16 days

Wow, it's been 16 days since I last posted. Nobody read it anyway which begs the question. If you no one sees your post does it actually exist? That made me laugh. Yesterday was a good day. I worked my tail off in the morning cleaning up the garden and shoveling out one of the composts. That was tough. the nearby siberian elms have their roots winding their way through the compost. ugh. Had rehearsal in the afternoon. I was actually acting but I got to teach some dance and do some as well. That as fun. Afterwards I loaded some stuff on to a truck and brought it off to the dump. Stuff I've been wanting to get rid of for years. One was a 1000 gallon oil tank. I loaded it myself. I'm huuuuuge. And I got to use a sabre saw to cut it down a bit. I neeeeeeed one. They're awesome. In the evening I watched Flushed Away with the kids. That was fun. What wasn't fun was that Griffin had a fever. Poor kid. Anyway, stayed up late reading and talking to Tina. I love my family. This was short but the Chiefs game is about to start.

Meh

Ok, so here's the update now that it's October. I feel like school has just started even though this semester is already 1/3 over. Intro to Aboriginal Education is definitely the heaviest class. Not because of the course work though. We've been discussing the residential school system. I cry but at the same time I feel uplifted that things are changing. Even though it's very slowly. In Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning I get frustrated because of a schooling system that's been created to benefit those of a higher socio-economic status. But I am challenged to make a difference. In Teaching K-8 I am challenged to actually live out my beliefs about teaching. I've set some pretty high ideals there.

Hey! What's Going On.

So, it's been a while but I'm back again to fill all three of you in on what's going on. School started last week. It's been an adjustment for me. I'm only in education classes this semester. No theatre.......it's a little depressing because I now rarely see all the incredible friends I've made over the last 2 years. bummer. The first couple of days I went to the theatre lounge to see if there were people there. Every once in a while there was. I came to the realization the other day that it was time to start hanging out in the Ed lounge since that's where I'll see the people I'm actually in class with. And they have more couches. And cleaner ones too. Griffin and Emi have both started school. Emi loves it, she comes home happy every day. Griffin is needing more of an adjustment. He handles change about as well as I do. If it were up to him he would have the same teacher and same classmates every year. The one complaint he does have is that he's not learning anything in math. It's too easy and he wants it to be harder! That's kind of funny. We busy into rehearsals for Pink Panther. I'm still trying to settle into my character. It's tough partly because the scenes are so short. I think some good "moments" have developed already though. And I'm teaching the tango. It will be my first choreo credit. That's just weird. That's about it. I finished two projects this week so I'm very happy about that. It will be nice to get that 10 foot ladder/plank off of the steps. Time to get supper ready. Weiner roast tonight.
cheers
Bud

School Starts Tomorrow

So school starts tomorrow for all of us. (except Tina of course) I've been praying a lot (for me) lately for a number of things.

1. For Griffin and Emi who are both attending new schools.
2. For Griffin who is nervous about being a small fish in the big pond of middle years school.
3. For Me that I will not be frustrated with only straight lecture classes.
4. For Me that my practicum will be an uplifting and growing experience.
4. For safe travels for all of us.
5. For Tina as she gets the kids ready for school each morning. (Emi can be a handful)

I hate change. And the first day of school means the beginning of a new routine for all of us. Maybe by the end of the month I'll be happy again.

cheers
Bud

End of Summer Report

Well seeing as Summer is over I thought I would do an end of summer report on the goals I had for this summer.
Comments are in red.

1. Go Fishing at least twice (maybe we'll even catch something)
Didn't happen. I suck at planning things
2. Find 10 geocaches
Found 5. Looked for four more at St. Vital Park but no dice.
3. Make many trips to the pool. (I need to make back what we paid for the season pass)
I'm pretty sure we made back what we paid but the summer was so crappy we didn't head out very often.
4. Have a golf game below 100. (Which means I actually have to golf)
I shot a 94 at Steinbach. I was very excited about that.
5. Memorize my lines. (I actually don't have much choice in this one since off book is July 6th)
Yeah I memorized my lines. Is it creepy to be checking out a nun as she walks away? (that was a reference to my character btw)
6. Finish 2 books.
I read Toll the Hounds. That was a 1200 page beast. I also just finished a book on CD. Does that count?
7. Host 2 or 3 parties.
I hosted one. Or at least tried to. It didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Not for lack of planning though.
8. Not play more than 1 hour of computer a day. (wishful thinking)
Yeah, didn't happen. I went through a rough time in early August.
9. Continue exercising. (wishful thinking)
Had I started?
10. Finish painting my dwarf army. (I doubt it)
Nope
11. Stain the shelves.
Almost done. Final coat of varathane goes on today.
12. Put the door jams on the bedroom.
yeah, not really
13. Build some more terrain for my warhammer table.
My mom gave me a package of trees to put together. That was fun.
14. Play 3 games of warhammer with someone other than Griffin.
Not even 1. Griffin and I have been playing some Lord of the Rings though. That was fun.
15. Go Fly a kite.
No
16. Play Settlers.
No. I think you actually need friends for that. Ok Friends you get together with.
17. Go to 2 Bomber games. (I think I'd need a job then)
I'm actually glad I haven't. If they get better maybe I'll go in October. Yes I'm a fairweather fan.
18. Get a job. (After July 25th)
Pleasant surprise of the summer. I worked one or two days a week with my dad insulating or drywalling houses. I made enough to pay off the fridge that died, the dehumidifier that died, car repairs plus more. Ugh, On monday I worked for 7 hours and then went for an oil change and had some other stuff done. Figured out that between the oil change and driving to Winnipeg I made about 7 dollars. That was a little depressing.

How do you tell a 9 year old his teacher died.

It's going to be a hard day for Griffin. Yesterday we found out the teacher he had for the past year in school, Miss Jackeline Lawson, was killed in a car accident. I hurt for the family of this young woman who had just finished her first year of teaching. I also hurt for my little boy and the pain he will go through because of this. Griffin is a very sweet, caring, and emotional person. This will hit hard. I wish I could take all his pain upon me but I can't. There's nothing I can do but hold him tight. And there will need to be a lot of that I think. I feel for all those kids. They really liked her. I talked to her on a number of occasions during the year. She was one of those teachers who understood Griffin. That sometimes (like any boy) he just needed to move around. She challenged him in things like Math so Griffin wouldn't get bored. She challenged him in English because she knew he could do better. And she would joke around with them. I think one of Griffin's favourite things was coming to school after having figured out some exponent like 5^4 and asking his teacher. She told me she had to sneak out a calculator to see if Griffin was right. My favourite story was when Griffin was getting into some trouble and Griffin looked at her and said, "Your hair looks really nice today." That caught her off guard. She told me that story at a parent-teacher interview. I'm not sure how long the initial pain will last but there will always be a little part of his heart where Griffin keeps the memories of Miss Lawson and the pain of her leaving. She cried on the last day of school as her students departed. And now we cry as she does. Goodbye Miss Lawson. Thank you for being my son's teacher and the fabulous job you did. You left far too soon.

A Few Quick Hit Thoughts

I'm not in the mood to do a long spiel about what's been going on so I'll do it in quick hits ala Don Banks. (SI writer)

-Went to the Pioneer Days parade in Steinbach on Friday. My mom built a float for it and made costumes for the kids. Griffin and Emilia were a part of it. I think the float is incredible. My mom is awesome. And the float won for best theme.

-Steinbach puts on a really good parade. I hate the Winkler parade. The difference. Steinbach had actual floats. Winkler has tractors, rv's and semi's. ugh

-Spent part of the day with my grandparents. That was special. I remember when my grandma used to set up a booth a Pioneer Days. It brought back good memories.

-Some people I know joke about the Mennonite Heritage Museum being for old people. Well I can understand why they go. For many it's a reminder of what they went through. A peak back at their childhood. It made me relfective.

-One man told me Steinbach is throwing away it's Mennonite heritage as fast as it can. To a certain extent I can understand why having lived in Landmark. I'm not impressed that things like dancing were so repressed. I'm 35 now and wish I could have been dancing my whole life. It's the legalistic things like that that have turned off so many people my age. That's why new churches coming up don't have the word mennonite. Or they change the name of the church to take it out. I think there were some things the older generations of mennonites got right though. I don't have the time to get into that.

-Worked for my dad again today. I made more insulating a house than I would doing a 3 evening shifts at a job that pays $9.50. I really should be doing this all summer. But then there's childcare, and all that driving.

-Bad things come in threes. And just when we're trying to save money. The fridge died, the car needed repairs and now the dehumidifier is on the fritz. AAAACK!!!!!!

Well that's it. I'm off to Winnipeg tomorrow to drywall a house. Good times

cheers
Bud