Monday, September 2, 2013

It's going to be a great year.


Last time I tried to keep my blog updated, normal life was interrupted by a woman.  While there are few regrets with that relationship, I do wish my blog hadn't suddenly turned to focusing on her.  Hopefully this season I'll be more effective.  Not that I'm wishing a season without a woman in my life, but I can honestly say that I've never been as busy as I am at the top of a school year than I am now.
Only ones at the concert with a sign!

Will he remember this moment?
Let's back up a bit.  This was a great summer. With a week in Yuma, 10 days in Rexburg, 3 days in Moab, 3 visits with Dad, 3 visits with mom, and 3 visits to Las Vegas, I figured that just the driving to these locations add 5000 miles to my car.  That's a lot of driving.  But there were so many great memories that were made, that trying to list them all would be insufficient.  Still, let me list 5: 1. Hanging out with Dan and Amanda: holy cow do I love these two, and little JD is just icing on the cake.  2. Blackhawk concert with Taea: we made some memories that night that I'll be bragging about for years to come.  3. Much Ado about Kayla: we got to watch a movie together that was not only the best movie of the summer, but there's a different kind of bonding that happens when Shakespeare is involved.  4. Rexburg: I made an honest effort at exercise for the week I was there, and the town itself helped; and thanks to my big sister, I got to spend an evening catching up with a college friend that is still very much a friend.  5. Thrifty's Ice Cream: Sure there are a ton memories at Eron's place, from cribbage with him to Lego LotR with T to Monster's U with his family to cleaning the pool with Kris to the comedian magician we all went to together, but one of the joys of visiting Las Vegas is the best ice cream in the world, and a little brother who is more than willing to help me feed that need!  All in all, this was a pretty darn good summer.

What happens in Vegas... :)
So where am I now?  Year two at Hogwarts is off to a good start.  My principal asked me as last year ended for a few specific goals, and my desire for this job to be successful and hopefully my last job ever had me reviewing those goals much of the summer.  A few events really helped me to refocus on what I want and who I am as an educator, and I feel I am in the most professional frame of mind I've ever been in.  I really am focused that this isn't just my job, this is my profession, and if I stay focused and work hard, while praying harder, I can be successful in my efforts, and maybe even be used for greater things when my God asks of me.  I love where I'm at, and I love what I'm doing.  It's going to be a great year.

I'm crazy busy right now.  We had auditions last week for Willy Wonka, and the turnout was astonishing.  Those who auditioned last spring for, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," were such a small group, that I was anticipating a small group again.  Rather, I called back anyone and everyone who could sing and that amounted to nearly 35 kids!  Amazing, and delightful.  I think I've got a great cast, and with some hard work and dedication, this is going to be a great production.  It's going to be a great year.

I'm teaching 3 sophomore English classes, Speech and Debate, Drama 1 and Drama 2.  English is going well, following plans from previous years, but our textbook is not as filled with short stories as I've had in the past, so some work there is coming; the biggest challenge there is that I've got two classes on A days and one on B's, meaning it's nearly another prep, and that stinks.  Drama 1 is totally lesson plans from last year, which is a huge load not on my mind, but this class is nearly 50 kids; shouldn't I get paid more for being so popular? :)  Speech and Debate is in a good place this year, particularly because I have so much of a better reality of what is going on and how to do it.  All that said, Drama 2 is the class I'm most excited about.  We're preparing for Cedar City and the Shakespeare festival right now, we'll be putting the 30x90 together with just this class, and as I'm writing this I realized we're probably going to have to put together a production for the spring too, with just this class.  But we can do all of this in class, without bogging down any further than necessary, my after school life.  It's going to be a great year.

There's so much more I can add and talk about, but maybe if I keep these just a bit shorter, I'll have more to write about each week.  I was awakened this morning by the sound of rain falling outside my window; our temperature highs are already only in the 80's; today was a day off; I'm feeling better this fall than I've ever felt coming back to school.  Once again...it's going to be a great year.

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