Road

I don't quite know what is going to happen next.

Well, I'm going to get food, I know that.

But then after that, I don't know what is going to happen next.

I am about to leave Ithaca, and the changes are happening to this city. They put in an Urban Outfitters?! Squeeze me? Pardon? Really? Wowza. Not to mention the new buildings on the the Ithaca campus. I really enjoy the absolute mish-mash of buildings they have there; some concrete, some brick, some glass, some trailer, and now two spaceships. Pretty L.E.E.D. certified spaceships.

Even though this blog thing never really has taken off, and I'm not sure where it is going, I'm glad that you have decided to stumble upon this and keep up to this point.

My birthday was a few days ago, and all turning 24 means is that you are certifiably in your mid twenties. 23 had some gray area to it, but 24 is not a joker. Oh hell no. I wonder how confused I will be when I turn 27.

I was really hoping to not have to summarize a summer in a couple of sentences, but I think I will blip things now so that I may elaborate later, which I'm sure won't even happen. This summer has been full of travel and happen-stance. Grandfather passing away, my car passing away, trips to D.C., Colorado, Iowa, the straight, 23 hour drive back home from Iowa, Acadia national park in Maine and Lake Winnepasauke in N.H. with my girlfriend/partner in crime Tacey. The purchasing of my new wheels, Leon, who is a geezer. Hanging with all of my Simsbury cohorts, which is always a fantastic pleasure, or even fantastically pleasuring. Tacey coming to Simsbury. Travels to Rhode Island for my wife Laurel and then to Quincy (Boston) for my BFF Bobbielee.

In these travels though, all being rich in local and shared experience, I do burn the fossil fuels to see those of whom I care deeply. The people very much shape the expereince, I am glad that I was able to see many. There are some of who I was not able to see this break, much like my friend Leslie, whom I have not seen or heard from in over 9 years. Amazing the power of that other online demon facebook. I did happen to see a lot of people on this trip, and some of which I really didn't expect to see.

But now I am goign to embark on a 8 day journey of I don't know and with no one in sight, though there will be many in mind. Having that time to one self to just go and get lost is damn near necessary, especially when it comes to preserving the relationships that we have. It allows us to better acquaint us with ourselves, which can then further develop how we interact with others. I hope that you do give time to be by yourself, since all others can benefit with you knowing exactly who you are.

Did that sound like something hallmark would write? I hope not. Screw hallmark.

I like roulette, but only when Mark Hejduk is by my side. Red, even, black, etc. Though I still think that Foxwoods casino is still a terrible place (where I started my birthday). It was really sad to see severely obese people sitting at a slot machine at 1:45 a.m. just pumping money into it. How do we as humans get to a point like that, not to mention allow something like that to happen? Free will can be a bitch sometimes.

Aight, this has been nonsensical, much like this summer. The will to survive by consuming food is starting to take precedence over writing, so until where ever the hell I end up, just hope ole' Leon can make it through.

Oh yeah, and watch out for this guy!!

Eulogy

It has been a whirlwind since I got home. I did happen to see my grandfather two days before his death. It was a good tiem seeing him, as he was still in his wily high spirts. I was asked to speak at the funeral, so I thought I would share those words, reflecting my experience with grandpa, my last grandparent.


8th grade. With my elbows on the desk, I brought my head down and pressed my forehead into my palms. I’m starring at the just returned test in front of me, with a big, glaring F on it. I looked around the room to find that other students were bragging to each other about their grades; I continued to silently sulk over this catastrophe of academic showmanship. I thought to myself, “How am I failing this miserably at French? I think it might be generous to assume that maybe one other person in this classroom has any family member whose native language is French, yet I have a grandfather who’s first language is French and the only phrase that I can say confidently is je ne sais pas, translation: I don’t know.” Throw in a last name like Bernie’, I stared back down at my F and pondered the irony of the situation.
Traveling to grandpas, I recall getting excited to try and communicate the little bit of French that I had picked up from class. My father, siblings and I would pull into the driveway, get out of the car, collect our blankets and pillows and bombard our way through the door. Grandpa would always greet me with a firm handshake. As I would get older the firmness of my grip would improve, and then after a few classes in French in my back pocket, I would add a “Bonjour Grandpere” to that handshake. I didn’t realize that would release a torrent of French from his mouth. As he would wrap up his statement that I’m sure was covered in the 3rd class of the year, my eyes would widen, and jaw would drop as I would search my infant French vocabulary for a response. “Uhhh….je ne sais pas.” He would let out a laugh and let me in. I think that the only thing I found more confusing than when grandpa tried to teach me a little bit of French was the first time he tried to teach me how to play cribbage.
Walking into grandpa’s house always seemed “just right,” and by that I mean there was always an extravagant amount of golf knick-knacks scattered through the house, candlepin bowling was on the television (I still can’t believe that sport is televised), a cribbage board ready to go, and the refrigerator was always stocked with Moxie soda. For those of you who have not had the distinct pleasure of enjoying a cold can of moxie, imagine cough syrup and licorice together and then carbonated. I remember drinking a full glass of Moxie without wincing and thinking that it was some coming of age. Grandpa’s house was certainly not tailored to the entertainment of three young kids, but it was something special to be in his environment for a while and enjoy those things that I couldn’t find anywhere else.
But besides gramp’s house and absolutely huge yard (where my siblings and I would tee-off and drive golf balls as far as we could), it was always about being with grandpa. The conversations we had were about anything and everything, but usually ranging from who my sister was dating at the time to who grandpa had a date with that night. I was always impressed with how much his phone rang. But if there was something that will always stick with me about grandpa, it would have to be his ability to keep cranking out jokes. He was continuously keeping me chuckling with some off the cuff remark and sometimes repeated one-liner. Even up to the very end of his life while he stayed in bed, we were moving the sheets to make him more comfortable and somebody mentioned “hang in there grandpa,” and of course grandpa snuck in there “why can’t we just hang out?” I let out a boisterous laugh which grandpa responded, “well, Andrew is here.”
With mentioning grandpa’s state towards the end of his tremendous life, I do want to give thanks and a deep appreciation to Aunt Elise and Uncle Bill, who have made countless sacrifices to ensure that the end of grandpa’s long journey was as comfortable and caring as possible. I know that it meant the world to grandpa to be around family and to be cared for by the ones who love him. I cannot possibly conceive grandpa to have received the care, attention and nurturing that Aunt Elise and Uncle Bill provided him anywhere else, and to that we all thank you so much.
Not many people can say that they have been able to live such an extensive and active life as grandpa, being an icon in a community that he watched first-hand grow into what it is today. He showed characteristics that I continuously try to emulate and carried out a genetic longevity that I’m sure many of us hope to have inherited; a longevity which gave grandpa the chance to see four generations of his making, an extremely rare opportunity which I’m sure was a perfect capstone to a long and rich life. So grandpa, I love you so much and thank you for being the influence you were on all of our lives. I hope now that you are in a place where the cribbage board is always on the table and the moxie is always cold.

Grandpa

So, I am about to embark on a mad dash across the country from Denver to good ole' Simsbury. Some 2,000 miles. Reason being is that my grandfather is dying up in Northern New Hampshire. He is 97, to say the least has had a long life. I tried to talk to him the other day, but it was difficult. He was just saying that he was confused about what was going on and that he didn't remember things to the questions that I was asking him. Eventually he said that it was best if he went. Not much I can say to that really. I was very much at a loss for words. My Aunt is throwing him a party and is expecting the whole family (he is at the top of 4 living, maybe 5, generations) to come to her house where he is staying. It is at noon on Saturday. It will be early morning Thursday when I leave Colorado. He asked me to come see him. I'm going to do my damn best. Hold in there Grandpa.

I am though leaving a grand week in Colorado, full of Uncle Todd, bikerides, suds, conversation and the glorious Rockey Mountains. I'll get to that soon, though if I am going to make a productive drive tomorrow, I am going to need some sleep.

Andrew

D.C.'d!

Noted: Washington D.C. never fails to impress. Never. Ever.

On a very whimsical 400+ dollar purchase, I decided to take the absolute first 5 days of my summer vacation / TFA time-out and spend it in the other city that I had placed as my top choice, along with Phoenix. It so happened to be that one of my very good friends, former roommate and longtime fellow pillager of livers Alex Moore was holding himself a going away party as he was graduating the likes of Georgetown U.

To start, I almost missed the flight and finally crashed the gate of my flight about 9 minutes before taking off. Literally squeezing onto it, I trekked the country airborne and made it to the final destination. It was nice seeing the capitol flying in. The most immediate act was to secure food, which eventually came in the form of a cheese steak from an Asian restaurant near the metro stop.

A welcoming crew was sent to retrieve me composed of some of my favorite I.C.er's Abie, Bevin, Jack, Ally and the ever gracious DTM. The party proved to be as disastrous as advertized with and eventual tackle - takedown from Alex, who I'm sure could only make me out by my blond hair and perpetual flannel (I seriously doubt his ability to identify fine details at this point). Regardless, I caught the shindig at the tail end and didn't get too involved in the imbibing, thought the cheesesteak and catching up with several other I.C.er's such as Big Chris, Amanda, Anna, Ram, Winski, Casey Brown and others was joyous. And watching Alex actually die after trying to tackle me again but only slamming his genitals into a railing also proved to be plenty worth the plane ticket.

The rest of the trip also proved to be solid, with all of Saturday being dedicated to Mimosas and running amock in Adam's Morgan with many of the above names. Sunday was a sad one to start, as I saw off many of the guys and was then left on my own with a backpack and suitcase in the middle of D.C. It was a cool feeling. I got ahold of my friend Bri who lives in the area and we made it over to the International Spy museam which was mega sweet. It was almost like being in the temple from "Legends of the Hidden Temple" as the first part of the place was pretty much a puzzle for every room, though our group didn’t do so well, and I'm pretty sure that our guide was very hung-over, not unlike myself (DOUBLE NEGATIVE KIDS!!!), that one is for my students, who always use them, and hope never, ever read this.

Monday was Abie day, and an Abie day is always going to be one of the most glorious days that ever be. That was the real touristy day, where we checked out the inside of the capitol, saw the national archives (the constitution up-close is a rather commanding parchment), checked out the statue garden on the mall and got ourselves some chow in Foggy bottom (tehe). *Note: As I compose this on the plane, someone is unleashing a fury of flatulence, and I sit next to the window trapped, sickened and impressed.*

Which brings us to today. Besides my consistent late starts to the day (I think I am still catching up on sleep), I was able to scramble over to the newly renovated Smithsonian for American history. It was sweet, though I was only able to view about half of it. Then, metro-ing over to VA for my last goodbye of the trip over lunch with my friend Bri, and then off to the airport, to sit near the farty guy.

Thanks to all those who were apart of the trip. It was soo needed to get some IC blood around me and I will always be grateful for those friends and the fact that I've been nonexistent in the desert for a year now, and I can still come back and rock it with some of the finest people that I have ever met, and damn proud to call my friends.

In closing, major props to two of my best friends; Amanda Butts and the Washington Metro system. Amanda was a very fine host and answered the question of "where am I sleeping" which is one that should generally be answered before embarking on a trip like this, and if the metro system were a woman, I would take it on a very nice steak dinner....I love you.

Aight homies, I have no idea what lies beyond for the summer time. With only a very few amount of obligations, the plan is to get lost park by park across this country. Pictures depend on if I get a camera and messages depend on if I get a car charger, because I am going get as far away from Phoenix as I can. Til' next time, I'll be kickin' it with the farty guy.

Andrew

Memorial Day

Fancy how this day was established to those who gave their lives for this here country. Yet I have decided to spend it by cleaning the scum that was forming under the rim of my toilet and that awkward space around the fake platinum faucet of my bathroom sink.

Think of all the bacteria that gave their lives today in my bathroom for that there...bacterial colony?

Regardless, today is the final installment of the three day weekend. In not to long I am to shuffle off to a BarbBQ / housewarming party, and tomorrow will be the first installment of the final three days of my first year of teaching. Yet, all I can think about right now is the massive collection of dust that hangs atop the blades of my bedroom ceiling fan. Maybe part of the colony lives there. I'll give them a Memorial day to remember.

I do beg your pardon (to the .73 people who might actually read this) about the delay in writing about nothing in particular, but maybe it does give an indication about the teacher side of the end of the school year. WAY MORE CRAZY THAN THE STUDENT SIDE. It is pretty hilarious though how this past Thursday I had my students go all out for their science fair project, seeing them stress out, write the longest reports (well, any actual document) of their entire lives, create these elaborate powerPoints, poster boards, projects and even videos, and I just sat there and mused over some ASU work and other things to catch up on. Well, at least when I was a student it wasn't all too bad, I just like to make sure that my students are going to catch a break come the end of the year. Builds character for a 7th grader, or something like that.

My bird feeder is doing FANTASTIC, though there is now little white spots all over my patio.

As of now it looks like I will be shifting from 7th grade science and language arts to 7th and 8th grade science, as I will be the science teacher at my school next year. To complement, I am hoping on an ASU fellowship this year that will allow me to focus on creating curriculum for sustainable systems, which would be sawheet, though this is so far PLAN D for the summer as of yet, and don't rest all my hopes on getting it. I did splurge some $400 on camping gear to go back backing in parks across the country, which was actually plan C. Any thoughts for a plan E? Let's just make one up for Z while we're at it. I do ultimatly want to go to Antartica.

Well, I think I am going to go develop an underwater camera now. I took some pictars at Discovery Cove in Orlando a little less than a month ago, where I SWAM WITH DOLPHINS. Touristy to the max, but I had to spend my tax rebate check somehow.

Your Impact

This is one of my best efforts, and it was done as a volunteer hobby when I was working three jobs and running an improv troupe. It was good.

http://www.ithaca.edu/icview/3895/

And here is the shows site: www.myspace.com/yourimpactshow

Maybe I'll post the audio files at somepoint.

SOFTBALL!!! I WANT TO PLAY SOFTBALL!!!

David Prunty is a man who knows what he likes. And this man likes his softball. I attribute any and all credit to him when I get excited to play softball, which is somewhat, though, this is most possibly his pure existence as to work at Ithaca College in the summer time.

How did David Prunty make it into my second post on this thing?

Anyway, I was in a softball tournament today with my school (Sine Elementary) team. Misfits. Bad news bears. The Pittsburgh Pirates; teams or collections of peoples that are generally doomed for failure in baseball/softball athletic competition. Though, we banded together and had ourselves a day in the most intensity slow pitch softball can muster.

It was played in a tournament style, and out of 16 teams, we lost in the final four and walked away with a co-third place trophy? Co-third place? Here, have half of a bronze. But not to whine (I just think the concept of co-third is amusing), it was a lot of fun, and I hit a couple of homeruns and had a butt-ton (button?) of RBIs. And my defensive capabilities are spectacular, even though the glove that I have had since 6th grade is tearing in half. And my batting glove tore and my finger pokes through the tip now.

But, what is alarming is how this was apart of a wellenss fair for the whole Gelndale Elementary School District, and since I walked a bunch and wore a pedometer in a prior district challenge, they gave me a $25.00 camelback thing. And there were hundreds of these things, and water bottles and yoga mats and wiis and ipod nanos and something else that was shinny.

Though the district is cutting the budget, not buying textbooks and cutting our salaries.

But four dips are getting wiis?

If for whatever reason you start reading this and I don't know you, or you don't know me, I'll introduce myself in the next post.

I need to go grade forever now.