"Woo hoo, we have a sub today"

Sunday was my last day at the bar. Tuesday I started substitute teaching again, begining by showing a high school english class the movie Shrek. What crap is this?

I left the bar scene to do something slightly more meaningful and gain some classroom time. But showing movies? No, not again, I do not think I shall. I am setting about to create a few lesson plans of my own, maybe 4 or 5 that I have always at the ready, so the next time a teacher leaves me with crap for busy work, I can actually teach something and the students may actually learn something instead of watching more tv. Arrrg.

So I have a few ideas for lessons, one on social programs in Cuba, one slideshow about Sri Lanka, one on the history of theoretical physics for the math and science classes, and maybe latin dance class, just to keep it interesting. Any other suggestions for what to teach our impressionable youth when their regular teachers flail?

Thanksgiving gumbo

We had a Thanksgiving feed at my place yesterday, a bunch of friends and neighbors over to celebrate, since we will likely scatter to the four winds by thursday. It was alot of fun, and alot of food. We had a turkey and a ham and made sweet potatoes and beans and bread and pie, and everyone who came brought a dish, so we subsequently had a plethora of food, and wide ranging food at that. Such is the nature of a potluck, you might wind up with two apple pies, 4 gallons of mash potatoes, rutabegas and jello-shots. We certainly did, and much more as well. So we drank wine and cranberry punch and rolled around on the floor clutching our bellies and watching football.

I am leaving Charly's in a week to go back to being a substitute school teacher for awhile. Not that there was anything wrong with being a doorman at the bar, it was and still is my favorite bar in town, but I realized I can make the same amount of money as a school teacher and not have to stay up until 3 am every night. So as Gurg might say, I will transition to becoming a day-walker here shortly.

When I told my boss I would be leaving before too long, he nodded and said "yeah, I kinda figured you'd be leaving soon, I knew that when I hired you." Which is true, I told him up front that I move around alot, so he was already looking for my replacment when I told him I was going. When a casual friend asked me how work was and I mentioned I was quiting soon, her immediate question was "where are you going?" And not in that "what are you going to do for work instead" but more in that "what sort of absurd venture are up to now" sort of way.

And the answer has two parts. For the first part, I am planning on leaving around mid-January for somewhere in central america; Haiti, Colombia, or Guatemala being the front runners right now, depending on which options pan out. The sencond part of the answer is that I am a student again! Yep, I enrolled last week and am taking three credit hours in psychology 101. The plan is to get the pre-requisites out of the way over the next few months/years before getting another degree. In what you ask? Well I don't know for certain yet, but nursing or education seem to be front runners. Meantime, I have several online quizes and essays due every other week or so. But it is kinda neat to be a student again.

Warmth

Maybe a tad early to claim victory, but I claim at least a quailfied sucess.

The wood stove is installed and happily burning away its very first load of wood. And the smoke detector has only gone of three times so far!

It was touch and go yesterday, as we had a sky light for awhile as I fretted and cussed trying to arrange the chimmeny just so, all the while looking at the gray clouds hovering overhead and thinking of the weatherman prediction of snow today. But it all came together and none to soon; this morning I awoke to a dusting of snow on the porch and rain falling. So I hooked up the last few pieces, and began the trail run. I attribute the smoke to my own folly in getting the thing lit and up to temprature, causing smoke to roll out when I open the door to add fuel.

Speaking of sky lights, the power of the reciprocating saw has got me excited about all kinds of potential home improvment projects. I could put in sky lights, doors, windows,take out walls, cut the whole thing right in half if I wanted to! Dangerous fun to be had with these new tools, I can only hope that since it is the Black and Decker home owners model the motor will burn out before I can cause too much damage.

Oops, there goes the smoke detector again...

Rough day

The day started out well, I had passed all the practical exams to become a SAR Tech II (that's a search and rescue technician) and we were all walking back to the trucks when the call came for the real thing: 90 foot fall at Sycamore Falls, technical resuce. Luckily we had out packs all ready and loaded, so it was a simple matter to grab the technical rescue gear and hit the road. I had to be at work by 6 that night, so I took my personal rig, tucked in between two sheriff's offce rigs running code three, lights and sirens 25 miles west of town. My little nissan doesn't like to go more than 90 mph. We rolled up to the popular climbing area and I was thinking something along the lines of "Ah jeez, Ihope it's no one I know."

Setting up the anchors, rigging the rappel and haul lines, and so on and so forth until the DPS helicopter comes up and short hauls her out and transports to the hospital. All that is left for us to do is raise her climbing partners, still in the bottom of the canyon. We do, and up until that point, it has been routine. A simple exercise and application of skills and techniques. Abstract, just part of the job. Until the final raise, when we walk past the partner who was interviewed by the deputy and just informed that the young lady was pronounced dead shortly after leaving the scene. He was my age, all of them were, and looked like someone I might have climbed with or drunk beer with, and he was calling someone on his cell phone trying to explain that there was an acident, and she is dead. That was when it got to me, but it was also the time I had to leave in order to make it to work on time. I didn't want to go deal with drunks and morons on only 4 hours of sleep after working this code, but want didn't really have anything to do with it. So I went, and was twitchy and restless all night, but in retrospect I reckon it was pretty good that I went, as it forced me to interact and work and be busy.

That was a few days ago, and things are back to normal now, I am caught up on sleep and going out to salsa dancing right...NOW!

Adventure of a different sort

When folks ask what I have been up to, there seems to be a certain expectation hanging in the air, as if I must be on some grand mission, fool hardy errand, or amusing tangent. My stock answer of late has been "not much, just working alot". Which is true, 6 days a week between 4 jobs, but that should slacken this week when the wilderness medicine class ends. This weekend we simulated a plane crash in the woods and ran a mass casualty incident with the students, and I am pleased to report they did quite well.

But I digress. The real excitment of late has been my aquisition of a wood burning stove for the house. Yep, that's right I finally did it. Fed up with being cold and unwilling to pay the high price of natural gas (as well as being suspicious of my furnace and ducting anyway), I went on ahead and got one. That was the easy part. Now to install it...

I have so far begun ripping up a section of carpet, laying tile for the hearth, and soon will cut a big hole in my roof. That is the new adventure, with much anticipation and nervousness surrounding it. Sure I could pay an exorbant amount to have someone else do it, but I figure that a project of this magnitude will force me to do quality work. That and the dual fear of leaking roof and house fire. So now every day is a race against winter snows, though it is already cold enough that I look forward to the promise of heat.