Journal

The study of Poetry is a lot of fun for me. I enjoy seeing how people react to good poetry, and this class doesn't disappoint; they react in unexpected ways.

Too often I find good poetry written by people who are not generally regarded as good poets, so work hard, my students. You may have a great poetic voice, even if you don't think so!

The fact that we're starting Shakespeare is thrilling to me. I have enjoyed Shakespeare since I first studied it when I was a freshman in high school. The depth and complexity still brings me new things when I read and hear the play, but those first impressions I had stick with me as well, blending together to create this incredible smoothie of observations on human nature that I sip on while the play (and high school life) goes on about me.

It is my hope that students will become as infatuated with the bard as I am over the course of the next few weeks.

This is officially the beginning of the new year. I have to say that I am less than enthusiastic about putting together any official resolutions, because all I ever feel when I fail is disappointment. I am resolved not to fail at not failing this year, so therefore I will not make any resolutions!

I have to say, I am looking for musical recommendations these days, as I got an ipod from my family for Christmas. If you have any recommendations, please forward them to me or tell me in class.

PS - have you found the Lambda?

I officially finished my goal of 50,000 words! It was a busy Thanksgiving break. My story isn't finished, but I think a few more days of good writing and the story will be ready to go to the first editing and reading by my wife. She's really good at finding holes in plots. Who knows, if it passes muster, it might be worth sending to an agent... hard to say.

This past weekend, while I rested to tried and recuperate from a cold, I wrote quite a bit. I passed the halfway mark on my novel, which I've currently titled The misadventures of a long lost twin. It's been quite an experience so far, and I'm really enjoying the way the story is shaping up. It's difficult to find time to write when I am teaching full time, going home to my family, and just being involved in life. My family has been great about letting me have the time, though. I hope to have things in good shape for a marathon of progress over Thanksgiving break!

This year, for the first time, I will participate in the national novel writing month. The goal of this event is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I am not sure just how well I will do, but I will attempt to update my word count here a couple times through the month. The great thing about this contest is that the novel doesn't have to be good, just written. "December is for editing," as the site says.

The sixth anniversary of the attacks on America by foreign terrorists causes us all to reflect on what we were doing then. The current freshmen were in third grade, I was working as a businessman, and the middle east was not the focus of two major wars. All-in-all there were fewer concerns before this event than there are now. It is almost as though the US is in another cold war, though now we can't seem to find the enemy so we can target their economy (ask your history teacher).

I'm curious if four years from now will see any difference at all in the war on terror.

This year has really started with a bang. I think that we are going to have a good year and get a lot done. The research project is started to gel together with the deadlines. I am having to fit a lot of deadlines around WrAP and ERB testing, which is quickly approaching.

Also, today we wrote in class about 4 people we would like to meet. These people could be living, dead, real, fictitious, etc.. I was not interested in why students met these people, but rather the details of where they would go to lunch, what they would eat, what they might discuss, and what they would wear. I hope students will start thinking outside of the ordinary answers and get a little creative in their answers and I look forward to skimming the journals for those answers!

My first time through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was well worth the read. I love the characters. I am amazed at how close to some of the predictions the author actually hit, since she tried so hard to throw red herrings in the way of sleuths for two years. Those of you who haven't finished or read, I will not spoil the ending, but I must say that the denounment was not as flushed out as I, a long-time reader, would have liked... not much I can do about it though. Still, I am thrilled with the outcome and pleased that so many people have been reading thanks to this school-teacher turned billionaire and her seven books!

I have been sitting patiently waiting for a file to compress for our 2006-7 yearbook so that I can ship it to the plant and thought I would update. I am quite excited about the release of the final installment of the Harry Potter series later this summer. I will be receiving my book in the mail a couple days after the release, since I decided to be cheap and save on shipping costs. Nonetheless, I will be busy until then checking notes on some of the more popular websites for clues as to the outcome.

This year has gone much more quickly than I anticipated! I haven't even fully finished this web site as the time to put it online approaches. I wanted to have it on before summer so that my next year's students could explore it a little. Last year's website had a secret that one student found and got some extra credit for! I wonder if this page has secrets... Maybe not yet :)

Coming to an end... I hope that the cold weather will soon be doing this. It has been a brutally cold winter and I am not sure that I can handle too much more cold weather. I miss my bicycle and being able to ride before school.

This web site is becoming a labor of love. I always enjoy creating something fun and unique.

Driving to work this morning, I had the opportunity to drive across Indian Hill on Miami Road. The trees, at various places, reach across the top of the street and create an arbor-arch. The recent ice storm has left all the trees sheathed in ice and gives the impression of traveling in a tunnel made up of ice.

The beauty of this sight really does distract from the task at hand, namely driving. I would much rather have looked at the scenery and dallied rather than proceed directly to work, but my mature sensibilities led me to value my job.

After having three snow days in the month of February, I am reminded of growing up in Northern Ohio. The record cold streak has refreshed my memory of why I loved and hated winter: I love the beauty but hate the cold.