forgot to mention

so all the grades are in, and it went good this semster. a bit shy of great, but can't measure the awesomeness of a semester purely on academics. interesting enough, football season didnt score great either. but if i judged my experience of the season with all the roadies involved and fun at home games, then it's great. no doubt. pretty interesting correlation.

next item of business: internship
fantastic news broke last monday, forgot to post bout that i think. i will be at opelika high in the same classroom i did lab visits for class this semester. i feel that is extremely lucky. i will be very comfortable right out the gate. no getitng use to a new environment. sweet.

why do i find it easy to shop for my dad and sister?

the end of fall

Wow...my fifth fall at Auburn is officially over. Every year goes by faster and faster, thats not news to anyone but the magnitude with which we are all affected by the acceleration of time is phenomenol. I realize that classes are pretty much over, and now all i have left for undergraduate requirement is student teaching. Wierd. How can this 22 year old be ready to take control of a classroom?

Last week I had the priviledge of going to The Club in Birmingham with my dear friend Heather. It was a delightful evening that require us to act like real adults. Sure I have gone to fancy places before, usually with my family so the aura of being a kid was persistant. However, this time was different, mom, dad, grand parents, none of them were present. Needless to say, I acted in a manner that will make them proud. Home training continues to reap benefits in my life.

This week as been awkward. Most people in town have been stressed like whoa while finals are going on, but I have had little to do. Surely this low keyness will not decline until Jan. 7. Thankfully, I am in a phase where I have a knack for reading.

Break Plans
C-Town 12/15-12/16
AUB 12/16 - 12/23
C-Town 12/23- 12/28
Back in the AUB for good after that. Mainly working at Moes and hopefully getting a job serving tables.

I cant remember the last time I did not go anywhere over winter break. Word

finished off the 6-pack

so i found this SWEET koozie while walking to the game yesterday. it was done by a tailgate that is mighty fond of their own cooking. on one side was their lil logo, but on the opposite side was "finish off the 6-pack" and had the scores from the first 5 victories from the streak. needless too say, i used the koozie constantly after the game.

this iron bowl has been awesome. it was neat to be in a relaxed town all week that transformed into a huge southern party by gameday. all year, and for other years i have been blessed to have been invited to tailgate with the Manriques and their relatives. they are really nice and fun people to be around on gameday. two bands, 6 boston butts, finger foods gallore and extra beer if you drink all you brought. this year i even ran into my cousin Billy and his wife Carla. seeing them more than once a year is certainly delightful.

continuing on with how awesome number 6 has been. being a 5th year is awkward at times because so many of your friends from college are no longer in Auburn. however, unlike other games, so many come back to town to enjoy the madness of the Iron Bowl. boarding the supper club bus on friday night with fried, vince, finney, whitestone, delaney, blankenboat, clay was marvelous. riding the drunk bus with good friends is a tradition that is uniquely Auburn. also over the course of the weekend got to spend time with Rivard, Alan, Sara, and Willis - a handful of people who i unfortunately do not get to see very often. i can't wait to go to Tuscaloosa next season nor can i wait until the Iron Bowl returns to the Plains in '09.

War Damn Eagle!

iron bowl

doesnt really seem like a typical iron bowl this week. the town of auburn is virtually empty, but without a doubt the RVs will be here tomorrow afternoon. both teams are coming off big loses, UA gettin shocked by ULM, LOL and our dreaded blowout at the hands of georgia. a good season will be salvaged with a win over Bama.

i'm ready for the weekend, doing school work though is not passing the time quickly at all. intensified time at moes aint helpin either, although the fat pay check in a couple weeks will be sweet.

how did it get warm alla sudden?

the joyful side of war

“John Gebhardt’s wife, Mindy, said that this little girl’s entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head…but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John’s hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.This, my friends, is worth sharing with the WORLD! Go for it!! You’ll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don’t, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we’re doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

James Gates U. S. Navy"

no doubt in my mind that it sucks to be in the middle east during these times. as much as i dislike hearing about the the war, mainly because all the reports, criticism, and second-guessing is so negative, this picture is pretty tight. schilling posted the same thing on his blog at 38pitches.com. where it says "represent what America is trying to do," kinda bugs me though. there are many people being treated wrongly by rulers, only a few of which are by IED blasting Iraqi insurgents

no more roadies as a student tiger

i took part of this entry directly from an email i wrote a friend, talkin about the game this weekend.

"no arrests, no tickets, no idea how. gettin a ride in athens is a bitch, no wonder so many people get public intox tickets there.

met up with my old roommate, Matt, and cousin, Katie, after the game. Katie and I are the same age, she graduated UGA in 4 years, i have no idea how. you definately won the bet, Katie loves to celebrate wins and she made me keep up.

that might have been the most energetic football team ive ever seen. the uga players kept the fans into the game so well. today at lunch, my uga friends were saying that was the most fun they have ever had at a uga game. it was definately the most fun ive ever had at a loss.

always helps that Bama loses, number one goes down, and ND getting destroyed is fantastic although we are use to it this season."

been awesome to be able to have five football seasons.

hard to believe that all the trips are over, here is a recap of the ones i made:
2003:
ATL for GT (L)
Nashville for Vandy (W)
Baton Rouge for LSU (L)
Athens for UGA (L)
2004:
Starkville for State (W)
Knoxville for UT (W)
Tuscaloosa for Bama (W)
ATL for SEC Champ. (W)
New Orleans for Sugar Bowl (W)
2005:
Fayetteville for Arkansas (W)
Lexington for UK (W)
Baton Rouge for LSU (L)
Athens for UGA (W)
2006:
Starkville for State (W)
Columbia for SCAR (W)
Oxford for Ole Miss (W)
Tuscaloosa for Bama (W) *Note, did not attend game
2007:
Gainesville for UF (W)
Baton Rouge for LSU (L)
Athens for UGA (L)

Overall record: 13-6
Notes:
All 12 Stadiums, plus SEC Champ, plus host BCS Bowl
Witnessesd every conference loss on the road
Lost every game when i went to Tiger Walk (0-3 in '03, never went back)
Only winless in Baton Rouge, only other losing record in Athens.
Classics: '04 UT, Bama; '05 UGA, LSU; '07 UF, LSU
Superlatives:
Best Stadium - Tiger
Best Tailgate - Vol Navy
Best Scene - Downtown Athens
Best Fans - Ole Miss
Worst Stadium - UK
Worst Tailgate - Tech
Worst Fans - UF
But all that really matters....
Overall Most Fun - LSU
Overall Least Fun - Arky

i think i am gonna be a bcs type formula in excel and make some rankings...stay tuned
blessed to be an au road warrior, shout outs to krazy, chard, demo, and turbo for being badass warriors as well. the company on these trips has been phenominal. nothing like winning on the road.

word to my mama and papa we livin,
rc

motivation

i like class. usually, but some of the work i am required to do i do not like. i dont really care to write journals or reflections, but i gotta do it. it's all due on the 28th, i got plenty of time.

"creative project" for FOUN might be a disaster. not something i care at all about doin well on. i am all about learning, a creative project is for grades. why have to work harder just for an A? crap like this should be extra credit.

Athens this weekend. Stayin the weekend with Matt West, one of the few folks from highschool i still talk to from high school. Gonna be packed out with Columbus folks i believe. palabra.

Moes tonite....wonderful

monderful

going out to opelika high school is pretty cool. i do not know what it's like compared to other schools, but its aight. i'd like to see some pretty nice ones in suburbia. atl or bham or something like that.

the pledges are done, that should free up some time and provide some stress relief.

one more road trip as a student, one more iron bowl. need to go 2-0.

i think i might catch a nap. yeaaa....

moes sucks

moes is a terrible job, but as taylor says on kid nation, "deal with it." got outta that mug at 1030 tonite after washing a ton of dishes. 2.5 hours straight of dishes.

yesterday after the game, saw my dads cousin. billy and his wife carla are friends with evans' family. wierd. i had forgot their names, only see them once a year.

tailgate had a post game band, it was awesome. nice mix of adults and kids. such a cool party.

teachin on friday was fun, get to do that on mon, wed and fri this week.

im thinkin puttin in a hard week this week could pay off huge dividends. i need to get a gameplan schemed up.

sadatay ma dami

restless

been a hectic day. hoping that tomorrows teaching goes well. i stumbled a bit during the planning phase, i feel good about my revision now time to teach it. can't shut down mentally though for the night, i need a good nights sleep.

been listening to howie day a lot lately. "ghost" is a pretty badass song. i remember a classmate playin it at a talent show in highschool. didnt know the song then.

joseph's cuz jason stopped in town. another pleasant lsu fan, even in a beat auburn piss yellow t-shirt. 2.0 is in town too, palabra loco.

raining jobs

Everyone knows that teachers do not have high salaries. Why then, did so many school districts make mention of salaries like it was such a big deal?

Where to look for a job? No place jumps out. No districts from outside the region were there really, except for one with no high school from pheonix.

I feel like over the next few months I'm suppose to plan the next 3-5 years. Don't really care for that.

tigers

"What mascot are you?...Tiger Bait!...Look what his shirt says, he's lying...Typical Auburn"

4 phrases that define the 3rd trip to the bayou.

Every team ask the Auburn family the whole War Eagle and Tigers (and Plainsmen) question with redicule. If you take the time to explain the "truth," good luck. It's awkward that one of Auburn's greatest distinguishments come at such a cost.

Where we camped and tailgated -- No Orange. The entire trek to the porta potty consisted of the "Tiger Bait" chant. I love it! That walk to the bathroom gave me an idea of what it must like to be an Auburn player during Tiger Walk. Feel me? Imagine, one fan starts the chant, and everyone around catches on. Two Auburn folks walking proud with a smile as the focal of the home team's energy. I'm glad we do not have the same intimidating atmosphere on the Plains, but I love it in Baton Rouge. Getting a win there will be mega sweet. I'll be there in '09.

So, like i said. I was walking to the porta potty. The line was long, and I didnt want to wait. The weight in my left hand did not have many repititions left, and my bladder was screaming so an alternative was worth seeking. 50 yards down the path was about 10 porta potties and no line. Marvelous. Walking back to the tailgate/camp, I told the LSU fans at the end of the long line about the other ones just beyond the first tree. "Look what his shirt says, he's lying" was the nicest thing they said. I explained the treasure again, but a more gruesome response was all the young couple had to say. I suspect they stood in a 30 minute line.

So leaving the stadium, LSU was playing their alma mater. Two senior men noticed that the Auburn band started blaring the fight song during the middle of their alma mater. I had assumed the men were merely commenting on an orange and blue colored eff bomb.

Light and interesting week approaches. Coming back from Gainesville was a huge adjustment. Let's see what I learned from that and what I can put together this week. Tomorrow is the busiest, Educ Interview days on Tuesday, lax Wed, but Trick or Drink that night, good time management during the week determines Thursday.

War Eagle
rc

recapflection

just some small talk, caps lock is not needed. nothing too crazy has happened. but uneventful? not hardly...

the trip to columbus was lovely. to expand on that, nice service about giving (1st corinthians (sp?)), lunch with the fam*, and a trip to memommie and den den's**.

*Applebees, post church, table for four. Mary Helen was in town on fall break. i wonder how many htb folks knew that we were both there? we both look almost grown up, i think Mary Helen might pass for 22, i'll take 19 anyday. i definately just edited that 22, i had put 21. yikes. remember growin up, people would notice certain traits or characteristics and say "oh, he [she] got that from his [her] dad [mom]!" reflecting on development, i would say we used to be like a small percentage like my dad, a small percentage like my mom, and a larger than both combined ????, and now i think that those small percentages might have gone up, and the ?? decreased. blessed, of course, that such development occured. as Mary Helen and Robert's (3rd person b/c of grammer) ?? decrease, the more we seem to have in common. hmm...make sense?

**den den was golfing, but not for too long. seeing him was great, being able to chill with memommie for a lil bit was cool also. its been a while since ive seen them with football and what not, so, well, plenty to catch up on. shared a few auburn stories throughout the entire visit. catch this, den den roadied up to memphis with foy for the ole miss game. palabra. when i have told people that, sometimes i get the vibe they dont believe me. all of a sudden how cool my trips have been were put into perspective.

got a lot of dull homework to do. full day tomorrow. suppose its an early wednesday morning. baton rouge is motivation.

flag football is fun. once upon a time, dudes told me how awesome it was to get to know people in your major. i'm definately passing the word along in december.

peace

Easy Going

yesterday started off at opelika high. stayed there thru 3rd block and it was fabulous.

today has been full of football and laundry. fabulous. i can see more floor than usual. the washer and dryer definately outplayed the moxi box. that thing bugs out too much.

stayin in town during a road game really helps ya keep up with everything. coming back from gainesville was nuts and i expect the same following baton rouge.

small gathering at the crib tonite for the game. word.
columbus tomorrow...

war eagle
rc

Teaching Plus Minus

Today in math curriculum class, my partner and I were the teachers for the first hour. We handled it decently, but it was not a solid performance. We really had trouble managing the roles of "bad students" that our classmates were acting out. We stumbled a little in our questioning, but in the end felt like we did a good job. I really learned how hard it is to listen to a student give a presentation of a solution and trying to keep other students from being a disturbance at the same time. The truth is, I dont have to listen to the student, I can get another kid to explain to me what the previous student just said....nifty little trick.

We didnt suck though, and our classmates thought we handled the negative situations pretty well. So, war eagle to that. Like I said, tests and all that are easy now, time to master teaching...

Check out nytimes.com, in the opinion section there is a good article about called "Generation Q" by Thomas Friedman, and one "The Odyssey Years" by David Brooks. Both of them I thought were good perspectives of the 20 somethings in this country.

Word.

bloggin..

In this new age of expressing yourself, I followed the crowd and got a blog...


We shall see how me writing turns out...

Only half a semester of class remains. Feel like I finally got the hang of college and it's my last semester of classes. Papers, exams, presentations seem easy now...wierd.

Another educ major asked my classmates and I why we wanted to be math teachers. "Because other math jobs are boring..." Let that marinate.

Time to settle in to the night...