Hot for Teacher (ing)

Hi!

See? I am posting again. And not too far from when I said I would! Not too bad, eh?

And here is why I am posting. I love teaching. But first...

I have multiple stories from the break, but I am afraid there is not enough memory in my head nor room on this page to recount them all. So in lieu of such long-windedness, I will give summary shout-outs. These are, as I am well aware, pale ghost-like approximations of full accounts. But I have a lot to say, so shou-outs it is.

1) My nephew Liam is still aweseome. He has more hair than I have, has a vocabulary centered around the word CAT (like most Chandlers) and now shows empathy for other children. Ask my brother Will about this. Its a cool story.

2) My brother Peeg and sister-in-law Stacy still live in far-away Japan. But my sister Liz got to visit them recently, and I vicariously enjoyed it quite a bit. For coverage, see their blogs.

3) Tonya and I went camping. I love camping. In fact, you might say it is a close friend of mine. As soon as I can get them, I'll post pictures. That will be story enough.

4) My parents gave me perhaps the coolest watch EVER for Christmas. Check it out:
http://post-dispatch.readervalues.com/?sectionpath=1&pageid=336

5) Various family and friends were seen, and much fun was had. It was a great break.

Now, back to the teaching.

Today it occurred to me that I am a third generation college instructor. My grandpa taught engineering at Auburn, and daddy teaches communication at Jacksonville State. My brother Will and sister-in-law Meghan are also teachers. My brother Peeg is training to be a teacher, and mama has taught numerous classes in church, especially at RCIA. In fact, most of my family has at one point or another expressed interest in teaching. And let me tell you why... getting paid to talk to other people about cool stuff is perhaps the most awesome job in the whole f-ing world besides perhaps playing two-guard for the Celtics or being a rock star. It really shows you the pieces of your own profession that are easy to forget... the stuff that got you hooked in the first place. And watching others get excited about it for the first time keeps it fresh. I know I have been wavering on what I want to do now for almost a year, very heavily in the last few months. But I can say this: whatever I end up doing, its going to involve teaching. And also rocking out, if possible.

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
joe

Its Been a Long Time Been a Long Time Been A Long Lonely Lonely Lonely Lonely Time

Well, not really.

But it has been too long since I last updated. This post is to say a few things:
1) Christmas break was a much needed, relaxing time
2) I am now teaching my first PY101 class on my own, which is a blast
3) I am about to be late for another meeting. Yeesh.

Lots to say, and I will. Soon. Don't look at me that way. I really will. C'mon.

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe

Imagine

25 years ago today, John Lennon was mudered outside of his apartment building in New York. He was holding a set of tapes from a recording session he had earlier that night. The tapes became part of his eventual final album, Double Fantasy. Sometimes I get mad at Mark David Chapman for his senselessness. Sometimes I wish that I could have seen a 60-year-old Lennon in concert like I did Paul a few years back. But then I think about the global impact that his death had for peace, a lot like JFK. I stay mad, but at least it makes you think. I hate using generic phrases like that. It makes you think. But it does. And that legacy is stronger today than it might have been if he had lived. So tonight I will raise a glass to John Lennon, and open up the box set I have of his in iTunes. It will be coffee because I have a paper, but a glass will be raised nonetheless.

PS. I am quite tired, and I'd like to put that forward as a reason for the lack of style and grace that this post embodies. Or I could just be a sucky writer. Either one. But mostly with the tired. Yes.

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe

Ain't This Place a Geographical Oddity: Two Weeks from Everywhere!

Hi all.

As my brother Peeg once said, "Its go time. Its now or never. A penny saved is a penny earned, and well, I'll be damned if I'm gonna loose a penny!"

These are the last two weeks of the semester, a veritable boiling furnace of work in which little sleep is had an much coffee imbibed. But you know what? I'm actually ready. I want to be done with all of this for awhile (i.e., Christmas break) and so I embrace the furnce, grimacing somewhat from the burn, but ready to hold on nonetheless.

The fact that I got to see so much family and eat so much food has helped. Over thanksgiving I saw family and friends, including Mr. Liam during his first birthday party, and it was very refreshing. Over the break Will hurt his ankle saving several children from a burning orphanage**, and I hope he is feeling better. That was bad, but the resulting trip to the drugstore produced several small transformers. I got Optimus Prime. He is, after all, the protector of all universal freedom.

So I really appreciate everyone's encouragement after the last post. I have felt like a bit of a whiner lately, and would like to say, "hey thanks" for everyone for listening. I know that I've had doubts about this over the last few years, as all graduate students do, but its time to do something about it. I've felt strongly about this since Grandpa's death in March, and no I can take the break to really make some plans. Thanks for allowing me my whine and cheese.

In other news, my new car ROX. She is not yet named, though Glove is in the front running (the character from yellow submarine). I hope to post pictures soon so everyone can offer suggestions, but for now just know that she's a dark blue 2006 Corolla 4-door stick. All input is most welcome.

I hope everyone is well!
Peace,
Joe