Random Thoughts Thread

[JAHV76]

1 hour ago, Tank said:

i have a major quandry and need your advice.

just finished grading an 8th graders final test, which was about the civil war. one of the questions was to give one of the alternate names for the North (like Union, or Yankees, or Federals, etc.). one of the answers was bluebellies. one of my boys from china wrote blueberry. should i give him credit?

Give him credit and tell him to get an iPhone and turn in his blueberry

[Tank]

1 hour ago, gotbeer said:

Well, is he wrong?  Just because you don't like the name, doesn't mean they aren't a bunch of blueberries.  Damn racists.

But I'd give credit and correct him.  Then show him the Chinese laundry commercial to make him feel better.

LOL

[JAHV76]

1 hour ago, gotbeer said:

Well, is he wrong?  Just because you don't like the name, doesn't mean they aren't a bunch of blueberries.  Damn racists.

But I'd give credit and correct him.  Then show him the Chinese laundry commercial to make him feel better.

 

[Lou]

 

On April 27, 2016 at 9:45 AM, cezero said:

Finding Nemo is a way to get instant silence from pretty much any class. I'm subbing for somebody's advisory group right now, and they were really loud. Not anymore. 

That's interesting. How long have you been teaching @ usc? 

[Brandon]

holy shit.

some dude sent me his dd-214 to do a va refinance and under race it states negroid. lol

for those non-vets, it's your military discharge paperwork. i didn't know the government used the classification of negroid.

[Tank]

my wife had to run home this morning to take care of something and found our cat lying down and laboring for breath and in a lot of distress. she took him in to the vet who discovered he had a lot of fluid in his lungs. x-rays revealed two large masses, also, likely cancerous. she made the decision to have him put down to prevent him from suffering any more.

my daughter will be home in less than an hour and doesn't know yet. this part of parenting, telling your kids about the loss of a pet, is one of the tougher things to do. it's going to be devastating for her. she also has finals tomorrow (fortunately she can make them up on friday). 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Ah sorry to here that. Never easy to put a pet down. 

I shattered my iPhone screen 

[Tank]

man, that sucked more than i thought it would.

[mrwicked]

19 hours ago, Tank said:

my wife had to run home this morning to take care of something and found our cat lying down and laboring for breath and in a lot of distress. she took him in to the vet who discovered he had a lot of fluid in his lungs. x-rays revealed two large masses, also, likely cancerous. she made the decision to have him put down to prevent him from suffering any more.

my daughter will be home in less than an hour and doesn't know yet. this part of parenting, telling your kids about the loss of a pet, is one of the tougher things to do. it's going to be devastating for her. she also has finals tomorrow (fortunately she can make them up on friday). 

damn, sorry to hear that man. that has to be brutal.

[Tank]

Thanks, wicked. It was pretty rough. This was the second of two brother cats she got for her bday eight years ago. They both died of cancer three years apart.

[Tank]

rant time.

had our 8th grade graduation last night, and i'm exhausted, but very glad it's over. this was a real pushy class at times that had this idea that they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, so guiding them was difficult at times.

graduation is often the best day and worst day of the year, mostly because of pushy parents. we don't let anyone into the auditorium until a certain time, which we tell them well ahead of time. but yet, there are always parents who think they're above our guidelines and do their best to get inside early and start setting up or saving seats. last night, it was the mother of the class president who felt entitled. i had to boot her out and she took offense that i would even do such a thing. 

had another pushy parent who decided it was in his best interests to set up his camera and tripod in a portion of the center aisle so he could capture his baby marching in. didn't matter that kids had to walk around his setup. thank goodness he was able to get that million dollar shot!

when i read the names as the grads came up to get their diplomas, we expect cheering, but it's gotten to the point where some people feel they have to yell undistinguishable things louder than anyone else, as if they're proving how loved their child/sibling is. the worst offender last night? the class president's older brother. it was so bad i almost had to say something from the podium. he was dork when i taught him four years ago, and i see that he has somehow managed to drop down a few more levels.

the 8th grade parents gave the teachers a gift last night. it included a couple of roses that still had all of the thorns attached (nice touch! was there some kind of hidden message there?). they also gave each of us a gift card to starbucks. i'm always grateful for things like this, but i don't drink coffee. i don't talk about coffee. the kids have never seen me raise a cup of coffee. i hate the smell of coffee and the flavor. if you're going to do something like this, match it up to the person you're giving it to. an amazon or iTunes gift card would have been terrific.

okay, that's it. now some time off to prepare for next years jr. high, including one of the loudest classes of 8th graders i can remember. their parents are even more pushy. maybe we can just mail a diploma to them and cancel the ceremony next year.

[arch stanton]

Just now, arch stanton said:

I never knew 8th grade graduation was a real thing. Seems a little premature to celebrate that. People spend far more time videoing and photographing every little thing than they do actually watching or participating now. It really sucks the joy out of nearly any event.

 

[gotbeer]

@arch stanton They have these crap dog and pony shows for everything now.  Kindergarten, elementary school etc. 

[Tank]

8th grade graduation has been around forever - mine was in 1974.

my first year teaching I was in charge of graduation. Wasn't sure of everything to do so I asked questions, lots of them. Was talking to one of the parents about it - she had an older daughter who had already gone through this and so I wanted to know what kinds of things to do, especially since her second daughter was an 8th grader. She went WAY overboard on all the kinds of cords and stolls the kids should have to recognize their accomplishments. Had she had her way these kids would've looked like soldiers geared up to do a patrol in Baghdad. After hearing her out, I finally said "but it's just 8th grade graduation." She teared up like I had just kicked her poodle. I talked to my principal about it and he finally gave me guidance that was a satisfactory compromise. Learned without a doubt that there are parents who want this to mean everything, and that no celebration is too big. They want to put a Porsche paint job on a 2003 Ford Taurus.

I think it's a ton of overcompensation, kind of like parents who think their kid is the next Mike Trout or Kobe or Tom Cruise, and if I don't give them everything they want/deserve then I'm just a roadblock to their joy/success.

my daughter graduates from high school next year. Keep it simple. We don't need to go overboard.

[aznhockeyguy]

So it just dawned on me now that I've completed school for now and have lots of free time, I have no friends I can call up to go do stuff with.  All of them are married or in relationships.  Not really sure how to make more friends.  This is normal right?  

[nate]

bars, beer league sports, work, church (if that is your thing), etc

[red321]

37 minutes ago, aznhockeyguy said:

So it just dawned on me now that I've completed school for now and have lots of free time, I have no friends I can call up to go do stuff with.  All of them are married or in relationships.  Not really sure how to make more friends.  This is normal right?  

find a hobby or two...maybe a creative outlet or something outdoorsy. Find groups related to that hobby. If you are in to photography, find a local photography club...if you are in to hiking, find a hiking group, etc.

And if you haven't, learn how to do some things by yourself. I took some great roadtrips by myself...granted it was tied to photography but there was a lot of freedom in just driving and deciding what to do next on the fly and nobody in the world knowing where the hell I was.

[gotbeer]

2 hours ago, aznhockeyguy said:

So it just dawned on me now that I've completed school for now and have lots of free time, I have no friends I can call up to go do stuff with.  All of them are married or in relationships.  Not really sure how to make more friends.  This is normal right?  

Call up their wives or girlfriends and do stuff with them.

[aznhockeyguy]

All good suggestions.  I just need to put myself out there more.

[m0nkey]

On 12/9/2015 at 7:14 AM, m0nkey said:

I just passed my first test of the CPA exam.

 

Not even excited because I have 3 more to go

2 more to go

[Tank]

all of our teachers and staff had CPR and first aid training today. for CPR, they used to have us do chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute, which was the same as keeping time with the song "staying alive" and made for an interesting session. they've now changed it to 100-120 compressions per minute and the new song is "living on a prayer" by bon jovi. whoever is picking the songs has a real sense of whimsy. 

[Mark68]

On 6/7/2016 at 0:38 PM, aznhockeyguy said:

So it just dawned on me now that I've completed school for now and have lots of free time, I have no friends I can call up to go do stuff with.  All of them are married or in relationships.  Not really sure how to make more friends.  This is normal right?  

Start playing poker.

[mrwicked]

On June 7, 2016 at 11:38 AM, aznhockeyguy said:

So it just dawned on me now that I've completed school for now and have lots of free time, I have no friends I can call up to go do stuff with.  All of them are married or in relationships.  Not really sure how to make more friends.  This is normal right?  

go travel. seriously.

few things in life are better than traveling in a foreign country by yourself. the chicks you'll meet, the times you'll have, the food, the drinks. I'm serious. just get a ticket somehow and go. you'll meet plenty of people. go to eastern europe or the balkans and thank me later. you won't want to come back.

[aznhockeyguy]

11 hours ago, Mark68 said:

Start playing poker.

I do this everyday at home; online poker ftw.  

10 hours ago, mrwicked said:

go travel. seriously.

few things in life are better than traveling in a foreign country by yourself. the chicks you'll meet, the times you'll have, the food, the drinks. I'm serious. just get a ticket somehow and go. you'll meet plenty of people. go to eastern europe or the balkans and thank me later. you won't want to come back.

Hmm. A good suggestion, but I'm kinda worried I wouldn't be able to communicate with the locals.  

[gotbeer]

2 hours ago, aznhockeyguy said:

I do this everyday at home; online poker ftw.  

Hmm. A good suggestion, but I'm kinda worried I wouldn't be able to communicate with the locals.  

I hear that if you speak really really loud, it helps.