Road Trip

Meg finishes summer school today, and then we're off on our annual summer odyssey. Every summer we leave the heat of the desert and head north to visit family and friends in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We used to leave town the day school let out, usually around May 20, and return a day or two before school started up again, usually the middle of August. With Meg doing summer school the last couple years, our departure has been pushed back, but we still have a ton of time to travel as a family.

The girls are jumping out of their skin excited. This year is extra special for them because they get to hang out with their cousins in Michigan. Meg's family has a place on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We're right on the water; we fall asleep to the waves lapping at the stone shore. The wall the girls are sitting on in the picture is right out the front door. This pose is a bit of a tradition, the girls looking at the lighthouse. We usually spend about 2 weeks there, this year it'll be about three.

After Michigan we'll head down to Madison, stay with friends 4 or 5 days. My favorite part of our Madison time is the pilgrimage down to the Union. We park up toward the capital and shop our way down State Street. I always get some Badger gear for myself and the girls. We wind up at the Union, the kids get ice cream and the adults drink a beer or two on the terrace. We have another photo tradition there, the girls in the big terrace chair. Madison is an important place in my life, I love sharing it with the girls every summer.

Last stop this year will be Minnesota. We'll stay with Meg's sister and visit as many friends as possible. Meg grew up there, and I lived there for 8 years, so we have a lot of people to see. The girls love spending time with their Aunty, she always makes our visit special for them. Meg's parents have a lake place about an hour west of Minneapolis, but I'm not sure if we'll get out there this year. It seems like we've spent less time at the lake over the years, but when the girls were younger, we spent a lot of time out there. The place is for sale now, and even though it's a tough market these days, it will eventually sell. I'm grateful for all the great times we've had out at the lake over the years.

When you're visiting with family and friends, it's hard to find time for writing. The time I do fit in needs to be for the book. I'm at 44K, and the plot is starting to pick up. As Grady Tripp said in The Wonder Boys, I'm at a critical juncture. While we're on the road, my goal for the blog is to post pictures of our adventures, and maybe a written post here and there. Lots to do yet this morning, time to get cracking.

Say Hello To Our Little Friend

We had a little excitement in the Riley house yesterday. We live on an acre of desert, and we see lizards all the time. For the record, the Rileys love lizards. We catch babies in the house all the time, no big deal. This guy was no baby, he was probably a good 8 inches long. When I came across him in my room, right next to my bed, I'm not sure who was more freaked out, me or the lizard. After a brief stand off, our uninvited guest bolted under the bed, and the hunt was on. Nothing like a good lizard hunt to bring a family together. The girls were completely unfazed, they were right in there trying to help, laughing the whole time. It probably took us a good half hour, but we finally caught the intruder. I put him in a garbage can to take this picture. I have a feeling this will go down in family lore. One of those stories that begins, remember the time?

Earlier in the day the girls and I saw Toy Story 3. Great movie. I think the Toy Story movies are all about growing up, and this third installment beautifully deals with the end of childhood. Scout said an interesting thing in the car on our way to Peter Piper. She said the ending was sad, but it's probably sadder for adults because they know what it feels like to miss being a kid. It's pretty awesome to see a movie with your kids that can generate that kind of discussion.

We're having friends over this afternoon, so the girls and I decided to have our last Pizza Friday on Thursday. Peter Piper is a bit of a nightmare, but I've really enjoyed Pizza Fridays with the girls this summer. Before we ate, Scout asked if she could make a toast. We toasted to Pizza Fridays, and spending time together this summer, just Dad and the girls. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Perfect Weekend

The last three days have been such a blast, I'm feeling a little Lou Gehrig tonight.

Friday morning we watched the US/Slovenia match. The girls get a kick out of all my screaming and yelling during sporting events, and I have to admit, I was pretty into the game. I nearly lost my mind when the last goal was disallowed, but that second half was flat-out fun to watch. After the game the girls played while I did a little work on the book, and while I didn't write a lot, what I did write felt good, it felt true. I love that feeling. The girls earned a bunch of free pizza coupons at school this year, and we've been using them on what we creatively named Pizza Fridays. The coupons are for a place called Peter Piper Pizza, and while I'm not crazy about the place, the girls always have a good time, so why not. We play some games when we're done eating, and then the girls cash in their tickets for a bunch of crap they'll soon lose or forget about. I do love watching their faces as they try to decide what to get with their tickets, very serious business for them, kinda priceless. After lunch we stopped at Target to pick up some cards for Father's Day. The girls enjoy picking out their own cards, and they really put a lot of thought into their choices. This year's theme was dogs; the girls were quite happy with their selections. When we got home we swam for a good two hours. I spent a majority of the time judging a "diving" contest. I'll give the girls this, the number of dives they're able to come up with is staggering. Sure, we had best cannonball, smallest splash, but most of the dives were a little more creative: best dog dive, best cat dive, best insert-name-of-animal dive, best trumpet dive, best violin dive, best insert-the-name-of-instrument dive, you get the drift. After swimming we ate dinner, and then we watched Labyrinth. The kids enjoyed it, especially David Bowie, even though they refuse to believe he's the same guy who sings Changes and Golden Years, songs they both love. I remember thinking the special effects were so cool as a kid, but I was surprised by how dated they looked. Meg worked a long day, so she was pretty much in bed with the girls. I decided to usher in year 41 by watching Dream A Little Dream. I admit it, I was feeling a little nostalgic, and nothing like a good Corey and Corey flick to bring back old memories, well, for me at least.

I woke up Saturday to birthday hugs and kisses from my ladies. Meg and the girls gave me a beautiful new leather bag for school, very exciting. Unfortunately, Meg had to go to a seminar, so it was me and the girls most of the day. We met up with my sister for lunch, and then went by to check out her new place. There was another diving contest when we got home, and then we watched another classic kid flick from the old man's time, The Neverending Story. The special effects in this one were so bad, I'm ashamed to have been impressed by them as a kid. We had Mediterranean for dinner, and really, the rest of the night was pretty mellow. Before bed I checked Facebook, and I was overwhelmed by all the birthday greetings. Facebook has its faults, but that was pretty cool. No big party, no drunken debauchery, just hanging out with the family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Pretty sweet to follow up my birthday with Father's Day. The girls gave me a new wallet, and Meg gave me Dave Eggers's book, Zeitoun. We lounged around the house like any other Sunday morning; it was good to have Meg with us. Meg had to get a few last things at Borders, and then we met up with my parents and sister for lunch at In-N-Out Burger. This is the Riley idea of a fine dining experience. We went to my parent's place for desert, and spent a nice afternoon just hanging out, my dad and I keeping tabs on the U.S. Open. It was great to see my dad enjoying himself. A couple weeks ago the guy was laid up in a hospital bed, so I know today was special for him. It's been a rocky road for my dad after his kidney transplant, and it means a lot to share Father's Day with him.

It's funny, this weekend probably sounds pretty uneventful, boring even. I think it was perfect.

The Karate Kid

I was in limbo during the summer of 1984. My mom had taken a job in Green Bay, and as soon as our house in Appleton sold, we would be moving. It was only 30 miles, but at the time, it felt like we were moving to another continent.

There wasn't a lot of fanfare when The Karate Kid came out that June. I can still vividly remember the first time I heard about it. I was playing Dig Dug at Open Pantry. The kids next to me were playing Joust, and they were talking about this great movie they'd seen, The Karate Kid.

I'm not going to lie, I was obsessed with The Karate Kid that summer and fall. I'm not even sure how many times I saw it in the theater, but it was a lot. It got to the point where my friends started greeting me by asking when I was going to see it again. The Karate Kid wasn't just a movie for me, it was like a sign of things to come. I had no doubt in my mind that a bunch of thugs would routinely attack me upon my arrival in Green Bay. I wasn't very familiar with the demographics of Green Bay, but I was sure there had to be at least one old Japanese guy who could train me in martial arts. Thankfully, I fared a lot better than Daniel LaRusso when we finally moved. I know it sounds ridiculous, but The Karate Kid helped me make the transition, and for that, it remains one of my all-time favorites.

Last summer some friends gave me a box set of The Karate Kid movies for my 40th birthday. I've watched all the movies with the girls, well, the first three anyway, sorry Hilary Swank, and I'm proud to say they love The Karate Kid as much as Dad. Not much makes me happier than watching the girls do the crane. Sharing The Karate Kid with the girls is one of those things that makes being a Dad special.

We went to see the new Karate Kid on Sunday, with the same friends who gave me the box set actually, and I have to admit, it's good. A bit long, but definitely worth seeing. Jackie Chan is excellent, and surprisingly, Jaden Smith didn't irritate me. I still think he's too young for the part, but he did a nice job. The girls enjoyed it too, but this morning at breakfast they told me they like the original better. I had to smile, my thoughts exactly.

Thank You, Soccer

We've got World Cup fever at the Riley house. We watched South Africa play Mexico on Friday. We were cheering for Bafana Bafana in support of our old friend Mosuwenyana Mokoena. I know how proud he is to have his country hosting the World Cup, and we shared a lot of Mosuwenyana stories during the game.

On Saturday we watched the US tie England. Sorry about that one England. We didn't watch any games today, but I think we'll watch a lot this week. The girls aren't normally interested in watching sports with dear old Dad, so if they're willing to watch, I'm definitely in. Of course, "watching" is a relative term here. Scout is more interested in her book, and Quinn spends a lot of time with her dolls, but they're both IN THE ROOM, and that's progress. I'm hoping soccer will be a gateway sport, and before you know it, I'll have a couple of sports junkies on my hands.

My favorite part of the World Cup so far is the noise. I love those damn vuvuzelas. Who cares if the French players can't hear themselves on the field, they're brilliant.

Life Lessons

The girls competed in the Grand Canyon State Feis this past weekend in Phoenix. The Grand Canyon feis is sponsored by their dance school, Tir Conail, so the girls were very excited. Here they are with their excited little selves.

For the uninitiated, a feis (pronounced fesh) is an Irish step dancing competition. I would try to explain how one of these things works, but quite frankly, I think it might be easier to tie up the loose ends of Lost. All I know for sure is that the girls compete in a bunch of dances, and if they do well, they can win shiny medals. If the shiny medal is a first, or sometimes even a second, they move up to the next level of competition, and that's a good thing.

Scout started out strong in the morning, with two 1sts and two 2nds. I'm always happy when the girls place, but this was big. Scout was shut out at the last feis, and she took it pretty hard. The judges said she wasn't crossing her feet enough, so she worked on that in practice. I think this experience taught her a valuable lesson. When things don't go your way, you can pout, give up, or you can go back to work and try to get better. As parents, we preach this all the time, but this is concrete proof, and now Scout has something to draw on when things don't go as she hopes. Which, of course, happened a lot sooner than any of us expected.

Quinn danced in the afternoon, and she was wonderful. At the last feis, Quinn wasn't her usual energetic self; she just kind of shuffled her way through. We talked a lot about picking up her energy level, and this time around she was bouncing all over the place, big ol' smile on her face. She moved up to Novice in one of her dances, and placed in 4 others. Quinn has a good time no matter what happens with the judges, but again, it was good to have concrete results.

Scout had to wait all afternoon for her last dance, it was a very long day for her. It's the only dance she has left in Beginner II, and she's been stuck there for a while. She needs to place 1st or 2nd to move on to Novice, and it didn't happen. As a parent, I felt powerless. I want to be able to tell her what she can do to get over the hump, but the truth is, all I can tell her is to keep working, and sometimes that sounds hollow even to me. I know it stings when you fall short of a goal, and I was proud of how Scout handled her disappointment. It wasn't long before she was talking about moving up at the next feis in August.

The girls love Irish dancing, and they love competing. What I love is watching the girls improve from feis to feis, as dancers, and as people.

Gets Me Every Time

We're about a week into summer vacation here at the Riley house. Meg does summer school, so for the month of June, it's just me and the girls. We're having a blast, being lazy, going with the flow. It's nice to get off the conveyor belt of life for a while.

One of my favorite things about summer is the reading program sponsored by the public library. The girls get a little chart, they color in a shape for every 15 minutes they read: sea horses, seashells, you get the drift. Every 6 hours they get some sort of prize; I think the first one is a temporary tattoo. The girls are obsessed with filling in their charts, so the first week or two of summer vacation there's a lot of reading going on in the Riley house. I don't think they even care about the prizes, they just like filling in that chart, must be the sense of accomplishment. Intrinsic reward over extrinsic reward, does a parent proud.

In a departure, Scout is using a timer this year. She resets it every 15 minutes, it's pretty damn cute. Scout is a freakish reader, incredibly fast and way above grade level. She reads better than most of the 8th graders I taught this year. Quinn is coming along at a more normal pace, and I love listening to her read, helping her sound out tough words. It's really starting to click for her; I can hear the confidence growing in her voice with every chapter. Quinn has a bunch of books checked out from the library, but I doubt she'll ever get to them, we're reading The Magic Treehouse series. Quinny reads aloud to Meg and I, and we just ballpark 2 chapters=15 minutes.

Meg and I are both avid readers, so I'm not surprised the girls love to read. The thing is, I'm surprised every time I see Scout in one of her many reading spots around the house, completely lost in her own little world. I'm surprised every time I listen to Quinn sound out a polysyllabic word or use the perfect inflection with dialogue. I'm surprised how happy it makes me.

My First Tag

Last week I was tagged by Eric at Working My Muse. I told Eric I would use the tag for one of my posts, but I completely forgot until I visited his blog today. Eric posted a great poem honoring veterans, take a minute to check it out.

The point of the tag, as I understand it, is to answer 5 questions with five facts and then select 5 other people to do the same. It seems like a fun exercise, so here we go.

1. Where were you five years ago?

I was teaching, but at a different middle school. We were still living on Pima Street, a few months away from the decision to move. Meg had left teaching to stay home with the girls. Our dogs, Chili and Goldie, were alive and well, and I was still a huge Brett Favre fan.

2. Where would like to be in five years?

Despite all the negative publicity lately, I still love Tucson, so I plan on being right here 5 years from now. On the job front, maybe I'll try high school. Like many bloggers, I would love to be a published author. I can't imagine we won't have at least one dog running around, and last but not least, ARod will have more Super Bowl rings than ol' Brett.

3. What is on your to do list today?

Today's almost over, so let me think ahead to tomorrow. I want to get at least 2 pages of the book done. I need to get in the pool with the girls. I'd like to read at least 50 pages of the Jonathan Tropper novel I started today. Quinn's reading is really coming on, and I'll sit with her as she reads Magic Treehouse. The most important thing tomorrow is to get up to the hospital to hang out with my dad.

4. What snacks do you enjoy?

My favorite snack is Goldfish. To be honest, I eat so many Goldfish, they're more like one of the food groups for me. I don't really eat any other snacks with regularity, but I do enjoy Dots, Rolos, grapes, and cheese, preferably some kind of cheese spread, Merks or Pub Cheese, on pretzels.

5. What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

This one is fun to think about. The basics come first, dream house for Meg, college for the girls, big checks for family and friends. I'm sure there would be a lot of travel. Meg and I would start a charitable organization, fund different projects, make that our life's work.

Thanks again to Eric for thinking of me with the tag. I don't have a lot of followers yet, but here are 5 bloggers I enjoy reading. Of course, I have no idea if I'm doing this process correctly, but what the hell:

Johanna

Teacher Mommy

Ed

Kate

Marquita

School's Out

I didn't go into teaching to have summers off, but it's certainly a nice perk, one of the few we have in the teaching profession. Today was our last day of school, so the teaching off-season is now officially under way. Much like athletes need the off-season to heal physically, teachers need the summer to heal mentally. Well, at least I do, and I've got a lot of healing to do this summer.

This was a particularly trying school year for me. Around this time last year I agreed to participate in a federal study. In exchange for switching to an underperforming school, I was given a bonus. The point of the study is to see if teachers who have had success in raising test scores can duplicate that success in underperforming schools. I was honored to be asked, and ultimately, the money was too much to resist.

I knew going in I would have my work cut out for me, but I have to admit, the experience has been more challenging than I expected. Getting 8th graders to do their work is always a battle, one I pride myself on winning. Let's just say my winning percentage took a severe beating this year. There were many days when I felt like Don Quixote charging those windmills.

I don't want it to sound like nothing good happened this year, because I had some amazing kids, and more than a few transcendent moments. That really hit home today at promotion. Every time a kid came up to say thanks, and it happened a lot more than I expected, some of the lingering negativity fell away. Every parent who thanked me for helping their child reminded me why I put up with all the bullshit.

Now I have the summer to recharge the battery. When it's time to report back I'll be ready. Like teachers everywhere, I'll walk in those doors ready for the best year of my career. For now though, play me some Alice Cooper.

Do The Right Thing

Tuesday night was a big night in the Riley house, and I'm not just talking about Lost. Voters in Arizona overwhelmingly passed a 1 cent sales tax increase to offset massive cuts to education, public safety and health services. With the current mood of the state, I was expecting the measure to be shot down rather handily. That's the great thing about this life, you never know. Not only did the sales tax pass, it passed by a nearly 2/3 margin. Not to be hyperbolic, but this was a bi-partisan victory for common sense and decency.

I don't want to get all political, I am a registered independent after all, but I do think there's a lesson here. What the results say to me, and I hope our state legislators, is that people don't want to destroy the education system to balance the budget. I know times are tough; the budget deficit is no joke, but schools have already shouldered their fair share of cuts in this state.

We can't just cut spending to vital programs to get ourselves out of trouble, there has to be some new revenue coming in. No one wants to pay more taxes, including me, but we're not going to get out of this mess without some sacrifice. I think we all realize this, but the definition of sacrifice has been very limited. Too many legislators in this state have decided that sacrifice can only mean cutting spending. I hope they see things a little differently after this vote. Arizonans showed they are willing to pay a little more to provide their children with the best education possible.

We're still way behind the curve down here in the desert. We need to be talking about spending more on education, not less. For one night though, Arizonans did the right thing. It's a start.

Leave It To The Bard

I'm reading Romeo and Juliet with my honors 8th grade English class. I see no reason to wait until high school to read Shakespeare with advanced readers.The kids are all very bright, but Shakespeare is tough, it really humbles them. We stop a lot to break down what's being said, what's happening. My questions are often met with averted eyes and the kind of silence that really should be accompanied by crickets. That's what I love about teaching Shakespeare to this age group, it's a challenge, they have to work at it.

Early on the kids really struggle, but by Act IV and V, the light goes on for more kids and more frequently. When I stop to ask questions, there are more hands, so many that certain kids can't take the chance they won't be called on and just shout the answers out. I can literally feel these kids learning how to read Shakespeare. It's the kind of feeling teachers crave, it's our drug.

Every year there are students who get it more than others, and this year is no exception. One student in particular is damn near bringing me to tears. His name is Rene, and two years ago he didn't speak a word of English. When I ask what things mean, Rene does this little half raise of the hand, almost daring me not to notice him. I do, and he's always spot-on. Rene volunteers every time I assign roles, but I notice he's become partial to Friar Laurence. His English is heavily accented, but his voice is firm and loud, I can hear the pride as he reads these ancient lines of English.

As a teacher, it's very easy to be cynical these days, especially in Arizona. Reading Shakespeare with a kid like Rene is what this whole teaching gig is about.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a great weekend, the highlight being Mother's Day brunch at our house. It was a real treat to celebrate with three amazing Mothers: my mother-in-law, my mom, and my wife. I feel very blessed to have these exceptional women in my life.

Scout has become very interested in cooking, so she helped me make the spinach/egg dish for the brunch. We watch a lot of cooking shows as a family, and Scout couldn't resist providing narration: now I'm adding the spinach to the eggs and giving them a nice mix. It was pretty damn funny.

There are a lot of great Moms out there, but Meg is hard to beat. Friday night, after an exhausting week of work, she spent the night with a rowdy troop of Girl Scouts, camping in the other troop leader's backyard. Up at dawn, all day Saturday at a Girl Scout event, she finally got to relax Saturday night. She managed to stay awake long enough to watch The Informant! I normally love Damon and Soderbergh, but not this time. The music was distracting, and it just wasn't that funny.

I had a great time with Quinn while Meg and Scout were gone. It's so much fun to spend time one-on-one with the girls, it's a totally different dynamic. We had dinner at Whataburger Friday night, and did some Mother's Day shopping at Target afterwards. Quinn is so adorable, she missed her sister, so she slept in her bed. I spent a couple hours flipping between Pulp Fiction and Jerry Maguire, two movies I doubt I'll ever grow tired of. Saturday morning Quinn crawled into bed with me bright and early and we had a good long talk. We finished up the Mother's Day shopping and then hustled over to the bowling alley for a birthday party.

It was an action-packed weekend, and by Sunday night Meg and I were exhausted, but we couldn't go to bed without watching Betty White on SNL. It was great to see all the female alums show up to support Betty. We laughed a lot and called it a weekend.

I Crack Myself Up

Last summer I turned 40 and started working on a novel. I realize this sounds like typical mid-life crisis behavior, and maybe it is, but in a good way I think. I'm having a great time writing the book. The finish line is still a ways off, but I'm confident I'll get there; I'm having too much fun with the story to stop. I have no delusions about becoming a famous author. I know the odds of making any money as a novelist are slim, but that's beside the point. I'll know I did it, I wrote the book I set out to write, and that sense of accomplishment is what I'm chasing, not money or fame. I'll try to get an agent, go the traditional publishing route, but if that doesn't work, there's always the self-publishing option these days. My kids know I'm writing a book, and I want them to see me finish what I started. That will be more important than anything else.

I was reminded again last night of why I'm writing in the first place: having a good time. I wrote a couple lines that I thought were pretty funny. I actually laughed as I wrote them, and I laughed even harder rereading them later. I may be the only one who thinks they're funny, but for what it's worth, here they are, with a visual aid for those unfamiliar with the Gravedigger:

Vic never went on the road without a full trunk of liquor. On this particular occasion, he had a cooler of beer and enough Jagermeister to anesthetize Gilbert Brown.

Get it? Gilbert's a big man? There's a lot of Jagermeister? Well, I'm laughing right now, and I'm going to have a shot of Jager in Gilbert's honor.

Back to the 80s

Meg and I stumbled across Eddie and the Cruisers on cable Friday night. I don't think either one of us intended to watch the whole thing, but we did, and it was a lot of fun. Of course, after three Jack and Cokes I probably would have enjoyed any movie. For me, the best part of Eddie and the Cruisers was always the music. I forgot how much I loved those songs. When I was in high school my brother and I shared a room together. We would fall asleep to music every night. One of the albums in our rotation, and yes, they were albums, was the Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack. The other mainstays were Purple Rain, Born in the USA, and the Platoon soundtrack. Hearing all those songs took me back to that time, it was like I was back in my old room. Those were good times, it was fun to revisit those memories.

I had a similar experience Sunday night. We try to do Family Movie Night every Sunday, and this week the girls picked E.T. This is another movie that triggers a very specific set of memories, and I enjoyed rummaging through them as I watched with the girls. I was 13 when E.T. came out, and I was living in Appleton, Wisconsin. The highlight of any weekend at that age was taking the bus downtown to get a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut, and then going to our rinky-dink mall to play video games in the arcade and see a movie. The freedom of those days was a highlight of my time in Appleton. I can still remember how I felt the day a bunch of us went to see E.T. Just enough of that feeling is still in my brain somewhere, and it felt good to let it out.

Sometimes You Gotta Vent

Arizona is taking a lot of heat over this new immigration law, and deservedly so, but as a teacher, I'm more concerned about what this state is doing to public education. Last year the education budget was cut 14%, and this year schools are being forced to cut another 10%, possibly more. On May 18, the state will vote on a sales tax measure to increase the sales tax by 1 cent, for a restricted three year period. It is estimated the increase would raise 1 billion dollars a year, which could be used for public education and other severely cut social service programs. If the measure doesn't pass, it will mean further dracoian cuts to education. Drastic steps, like eliminating high school sports, are seriously being considered if voters shoot down the sales tax increase. Quite frankly, I'm not expecting the measure to pass.

I'm a teacher, I don't need to tell anyone where I stand on crazy shit like this. It's disheartening to work in a state that already spends less money on education than any other state in the union, and wants to cure its budget woes by depriving children of a quality education. My daughters attend one of the top public elementary schools in Tucson, but budget cuts are sucking the life out of the place. The librarian was cut last year, but luckily parent volunteers stepped up to keep the library open. There's no band/orchestra this year, no PE, it's very bare bones, and now we have to cut more. Projections for next year are so bad, I was joking with the principal that he'll be answering phones next year.

Apparently, eliminating positions isn't enough. There's a very good chance those of us left standing are going to have our salaries cut, anywhere from 2% to 4.2%. Of course, with all the cuts, you can bet class size will go up, which means teacher workloads will increase. I know, I know, lots of people are working more for less these days, join the club. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Sometimes you gotta vent.

A little catch up.....

My only New Year's resolution for 2010 was to spend an hour every day writing. Most days I spend that hour working on a book I started last summer, but as a change of pace, I started this blog. I'm finding it a great way to practice writing. I watch a lot of movies and I read quite a few books, so the original idea for the blog was to write reviews. I'm still interested in writing reviews, but I've enjoyed writing about other topics as well, so I guess the blog will be about whatever is on my mind when I take a break from working on the book. Tonight, I have a bunch of movies and books to catch up on.

Meg and I watched Everybody's Fine a couple weekends ago. DeNiro plays a widower trying to reconnect with his kids. He hits the road to see his kids, and much enlightenment ensues. Pretty formulaic movie, but I'm a sucker for family dramas and road trip movies, so I actually liked this more than I thought I would. The next day I braved the mall and took the girls to see How To Train Your Dragon. I know this is a kid's movie, and my kids thoroughly enjoyed it, but I probably liked it more than they did. That night Meg and I watched An Education. I know this was nominated for Best Picture, but I wasn't impressed. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't really want to watch a 16 year old girl have a relationship with a creepy older guy, especially when he's played by Peter Skaarsgaard, not my favorite actor. I read a number of reviews comparing Carey Mulligan to Audrey Hepburn, but I was reminded of Katie Holmes circa Dawson's Creek, and that's not a good thing. This past Saturday, we watched The Blind Side. It's hard not to like this movie. I can't say it's Best Picture material, but it's a solid movie about a truly inspirational group of people. While I think Sandra Bullock did a nice job, I find it absolutely ridiculous that she won Best Actress for this performance. There is simply no way a sane human being can tell me her performance was better than Gabourey Sidibe's in Precious. That gets me caught up with movies.

On the book front, just a couple to write about, but they're both excellent. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper is a great book. The main character, Judd Foxman, is going home to sit shiva for his dead father. His family has a hard time being in the same room, so the seven days of shiva are full of plenty of fireworks. Tropper has a great sense of humor and writes wonderful, fully-developed characters. This is the second Tropper book I've read in a month, and I have another ready to go. Big fan. The last book I finished was bird by bird by Anne Lamott. This is an excellent book about writing, full of sage advice and concrete suggestions for aspiring writers. Lamott recommends writing at least 300 words a day. I think this post fits the bill.

Minneapolis Doppelgangers

I received some crazy news from a friend in Minneapolis this week. Well, it's crazy to me anyway. Her son is taking swimming lessons, and a there's a girl named Quinn in his class. Awesome, my youngest daughter's name is Quinn. It's not a common name, but I've seen it out there, it's not all that surprising to come across other Quinns. We actually have a female reporter on the local news named Quinn. I'm sure this Quinn's parents wanted a beautiful Irish name like Meg and I did. I wouldn't be surprised if Quinn becomes a fairly common name. At this point we're talking minor coincidence, but this is where the crazy comes in.

My friend got to talking with Quinn's nanny at their last swimming lesson. Turns out little Quinn recently became a big sister. Her little sister's name? Scout. Hmmm, now that's weird. My oldest daughter's name is.....wait for it.....Scout! Other than her fictional namesake, and Bruce and Demi's kid of course, I am not aware of any other kids out there named Scout, and this is definitely the kind of thing friends and acquaintances would pass along. I've heard of people naming their dogs Scout, which is another topic altogether, but kids, no. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this blew me away.

Meg grew up in Minneapolis, and I lived there for 8 years. We still have a lot of friends up there, and Meg thinks the other Scout and Quinn's parents heard the names from someone we know. It's definitely possible, but so what, right? We love the names, so why wouldn't other people? I think it's cool. We spend quite a bit of time in Minneapolis in the summer, who knows, maybe we should meet this family. Apparently we have a lot in common.

What Would Isaac Do?

A boy named Isaac has become a legend in the Riley family. In 2008 we had the misfortune of sitting behind Isaac on a flight from Tucson to Dallas. Isaac was the kid you never want to sit by on a plane. The only thing more irritating than Isaac's behavior was his parents' refusal to deal with the young man. Ever since that brief encounter my daughters have been obsessed with Isaac. They make up games in the backyard with Isaac as the villain. When they see kids acting up in public, they think of ways Isaac would be even worse. For the Riley girls, Isaac symbolizes misbehaving children everywhere.

It's actually been a while since I've heard the girls talking about Isaac, but his name popped up this weekend. Meg and I were in the kitchen talking about our summer trip. One of the perks of having a two teacher family is the time off. Every summer we get out of the desert for a while, spending time with family and friends in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The last few years we've flown, but this year we're going back to our roots, loading up the car for a good old-fashioned road trip. We've taken different routes over the years, so we were discussing places we might stop for the night. As we were talking, riotous laughter began spilling into the kitchen, so we went to investigate. When we asked the girls what was so funny, they said they were making up stories about Isaac. The stories all involved running into Isaac at hotels on our trip, with Isaac doing some ridiculous thing or other to get into trouble. I didn't find the stories particularly funny, but watching the girls lose their minds together was hilarious. Watching your kids laugh hysterically is one of the true pleasures of parenting. Thanks Isaac.

When Pride Still Mattered

I grew up in Wisconsin, so it goes without saying that I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan. As a child of the 70s and 80s there wasn't much to cheer about, the Packers were consistently terrible. My generation had no idea what it felt like to cheer for a winner. All we could do was listen to stories of the glory days, passed down from Father to son, stories of the Lombardi era, when the Green Bay Packers were the epitome of success, right up there with the New York Yankees.

When I was 16, we moved to Green Bay, about a mile down the street from Lambeau Field. When you live in Green Bay, Lombardi and the Packers are everywhere. My old high school is on Packerland Drive. My brother and sister both attended Lombardi Middle School. We drove Lombardi Avenue nearly every day. Lombardi may have died in 1970, but his legacy is still very much alive in Titletown.

I read somewhere recently that Robert DeNiro is going to play Lombardi in a movie based on the biography When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss. I remembered giving the book to my dad as a gift at some point, but I'd never actually read it myself. I borrowed it from my dad to get a little football fix and brush up on my Packers history. When Pride Still Mattered is an excellent biography, very detailed, informative and entertaining. Sports fans, especially football fans, will definitely enjoy this book. If you're a Green Bay Packers fan this is a must-read.

All Part of the Job

As a teacher, I consider keeping up with pop culture part of my job. You can really connect with a kid if you're able to talk about music, movies, and yes, even books. The Twilight series is a perfect example. Like it or not, these books are huge in the world of middle school. I finally broke down in '08 and read Twilight when I noticed how many girls were toting the thing around. My reaction to the book was lukewarm, and I would have gladly stopped there, but I had some really great girls in class that year, and I let them talk me into giving New Moon a chance. I liked the addition of werewolves, but other than that, I still wasn't hooked. At that point, I felt like I'd done my duty, I would not be finishing the series.

When Twilight hit theaters in "09, I have to admit, I was interested to see it. Not enough to brave the mall, but I did watch it on DVD. I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan, but I actually quite enjoyed it. Some of the special effects were laughably bad, but overall, I thought the movie was an upgrade form the source material. I was done with the books, but I was open to more movies.

This weekend Meg and I watched New Moon. The special effects were better, no more ridiculous shots of RPatz running with Kristen Stewart on his back. We loved the music, great Killers song over the final credits. Citizen Kane it's not, but we had a good time. I still have no plans to read the other two books, but I will watch the movies. Just doing my job.