Thursday, July 21, 2016
Milk was a bad choice.
I ran up two gnarly hills today. I'll let that satisfy any daily exercise quota I might have for myself during the summer, at least on a day like today. Hotter than Heaven out there (Hell is probably cold like in The Inferno).
Saturday, May 30, 2015
May 30, 2015 - Groovy, man.
Stuff that ain't fit to dance to ain't fit for livin'. So, let's live and exist in equal measure.
All the stuff I wrote five years ago is still basically true. 'Cept, now, I'm with Stephy my girlfran. She makes great black bean burgers and is goofy like I am. We recover from a Friday night by spending the morning watching "The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross" on Youtube. We sing songs to each other. We go places in all directions. We're flying to Boston in July, and heading north up the coast into Maine (Bar Harbour, Portland, Biddeford, etc.), then west to Concord, NH, Montpelier, Burlington, and/or Brattleboro, VT. I also want to visit that neato library/museum on the border of Vermont and Quebec. How very international!
We're going to a wedding today. The people getting married are Steph's old friends from Wartburg. That's a good group to be a part of, as far as I can tell. Wartburg people sort of remind me, in a flattering way, of the sort I grew up with in Waterloo. They don't really do "flashy" and when they party, they don't go out of their way to look "exclusive", which seemed to be a "thing" in Iowa City, where I went to college. I enjoy using words with "quotations" around them.
Burlington, Iowa looks like Burlington, Washington today. Lush, green, blooming, vines creeping, bugs losing out on honey dew and looking longingly at our apartment. No honey found, antlings. I could live anywhere, honestly, but when it's rainy, green, and earthy, I'm Home with the capital "H". Hopefully, New England is this green in July. I also hope we stumble on to some lobster-eschewing punk rockers in Maine. Boston punks would probably just slam dance on my head till it turns to chowder. Go Sox.
Hmmm. What else?
I need to pack for the wedding. I'm not going to blog about needing to pack. I just need to go do it.
All the stuff I wrote five years ago is still basically true. 'Cept, now, I'm with Stephy my girlfran. She makes great black bean burgers and is goofy like I am. We recover from a Friday night by spending the morning watching "The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross" on Youtube. We sing songs to each other. We go places in all directions. We're flying to Boston in July, and heading north up the coast into Maine (Bar Harbour, Portland, Biddeford, etc.), then west to Concord, NH, Montpelier, Burlington, and/or Brattleboro, VT. I also want to visit that neato library/museum on the border of Vermont and Quebec. How very international!
We're going to a wedding today. The people getting married are Steph's old friends from Wartburg. That's a good group to be a part of, as far as I can tell. Wartburg people sort of remind me, in a flattering way, of the sort I grew up with in Waterloo. They don't really do "flashy" and when they party, they don't go out of their way to look "exclusive", which seemed to be a "thing" in Iowa City, where I went to college. I enjoy using words with "quotations" around them.
Burlington, Iowa looks like Burlington, Washington today. Lush, green, blooming, vines creeping, bugs losing out on honey dew and looking longingly at our apartment. No honey found, antlings. I could live anywhere, honestly, but when it's rainy, green, and earthy, I'm Home with the capital "H". Hopefully, New England is this green in July. I also hope we stumble on to some lobster-eschewing punk rockers in Maine. Boston punks would probably just slam dance on my head till it turns to chowder. Go Sox.
Hmmm. What else?
I need to pack for the wedding. I'm not going to blog about needing to pack. I just need to go do it.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Looking ahead...
My eyes are set on the road in front of me. There is nothing on this entire earth that could distract me from this now. I am a person. What do people do?
They live.
They live.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Truly great things:
These are things that make me happy, make me think, open my mind, remind me I'm loved, remind me to love, make my sadfaces go away, etc.
1. Jogging to punk rock songs.
2. Performing in any capacity.
3. Seeing friends succeed.
4. Youtube.
5. Ideas for artistic endeavors in Burlington.
6. Pizza pie!
7. Push ups (the kind where you eat the frozen treat that you have to push up and also when you make your arms stronger by repelling your body off of the ground. Both make you strong in some way)
8. Independent music, film, and public exhibition of both.
9. When people are inspired to go good things for others for whatever reason.
10. Roadtrips (they need to happen more often).
11. Days where I feel like I might be a good teacher afterall.
12. Sock hops (how did these ever go out of style?)
13. Great books in great coffee shops.
14. Finding fun activities to do that don't involve drinking, watching tv, or spending money.
15. The Burlington public library.
16. Sleepovers.
17. Marion, Iowa, and its fabulous antique shops.
18. Iowa City, and its truckload of trouble.
19. Burlington and its simmering potential.
20. The hope that I might find peace of mind one day.
- Tiger
1. Jogging to punk rock songs.
2. Performing in any capacity.
3. Seeing friends succeed.
4. Youtube.
5. Ideas for artistic endeavors in Burlington.
6. Pizza pie!
7. Push ups (the kind where you eat the frozen treat that you have to push up and also when you make your arms stronger by repelling your body off of the ground. Both make you strong in some way)
8. Independent music, film, and public exhibition of both.
9. When people are inspired to go good things for others for whatever reason.
10. Roadtrips (they need to happen more often).
11. Days where I feel like I might be a good teacher afterall.
12. Sock hops (how did these ever go out of style?)
13. Great books in great coffee shops.
14. Finding fun activities to do that don't involve drinking, watching tv, or spending money.
15. The Burlington public library.
16. Sleepovers.
17. Marion, Iowa, and its fabulous antique shops.
18. Iowa City, and its truckload of trouble.
19. Burlington and its simmering potential.
20. The hope that I might find peace of mind one day.
- Tiger
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Back from the shallow leagues
I have come back during my lunch hour to blog about my life.
Since my last post, I can't say that much has changed. I have not been attacking the world with the eager eye of a writer or English major or observant person or whatever. Aside from the periodic emotional roller coasters to which I'm prone to ride, my surroundings, my associations, my interactions, my rituals have remained entirely consistent. I've continued to teach English to (I think) the best of my ability with a moderate dose of passion in my fuel tank. Ask me later if I always spend said fuel in a day's work.
Today, students read essays I asked them to write for yesterday. Yesterday turned out to be a freezing rain-related cancellation, so nature allotted them an extra day to complete this essay. The essay was a pre-reading activity for The Scarlet Letter in which they were asked to choose a figure of today who has struggled with unwanted media attention and stigma, write about their "vice" or "sin", and tell me whether or not the media scrutiny is justified. I then had them turn the lens on themselves. The results were surprising and, in some ways, disheartening. I was surprised, given the option of sharing in front of the class for ten extra points, how many students were willing to share their personal struggles so freely. I won't go into some of the subject matter, but it truly affected me and made me re-think the "stand-and-deliver" option for this essay.
My students, as a whole, seem to struggle so much more than I did at that age. I don't know if it's prudent to draw any conclusions from this. Even if it were prudent, I don't know what kind of conclusions I could draw.
None of them, however, are pleasant.
- Tiger
Since my last post, I can't say that much has changed. I have not been attacking the world with the eager eye of a writer or English major or observant person or whatever. Aside from the periodic emotional roller coasters to which I'm prone to ride, my surroundings, my associations, my interactions, my rituals have remained entirely consistent. I've continued to teach English to (I think) the best of my ability with a moderate dose of passion in my fuel tank. Ask me later if I always spend said fuel in a day's work.
Today, students read essays I asked them to write for yesterday. Yesterday turned out to be a freezing rain-related cancellation, so nature allotted them an extra day to complete this essay. The essay was a pre-reading activity for The Scarlet Letter in which they were asked to choose a figure of today who has struggled with unwanted media attention and stigma, write about their "vice" or "sin", and tell me whether or not the media scrutiny is justified. I then had them turn the lens on themselves. The results were surprising and, in some ways, disheartening. I was surprised, given the option of sharing in front of the class for ten extra points, how many students were willing to share their personal struggles so freely. I won't go into some of the subject matter, but it truly affected me and made me re-think the "stand-and-deliver" option for this essay.
My students, as a whole, seem to struggle so much more than I did at that age. I don't know if it's prudent to draw any conclusions from this. Even if it were prudent, I don't know what kind of conclusions I could draw.
None of them, however, are pleasant.
- Tiger
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Greetings and Introductions
I'm going to try this one more time, even if I don't know who I'm writing to or exactly why I am writing. If you've decided to visit my blog, I welcome you. My name is Daniel...or Dan. Either name suits me. The meaning of a name is always important to learn and I feel that "Daniel" often packs more of a semantic punch than "Dan", so why not Daniel for now? "God is my Judge." I live and work as a high school English teacher in Burlington, Iowa. I only recently graduated from the University of Iowa's College of Education (2007) and I already have one year of teaching under my belt. Anyone who compares teaching to a roller coaster with its highs and lows, is, in my opinion, right on the money. The possibility of one of my students digging around and finding this blog does frighten me a little, but I plan on keeping its contents uncontroversial for the most part; any prying young eyes will likely have nothing to see here. I created this merely as a document for myself and any other likeminded folk who might enjoy my virtual "company", and to further substantiate my daily existence with a record of my successes, failures, and dalliances. Let's celebrate them equally. "Looking back" has long been a hobby of mine. For all its benefits and pitfalls, it has certainly passed all my personal "trial-by-fire" tests as it has endured as a regular activity for me. It might hamper me from moving on to bigger and better things in my life, but it has always enabled me to remain connected to my emotional core, something I cherish and always have. It's a packaged deal mentality, complete with heartache, heartbreak, and a complimentary set of steak knives (if you'll please pardon the Tom Cruise quote). It also causes me to romanticize everything. Because of this, I rather fancy trying on the shirt of an Irish partisan or the kilt of a Scottish Jacobite. Ah, the speeches I would have given, the hearts I would have roused, the ladies I would have wooed...The immensity of those muted possibilities is staggering. But alas, I am left in Southeast Iowa 2008, far away from the great muses of history. I'm lucky if I can wax romantic about Oklahoma or Gone With The Wind. Loneliness is what will help me out in that category. I have a garden full of it to can for the winter. Through this blog, I plan to rehash the recent and more distant past, to assess the status quo, and to plot ahead for the future. I plan to meditate on past relationships, missed opportunities, unforgettable moments of clarity, random ephiphanies, and old friends now gone. There's a wide, wide world of memories out there and my goal is to try to harness a few of them and ride off into the sunset on whatever horse is available...
Anyhow, more about my college years. As I previously mentioned, I attended the University of Iowa (well-renouned for its multi-layered hospital that caters to thousands in need around the entire country, its excellent law school, its world famous Writers' Workshop, and Artie, the strongest man in the world. Iowa City, the vibrant burg that plays host to the 28,000 student community, is, in a way, my hometown. I attended City High School for my senior year after my father was offered the principalship, and fell in love with all things Iowa City throughout 2001 and 2002. I am still a devout Little Hawk. No present loyalty could erase the encouraging memories of those two years. That love, not without a few intermittent snags, has endured to the present day. Although my relationship, relatively speaking, to Iowa City and many of her inhabitants has been contentious and misgiving at times, I still hold a special place in my heart for her (I often return on the weekends as Burlington lies merely a stone's throw and salmon's leap out the way). Her idyllic downtown environment still provides a welcome respite from the occasional drudgery of a career. Like a subtler East Village. Her public library, solely based on its selection of periodicals and beat poetry (which I'm often unable to locate in Burlington), is unmatched and is home to some of my favorite books and movies. It also played the role of employer to a past love interest, who likely never realized I felt as such. Ah, time...You do erase all things, don't you? Excellent restaurants pepper the main streets leading up to the Pentacrest, Prairie Lights bookshop bears her namesake from a famous San Francisco bookshop known for being the first to vend Howl by Allen Ginsberg. Students mingle, dance together, and "hook up" not just on the weekends in Iowa City's unparalleled bar scene, and my favorite record stores stand at slovenly attention along Linn Street. Her coffee shops are beacons of light for the weary travelor (much of my collegiate learning occured within one or more of their confines). Sound waves of live music from the Picador and Yacht Club and dinner parties in Goose Town waft aimlessly out into the street, capturing the frail attention of hookah smokers waiting outside the Red Poppy, or some diehard Death Ships fans waiting for their cronies "in the band"...And, my parents still live there, so it's nice to see them once in awhile. I attended Kirkwood Community College for a year and became heavily involved in improvisational comedy and small-time theatre. I met some great people, and was spurred by my experiences there to give theatre acting a try at the UI. Naive as I was at the time, I didn't think to anticipate just how unforgiving and competative the discourse among students would be at Iowa's Theatre Department (which is also quite excellent, mind you). I never felt that anything I had to offer would lend me any kind of advancement and the horizon looked rather grim. Perpetual and annual feelings of inferiority (I tried to stick it out for 2 years) eventually prompted a change in focus for me. My "default" major was Education. And it was with good reason as both of my parents have made their bread and butter in that field. Why I decided to be an English major, however, is beyond me. I honestly don't remember what I was thinking when I made the transfer. Writing and reading are not weak points for me, but my strong points definitely lay and still lie elsewhere. To my credit, I performed rather well as an English major and I'll brag on myself a bit while citing a professor's tag of "brilliant" on my cardigan sweater. I think he was just pleased that I knew where his native country was. Yes, yes. Beautiful, beautiful Uganda. I'm brilliant. Geography is my strongest subject. However, Mr. Brilliant could not wade his way through the College of Education without mostly producing B's and C's. There's real brilliance: the fact that I graduated! I did my student teaching semester at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, which turned out to be a terrific experience for me. I was then offered a job at my alma mater in Burlington, and I figured that I should probably jump at the chance to get my career going.
That's all for today. I must grade essays. Goodbye.
Dan(iel)
Anyhow, more about my college years. As I previously mentioned, I attended the University of Iowa (well-renouned for its multi-layered hospital that caters to thousands in need around the entire country, its excellent law school, its world famous Writers' Workshop, and Artie, the strongest man in the world. Iowa City, the vibrant burg that plays host to the 28,000 student community, is, in a way, my hometown. I attended City High School for my senior year after my father was offered the principalship, and fell in love with all things Iowa City throughout 2001 and 2002. I am still a devout Little Hawk. No present loyalty could erase the encouraging memories of those two years. That love, not without a few intermittent snags, has endured to the present day. Although my relationship, relatively speaking, to Iowa City and many of her inhabitants has been contentious and misgiving at times, I still hold a special place in my heart for her (I often return on the weekends as Burlington lies merely a stone's throw and salmon's leap out the way). Her idyllic downtown environment still provides a welcome respite from the occasional drudgery of a career. Like a subtler East Village. Her public library, solely based on its selection of periodicals and beat poetry (which I'm often unable to locate in Burlington), is unmatched and is home to some of my favorite books and movies. It also played the role of employer to a past love interest, who likely never realized I felt as such. Ah, time...You do erase all things, don't you? Excellent restaurants pepper the main streets leading up to the Pentacrest, Prairie Lights bookshop bears her namesake from a famous San Francisco bookshop known for being the first to vend Howl by Allen Ginsberg. Students mingle, dance together, and "hook up" not just on the weekends in Iowa City's unparalleled bar scene, and my favorite record stores stand at slovenly attention along Linn Street. Her coffee shops are beacons of light for the weary travelor (much of my collegiate learning occured within one or more of their confines). Sound waves of live music from the Picador and Yacht Club and dinner parties in Goose Town waft aimlessly out into the street, capturing the frail attention of hookah smokers waiting outside the Red Poppy, or some diehard Death Ships fans waiting for their cronies "in the band"...And, my parents still live there, so it's nice to see them once in awhile. I attended Kirkwood Community College for a year and became heavily involved in improvisational comedy and small-time theatre. I met some great people, and was spurred by my experiences there to give theatre acting a try at the UI. Naive as I was at the time, I didn't think to anticipate just how unforgiving and competative the discourse among students would be at Iowa's Theatre Department (which is also quite excellent, mind you). I never felt that anything I had to offer would lend me any kind of advancement and the horizon looked rather grim. Perpetual and annual feelings of inferiority (I tried to stick it out for 2 years) eventually prompted a change in focus for me. My "default" major was Education. And it was with good reason as both of my parents have made their bread and butter in that field. Why I decided to be an English major, however, is beyond me. I honestly don't remember what I was thinking when I made the transfer. Writing and reading are not weak points for me, but my strong points definitely lay and still lie elsewhere. To my credit, I performed rather well as an English major and I'll brag on myself a bit while citing a professor's tag of "brilliant" on my cardigan sweater. I think he was just pleased that I knew where his native country was. Yes, yes. Beautiful, beautiful Uganda. I'm brilliant. Geography is my strongest subject. However, Mr. Brilliant could not wade his way through the College of Education without mostly producing B's and C's. There's real brilliance: the fact that I graduated! I did my student teaching semester at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, which turned out to be a terrific experience for me. I was then offered a job at my alma mater in Burlington, and I figured that I should probably jump at the chance to get my career going.
That's all for today. I must grade essays. Goodbye.
Dan(iel)
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