just as a warning though, it can be a shade expensive. As you can see in the following picture with Art, Todd, and I Wild Turkey is always a great idea.
When we got back to the hotel my mom, step dad, brother, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Yaro, and Aunt Janis had just arrived. They all seemed pretty bright eyed for 11:30pm and that was only because it still felt like 8:30 to them. We all knew they should try to sleep or else they would be hurting in the morning, but we stayed up a little while and talked. On Thursday a vast majority of guests arrived including Sarah's family. Thursday my guys and I went and got out tuxes and made sure they fit. Poor Scott had pants that came past his feet. They told us to come back tomorrow, an idea that Roger and I did not like because road work turned a 15 minute drive into an almost hour long adventure. This seems like a nice place to stop. Sarah and I will alternate posts on our blogs. We will try to catch up over the next few days and also blog about New York as well.

Defending My Golf Game and Corrections

2007-05-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

First, many apologies to my Aunt Janis. She is now a regular reader and I left her off that list, so I apologize to her. To my mother, who called my round of golf into question in her response to my recent post, how dare you?!?!?!?! I set the world on fire with a 93, so there. I posted a consistent round with a 49 on the front and 44 on the back. Well, it may not have been consistent, but then again I did hit a few in the drink and yank a few left and O.B. Heads up golf courses of the world, here I come to fill your lakes and clip the limbs of your trees with errant shots.
We spoke to a number of lenders today and we are doing the right thing by shopping around for the best rate. The only downfall to this approach is that it now seems like we have more information than we know what to do with. We have it narrowed down to three lenders that we might use. Most importantly, we found a home that we really, really dig. We tried calling our agent's assistant (since the agent is on vacation) to put together a tentative offer, but we called around 5pm and she was with another client she did not call us back. I guess we will have to do that tomorrow.

School's Out For Summer!

2007-05-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

My fiancee has called me out about not entering a blog entry since, well, it is not important. Also, the school year is now over so I have no real excuse to not be better about this. My classes were alright enough this semester. One class I was absolutely not a fan of, but it was washed out by the one I loved. My third was ok enough. The bottom line is that school is over and I got to go golfing today.
This gives me more time to focus on more important things (in no particular order): buying a house, getting married, the dog, and grad exam tutoring. Sarah and I adopted a dog a little over two months ago. She is a funny looking Corgi mix with a big body on short legs, but she is adorable. She is an adult dog who is already housetrained, no accidents in the house. I cannot emphasize how great that is. Plus, she just graduated from her training class at Petsmart. The sad part is that she has a diploma, a claim some students of mine might not be able to make.Sarah and I are in the process of trying to buy a house, an experience that is both really awesome and frustrating at the same time. The wedding is about here and I figure that weddings aren't that hard, if you are the guy. I can make this general point with one story: it took me 30 minutes to pick the tuxes and about 10 times longer for Sarah to find her dress, find the shoes, and then get it altered. Damn, being a dude rocks!
This will hopefully satisfy my reading audience (Mom and Sarah) and prevent future inquiries about when I will post again, so there!

Back at it

2007-01-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

The new semester is two weeks old and I am starting to get settled in. This semester I enjoy a wonderful luxury: for the first time at Pleasant Grove High School I am teaching the same classes I taught in the first semester. In the past three semesters I have been creating new activities for each new class and it has been quite the time killer. Now, it is a matter of just modifying what I already have. I can look back at the plans from last semester and say to myself either that went great so I will do it again or I need to work on that a little more before doing that lesson again. It is not like I don't work, but it is not as stressful.
I had morning duty the first week back and that was not fun! Despite the benefit of teaching the same classes it was difficult to get back in the swing of things when I did not have my time in the morning to get ready. The morning duty meant I had to stay later after school because I lost that time in the morning. Luckily, it was only a week.
My new classes have been pretty good so far. There are a few kids who are starting to talk in class a little more than I would like. However, that is something a new seating chart can fix. If they still talk then it is time to start calling home. I am glad the kids are so well behaved at the beginning of the semester because in all honesty, the stuff we cover in world history at the very beginning is not exactly the most interesting stuff in the world.
A number of wedding issues are being resolved. I wish I could take credit for it, but it is really all Sarah. For further details on wedding plans, just take a look at Sarah's blog. There is a link for it off to the side.
This weekend has been pretty eventful. Sarah is on a basketball road trip so I have been on my own. I have found ways to keep myself out of trouble. After school on Friday I went to the girls basketball game for 3rd place in the county championship. We won by about 5 points, we were up by about 4-8 points the whole game. Sure would have been nice if we could have pulled away, but what are you going to do?
Saturday I had to use my alarm because my car had to go to the shop. I had to wait for about 4 hours, but it was an excellent opportunity to get some grading done. When I finished I strolled through the Honda dealership and looked at cars I do not need and can't afford. Everything works out though since while my car is not much to look at, it still runs pretty well with the occasional repair that has to get done just because parts go out every few years. A couple of folks and I met up for dinner on Saturday for Ford's 29th birthday. Then we went to the boys basketball game for the county championship. At one point Pleasant Grove was down 17 points in the 3rd quarter and came back to win it in overtime.
Today I have some more school work to do, but I am putting that off as much as possible. Maybe I will do some work around here instead.

Back home!

2007-01-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I got back home on Thursday. Overall, it was a pretty eventful two weeks. We have a number of wedding items squared away. We got to see both of our families and came across an interesting fact on the way home to Birmingham from North Carolina. On every trip to North Carolina it seems like we come across a million Waffle House restaurants. It turns out that number is a little off. The actual number is more like 60. The trip, one-way, is about 600 miles. This averages out to about one Waffle House every 10 miles. However, there are actually some exits with two Waffle Houses, both within eye sight of the interstate! I guess the business plan of Waffle House assumes that people will not cross under the interstate for a meal.
Once we got home Sarah and I both had to work on Friday. Actually, Sarah was supposed to travel with the women's basketball team. The only problem was the bus did not have enough space for everyone and Sarah was a real team player and volunteered to stay home. So we spent the weekend cleaning up the apartment. We cleaned up quite a bit even if it may not look like it. We also went to a wedding reception for one of the teachers from work. The husband is from Morocco and it was a real trip to be a part of a reception with a number of Arabic features.
The first day of the 2nd semester is tomorrow. After having the last two weeks off it sure is difficult to go back to work. Perhaps going back to school will get me back in the swing of things.

Wedding Plans

2007-01-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

No, I am not planning to blog every other day. It just so happens that two days after my previous entry that I had more information to post. Yesterday, Sarah and I went into Durham to handle some wedding business. Sarah's mom also went with us. Our 6 hours in the area were more than productive.
We had an 11:30 appointment with a bakery, Ambrosia Cake Creations, at a coffee shop. She had her own bakery, but we met her at a random coffee shop because she was there for another business she runs. As weird as that sounds she was a pretty cool lady. She had a number of binders with cake ideas and she even provided us with samples. This lady was all over it with her paperwork and everything. The hardest thing was that eventhough she had 5 binders for us to look through, there was not one picture that was everything we wanted. We had to bookmark a whole bunch of pages and then piece our cake together. It was hard to describe what we wanted because it seemed like we were saying things like, "we want this in a different color" or "we want this in that shape." By no means was it the baker's fault, it was just difficult. We left there with a solid idea of what we wanted.
We then went off to the second cake appointment across town with Edible Art Bakery, a bakery that we had tasted at a bridal fair. This place does pound cake and I remember being real impressed with the sample at the fair. It was real ironic because the lady at the second bakery was nowhere near as warm or friendly as the first baker. I am not a business major and so what I know about running a business you can fit into a thimble, but I know that you should come out and introduce yourself. The lady at the second place did none of that. I guess that doesn't really matter because it is not a niceness competition. The question is who makes the best cake and the second place does by far. We are having a three-tiered pound cake and a small groom's cake. The top layer of the main cake is the only chocolate tier, but you don't serve the top tier. The tradition is that the couple freezes the top tier and eats it after their first year of marriage. Well, there will be a chocolate cake for me and my guests at my wedding and that is where the groom's cake comes in to play.
Once we had the cake all figured out Sarah and her mom went to a wedding dress shop that Sarah found online, A Bridal World. She went there because they carry the dress maker that made the dress that she liked in Stockton. Since it was dress related business I had to get the heck out of there. I had the car at least, but I was in Raleigh. It is a nice town, but it is pretty big and it is not like I knew the area. So what is a cheap, tightwad like me to do with 90 minutes on my own? I found a free activity that chewed up plenty of time: touring apartments. The girls who work these places have nothing better to do anyways. I emphasize girls because I challenge you to go look for apartments and tell me how many guys you see working behind the desks as customer service, not maintenance. It seems like it has to be the #1 employer for young women aged in their mid-20s. In my mind I can see these girls in the office of their high school guidance counselor. Their counselor says, "well, you are relatively good looking and have no real ambition, have you thought about working at an apartment complex?" Back to the point. Sarah called me and said I could come pick them up.
After I left them at the bridal shop one of Sarah's bridal party members came by and helped with the dress process. I am not sure who was more excited to see her either: Darlene or Sarah. The major accomplishment of the day was that Sarah found a dress and veil. She is beyond excited about it.
After the dress shop we stopped by a Whole Foods Market and asked their floral department if they did flowers for weddings and they do. This excited us to no end because actual floral shops charge an arm, a leg, and a kidney (just for good measure). Besides, we are getting married in a garden. It is not like we will need as many flowers your normal wedding would need. After a late lunch or early dinner at Jimmy John's (delicious, by the way) we headed home. Overall, a very productive day.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

I was not so great with posting during the 2nd quarter of the school year. However, I have stumbled across some free time and figured it would be a decent time to post. Also, I happen to be in a pretty good mood since the USC Trojans beat the Michigan Wolverines to win the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl was not for a national title or anything, but it sure is nice to win the last game of the season.
This post is coming from the family room of the new Barbee house in Richlands, NC. It is not totally finished yet, but it is the closest to being done that I have seen. This place will be so nice when it is finished. The new house is about 2,600 sq. ft. and is a major upgrade from the old house. When Sarah and I come home I have my own little loft area. Hopefully when we get married perhaps her parents will let me stay in Sarah's room.
The holiday season has been pretty cool thus far. I spent about a week out in Stockton for Christmas and Sarah went out with me. It was her first Christmas away from her family and I know that was a little rough on her. Everything worked out alright though especially since my family and friends I honestly believe like her more than they like me. We hung out with the normal crew of folks that I like to see when I go home. A professor of mine from UOP is the deacon at my church and when I went to Christmas mass I got to talk with him. He has recently retired and as do many folks who have recently retired he wore a huge grin when he spoke of his retirement. I am so jealous. Only about 35 more years, yes!
After the week in Stockton we flew back to Atlanta and then drove to Sarah's hometown. Along with the holidays this December was special because we celebrated her Grandma Barbee's 90th birthday. She had a huge bash at the fellowship hall at her church. There must have been about 150 people there when all was said and done. The coolest part about it is that I would not be surprised if there is a 100th birthday bash for her. She is still going strong. She keeps her house (the same one that she raised her four boys in), is active in church functions, and moves around real well. I hope Sarah got those genes.
Tomorrow we are heading up to Durham to do some wedding stuff. In particular, cake tasting! It should be pretty awesome. Sarah and I both have to be back at work on Friday. The fact that I had a decent break does make it easier to go back. Plus, I am teaching the same classes I taught last semester. It will be nice to be in a position of refining lesson plans each day for the second semester instead of creating new ones.

A regular school week

2006-10-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks at school have been wonderful. Two weeks ago it was only 4 days, then last week was 3. Now we have a full week of 5 days. Stupid vacation ending! The next big thing to look forward to is Thanksgiving break. For the first time ever I will not be at home for Thanksgiving and will my first NorCal DeMolay Convention ever (I've been to the last 10). I am excited about a holiday in Richlands, NC. Unfortunately, Sarah and I have to be back by Friday afternoon so I am taking that Tuesday off. This plan will give us two days at home. We are going to Stockton for Christmas.
This weekend I had my US History class and the bright side was that I actually did the reading for this month's session. The bummer was that the lecture had very little to do with the reading. I also found it boring and consequently was nodding in and out. I felt terrible since I hate it when my kids go to sleep. Oh well. The funniest moment was watching a commercial for Sonic where a character proclaimed how he would let all the readers of his blog know about the new dessert he was eating. The lady in the car called him out saying, "all your readers, you mean your mom?" I though it was great to include in my blog.

October Break

2006-10-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Vacations are the best! I didn't really go anywhere (except for Tuscaloosa for the second weekend in a row), but do you really need to go anywhere to be on vacation? Whatever, I don't want to get into the semantics. The important thing is that I have not been at Pleasant Grove High School since Thursday afternoon. In the end, that is what really matters. It almost feels criminal to be outdoors when I am normally teaching. I learned that autumn in Alabama can be real nice during school hours. It all balances out when I figure that when the heat is bearing down in August I get to be in an air conditioned classroom.
Saturday I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The race was 5k and that works out to about 3.1 miles. It is amazing the difference 8 years can make. When I ran cross country in high school the course was three miles. I am not trying to convince you that I was an excellent runner. The reality was far from that, but I would do alright. I had a good time and we will leave it at that. What matters is that breast cancer research received a great check because there were a ton of folks there.
On Sunday, I went to Tuscaloosa for Crider's wedding. She is a teaching friend of mine from PG. The ceremony and everything was done real well. She cut it real close to finish the ceremony by sundown, but she made it. In a close second for highlight of the day was the performance of my fantasy football team. After a few bad weeks my team was in last place. Week 6 was a huge score and that was with little to no contribution from two of my receivers and the kicker...stupid kickers!
I also finally registered my car here in Alabama. This had to take place not because the cops pulled me over (although I suppose I was flirting with danger on that one since I could have been pulled over at any time for it) but because my apartment complex was going to tow my car because of it. Can you believe it? These are the issues the management pursues. Nevermind people park in two spots or that there are way too many people living in some units. They decided in all their infinite wisdom that the infraction to push was the expired car tag of a guy who never misses a payment.
Forgive me, that is the frustration of having to go back to school talking. On the bright side, three day week, woohoo!

Duke Game

2006-10-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last night Sarah and I went to the Alabama-Duke football game in Tuscaloosa. I was looking forward to it because we were going to head down early and tailgate with a teacher friend of mine. The tailgating and pregame scene was something else. It was almost like the game was secondary to all the pregame festivities. The tailgate we went to was great. The host barbequed up some quail and wrapped it in bacon. He also cooked up some wild boar sausage. Then there was the normal tailgate cuisine of burgers and hot dogs. Sarah and I had no expectations that Duke would win the game. After all, coming in to the game Duke was an impressive 0-4. I even told the people tailgated with that you don't have to expect your team to win to at least show up and cheer. There were a few people there that agreed with me on this one. I put emphasis on a few because the visiting crowd section was so small. The game itself was thoroughly disappointing. We would not have been upset if Duke just lost. The frustrating part was that they were contending for almost the whole game and seemed to be looking for ways to give the game away. I don't want to go into it. It will just make me mad again and I am finally in a good place about the loss. As we left I just imagined how difficult it must be to be a Duke football fan because competing and then blowing the game late is par for the course.
I am looking forward to the week. This year we don't have a week for fall break, instead we have a long weekend. We get this Friday off, plus we get the following Monday and Tuesday. It is always nice to have a 4 day week followed by a 3 day week. Also, I made a number of changes to my fantasy football team. So far the changes seem to be a wash. Some of the new additions are really tearing it up. While at the same times some are just stinking it up. I just need something after a terrible outing last week.
It is about time to start the day. Sarah and I are about to go and finish registering, woot!

Quite the week

2006-10-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

This August was the beginning of my third year of teaching. Last year was a definite challenge, but I felt real good about this year. I was convinced that this year would be just a ton better. Luckily, for the most part is has. Last Sunday brought with it an experience I really could have gone my whole professional life avoiding and being just fine. One of the teachers from the high school called and told me that one of our students had died. The details surrounding his death are vague and I don't think the full truth will ever be revealed. I think this hit me hard because in all three semesters at Pleasant Grove this student had been in one of my classes. He was for sure not the easiest student to deal with in class, but he always meant well. It is like my principal said in the newspaper article about the death, there was not a mean bone in his body. I will not lie, there were many things that Jeffrey did that were truly confusing. In the end though, he always thought what he was doing was helpful or in the best interest of everyone else.
Yesterday, Sarah and I went to his service. The fact that there is a funeral can be sad because it means that someone has passed away. Especially in this case when the deceased is a 15-year-old boy. I thought his church did a fantastic job of truly making it a celebration of life. The turnout was impressive. The number of students that showed was particularly touching. I say that because it was not that Jeffrey was unpopular, it was just that he didn't hang out regulalry with one group. Overall, the support of some members of the student body was touching. At school some students organized a fundraiser to help his family. It was an incident that reminded me that while some teenagers can be real difficult there are still a number of compassionate and caring young adults.
While that ordeal was a considerable downer, the rest of the week was rather decent. This weekend Sarah and I registered at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I will just say it: some of the things we registered for seemed rather over the top. At the same time, I understand that nice dishes and glasses are traditional things that couples register for in preparation for a wedding. We did not finish registering, but we did get off to a good start. After starting the registering process I did not realize it would take so long. One of the guys who helped us at Bed, Bath, and Beyond said that couples put a lot of time into choosing what they want and many people end up walking in on the day of the wedding or shower and just end up getting a gift card. I am not sure what point he was trying to make with that. I just looked at him and asked what was wrong with that. I guess I don't know as much as I need to about this stuff. On Friday, I worked the gate at the football game. It is a nice way to earn a little something extra on the side. Also in the earning a little something extra on the side category I just finished working the scoreboard for volleyball here at BSC. It is always fun to see an opposing coach get a yellow card (warning). My knowledge about volleyball is real basic so I did not know if his complaints were legit, but it was fun to see him challenge the referee. The situation was comical. What did he honestly expect would be the outcome when he consistently asked the head official if she was "going to make a call?" three times when she warned him to stop. Truly, it is fascinating stuff. Then consider his team was getting schooled and he does not take a timeout. If my volleyball knowledge is basic, then my opinion about coaching moves is not worth a three dollar bill. The fact that the opposing team was down by about 10 in the third game and dropped the first two games and did not take a time out until his team was 4 points from the loss was unexplainable. I could not help but think that those timeouts do you no good on the bus. I guess he figured out like everyone else did that the match was already decided so why even bother.
I have nine more days of school until our long October weekend. Last year it was a full week and I used that as an opportunity to head home for a few days and also head to Seattle to visit Matt. This year in an effort to create a 180 day school year (the number of days that is pretty much standard), instead of the 175 day school year we were on three days were taken from the break. It is no big deal because teacher salaries were boosted a little to accomodate the extra days. The down part is that with the bump, at least in my case, that meant more was witheld for taxes. I am aware that some of that will come back to me next year at tax time, but that is very little consolation at the time when you compare what you actually got to what was earned. Oh well. What are you going to do?

American Village

2006-09-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Perhaps my goal of posting more than once a week was unrealistic during school. Therefore, the new schedule will have me posting about once a week. This will only be a big deal to Sarah and my mom, my regular readers. Considering how Sarah hears these things everyday and I tell Mom when I call her it seems like the only purpose of this blog is to practice writing.
Last weekend I had my class for the Teaching American History Program. A professor from Samford University presented. I have heard him lecture before and he is always good. I only had a three day week at school because as part of the program we spent two days in Montevallo at the American Village. The place is an American Revolution experience type place. The people who work there really go all out to make it as real of an experience as possible. The only down part was the lodging at Montevallo University. It was a glorified dorm room. The place was free though, so the price was right. The best part of the weekend was that I was chosen for a trip to D.C. in December with all expenses paid...very cool!
I really wish I had something more exciting to report but that is about it.

This is the Niners Year! fingers crossed

2006-09-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Please don't get me wrong. I love weekends. It just seems like after the three day Labor Day Weekend this normal two day weekend is just a major letdown. The weekend has been great though. I stayed late at school on Friday and did a large majority of my schoolwork. When at all possible I try to avoid bringing too much work home with me. Sure this policy means I am one of the last people, if not the last person to leave school. I think that it balances out when I don't have too much to do when I get home and want to just relax. So far that is exactly what I have done, relax. After this week I needed to do nothing.
Sarah made a comment that was dead on when she said, "Hey, it is only money." Between the extra money in my paycheck and some reimbursement checks I was excited to make a dent in my VISA. Tuesday I had a plan to head out of school early and get my car all registered here in Alabama. When I got in my car I decided to take it to the Honda dealership. The steering wheel had been shaking more than I thought was safe and it needed its oil check. When I got there they got me from the waiting room to show me my right front wheel. The alignment was so off that it was a hair away from a blow out. On top of that, I need a new oil pan and gasket. Atfer the new tire, alignment, and parts all the VISA progress was negated. It is my car so it is not like I could not get it fixed. It is always a little deflating when financial progress is yanked from you. But once again, Sarah is right, it is just money.
This weekend has been full of football, both college and professional. USC was off this weekend so it was hard to care too much. Plus, the big match up between Ohio State and Texas was a real letdown. As a matter of fact, the most exciting college athletic development has been BSC Volleyball's first victory of the season. Go Panthers! My hope is that the first NFL weekend is entertaining. The 49ers are my favorite team and the last few seasons have not exactly been thrilling. I am trying to be excited under the old "every team has a clean slate and is undefeated at the beginning" attitude. For even the most diehard that is a real tough pill to swallow. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic. This season I have joined a fantasy football league. So even with my favorite team out of the season within a few weeks probably (I hope not, but probably will be) at least the whole salary cap league will keep me interested in the NFL past the first month after the Niners are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Savoring With All My Might

2006-09-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I have a running joke when it comes to enjoying our weekends. As an adult with a grown up job I have come to appreciate my weekends. So every weekend we ask each other, "Are you savoring?" This long weekend has been full of savoring. I spent the better part of Saturday watching the opening weekend of college football. Once USC had their game in hand I was in full savoring mode. Sunday I finally got around to uploading the pictures from my Europe trip and other events. They are all now in a digital photo album. The only thing missing is the set of photos from London. Once I find those I will upload them. On Sunday I also got all my grading done. I had some writing assignments to grade and reading question packets. Now that these are all done I will be able to print out progress reports. I can only imagine the kids are amped about that development. Today I have spent the day planning the next two weeks. Granted, I don't have the materials done, but at least I know what I want to do.
In about 30 minutes Sarah should be home. She went with the volleyball team to a tournament in Wyoming. This was her lone free weekend for awhile and going with the team was optional. I am glad she went though because it seems like her job requires so much and takes so much that at the least she should get a free trip every now and then out of it. Sure she had to work while she was there, but she also got to see parts of the Rocky Mountains after the tournament. She called and said it was gorgeous. I would hope that being able to go there made the trip worth it. When she gets home we may go do something together before the long weekend ends.
There is only a little more weekend left. I need to get my last bit of savoring in while I can.

Back in the Habit

2006-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

We just finished our first full week at Pleasant Grove High School and I am still standing, always a good sign. It is not that bad. The school is pretty good. Technically we did not meet our testing goals, but if you ask me it was close enough. We met all the academic standards and that is not a claim many other schools can make. We only missed two of the 19 requirements and they were both because not enough special ed students took the test. We needed 44 of our 45 special ed kids to take the test and two missed them. So because of that we are lumped in with schools that are nowhere near the quality of ours. I think it kind of stinks. I guess it is important that no child gets left behind though.
I have a pretty good group of kids. This is the first time I have been at a school for more than a year and it is nice to have kids know you. On top of that I also have my own room this year. There are no words that can possibly describe how nice this is. The ability to take a deep breath between classes is priceless and that wasnt possible when I was moving to another room between classes. Last year we had 3 teachers floating rooms and this year we have 4 and that is after we created another room. I have shared materials with the teachers in my department that are floating because I know how tough that is. However, I do not feel bad that they have to float since I did my time last year.
Last night I saw Little Miss Sunshine with Sarah and it is great. I highly recommend it.

Don't Look So Surprised

2006-08-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I went to school on Friday eventhough the first day back for teachers is Monday. My exit exam tutoring went so well because much of the material I used was from my binders when I taught US History back at Tokay. The problem was that I never put the materials back in the binders or organized everything all that well. On Friday I spent a few hours doing those things and got it all done by about 11am. I took a few minutes to catch up with some teachers I hadn't seen since the end of school and that is always fun. Then I had the choice of staying and getting some work done or going home and doing it. I chose the latter option. Nothing got done. This should not surprise anyone.
I had a great weekend anyway. I used the weekend to celebrate the last weekend of summer. I did some work around the apartment (emphasis on some), played with the cats (McKenzie would chase that dang stick all day if someone would move it around for her), went out to Five Points South, bought some new school pants (next month I buy some new dress shirts), and other things that were nowhere near productive. It was a nice way to go out. The kids don't return until Thursday, but I know the honeymoon is over. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Unquestioned faith

2006-08-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

Thursday is my Meals on Wheels day. Since school is back in session next Thursday today was my last day on the route. As I have written before, driving the route is both satisfying and depressing when you see how some people live. Today's day on the route showcased a different set of emotions. Sarah and I have been doing this for the better part of two full months and we have gotten to know some of the folks on the route. Like many of the people Ms. Avery is a sweet lady and is dependable for an entertaining conversation. She was a little off today and she shared that her granddaughter was killed in a car accident on Sunday. She had tremendous faith for a lady who lost a 20-year-old granddaughter. Ms. Avery just said that God thought it was her time and who was she to question God. I can't imagine such a loss, but for her to handle it in such a manner was something I found impressive.
Lunch was awesome today. Sarah and I went to Dreamland BBQ. Unfortunately, it was a farewell lunch for one of the many people who are leaving the athletic department after the move to Division III. These kinds of get togethers have been all too common. The worst part is that there will at least be one more. Sarah's direct supervisor has also given his notice and will be gone at the end of the month. When I moved here the only people I knew were Sarah and all her co-workers. I have made a few friends at work, so that is nice. As the mass exodus from BSC continues it feels like a draining of the people I know here. The people who have left have all done so because other opportunities that were better for them came up so I can't blame them. It is kind of like when you are a kid and a friend moves away. Sure, you can always make new friends, but it always sucks when the original friends leave.
From the wedding front, we have decided upon a date. We are getting married on June 22, 2007. The ceremony is going to be at Duke Gardens, we just asked for the date and they are sending us the contract. The date will be held for two weeks until, of course, they get their deposit money to solidify the date. The Hilton also appears to be our reception site, but the lady did not call us back today. That place is going to make our lives so easy since almost everything but the flowers is included in the price. Ah, good times.
I am going to get back to clearing space off the DVR. We watched two Law and Order: SVU episodes. The bad part is that they both have potential for the Street Law class. Therefore, they are still on the DVR chewing up space until I tape them. Yes, until I go back to school next week these are my problems. Damn, I love summer.

I'm getting sad again

2006-08-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

There is an episode of King of Queens where Doug opens up a pudding pack with a huge smile on his face. As he devours it in a matter of a few seconds and the cup runs out of pudding the smile turns into a frown as he proclaims, "I'm getting sad." For me, the full pudding cup was when the kids left on the last day of school in late May. Since Monday is when teachers report back to school after summer I think I find myself in a similar position as Doug. So I will say it as well, "I'm getting sad." I knew this date would come, but it just kind of sneaks up on you. My schedule this year is so much better than it was last year so I can't complain. It is just the thought of having to wake up to an alarm again is so disappointing.
Also, I am excited because I think my readership might now be up to three. I know Sarah reads my blog and I am pretty sure my mom does as well. The other day I told Kelly, Sarah's sister, about it and she started reading it. So watch out, this blog is starting to spread. You can't hold down this voice. Ok, that is about it.

Feeling better

2006-07-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

As part of my year long Teaching American History Program I attended the first day of a two-day technology workshop. The bright spot is that the week long technology class was knocked down from five days to two days. Unfortunately, since the class has been shortened so significantly the presenter has had to change the class. In doing so the morning session seemed a little off. After lunch we did some better stuff, but the morning was not so great. On top of that, Sarah and I did not return from North Carolina yesterday until about 1:30am. I was really hoping that the morning would be great to help me forget I was so tired. Instead the morning was lackluster and with the fatigue it was a pretty rough day at the workshop. I really was looking forward to dismissal.
As I mentioned, Sarah and I did not return from the Triangle Area until late last night. The silver lining of the late return is that the trip was fruitful. We left with an excellent idea of what we want for the wedding. We are finding out there are a number of factors to consider when choosing a date, time, and venue. This weekend we figured out that we needed to choose what was important to us and then go from there. In order to do this we set an unreal schedule that included looking at over ten places and a bridal show. I know this will sound real weak, but it was real tiring driving all over the place with no real break. There were a number of venues: great ones, not so great ones, lavish ones, and average ones.
Based on the description there were obviously sites that were not an option for various reasons. For example, the Governor's Club was, well, I can't think of the words, but since my name does not start with "Dr." it was not going to happen. I will not name names, but there were some places (hotels mainly) that were very unimpressive and not memorable. Then there were some places that were wonderful and in our realm of possibility. However, they did not meet the requirements that were considered important by Sarah and I.
Sarah's parents came up and were a real help in the process. I don't just say that because they paid for lunch and a frosty at Wendy's for us. Sarah's dad is a real trip because he will not often force his opinion or thoughts. He dances around it with questions and lets you figure it out on your own. It is kind of nice because when you figure it out you feel like it is your idea. One of the things we figured out with the help of Reid is that we wanted something that was memorable, something that will stick with our guests forever. This doesn't have to be both the ceremony and reception part; just one or the other. For example, my mom's reception was a nice little gathering. The memorable aspect of her day was the 10am ceremony on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
We definitely have an idea of what we want and hopefully we will be able to get what we want. The bright spot is that we have places in mind that will give us what we want. Most importantly, what we want includes a chocolate fountain and at least a soft bar (soda, beer, and wine). All in all, a productive trip.

On the road again

2006-07-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

In what shall hopefully prove to be a giant step forward in wedding planning Sarah and I are heading to the Raleigh/Durham area in North Carolina to scope out wedding venues. The staggering truth seems to be that many places, even decent places, are barely within what we want to spend. It truly is out of control. I would blame these venues, but obviously people pay what they ask or the places would go out of business. So people, shame on you! That is unless you have money saved or family willing to pay. Why pay so much for one day? These people who cannot afford a huge wedding, yet have one anyway are giving themselves a wedding gift that will last a lifetime: debt! I would really like to have Dave Ramsey accompany people who spend out of their league on weddings. I believe it would be high comedy. I know it is only my opinion, but this is my blog. Ha!
One of the ladies put it best when she described the trip as a "fact-finding mission." I seriously doubt we will drive home on Sunday with a place and date set. If we do, hey, that would be the coolest. However, if we don't it is no big deal. The purpose is to head up, see what is available, and get an idea of what we are looking at. Let's face it, the internet can make any place look like an ideal wedding venue and in reality it is a dump. I am sure some places we have booked tours with are out of our price range, but one, they don't know that, and two, it is fun to look. When we get home on Sunday we can look at all the material and make an informed decision. The nice thing is that when we have a place and date set everything else will make sense. The rest will be tedious, but they shouldn't be hard.
Ok, that is enough of wedding update. This is the beginning of year two for me in Birmingham and eventhough I am a big college football fan, I normally don't get into it until late August. College football season is about a month away, but when you live in SEC Country the calendar year is divided into two sporting categories: football season and waiting for football season. Day 2 of the SEC Football Media Days just ended and while that doesn't hold much water for me since I don't really care passionately for any SEC team, it has given me an excuse to get into football season a month earlier than normal. My team is obviously USC (2 year's worth of graduate tuition gives me the right to be one, so if you are going to hate on me since I am a Trojan fan that is fine, but know that I am not a bandwaggoner, I am an alumni, so that tuition money gives me a legitimate reason to be a fan). However, since everyone around here is all abuzz about football season I can be too. I know that I am not excited about the same teams as they are, but I don't care.
I am aware that I have bought into the "college football is king" mentality. However, when I think about it though, I believe I have always been that it is just that I have never lived in an area that thinks that way. It goes without saying that I am not as diehard as some fans in the area, but it sure does make for a fun place to live. Some Alabama and Auburn fans seem to live and die with their teams' performance each week and while that may seem like overkill it is a great environment to be a part of. Yes, I know that last sentence ended in a preposition and it is not grammatically proper so save it! It beats the west coast attitude which is ambivalent towards sports. As a teacher, I know that is the way it should be, but it sure is not as fun.
My anticipation all boils down to this: I need to see some USC Football to wipe away that Rose Bowl. The team only lost two game in three years, I know. The team won two national titles (1/2 one of those years, I know, so save it LSU fans and don't get so bent out of shape), I know. But I wanted more. I wanted my school to make history. This makes me one of those annoying fans who has a team that is successful yet I still want more. I don't care. If you don't understand it is because you haven't experienced your team winning a title. It is like heroin. Once it gets in your system you need that title fix as much as possible. I will not live and die with each game like the aforementioned fans in Alabama, but winning is by far more desireable than losing (that goes without saying).
Man, am I jacked. The wedding planning (which is surprisingly cooler than anticipated), school starting back, and college football season starting is all happening at the same time...life is grand!

So, it has come to this

2006-07-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Summer has been great. In a later blog as the summer ends and I go back to school I will inventory my summer. Until then, just take me on my word that it has been a great summer. After attending a 5-day class last week I am slipping into the life of a hermit. Over the weekend I took out the trash, but that was about the extent of my leaving the apartment. If the old addage is: "all dressed up and nowhere to go" then that was me. I guess the bright spot is that I have got a bunch accomplished around here. At this moment I am engrossed in recording Law & Order: SVU episodes that I had saved on the DVR box. The motivating factor to get this done is that the DVR box was about full. The box holds 30 hours and about 8 of them were episodes I wanted to tape. The kids in my Street Law class should like them since they cover some controversial topics and it should make for some heated classroom discussion.
Keeping busy has also deterred me from buying NCAA Footbal '07. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I would love to have the game (despite mixed reviews online), but I don't have the time and can't quite justify spending the money on it. This is the excitement that is my life. Again, summer is great.

Things only a teacher would understand

2006-07-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am aware that it has been awhile since I have posted, but let's not focus on that. I am posting now and that is what matters. My activities over the past week revolve around one of two topics: the stalemate that is wedding planning and things only a teacher would understand and appreciate.
As I may have mentioned, so far I have found that so much hinges on place and time when planning a wedding. I think once we get that figured out then we can work on everything else. We still would like to have the wedding in Las Vegas but we cant shake the notion that planning a wedding that far from where we live might be a hassle, as well as an extra financial strain. The new candidate is Duke Chapel in Durham. The place is unreal. Unfortunately, unreal costs a pretty penny. It would make sense to host the wedding near one of our families (in the case of Duke Chapel, near Sarah's). The issue seems to be that if we hold the wedding in Durham we want Duke Chapel. Again, this must all be worked out.
The past week has been pretty eventful teaching wise. Friday was my last day for leading the tutoring sessions. The kids take their history exam tomorrow. I wish them a ton of luck and you do the same. They are all smart kids, but luck never hurt anybody. I had a little I believe when I took the PRAXIS II test in Stockton back in June. I had just got back from Europe the day before but managed to pass that test. I know that does not sound like a big deal, but there was a lot riding on that test. It is one of the requirements I had to meet to be counted as highly qualified under the No Child Left Behind legislation. I am pretty sure that was all I had left to do. So it was nice to get the report saying I passed. Also, the high school has posted preliminary class rosters for the upcoming year. I will be having some kids for the third time in three semesters this fall. There are some kids in that category who are quite interesting to have in class. Lastly, I am three days in to a 5 day workshop for the History Alive! program. It is a workshop so it has that against it. The bright side is that it is one of the better ones I have attended. I am excited about the program because I remember activities from the program when I was in school as real awesome. Hopefully, I can execute them half as well as Mr. Tilton did.
That is my last week in a single post.

Excitingly Overwhelming

2006-07-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

I mentionted yesterday Sarah and I have entered the preliminary stages of planning the wedding, and I use preliminary loosely. I have never planned an important event that isn't difficult in the initial stages, but this is unreal. There seem to be so many factors that depend on one another, it is near impossible to plan the initial things independent of one another. This makes it a blast since we get to go through a ton of options and choose what we like. This makes it a hassle because we have to go through a ton of options to find what we like. I am not worried. After all, I am marrying a valedictorian.
This is my last week of exit exam tutoring. It was a nice way to keep busy this summer and at the same time earn a few extra dollars. For the most part last year at Pleasant Grove High School I taught the younger grades (7-9). The exit exam tutoring is for the older students (grades 10-12) so it has been nice to interact with a different group of students. The tutoring is an optional deal and with that in mind I have been real relaxed with how I run the class. Some of the kids in the tutoring will have me for Street Law and I can just see it now: "Mr. Erreca, you were so cool in the summer, what happened?" But hey, I will deal with that when I get to it.
Random thought: I can't wait to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Back in Birmingham

2006-07-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

I asked Sarah to marry me last week on Wednesday and of course we were asked a couple hundred times when the date of the wedding would be. The answer was always something along the lines of we were enjoying the newness of the engagement and would start figuring it out when we got back to Birmingham. So between Wednesday and Sunday we lived it up with people looking at her ring and congratulating us, all was grand. But don't ya know it, now we are back home and hitting the reality that we have to plan a wedding. I am not worried though. We just got back from Barnes and Noble where Sarah bought a number of bridal magazines. I feel confident that the solutions to our questions are within the cover of those fine publications. Let the good times roll.
The drive from the 'Lands to Birmingham is about 10 hours and can be a pretty rough haul in certain places. Sure we listen to the radio, our MP3 player, and chat it up to pass the time. However, that doesn't mean that I don't look for new forms of roadtrip entertainment. In the past we have put a premium on looking for gas stations that look well kept for pit stops. Now, this is still good policy because those are the places with clean, well-stocked bathrooms because as we all know there is no feeling in the world more helpless than realizing there in no toilet paper in the dispenser in your stall. The only downfall of such quality bathrooms: clean walls.
Before internet message boards where did people in a community participate in written conversations: that's right, bathroom walls. I am not sure what is more hilarious about writing on bathroom walls, but I have it narrowed it down to the following aspects: 1) people find the appropriate medium for their message is a bathroom wall 2) the apparent maximum education level that comes with bathroom wall authors...there is an unwritten rule that says anyone with an education level higher than 8th grade is not allowed to write on bathroom walls...it is the incorrect spelling, misplaced commas in contractions, all of it, just high comedy 3) the people, sometimes numerous people, who respond to the writing or 4) the original author who is writing again to defend his or her original statement that has been argued by the other people that have added to the thread. Again, high comedy for the road warrior. In the choice between clean bathrooms and entertainment the clean bathroom always wins. Unfortunately, sometimes I choose a gas station that has a not-so-great bathroom. When that is the case I make the best of it by enjoying the humor, intentional or not, and reading what the local bathroom laureates have to say.
It was nice to get back home though. I went back to tutoring for the social studies portion of the exit exam. It was nice to see my kids again and even though there are only a few more days of tutoring left it was nice to get some new kids in the class today. Most importantly, it was 35 cent wing day at Fox and Hound, ah good times.

I only play an idiot on television

2006-07-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Sarah's birthday has come and gone. She is now an old school maid at the age of 26. This is a fact I consistently remind her of by taunting her with: "You are old, who will have you now?" I would like to think though that she had a great birthday. We have been making an effort to get to the gym lately and before we left Birmingham I bought her a pair of sneakers. That is mentioned in a prior blog entry. I also bought her a gift card to a day spa in Birmingham that offers among other services, massages. Now I will massage her when she asks and even when she doesn't, but I guess I don't cut it because she always talks about getting a good massage. Geez, I do the best I can.
We came back to the 'Lands this week primarily for her birthday. However, there was another motive for our trip back. I was proposing to Sarah. I am no fool! She could do a lot better than me so I had to do something before she realized that. In a total departure from the norm, I played the whole thing real cool. I didn't lead on at all. The whole cloak and dagger, super spy stuff is not my bag. This was a tough secret to hold. The nice thing was that only 1 person east of the Mississippi knew my intentions(her dad). Yes, while over 10 people knew in Stockton only one knew here so it was all good. With the help of her dad, I had a ring shipped here and it was on.
She hasn't been feeling well so the grand visions of proposing on the beach or river was axed. It turned out all right though because without about 10 minutes left on her birthday I proposed and she said yes. Woohoo! Her mom, dad, and sister were all there and while Sarah remained calm her mom and sister starting crying (especially her sister). There was a great range of emotion. Her mom was excited for us, then all of a sudden got fake mad at her husband since he knew and didn't say anything. Then when Darlene found out that she signed for the box the ring came to her house in and it had been here for almost two weeks she felt real bad since it was under her nose. It is in the works, but look for the Reid and Mike super spy agency. We pulled a fast one on a bunch of Barbee women. A feat rivaled in its near impossibility only by escaping from Alcatraz and finding a high school janitorial position that pays over $100k.
The question yesterday was when are you getting married. Now everyone wants to know the date. In the words of Ted on How I Met Your Mother (of course slightly modified for my scenario): "That is something for future Mike and future Sarah to figure out." This much I do know: I am only an idiot on television. I know when I have found someone out of my league and did something smart (or tricky, depending on how you look at it): I used a female's natural attraction to diamonds to create a momentary lapse in judgement in order to get her to agree to marry me. All this time I thought diamond rings were a symbol of committment. No, that is way off. They are designed to stun the girl and throw her logic and common sense off track. It is during that moment when a diamond is in front of her that her natural attraction to diamonds makes all logic obsolete. That diamond will lead her to make a decision she would not otherwise make if her wits were about her. But I needed that advantage, how else would I have gotten someone as great as her to agree to marry me.
I acknowledge that she is smarter than me, but I finally won one when it counted. By the way, we don't know when the wedding is...so don't ask! We will let you know. Seriously, good last few days. I mean, Reid even grilled steaks. An engagement and steaks within 24 hours, it doesn't get much better than that.

Fireworks in the 'Lands

2006-07-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Southern summer storms are unlike anything else and I don't think you can understand until you have experienced one. There was thunder, lightning, and downpour for the better part of the night. Thunder was so bad that it kept me up for about 90 minutes. By the way, not only did this storm keep me up but it also pushed back my tee times this morning...not cool.
I went with Uncle Chris, his friend Kurt, and Kurt's boy CJ. As a radio personality Reid (Sarah's dad) listens to says: "lotteries are a voluntary tax for the dumb." Well, taking part in a money game when you are a mediocre golfer, at best, follows the same principle. Yet I still threw in my $10 since it was only $10 and all I had to do was get hot and birdie a hole nobody else did. Seemed reasonable for only $10. It started out like a day where it seemed like I was just going to be donating my money. The astounding part was that I actually had some decent birdie tries. Unfortunately, I only made one on a hole someone else birdied which meant no money. Then I remembered that it is not like I make my living playing golf and when that is the case your score is not what is important. The number that really matters is how many beers you drink. And when you look at it that way my round was a complete success.
Afterwards Chris grilled burgers and hot dogs and, brace yourself, I ate way too much. I managed to avoid overdosing on beef (or whatever it is that is in hot dogs that makes them so delicious) and watched the fireworks show. The show was sweet because Chris bought some this morning and he was setting them off in the backyard. Ahhhhh, good times.

Tomorrow is Sarah's 26th Birthday!

This one's for North Carolina...C'mon and Raise Up

2006-07-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

My first out-of-state blog, how exciting!!! Sarah and I drove in to Richlands yesterday. I love Sarah very much, but there are only so many topics that can fill a 10 hour drive. Luckily, I had my MP3 player (a gift from Sarah) that would could both listen to with an adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and plays through the car radio (also a Sarah purchase). Isn't Sarah great? I found a few Pearl Jam songs she was willing to listen to and the rest of the time we spent rocking out to music from our middle school and high school days. We made a goal to introduce our music to Kelly. We want to introduce Salt N' Pepa, 112, and all the other acts of our youth to a younger generation. It starts with Kelly and it will spread amongst the youth of the nation.
Speaking of Kelly, she has gone vegetarian. I cannot figure out. But hey, good for her. A vegetarian lifestyle is supposed to be super healthy. However, if the choice is vegetarianism and a long life or meat and a slightly shorter life then the choice is obviously simple: bring on the charred animal flesh. Eating meat is man's way of keeping the population of deadly and delicious animals under control. They may look cute and cuddly, but dont think a sheep wouldnt eat you if it had the chance, or thumbs to hold the knife and fork to eat us with...but that is a whole other blog.
Tomorrow I am getting up at 7:30 to go walking with Aunt Kathryn. She is doing crazy well on Weight Watchers...go Kathryn! Besides, I think the fried chicken dinner last night, Mongolian BBQ lunch today, cinammon roll snack, and late night sammich have destroyed the working out I have done these last few weeks. A little activity will be good for me and we are getting it done early enough so it is only a little hot versus the ungodly hot it will be the rest of the day.
We have been here for two days now and we have not been to Smithfield's BBQ or Grandma Jones's house yet. I know going to the grandma's house should be the priority, but have you ever had the Value Pack at Smithfield's? If the answer is no, then you can't understand why I am conflicted.
Have a Happy and Safe 4th if I don't post tomorrow.

Countdown to Sarah's 26th birthday: 2 days
Countdown to Mike's 26th birthday: 108 days

Ya, I'm dating an older woman ;-)

100% Effective, 0% Creative

2006-07-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah's birthday is coming up and whenever your girlfriend's birthday nears there is pressure to get a gift she will like. This leaves me with the responsibility of being creative and getting something she likes, but without having to ask. I mean, after all, I love her and I should just know what she wants. Let's face it. I am not that creative or perceptive so I took the weasel way out. When Sarah was shopping for tennis shoes I bought her a pair and said Happy Birthday. Yes, it is a weasely way out, but the ability to weasel our way out of obligations is what separates humans from other animals, except for the weasel.
This is the holiday weekend and I am doing it up in style. I have spent the last day and a half cleaning the apartment and doing laundry. It's a crazy life I know, only a few can survive. Then throw on top of that we are watching Law and Order: SVU episodes off of DVR tonight...I'm a wild man...woooooo!
It's all good though because in a few moments a Pearl Jam performance on VH1 will be recorded on DVR. Yes, I am aware that my favorite band is on VH1, so save it. But since Pearl Jam seems to be ignoring the Southeast United States this might be as close as I get to a show this tour so lay off me. Also, tomorrow we head to the 'Lands...it's gonna be super sweet.
By the way, Detectives Benson and Stabler are awesome. I'm telling you, put those two on the case with Grissom and Catherine in the lab and that would be a Superfriends version of a crime solving team. That crew could solve the JonBenet case and then with the extra time find Holloway. Who do I have to talk to in order to make this happen? It would be great TV and solve crimes. I think I am on to something.

It is very bad to steal Jobu's rum

2006-06-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

The movie of my youth is on TV (or at least one of them): Major League. I swear I must have seen this more times than I comfortable sharing. Think about it, the movie is about baseball and as a nine year old kid when this was releasesd baseball was important to me. The best part though is all the swearing in the movie. As a kid I had never heard so much cursing...and it was cool. The ironic thing is that the TV version cuts out the swearing. I can live without the swearing because the awkward editing is hilarious in itself. Then extra humor is thrown into the fact that the film is full of hideous 80's fashion and thinking about where the career about some of the actors has gone.
Sarah and I are getting ready to head home to Richlands on Sunday. So we have had a thrilling Friday evening full of doing laundry and cleaning before we leave. We feel a little bad about leaving the cats for so long, then we realize that they are cats and don't really give a rip about us. If they could feed, water, and clean up after themselves we would be obsolete. They keep us around for those reasons and the attention when they want it, beyond that, we are just living in their apartment ruining their fun.
Going to the 'Lands will be great. The food is always delectable and her aunt and uncle live on a golf course. What else could a guy ask for? Her family is something else. My family, even if you include my step-dads family is all of eight people. In Richlands, there are eight people on a slow day at Grandma Catherine's house. The Barbee/Jones clan is massive and that is kind of cool for someone from a small family.
I think we are now going to warm up for a week of killing all the working out we have done over the past month by hitting up Dairy Queen. The new blizzard looks delicious on TV. I'll let you know how it is later.

Summer is the coolest!

2006-06-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't even be telling you this, however, I will let you in on a secret. Lean in close, I want to make sure that nobody else hears, after all, I do not want to get into trouble. Conventional wisdom is that kids look forward to summer vacation more than anybody else. This is not true. In reality, teachers look forward to summer way more than the kids. At least this teacher does.
This morning I slept in. It is a treat that teachers dream about during the school year and when it comes, just pure magic. My morning had no required schedule, again, a nice departure from the bells every 95 minutes during the school year. While the point seems obvious I repeat: "Summer is the coolest!"
This summer has been uncharacteristically productive. For example, Sarah and I volunteered to drive a Meals on Wheels route near Birmingham-Southern College. Today was the second time we have driven the route and it is surprisingly rewarding. We serve about 16 meals to 12 homes. The route from start to finish is 7 miles and takes about an hour. The funny/sad thing is that the route could take longer since some of the folks are so personable and chatty. I could sit there and talk with some of the folks for awhile because they are so funny. However, for some folks you get the vibe they are so talkative because they get so little attention and interaction. That is the sad part of it all. If there is such a program in your area I stronlgly suggest looking into being a part of it.
The rest of my day was packed full of doing whatever I pleased. After all, it is the summer. Doing whatever I pleased consisted of the following activities: tutoring at the high school for the high school exit exam, grocery shopping, playing with the cats, and putting off going to the gym. I told you I would update in an attempt to avoid doing something productive. Since the biggest responsibility I am dodging is working out I will say it again...summer is awesome.

And we're blogging

2006-06-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is a momentous day. I am now a blogger. The internet is great, it gives anybody with the ability to type a forum to prattle on about things only the poster finds important...sweet. Today is the NBA Draft and it is always a day that is disappointing for me. First of all, during last year's draft I was in a suite at the Venetian in Las Vegas. This year, I was watching it in my apartment. While my apartment is nice, it is a far cry from the Venetian suite that provided turndown service and free chocolates. There are only a few things that can take the sting off of getting your butt handed to you in a casino, chocolate on your pillow when you return to your room is one of them. Secondly, it reminds me that I have little to no athletic talent. Thanks mom. Thanks dad.
By the way, I am unbelievably impressed by the donation by Warren Buffet. When I first read about it online the link read: "Buffet donates $37 billion." I had no idea the Parrothead Nation was so good to Jimmy Buffet. Then I had to be educated by Sarah when she informed me there was a multi-gazillionaire named Warren Buffet doing some good. He went so far as to say that while his kids are still inheriting quite a bit that nobody should inherit status based upon the womb they came from. I absolutely agree, yet, my opinion would be different if my family was loaded. But alas, we are not. Thanks mom. Thanks dad.
Stay tuned, I will be updating my blog on a daily basis, no maybe a regular basis, oh who am I kidding, I will update my blog when I am looking to avoid work and responsibilities. You be good.