So, twenty-two weeks after my last entry, I decided I gotta get back into this. I think I'll do that by talking about my trip to New Orleans this past weekend.

This year hasn't been going great at school. Our kids are tougher and more hateful. As teachers, we're exhausted. I feel like my team is falling apart half the time. But, still, good things come along. This year, I put my name in the hat to go to the Fall Forum of the Coalition of Essential Schools in New Orleans. I had my name in the hat with about a dozen others, so I thought it was a pretty fat chance I'd get to go.

Of course, I got drawn. I got drawn with a fellow science teacher on the 7th grade, Jane, who I work with all the time. So, a free trip to New Orleans, room and conference fee and airfare paid. It was clear we were going to have a great time.

THE CONFERENCE

Now, I'm big on professional conferences. I see them as a good opportunity to meet people, connect professionally, and scope out for new opportunities...and, yes, I mean new jobs. You just never know what is around the bend at a conference. But, that wasn't really what seemed to concern the people going. My principal told me that I should 'do whatever charges my batteries'. My dean of students told me to 'screw the conference and have a hurricane'. The other teachers who wanted to go kept giving me dirty looks all week. It was clear that no one expected much in the way of conference productivity with attractions like Cafe du Monde and Bourbon Street right close.

Of course, I did my share. The first day, Jane and I went and visited the only school open in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. We saw before and after pics of the library; it was completely destroyed after Katrina hit, and with a lot of community support and involvement, the school was totally restored and rebuilt. We made mosaics out of old Mardi Gras beads that were thrown away. A few students from the school helped us out, and we met a ton of great people making them as well. It was a lot of fun.

The depressing part was going out into the neighborhood, which was at once exciting and scary. It was strange to see a place that was completely below water after the storm. We saw Fats Domino's house on the way to the school, and it was flanked by two rotting and condemned houses, and that was the story of the whole place. Very few people. Rundown and weather-chewed houses. Broken windows and overgrown hedges. It was quite sad. When we were a way down the street from the school, we got called out by two people who were looking for first aid. A construction worker had nearly sawed his fingers off and didn't want to leave his stuff. He was afraid it would get stolen. Clearly, he was afraid for his stuff more than his life. Also, very sad.

The rest of the conference wasn't worth writing home about. One great session out of four. Met up with a few people. At one of the sessions, a teacher from another school in Mass invited me and Jane to head out for the evening. That was, by far, the best connection we made.

THE NON-CONFERENCE

Now for the non-conference stuff.

In the daytime, New Orleans is phenomenal. If you walk down Decatur Street from Canal Street, for about four or five blocks, you hit Jackson Square, where artists of all calibers sell their art on the square in front of St. Louis Cathedral. I walked the square 50 times trying to find something to buy Shannon. If you walk further, you end up finding lots of jazz clubs and reggae clubs, empty in preparation for crazy nights. Decatur Street had Cafe du Monde, a cafe famous for beignets (explained later) and their chicory and coffee. Cheap chintzy souvenir shops galore.

If you head one street over, you hit Royal Street, a mishmash of art galleries and jazz bands, flooding the street with color and music. Random opera singers in the streets and more artists, who try to talk to you because they know there aren't as many as there are on Decatur Street. Royal Street feels just like its namesake, with lavish hotels and high price tags, the smell of

Then, there's Bourbon Street. Past Chartres Street, this is the street of sin. In the day, the stink of stale beer lingers. Sex shops and strip clubs look empty. A random stripper or two walk around in the daylight in short denim skirts and thongs. Since drinking is legal on the street, people carry their beers everywhere, along with hurricanes and daiquiris to go. In fact, getting a hard drink is as easy as pulling up to a McDonald's, and just as cheap. As dusk approaches, ladies in tiny black skirts and tight tops flock to Bourbon Street. Police officers sit in their cruisers and wait for the close of the day.

I walked those streets all day, skipping the conference for half of Friday and Saturday to do so. I walked and looked at great art and ate gumbo and beignets, and at one point, I listened to some hypnotic 30s-style jazz in the streets by a band without a saxophone and a bass player with fingers of steel. I looked at art featuring blue dogs, talked to artists that moved here from the north decades ago, and threw dollar bills into the cases of artists who looked like crosses between Janis Joplin and Bob Marley and sounded just as strange. I bought Shannon a piece of artwork by Saturday: a piece in oil on a pine plank of a couple in silhouette under a street lamp. The artist even customized the street signs on the lamp. In the painting, we are standing on the corner of Dudley Street and Rue Levesque. Shannon loved it. I paid $20 for it.

At night, the streets are filled with people who want their hungers filled. On Bourbon Street, it's booze and sex, and if Shannon had been there I'd have wanted to explore this place more. But, alas, with Jane, I couldn't do that. We heard the sirens from calls and the rowdiness of women flashing men for beads all night from the other two streets. Instead, we stayed on Decatur and Royal Streets, eating the best food we ever had. On the way there, we got harassed by kids who tap dance in the streets on old beer cans for money. They get together in large groups, for good reason. When you tip one (if you tip one), you have to tip all five. They will not leave you alone until you do.

The second night, Friday night, we went to Montrel's Bistro behind Cafe du Monde with the others we had met up with as a result of the invite I got over a bad wiki seminar. We ordered two pitchers of hurricane, which was clearly not mixed by the shot. We were a little drunk after dinner, and we marveled over the wonder of our food, the semblance of the crawfish to the lobster, and the rats that ran back and forth from the market to the waterfront. It was hilarious to talk over and around. Then, we migrated to the Cafe to order beignets, which are nothing more than fried dough on a smaller scale, and Jane tried the coffee. All phenomenal. Then we walked down Decatur to Frenchman Street, and hit up two clubs: an old jazz speakeasy and a reggae club, dancing and moving to the beat of the most organic and incredible live music I've ever heard.

Saturday, we were sad to leave. Jane and I looked at more art, and I picked up Shannon's piece. We walked around and saw the waterfront. We listened to more music in the streets. We talked to more people we recognized from the conference. We lamented leaving, and then we ended the day by having one more hurrah: a bowl of gumbo for me and a po' boy for her, and gelato for dessert. We left later that day and got back to New Hampshire at 11:30 that evening.

I really want to go back. I didn't spend enough time there by a long shot, and in a city like New Orleans, you shouldn't be spending your time in a hotel listening to people talk about what they do. You should go out and explore; you should go out and learn. And I did. Now I want to go back in February.

Five things I learned:

1) The best jazz bands sit in the street and just play. People gather, drop what they're doing, sit and listen.
2) The stink on Bourbon Street comes from dumping stale beer onto the street at 7 AM and then the sun baking it for an hour or more.
3) The locals know where the good stuff is. Ask people. They'll talk to you.
4) Gumbo is a SOUP.
5) Hurricanes are essential drinking.

If you want to go with us in February, comment. You should go.

I think the feeling is pretty simple here. I don't want to go to school tomorrow. Tomorrow requires preparing a few solutions (lettuce, potato, honey, table sugar, gelatine, etc.), trying to write a good special relativity curricula, dealing with my at times overbearing department chair and figuring out how I'm going to live through yet another week.

On Sunday nights like these, I contemplate taking breaks from teaching. It's true that a summer break usually breaks up this monotony, but I still consider it nonetheless. It's hard to imagine that I've been in a career for what will be three school years on June 19th, and it's even harder to believe that I haven't grown completely sick of it. What I have noticed, though, is this: I am teaching in a completely different school with a completely different population of students, yet the problems are still the same. An administration that has an agenda and a chip on its shoulder. Kids who feel it's more useful and more hip to unplug their brain. Parents who backhandedly demand a diploma for twelve years of showing up, much as they would demand a trophy for a kid who rides the bench on a last-place Little League team.

Maybe I'm just venting, but I don't think it's any accident that these problems seem to be independent of geography.

Enough for one night. It's time to sleep.

1) Every lightbulb I own is a CFL.
2) I don't buy trashbags; I use my take home grocery bags as trash and we recycle EVERYTHING.
3) I use reusable bags whenever possible.
4) I write in Staples Ecofriendly notebooks (in my book, that is).
5) I drive a car that gets up to 44 MPG on the highway.
6) I receive very few paper bills (all statements get sent to me online whenever possible).
7) We now raise our own herbs (better than buying them, because it saves on shipping, materials, etc.).
8) I buy local produce and meat most of the time.

Woo hoo going green!

I am currently up, writing some materials for my class and dreading it. The materials are for a lab practical, a test that kids have to pass in order to demonstrate and ensure that they have some basic lab skills before they move on to the tenth grade science. I know that it is defying my deepest instincts about education, and so it hurts, but it is what my department chairs and administrators want done, so I do it. It's time.

It has been nine weeks since I wrote anything, and I've been thinking. I mentioned a while back that I have begun to worry about the state of education in the United States, and that has compelled me to write about what is wrong with the way we teach our kids, and what a solution is. I feel like the time has come to have some dialogue with those ideas and commit them to paper. Yes, I am writing a book. It needs to be done, because I feel like I have a solution that is worth hearing, and worth implementing, if I can reach the right audience. I hope I do that.

And in order to do that, I had to gather my thoughts about it and focus them.

So, last week, I bought three paper notebooks and pens at Staples. Yep, I am going at this one by hand. I wrote a few introductory sentences on our trip to Vermont last week, which was refreshing and invigorating. Every time we go there, Shannon and I feel like new people. I don't think that's an accident.

I also finished a book called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I feel has changed my life. I was able to see some old philosophy in a new light, and I had a revelation about the relevance of the main topic of that book, Quality, to education as a whole. I don't feel like the education we deliver as a whole contains Quality, and I want to research and develop a way that we can inject that Quality into education again.

Ah, the things I think about when I don't write in my blog.

I've just come around to realize that while things are moving along nicely, our place is a FUCKING mess. Here's how I finally woke up to it.

Yesterday was a great day. We rode out to Bedford to find a new set of pots and pans for our kitchen. Shannon and I were getting tired of the scraped-off teflon and beat up aluminum...just plain tired. So, with the tutoring money I made that same day (talking to a guy about the physics and calculus of his trebuchet), we bought her a nice set of new, NON-non-stick, heavy aluminum cookware. Shannon is proud that they can do double duty: she can cook with them and whack any possible invaders over the head. I wanted to remind her that she could do the same with her rolling pin: food preparation and home defense.

After we got the cookware, we got inspired. We decided to head to the Whole Foods in Andover, to get some really, REALLY good spinach fettuccine that we had bought in Portland a couple of weeks ago. Aside from that, we LOVE the produce that Whole Foods normally has, so we hopped on I-93 and booked it down to Andover.

Well, we were unfortunately disappointed with this Whole Foods. They didn't even have the cabbage that we put on the makeshift shopping list of things we might want to get while we were there. Cabbage. I mean, come on, right? And, no spinach fettuccine. Not much of anything, actually! No bulk spices or expansive meat counter or pink lady apples or gelato counter or huge cheese selection. This deflated our morale a little bit, but we were unabated. We knew that there was a decent Whole Foods in Woburn, not too far away. So, off we went again to that WF, where we once again found...not much. This time, though, they had our cabbage and some GOOD produce selections. We picked up tomatoes, mozzerella and basil for Pasta Caprese, a few other pieces of produce, but, you guessed it, NO spinach fettuccine. Oh, well, right?

So, we're cruising home and I suddenly remember that there's a WF in Bedford. Score! This has got to be the one! I plug it into the GPS as we're passing Bedford on Route 3. We get there, and I'm an edgy form of excited, thinking that there HAS to be spinach fettuccine at this WF. It's a bigger store, looks better stocked, and we walk in, and to the pasta aisle, and sure enough! No pasta. Damn.

So Shannon and I settled for chocolate instead. It was still a good day.

We brought the groceries and the new cookware in. I plopped the stuff on the floor that I had and saw that there was a ton of stuff sitting around it. Well, there is a LOT of stuff on our floor. Papers that need to be graded, our tax forms, clothes dirty and clean, dishes...it's everywhere! Our place is a pig sty! And to think that last week we wanted to have people over but that those plans fell through because we were sick! Ugh. So, that's on our docket for today.

Later on, I'm going to write more, as a lot of stuff has happened this week. But, I have to clean house first. We'll see how long it takes us.

I definitely believe in other lives, but I don't think we ever get access to them directly. The only one I can tell about is in a dream that I had once, where I lived in ancient Rome. I think I was some sort of local politician, walking around and talking to random people and listening to them bitch about their problems while I tried my best to do something about them. Something about a broken bathhouse was the issue I remember most. That, and the fact that the togas were nice to wear.

Of course, I had this dream when I was a freshman in high school and taking Latin. My teacher told me that that's how life was in Rome at that time. If it was a past life, great. If it was the subliminal ability of a teacher to get their musings into my skull, that's fine too. All I know is I got a 100 on the next Latin test, which was on the past perfect tense. You be the judge.

It's strange how things tend to come around.

This weekend, Shannon and I have made the most of the V-Day feeling. We went to Maine on Saturday for a trip to visit our parents and go to Whole Foods in Portland to get some bulk herbs (since Shannon and I haven't been able to find them in Woburn, Andover, or anywhere else in New Hampshire, for that matter). Sunday, we ventured down to Boston to fix my compie (which took all of 7 hours...I love the Boylston Street Apple Store!) and to the Museum of Fine Art.

Lately, we have been really pleased with how our lives are going. At school, things are getting way better. My freshmen came back from the ice storm and it was like they were different people: mature, dedicated, in tune with the work they needed to be doing. I have been shocked, but pleased that my kids have really turned a corner. My seniors, on the other hand, are all being whiny brats, complaining that they're stressed out from applying to college, writing senior project papers and doing all of that stuff, and then my work on top of that. God for-fucking-bid.

Now, my department chairs (we have a dual math/science department) have asked me time and time again to decide where I wanted to be next year: Division II (which is the division for the freshmen and the sophomores) or Division III (to teach physics and calculus upstairs to seniors). This change in the demeanor of my 9th grade classes has so delighted me that I am electing to keep my current schedule (five classes: four freshman science and one physics, which is normally not what a teacher does at my school, so I'd continue not to have an advisory, unless I really wanted one). When I was talking about this with an old teacher at Noble, I hadn't told Shannon, so when she overheard me say that I was staying with my freshmen, she was shocked. And believe me, the story gets better.

Linda is the scientist out of the two math/science co-chairs, and she came into my room one day asking me to read the MCAS (state standardized test) for the Technology and Science standards, which is written for the curriculum I currently teach. Linda didn't say as much, but she hinted that kids aren't doing so well MCASing for Biology, so she is thinking about making my class the class that kids MCAS in (they only have to complete one science MCAS to call themselves good for getting a diploma in Massachusetts). That's pretty high pressure, but it does say to me that my administrators are confident in me. I'll be around next year, for sure.

As for Shannon, she still hates her job. That hasn't changed. We're still working on getting her a better one, but now that we know that I'll be around in Fitchburg for a while, we have decided to stay in New Hampshire and possibly start looking for a house here. Shannon also has knee surgery this week, to remove a jelly bean-sized piece of cartilage that has been knocked loose and floating around in her leg for a month now. Her manager thinks she's been 'abusing her privileges' of taking time off, which is really stupid, but that's just the way the corporate cookie crumbles. She's at least thankful to have a job that can't be outsourced, especially in the economy at present. We have realized, though, that working in Massachusetts would give her a lot more opportunity professionally. However, we like living in New Hampshire. It's a quagmire, for sure, but nothing we have to deal with right now, thankfully.

So, life has been good recently. Today we're focusing on a pre-spring cleaning of the house and hanging out. I don't have school Tuesday and I'll be out Thursday for Shannon's surgery. I've picked up a new 'small business', if you want to call it that, tutoring in math and science. My first two customers are a guy who owns a trebuchet up in Greenfield and needs a physics and calculus consultant and an AP Calculus student. Tutoring has made me a pretty penny that essentially becomes our shopping money. And we've decided that we'll be heading to Washington for April break.

6:15 PM: So, I decided that today, I was going to blog the entire night of the election. I just got done voting here in Wilton, NH, where I posted a straight Democratic ticket, including a vote for Jeanne Shaheen in the Senate, Paul Hodes in the House, and Barack Obama.

I did elect to exit poll, which they had in front of the steps of the Town Hall. I definitely agreed to do so, but people were constantly refusing. One person wanted to know 'how the exit polling would be confidential'. Easy to do with no name on it.

Here are the races I'm looking at:

1) President: Obama vs. McCain. A huge race, obviously. I am predicting a win that nets 300-310 electoral votes for Obama, including a win in VA, PA, and OH. He will lose MO and IN, but not by much.

2) Minnesota Senate: Coleman, Barkley, Franken. Personally, this race has been dirty, and downright puerile. Having Barkley entered hasn't helped much. Democrats want to see Franken in only for the D on the seat, and they're afraid otherwise.

3) North Carolina Senate: Dole vs. Hagan. The mudslinging here has amounted to even calling Hagan godless. I hope Dole burns.

4) New Hampshire Senate: Sununu vs. Shaheen. While Sununu has done a good job distancing himself from Bush, I don't think it will be enough. Shaheen should win.

5) Georgia Senate: Chambliss vs. Martin. Chambliss is one of the most conservative senators in the country, and a late surge by Martin (D) is making this seat a surprise tossup. This will be essential if the Democrats want a filibuster-proof majority.

6) Washington Governor: Gregoire vs. Rossi. Another downright nasty race. Gregoire won against this guy buy a few thousand votes, and the mud has been so thick that I don't think either candidate can govern effectively after this.

Kentucky is starting to close polls. So far, McCain's up 60-40. Dixville Notch, NH went 15-6 for Obama.
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6:26 PM:

Indiana has posted too. Obama out to an early lead.
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6:30 PM:

Looking at the income breakdown on the exit polls. Interesting, but exit polls are so insignificant, mostly because of some of the stuff I wrote above. Those who exit poll are those who want to, therefore skewing the results in my opinion.
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6:33 PM:

Ha! Just noticed the results coming out of NH. 32 Obama, 16 McCain. Wonder what Podunks just voted...Dixville was at midnight. Maybe Hart's Location? Yep. Just looked it up. I guess they voted at midnight, too. Posers. ;)

Obama's starting to be even with McCain in IN. I really don't think he'll win this state.
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6:43 PM:

A really interesting point just got made about White Evangelicals. They went 72-28 for McCain across the country, but Bush did eight points better. I think this shows that he didn't completely carry this vote, and this could make a difference in the places where the margin for McCain wasn't quite so good (like Minnesota, which I imagine was 51-49, or 52-48).

I am wondering if they'll pull out that spiffy exit poll drawer for those who supported Hillary during the primaries...
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6:48 PM:

GA, IN, KY, SC, VT, and VA close at 7. I think we will watch VA most closely. All of the others should go for McCain (save for VT), and GA is only of interest for the Chambliss/Martin race. VA is important. If it goes for Obama, then this thing is almost over. That is a nail in the coffin for McCain if Old Dominion goes his way.
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6:53 PM

KY is now a really interesting poll to watch. It just posted as 51-48 for Obama, and it looks like Lunsford is catching up to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell...wait, he's ahead! Louisville must have just posted, in addition to those downstream on the Ohio. With nine percent reporting! Who'd have thought we'd EVER see a lead in KY for Democrats with ANY percent of precincts reporting!
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7:00 PM

They're projecting: Obama will win Vermont, and McCain will carry Kentucky. Score: McCain 8, Obama 3.
No projections in GA, IN, SC, VA, which means they might be too close to call!
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7:03 PM

Oh, MAN! IN is close. 1,000 votes separating them with 120,000 haven't come in. I wonder if Indianapolis or Gary are in those polls. If they're not, Obama's in for a wave. If they are, Obama's sunk.
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7:04 PM

Mark Warner will beat Jim Gilmore for the Virginia Senate Seat. This was projected by the polls heavily, so this doesn't come as a surprise. They've projected this, but not the popular vote for President. Hmm...interesting.

Lunsford is still running ahead in KY, even though McConnell is a strong Republican there.

They're talking about the NC race. Dole will lose this, and CNN is really hesitant, I think, to come out and say this: Hagan will win. Dole's smears and the toxic air for Republicans will bump her from this seat.
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7:12 PM

I know I've been dissing exit polls, but the IN exits are encouraging. Men split the vote, and women banked for Obama. This would indicate a majority for Obama if the polls are right. Still watching closely...
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7:15 PM

Okay, wow. They've 'beamed in' a correspondent into the 'Situation Room'. Wow. I guess CNN will do just about anything for ratings. Do I really care that they can do a cool thing with video editing? No. Do I care about the votes? Yes.
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7:18 PM

Once again, I hate to bash exits, but in VA, they look good as well, where a majority of all voters are going for Obama. I wish I wasn't so seduced by those results. It's the ballots that go into the Government Box that count!
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7:25 PM

This is already getting exhausting, so I'm going to sign off for a 20 minute break while some results come in. Time to write some curriculum and cuddle with Shannon.
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7:35 PM

Now, NC and OH closes. I really think that, in the next hour or so, these states will project a winner and we'll know who wins the election.

It's funny that David Gergen is saying that Obama people are emailing him, saying that they're frightened of the exit polling pointing to McCain. It is understandable to criticize people for believing that and being afraid that Obama's behind, but he needs to think about this: Democrats had to endure Gore's loss in 2000, and then the exits teasing them about Kerry when CNN and all those other networks really wanted to indicate that those exits were right. Democrats have such a great wait for a candidate that can bring about the ticket, that they have only stuck around to have the carrot wiped from their views. That's why they're afraid.

NC is up to a slight lead in NC, but not even 1 percent of the polls counted. FL is showcasing an Obama lead, and IN has a McCain lead.

Eh, oh, way to go, Ohio...
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7:50 PM

Some initial results:

FL: Obama's up 300,000 with 10 percent in.
IN: Obama's hanging tough here, too...10,000 behind with 24 percent of the precincts. Indianapolis is in, but Bloomington and Gary are not. These should produce a good Obama wave, but I'm surprised that the four counties in the south of IN on the IL border are really breaking for Obama. I think this could make me have to eat my words about the Hoosier State.
SC and GA: Showing votes, but the answer is obvious for this one.
VA: Not breaking for Obama like I thought it would, but the DC suburbs aren't in yet.
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7:56 PM

South Carolina goes for McCain with 8 electoral votes. McCain 16, Obama 3.
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7:58 PM

States closing at 8. This will be a huge flood of info. ME, CT, DE, DC, PA, IN, MO, OK, AL, MS, FL, etc. PA is the prize there. It will be another nail in the coffin for McCain if Obama wins it.
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8:00 PM

Projections: Obama wins MA, IL, CT, NJ, ME, DE, DC, MD. McCain wins OK and TN. Obama 77, McCain 34.
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8:03 PM

Looking at the NH races:

Shaheen is leading Sununu by 3,000 for the Senate Race.
Lynch leading Kinney 75-25. He is a popular Democrat and should win easily.
No votes counted in the House. I expect Shea-Porter and Hodes, both Democrats, will win, but we'll see.
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8:07 PM

I LOVE the analysis by John King, because he's right on. McCain is not performing as powerfully as Bush is rural counties in former Bush states. This is what's contributing to the Obama surge, and NOT the areas that would have gone Democrat anyway. This shows that Obama chipped away at McCain's base in rural areas.

I have to say that I like these analyses for this reason. John King works that board really well, I know, but he also speaks about this with great fluency. This is where CNN is really strong on political analysis, I think, and not that Spin/Antispin Room bullshit.
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8:14 PM

No more projections. Just a bunch of 1% in polls. I'm taking a break again until 8:30.
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8:22 PM

While David Axelrod is speaking, I've been looking at NH results. I am really excited to see how my town, Wilton, goes. I think it's fascinating because you know that some of those numbers are neighbors, friends, coworkers...the people you see out and about every day. To think that they're casting ballots, but you never know how they'd vote on the street, or talking to them, or seeing them sort your mail. I do know that our downstairs neighbor doesn't vote. Likes Obama, but thinks he'll get shot, and thinks that her vote doesn't matter. I almost went down to talk to her. Shannon stopped me.
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8:30 PM

ROCK ON, NEW HAMPSHIRE! NH goes for Obama! Obama 81, McCain 34. I LOVE YOU, GRANITE STATE!
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8:35 PM

Looking at NC Senate: Hagan is wrecking house so far! She is up by almost 200,000 votes. I hope she's ready to go home to Bob. That shows her that smears don't work.
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8:37 PM

Now the focus on KY Senate. Lunsford is running well! I am very surprised that McConnell doesn't have a greater advantage, but he's only up by 6,000 votes! If McConnell loses this seat, the Democrats will be a babystep away from 60. Once again, that Chambliss race is getting more important!
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8:38 PM

More results: FL and NC are 120,000 vote advantages for Obama, still. FL has over 40 percent of the vote in, so let's see the breakdown...

WAIT, A PROJECTION! Obama will win the Keystone State, Pennsylvania. 21 electors in the bag for McCain. Obama 102, McCain 34. That is a severe blow to McCain; he is one step closer to losing this election.

Back to FL, the I-4 corridor is going for McCain, and Miami is heavy for Obama. Orange County, though, is going heavy for Obama, which shouldn't have according to the Bush-Kerry contest. The fact that he's running this close in FL is a great sign.

Should I bother watching anymore? Wait...gonna knock on wood for that.
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8:44 PM

While there's some blather, some interesting news for the Senate Races.

KY: McConnell and Lunsford are running even...Mitch leads by 9,000 votes. Still going to contest that this should have been much more in the bag for the Republican incumbent.
NC: Why aren't they calling this? Hagan leads Dole by 140,000 votes.
NH: Shaheen is continuing to pull the Granite State, but too few votes to project she'll win. Up by 10,000.
GA: Chambliss is up 60-40. I think that the filibuster block will have to come another way for the Dems.

And for the states:

IN: Obama's only down by 35,000. 51-48. This could still go either way, especially since the results in the Democrat counties aren't all in. They are all blue, so they are starting to come in. This is Obama's chance here, and if it doesn't pull for him, he's lost it.
PA: Wow. Just. Wow.
FL and NC: STILL a 150,000 or so vote lead. Talk about close!
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8:52 PM

Just realized I should have checked on OH, where Cuyahoga County hasn't even come in yet. OH is going for Obama.

Hagan just won NC. I thought they'd project that. Rock on. 60, here we come!
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8:57 PM

McCain wins AL. Obama 102, McCain 43. No surprise.
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8:59 PM

A ton of states due to go at 9. Here come projections!
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9:00 PM

Obama will win RI, MI, WI, MN, NY. No surprises here.
McCain wins ND, WY.
Score is Obama 174, McCain 49.
Obama has 96 electoral votes to go before he hits 270. Once again, knocking on wood. Notably, OH has not been called, along with NC, VA, and others.
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9:03 PM

Interesting age breakdown: those who thought it was important went for Obama 70-30.
Shaheen will win Sunono's Senate seat. Looks like he can go back to hiking in the White Mountains.
Udall also goes for NM Senate, so the Dems have a 55 seat majority.
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9:09 PM

Obama's maintaining his leads in NC, FL, and OH. He's also still running strong in IN; still behind by 40,000. WOW.
In Ohio, Cuyahoga County is STILL not in, and Obama continues to lead. Once again, proof of a superior ground game and penetration into rural counties.

Virginia is coming way back. McCain's winning 51-49.

CNN just called Georgia for McCain. No surprise. Obama 174, McCain 64. What took so long, guys? Did you seriously think Obama had a chance there? Let's get real. There's conservative projecting, and then there's ridiculous. This state should have been colored red before the coverage started, but I think the news was scared to project it because of the polls saying that Obama was within the margin of error.

Sometimes, you just need a 9 year old with common sense, as Lewis Black says.
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9:14 PM

Wolf Blitzer just mentioned that no President has won without OH. I'm wondering seriously if Obama will need it. Cuyahoga County, I'm tellin' ya...
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9:19 PM

Mitch McConnell will win in the Senate race in KY. Gave it a good run, Bruce. Good try. It's okay, though, we can get to 60 without you. :(
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9:22 PM

CNN projects a WV win for McCain. Another seat that should have been called much later, but didn't because of those polls indicating Obama ran much closer. Seriously, MSM...you need to get a grip! Why didn't you call this earlier!

Obama 174, McCain 69.
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9:24 PM

No talk about VA in a while, where Obama is within 12,000 with over 2 million votes counted. This state really came around for Obama. A lot of the precincts in the DC suburbs are starting to report in. CNN says they're looking for a major projection before the next break. I bet VA will be it, or NC, where Obama's still up by almost 1 million votes.

This is where I definitely appreciate careful projections. These states are important and close, so CNN is right to reserve time on them. I do also think, though, that they should color in the obvious ones.
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9:29 PM

FL and NC tightened up! Obama's advantage just shrunk to under 100,000 for each state! In OH, Obama has a healthy 200,000 vote advantage.

John King is my echo: he points out that the OH advantage comes without Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, but that Republicans can count on some help from the Ohio River Valley. I also would be willing to bet that Cincinnati chips in for McCain.

As Jonesy said in The Hunt for Red October, 'this one's gonna be CLOSE!'
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9:33 PM

Just looked at IN. Marion County, with Indianapolis, is already in, but Lake County, with Gary, has no precincts reporting. With a 40,000 trail to make up, he might just make it there.

Projection: Obama just won Ohio. Looks like we can count on the Buckeye State after all. Obama 194, McCain 69. Huge blow to McCain, and Obama needs just 76 electoral votes.

VA is 50-50. Obama's only down by 7,000 votes.
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9:38 PM

Still no results from Wilton. Man, I'll even help them count!
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9:41 PM

A reliable source (i.e. my friend Rebecca) is calling NM for Obama! Woo hoo! Obama 199, McCain 69.
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9:48 PM

Obama is projected now by CNN to win NM. Rebecca was quicker!
McCain gets LA, and once again, a state that should have been precolored. Obama 199, McCain 78.
Popular vote: Obama is 320,000 votes ahead with 40 million in! Holy crud, that's close.
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9:52 PM

John King made this point very clear, but before NM was called, he said that McCain now had to win every state to come close. Now, NM is called, and he would have to win WA, OR, CA or HI to really have a chance.

I think we can start celebrating, and watching Senate races.

GA: Chambliss hasn't won yet, but he's close. 56-40. Another one they should just call.
So far, the only party change is Shaheen.
MN: Now, I can finally see this race. Franken is initially beating Coleman by 12,000. This will be an interesting race, and I can only hope that Franken pulls it out, volatile as he is.
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10:00 PM

Obama wins IA. Iowa comes around once again. Thanks for the caucus in January, Iowans!
Utah goes McCain. No surprise. KS also goes for McCain.
Obama 206, McCain 89. Obama has 64 electoral votes to go.
VA, NC, FL, where are you?
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10:02 PM

So, where is VA, NC, and FL?

VA: With 83% in, Obama has a 12,000 vote lead with 2.7 million votes in. This should call soon, but very close.
NC: 70% in, 44,000 vote lead for Obama with 3.3 million votes in. Once again, really close, but not as close as VA.
FL: Obama's up by 140,000 with 64% of the vote with 6 million in.

I'd be willing to bet that Obama gets to 270 far before WA, OR, and CA are called. HI's votes won't matter again, but this time, they can celebrate after going to the polls!
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10:08 PM

Shannon on James Carville (Democrat strategist): "That guy's voice annoys the fuck out of me."

MN Senate: 7%, Franken leading by 22,000.
Something just went!

I think it was AR. This would also make sense. Obama 207, McCain 95.
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10:14 PM

Rebecca just posted a good article on voter turnout in Maine. It's here.

That reminds me of a story...

One of my students just turned 18. He was excited to cast his first vote. He told me he was voting for McCain, and he was kinda ashamed about it.

I asked him why, and he said that he was a 'red fish in blue waters', and that he knew I was a big Obama fan, so that he didn't want me to judge.

I told him that if I saw 50 McCain supporters who were refusing to vote, I'd rather see them vote than not. Isn't that what democracy is about? Participation?

Rebecca agrees about James Carville.
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10:19 PM

IN: 12,000 vote edge for McCain with 2.2 million in. 86% of precincts in. Another close race.
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10:21 PM

Texas goes for McCain. More like a consolation prize at this point. Obama 207, McCain 129.
Mississippi goes for McCain as well. Obama 207, McCain 135.
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10:26 PM

VA: 89% in, a 39,000 vote lead for Obama.
NC: 80% in, 4,000 vote Obama lead.
FL: 69% in, 160,000 vote lead.
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10:33 PM

CNN is blathering about generational politics. I wish I were writing curriculum.
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10:36 PM

Taking a 10 minute break to cuddle.
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10:46 PM

Let's do another check on VA, FL, and NC.

VA: 90% in. Obama with a 51,000 vote lead. He's pulling away.
NC: 86%, 16,000 vote lead for Obama.
FL: 80%, 180,000 vote lead for Obama.
IN: 90% with a 15,000 vote lead for McCain. Lake County is at 83%, Porter County at 65%.
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10:59 PM

Obama wins VA. About time. Obama 220, McCain 135. 50 away.
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11:07 PM.

Obama WINS! He wins CA, and that's all he needed!
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11:09 PM

I am actually going to sign off of the blog and finish the rest tomorrow. Those of you reading along with me, thank you. Those of you who read this, remember where you were when the election was called for Barack. I am in my apartment with my wife, in Wilton, NH, and we gave each other a big hug and celebrated. It's time for change in this country, and we will get it. :) It is a good day. :)

We made it. Our country is through the tunnel of the darkness of the last eight years, and seeing the light on the other side. Peace out, Cub Scouts. More tomorrow.
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Wednesday, 8:09 PM

First, I got the results from my town. Here they are:

PRESIDENT: Obama (D) 1246, McCain (R) 1026.
SENATE: Shaheen (D) 1140, Sununu (R) 1010.
HOUSE DISTRICT TWO: Hodes (D) 1203, Horn (R) 931.
GOVERNOR: Lynch (D) 1543, Kenney (R) 593.

Second, IN and NC either went for Obama or looked that way. I think MO went for McCain, but Obama hung really tough, thanks to St. Louis and Kansas City.

Interesting that my town is mostly Democrat, but I saw so many McCain supporters. They must all live where I am...I suppose I found the beehive. ;)

I read all of the papers, and they are unanimous. It is a great time to be an American, and we have witnessed a piece of history, as my friend Erik on Nantucket pointed out to me over the phone. Today, I bought a copy of my local paper, and I'll keep it in a bag for preservation. In 75 years, I'd like to tell my grandchildren I was there.

This was fun, all! Thanks for those of you who tuned in to my 'expert' analysis, and thanks to my reliable source, Rebecca!

I swear, when you are moving, you never get a moment's peace. I started with The Vegetarian Month on August 1st, and I finally have one moment's peace to write about it. Finally. Moving, I suppose, is a drop-dead adventure. There's always somewhere to go or something that you've forgotten, and by the time you realize those small things, there's a list of 50 things to do on the docket for that day. This was definitely the case for moving to Wilton, which we finished doing last Saturday. The few physical things we forgot are in the back of my scion, which is parked across the street. I have to go to North Berwick tonight to teach the next to last class of chemistry, and then I head to Wilton to get the move finished off.

Almost counter to what one might think, The Vegetarian Month has gone really well so far. Just some general observations as I start:

1. Beginning with a vegetarian regimen really makes you pay attention to the contents of food. REALLY. I thought for a minute that I could have ramen noodles, for instance, until I realized that they ALL contain chicken broth or boiled-down chicken broth derivatives (at least, all of the ones I used to eat in college do). And since I considered that close enough to meat, I had to shun it. I was sad. Nonetheless, I have been slapped in the face with the abundance of MSG, nitrates, and corn syrup (see number 6) in EVERY pre-packaged and processed food. I have also noticed that fat-free, light, and diet foods are chock-full of chemically bad shit, just to compensate for the flavor that is lost due to fat removal.

2. For the first time on Monday, I didn't feel at all inclined to caffeine. I normally take a coffee break during my adult ed class and get at least one cup of coffee, in addition to a cup that I start off the day with. Despite this, I haven't felt the compulsion to have caffeine for nearly 48 hours (which is a huge development).

3. I have been giving tofu a bad rap. I had vegetarian pad thai in a Thai place in Manchester (they had a 'vegetarian corner' of the menu, which was a big deal for me), and it was phenomenal. The tofu was nicely cooked and flavorful, and their choice of veggies left me ridiculously satisfied.

4. I have tasted the lack of meat presence in my diet in a strange way. This revelation came when I ate an Altoid on Day Four. It literally stung my tongue, which never happens. After that, I noticed that I have been noticing more subtlety in the flavors of the foods I've had, from lettuce to tomatoes, from drinking water to veggie burgers (I've had a couple by now, just because I like them).

5. Meat and meat products are a disgustingly large industry. I have seen more advertisements and truck signs and pushes to sell meat than any other food. Vegetables don't get a tenth of the airplay. I wonder just how much of our carbon output comes from feeding our carnivorous tendencies as humans.

6. Having to look at labels has also made me realize just how much of our corn supply goes to corn syrup. It is in just about everything we eat that is even remotely sweetened. (Don't believe me? Look in your spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, condiments, or any other food of that nature. Odds are, it's in there.) Shouldn't we be using corn for meal or simply for eating?

So far, I am immensely enjoying vegetarianism. While I find that I have to work A LOT HARDER to keep an eye on my food (what I buy, eat, cook with, etc.), I'm enjoying the idea of knowing to a much better degree what is in the food that goes down my gullet.

Three meals I have had that I highly recommend (recipe on the ones that are homemade, because they are SIMPLE):

--Ratatouille, a la Dudley (recipe at the end)
--Pasta Caprese (sautee diced roma tomatoes in olive oil with garlic, fresh basil and pepper, toss with linguini, serve);
--Vegetarian Pad Thai (at Siam Orchid in Manchester, NH).

Thankfully, Shannon's been really helpful with all of this. She's rolled with the diet and ran with me on some of the meals. She still eats some meat (she prefers tuna), but for the most part, we've eaten the same vegetarian fare. That was different today when I got Shannon lunch. We went to Subway, where I got a veggie sub (everything but onions) and Shannon got a cold cut trio. I only went there after doing my research as to whether or not Subway's bread used any animal fat in the cooking (they do not, so far as I could find out).

Conclusion: week one is a success. Now, onto new things.

An interesting development manifested itself in Fitchburg. Last week, the former physics teacher and I talked shop, and one of the things we talked about is the role I'd play as a student advisor (all faculty have an advisory position, and it is usually specific to the grade they teach). In my case, I'd advise freshmen and get them ready for a freshman exhibition they are required to complete, called a Freshman Roundtable. In that roundtable, students reflect on their work for the year and self-assess their progress, based on goals they set at the beginning of the year. It's an interesting exercise because it requires students to examine their work for relevance and importance, and find their strengths and weaknesses within it. However, Linda (former physics guru) advised Senior Projects (the 12th grade exhibition) and indicated that she'd like to have me doing that (since I have two years of experience with it). So, she dropped a line to my principal suggesting that I should be using my Senior Project experience to contribute to the execution of it this year (since the idea is still in infancy at my school). I followed up with an email detailing our conversation to the principal, saying that I could be flexible and do what needed to be done.

I called Tricia later on that week to follow up on the email and some other matters. When we finally got to talking about that, Tricia shocked me by saying that another position had opened up at another level (a Humanities position), which could be reworked logistically to getting me a senior project role. When I asked what the role would be, Tricia pitched the idea of ADMINISTERING the senior project sequence in place of an advisory. This means that I would be overseeing the whole process (scheduling, shutting down senior classes, weekly and monthly schedules for advisories, writing letters to parents, approving proposals and coordinating technology). This implies a ton of responsibility and work, hustle and stress. Which naturally means I accepted.

I found out two days ago (while in Fitchburg dropping off some books for my classroom) that the position is a go. I am officially in my first administrative role, which I am psyched for.

One last interesting piece: I also found out that another colleague of mine that left Noble last year is applying for that Humanities position. What's creepy is that Shannon and I both debated on whether or not to tell her about it; we found out about it two days before I called Tricia to sort things out.

WEEK ONE'S FAVORITE RECIPE: RATATOUILLE a la DUDLEY

I didn't actually have this in August, but instead beforehand to slowly edge into full-fledged vegetarianism. Here's the recipe. (Note: this is not how version-one ratatouille is prepared, but instead a variant. Ratatouille does not usually have a regimented, strict tradition behind its manufacture; make it how you like. A good example of a recipe actually comes from the animated film of the same name.)

--1 summer squash
--1 zucchini
--1 vidalia onion (or onion of choice)
--1 SMALL Italian eggplant
--1 teaspoon minced garlic
--olive oil
--herbes de provence (or some blend of rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, and bay leaf)
--1 jar Newman's Own cabernet marinara (or your preference for cabernet marinara; I recommend Newman's Own as an inexpensive and mostly pure sauce)
--4 roma tomatoes
--tomato paste
--1/2 pound linguini
--2 ounces balsamic vinegar
--sugar
--aluminum foil

SAUCE: prepare the sauce by dicing three roma tomatoes and simmer with half of the jar of cabernet marinara. Add garlic and tomato paste to thicken to your liking (you may not even need it!). Add roughly 2 to 3 teaspoons of herbes de provence and allow to simmer for roughly 30 minutes. I'd start this first and then do the rest of the recipe. As with any good recipe, do the sauce to taste, but DON'T FORGET THE HERBES!

BALSAMIC VINEGAR REDUCTION: Cook 2 ounces of balsamic vinegar on medium-high with roughly 1 teaspoon of sugar, stirring constantly. Boil the mixture until it becomes slightly thick (you will notice that it runs slowly off of your stirring spoon). Set aside; this will thicken further. Use this to garnish (naturally, since this is a garnish, it's optional, but REALLY good).

VEGGIES: Cut the summer squash, zucchini, onion, Italian eggplant, and remaining tomato (this is optional; I don't do it) into wedges no thicker than a half inch. Toss cut veggies with 2 teaspoons or so of herbes de provence and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Make a roasting pouch of aluminum foil and seal the veggies inside, cooking them at 450 degrees for 17 to 22 minutes.

PASTA: When veggies have 5 to 10 minutes left, cook the linguini.

Serve by plating linguini, covering with sauce, and adding roasted veggies to the dish. Garnish with balsamic vinegar reduction, and VOILA!

SUGGESTIONS: For goodness' sake, serve this with a good white wine (I'd highly recomment a pinot grigio, but, as always, serve what you like) and good bread. It's just not the same without it. This dish can also be served over rice and TONS of variations on ratatouille are out there.

Matt, my brother-in-law, mentioned that after everything that has happened in the past few months, I should really just fuck the blogging and write a book. What seems to be more amazing for me is not simply the sheer volume of shit that has gone on for me and Shannon in the past few months, but the fact that, a few hard days and tough moments aside, things have been all right. There has been plenty of shit after finding out about Grandpa's crimes, but I'm not going to talk about that here. That will be in another entry, which I'll put up later. One of these things, which is a huge deal, is a kicker that I haven't quite coped with fully. If you really want to know, feel free to ask me.

On to the good stuff. First and foremost, Shannon and I move into a new place in Wilton, New Hampshire on August 1st. It's scary, because it's only four days away from our official move-in date, but at the same time, it's a renewal. It's my chance to start a new job and for Shannon to start her job in a new place. It's a blessing to move away from the whole family situation and get out from under that cloud. We're moving into a bigger place where we'll actually have a table and chairs, bigger kitchen, second bedroom and room for our Wii. It's definitely going to be awesome; the only real obstacle is getting used to the place and driving the U-Haul down there with a truckload of our shit and not breaking it.

Because of the chance to start anew, I have decided to take on my month of vegetarianism that I mentioned I would do in my 101/1001 list. Yeah, remember that? I've blown it off because of everything that's happened. Now, I'm picking some of it back up, and one of the items says that I'll go vegetarian for a month. I figure that it's easier to do when we're already changing things up and starting somewhere new. I was actually talking to a couple of people about it at my friend Crystal's apartment in Portland a couple of nights ago, and it reminded me how excited I was to try it out, even if I end up loathing the prospect. That will be starting that morning, so I'm intending to have one last meaty meal on the 31st.

As far as Matt's mention to write a book, I've actually been kicking that thought around the office a little more seriously. I don't think it would be about me, necessarily, but I have been compelled to write about what I think is the downfall of public education in the last 20 years or so. I feel as though I'm seeing those signs everywhere, and I think our students are in for hard times educationally, much as we (teachers) will try to prevent it. Public education (or any education) will be a tough field to work in for a long time in the future, and I suddenly feel compelled to alert people that a change in course will be essential.

Speaking of education, I must close this entry. I have to write a chemistry test for tonight and head to North Berwick, where I decide what reaction to subject my adult ed students to. Enjoy your day!

Yesterday was my last day at Noble High School. I found it to be an incredibly difficult and incredibly fast day. I arrived early, around six, to clean the rest of the mess that I had left in the room of the chemistry teacher next door. Left a lot of lead (II) chloride and copper (II) sulfate residues in microspace equipment by virtue of the fact that I have no idea how to properly rinse them. After that, I spent the morning cleaning my room, trying to go about the last of my business.

Now, the rest of my classroom, the stuff that would be in my classroom no matter what, is inside of a few boxes. It's mostly posters with physics-y stuff on it, or my Scottish flags, or my best examples of student work that are portfolio-worthy. It was heartbreaking, to be able to condense my teaching career to this point into a few small boxes, and to be able to cram my curricular achievements into one or two compact discs.

I found that the hardest part, however, was saying goodbye to everyone. It's pretty obvious that I'll be seeing those people again, and that for some, it'll be all too soon. But, I know that I'll never be teaching with those people again, given that I have vowed never to teach in the State of Maine again. (More on that below.) And I told those people in an email that I am moving on to greener pastures for sure, but that they made the Noble pasture green for me. Some of my colleagues were what made education worthwhile for me professionally, if you don't count the students.

My last act in my classroom was the 'screw you, JF' moment that I was longing for. Noble is listed on the site as a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, but it hasn't paid dues in two years, and Noble is slowly starting to depart from Coalition principles. I am also quite certain that the current administration does not take the Common Principles of the Coalition seriously. So, I placed a poster with those ten Common Principles on my bulletin board, even when bulletin boards need to be clear.

Screw off, Noble High School. Screw off.

Now, I'm prepping for my adult ed Chemistry course and trying to decide what to do with the extra three hours I just gained by really landing balancing equations solidly in 15 minutes last class. I'm working on new apartments, hoping to land in Wilton or Amherst, NH. I'm going to try to tackle packing up some, but I'm not sure how much progress I can make without Shannon there to tell me what to toss and that I should stop being such a packrat. It's sad, but liberating, that I'm moving on. I'm only sad because the time evaporated in front of my eyes, and the two years that I spent at Noble are gone, and I can't get them back and reproduce them. Oh, well.

It's been nearly month since I wrote my last entry. I just don't think I was able to use my blog as a coping mechanism until now. The past few months have been really difficult. Finding out you have lost your job, losing relatives, and finding out that your grandfather was never really worthy of your trust makes for a hard time. But, now it's June, and my room is now relatively bare. Shannon and I will be soon packed and moved out of our apartment. Yet again, we meet a time for moving on.

I got that job in Fitchburg at North Central Charter Essential School. Massachusetts has called my name and I am happily answering the call. The school is totally in line with my pedagogical philosophies and everything I believe teaching should be, which is great because Noble is really starting to fall off of that map for me. It is turning toward traditionalist principles and older, teacher-centered ideas of education. In fact, now that I can look back on it, that seems to be the norm for the State of Maine, and so I have vowed never to teach in Maine again. I drafted a letter making this vow clear to Governor Baldacci and other representatives that inform educational policy in Maine. I want them to know that I am leaving, and that in order to prevent others from leaving, they can change things.

As far as family things go, Grandpa was tried and will receive jail time. This is something that has been going on for quite a while, so now that everything's hit the fan, things are on the upswing. From what I understand, my sisters are getting a little better and healing has begun. The only one I'm really worried about is my grandmother: I have heard she is a nervous wreck, and how could you blame her?

And now, after two months of anguishing over it, Shannon and I are finally moving away. There were plenty of times that I threatened to leave Maine, but I never thought I'd actually be shown the door at any of my jobs, and I also never thought that the solution would be to jump ship to somewhere else. Despite all of that, moving on is moving on. Shannon and I are taking a trip to IKEA today to look at new furniture and we begin packing up the house on Monday. We don't know exactly where we'll be living yet, but we actually will be looking at places on the New Hampshire/Massachusetts. border until Shannon finds employment closer to Fitchburg. I didn't anticipate, however, how difficult this would be for Shannon, but I should have: she has lived in Maine her whole life, and even the possibility of jumping the border to make residence in New Hampshire can seem tough. Nonetheless, I am convinced we'll be happier. (Better go find a piece of wood.)

The next chapter begins.

It's going to go without saying that it has been a long month. Right now I am one week away from April Break, and haven't written in four weeks. I've been trying to write this entry for that long, too, but every time the impetus moves me, I just get depressed about what I am going to write and stop. Well, now, I'm in Orono, playing in the Maine Chess Championship, and I have two-and-a-half hours before the next round starts. I guess I have no excuse today.

So, rewind to last entry, where I was really questioning my desire to stay at my school, after an intern (now a good friend of mine after the fact) was canned over a poetry slam where some PG-13+ language and themes were discussed. This happened back in February, and my reaction had toned down a bit since then. I had reconsidered staying because I felt like I could stick around and begin to affect change.

Fast forward to March 14th. I had just been observed and debriefed by our principal, where he got on my case very heavily for 1) not using lesson plans, and 2) tending to lecture off the cuff. Now, there are two notes I want to make about these criticisms: the first one is that teachers have all sorts of different planning methods. I tend to plan loosely, defining my goals and lessons for the week and making them visible on my board, and then more specifically planning for the day based on the needs of each class. That means that I don't write explicit lesson plans; it's a waste of time because my four physics classes could end up in four different places at the end of the day! While this is rare, I like having some flexibility, so therefore don't prefer to put things down on paper. The second note is that I believe having a degree in physics would suggest that I know my content area rather well. Not to blow my own horn, but I feel like anyone who's earned a degree in the field must know it pretty well. And when the concepts we teach in physics are completely rudimentary, I'd feel like a hack if I couldn't go through a good presentation on the fly. I also feel like going on the fly helps me to be a little more relatable in lecture, instead of a drone-like blowhard at the front of the class that everyone only cares to ignore.

Either way, the principal gave me shit. Wanted me to do more discrete planning. And while it goes against my grain, I did exactly what I was told, like any good and dedicated employee would do at the behest of his employer. Right?

A week later, I email Joe (curses! I have to say his first name) and let him know that I am taking his feedback seriously, really would like to make sure he is confident in what I do, and want to invite him into class again. He comes in for a short lecture/lab session, and I've got printed lesson plans for him, in addition to all of the paperwork for the lab. I thought, for sure, that this was the end of the issue.

I get a debriefing date a week later, but amid some really nasty rumors floating around the building. The budget in the District is ever-crunching, and a few people coming back from sabbatical leave us to believe that cuts are on the horizon. Also, we hear that a social studies teacher upstairs from our team got some heat from the administration for showing a video on immigration to America during the 1920s that showed a thirty-second clip of people being deloused. Which means they were naked. You'd normally think, 'big deal', right?

The next Friday, I met with Joe. We debriefed the observation, and things seemed to have gone fine in class. After the debriefing (a whole five minutes), I tell Joe that I hope he has regained some confidence in the job I do with students, pointing out that I took his feedback very seriously, and am still doing the planning he asked for. Then, he drops the bomb: that I would not have my contract renewed for next year.

I had to take a minute and make sure that Joe was serious. He is one of those people that you can never tell whether he is being serious or sarcastic. When it sunk in that he was serious, he broke the silence by spouting one of the most perplexing sentences I've ever heard in my life:

"I'll write you a recommendation wherever you need it to go; I know you love this school and I know you work hard, but I have to do what's best, and instructionally, you're not where you need to be right now."

So, here's what immediately crossed my mind: let's begin recounting the list of the five stages of grief.

Stage One: Denial. Began when I tried to derive a joke from his straitlaced frown.

Stage Two: Anger. Came with the end of denial about a minute after I realized Joe wasn't joking. What I was very tempted to think was that this jackass, who had never taught science a day in his life, who is only a principal, had the fucking balls to tell me that he thought I was instructionally incapable after only four observations out of 90 total lessons in a school year. Fuck him.

Stage Three: Bargaining. Began immediately after I left his office. I went down to tell one of the other Physics teachers immediately after everything happened, and he was a strange combination of livid, shocked, appalled, and enraged. Especially for the reason I was given. Dave and John (the senior Physics teacher) have seen me teach often, and sing my praises frequently (though I attest I'm not THAT good). Dave immediately began to plan for a meeting with Joe where the two of them would go in and fight for my job, if for no other reason than to point out that Joe was making a huge mistake. It's important to note here that the stages mixed here a bit, as I think after talking to Dave, I was in denial, angry, and thinking that I had a chance at keeping my job.

Stage Four: Depression. As I mentioned above, Wren and I have become good friends after the fallout on her end of the school (she was kicked off her internship and is now essentially being treated as a terrorist: she's not allowed on school grounds or to make contact with former students, and if she is to be on school grounds, she must be escorted wherever she is). We were meeting anyway to head to the Regional Semifinal Poetry Slam for New Hampshire in Manchester, so she got the news next. After commiserating, we went to the slam. Some of the poets hosting/reading were the same poets that went to the slam at Noble, and greeted us very warmly, almost as though we were martyrs. They were even more receptive to me when Wren told them that I was let go. Come to find out, they assumed that I was also let go because of the slam, and so dedicated a couple of performances to me and Wren.

I spent the rest of the weekend in a state of dejection. I constantly rewound back to my classroom, back to every day I had taught this year, wondering exactly what I was doing wrong, or what I could have done better, beating myself up over little things that didn't really make much difference in the long run, like choosing the wrong table setup for a particular class or writing assessments that too many people failed. I was a wreck, no doubt.

Stage Five: Acceptance. This hit on Friday. Monday was a hell of a day. I called my friend Cassie (who teaches on my team) on Friday, only to find out that she had told everyone before we got to team meeting Monday morning. So, instead of dropping the bomb on everyone, we simply talked about the situation with Joe and how the staff has grown to approve less and less of him. I got another piece of news that made me start to piece things together and see the big picture: Rachel, the social studies teacher upstairs, was let go on Friday as well, under the pretense that she wasn't good instructionally, wasn't good with kids, and wasn't a team player, all of which we knew was not true at all.

So, the last week has been my sink-in period. Classes are going really well; we're building electric motors and electromagnetic generators in a market simulation (where students have to form companies, buy materials, make prototypes, fulfill bids, and do whatever they can to make profit; I even bought play money and everything), and it's going really well. My classes and the 5 letters of recommendation I've received have convinced me that I'm not instructionally incapable. I am coming to believe that my union involvement in October, coupled with my appearance at the poetry slam, meant that, at some political level, my head needed to roll. This was confirmed by an email from Joe, giving me the chance to resign, which means that my contract will have been 'resigned' as opposed to 'non-renewed'. I did so the next day, as did Rachel.

The kids found out Monday as well, and I've been fighting off the rumor train by turning rumors into truths. It's no secret now: I was let go. The hard part is telling kids why. I've had to work hard to only tell kids I trust, and tread carefully when they ask what they can do for me in protest. I had to speak from the heart at the end of a lot of those conversations: the only thing kids can do for me now is finish out the year strong, graduate, and get the hell out of Dodge City.

And speaking of getting the hell out of Dodge, that's exactly what I'm on my way to doing, although where I'll go is uncertain. Schools all across New England are hiring, but only one in Maine. And, given that Shannon does not want to work for Anthem for the rest of her life, we have decided it might be best to move out of Maine and into a state further south (Connecticut, Massachusetts), further west (Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania), or on the West Coast (Washington, Oregon, California). I have also considered teaching in private school, or leaving education altogether and heading into industry or trying to get into grad school again. Either way, I am thinking that leaving Noble was fate. The school is in a complete mode of tyranny, and it doesn't look like things will change for a while. The school pretends so well to be democratic, but in a school like that, reading or hearing poetry that tells you where the bear shit in the buckwheat or showing the truth about Ellis Island shouldn't get you fired; it should let people know that you mean to teach your students and not filter what they hear or read or see. Censorship does not educate people, and if the price of dissenting is termination, I would rather not stay at Noble.

The most comfort I've taken out of this is from Shannon, who has stuck with me through everything. She's been more than doting, and I owe her, especially for putting up with all the bullshit that I've been spouting about being incompetent. She is hoping that I get a teaching job in Connecticut, if anywhere else; she was told at work that, so long as we move to an Anthem state, she'll have a job. That's at least a start. So, if you're a school in MA, CT, PA, NJ, NY, VT, CA, WA, or OR, there's an instructionally sound physics teacher coming your way.

I think that part of the nature of scientists is that we freak out about the things that we don't understand, and we freak out even more about the things that we don't understand when they go wrong. Think of it like a car engine: if it runs, but you know nothing about it, you take for granted the fact that it runs. However, if you were to pop open the hood and look closely, you'd see a mess of tubes, wires, fluid receptacles, and the huge block that is the engine's core, and throw your hands up at first. If it breaks down, you wouldn't even know where to begin. Mechanics, however, wouldn't have this problem.

Now we rewind to what feels like forever ago. On a routine check-up with her PCP, Shannon noticed that she began to ache where her 'female parts' are (shortening just because I like to feel succinct, and because that's how she'd refer to them). Turned out that those were cysts on her ovaries that were giving her pains. Well, let me tell you, I just about had my own mini-coronary. But, things passed over, and for a little while, we didn't worry about it.

Of course, it's never enough for me not to worry about something once it comes up. She started feeling those pains again last week, either randomly or induced by some form of intimate contact. Once again, it scares me, and I start thinking 'Shannon + pain in groin = ovarian cancer =  bad bad thing', and even though Shannon tells me not to worry, I still do, naturally.

You might be wondering why I am so worried. Well, normally, if someone told me they had a cyst somewhere of some kind, my own experiences have taught me that so long as it's not malignant cancer, it's fine: just a surgery to remove it and no big deal. Shannon's mother went through a few of those and is no worse for the wear. But, the fact that they're on Shannon's ovaries immediately makes me panic: first, I don't claim to have a great knowledge of the workings of the female body, mostly because I'm a man, and that feeds my own instinct to take for granted the fact that everything inside of Shannon should work. Second, it's Shannon. Enough said.

I've done my level best to stay calm about the whole situation, keeping it to myself and rationally telling myself to wait for everything to come to a head as it will. The eternal optimist says that all will be fine, but the pessimist in me was nagged a while ago when Shannon took off to see a doctor about the pains last week, shortly after they arose. Their diagnosis? Anything from a GI problem to ovarian cancer. Yeah. Great. So much for staying calm. Even her PCP's suggestion made me go bonkers: take some Metamucil. Sorry, Dr. Franklin: odd as it may sound, being her husband and all, I can attest to the fact that Shannon's alarm-clock-regular.

So, the last question is why this took a week or so to get here. A lot of the lack of reflection has to do with the fact that I've simply been trying to forget about it and keep it out of my mind until I absolutely have to think about it. But, I tend to worry every time one of those aches come up, or when Shannon's even hinting at the fact that it hurts her. That gets the gears turning; believe me, my brain is a perpetual motion machine once it gets going.

See, I'm hoping that next week, when Shannon has another visit in to the doctors, the whole thing will blow over and we can stop worrying again. The odds are unknown, but I feel like they're still there, and I'm banking on them.

I was going to do this yesterday, but I decided to hold off because Maine absolutely got BURIED in snow today. So, here I am, in Panera, camping out, enjoying the rain (it changed over at 10:00), and doing what I thought I'd do yesterday, but what I got ultimately more time to do today.

101/1001 UPDATE #2

five -- volunteer for five political functions (1/5)

I really think that my impromptu adoption of the role of Obama-campaigner at the Biddeford caucus Sunday counts as volunteering. I went WAY above and beyond the call of duty.

seventy-seven -- wear a pink shirt on two V-days (1/2)

I know V-day's not until tomorrow, but I am going to mark this one as done. I have the pink shirt ready, and my dedication to the cause is going to make its way to my class announcements tomorrow.

eleven -- go to four science education organizational meetings (i.e. AAPT, NSTA, etc.) (0/4)
twelve -- give a talk at two of them (0/2)

John, Dave, and I are scheduled to talk about our physics program at the Maine High School Physics Teachers' Meeting at the University of Maine on March 14th! We feel the buzz and think we've got a great shot at helping high schools take steps to implementing physics as a graduation requirement. We want to focus the talk on making physics meaningful to all students, not only in content, but in the problem-solving and cognitive skill it can provide. Aside from that, the Physics Department there loves it when alumni make guest appearances!

eighteen -- try 100 new wines (0/100)

There is a new bottle of sauvignon blanc that I have never heard of in our fridge. I think it's from California, but we mostly picked it off the shelf because the label looked cool. It will be making a wonderful trip down my gullet this evening.

six -- win Maine Chess Player of the Year
seven -- get my USCF rating over 1800

My chess efforts were augmented with a second place finish at Bates College in Lewiston on February 2nd. I lost to a guy in the last round, and that kept me from first. Remember that old saying from The Princess Bride? Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line? Well, guess what happened. I went in against a Sicilian Defense game with the white pieces and lost. Go figure. And the guy I was playing had an Italian last name. The definition of coincidence or painful irony, I'm not sure. Overall, though, I went 3-1, increased my rating, and, by my projection, took first in the Maine Chess Player of the Year standings.

one hundred -- memorize 100 digits of pi (11/100)

I'm going to try to do this without looking at a website for reference.

3.1415926535

Yes! I got it right! 11 digits. ^_^

Ah, finally, I get a moment's peace. It's been hoppin' this past two weeks, and with the busy-ness comes a lot of tension and a lot of temptation to gripe about work and kids. However, I am going to skip on that for the most part. I'll have a 101/1001 update tomorrow. It turns out that Shannon's going to join me on the 101/1001 quest, which I am very excited about. I find it's a lot easier to do those types of things when a few people go along with you, and most especially if they live with you.

I have been more politically active this year than ever, and I think that is true of millions of Democrats across the country. I've been biting my fingernails and constantly hitting the refresh button for every primary and caucus this year, so I was really excited when Maine held their own Democratic caucuses yesterday. Ours was at Biddeford High School, essentially down the street, so it didn't take long to pack ourselves into my car and truck down there.

We were met with disappointment pretty early. The line wasn't too long out the door, so we had an easy time getting in. I had just checked in and sat down to fill out the necessary paperwork (Form 1 in Maine is a sheet giving your address, phone, etc. and indicating whether you want to be on the local Democratic Committee) when Shannon came up behind me and told me she couldn't vote: she had registered as Green to support a candidate for Governor a couple years back. Damn.

For whatever reason, she didn't really want to stick around, and I am actually kinda glad she didn't. Once I got in the door, that's when the chaos started.

Before I get into that too much, I should probably explain a little bit about what a caucus actually is (Ig, I know you wanted this). A caucus is basically a ballot-less process for voting, which takes more of a town meeting-type form. For this caucus, the business of the day was to decide on the Democratic nominee for the Office of the President.

Generally, one caucus is held per municipality in the State of Maine every year; Biddeford had its own for each of its seven wards. First, the caucus convener will call the caucus to order, and the caucus will make a motion on how to vote (we chose to show hands). Then the caucus accepts any resolutions they wish to adopt, and accepts or amends the by-laws for the caucus. After that, people are allowed to speak on behalf of the Presidential candidates, and for other party candidates that may be running for the State Legislature, House of Representatives, Senate, etc. Once that is finished, the Wards are allowed to 1) elect a Ward chair that is in charge of executing a vote and 2) a Ward secretary, in charge of recording and tallying votes. After the Chair and Secretary are chosen, the Ward votes for the Presidential candidate by the means specified at the beginning, which affects how the Ward's delegates are required to vote at the State Democratic Convention in Augusta in June. Then, the ward asks for people to be those delegates (our ward got nine) in order to place their apportioned delegate votes and decide on Maine's national delegation to the DNC in Denver.

Now, back to the actual caucus. When I got there and Shannon had departed, people REALLY started pouring in. I'm not sure of the actual attendance of the caucus, but I could have sworn a 4-digit attendance, which, for Maine, is huge. In fact, the Democratic Caucuses in Maine were attended over the GOP caucuses by a ratio of 8 to 1 in Maine, which really shows that Democrats are heavily mobilized in this country. I'm excited about that, but I could very well see that that would mean a crowded caucus.

I took a seat initially, thinking that there wouldn't be much for me to do until the actual caucus started. I was sitting for two minutes when I noticed a huge contingent for Hillary Clinton's campaign putting up signs, passing out stickers, and talking to people. No one for Obama. That kinda upset me. So, I wandered over to the tables of other campaigns to see what they were about. Brennan for Congress. Cote for Congress. Chellie Pingree for Congress. Ledue for Senate (he's a former Noble administrator). Allen for Senate. All looking for petition signatures, which I was happy to give. I figured that I didn't know who I would vote for in those races, but I wanted a choice, so I signed all of their nominating petitions, and in so doing, I noticed that a guy wearing a small Obama button came into the gym with a huge bag of signage, stickers, pins, pamphlets, etc. No assistance whatsoever.

Yeah, I wasn't about to let that go down. Soon I was helping 5 or 6 people plaster Obama signs all over the gym. We tried to put them everywhere the Hillary campaign had put them, and soon I was putting stickers on people's chests, talking to people who wanted to be convinced, and even trying to sway voters for the Hillary camp to the Obama cause. It was nuts: within five minutes, I had become a volunteer when I hadn't even thought about it!

Now, somewhere in the chatting, somehow, I put off the impression that I was in charge of the Obama ablution. The convener of the caucus eventually came over and asked me if I knew who was going to speak on behalf of Senator Obama for the caucus. I told him I didn't know, and that I figured someone from the campaign would send someone over. Well, to make a long story short, they didn't. Instead, they got me.

Yes, that's right. I went from bystander to petition signer to sticker passer-outer to stump speaker in the course of twenty minutes. Two people eventually arrived from the Obama campaign after the caucus program had been finalized, and came over to me to talk to me once the word had been out that I had volunteered to speak. They talked to me about training and talking points, and it became very clear that these guys weren't from Maine. Maine people don't go for the scripted answer. If you want to say something, they'd just rather you come out and say it, and I knew that from 10 years of living here. So that's exactly what I did: I spoke from the heart and from the gut, something I do in front of my classes all the time.

Believe me, it wasn't that hard, although it seemed hard at the time. Everyone else seemed so...SCRIPTED. People were reading from sheets of paper and going over what sounded like a bunch of stuff that had been said in a briefing. Once it was my turn, I said something simple: that I thought Obama would be the best one to call for support across the aisle, the best one to try to melt that aisle away and bring Republicans and Democrats and Independents together for change.

I'm not quite sure if it worked, but I do know this: there was a SEA of Hillary stickers and signs out there, so I thought I was definitely in the minority. But, once all the counting was done in the caucus, Biddeford's 54 delegates to the State Convention went 30 for Hillary, 23 for Obama, and 1 uncommitted (that means the delegate is free to apportion their vote how they like). The uncommitted delegate vote must have been swayed by the guy who wanted to speak for Mike Gravel, who is literally a fifth-class candidate who has never had a shot in this race. I feel like maybe I got a few people on board, but who knows...maybe I turned people away. Either way, with Biddeford being a bluer-than-blue-collar town with a significant population of older people (i.e. over 45) and older women, I thought for sure (as did the Hillary people I talked to) that it would be a 65-35 split, or something similar. Instead, the voting went much closer (55-43 for Hillary). The rest of the state, however, was nowhere close: Obama won pretty easily, 59-40.

However, I'd say that the best part of the caucus was at the end. A bunch of people who teach in my district came over to talk to me. Both Obama supporters, they were glad to know that I was representing our district well. Two Hillary supporters in my ward mentioned that they had no idea someone as politically active as me lived right here on Foss Street. I got good praise from a bunch of people on my willingness to go up and speak (even if the 'speech' was, in my opinion, not that good). Even one of the Hillary campaigners came over and introduced himself. I'd say that getting to meet people and talk to people, regardless of their vote, was awesome in and of itself.

101/1001 update and kid griping tomorrow. Tonight, though, I gotta do dishes and get some sleep.

Since my week has had a lot of big things happen, I'm gonna break this down into sections. A lot of this stuff is really scrambled up in my brain, and so I gotta keep it straight. Enjoy!

CHESS TOURNAMENT HEART ATTACK

On Saturday and Sunday, I decided to head up to South Portland to play in a couple of chess tournaments. This goes well with items 6 and 7 on my 101/1001 list (I'll talk about that later down the page). The first tournament was a G/75 (each player gets 75 minutes to make their moves) tournament, and I was pumped. I had studied the night before (yes, we study for these tournaments), practiced by playing some at lunch on Friday, and really felt like things were clicking mentally.

I lost my first game. I really felt like I was losing a few moves in, but it turns out that I really blew my winning chances much later in the game. Overall, though, I thought I was still okay to win a few more games and boost my rating.

Then, when the second round began, a very heavyset man began to snore. I barely heard it, and when I realized he was doing it, he had fallen back into his chair and onto the floor. After I whipped away from the table and got my headphones off, I got out my cellphone and dialed 911. The guy wasn't snoring. He was choking, and having a heart attack.

Luckily, there was a doctor in the tournament, so he ordered us to clear the room (his words were more like 'get the hell out of the room, NOW!; we were extremely obedient). Three of us called 911, and South Portland's emergency services were there in a few minutes. It wasn't enough, though. Bob died shortly thereafter. He was 63.

It is obvious to say that this really racked me mentally. I have never witnessed a person dying before, so that was frightening enough. Not only that, but the mere thought that there wasn't much I could do other than dial 911 scared me shitless. What if there ISN'T a medical professional on hand when something like that happens? What then? And, not only that, but this guy was BIG. Not my type of big, but BIG. That was what scared me the most. That's nowhere I want to be in 40 years, or even 30 (I'm 24 now). That's why a couple of my 101/1001 goals are getting huge priority, and one goal is getting replaced.

I didn't do well in that tournament, I am sorry to say. I would have liked to say that I did well, but I most certainly did not. I couldn't concentrate on anything going on in the games, although I did win one. I instead was thinking about myself: my health, my incapacity to do anything about what had just happened, and the fact that I thought for a few seconds that someone had my number: this happened to Shannon's father only last July. I was in no shape to play chess by the end of the day. I was going to take Shannon out to hit the Coat of Arms in Portsmouth, but I couldn't handle that. I just went home and went to bed, and spent the night dreaming about what a heart attack might feel like.

The next morning, after I woke up, I decided that the first thing I needed was a rebound. The tournament for the next day was a 'quick' tournament: G/15 (15 minutes for each player). Now, that might seem like a long time, but for chess, it is RIDICULOUSLY FAST. So, I felt like I had a good advantage going into the tournament, since a lot of my weaknesses as a player melt away when I'm forced to make quick decisions (my biggest weakness is my bad habit of second-guessing decisions I need to make). This tournament was also much more relaxed: fewer people, different format, a little more friendly conversation over the board because we didn't have to write down our moves. In this tournament, I went a perfect 9/9, won my section, and took home $75. Since this was a profit over my two entrance fees, I decided to take Shannon out for sushi in Portsmouth and finally head to the Coat with Shannon, Cassie, and Todd, and celebrate a little.

MIDTERM WEEK

After MLK, our school kicked off finals week. I look forward to this week every year, but loathe it at the same time.

I love it because:

1) The Physics Department does a kick-ass midterm. We have a 40-minute written midterm the class before, and then we have an experience-based midterm that has kids make a self-propelled vehicle out of a few household materials (Dixie cups, balloons, straws, clothespins, etc.). Their objective: their vehicle must drop a practice golfball onto a target. They get two trials, and the total of their written test, two trials (distance traveled times target score), their group participation, and points earned on a theory section on the midterm, make up their score. We get great designs and bad ones, good luck and bad luck, spit flying everywhere (from the balloons), and a two-hour moment when our students are at their best.

2) The finals are graded once they're complete. I just add totals up while the other teachers in the building slave over their exams.

3) I don't have the same rotation. Two classes per day, and a two-hour support block afterward. It's awesome.

I hate it because:

1) The absolutely detestable irresponsibility of our students floats to the forefront of our consciousness as teachers. Kids come in turning in things from October, complain about how they didn't get that quiz last week but have every excuse for why they didn't come in for help (laziness, their managers overwork them, they have to babysit, or whatever bullshit they decide to pull out).

Note that some kids are legitimate cases. I had one girl make up a ton of work because her family situation had completely fallen apart in October and it was hard for her to head into school at that time. Sicknesses, deaths in the family, etc. All of those are completely legit excuses, and I always do all I can for those people. But, the people who can't buckle down and do the work? Dammit, that pisses me off. Just pisses me off.

Now, the root cause of all of this is our FAVORITE piece of legislation EVER: No Child Left Behind. Since that directly ties our school's success (test scores, graduation rates, etc.) to the amount of federal aid (and, in some way, I'm sure, state aid) we get, we are CONSTANTLY under pressure from administrators and our district to give kids all the leeway they need to pass. That's why no truly failing grade existed last year: our principal, so hyped up on getting graduation rates up, wanted to give kids every outlet to pass, and every reason to say that a teacher who didn't allow that to happen was a ruthless, greedy authoritarian who didn't care about kids. It sucked, and, somehow, that experience last year tainted the words 'can I make this up?', mostly because I know exactly what my response has to be 90% of the time.

2) Since I'm a physics teacher, and physics is hard, I hear 'Mr. Dudley' more often than ANY OTHER WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Everyone wants a piece of my time for the stuff that they don't want to think about.

But, thankfully, finals week is over. Everyone passed it, first of all. Secondly, my friend Elizabeth in Waldoboro is also a physics teacher, and she was able to watch a few of the finals via iChat. And, finally, it looked like all of the kids at least found it fun, if not a bit stressful.

TAXES

Once again, we hit financial setback. It is looking more and more like any money we save up, we are just going to cough away. We have received all of our W-2s in the mail, and lo and behold! Initially, it looks like we might actually owe. A lot. Like, on the order of $1000. Shit.

101/1001: UPDATE #1

one -- learn how to read numbers in binary and hexidecimal code fluently

Go figure that this one would fall into my lap. After looking through my documents for the chess clock I got for Christmas, I noticed that they included these weird cards. They are printed to do the following trick: ask a person to think of a number between 1 and 63, and keep it a secret. Then, the person picks out all of the cards that have that number printed on them. After they hand the cards back, the numbers in the corners of all of the cards add up to that person's number.

The numbers in the corners are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32; in other words, the bases of binary code (2^0, 2^1, 2^2, 2^3, 2^4, 2^5). That means that any number printed on the card has a '1' in the digit for that base.

The highest number is 63 on those cards, and it appears on every card. Here it is in binary: 111111. 29? 11101. 4? 100.

On to hexidecimal!

six -- win Maine Chess Player of the Year
seven -- get my USCF rating over 1800

I did work toward this last weekend, as both of the tournaments I went to were Maine Chess Player of the Year events. My quick rating was definitely helped by the Sunday tournament, but my regular rating (i.e. a rating for the long games) took a hit with my 1.5/4 performance on Saturday.

twenty-nine -- learn to crochet

Shannon and I got hooks and yarn last week. I can BARELY do a chain, but it's progress.

fifty-nine -- learn CPR and become certified

I decided that what I saw on Saturday was just incredibly scary. Not only did I feel like I am eventually at risk to have that happen to me in 30+ years, but that I want to be able to do something about it if it happens to someone else. I don't want to be the guy standing around when someone's life's in danger. Fuck that shit. And while I am not a medical professional, CPR certification is something that everyone can do. Aside from that, there are just too many situations around me (in my classroom and out of it) where it might be really helpful. This has replaced my desire to feel like Tiger Woods for one shot.

seventy-seven -- wear a pink shirt on two V-days (0/2)

V-day is February 14th, so it's coming up soon. I have my pink shirt, and I am ready to wear it!

I was inspired to do this list by Kate (wishuponakate). I thought it might be good to establish some goals, so I am placing my '101 things/1001 days' list here. Some of these are wacky, some are personal, some are serious, some are easy, some are hard.

I am starting this tomorrow, January 15th, 2007, which means that I must have these completed by October 12th, 2010. Not sure what I'll suggest for a penalty if I miss some...any suggestions?

Without further ado...here's the list!
----------------------------------------------------------

101/1001
began: 15 January 2007
ends: 12 October 2007
days complete: 0/1001
goals complete: 0/101

regular text: yet to complete
bold text: in process
strikethrough: complete

one -- learn how to read numbers in binary and hexidecimal code fluently
two --  go to Iceland
three -- learn Icelandic
four -- lose 40 pounds (0/40)
five -- volunteer for five political functions (0/5)
six -- win Maine Chess Player of the Year
seven -- get my USCF rating over 1800
eight -- fill my 80 GB iPod
nine -- pay off my credit card
ten -- get 40+ mpg for one month (i.e. drive 55)
eleven -- go to four science education organizational meetings (i.e. AAPT, NSTA, etc.) (0/4)
twelve -- give a talk at two of them (0/2)
thirteen -- save $10,000 (0/10000)
fourteen -- start two IRAs: one for me and one for Shannon (0/2)
fifteen -- buy a house and add $10,000 to its resale value
sixteen -- hike a section of the Appalachian trail
seventeen -- brew 5 batches of PALATABLE beer (0/5)
eighteen -- try 100 new wines (0/100)
nineteen -- visit 10 historical museums (0/10)
twenty -- go to a city in every state I have not been to yet:
    --Montana
    --North Dakota
    --South Dakota
    --Nebraska
    --Kansas
    --Hawaii
    --Alaska
    --Minnesota
    --Wisconsin
    --Michigan
    --Mississippi
    --Alabama
    --South Carolina
    --Tennessee
    --Kentucky
twenty-one -- paint a picture
twenty-two -- write a novel and finish it during NaNoWriMo
twenty-three -- attend six concerts: three for artists/bands I have heard of, three I have not (0/3; 0/3)
twenty-four -- enroll in a master's program
twenty-five -- begin National Board Certification for Teaching
twenty-six -- write a compilation of 50 poems (0/50)
twenty-seven -- watch every movie on AFI's top 100 list (0/100)
twenty-eight -- film a complete day in my life (24 hours)
twenty-nine -- learn to crochet
thirty -- go vegetarian for two weeks
thirty-one -- see 20 teachers in my building teach (0/20)
thirty-two -- read 50 new books (0/50)
thirty-three -- go a month without eating out
thirty-four -- fold 1000 paper cranes (no joke) (0/1000)
thirty-five -- go a month without coffee
thirty-six -- go six months without soda
thirty-seven -- eat one piece of fruit per day for the next 1001 days
thirty-eight -- dress semi-formally for one week of school
thirty-nine -- take five pictures at a section of the Canadian-American border
forty -- donate 2 gallons (16 pints) of blood (0/16)
forty-one -- expand my running capacity to 10 miles
forty-two -- read the entire Hitchhiker's Guide saga again
forty-three -- drive the entire length of Route One
forty-four -- take 50 frame-able black and white pictures (0/50)
forty-five -- do volunteer work for one month during the summer
forty-six -- start an aquarium
forty-seven -- start an herb garden
forty-eight -- obtain a set of bagpipes
forty-nine -- play them in 20 public venues (0/20)
fifty -- meditate outside of home for 8 hours straight
fifty-one -- go to five major league baseball games in five different stadiums
fifty-two -- read a book aloud to my SSR section
fifty-three -- fly a kite
fifty-four -- invent a card game
fifty-five -- bring home no plastic bags from shopping for a month
fifty-six -- make dinner for a straight week
fifty-seven -- make a chess set
fifty-eight -- write in this journal once a week (at least!)
fifty-nine -- learn CPR and become certified
sixty -- build a nine-level Tower of Hanoi and solve it
sixty-one -- go on a honeymoon with Shannon (we never got one)
sixty-two -- pay tolls for 10 people on the Maine Turnpike (0/10)
sixty-three -- use no electronic devices for a day
sixty-four -- renew my passport
sixty-five -- learn to swing dance
sixty-six -- learn tai chi chuan
sixty-seven -- try a food I had dismissed as disgusting without trying it
sixty-eight -- get a dog
sixty-nine -- go kayaking on Moosehead Lake
seventy -- talk in third-person for a day
seventy-one -- learn to ski
seventy-two -- operate on my amateur radio callsign (KB1DCU)
seventy-three -- sell my old TV
seventy-four -- buy only organic food for a month
seventy-five -- build a four-stage homemade rocket
seventy-six -- make the bed every day for a month
seventy-seven -- wear a pink shirt on two V-days (0/2)
seventy-eight -- dry ten loads of my clothes on a clothesline (0/10)
seventy-nine -- see Mount Rushmore
eighty -- take a picture of myself at the extremes of my state (Maine, on land):
    --Estcourt Station (north)
    --West Quoddy Head (east)
    --Maine - New Hampshire - Quebec Tri-point (west)
    --Fort Foster Park, Kittery (south)
eighty-one -- write a Wikipedia entry
eighty-two -- see the Andromeda Galaxy
eighty-three -- fill a gallon jug with change
eighty-four -- give a stranger a Christmas gift
eighty-five -- once I have paid my credit card off, cancel it
eighty-six -- build a snowfort
eighty-seven -- write a letter to someone I haven't spoken to in a year or more
eighty-eight -- cover my Scion's rear door in bumper stickers
eighty-nine -- write a message in chalk on a street
ninety -- wash my car on my own
ninety-one -- make a knotboard
ninety-two -- donate my old clothes to Goodwill
ninety-three -- catch a legal haddock and make fish and chips
ninety-four -- catch a legal cod and make fish and chips
ninety-five -- visit the Grand Coulee Dam
ninety-six -- see three films at an indie cinema (0/3)
ninety-seven -- make five candles (0/5)
ninety-eight -- write a fact on a sugar packet
ninety-nine -- play the lottery numbers on 10 fortune cookies (10)
one hundred -- memorize 100 digits of pi (0/100)
one hundred-one -- locate my mother

I have to admit, going back to school for break was like running into a brick wall. January second wasn't a day that I was too fond of, and it came way too soon. I would come back to my classroom to a completely disinterested swath of classes, lab reports that would definitely NOT be turned in on time, quizzes that kids would NEVER be ready to take, and a cloud induced by Winter Break that was completely content to stick around. True, I did get to come back to a three-day week, and to a classroom that I started to seriously miss (I normally come in for one day during break, but didn't this year). However, class just wasn't fun.

And it hasn't been all fun since. This week, we've been building AM radios in class. They're really simple: you can even build one at home if you have the following:

(1) roll of aluminum foil
(1) roll of saran wrap
(50) square inches of cardboard
(1) cardboard tube, 1.5 inches in diameter, 7 inches long
(60) feet of copper wire, enamel insulated
(1) razor blade
(1) pencil lead, removed from the pencil,
(1) paper clip
(1) pair of headphones or speaker
(1) antenna
(1) ground wire

Normally, my class gets all of these materials laid out for them, and I go over the method with them for how to build the radio and set it up, detail by detail, step by step. You'd think that, for such a process, they'd take notes, or make a point to remember some of it. Oh, no. They don't do that. I even had a kid say 'oh, you expected me to REMEMBER that?'. I thought about saying my normal response when I heard that: 'no shit, Sherlock'.

Kids who don't listen = not fun.

This week hasn't been all bad, though. I've kept myself busy mostly by following this year's presidential election, which I feel is extremely important to the future of our country. Personally, I feel like the Republican machine that's been driving our country into a globalized ditch is quickly on its way out, and I want to definitely do my part to make sure that doesn't happen, so I've been keeping a close eye on who's running, where they stand, and who is winning.

(Shameless plug: make sure you go out and vote. Want to know when your state votes? Go here, and look at the calendar. It should give you the dates for every state primary and caucus.)

Now, normally, I'm not too terribly political. In fact, the first election I voted in was in 2004, when Kerry ran against Bush, and I only voted for Kerry because, quite frankly, that's what everyone else was doing. But I found myself staying up late to watch the election results with an excited, and nervous, eye. And, I look back on that election and wish I had done a little more than vote to influence it.

So, I'm pouring my support into Barack Obama's campaign, just because he is advocating for changing the way our country runs and views politics. His run for the presidency has inspired me to go to two of his rallies (one in Portland, ME, a few months ago, and one in Rochester, NH, the night of the primary in New Hampshire) to invest in the message of the campaign. This is the first time that I've actively supported a candidate, and quite honestly, it has made the process of politics feel much more real, and much more personal.

That has kind of kept me going outside of school, which has lately become such a drag. Of course, it's getting close to the end of the semester. Senioritis is setting in for so many kids, and I know that the battle for being engaged in class is going to be lost by us eventually. Ah, the challenges never end. Mine is currently the huge stack of tests and labs that I have to grade, but currently am putting off.

And, then, there's the newest issue for Shannon and me: the house. It's going for $144,900, but that price recently dropped, and we're thinking we'll move on it if it 1) looks good, and 2) can talk the owners down to, oh, I dunno...$125,000. I think this one's a good one to move on. It's renovated and concept on the inside, was recently winterized (I saw it a few weeks ago), and has been on the market for a while. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Time to get back to that stack of papers. Blargh!

Ah, what a ride of a three weeks. School was naturally tumultuous; lots going on, with students slowly but surely losing their motivation to do anything. I gave my classes a good gift on the last day; after a short lecture (about 40 minutes or so) I showed them a few Strong Bad emails and treated them to a Decemberween presentation. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to homestarrunner.com. You'll see what I mean.) The Astronomy class watched 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and were able to comment that the astrophysical ideas are complete crap. It was a fun day.

Then, things got really busy. We had most of our Christmas shopping done on my birthday (another snowday; Happy Birthday to Me was playing in my mind the whole time), so we basically took the time to clean house, call people, and dub around.

Christmas was okay this year. I got much more than I wanted on my wishlist, and it's been working out that way for several years now, since I hardly put anything on there. Shannon really only wanted a blue Red Sox hoodie this year, but I couldn't find one, so I got her a Dustin Pedroia jersey instead. In the pile of stuff that I didn't ask for (but was very grateful for nonetheless) was:

One (1) 12-pack of Guinness;
Two (2) iTunes gift cards, totaling $45, with which I bought:
       --Sam's Town, by The Killers;
       --The Hard and the Easy, by Great Big Sea;
       --Icky Thump, by The White Stripes;
       --Pac-Man.
One (1) Seattle Mariners baseball cap (for our next trip out to Seattle), sized 7 3/4;
One (1) set of four Guinness pint glasses (I think my relatives think I'm an alcoholic, but I just like beer);
One (1) set of six Pilsner glasses;
One (1) iPod alarm clock;
One hundred and fifty (150) dollars from Shannon's grandparents for towels (or ezPasses, which is what we actually used them for);
Six (6) Maine Lottery scratch tickets, winning me $22;
One (1) nice set of pens.

So, that part of Christmas was okay, although I insisted that nobody had to go to those lengths for my gifts. I'd have been happy with the two iTunes cards, but that's another matter. I felt pretty good about Christmas this year until something ruffled my feathers the wrong way. Shannon's brother took into his own hands the role of jerk-for-the-day when he took one of our nephew's presents (the nephew is one, by the way), played with it before he got a chance to do so, and broke it (I think it was a truck with a kinetic engine). He spent the rest of the day quickly and curtly opening his presents and throwing them away (not trashing them, but getting rid of them) in favor of going back to try to fix the broken truck, and decided to cap his tirade by letting their dog (one who is insanely jealous of the two boys whenever they're around) into the house and pissing their mother off.

It was enough to send me off the deep end, and it did...about 45 minutes later when Shannon and I were in the car. I kinda took it out on her, mostly because she's silent about it and I hate it. However, I have this immense character flaw that comes with being an older sibling: I always feel the need to fix things, particularly other people's problems, and I don't like to back off when the fight is inevitably un-win-able. Therefore, I took the incident out on Shannon when I shouldn't have, and that kinda made things tense for a while. I intend to make up for it today by getting Shannon's Red Sox hoodie (I figure if Shannon's going to be a Red Sox fan, she has to do it right) and cleaning the house (which hasn't been done since before Christmas).

Shannon and I were stressed out about not only that, but also about having to run around to four different places and see tons of people, but we dealt, and things were going pretty smoothly, for the most part, save for the jerky nature of our transitions and for her brother's testosterone-based pouting and flailing. Shannon also is very allergic to cats, so we had to make quick exits from my father's house and my grandparents' house before she died of suffocation. We stuck around at Shannon's sister's at the end of the day, playing our PS2 and Scattergories until we went home. That was a nice wind-down.

Now, it's December 28th. We're over the Christmas euphoria, Shannon's back to work, and I'm finding other ways to occupy my break. Yesterday, I helped my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew move out of their place into base housing in Brunswick, which involved me renting a U-Haul for the first time (rides like a van, my ass!). I need to grade papers today, clean house, get dinner ready for when Shannon comes home, and call my sister to find out  if they're going rug shopping today and if they want me to join them. I went swimming for the first time in a month, and I am hopefully going to continue to do that every day as I once did. School starts again on January 2nd, and mid-terms are coming up soon, so I also have to go down to the wood shop of another of the physics teachers and help to build some of our mid-term apparatuses (long story). I have a ton on my plate, but for some reason, I don't even feel the slightest rush about it. It feels good not to rush.

Well, I'm off to Olympia Sports next door. That hoodie's not going to go home on its own. :)