People Confuse Me

At least, sometimes they do. A few of my students last semester and this act as if they are in charge of the class. They take umbrage at the idea that what the Instructor (me) says, goes. In my opinion, I am not a difficult teacher, nor do I expect unreasonable things from my students. They, on the other hand, tend to think that I am an unrealistic slave-driver.

This past Monday, one of my students claimed that I had said something in class in advance of the test they took last week. I had said no such thing, and when I stated that, my student had the audacity to argue with me in front of the rest of the class. The student in question wouldn't even back down when several of her classmates told her she was mistaken.

I have a suspicion that the attitude I perceive in my classes is the result of years of students being coddled and pandered to in the education environment. Parents don't help the situation when they march to school and attack Teachers and Principals and threaten legal action if their little Johnny or Susie isn't "treated better."

In short, it's time for people to grow up. And that goes for the kids, too.

The Incredibles

I finally got around to seeing this year's "Best Animated Feature" yesterday. I know people who think it should have won "Best Picture" as well. I have to say that it's mighty hard to argue against that.

This movie has great acting and keeps you interested from start to finish. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were fantastic as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, don't miss it. Right now, it's playing at the "Dollar" theaters in my area, so try to catch it on the big screen right away.

Getting in Shape Update 13

The average is about 2.6 pounds per week.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 234.5

Today's Weight = 233.0

Weight Loss in past week = 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 34.0 pounds

You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

Last night was opening night for Kaufman County Civic Theatre's production of Annie. Everything went well.

In fact, we had to add chairs in the aisles to accomodate the crowd. For an actor, there's not much better than playing to a full house. As the theatre's Treasurer, I was fiscally pleased, as well. Here's hoping the remainder of the run (10 more shows) will be equally successful.

Getting in Shape Update 12

Well, I guess I was wrong last week about slowing down. Good week.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 238.5

Today's Weight = 234.5

Weight Loss in past week = 4.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 32.5 pounds

In Honor of Eric

UPDATE: I guess I shouldn't try to type that late at night. I left out a very important word in this post originally. It has been fixed. My apologies to Jamie Foxx for the error.

My High School classmate, Eric Bishop, who is better known to you as Jamie Foxx, won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Ray Charles. As I watched his acceptance speech on the giant screen set up in our hometown's Performing Arts Center, I couldn't help but think to myself that what I was seeing was not some Hollywood phony. What I saw was the guy I knew almost twenty years ago.



I am as proud as I can be of Jamie Foxx. I am glad that he doesn't seem to be much different from the guy I remember.

What is The Chance of a Lifetime (redux)?

I got an e-mail from Jeopardy! today offering me a chance to audition for the show at their upcoming Houston try-outs. I passed their test once back in April 2002, but I never got called to be on the show. That time, I was one of two who passed in a session with about seventy folks who took the test. They told the two of us that the small passing rate probably boded well for us, but it was not to be.

I may need to bone up on some pop culture and some Shakespeare over the next month.

Regrets, I've had a few

But then again, too few to mention.

One thing in my life that I do regret is that I never took Typing class in High School. In fact, I actively avoided the class.

I am a fairly fast "hunt and peck" typist, but, as my loyal readers can attest, I have the tendency to invert letters when I type. So, if you see a word with all the correct letters, but in the wrong order, you know why.

It's never a good time

I have come to the conclusion that there is never a good time to start any major project in one's life. Specifically, there's never a good time to try to sell one's house. Since we made the decision to move, my family has been hit with illness and other time-sucking calamities. Now that we're all well again, my oldest daughter and I are in the middle of the homestretch for the production of Annie, so I won't have much time available to help do things around the house.

The good news is that we've figured out that we don't quite have to get moved as quickly as we had originally thought. Our initial plan was to make the move before July 1st. I'd still love to be able to accomplish that, but we don't have to, and the pressure is much less now.

That goal date might not have ever been realistic because Jody plans on taking an extended trip to visit her family in June. It would have been kind of hard to close on a house if Jody was in Montana at the time.

Stay tuned for updates in this continuing saga.

Getting in Shape Update 11

I think I've hit the slowing down phase.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 240.0

Today's Weight = 238.5

Weight Loss in past week = 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 28.5 pounds

Bet Your Bottom Dollar

Well, we open Annie in just over a week. All in all, I must admit that we are much further along than I figured we would be at this point. Between revolving Warbuckses and the flu running rampant through the cast (luckily mainly through the adults and not the kids), I feared we'd be in for a long final 2 weeks.

I think the show's gonna be fine.

The primary benefit of having 6 roles and having to execute 8 costume changes is that I get to avoid having to help with the set. WooHoo!

Once this show opens, I get to turn most of my theatre focus to getting ready to direct The Foreigner this summer. Well, when I find time in all the preparations for our move to the D/FW metroplex.

Health Watch

This relates to the getting in shape stuff, but I didn't want to use the title that I use for my weight posts.

I went to the Doctor this morning after having blood drawn last Friday. Cholesterol is down to 118 (it was over 200 a year and a half ago) with my bad cholesterol at 63. The Doctor was very pleased.

He also was happy with my weight loss.

Getting in Shape Update 10

Half of my household is sick right now, and I'm part of that half. If I start throwing up (like calvinatorette I & III), next week's weight could look really good.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 241.5

Today's Weight = 240.0

Weight Loss in past week = 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 27.0 pounds

Pain in the Rear

Getting our house ready to sell is becoming quite a chore. I spent all day yesterday installing new light fixtures in the dining and breakfast areas. I also replaced one ceiling fan that wasn't working and another that we want to take with us (it's a Winnie the Pooh™ one). The day's activities necessitated not one, but two trips to my favorite place in the world, Wal*Mart. First, I had to get some electrical tape because I refused to leave exposed wires even up in the junction boxes. Then, I had to go back to exchange one of the light fixtures because I hadn't noticed it had some broken glass when I got it late Friday night on my second trip there that day.

We are going to have to get a storage unit to hold some of the stuff that is cluttering up our house. The Realtor who will be listing our house listed that as the biggest thing we need to take care of—de-cluttering. I'm also gonna have to tear apart the wonderful L-shaped computer desk I built. We have been using our dining area as our computer station, and we need to turn it back into a dining area.

When taken with theatre rehearsals for Annie and my part-time teaching, there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get things done.

1962?

I'm not really sure how I wound up with this answer, but.

You Belong in 1962

1962 If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

I think it's because my repsonses were either 50's or 80's related, and it trended toward 50's, so I ended up in the early 60's.

Something I Don't Understand

As I was driving today, I saw something I don't get. It wasn't the first time I'd seen it, but it got me thinking.

What is the deal with the fake bullet holes that people put on their cars? The truck I saw today had 2 in the tailgate and 1 in the rear windshield. Why do people put those on their vehicles? Do they want people to think they've been shot at in a driveby? Do they want their trucks and cars to look like trash even when they aren't?

Can anyone explain this to me?

Getting in Shape Update 9

I have no idea why I had such a good drop this week. Exercise was spotty, at best.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 246.0

Today's Weight = 241.5

Weight Loss in past week = 4.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 25.5 pounds

Picking with my heart

For this year's Super Bowl, the Cowboy fan has quite a dilemma. It is hard to root for the Eagles just because they are the Eagles. However, if the Patriots win, they will match the Cowboys' feat of winning 3 Super Bowls in a 4 year period (Dallas should have won 4 in a row).

So, picking with my heart instead of my head (which tells me the Pats will win by at least 10), I am gonna say:

Eagles    16
Patriots  14

Things are Rolling

I went and signed the Loan Application paperwork this evening after work. As soon as we can sell our house and find one to buy, we'll be moving into the official D/FW metroplex area. It's exciting, but when I think of all the work that needs to be done on our house to sell it, I cringe.

Getting in Shape Update 8

UPDATE: Progress pics are below

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 248.0

Today's Weight = 246.0

Weight Loss in past week = 2.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 21.0 pounds


BEFORE CLOSE-UP PIC (taken October 27, 2004)


PROGRESS CLOSE-UP PIC (taken February 1, 2005)


  BEFORE FULL BODY PIC          PROGRESS FULL BODY PIC
 (taken October 27, 2004)         (taken February 1, 2005)