Rockin at the Gym

What's Up?

Been doing a bit of pondering, working out at the gym, reading, and of course alot of work. Things have started well at my new school. Really like my new schedule and the kids seem to be responding very positively to my lessons. I am teaching two economics classes, one psych and two world history classes. Really love the psych class. Feel like I was born to teach psychology. Gives me an opportunity to share alot of things I have been processing for years and currently don't have an outlet for. Don't care much for teaching econ. The California framework is extremely abstract and academic. One would think they wanted us to create future economists or Wall Street pundits based on the curriculum. It's a tough go teaching to kids who don't care or can't follow the ponderings of academia but I generally try to emphasize the stuff I think the kids need and can understand and just kind of brush over the more esoteric economic concepts. Never was one to follow the letter of the law but do generally follow the spirit when it comes to my job which keeps me just "barely", at times, just above water and under the radar with the administration......Reading.....Am currently reading Karen Armstrong's autobiography "The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness. Am really enjoying the book so far. She picks up her story just after spending seven years in a Jesuit run convent. What an oppressive place to spend one's life. Thought my religious background was oppressive and controlling. Nothing compared to what she had to go through. Although I can't relate to the Catholic background of, Armstrong the nun, I can relate to the nature of her experiences as it relates to issues of dogma, indoctrination, and a subculture that most often sees the world as a bad place on it's way to hell. Alot of similarities with Protestant fundamentalism.....The Gym.....Been tearing it up at the gym the past two weeks and to be honest I am dumbfounded????....Have had the best workouts in years. Can't figure out why??? Was having numerous problems with back and knees earlier this summer but am now performing like someone on steroids. Maybe it's the music I listen to. Have been listening to Green Day's American Idiot the last three workouts. Doesn't get any better than listening to Green Day while riding the bike at 90 plus RPM's at level 10 and 11. Maybe someone should market Green Day's music as a subsitute to all of those expensive health drinks and pills the serious gym rats like to digest on a regular basis. Haven't performed this well since before I broke my back seven years ago. Whatever the reason I am going to try to enjoy it as long as I can before I tweek my back or a knee again.....Ponderings.....Have been thinking about my future from time to time and everything seems quite blurry for the most part. Just have strong premonition I don't want to continue to live in Bakersfield the rest of my life and as soon as I can I want to get out. If my two sons and girlfriend didn't live here I would probably move. The town is becoming another California big city with all the big city problems of pollution, traffic, and boring strip malls.....Do have a bit more clarity regarding the upcoming year. Am going to try to establish my roots locally. Have joined a book club where a group of us are going to read Brian Mclaren's book "A New Kind of Christian". Am really looking forward to this new adventure. It's been a desert for me the past four years locally regarding talking about religion and other things that are dear to my heart. Still don't know what I am going to do about church. Just don't feel much motivation to attend services. Can't even remember the last time I was touched, moved, or inspired by a church service. Probably when I was active in a local pomo leaning house church about three years ago. Perfer small intimate groups over the big productions. Big productions don't do anything for me except during the holidays.......Am going to travel less during the school year and spend more time on the domestic front. Am very satisfied with what I have done with the house this summer because it feels like my house now in many ways. It's been tough living here at my mom's house for the past three years in but do feel alot better about it now since I decorated much of the house to my liking.....Well.....that's what's up for now in my world......Bilbo's World......

March of the Penguins

Went to see what all the hoopla was about regarding this film. Nice to see and somewhat surprised that a National Geographic/French production hit the mainstream film circuit, especially in my neck of the woods where blockbusters, summer sequels, and low brow comedy films generally rule the day. Really, really, enjoyed the film, especially the narration by Morgan Freeman, the soundtrack and the amazing story of the ongoing propagation of the emperor penguin species. Some of the photo shots seemed a bit below quality standards which leads me to suspect that they may have been obtained from other filmakers in the past but the wonderful story and the incredible scenes of penguins marching from the ocean to their birthing grounds more than compensated for any lack of professionalism on the photography front. There were a significant number of tender moments between the baby and it's parents and even a few romantic moments were captured between the penguins during the mating ritual in the coldest place on earth. Hard to imagine any living thing could even think about love making in such brutal conditions let alone actually do anything. Cudos for the penguins because somehow they amazingly keep the life cycle of their race going and have apparently done so now for thousands of years. In the end, big thumbs up and hope the industry pays attention to the potential pay off of such efforts. I am really getting tired of one summer sequel after another and it was really a pleasant surprise to see something so majestic given an opportunity on the big screen. Hopefully we will see more in the future.......

Back to work

While the vast majority of folks and students are still on summer vacation I actually went back to work on Monday. Our school district starts earlier than the rest of the schools in the state and classes actually began on Monday morning....Lucky me..... Seriously, I really can't complain because I have been off for nine weeks which is much longer than the rest of my working comrades.... This year I transferred to Caesar Chavez High which is entering only it's third year of existence. It's a state of the art of high school and has a beautiful campus but it takes forever to walk from one side of the campus to the other. I told one of the administators that if they didn't get me my own personal golf cart than I was going to bring my mountain bike to school and rip back and forth across campus running over anybody that gets in my way and that includes administrators. I really don't intend to bring my mountain bike but it would be nice if the campus wasn't so huge. It has the feel of a Junior college, it's that big.

I woke up Monday morning on the first day of school at four thirty in the morning because I was somewhat anxious about going to work. I now have second thoughts about going to the new high school, in large part, because it is apparently much more regimented and there is a lot of emphasis on rules, particularly keeping the dress code. Let's just say that conformity and keeping dress codes are not my particular cup of tea. It also grieves me because I feel that education is quickly losing it's "soul" during the lastest round of education reforms. All anyone talks about anymore is improving the test scores and almost every teacher who teaches a core subject is now teaching to the various tests we have to administer on a regular basis. Teaching to tests is not what I got into education for and it saddens me to see the educational powers that be drag everyone down this road. It also grieves my soul because alot of important aspects of the educational experience is now being lost or repressed during the ever increasing testing frenzy that is now at the forefront of the education culture. Can't remember that last time we had a good motivational speaker or any discussion or emphasis on the importance of creativity, creating lifetime learners, distilling a love for learning, or the other things that are near and dear to my heart. It's all about testing, standards, and conformity.......Well, I could talk about this topic for hours but I better move towards closure. I'll make the best of it and hope I can stay under the radar screen which is becoming increasingly difficult to do because over the years I have gradually become more and more eccentric and willing to stand near the edge of the abyss when it comes to how I do my job. Reminds me that there is often a fine line between those on the edge and those who take pride in being normal and sometimes it doesn't take much to trigger events that may send a person over the edge. Since I have went over the edge in my life on more than one occasion I now think I understand some of the dynamics of our soul's persistent attempts to satisfy it's deepest desires. Of course, some people are better than others at repressing the souls cry to be satisfied but a deprived soul cannot or will not be denied indefinetly. .....Need to wrap this up because I have to get up at the crack of dawn to work on worksheets and curriculum. Fun, fun, fun.....One positive note. I am teaching psychology again after five years of being deprived and that should give me an opportunity to teach a subject that is not driven by tests. Should be alot of fun for both me and the students.....Fallen asleep at the key board so I better go now....Over and out......

My new home

Some more vacation pics

I appreciate all of the positive responses to my earlier vacation pics. I actually took more than 400 pictures but didn't want to post too many considering many of you are working hard and just trying to stay out of the heat and I didn't want to make you more depressed....but....hey....you folks are all grown ups and I figure you can censure my website for awhile if it causes you too much pain....enjoy......

A walk through the ferns

A contemplative moment

Lilly Pads on the coast

Spiral Stair case

Blowing sand

Sand Sculptures

Trash can art

A view from above

Redwood Highway

My Son's Aura