From one line to the next...

Even the planes had to line up to get in and out of Chicago, and now
I'm going to get in a line of cars that will go 2 mph in the snow/ice
all the way down to Eugene. I think they need to give HOURage points
instead of mileage points...I would win for flying across the country
and missing my flight, the lay overs should rack up free flights. But
it's Christmas. And it's worth it. And I'm almost somewhere to sleep.
I'll worry about presents later. Goodbye to all you crazy holiday
travelers!

Cleanliness is close to Godliness...

But I think God knows that I had a good day in spite of the mess. I thought after last night's rather depressing post, I should add that life gets better. It was this time last year that I thought I might not live until Christmas break. As my parents raised me...and as I instill in my students...I'll live.

Comment of the day goes to Carlos. "Mr. Milliron, why you so chill?" he said, noticing my good mood. What I wanted to say was: "Well for the first time in days, you actually want to learn more than fight someone, and I haven't been cursed out in almost 2 hours...so life is looking up!". What I ended up saying was something lame about math...it's tough being a geek...but I have to keep up appearances. It's tough to get kids to want to learn, but when it works...it ends up looking something like this mess! I guess its worth it...most days.

Tellin' it like it is...

I guess conferences are what we could call, uneventful. I could have taken the high road, and given a few students the benefit of the doubt...but only a few parents showed up...so I made it interesting.

Actually, I just told the truth. In fact, its much like a news report. So, when Danesha's mom asked how she was doing in class, she was a little more than put off by the truth (Hey, she said it...not me!). Now, I thought about calling my dad first to find out if I was TRULY a bastard...but then the question answered itself. And I think Danesha was just upset that she had been dragged to conferences knowing exactly what she had done. I don't seek out opportunities to "snitch" as it were...but I have a hard time lying to parents (just ask my own!)

Speaking of the truth: According to a quality review of our school...only 36% of teachers at our school ACTUALLY believe that we are on the right track (compared, unfortunately, to the 31% of teachers in the district who believe their schools are on the right track). No comment. Just the truth.

I have 8 days of school until vacation. No comment. Just the truth.

I have 2 weeks until I get to see my family. No comment. Just the truth (actually, the truth is...I'm excited!).

I think more people need to hear the truth. I, however, could just use some sleep. In the meantime, consult the Bible (or wikipedia).

How do you spell relief?

I think I needed this 4 day weekend about a month ago. I'm sad that the holiday feast wasn't spent with family, and that someone didn't know the difference between sweet potatoes and...evil orange puke yams. But overall, this weekend just needed to be restful...and I would give thanks!

So, I'm already on my way to relaxing and by the picture you might be able to tell why! Let's go back to Thursday though...I woke up at 7:30! Huh? Not to cook a turkey, but my roommate and I decided to "Trot for Hunger"...which I guess a day of gluttony would be good reason to run in the freezing cold for people who have to sleep in it. I was in pretty sad shape running with a guy who's trained for triathlons, but again...not the point of the event.

Dinner was good (because I opened a can of olives to make it feel like real Milliron feasting) and my pumpkin pie was awesome (because it was the easiest thing) and the nap after dinner was even better (did I mention dinner happened at noon because my roommate had to work on a holiday...crime never sleeps).

So, I guess I didn't learn anything about gluttony because I sat around and ate leftovers...followed by a night's rest...followed by a morning's gluttonous shopping spree. Hence the photo. Ummm...plasma is pretty awesome though! You can't ever justify somethinglike this in your budget that is this ridiculous using logic, but then again I spend all my time with middle schoolers...so logic is lost on me!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to firsts: first feast without my family, first Thanksgiving without seeing a movie (double sorry to my family) since I was probably 7, and the first time I've ever gone out with the crazies on Black Friday...not sure I'll do any of those things again!

Thanks. I don't know for what (probably just continuing to indulge my stupid blog about nothing) but I'm sure all of you should be thanked for something that you've done for me! Be blessed.

You know you're a sick human being when...

...you enjoy the sight of a teary-eyed child entering your classroom. I have to say this is an especially annoying, spastic child. Nontheless, he was crying, and I might have had something to do with it. I ratted him out to his mom, for skipping my class twice in one week...oops! His mom showed up to school to chew him out. Way to go mom!

Now, I probably got what I deserved when the girl who sits in the back asked me a penis question. That was also my fault, being that I tried to use the "4 out of 5 dentists prefer Trident" commercial as an example in my lesson. But it's memorable...the squirrel jumps up and bites the
5th dentist in the "nads" as she smartly pointed out. Oops again. I'll get this right one day.

Sneak Attack

For fear of being tagged as a terrorist website (even though I'm already sure they've tagged me for voting for Obama), I'll stay away from saying things like "I took Spokane by storm". And for fear of upsetting those folks I didn't fly across the country to see, I'll refrain from saying things like "Spokane was an amazing weekend!"

Needless to say, there is some doubt in you naysayers, that prevent Spokane from being awesome. I guess I should spend more time on planning lesson planning, and oh yeah...sleeping, but oh well. Spokane is awesome and I wanted to take a quick second to thank those fine folks who made my time great, and at points, a great surprise.

Speaking of surprise...Long Island is getting it's own share in less than 24 hours! I'll either be too tired to teach by Sunday night, or I will hve had just enough fun weekend action to make it through until Christmas. I guess we'll just wait and see.

Feelings...nothing more than feelings...

Over the last 48 hours, I've felt...

...pride
...frustration
...excitement
...nervous
...exhaustion
...and uncomfortable

Feeling some of these feelings in the places you'd least expect. The exhaustion came from being asked repeatedly by my students if I was either voting for, or related to, McCain (probably could've plead harassment there...but the exhaustion became apathy in response to biting comments from 11-year-olds). Frustrated that school dragged on SO long and that 7th graders are not capable of non-offensive political converstaions, I found myself with nowhere to go in frustration, and finding it hard to understand how to be relevant to black kids when talking about a black man (did I mention I'm white? wow...that sentence finally ended).

Moving on. My nerves and excitement kicked in when I walked to the polling place. I heard nothing but "3 HOUR WAIT" and "LINES AROUND THE BLOCK" all morning...so I got a little nervous about standing in the rain. Turns out, no line, but pretty uncomfortable box to stand in for voting. I had a little free-time (2 hours and 39 minutes, give or take), so I waited patiently...


Even though I was one of the 92% on this side of the DC vote...pride set in. So, I'm pretty excited. Not to mention talking with teachers at school today had a WAY better tone than the usual, "Hey, I had a fight in my class today!" I am still a little lost however...no, Obama is not my savior...nor the antichrist. I'm lost in that relevance to my students still.

This brings me to a post that I've been meaning to add for a while. So, while most of you will probably be stuck looking at the picture above, I'll try to figure out how a geek can be relevant in the world of teaching. In a great (and long-winded as usual) NY Times article, I was hooked by the quote from Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character in Almost Famous:

The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you are uncool.

I think I have my inspiration (or maybe just motivation) to stay just the way I am...tall, skinny and white. A change, I won't believe in. I'm resigning to the truth that my students will always be cooler than me (most other people I know are for that matter), but "knowing is half the battle"...or was it..."the more you know"?

"Have you ever seen a white guy blush before?"

I had no idea that the phrase I intended as a joke, would lead to a discussion about racism.

A Few Important Side Notes: I would like to point out that I am the one being quoted in the title, a good number of my students in previous experience had never seen a white person turn red from embarrassment before, and lastly...this does not mean they are strange...it just means they don't see a lot of white people other than me on a given day.

Ok, moving on. During 2nd period on Friday, I had posted a warm-up problem with an unintentional error. Yes, the math teacher made a math mistake...as my students say: "my bad!" Upon that realization, I felt the hue of embarrassment creep up on my cheeks. Looking to make an awkward situation even more awkward (cause that's how I roll), I muttered from the back of the room: "Oh crap...err...well...have you ever seen a white guy blush before?"

What was an intended joke and light-hearted transition to correct my arithmetic mistake, evoked a mixed response of immature giggles (which was my intention) and the unexpected screech of offended horror. Somehow, this offended a room FULL of non-white people.

Another note I forgot to mention before: if you have never met me...I am tall, skinny and white. That's right...now that information is out there for all the information super-highway surfers to find. The secret is unleashed.

So, I came to the front of the room in a flash, claiming that I had made the comment (maybe they thought another student had said it as a cruel joke). Then, from the energetic (at times, spastic) child in the front, Deangelo: "Mr. Milliron, you shouldn't call yourself that."

"I'm sorry, call myself what?" (thinking maybe now it was just a auditory mix-up).

"White."

"So, what am I supposed to call myself?" I said in complete disbelief.

I don't think I was prepared to hear my students be politically correct, being that the concept is lost on them when trying to break up a fight or deter the use of foul langauge. In any event, I found myself in a new world, where children had been raised either fearing the use of the "W" word or at least were unfamiliar with skin color recognition. Alright, that's not entirely fair, but I did pose them a critical question.

"Now, before I offend anyone in this room, how many of you call yourself black?" (several hands raise) "And how many of you call yourself African-American?" (several other hands raise, with a few remaining raised in confusion from the last question. I can only imagine the undecided students were busy pondering the meaning of life).

"Now is it wrong that some of you call yourself black? Is it wrong that some of you call yourself African-American?" Neither response was entirely unanimous, but enough to make my point. So, after assuring them that I was not racist (toward myself or other crackers like me), I made sure that they took "white" off the list of offensive names to call white people list (that we briefly assembled). I also gave them full permission to go home and tell their family: "my math teacher is tall, skinny and white...and he's damn proud of it." (I didn't tell them to swear, but I let one fly...I mean...I had already been racially insensitive, so why not?)

I guess I should probably fear for my job, but for now I'm enjoying a 3-day weekend. Thanks Columbus!

But I'm not saying that because he's white...

Who dat be?

I ask, not only because I saw that sentiment written on a constructed response practice today, but because I feel that we should probably figure out if this guy who went to Washington over a year ago is still alive (or at least hasn't changed his name to one of the many inconvenient nicknames his students give him).

Wait back up...summer? What ever happened to that? Here's my thought...if you didn't experience the joy of being a part of it, then I might just have to send you the Cliff's Notes (what can I say, teacher's make the worst students). With that being said, I think it is time to instill knowledge in you students out there:

TEACHER : Summer :: VEGAS : Whatever happens, stays there

(yeah, I had a crappy Verbal score...but I still got into college...Geeks RULE!)

But, at this point...its just too long ago to really do justice to my awesome summer. I apologize to those of you who feel cheated out of getting a "shout out" or ever-popular "picture post", but I think I need to interrupt the silence with, "I'm alive!"

As for this school year:

NEW...

teachers, teachers who I can be friends with, teachers who are my age, teachers who may or may not be considered whiter than I am, convenient location near the 'hood, school interior (that still is being finished, and prevented us from setting up classrooms until 36 hours before students showed up), promises from the school district, technology, and of course...7th graders.

SAME OLD...

administration, lack of administrative support, busy work for teachers to prevent them from being good teachers, student behavior issues (made worse by lack of administrative support...a serparate problem than the one previously listed), flying by the seat of my lesson-planning pants, feeling that I have no idea what I am doing on the other side of the country, couple of teachers from last year who are making sure that I haven't pulled my hair out yet.

I am going to have to explain more of a lot of that someday I'm sure, but for now, just the facts ma'am. I thought about posting the video that made me famous in DC...but then I thought no one really knows me...so I'll keep it that way (and then I don't get fired for writing mean things in my blog). So, Mr. Milliron will remain nameless and hopefully continue to entertain the few people who still think that this blog is interesting. I miss you all (and I can say that honestly, because I haven't seen anyone in a REALLY long time, and I'm starting to think that I'm living in my classroom...I need summer back...just for a little while). Goodnight!

Happy 100th Posting of Non-Sense on the Interweb!

I'd like to thank everyone who has made this a complete waste of time--even if you didn't read all 100. I guess I can feel pretty good about it even if no one reads it (because a few of you even lied and said you liked my new haircut...don't worry, I'm growing it back). But this is a special day...and if you haven't heard yet I'll start this post off by telling you that I have a job for next year (in spite of administrative idiocy). I had to wait 4 weeks to hear back from my principal on being hired (its almost like getting picked last in kickball...and I would know the feeling!)

Difficult employers aside, there are plenty of things that I DO enjoy about DC, now that I think back on the last 100 posts--my job is most definitely one of them. But as I've been on the West Coast for a few days now, I've been reminiscing about a few great things I've learned about DC:

I live in one of the best neighborhoods in the country (crap...now you know where I live!)

Well, as far as hotties in the DC...lets just say its a good thing I don't live in Philly I guess. (Remember, I'm just reporting the facts...this is not my opinion) Oh yeah, DC is near the bottom on this link...get scrollin'.

But we did win at the obvious categories.

Outside Magazine agrees with the American Planning Association, and says the rest of DC is awesome, too. Tell me something I don't know...if you didn't know here's the article that you can steal.

Even though the Nationals are terrible at playing baseball, they do some things well. And if Beckham didn't take all the attention, people might see that DC United actually put MLS on the map (sorry, WNBA...you'll have to wait for another city to make you popular)

And finally, in uninteresting news, DC was ranked the No. 9 place to retire, even though I think I lived in the No. 1 place at one time.

But, I'm not retiring...not for a while. So, in the meantime I will just enjoy my sweet sweet summer vacation. And if you're lucky, I might let you come visit and show you more reasons why DC is awesome.

101 things to do on your summer vacation:

1. Absolutely nothing

2. Refer to number 1

3. The 3rd rule of Fight Club is...nevermind...

Actually the first item would probably defeat the purpose of listing 101 things...but its about all I've done since I cleaned out my classroom and came home on Friday, June 13th: the first day of summer! You might think that Friday the 13th could be bad, but (all bogus administrative behavior aside) it has been the beginning of a beautiful summer. So far, I have refrained from doing anything productive or important for about 10 days. Unfortunately, I had to start packing for a trip back to the West Coast.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally excited to go visit the great Pacific Northwest. However, I have been living the high life sitting around doing nothing. (Actually, I think I've just been making my roommates jealous...because I'm so awesome.) I feel bad ruining my streak of days in which I accomplished nothing. I mean, in those few awesome days I saw Tiger Woods throwdown a victory that everyone saw coming (not to mention an MJ-esque fist-pump/thrust that will go down as an historic celebratory act).

I also found out that dreams really do come true, and that only trashy tv exists in the summer. I wound up seeing a couple of good movies (p.s. Kung Fu Panda is legen....wait for it...DARY!)

But, I guess I can't say that there was absolutely nothing accomplished:

Ok, I don't know exactly what I accomplished there (or if I should have kept the shag) but it sure will be cooler this summer! Hey, if you're on the West Coast...I'm coming to find you! Ready. Go.

Funny story...

...but we all know I don't tell stories very well. So, the end of the story: I have a new phone, problem solved. The beginning of the story: my phone flew (yes, flew) out of my pocket on a roller coaster at Six Flags America. I'm sure you've all heard the story by now, but that's another aspect to my bad story-telling: re-telling.

So, I had a list of students who begged: "Mr. Milliron, you gonna ride the rides?" When I was the only teacher/adult on the trip to reply, "yes" that list quickly turned into a demanding line of students dragging me through the park to the next crazy ride. I was, the most popular 7th-grade math teacher in the park that day. I figured the kids would get tired and hot by about lunch time, and then head for the water park. I had strategically left my trunks at home, so no man/woman/child could topple my skinny, white frame into the wave pool in an attempt to end my short-lived teaching career. But by noon, I hadn't ditched all the kids, and Benton was SURE to get me on a ride that would make me hurl.

So, we went on ROAR. No big deal, except Benton's face was priceless on the action photo taken of us. Then he ran me down the path to The Mind Eraser. I want to you to look at the picture of the flipping corkscrew, and imagine if you can picture a reason for me to have my cell phone in my pocket.


Neither did my cell phone. So, it went airborne at some point during the ride and never came back...or did it? Well, someone who has access to the grounds at Six Flags got their inappropriate hands on my phone...and I would like to take a moment to apologize for those of you who were offensively called or sent text messages from my cell phone from June 10-12. I can sincerely say it was not me, and because Six Flags customer service is unresponsive (and lies about having not found my cell phone) they heard it from me...via voicemail. Like I said: problem sovled.

(This apology is endorsed by the "Mr. Milliron campaign for not looking like a jerk")

Really...on a school night?

Yeah. Ben Folds. I'm there! At the greatest venue ever (ok...second to The Gorge). Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. A ways out of the city...and I had to drive in all that traffic out of the Metro area, but totally worth it for a place that seems to be all about the performing arts. A bunch of people laying on the lawn waiting for Ben to rock the house...oh here he comes...BYE!

This will be quick I swear. But I spent the weekend trying to catch up on the old DVR (digital video recorder if you're not into the TiVo jargon), and realized that I'm obsessed with a few things, TV being one of them.

I can't get enough of the Discovery Channel, and I think I agree: I love the whole world!

I have a few specific TV addictions, and some of them were affected more by the writers strike than others. Good news is that the cheerleader is safe, and is out of high school, so people can stop making fun of me. But she has been in DC a few times, and I'm upset that I missed her...but she seemed to be doing good things for the second class citizens of the district (and something about whales that need saving).

Then I sat back and dreamed of how I wish I owned a Nintendo Wii...or maybe I just want what this guy has: mega old school!

Then I got bored...and I started to miss the NW. This kid cheered me up.

Okay, I think that was a sufficient waste of time. But this has been therapeutic, being that May is the end of so many enjoyable vices.

In other news...

I decided to spend money again. The Washington Nationals have a new stadium, and I hadn't been until tonight. This place is awesome, and I can't wait to take people to Nats games this summer, but I'm a little more excited to see the Mariners in July! The Nats were beaten soundly by the Brewers, and that is quite ironic because I was planning a Memorial Day brew. Hopefully something a little better than Schlitz or PBR. Oh yeah, and I have rediscovered the joy of txt blogging.

Obnoxious

I told one of my students to find out the definition of that the other day. He didn't get it the sarcasm (OJ was right). But what I meant was that he needed to understand that I was having a difficult time dealing with him. However, nothing is more troubling than paying over 4 bucks for gas. This may prevent me from doing anything fun for the three day weekend...

Good Times

So, I feel I've been rather negative lately. Maybe that's because I have to find a new school at which to work...but I promised myself I'd be positive in this post. So, I have three things to mention that might let some folks in on the highlights of my life.

#1: First, something you probably already knew: homebrewing. But I thought I'd share this:
Yeah, a National Day for something I've done twice. This was a total whim, and I went to a homebrew store, and actually had the guts to share my beer with some other veterans. It was pretty fun, and I may even join one of their clubs (don't worry, its not a cult)

#2: Kickball: Yeah, I joined a social sports team. And I didn't get picked last, but met a few cool people and enjoy breaking up the week with a bit of kickball down the street from the White House.

...and for the sake of getting some sleep, #3: I'm not going to say anything but: "GO SEE THIS MOVIE!"

Click this link for the trailer (and keep clicking other videos if you want to feel good)
Click here to see if you can see it in your area (drive miles to see it...its worth it!)
...and if you want to just feel good for an hour or two, GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Alright, I feel pretty good. I'll try this again later...did I mention I'm coming back to the West Coast in July? That's good too...man, I'm on a roll!

I'm not the only one who forgets!

I probably don't have to publicly apologize for not posting, I was hosed by my good friend Kellie, and I do feel a little bad that I haven't shared a few more interesting moments of life (including the group of homebrewers I met, hanging out with Oregonians, or the payoff of tax returns...nope, not a Wii). But I felt alright the last few days about it, because I wasn't the only one who forgot something:Our principal wished us an "after-thought" Happy Teacher Day...over the noon day announcements. Not only are these the least understood announcements in the confusion that comes before the lunch period, but IT WAS A DAY LATE! Funny, because I was looking through old emails today after school and found a link to this poster, THAT HE SENT TO US! I don't know if the right emphasis is coming through these series of tubes, that is the internets, but this is quite comical. I wouldn't go as far as to say ironic, because I didn't expect that he appreciated us much anyway. However, it is dang funny that he added later in the day an announcement...nay...a command to students:

"Students, be sure to appreciate your teachers this week. I am asking that all students write their teacher a note in thanks and support of the hard work that they do for you."
....riiiiight. Let's just say I feel more appreciated by the big REI sale this week.

I'm not sure how many other teacher's received, but I haven't seen anything (unless Alex thought he was appreciating me today with four-letter-pyrotechnics, or Brian mistook a threat for appreciation). Anyways, I just want all the teachers out there to know (even if your PTA already thanked you...or some student's mom made you cookies) that I think your pretty awesome. This quote was also in the forwarded "principal" email. Hope other people enjoy their jobs too...but I love teachers the most:

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.
~Donald D. Quinn

P.S. If you need to feel better about your job this guy is bluntly honest, and this guy is flat hilarious, and will make you glad you didn't have to teach him!

P.P.S. Happy Friday!

I told you it was awesome...

One Shining Moment!

I'm sitting here alone on my couch, listening to boring Jim Nantz commentary about things I already know (the Jayhawks are awesome). The only reason I'm awake is for the greatest 4-minute montage in sports...brought to you by the late great Luther Vandross. And I'm trying to calm down, because I know I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, and its not because of that terrible beer heaven commercial. (p.s. if heaven serves Miller Lite...I'll crap a holy brick!) I won't sleep tonight, because that game was so exciting/nerve-racking/awesome. And if you don't know why that's awesome, maybe you need awesome lessons.

The reason I'm alone, and what I'm learning again tonight, is that its midnight and East Coast sports fans get NO sleep (if I didn't know that after Monday Night Football and watching any Pac-10 sport). The roommates all went to bed well before halftime, and I jumped up and cheered as quietly as I could. But it paid off and Kansas won it (and me some money!) Now I have to live up to my promise to my roommate of not watching anymore college basketball...until next year! Always, the greatest sports event of the year. Oh man, I really need to sleep. Good night...and Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Don't Be Alarmed...

...its just a bomb threat. Yup. Just a bomb threat. Whoever the faker was, missed April Fool's Day by about 48 hours, but still managed to cause a little chaos and ruin all possible learning for the day. It was probably the most interesting form of excitement I've seen as a teacher. I mean breaking up fights and getting cussed out are all pretty glamorous for a teacher, but this I can only say was interesting. It was such an uncomfortable day (and I'm not even talking about being threatened with death and destruction), let's just say a few of the teachers were less than surprised by the administrative tactics (or lack thereof) during the situation.

But I don't want to get into gossip or slander...much better things happened for me to waste time talking about that:

Yeah, I went there like Degrassi...oh, it goes there like Spring Break! (Sorry...I got side tracked.) Don't worry, I didn't do anything that's illegal by Las Vegas law. And I even came out with a little extra money because I obeyed the law (Go Kansas!) Staying out late, getting sunburned by the pool during the day...and not a student or a math book for miles.

Now, don't get me wrong...I enjoy my job, but its not always fun (days like today). And a few days away makes me enjoy it a little more. Being a responsible working adult is over-rated. So, it was great to see my family and my best friend. After all that fun, though...I came home and crashed on the couch for 3 more days, tried to ignore the fact that there were only 3 days more until vacation ended, and counted down a few more off the field of 65. My roommates thought I was depressed and dying all weekend. But actually, I was so content with 5 days in Vegas, that I didn't need anymore activity to make it any better (except for sweet March Madness action...sorry, I told you its an obsession). It was a great Spring Break.

Yes, I'm going to leave it rather open-ended. No, its not because "what happens in Vegas..." whatever, but because I'm a horrible storyteller and it could go on forever (oh and the pictures are a little...mmm...interesting. There's that word again). What more do you want from me, I already told you I make my own alcohol (which I might go for round two this weekend)...did I mention GO KANSAS! Happy half-day Friday!

Indeed!

Though I hope none of you get confused with the original meaning of Easter (that being the celebration of the Goddess Eostre of Fertility or something that has to do with colored eggs), I also hope that you didn't have to suffer through too much of the Charlton "Moses" Heston saga on TV last night. I accidentally bumped the remote control last night from CBS (and my obvious weekend of March Madness) and stumbled upon ABC, where Moses was parting the Red Sea. Holy Moses that was awesome, until I flipped back and realized I had missed 4 minutes of the game, bummed. But I realized that there might be a little something more important this weekend than how many of my Sweet 16 teams can survive...I hope you've figured it out too. If not...Jesus still loves you! (Hint, it has nothing to do with anything I've mentioned in this post...)

What I meant to say was...

...my beer was awesome, and my guests were even better. But I think the moment has passed now and lets face it, it was my beer...so I liked it better. I'm only kidding friends! I've had a few people come to visit and kinda ignored some of the fun stuff that happened when you have friends around. So...let's just say, I wasn't as great as when I visited her in NYC, but I do enjoy getting to see my old friend Beth. And as nice as everyone was about the taste of my beer, I'm thinking there is room for improvement (and next time I think my roommate will decide against adding a few drips of hot sauce to "his" bottle). Don't worry, there were plenty more where that came from. And even after a few days in honor of ol' St. Patrick...there is more Irish Stout to make it through a mad mad mad month.

That's right kids...its March! And if you know me at all, then you don't need an excuse as to why this month will be scarce with entries. Not only is Spring Break upon the fine District of DCPS (cough), I'm pretty tired of seeing students to be completely honest. I need my break, and I'm toughing it out. As soon as Thursday afternoon hits, I'll thank my employer for giving us Good Friday off and celebrate by locking my TV on CBS for 3 weeks of great basketball. Now before I step aside to analyze my brackets one last time, I think its appropriate to update the Tournament Countdown at: 1 Day, 13 Hours, 17 Minutes and 37, 36, 35, 34...Seconds...no, not Jack Bauer, but the closest way to a man's heart is Chuck Norris' fists (or college basketball in my case!) Alright, there are a few more upsets that I have to predict. I promise I'll post again soon...I mean, I am going to Vegas next week...who wants to miss out on that!

p.s. Sorry about the out of place score box...but I'm going to try and fix it so it fits somewhere in my blog...I mean, at least then you'll know what I'm doing!

Bottles and caps and just clap your hands

...just clap your hands. Where its at? Hiding in the closet for two more weeks! Ready to go.

Cleanliness is close to Godliness

The bottles are cleaned and being filled with the beer of questionable goodness. Ok, so I have no idea whether it will be good or not in two weeks. No promises on the quality, but I will have several friends around to tell me whether my beer ruined St. Patricks Day. I'm hoping after I do this enough, I'll be better at keeping the process from being tainted. So far that's been my biggest concern. Ok, keep bottling.

Its Alive!

No seriously. And I woke up to a little mess to clean. Those dang yeasts worked hard last night and I'm betting I'll have to clean again after work. Don't tell my principal that I'm late to school because of beer. Actually its not beer yet, so I guess I'm clear. Alright I'm finally at school.

And now we wait...

It has its resting place for the next week. And I will go find mine now that I've cleaned up. I'm so nervous I could puke. I feel like I did it right, but I don't have high expectations for the first go. As long as it appears to be beer, that will be something! Alright, goodnight and if I cared enough I'd watch some Oscars. But someone will tell me tomorrow anyway. Wow. I can't believe I just brewed my own beer...I hope this turns out alright.

The day is almost over

Siphoning into the fermentation vessel. Just cool it down and then the yeast can go to town.

Retraction: rookie mistake.

Oops...I meant mash. This is the wort. And it just has to cool a bit, them it'll be ready to ferment!

Step one:

Now thats what I call wort.

Did I ever tell you the story about...

Only the most beloved and honest friends and family will tell me that I am a terrible story teller. I've come to live with it, as it has been said: its not mean, its honest. I feel that with all the visitors I have had and activities that I have mentioned lately, I may have left some things unexplained. I have no real intention of making any of that more clear, but I'm merely warning you that this entry will be a hodgepodge of connections to past entries.

I made mention of a certain summer job opportunity a few weeks ago. Little did I know that it was going to start such a stir among my friends and family. Sorry to report, the position has been filled. I was too late. But at least I didn't look like this guy! I may have a new lucrative hobby however.

I am rather shy when it comes to blogging about alcohol related activities, depending on the views of my readers. But, I am announcing a shift in blog-self-censorship: I'm brewing my own beer! That's my new announcement (sorry Kellie...you can still scream if you want). I have loved beer since I was allowed to drink it (Confession Sidenote: I drank beer once about a month before I turned 21...oops...but if it makes you feel better, the beer was terrible!).

So, I decided to put on hold any desires for a Nintendo Wii so I could rock out with Rock Band. Or ideas about becoming an astronaut (yes, that is a hobby for teachers I hear). My new hobby: homebrewing. It was quite the investment, but my financial advisor was over-ruled by my longing for good tasting beer. No promises that I will actually make good beer for a while, but it will be a step up from the lack of East Coast micro-breweries, and the over-abundance of Euro-beers. I'm looking for a change (no that hasn't been trademarked by Obama yet) and I am looking for a hobby other than needle-point. Who knows, maybe I can make some new homebrew friends. I'll keep you updated on the progress...unfortunately the process takes a while (kinda like me posting to my blog!)

In the meantime, a friend of mine sent me the link to a pretty funny blog that I thought I would share with you...because of its direct connection to how white I am. Some of my favorites: Co-ed Sports, Recycling, Irony, the Sunday Times...classic. If you didn't know, I like to make fun of myself! Enjoy.

Standby for major life-changing purchase announcement!

I'm stuck...again...

So the funny thing about my job, is that its ridiculous! Wanna know why? Oh, you already know. Well, if you didn't hear that DC was waiting for the end-all-of-ice-storms, then you would've been sad to hear that the freezing rain wasn't that big a deal. Apparently it was bad enough for all the teachers in the district to just plain skip work. That's right, I showed up to work on Friday being one of two teachers from the 15 employed at our school. Small school I know, but when no one shows it feels REAL big REAL fast. By the time the bell rang there were 5, and a 6th showed up really late. The good news was several parents acted in the same defensive pattern. The best news being, that we were not required to teach students that weren't ours. I had a pretty calm day, though the admin hated babysitting in the gym I bet (sorry they owe me) because this morning I am sitting in a teacher
training for a web-based math curriculum. Yup. On a Saturday no less. Standby...I may freak soon!

A Happier Note

I'm not sure if you noticed, but the last entry was a little angry. And though this week wasn't any less difficult or stressful than last time I wrote, I did do something fun this week.

Thursday night, I went to my favorite coffee place, to see a concert. If I haven't told you about Ebenezer's, and you don't know about the Service Station in Spokane...let's just say its coffee served with a little Jesus! Its owned by a church (coincidently, one that I have attended a few times lately) and last time I went to their Saturday service, I saw a flyer for Brandon Heath.

Its funny that I think of him related to the Northwest all the times I've seen him, because he's from actually Nashville, but he is a great Christian songwriter/guitarist. He told a lot of the stories behind the songs (including how he found Christ at Malibu...no not CA...I thought about a shout out...but I was doing my best Wallflower act that night squeezed in a corner), he also played a bunch of songs that hadn't been recorded or performed for anyone yet.

Not bad for a Thursday night, but it did make me miss Spokane (ewww...did I just say that?) Alright, back to work...my weekend job of preparing for my weekday job. Speaking of jobs, my roommate sent me this link as a joke...but I don't think they expected me to apply. I'm hoping I hear back from them...because it would be the best summer job of all time!

All in a year's work...

...alright, my first year of teaching isn't even over with and I'm already amazed at the crap I've had to deal with: from paperwork to Human Rejects...I mean Resources, political gesturing from administrators to blanketed "grounds for termination" threats, I can only imagine what is still left to be experienced in teaching. Though this may be a heightened experience because I'm in DC (no I'm not using any performance-enhancing drugs), I see the latest drama as just another surreal feeling.

What is it you ask?: oh, yeah....they're talking about merging our school into another school, effectively closing down our building (the real estate will probably be worth millions...or a billion dollar rich-man-shopping-complex...or a sweet place for somebody's office). Let me start by saying: I will still have a job no matter what. Same teachers, same students, different overcrowded building...this is only a possibility. The consolidation reflects an attempted change in the past poor spending habits in the district. So, our new Chancellor (appointed by the mayor) has plans to shake up a lot of things. Long story short (which I am incapable of pulling off): the Chancellor is a political-economic head of a community-family-child based organization, and it will be hard for her to be liked at her job (sorry, no sympathy from me...I'm a middle school math teacher!)

Why did I tell you all this again? Oh yeah, because all you jerks in the northwest keep getting snow days, and late starts while my "white n nerdy" self was trying to look inconspicuous at a meeting with the Chancellor herself! She showed up to hear community input about pro/cons of consolidating another school over our school. Essentially its a purely business/numbers decision, and teachers-parents-community members tried to pull on some heartstrings. Now I'm just starting to sound negative, but its a little of my honesty. I guess I'm making this sound like a really bad thing everyone should worry about, and its not! Actually, I just wanted a snow day or a nap rather than this big showy meeting during my lunch hour! I guess I'll have to settle with tomorrow being Friday...not the same.

(note: I didn't link to any stories about the DCPS school consolidation plan because the un-biased ones are all on washingtonpost.com but you have to have an account. So feel free to search on your own, or just ask me) And here's another link to go along with my unintentional theme.

The first one from the right is my dad

And the other guys have been enshrined by the bathrooms at the National Portrait Gallery. I've been pretty excited for my dad to visit me this weekend because I knew we'd end up doing something fun like standing in line for the bathroom to see Colbert. Actually we will probably continue to do a few lame tourist things and not look like idiots too much. But thats the best part about having the biggest dork for a dad...you look a little less dumb when he's around. Alright off to do more exciting stuff. I promise no more toilet pictures.

This will scare the neighbors

Since we had spring like weather this week, my roommates and I decided that we should just pretend its summer. So we had a fire in the backyard fire pit and roasted some marshmallows while I smoked my pipe. Both our neighbors came out and were actually quite jealous, not scared. Meg does like her mallows on fire, and Brett just likes to play with fire! It was a fun night. By the way, no comment on the Seahawks game.

Back to school...

and I think I forgot about my New Year's resolution already.

My resolution: to have a social life.

The last 24 hours: about 4 hours of sleep, and about 37 minutes spent outside of my apartment/my classroom. 7 of those walking to and from work. The other 30 spent going on a run. Not part of my resolution...so, take that you over-eager-Resolutioners! (Side note: I only went running because it was 69 degrees outside in frickin' January. I hear you West Coasters are loving the snow! It'll be 72 tomorrow.)

Good start to the new year! I have to admit that the only reason I'm still awake, is because I'm sad that my lesson planning so quickly re-claimed my life. So, I rebelled and watched the BCS Championship (let me be the first blogger to congratulate LSU...except for those of you who knew it was going to happen the moment the match was set), and now that I'm bored of that game, its time for the return of Stewart/Colbert (sadly, no beards).

And as I start to doze (not really, my sleep is still screwed up from staying up late on PST), I figured I could at least wish for you all to have a snow day. Or maybe there will be some brilliant students, who take it upon themselves. In any event, I bet this guy is sleeping better than I am tonight. There you have it...I think I ripped off enough other stuff to make for a pretty lame post! Thanks for still reading this...

The Spirit of Christmas Past

So, as I'm sitting here wishing that winter break was a month, I'm also trying to figure out some way to comment on all the things I did over the last two weeks: seeing my family, seeing friends for the first time in months, sleeping on couches and sharing beds (sorry, no picture of me spooning with my brother). In general, I felt I couldn't have spent my time any better (except for having about 24 more hours in each place I went to see more awesome people).

So, first I would like to apologize to the people I told I would see, and then never did....I feel like such a jerk. Then, I'd like to thank the people who drove me around the Northwest: Mom, Dad, Keija and Northwest Bus Lines. All this driving around, sleeping in different places most nights, and then seeing my good friends Katie and Doss (congrats on getting engaged...actually Doss and Katie are engaged to completely different people, and happened at completely different times...anyways!) it made me think of a time 365 days in the past...in a little place I like to call, Chile.

Last January ('07), I got to take an amazing trip to teach English with a few friends of mine, and I thought about it a lot when I saw a few of them, and then more when I was riding on a stinky bus to nowhere, and then even more when I was celebrating New Years somewhere other than on an airplane. But most of all it just made me think of happy times.

So, Christmas was great. New Years was great. And if I ended up seeing you in the Northwest, that was great too. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces, and just being able live life outside of the "Mr. Milliron" realm. I will have to savor that fun for now, because I have to go back to work in the morning, but I am pretty excited to see my students again. But if I start to day dream in class, it will probably be about playing with Hank and Rudy (Hank is my nephew--the yellow lab--because my sister will never have kids, and Rudy--the black lab--is the child that my dad loves more than me)...alright, honestly I won't have time for day dreaming, because I'm completely unprepared for school in the morning. Good news: My sleep patterns are completely messed up! Alright, wish me luck tomorrow...