Just thinking out loud...

Or actually using the web to think. But if you need my new email or address to contact me, just use the last email address you have. I am checking all my emails right now, and i'll try to consolidate soon. And that way i don't have to post all my personal information on the internet.

Whats that in the distance?

A giant tower with little people running under its shade after a stupid flying piece of plastic.

What do I do with my life you ask?

I truly couldn't answer that question even if I knew. I am half way through the weekend, and I still need to spend two weekends worth of work getting caught up on lesson planning! I told someone I need 8 days in a week the other day to have a real life, but I managed to have a little fun yesterday!

If you can't tell by the picture posted above...that is the Washington Monument...and people playing ultimate frisbee. I'm sure my friends from Whitworth would either be proud (more likely indifferent) that I found a frisbee team! (Or that John found me to play on his team). But when he gave me directions, I forgot that was just south of the White House too. Needless to say, pretty good view to the north and south while playing. Though there are more important things in life, we did win the game, and they may even pretend like they want me to come back. They were fun to play with...it was jut fun to run around in the sun.

Who's John you say? Well, I won't give you the whole back story on meeting John...but suffice it to say he's excited I play ultimate and am a math teacher. Apparently he wants me on their team because I'm young (little does he know that I'm not good) and he also wants me to tutor his daughter in math. So, he took me out to dinner Friday night with his family so I could meet his daughter (4th grade) and wife and son (6 years old). It was fun to meet them, and I will officially have taught all 3 school levels math by the end of this (my first) year of teaching. So then he says: "what are you doing tomorrow at 2pm?"...of course my answer is: "I have no life"...such a lie...but I can't pass up fun like that.

I also spent money I don't have at Target, and watched stupid television on my DVR. Those things were not on the original agenda...I just got bored and lazy. So, its Sunday morning and I've been walking around the market for a little while, now I'm having coffee with some interweb and fresh air a la carte. There is this cool gospel group performing on the street corner that I'm listening to also (did I mention I live in a cool neighborhood!) Alright, I should go back to work...I mean home. And before you know it...it will be bed time again!

Can't a guy just come home and blog in the comfort of his lone piece of IKEA furniture?

I promise i'll stop posting about fights when they happen, but today was a bad day so it kinda figures two kids were beating each other outside my class to add to it. I'm told we get internet tomorrow. Just in time to report on Parent Night! I can't wait...i think. This is going to be a rough week.

Things i've learned about being a different kind of Washingtonian...

On a lighter note: No fights today. But thought i'd share some interesting big city stuff and if anyone can link to facts that would be preferable...because i'm posting this as a text message...and we all know how truthful blogs can be! So this picture is of the trailer park where Russel Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio are filming "Body of Lies" and it also happens to be our playground! It was only for a day and they did blow up a car on the street in my favorite neighborhood market...which i will take you to if you come to visit. I'm sure the movie will be terrible but there is also a scene shot in our gym! No lies...we are making money off hollywood! And the other dumb thing i learned was that now that my roommates are back in session with congress...the light is on at the top of the capitol. I know...stupid stuff a local should know. I'll know it all in due time...everything except how
politics works that is! I'll be in the loop eventually! Enjoy the picture taken through my window!

Day 7...Fight 2

I'm a little bit more distressed by the fight today, but i'll be honest: it doesn't get easier. Today's incident happened before 6th period instead of while i was teaching but now i have 4 boys in that same class who have beef with each other and two of them have made each other bleed. I'm not sure what the administration thinks of me but they sure won't tell me...and i guarantee they don't have new teacher training for this. I wish i could get these kids figured out before they come back in my class because we might have some math happening soon. It is interesting the advice i get from some teachers about covering my a%§ and as helpful as that is...i'm not the one who needs help. I have no desire to be a counselor but i am feeling a little out of the loop from admin and that is sad. I'm glad today is over and we have things to look forward to tomorrow but if i go 4 for 4 on breaking
up fights this week i may just have to beef up and watch some more pro wrestling shows.

Days of school - 6, Fights - 1, Kids suspended - 2, Actually teaching math - Priceless

Cold-cocked. Messed up. Owned (Pwned). Straight jacked in the jaw. The business end of a rabbit punching.

And tell Mr. White what he's won: that's right...get out of my class!

I thought I was just putting off the talkative kids at first. Now I realize, that when students complain about others "clownin' on me" that means: if you don't listen to me I'm going to make they other guy look like a clown with a big red nose and black eye (alright, if you want the real definition, try the link to UrbanDictionary.com for one of many entries in my blog!)

So, I was pretty surprised I made it through a week without it, but for now...I'm glad the swing wasn't taken at me. I pulled the guys off each other pretty quick, but I'm serious about the rabbit punches...he got a few quick ones in and then the chairs went over. I had pretty good attention of that class for the first time in a week. I threw one kid out to security and then had the rest of them: "This is a good example of how NOT to act in Mr. Milliron's class...are we clear?"...I love having that attention (minus the fight part)!

So, I'm at an establishment down the street that provides internet and refreshments. As for the rest of the day, I'll head home to my house (that is internet-less) and couch/chair-less (I don't know which luxury I would like more?) but I am setting up my place pretty successfully. Well, at least I have a microwave. I'll upload some pictures here in a while also. We'll make the roommate purchasing trip to IKEA next weekend (I'll be sure to let you know what HELL is like) and I hope that I can keep a steady stream of teacher stories coming for you! Thanks for listening...err...reading.

Attn: I am No Longer Homeless!

So this should be the last time i have to pack my life into a car...and in case that is true i'm documenting it and enjoying the trip across town. I looked at the place for the first time and i have to say it is pretty sweet. After a weekend of unpacking i'll try and send a few more pictures to the blog so i can show it off. Maybe a pic of the roommates too. Alright, unpack until i crash and then i might have to go out to find college football tomorrow...i guess that means goodnight. Now that i am an official hard-working-salary-receiving-law-abiding-union-member teacher, i think its appropriate to wish u a happy Labor Day also!

At least I figured out one thing

And that is, the guy I'm living with reminds me of John Candy (as if he had a few mannerisms of Milton from Office Space...and if you don't know Milton, then it loses the ridiculous opposite nature of these two characters) Anyways, this guy has lived in DC a while and is pretty proud to talk about his city, and has great ideas and interesting insight to what's happening (oh did I mention he's volunteering on the local Obama campaign). Pretty funny guy to be staying with, and just an interesting guy to have met. Alright, glad I finally figured that out...

Because I have an entirely new homeroom! Yes, that's right. Day 3, and they've already flipped the script on everyone (well at least most of it). To sum up: there was an easy way and a hard way to make sure that kids were equally distributed in the right homeroom...they chose the hard way! Instead of just changing kids schedules to match where they already were and do minimal shifting, they decided to take every kid out of class and physically move them where they should be...can we say: "Day ruined"? Everybody now! I enjoy chaos as much as the next guy, and though I have done minimal complaining, it is nice to know that teachers feel crazed by this process too. And some of the kids who got plucked from my homeroom (all of them) were sad to be leaving my class after only 3 days...and I forcibly bored them! I guess the bright side is, that I will know the entire 7th grade by the end of next week!

Alright, just thought I'd give you the inside scoop. I'm hoping that someone learns math in my class in the near future, but I may have to force the issue. I am getting worn out earlier and earlier...by the time I move in with my roommates on Friday, I'll be the resident senior citizen who eats dinner at the Chuck-o-Rama Buffet at 4pm and goes to bed before first edition of Sportscenter (remember...3 hours difference). Alright, I thought this would be short...but I type fast....I'll work on that!

Some Things I Appreciate

First days of school: actually I think I was only ever into the FIRST first day of school, and after that saw through all the glamour and into the nothingness-waste-of-time that it was in my education.

Children: because as my brother reminded me...that's why I'm doing this...and they are our future. (Actually meaning my brother is pathetically sarcastic, and I think middle schoolers are hilarious and might just be the only sanity I have in an over-politiked world I am experiencing here...unless of course they riot on me...then I'll let security carry them out)...and on that note...

Kids who can go to the bathroom by themselves: and the adults who let them...this film has not yet been rated, because the release date will be NEVER and I'm sure there would be inappropriate poop-footage.

People who make me breakfast: even if it is just ordered from across the street bakery serving delicious fattening pastries in our teacher's lounge! (Oh, and Mom's dutch babies too...yes I eat babies!)

Rain: none of this surprise torrential downpour stuff...I like the "mopey-emo-misty crap" that everyone says we have on the west coast

Free stuff: like the second air mattress that I've slept on in as many weeks, culminating in the longest period in my life I've ever been a freeloading, drain on the economy (just get a hotel room already).

Performance enhancing drugs: that don't make me feel bad getting up 7 extra minutes early to find a fix for the first day of school!


I'm sorry it wasn't more in depth than that, but I thought after a crazy day of having my class-size flux from 19 to 37 in lesss than an hour...there might just be something better in my life. I went to school, had a meeting, met some students, gave them some rules (Mr. Milliron's Non-Negotiables....how's that for a big word...they're in 7th grade remember), and I think after I sufficiently bored them to death, then the day ended and I fell over! I'm exhausted and I feel like I did nothing. So, tomorrow's game plan: Do Math!

School starts when?

Oh...tomorrow...no problem. I think I'm as ready as I will ever be. I also think that this weekend has been hectic enough that I should tell y'all about it. You might enjoy it, you might not, but its all been back dated so read below if you are interested. Otherwise, wait until tomorrow night, and I'll let you know how the first day of school goes.

So many song title jokes...but only one blog entry!

As I was sitting alone on a Saturday afternoon...all by myself (in case you didn't get the context) I decided the only way to figure out how to survive in DC was to make sure that I knew where the local Costco and REI are located (maybe I should own a gun too...but I'm talking BASIC survival!) So, I googled it (which should be a verb in the dictionary) and found out there were both quite near to each other...IN VIRGINIA!!! Holy crap I have to travel across state lines...oh yeah, DC is only ... this big on a map and it was all still within the Beltway (yeah...I know local talk). But I found it anyways, and found some essentials and a little entertainment after a long week of doing teacher stuff (needless to say...I needed this break).

Unfortunately I still got lost and eventually caught in torrential thunder and lightning (that I'm sure caused the power out at the White House...good thing he's on vacation!) After a rainy day I decided I needed a good beer. Thusly, I found my new East Coast Mecca/Watering Hole (is that sac religious to say that?) Its not within walking distance, so it can't be my watering hole, but I think you understand the importance of this discovery!

I was feeling expeditious after this discovery, and decided to walk a few blocks more to a huge mall near the Verizon Center (home of the Washington Wizards) and catch a movie...because I can't hear enough about SuperBad. So, after about an hour of laughing my pants off in that movie...there is a scene where cops are drinking and having a shooting contest with a minor until they are startled by a police siren. At that exact comedic moment...the FIRE alarm in the building goes off. A few people in the theater are laughing still until they realize its a real alarm and not the movie. So, we exit the building like a heard of cattle out into an alley and the pouring rain! Pretty excited about that, but I got a free ticket to go see it again and made it back in time to meet Howard's interesting friends!

I would've posted a bit about this morning's trip to IKEA with the new roommates, but I think there is enough material for a stand-up comedy act about how RIDICULOUS IKEA is...I hate that place. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for roommates. We all thought it was pretty painful, but we may also have to go back to get items once we actually move it...in the meantime I'll try and teach them the beauty of the internet and home delivery!

I hope you all are doing well, I miss you, and I hope I get a chance to call some of you soon (that I have been promising myself to call) but feel free to email and call anytime. I'm a working man now, and unlike some of you...that doesn't mean I can check my Facebook at work! I'll let you know how the first day goes, talk to you soon.

I may not have told you...

...but I moved again! My nice friends Judith and Pawan, had a surprise visit from Pawan's mother. Then managed to put me up on their couch for two nights, while Judith and I attended
the "Back to School" event for all DCPS teachers at the Convention Center (I also got my bearings on the Metro system...I can't wait to stop driving my car!) So after they found out mom was coming, they had given me a heads up about a possible housing opening at a friends place.

Howard. That's his name, and he totally reminds me of a character from a movie, but I can't put my finger on it yet (I'll let you know when I figure it out!) So, I ended up calling Howard about the space. It turns out that another friend of Judith/Pawan/Howard was living there and is getting married, so has moved out his stuff and the place is VACANT until the 1st (no way...that's perfect for me!) and since Howard is the property manager (and also resident) for the landlord, he said it wasn't going to be a problem. He also mentioned that he was going to have a "Yard Sale" in the living room of this apartment, and that he and the other folks in the building would be having some friends over (a party) on Saturday night (None of that sounds like a problem for me seeing as it is this place or the street).

So, after being reassured by Judith, that Howard (though slightly odd) would be a totally nice/normal guy to live with for a week...I moved in Friday afternoon. He is probably the most unique person I've met since moving to DC, and I won't describe him until I can figure out the movie character connection (don't worry I'll be living with him all week). But the party was definitely another unique group of people (including a free-spirited, dazed-and-confused old man, who aspired to move to Eugene of all places...most likely to get into tree-hugging as a profession), and a man named John, who was very interested in how I was recruited by DC Schools and wanted to talk about recruitment and technology in schools (because he is in the tech business and wants to crossover to working for the school district). Needless to say, this was probably only an interesting conversation for the two of us...but just to prove there was a point to my story...he's going to give me an air mattress to sleep on this week! (I know...sweet story Jake!) Alright...but I'll break the other part of my day into another post!

The Thai Roma Experience...

So, I have been craving thai food for a while. As i was walking this afternoon, I saw this "Thai Roma" place at a distance, and thought to myslef: "What do you think Jake? Thai or Italian?" Well, it turns out that when I went back for dinner, it was just Thai...but there is more than just the food that I want to tell you about. I sat down alone (as if I was waiting for a date...but now I'm sitting alone with my computer. Dead giveaway! Loser.)

Listening in on the loud Texan conversation across the room (yeah, they were that loud) I thought...I have to pee...and it couldn't hurt to leave the room for a second. I won't give you the play by play in the bathroom, but the gnats flying in my face give you a feel of the ambiance and feelings I was having. As if a sign from somewhere above the toilet, the words read: "Spending too much time in the bathroom?" Why yes I am (at least in this disgusting excuse for one) thanks for asking! And then situated next to the sign were pamphlets for a urinary infection pill (I don't know but you should ask your doctor if you are interested)...not punchline to the joke I was looking for, but I laughed anyways.

Back out in the dining portion of the restaurant, I was chuckling too myself over some average tasting thai food (that always comes so fast...which is good because chuckling by yourself in a corner is creepy!) Then, just before I thought this experience couldn't get any better...good ole' George dubbaya walked in and offered to buy me a drink and pay for my meal...


...now at this point of the entry, you may remember that Jake is the worst story teller you've ever met, and may need to lie to get out of a terrible ending to a story! So, in reality I saw a sign that said "free wifi at Thai Roma" and I thought of telling someone else this story!

Well, so this is not a complete waste of an entry, I thought I'd let you know that I am switching housing tonight...I'm such a freeloader! I called up the other lady who initially offered to bail me out, and I'm going to crash on her couch as soon as her husband is around to let me in! I'm sure he'll be glad some random fool is freeloading even though she (Judith) is very gracious about the whole thing. I didn't get kicked out of the other place, but I can't imagine anyone wants a stranger around for too long. Alright, I should probably settle up and stiff the guy on a tip (let me know if you think it is okay to decrease the tip according the waiter's understanding of your English...I mean...come on...this IS America!) Talk to you later,

Jake

p.s. I'm totally kidding about the tip!
p.s.s. I'm still a terrible person...

A little too close to home...

...in a good way! If u can't tell that is a Starbucks on the right of the picture through the pouring down rain that i experienced on the way from work today. I think it will remind me of home every time it rains...except there is some funky smell when it rains here!

It looks like they are really going to let me teach! Here's the classroom to prove it! So i met my principal and a few assistants and secretaries. Everyone was surprised to see the new guy at school before i was getting paid...but its better than not knowing what i'm doing. Speaking of that...still haven't seen a math book. Oh well, i've got a lot of organizing to do still. I'll let u know more soon.

I even have an office...

Well at least my training is comlpete...sort of?

After 3 days of seminars, several hours of paperwork, a few free meals and a lively presentation (brain-washing) from the Washington Teachers Union (DC that is)....I'm officially....kind of....an employee of DC Public Schools. And by kind of...I mean all new teachers are pretty much hanging out in this unknown gray-area of life (we have quickly found out that, this level of information is DCPS's official operating zone!) But the good news is that we have been promised to be payed on time! (Wait...you mean you don't usually pay people on time?)...I think it may coincide with the day they have me sign and date a triplicate sheet for the 1000th time.

These are among the many reasons that people from DC are surprised I chose DCPS to begin my illustrious teaching career (and by illustrious, I mean: like every great band, the first album is always the greatest...think about it...no seriously!) I have talked to people all week who are here through Teach for America or a similar Teaching Fellows program, all of them have had a crash course about the school system through summer school. They caught on quick that this was going to be a tough school year administratively. At lunch today, someone said to me: "this will make me glad to spend time with students!" And though she said it as a joke, I think she was right, as long as I get to teach math and get to know students, then I'm a pretty happy guy...er...satisfied geek, however you see it! Through every thing I heard over the last 3 days, it snapped me out of a daze whenever I heard someone mention the need to focus on our students. I learned a lot about the student population and standards and practices, but I'll probably forget about it if it doesn't apply to how I can help students!

Thinking back to the "moments" I had on the highway in the middle of nowhere, doubting if I could actually make it out here, I am so glad that I forced myself to do it. Picking up everything and going, left me no option to bail out (that and Dad eventually had to fly out of Baltimore). If I would have tried to ease into the decision and test the waters, I would have wasted so much money flying out to look at a cities like DC, Chicago and Philly, just to be initially intimidated by a large city and crappy school buildings (not to mention, more black kids than I've ever seen in my life). And though there are a lot of people so far away, they don't become strangers...just friends in different area codes, and like I promised...I'll come back (as long as they have an investment account for my travel expenses!)

In closing, I would like to thank you for bearing with the side comments and over use of ellipses. I have been holding in cynical comments all week, and this is the only way I know how grammatically share those feelings (I'm pretty sure blogs don't have to be grammatically correct anyways!) This weekend will probably be a concerted effort to figure out city life, and maybe get lost on the metro. I might update you on that, but definitely an update next week (with pics) of my classroom (when I finally get to see it) Happy Weekend!

Can't sleep!

Well probably because you haven't even tried yet! But I really can't so I figured I'd give you a little insight on what it takes to be a teacher. Today was the first day of new teacher training! I learned that: the District of Columbia acts as a state and a district level governing system for its schools; I still don't know what the heck I'm supposed to be teaching kids starting in a week in a half, and the teacher lunch room works pretty much the same way as every other cafeteria you've ever experienced (don't worry I found the cool kids table!)

But, in all seriousness...today started early, went long...and at the end I was left with free gifts from the teacher's union and a copy of the Washington Post that I stole! I think much of the activities today were gesturing and loving attempts at convincing new teachers that they would hate their first year of teaching no matter what they try to do about it. I think it was said best the 50th time when someone said: "this will be the hardest year of your life!" I kinda knew that was the case, but I was trying to be optimistic...then I just became cynical. I met a few lighthearted new teachers who shared that sentiment, so we joked and then talked about what was going to keep us sane (for me it will be finally accumulating something other than student loans...now it will just be lots of interest on those loans).

So, I'm heading into two more days of this...but I'm not down-hearted (because there is still free food) and tomorrow we're having a few more intriguing seminars on school culture and kids in DC. In case you didn't know...that's why I was here, but they thought it was important to start with rules and lesson planning and district standards. I have a feeling that they are putting off talking about the student population so they don't scare the new whiteys from outta town...but thats what I have to look forward to all year!

Just in case you were wondering: I'm not nervous, I have no idea what I'm going to teach, I still haven't seen my classroom or a textbook, but at least I have a place to sleep at a strangers house! I met this guy Alex, who just bought a house with his wife (he is also a new DC teacher). They didn't have anything to put in one of their new rooms...so I offered to dump all my crap in it and sleep on the floor. They politely accepted my offer and now I'm the under-welcomed-over-stayed guest! Actually the offer went the other way, and they seem to be just fine with it. But I'm hoping I can't shift around to some other connections so they don't really grow to hate me! I'll write more later...when its not affecting the diminishing 5 and a half hours of sleep I'm about to get! Good night,

Jake <><

Manic Monday

Today is my last day in D.C. - at least for this week anyway. D.C. is such a cool city that I know I will be back soon. (Not to mention that I'm gonna hate not seeing Jake all the time, so I'll have to come back soon - and often!

My flight leaves at 9:00 PM tonight and I get back into Eugene around 2:00 AM - if I'm lucky. And, of course, I'll be reporting to work bright and early tomorrow morning!

As I write this, Jake has been at the D.C. school district offices for about 2 1/2 hours. He text messaged me a bit ago saying, "Make yourself comfortable, this is gonna be a while." He's signing his contract, getting fingerprinted and a bunch of other stuff.

After he is done, we'll finalize his housing situation. He has connected with three folks through Craigslist (or as Shawn Crawford likes to call it - Wayne's World). These three have been rooming together for a while and are looking for a fourth to move into a three story townhouse on September 1st. We met them on Saturday and Jake really hit it off with them - and vice versa. All three of them work on "The Hill." One as a lobbyist, one as a staffer for Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and the other as a Supreme Court policeman. (it seems every branch of the government - and most of the individual agencies - all have their own police force.)

Jake's apartment will be pretty dang cool - assuming everything works out. Here's a link to the townhouse Jake will be living in. Pictures 7-9 are shots of his apartment.

The problem (although we're not too worried about it) is what to do between now and September 1st. There are several options but none have quite come together. It's not as scary as it might sound, but it would take me another few hundred paragraphs to explain it all. So, trust me on this one - it'll work out.

This is probalby my last post. I'll relenquish the reigns to Jake from this point on. It is going to be fun to see all that happens in his life over these next few years. I'm WAAAAYYYYY excited for him. And even a little jealous. And very proud as well. He's a great man, a great teacher - and a dang great son. Have fun Dude!

Dad