Mental Health

Ladies and Gentlemen, well we are getting into the swing of things today and we are discussing mental. I have decided to lead the class and put out a little bit of what I considered my mental health or status to be. Now considering the positive and negative attitudes one may have on their outlook of life I would have to say that I feel overall pretty positive. My classes this semester are working out well, and I am trying quite a few new things in the classroom. The biggest change is that I am trying to incorporate computers more into the curriculum of my classes. Having the students take notes on their computers instead of a notebook and although at times they are a little off tasks chatting with each other or looking at the newest snowmachine on the market they generally are getting the assignments completed and keeping up with class. This allows me to maintain a pretty positive outlook on my classes. In terms of my college classes that I am taking am feeling a little stressed out, I am doubling my class load and taking on more graduate level courses. As the workload increases I wonder if I am going to be able to keep up with it because of all the extracurriculars I am taking on such as basketball, afterschool. I sadly have not been able to incorporate as much Choir time as I would like to have because by the end of te day I generally am pretty beat. On the topic of music, I still have not been able to get the music club started afterschool like I wanted nor have I been able to get the Chess/game club going. Perhaps after the State tests and our afterschool program is done I will be able to begin these clubs. As for defense mechanisms that I use I would probably say I deal mainly in the park of using rationalization as my technique. I find it very easy to provide an "excuse" or an explaination for my actions much to the discontent of my peers. This doesn't necessarily mean that I am making up excuses, it is just that I generally have a reason for doing what I do, and sadly at times they can be a little self-centered. It gives me something to reflect on the next time I visit the Church .

Sick!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, man alive have I been hit hard! I have been down and out for three days now with this killer flu. My throat feels like it has had all of the moisture evaporated from it and there is nothing left but dry sandpaper. My uvula is swollen and is knocked around like the proverbial punching bag with every breath I take (or cough). Thankfully K&P's Pharmaceuticals came through for me and I believe I am finally at the end of the wild ride. This sickness has given me some time to read a bit more and I picked up a book by Isaac Asimov and I must admit I am greatly impressed by his writing style. I find his stories so informative, they are science fiction, but by explaining all of the science, he makes it seem almost plausible. It was only a compilation of short stories however it got me thinking about writing again. Once I have teaching down pat (if that ever happens) I will see about picking up the pen and notebook and see where they might take me.
As for right now I am enjoying the soothing pleasures of Ayuq (labrador) Tea and listening to whatever songs pop up shuffle-wise. Til next time...

Back in AK

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, New's Years Resolution #1 try to keep this blog updated, it has been gasping through the last months. I am trying to get myself into full swing out here and I am going to see how this next week turns out. I am home, water froze inside my house and my door required the use of a blowtorch to gain entry. I am finding myself a bit overwhelmed at the moment, I need to find something that will help me gain a handle on the events out here, some kind of perspective. I haven't been taking as much time to reflect as I should and I wonder if I am getting a little out of practice. I helped Noah gather scraps for the steam today and one of the"scraps" was a massive wooden box that wouldnt fit into the sled, it could only rest on the top sides of the sled. We were without the use of rope so I manuvered the scraps and stuck a 2x4 so it stand straight up in the air and pushed the box up against it. There was no way it was going to stay there balancing by itself, so I had to ride on top of the scraps putting my weight against the box balancing it on the 2x4. The snowmachine lurched to life and every hill and valley caused me to adjust the pressure I placed on the block. I had my back to the snowmachine unaware of what would come next. As I tried to keep the box steady I was being knocked about by the scraps underneath, muscles tense to maintain my position. The last stretch when we were at the Maqii the sled tilted up at an angle and it was too much it fell off. I stumbled after it, and was relieved that we were right at our destination. I suppose thats what I could be looking at right now folks. Not sure where I am going, trying to get this listing senseless box of bush education balanced, while bureucratic scraps kick me in the shins. It seemed inevitable that I was going to fall, however it was at our final destination that everything came apart. Close enough... I don't know guys I have heard that counts in two games horse shoes and hand grenades. I am wondering if I going to steam tonight or just fall asleep, I am beat. Until tomorrow Ladies and Gentlemen.

Changes ladies and gentlemen...

Man alive, ladies and gentlemen, life has moved in incredible directions. I find myself currently an uncle again with a new nephew, a basketball coach, as well as part of a spearhead movement to improve the water quality of the village out here. I got to see my family, have my water system completely installed and I am able to filter the water at an incredible rate cleaning it of microbes to a log12 factor. My mondays and wednesdays have turned into 13 hour days with only a lunch break with coaching and tutoring, and i am oddly surprised I would have expected me to be exhausted, but i am finding myself with time on my hands to write and update my blog. I dont know where this time came from, but i am reasonably planned up for the end of the year until break and I just have to get over my wednesday hump before i feel the week is over. I am looking forward to break with reckless abandon, I cant hardly wait, after getting a taste of my dad and sister it reminded me of what i am missing back home. Not to mention it was cool to meet Bob, the CEO of fourth largest communications company in the world! He was the most eccentric man I have ever met. Immensly interested in everything, honeybuckets, steaming, and chipping ice, I have never met a more humble man who was so giving. My little sister described it the best although the man isimmensley weathly he isnt really concerned with acquiring more of it, he is more focused on what good he can do with it. He has provided financial support to what he terms "world changing ideas" and tries to bring great minds together. I was blown away by the man and am incredibly grateful that he decided to take an interest in my little village out here. Guys the course of events that led up to this was incredible, seredipitious is only the beginning, and slowly I find myself becomin more religious. The chances of everything arejust too outrageous, I feel I have found reaffirmation that I should be out here, and I didnt even know I was looking for it. In retrospect this whole scheme came to be because I had no idea that AK stood for alaska. It is ridiculous guys I have no other explanation for it. As this project unfolds I think I am going to begin compiling my blogging and journaling and start laying this out in a book. I always wanted to be an author, I thought by choosing teaching I was giving up o nthat path, but it looks like there may stil be an avenue open. I don't know folks, i just dont know, I am simply amazed by what has occurred...til next time

Project done!

Well ladies and Gentlemen my video is complete!!!! It is up and running and you can check it out at http://eimakeover.shycast.com/contestant/582/ There are only about fifty other highschools competing feel free to check out how we measure up. Please take the time to log in and register an email account. I know it is signing a bit of your soul away but what is one more piece of spam in comparison to the billions flying around the ethernet currently. We put a lot of time and effort into and I hope you folks will support our effort.

I have to admit that while I am happy that the submission went through I have to admit this is one of the first major projects I have stuck through until completion. I am notorious for starting things and then just letting them wither away. There was a small amount of elation that coursed through me as I finally got it up and now it is a little odd to ask people I haven't talked to in a while to come and support me, however the nice part is that over this past weekend I was able to get a couple of friendships that had been lying dormant to become reconnected and I am definitly looking forward to coming home over winter break and keeping those connections going.

Musically, if I ever hear Nickelback's "Rockstar" song again it will be too soon. Generally i can do the one song on repeat ad nauseum, however the amount of stress that get associated with song is something i would like to distance myself from. Leaving the world of pop, I have finally had time to delve into some music my brother hooked me up with last christmas and due to my disorganization of moving place to place I have finally gotten around to it. Right now Charles Mingus " My Jelly Roll Soul" is just rubbing me the right way. I am just unwinding and relaxing, I have a notch in my belt of project completions and I hope to double it by finishing the water project next saturday. I tell you ladies and gentlemen if I can ride this wave I will be ecstatic come november.

My two other goals are to purchase a Yamaha PSR-900 to start an after school club, and to by 20 basketballs, one for each of the guys who are eligible for basketball this year. I want to buy sharpees too so they can design their ball and make it their own and practice with it all the time. Something they can envision going through the air and landing in the hoop. M reasons for this are twofold, One most of my students have never owned their own basketball, and two there are not enough basketballs in the school for each memeber of my team to have one. Two people can not dribble with the same ball at the same time. I think Newton has a law about that...

Overall folks life's looking on the up and up. Things were kind of getting away from me for a while but I feel I got the horses back under the reign. Please help my kids out by checking out our music video again. Here's the link http://eimakeover.shycast.com/contestant/582/

Til next time ladies and gentlemen...

Projects abound!!!!

Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been neglectful true, but I am coming out of slump, this is awesome I am about 80% done with water project creating my aformention system that will purify and cleanse all of my water no matter what the source or pollutants out here. And I would be 100% but I adopted another project one that I just kind fo fell onto while searching for funding for a smart board for my classroom. It is to enter a contest and make a music video and you get the change to win a $25,000 Classroom Technology makeover. Well this thing looks pretty sweet and only 200 some people entered it last year. Well right now there are only 6 highschools involved and their videos are pretty shoddy. So I have worked with my students and we have come up with some lyrics to parody Nickelback's Rockstar song and we are going to be putting it to video over the next three days as the video is due to be uploaded on friday. I swear to post this as soon as it is completed, I took one of my classes, my Consumer Life Skills class and just told it for the next two weeks this is all we are working on. We got pretty pumped about it and we are going to see what develops. I am pretty hopeful that we have a good chance, the website to check out is eimakeover.com . Hang in there with me for a little long folks and I will have something phenomenal to show you... on that note, til next time.