1-800...........

Is it possible for me to run 190 miles in the next 3 days? Hells no! But, today is special because I went over the 800 mile mark for the year. After todays 16 miler I have officially logged 810 miles for the year. Though I will not be reaching my initial goal of 1000 I am very happy with what I have accomplished. I will set next years goal at either 1000 or maybe 1200, I'm not sure yet. I have just over a month until the marathon. I am very excited and confident but it still makes me nervous. I ran 20 miles last week but was short a marathon by 6 miles. I really need to make the next month count in terms of my workouts, rest, and nutrition. Starting today everything thing needs to be focused on how it will prepare me for the race. If it won't help me, I ain't doin it. That might be my new motto in life.

On the personal level I am doing fairly well. I am working to make myself a better version of me. I can sum it up in the words of a song by The Blind Boys of Alabama, "I ain't what I ought to be, but I'm better than I used to be, and I'm gettin' better all the time".

The important thing in life isn't to be perfect, it's to see where you can improve and do something about it. That's where I am right now, doing something about it. I know I can overcome the obstacles in my life. I've now got 810 reasons behind me to prove it.

He's going the distance....

He's (not) going for speed.

I made it through 18 miles today. It took a little over 4 hours. I think I figured out the hydration/nutrition issue. that seems to have helped today. I still should have had a more energy producing dinner last night. I'm getting all the kinks worked out. However, my shoes are killing me. I went to the local running store earlier this week and they didn't have the shoes I want in my size so they ordered them for me. They New Nike Air Pegasus 25's should be in any minute now, I can't wait.

I crossed the 700 mile mark for the year. I'm now at 714 miles. Those of you who look at the stat tracker at the bottom of this page know that my goal was to get to 1000 miles, but it ain't gonna happen. But, I am happy that I will be able to break 800 miles(knock on wood). I'm averaging 25 miles a week with 4 1/2 weeks to go. that should put me around 830ish for the year.

On an unrelated note, this is the last day of my Thanksgiving break. I'm not looking forward to doing lesson plans tonight or going to school tomorrow. On the bright side, it's only 3 weeks till Christmas break. Christmas break means we're halfway to summer break( you gotta keep things in perspective). It's good to be a teacher

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Thanks to my friends and family, I appreciate your efforts this week.

18 & life to go

I don't know what happened, or why. Yesterday was my first attempt at 18 miles. I was very confident that I would be successful given how well 16 miles went last week. Maybe it was overconfidence, poor hydration, poor diet, lack of rest, old shoes, warmer temperatures, or the stresses of my life right now. I don't know what it was but I know that 18 miles just wasn't in me.

The first 5 were great. Maybe too great. I think I went out to fast and burned out. Alls I know is that after 11 miles everything on me hurt or felt weak. I made it through 12 miles then started to walk. I don't know why I stopped running, but once I stopped I couldn't get started again. I was about 3 miles from home at this point so I walked it in. I guess I could say I did a total of 15, but I didn't. I died at 12.

Paula Radcliffe, I promise I won't make fun of you pulling out of the marathon in Athens anymore. I totally feel your pain.

I'm supposed to do 20 this Sunday. I'm gonna set my goal for 18 and if I'm not dead at the end of 18 I'll keep going. Among other things in my life this is a major blow to my confidence. I can already feel myself putting too much pressure on my upcoming 18/20 mile run.
Right now I'm just gonna try to focus on one step at a time, eventually those steps will add up. I wish it was as easy as it sounds.
It amazes me how running can be a metaphor for life. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you'll get somewhere, I hope.

As well as I can remember, "18 & life to go" was recorded by the band Skid Row sometime in the early 90's. I think.

Sweet 16

This morning I ran 16 miles in 3 hours 28 minutes (13 minutes per mile) and I didn't puke or die. Yea Me!

I'm not a man of many words....

.... So I'll let the picture speak for itself.

I take it as a compliment

Over the years I have had people say some pretty nice things in regards to my running. But, I think the nicest, or at least the one I like the best, happened on Thursday. I have a neighbor a couple doors down that gets home from work about 30 minutes after I do. I usually change and get ready for my runs as soon as I get home so just as I'm starting my run he pulls up to his house. He always says "hi" or waves, but Thursday as he was passing by he slowed down and said, with a smile on his face, "do you ever stop running"? All I could do was laugh. I know that I give people that I don't know nicknames, like "shirtless Joe" who lives across the street (you can guess why he gets that name). I wonder if they give me names like "The running guy" or " the idiot with the Alabama flag" or something like that.

I would be OK with either one of those names.

At any rate, it made me feel good that someone thinks I run a lot. I usually run about 25 miles per week, which I think is good. Which brings me to the story of today's run. Last Sunday I ran 12 miles in about 2 hours 50 minutes. I was very happy about that. But all week I've been thinking that I need to be running a little faster. So in my workouts I have picked up the pace slightly. Today I was to do a 14 mile run. I did the first 10 miles with no problems, 2 hours 5 minutes. That is a 10 mile personal record for me. My overall goal was to do the 14 in under 3 hours. I was cruising, then it went down hill in a hurry. At about mile 10.5 I developed a sharp pain in my right hip. I tried to run trough it but it was like having someone hammering a railroad spike with every step. I stopped and stretched and then continued at a much slower pace just wanting to finish. I hobbled and stretched till the 13Th mile, which happens to be right in front of my house. I decided that I had just completed a half-marathon and that I had never done 13 miles before, I counted it as a victory. I did walk the last mile. I got to 13 miles in 2:40:30. I was able to walk in the final mile at 2:59:36. Goal accomplished, I guess.

It seems as though my sciatic nerve was not happy with me today. I had this same problem when I first started delivering water. But after a couple months of lugging bottles I got a bit stronger and the problem went away. Hopefully that will happen again.

Sciatic problems are truly a pain in the @$$.

I also but an iPod shuffle today, I'll let you know how that turns out.

On top of ol' smokey

I thought I would share a couple of pictures with you. And believe it or not, there are no pictures of the dogs. Nope, I take it back, Sadie is in the background of the 1st picture.

A couple of weeks ago I finally got a smoker. I went with the gas variety thinking that it would be the easiest way to maintain a steady temperature. I think I was right. I found one at Albertsons in BR. When I first saw it it was marked down to $99. I was gonna go back and get it. I happened to be there again a week or 2 later and saw that it was marked down for final clearance, $69. I think the original price was $149, so I am very pleased with the deal I got.

I decided that my first experiment would have to be spare ribs, my favorite. But, since this thing has such a high capacity I also threw in a salmon filet. I did my prep work on the ribs the night before, created a rub from the "stuff" I could find in the cabinet, and let time, heat, and hickory smoke do their thing. The result: pretty good, not yet great but pretty good. Even K-Love, who is not a ribs person, said she thought they were good and had a second helping. I plan to make ribs my specialty, I've still got lots of work to do. The salmon was good also but he ribs, mmmm, the ribs!

In an unrelated story. I find my neighborhood to be very nice and the people seem pretty friendly. EXCEPT for my neighbor. I have tried several times to wave and say hi but she doesn't seem to want return the effort. Now, I'm from the kind of place where one neighbor coaches the other neighbors kids in Little League or one neighbor brings former New York Mets first basemen and Alabama Alum Dave Magadan over to say hello and sign an autograph (true, I wasn't home but our neighbor did bring him over, pretty freakin' cool, I know). So I'm really not used to having stand-offish neighbors. She also has an LSU flag hanging on her carport, like most people here in Capital City. But, come Saturday she unleashes her giant inflatable LSU helmet.

Now, I have no problem with school spirit, in fact, I love school spirit. As my loyal readers may recall, I have even decided to stop saying negative things about LSU. BUT, this lady has waged war with her incivility and giant purple and yellow dirigible. So, I went on-line and ordered my self an Alabama banner to hang outside. I think of my self as a pretty classy guy so I only fly it on Saturday, I fly my American flag the other 6(as you might expect from a civics teacher).

I don't plan to buy anything inflatable for the yard at this point, but I have scoped a few things out on the net. Just in case. Maybe K and I should invite her over for some BBQ ribs on November 8Th* so that we can "make peace". Just a thought

*Nov 8, LSU vs. Alabama

Me? A morning person?

Anyone who knows me well, and has known me for a while can tell you some sort of story about my "dis-agreement" with mornings. My sister could tell you about the time when she was 6 and tried to wake me up on a Saturday morning and I kicked her in the head. No, it wasn't on purpose, she tickled my foot to wake me, I never opened my eyes, shook my leg to stop her and WHAM! little kid crying on the floor.

My Dad could tell you about me stumbling out of bed on the weekends just in time for breakfast, or lunch as they called it.

My mom can tell you that during my college years she learned to never, ever, ever, call before 10 AM. If I did answer the phone, it was like talking to a wall. If!

But that was a long time ago. Since moving back to Louisiana in 2003 I have found reasons to wake up before the Sun.

First, My job at Abita Springs Water. Up at 5:30, to work at 6. Hauling water by 6:30.

Second, Raytheon-warehouse support. Up at 5:30, commute 50 minutes, at work by 6:30.

Third, living in BR, commuting to school in NOLA. 8:00 classes so I woke up at 5:30, left the house by 5:45. Catch major traffic in Kenner, get to class 10 minutes before 8.

Fourth, Teaching. School starts at 7:20. Teachers must report by 7:05. It takes me 30 minutes to get there. So, I usually get up between 5:30 and 6.

I say all that to say this(that's for you biddy). My running has been suffering lately. I feel very tired when I get home everyday. That makes my workout runs very un-enjoyable. Thus, I have shortened and skipped several runs lately. I usually get up at 6:30 on Sundays to do my long runs. That got me to thinking that maybe I should do my runs in the morning before work. The problem is that I would have to get up at 4AM. I am not really happy with that idea. But, I have a half marathon in late November and a full marathon February 1st. They are not gonna run themselves.

My eating habits have also been out of control lately. Basically I eat whatever whenever. This does not help the workout program at all.

So, Wednesday night I decided to set my alarm for 4:30 AM. I figured that I would make the decision to run or not when the alarm went off. The alarm never went off. Instead, Sadie decided that she wanted to wake up and start her day at 4AM. I tried briefly to get her to go back to sleep. But, I know her so well that I knew it wasn't gonna happen. I realized that I wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon so I might as well get up and run. I got up, got dressed(white shirt and white shorts), Put on my miners headlamp flashlight, and turned one of Sadie's reflective collars into a reflective belt.

After a sip of go-go juice(gatorade) and half a granola bar I turn on my headlight(singular) and I'm on my way. The goal for the day is 3 miles, just to see if I can get up and see how I feel later in the day. The run itself is pretty uneventful. My body woke up pretty quickly. But, given the early hour I found myself in an unexpected race. A race againt the little white light. Though the street lights did a good job of lighting the way I found mysel running in and out of darkness. As I ran into the dark spots the light from my headlamp, a small circle about 6 feet ahead of me showed me the way. It was the first time in several months that I have run without my MP3 player. For all my precautions I was passed by not a single car and saw no one. Not a single dog bark. It's an odd feeling to be out in the middle of the city and feel so alone. It's also odd to run without seeing the road beneath you. You quickly learn to trust your bodies natural abilities and instincts. My feet and ankles, legs and joints adjusted to each foot fall, my body finding its natural rhythm and seeming to float through the miles. It was a beautiful experience. Knowing what I know now makes me wonder if I should do it again. It's never as beautiful the second time.

But, I know that I feel better when I run. I know that I run better in the morning. So, on Tuesday's and Thursdays I will be, or at least attempt to be, getting up at four to go running. I felt fine during the day on Thursday but a bit sluggish on Friday. I'm gonna have to figure out a sleep pattern.

So now, not only do I wake up before mother nature, but I will be going to sleep at supper time. What's next? taking K-love to get the Denny's early-bird special at 3pm, then to bed after Entertainment Tonight.?

I don't know how this is gonna turn out, I'll keep you posted.

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink

I have been tired a lot lately but have managed to get a lot done both at home and at work. I got the Malibu working(not that you knew it wasn't). got a lot of the tree out of the back yard(the Gustav tree that is), and I bought a new Lawn mower yesterday, because the old one was becoming a pain in my @$$.

I cut the grass today, the new mower is freakin' awesome. It's a Troy-Bilt 190cc (6.75 something or others) push mower. It has a hell of a lot more power than the old mower(I use the term hell for emphasis, this thing's a beast).

But, it took me almost 2 hours to get home from work today, it usually takes 30 minutes. Therefore, instead of finishing the yard at 5:15 or 5:30, I didn't finish till 7:00. Not exactly how I like to spend my Friday evening. Then I threw burgers on the grill and we are currently watching the Presidential debate. Big fun on a Friday night.

Tomorrow we're taking Lily to the vet. She's been limping lately and we wanna get it checked out. Then at noon I'm helping one of my podna's move. And in the PM I'll be glued to the BAMA/UGA game. Luckily, we still have the big screen, yea!

Sunday, me and big brother are heading to the big greezy for the Saints/49er's game. So, I won't be able to work on lesson plans until Sunday evening. Not to mention that I'll be waking up at 6am Saturday and Sunday to get my runs in. So, I don't guess I'll be getting much rest this weekend. At least I won't be bored.

The title is a line from the Beatles song "I'm so tired" on the "white album". As a side note, the official title of that album is "the Beatles" But it has come to be known as "the white album." Not to be outdone, in the 1990's, Metallica released an album with a black picture on a black background. It's official title is "Metallica", but it is know as the "black album". Is it their homage to the fab four? have no idea, but it is an interesting parallel. Well, interesting to me, at least.

500 club

Hello Friends. It's been a while since we last chatted. We survived the hurricane. We went with out power for about a week and a half. Even worse than that, we went with out cable for 3 weeks. But, we got it back yesterday. My mother evacuated to our house for the hurricane and brought her big screen TV with her. she is in Hawaii this week so I get to keep it, with cable, for at least one more week. She also left he Wii. Yes, I have already hooked it up to the big screen.

My running has suffered the last 2 weeks. I have been really tired lately, probably because of the crap I've been eating lately and the lack of sleep. So, I've been taking it easy and will start hitting it hard this week. Tomorrow is supposed to be 11 miles. I think I will scale it back to 8 or 9.
The 10 mile race I have been training for has been cancelled due to hurricane issues(Middendorfs, the host restaurant, is right on Lake Pontchartrain). So, I don't have a tune up race for the half marathon in November. I think I will continue my current plan and just have a one man race that day.

One spot of good running news. I hit the 500 mile mark this morning. My goal is to run 1000 miles this year, I am now half way there. Woo-Hoo! It's taken 8 1/2 months to do 500. I don't know if I can do another 500 in 3 1/2 months. But, I'm not giving up yet.

On the career front. I think I just had my best week as a teacher. I, for the first time, felt truly confident in my abilities to teach, motivate, and support my students. I like the way that feels. I know I will face some ups and downs this year and in my career, but right now, I feel good.

There is some other stuff I've been wanting to blog about but I don't remember what right now. But I did by a smoker today. I'm sure there will be many BBQ/smoker posts in the future as I master various techniques. Till then.......

And I think to myself....

The electricity is back on at our house. Woo-hoo! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and sleep an hour later. The drive fro "the Dell" to Capital City is a B-otch. Now, we just need to clean all the debris in the yard and do some cleaning inside and we can restore a senses of "normalcy" to our lives.

Normalcy happens to be one of my least favorite words. I don't remember ever hearing the word before 9-11. It was used to exhaustion after Katrina. and now I wish it would fade away. I've been trying to come up with a new word to replace it but haven't found the perfect word just yet. Though I am currently leaning towards normalociticiousness. Just a thought.

The other word that I don't care for is wherewithal. Ray Nagin used this word at least 27 bazillion times after Katrina and used it in full force during Gustav as well. I don't recall ever hearing this word before Katrina, but it is possible that it's just because I have a small vocabulary. Or, a low measure of vocabulariousness.

But enough about words for now, I have electricity. Now, if I only had cable. "What a wonderful world this would be."

You may recognize the title as a line from the Louis Armstrong classic "What a wonderful world". The last line of the post is from the 1960 Sam Cooke tune "what a wonderful world(this would be)". Both of which you can find on our old friend youtube.

"I see hurricanes a-blowin"

Stupid Gustav has totally messed up the routine I was getting into. Work was going well. My training was going well. Then, big ole stupid-headed Gustav had to knock down trees in my yard and devastate BR. The parentals evacuated to my house. Luckily, their house(which had 6 1/2 feet of water after Katrina) didn't even lose power this time. So, after living in our powerless house for a day after the storm we relocated to their house. It feels like we are playing musical houses at this point. Bad news: its suppoesd to take 14 -21 days to get pwer restored to my neighborhood. No Bueno!

I have missed a week of work(because schools are closed) and am supposed to go back tomorrow. I guess we'll be making a 2 hour commute each way everyday until power is restored to our neighborhood. By the way, Entergy reported that our neighborhood was the hardest hit in BR, just my luck.

Good news today that they are going to begin working on restoring power to my neighborhood today. But, given the massive amounts of destruction, I don't expect to have power for several more days.

I have had to adjust my running schedule slightly but have still gotten my workouts in. I miss running in my hood. Running here in moms hood seems so dreary and tedious. Not that its a bad hood, it just isn't home.

And if all this isn't enough, Hurricane Ike looks like it's heading this way too, Wonderful!

We did get to see some of K-love's family Saturday so at least some good came out of it. And, Sadie and Lily have become fast friends with the dogs across the street from the parents.

Today is the opening game for 5the saints. Kickoff is in 20 minutes so I gotta finish this post soon. I am more excited about this football season, college and pro, than I have been the last several years. I'm looking in to getting a smoker so that I can enjoy football and bbq on the weekends. But, I can't decide which smoker I want.

Well, I guess that's enough for today. Hopefully I'll be home soon. I'll keep you posted.

Cloud 9 part 2, and 25 or 6 to 4 other things of interest

Sometimes I feel like my life is all about numbers. My running right now is going well, but I feel like I live for the old mileage chart. I love adding up the new miles on the way to my upcoming race and raising the number on the counter at the bottom of this page. I am obsessed with knowing how many miles it is around the neighborhood. I have 3 different 3 mile loops. I've got a mile, a 1.5 mile, a 4 mile, and a 7 mile loop. But what I did not have was an accurate measurement before last weeks 9 mile run. As it turns out, each of my 3 mile loops was actually 3.4 miles. So, after 3 loops I racked up 10.2 miles, not 9. I was very happy about this revelation. For starters, that's an extra mile I get to add to my tally. Second, It means I was running a faster pace than I thought, About 12:30 per mile as to 14:00(roughly). Third, I actually did ten miles. That gave me extra confidence going into this mornings run.

I got up at 5:50 AM and was out the door by 6:20. The first bands of tropical storm Fay arrived early this morning so it was sprinkling when I started. It sprinkled the entire duration going between a light drizzle a moderate rain. Luckily, there was no lightning. I don't really mind running in the rain as long as I don't have to worry about being fried by 1.21 jigawatts of electricity. The rain actually helped keep me cool and there was a bit of a breeze, because of the tropical storm, remember. I made it through 9 miles today in 1 hour and 58 minutes. My goal was to do it in less than 2 hours. Thus, today I am the greatest runner ever on the south side of my street between the stop sign and the house with the LSU flag and the little white ceramic bunny in the yard.

A FEW OTHER POINTS
1. My new job is going great. I am teaching civics. I have 3 classes of all freshman and 2 classes that are a mixture of repeaters and transfers(ranging from grades 9-12). For the most part, I really like the kids. There are probably only one or two kids that I see any "major" potential problems with. The administration is great. That have been totally supportive and are always offering to help, I just haven't found anything for them to help with yet. Finally, the faculty is awesome. The other teachers have been super friendly and have been very helpful. I gotta give mad props to the crew of newbies, we all hit it off really well and that has made the transition to this school easier for us all.

2. K-love starts school tomorrow at big ole' state U. She is excited and I am excited for her. I am even considering wearing the State U. shirt that has been sitting in the bottom of my closet for the past year as a show of solidarity. I have given up saying bad things about the school, but I haven't quite begun saying good things yet.

3. I am sad that the Olympics are over. I look forward to them for 4 years then they come and go so quickly. One good thing about them being finished is that I won't have to see Michael Phelps face for a while. Damn endorsements, he'll still be all over my TV for at least the next six months. Good bye baseball and softball. I am sad to see you go. I don't know who you pissed off to get kicked out but the least you could have done is take syncrhonized swimming and diving with you. I also think they should combine judo, karate, and taekwondo with fencing and the shooting event to create a new "ninja skills" category. That would be awesome, but I imagine it would also be hard to see what was happening given that they are NINJAS!!!!!



Cloud 9- a wonderful song by R&B legends the Temptations
25 or 6 to 4- Hard grooving track by the group Chicago, with some tight horn parts. Very akin to songs like "Spinning Wheel" and "Vehicle". But I'm to lazy to look up who sang those songs

Cloud 9

The Manchac 10 mile run is coming up in about 7 weeks. This is one my measuring posts on my way to the Mardi Gras Marathon Feb. 1st. As part of my training I do a long run on Sunday mornings. I am happy to announce that this past Sunday I set a new personal record. I ran 9 miles without stopping. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to do, but I did it. I felt surprisingly good afterwards. I had run 7 or 8 miles several times before, but something about 9 just seemed really far. My training guide(that I printed of of runnersworld.com) says I am to run 9 miles again this weekend. I feel confident in getting it done and feel like I can even pick up the tempo a step or two.

Yes, I was a bit sore on Monday, but not as much as I expected. One of the nicest things about the long run is that it adds a big jump in mileage. For those of you who have not noticed, there is a tracker at the bottom of this page keeps up with how many miles I have run this year. I love putting in the Sunday mileage. It makes it look like i really did something substantial. Well, after doing it I would definitely call 9 miles substantial. On the down side, I only ran one third of a marathon. I've still got a long way to go.

Ps.I had a great time at the cookout Sunday. K and all were glad y'all came over. I hope the grilling was to your liking and we definitely like the idea of the mountains or anything having to do with Alaska.

My favorite time of every four years.

I love the Olympics! I love the spectacle and the fact that competitors face off against the best the world has to offer in each sport. I love the history of the games and the great moments of Olympiads past. I love the Images of John Carlos and Tommy smith with their gloved fists raised in the air. I love watching video of a barefoot Abebe Bikila winning the marathon in 1964. Just weeks ago I finished Jeremy Schapp's book Triumph, that tells the story off Jesse Owens and his great showing in Berlin in 1936.

Yes, I actually woke up at 5:30AM on a Saturday to watch they Olympic marathon trials. I can not wait for the track and field(aka trackfield) portion to begin Friday. k and I have been watching a lot of the swimming and gymnastics, but it is the track events that I really love.
I'm not real big on the events where the competitors are judged(like diving and gymnastics). It's not that I don't appreciate the sports, it's just that I don't like the subjective scoring system. I favor races where the first one from here to there wins. Or, whoever lifts the most weight wins, or whoever throws this big rock the farthest wins.

Please don't misunderstand me. I think that gymnasts and divers are great athletes. I am especially impressed by the guys on the rings. Those guys are freakin' amazing. I don't think I could ever do what they do. It's just that it's hard for me to say that one guy is better than the other. I understand that there is a criteria that judges use to judge them. But its just that, a judgement. It's opinion, and for some reason that bothers me.

Now I have a new least favorite Olympic sport, synchronized diving. I mean, are you kidding me? How did this get to be an Olympic sport? Did someone say"hey man, you know what would be totally rad? what if instead of you doing that dive by yourself, we did it together?"
Whoever said that needs a smack in the back of the head.

I love the Olympics but some of the sports are out of control. I originally made list of events that should be removed. I deleted it. I don't want to judge those events. Those athletes work hard and as a runner, I appreciate and understand the hard work that they out in. I understand the sacrifices they make to be the best in there sport. So, I wish them well. It's not their fault that there sport is in the Olympics. It is a blessing for them and I fully support the struggle that leads to the triumph. So, here to the Olympians. I may not like or understand what you do. But I know it means the world to you, so show the world your best. You've earned the right to compete. Right here, right now.

What if...

Often, when K and I are driving places, I start asking what if questions. For example, what if you were stranded on a desert island and only one food grew on that island. What would you want that food to be? Or, what if you had to choose between Sadie and Lily, who would you choose? Or, If you were exiled from the U.S. and had to move to another country, where would it be? I think you get the drift.

Today, while running errands, I think I came up with the toughest question I have ever asked(yes, even tougher than choosing between Elvis or the Beatles).
The question is: if you could put together the greatest rock band ever, who would be in it?

You must choose,
1. A lead singer
2. A guitar player
3. A bass player
4. A drummer
5. if you want, you can also choose a keyboard player.

BUT, you can only choose one member from an existing band. For example, I could not choose Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen because they are in the same band. However, you can choose a former member of a band if that person is no longer with the band. For example, I could choose Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar because Sammy is currently not in the band. But I could not choose David Lee Roth and Eddie because Roth is now touring with Van Halen.
Hopefully the rules are not to confusing.

Currently, my lineup is as follows

1. Drummer- Alex van Halen (Van Halen),
2. Bass- John Paul Jones (Led Zepplin) or Living I would choose Sting
3. Guitar- Jimi Hendrix, Living I would choose Eric Clapton(since I can't pick Eddie)
4. Lead Singer- Mick Jagger(The Rolling Stones)
5. Keyboards- Billy Preston( the 5th Beatle) or living I would choose Art Neville

Who Would you choose?

Take Two!

Sunday morning, 5:30 AM. We woke up, got dressed, loaded the cooler, and hit the road. It took right around an hour to get to Norco. We were happy to see other cars pulling into a parking area at the spillway. As it turns out, there were around 1500 runners in the race this year. The course was just over 3 miles. The first mile and a half was on top of the levee. Even at 8 AM it was hot and the Sun was brutal. Naturally, it was humid as hell. I wanted to start a little slow and pick up speed at the end. looking back, this was not the race to do that. When the race turned off the levee and down into the woods the trail quickly narrowed to about 2-3 feet wide. That made it very hard, if not impossible, to pass people. We were basically running single file through the woods. I kept thinking of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Run Through the Jungle". Well, to make a long story short, I won the race. As you can see from the picture, I smoked the competition. I'm just kidding. The winner finished the race in about 15 minutes and some change. I finished about 20 minutes behind him.
It was a lot of fun running through the woods. I figured I would get pretty muddy, but it's been pretty dry this week. There was only one big mud hole, I went around it. I heard several people saying that it's a lot more fun when it's sloppy. I suppose I will run it again next year, hopefully in the mud.
A few side notes. first of all, Voodoo BBQ was giving away pork sandwiches afterwards. That was a huge letdown. There was no sauce to add to the meat and it really needed it. Also, there was no water being handed out after the race, or at least I couldn't find it. Luckily, there were Pepsi products. I prefer Pepsi so that was good. But, they were pouring it from 2 liters into little paper cups. It had no fizz, not cool.
All in all it was a good morning. K and I got free Phidipidees t-shirts(I am a shameless build board, give me a shirt with your name and I'll wear it). But, Sunday I was supposed to do a 7 mile long run as part of my training for the 10 mile race in Oct. So I ran 2 more miles when I got home. Then, a quick shower and back to bed. Well, I hoped you enjoyed my story. Have a great day.

Pre-race warmup!

Those of you who ready this blog frequently may remember that I was going to run the "spillway classic" trail run today. Would you like to hear how it went? Well, it went as follows.
Last night, Friday night, I was excited about about the race so I laid out what I was going to wear. Knowing that I would probably get muddy I packed a bag of extra clothes and a towel. Everything was set so that we could get up at 5:30 and special-K and I could be out the door at 6:00 AM. We went to sleep a little later than planned but I actually slept until 5 minutes before the clock went off. I was "woked up" by Sadie's leg kicking me in the bladder. I think she was having some sort of dream of chasing a cat or squirrel(the other white meat). At any rate, her leg was a' twitchin'. Naturally I got up before the alarm. after taking care of something I laid back in bed for 2 minutes till the alarm went off.
I had no problem getting up. I brushed the old tooth, sort of brushed some of my hairs, deodorized myself and headed to the extra bed room where I had my clothes laid out. While I was getting dressed, K was doing the same plus making herself some coffee. She got ready and with coffee in hand headed for the computer to check any e-mails that may have rolled in since we last checked. I loaded up a cooler with Gatorade and some granola type bars and we were about ready to go. I went into the computer room to say that it was time to go and to get the brochure for the race which included the directions. I looked at the cover, then at my digital watch. I noticed that the race was for 8 AM, we had 2 hours to get there. That would be plenty of time. Then I noticed that the race was on July 20th. Today is the 19th. The friggin' race is tomorrow.
Needless to say I have felt like an idiot all day.
K tried to go back to sleep but since she had already put the java into her system it took a while. I figured that since I was already dressed and very aggravated I may as well go for a run. I did 3.5 miles at a decent pace. I got back home and showered, laid on the bed and we finally fell back asleep. We probably napped from 7:15-9:00Am. Then we woke up and had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits which powered us on a hot garage sale binge. Sad news, no good deals. But, we did get a great deal on some metal star string lights at Big Lots. Before the 4th of July they were $9.00, today they were$.90. That's right, 90% off. we bought 3 boxes.
Looking back I guess this hasn't been the worst day ever. Seriously, 90% off. That's Awesome and you know it!
I'll let you know tomorrow or Monday how the race turns out.

The Woofer & Lil' Bit Show

I'll let this masterpiece speak for itself, enjoy!

It hurts, it hurts!

Right now I am not sure why I run. I was supposed to do a 7 mile run today. I got up a little after 7 and slowly got dressed. At about 7:45 I headed out the door. I haven't run anything close to 7 miles since I ran 6 miles at the crescent city classic way back in April. Since then my longest run has only been about 3 miles, and that was a month ago. But, since I started a new training program and it said that I am supposed to run 7 miles, i was gonna run 7 miles. My plan was to run(slowly) the first 3.5 and then do a combination of running and walking the second 3.5. I mapped out a 3.5 mile loop last night.

So I started running and the first 3.5 I felt pretty good. I thought to myself, "this isn't bad at all". Then came the second half. When I started the second half I was a little tired. But, I kept running(slowly). Then I thought to myself that I still had a long way to go so to prevent hurting myself I should do the smart thing and take a walk break. The one thing I definitely don't need to do right now is hurt myself. So, I walked a little and ran a little. But, every time I walked, it got harder to start running. Luckily I have pretty good will power. Nonetheless, It was hard to run after walking. Looking back, I think it was the right thing to do. I may have been able to run all 7 miles but if for some reason I would have not been able to do it, then it probably would have lessened my confidence.

I made it the whole 7, actually 7.2 miles. I am proud of my self not only for doing it but also being smart enough to not kill myself by running the whole thing. Wow! I actually used my brain, good for me.

Now that might seem like a feel good story to you, but I ain't done yet. When I got back to the house I was pretty tired, my legs and feet were very tired. The lady next store was outside cutting her grass. My grass wasn't terribly high but I was planning on cutting it in the next couple days. K-love was inside cleaning the house, mostly the messes that lie in my wake, so I figured that I might as well at least cut the front yard since I was already sweaty. I did cut the grass. I started around 10 am and finished around noon, not exactly the coolest part of the day. Now my legs are killing me, my feet absolutely hate my guts, and my whole body in general just isn't pleased with me. On the other hand, the yard looks nice, but the back will have to wait till tomorrow. That makes me think that my yard is like a mullet, short and neat in the front, long in the back, or as they say,"business in the front, party in the rear".

I don't know why I tell these stories but I hope someone, somewhere gets a chuckle.
I am supposed to do another 7 mile run next Sunday but I am going to run in the spillway classic trail run on Saturday. That's 3 miles so I'll probably just do 4 miles on Sunday, maybe 5 if I feel like a bad-ass, and I never feel like a bad-ass.

Oh yeah, I found out that there is a group that runs 3 miles every Tuesday night. That meet at Happy's Irish pub in Baton Rouge. There run starts and ends at Happy's to be followed by 2-for1 pints till 10pm. Sounds like my kind of crowd, except for the beer thing. Maybe they have an excellent Irish root beer on tap. I'll let you know.

The Mouse and the House

Wow, I'm actually sitting still long enough to update the blog. It has been a busy month for us and with school starting in a month I think I better do some hardcore relaxing. OK, I wont really be relaxing this month but I will definitely be slowing down.

Here's what has been going on.May 31st was my last day at Down the Bayou High School, it was also the day that we dropped Sadie off at puppy prison for a 10 day stint. I tried to think of it as a doggy hotel but face it, she was locked up in a little cage all day, that's a prison. But,we couldn't bring her to Disney world with us so it had to be done. That's right, we went to Disney World. We drove from the bayou to the north shore, Dropped off the head(Sadie that is) through our stuff in the Camry, waited 2 hours for the old man to get home from work, then headed east stopping to sleep somewhere around Tallahassee. Woke up the next morning and had a wonderful breakfast at the local "Po' Folks". Now that's my kinda place. We proceeded to Orlando, Where moms rented a house in a nice little resort community. Luckily it was a big house because there was a total of 14 of us staying there. We visited Disney's Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios(formerly mgm studios) and Universal studios. It was quite hot but quite fun. It was great having Bix roll with us for a couple days. We swam at the house and I even went running a couple days around the neighborhood. But, With all the walking we were doing the running was just a drop in the exercise bucket. I think I lost about 5 pounds on the trip. I have reclaimed my lost poundages since returning. There were lots of fun moments but the singular moment that stands out in my head is definitely Bix singing Ring of Fire at Karaoke. I'll never hear that song the same way, it was awesome.

When we got back we got back to Sportsman's Paradise we stayed an extra day on the North shore, The guy who lives across the street from the parents works in The Big Easy and rescued a puppy he found wandering the streets. But since he already has two full grown German Shepherds and a baby on the way, his wife said he couldn't keep it. K-love fell in love with it and now our family has grown to be a quartet.

The reason we stayed the extra day was that we had to cruise up to Capital city to close on a house. After signing my name 600,000 times they handed over the keys. We proceed to our new house and I made sure the plumbing was up to standard(if'n yo know whats I's sayin').

We then went back to the bayou, Packed and loaded the truck, and relocated, with the help of Keithy, Jules, Butch(my Dad), and DJ Woofer(my brother), to Capital City.Since arriving we have built a fence which was more difficult than originally planned because the ground here is like concrete. We painted the kitchen, dining room, and living room. We got a new bed(yippee). And other little odds and ends. We have more that we plan to do but were gonna take a little break for now, at least until next payday. Mad props to Tom and Jeri, The Indianians, and K-Renee on the fence job.

I also found a job. I was offered a civics position at Dutchtown High School. I am excited about being a Griffin. First I have to figure out exactly what a griffin is. I have attended some meetings and am about to start planning for the upcoming year.

I haven't run in about a month. So, 2 days ago I started training again. The 2 runs that I have gone on have felt pretty good. Although I am not nearly where I want to be in my fitness I feel like I will be progressing pretty rapidly. Starting to day I am on a 14 week training plan to prepare for a local 10 mile race in October. After that I will start a 16 week training program for the Mardi Gras Marathon on Feb. 1st. Well, I guess that brings you up to speed on us and since I'm not used to sitting in one place long enough to write something this long my bum is starting to hurt. I guess that means this post is over.


But don't worry, I've got plenty more to tell you about over the next couple of days.

Pictures of Lily!

For those who have not heard, our family is now a quartet. About two weeks ago we brought home a 4 month old female German Shepherd mix. Her name is Lily. No, she is not named after the flower. I got the name from the song "pictures of Lily" by The Who. At any rate, here are some pictures of Lily

It's hot in Florida.

We are currently enjoying our vacation here in central Florida. It is a bit warm but we're used to that. I just wanted to let everyone know that we are still alive. I'll be writing a post or 2 when we get back. But now I must get back to my margarita/pina-colada/teqila sunrise/whiskey sour/gin & juice/sex-on-the-beach/mudslide/martini. That's right, I'm on vacation!

Reese's Pieces!

Clarification

I just want to make sure that those of you who read my previous post understand that I am not "dis-ing" Louisiana as a whole. I was referring specifically to the Bayou Lafourche/Terrebonne region. There are many things I love about La, in fact, right now I am thinking about how much I love the ribs at the Tin Roof BBQ restaurant in Natchitoches(Nack- a- tish). So, before I get banished to a distant land let me say that this place ain't so bad. I'm looking forward to living in capital city. I'm planning on buying T-shirts for all of the state universities opponents this year and wearing each weeks opponents shirts everyday leading up to the game(yes, I will wash them, maybe). But, I will probably not miss living down the bayou. Though I would rather live down the bayou than in Lacombe(AKA. LaCompton).

THE END IS NEAR!

Actually, It's 13 days away. 13 more days until summer vacation. It's been a long time since I had a summer vacation. I completed the program at UNO in 3 1/2 years because i went to summer school and intersession every summer. So, for the last 4 years I've had no REAL summer vacation to speak of. This summer I plan to do a lot of nothing, a lot of running, a lot of reading, and a lot of sleeping.

But, 1st I have to surive these last 13 days of school. The students are ready to get out, and so are the teachers. Several teachers are already shifting into shut-down mode. I'm not quite shutting down yet but we are definately slowing down. I have outlined the plan for the last two weeks and the students have agreed to it. I am giving them a lot of rope here and I can tell that several of them are going to hang themselves with it. So, I will remind them everyday about the plan and the best way to reach the goal of passing this class. But, they know that it is their responsibility to "get 'er done".

And so, my time on the bayou is coming to a close. Here is a short list of the things I like and dislike about the place.

Likes:

1. I'm never cold, it's freakin hot here

2. no traffic, cause ther's no where to go

3. I see more wild life, alligators, snakes, etc

4. lot's of fried seafood

Dislikes:

1. I'm never cold, it's freakin hot here

2. There's nowhere to go, at least there's no traffic

3. The increased chances of being attacked by wildlife, alligators, snakes, etc.

4. lot's of fried seafood, in fact, everything is fried here, my heart is shutting down. I never thought I would actaully crave a salad.

INK!

OK, it's quiz time. What do you think the tatoo on my arm represents. Think, but not to hard, it may be easier than you think. Especially if you know me well.

No, it's not real. It's just sharpie on my arm. Then again, sharpie is a permanent marker so who knows how long it might be with me.

The winner of this contest gets 1,000,000 bonus points on the next test.

Still going, and going, and going...

As many of you may or may not have known, I like to think that I am a runner. I don't think I am a great runner, but I do run. I absolutely love it and wish I had more time to designate to it. I remember thinking ,back when I was in high school (1989-1993), that people who ran for the sake of running were crazy, or stupid. A friend of mine who lived in the neighborhood was on the cross country team and tried to get me to do a few runs with him. I think my initial dislike of long distance running was his fault. We ran about a 1/4 mile at a pace I could handle, then this fool says, "let's pick it up a little". Needless to say I got smoked. I tried to keep up but had to stop in order to keep my lungs from climbing outside of my body to get more oxygen. Perhaps if I had just ran a quarter mile that day and then ran a little further the next day I could have biult up some endurance and enjoyed the sport way back when. So, a few years passed and I stayed in shape(I use the term loosely) by playing basketball mostly with the occaisional flag football game and such mixed in. My next attempt at running came as a result of a less that perfect relationship. You see, I was dating this girl, and it suffices to say that we dated longer than we should have, During the last couple of months a felt trapped by this brood of vipers and was looking for a way to have some time to myself. One day, in order to get some peace and hopefully relieve some stress, I said "dear, sweet, kind, wonderful one(probably not my exact words), I think I need to get in better shape so I'm gonna go for a run". It was great! no nagging, no aggrevating, just mean and the beautiful scenery of rice mine road and the banks of the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa/Northport. What I quickly learned was that the longer I ran, the less I had to hear the naaging and aggrevation. So, I quickly went from a mile to 3-4 miles. As it turns out, I lost a few pounds and generally felt better. Not long after, the relationship ended. I continued to run. I still had many stresses and the running seemed to help. A good friend of mine, Parker, started running with me. Those are some of my best memories, running to the lock and dam, running river road, racing through downtown Tuscaloosa.
Then Steve, my brother, took ill. I moved to Texas and continued to run. But, in time I ran less and less. We eventually moved back to La. and I got a job at abita springs water. I tried a few times to run, but it's hard to muster up the energy to run after lugging 5 gallon water bottles all day. It wasn't until I left that job and went back to school that I started running again. The fall after Katrina, K and I were living in married student housing at LSU and I found myself with some free time. So, I started with a run around the band practice field. then around tiger stadium(singing ""Yea Alabama" as I ran). Once again, a mile grew to 4 miles and in april of the following year I ran the Crescent City Classic in 57minute and 19 seconds, almost 3 mintues faster than my goal to finish in an hour. I thought I would never stop running again. It had become part of my life. Well, Classes got hectic, we moved to Slidell and back to Baton Rouge. I was slinging hash at the OG most nights. My old friend running and I parted ways. I thought of him often and tried to rekindle our relationship a few times but wasn't in the cards. Finally, I thought to myself, "Damnit! I want to run. I will run". Now I run about four days a week. Distances ranging from 2-7 miles. Usually about 3.5. One of my best motivators now is to prevent any more growth of the buddha. It's an ongoing battle. The other motivator I have is Sadie the wonder dog. We have a decent sized apartment, but it has a tiny yard. Sadie is a 75lbs yellow lab/boxer mix (we call her a golden boxador). She is very well behaved but if she doesn't get regular exercise she begins to start chewing on stuff. We don't have much but what we do have we try to keep nice, so it is my job to get Sadie the needed exercise to prevent legs from being chewed of of couches or the conversation "honey, have you seen my cell phone?", reply,"I don't know where the phone is but sadie's butt is ringing."
At any rate, I run. Last month I ran the crescent city classic in 1:01:43(beating my goal of 1:06:00).
I wrote this big long post just to get to this point. I have decided that to keep myself motivated, and to facilitate a healthy lifestyle, I should make some goals for myself. Well, I have and here they are. Within the next calendar year from today(April 13, 2008) I plan to run a half marathon, a full marathon, and a 1/2 Iron man tri-athalon. I will be in training all summer. Here is my race schedule.

Nov 23, 2008 - Ole Man River Half Marathon(New Orleans) 13.1 miles
Feb 1, 2009 - Mardi Gras Marathon(New Orleans) 26.2 miles
April 5, 2009 - Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run (sounds fun, huh?).

so, if you call and I don't answer, I'm probably out running. I plan to run some smaller races along the way and the date of the marathon and half marathon may be moved up a little, if I can find other races nearby. But, the Ironman Date is set in stone. Here it is in print so hold me to it. I said I would do it and I will. Feel free to ask me how it's going or to join me along the way.
So there it is, my running history and future. Oh! My other goal is to run 1500 miles by New years day. There is a ticker at the bottom of the page that will track my progress. Check back to see how I am Progressing.

Ps. no, I don't run to get away from K. I run so that I will be in better health so that I may have more time with her.

A few thoughts on BBQ

Last night K and I were watching some cable television. One of our favorite shows is "No Reservations" on the travel channel. They showed 3 shows in a row, yes we watched for 3 non-stop hours. In these episodes, Tony Bourdain(the host) traveled to Hong Kong, Namibia, and Ghana. For those of you who may not be familiar with the show, Tony is a chef from New York, he travels the world and eats all manner of foods on the show and talks a little about the history and cultures of the area. Mostly, it's all about the food. Now we have watched this show for the last couple of years and have seen Tony in many foreign lands and I have noticed that all of the places on the show, and it seems to me that all places around the world, have at least one thing in common; BBQ. Our friend, grilled meat. Meat in all of its forms, beef, pork, chicken, fish, duck, goose, warthog, etc, etc..
I suppose that it makes since though. If we were to travel back in history to the first cooked meal what would we expect to see? We would see the first people who were able to create fire warming themselves after a hunt and accidentally dropping their kill into the fire. They would pick it up, take a bite and think "Wow, those are some good eats", or something like that. So, instead of throwing a whole wilderberast into a fire they would build a rack over the fire(as to not burn up the whole kill). Thus BBQ was born. Over time we have added various seasonings and spices and of course sauces, mmmm sauces! But the basics remain the same+meat+ fire+ rack=deliciosity!
I love BBQ. I love The smell of the meat, the crispness of the flame kissed outside and the soft jucy texture of the inside. I love the many different cuts and preperations. And i suppose that today I feel a little more connected to the world. I may never travel to Laos or Ghana or Uzbekistan, but I know that when it comes to firing up the old char-broil or lighting up the kingsford charcoal at family get togethers, we're doing more than just cooking a meal, we're embracing our global family and the spirit of our ancestors, the brotherhood of all mankind. Grill on brothers !

At the bottom of the page you will find my current list of favorite BBQ joints. I have travelled much lately so the list is small. Also, I have yet to find a worthy BBQ joint in the New Orleans or Baton Rouge metro area. Not to say there isn't one, I just haven't found it yet. Please feel free to let me know of any I should try. And TJ Ribs in Baton Rouge is not an option. I've been there and it absolutely sucked.

Crescent City Classic 2008

Saturday, March 22nd, I ran the Crescent City Classic 10K(6.2 miles) in 1:01:49. That's 1 hour, 1 minute, and 49 seconds. My goal was to beat 1:06:00. I did it! My pace was 9:59 per mile. My original goal was to run 11:00 per mile so I met that goal as well. here are some pictures of the day. The people that you might not recognize are out friends Keith and Julie, They are from the Midwest but currently live in the Bayou. They run marathons but were very kind in cheering me on, they made the sign. The picture of Sadie shows her wearing my running socks. She accompanied me on most of my training runs so I couldn't leave her out. She's a great running partner, until she sees a cat or a squirell, then it's hang on to your britches time.

Easter week turned out to be pretty decent. Friday we went to Slidell. We put Sadie in a kennel for the weekend. It was probably worse for us than for her. But, since we are going to Disney world for a week in June I thought it best to start getting her used to being boarded. The lady at the kennel said she did great and was sweet. I already new that but I guess it was nice to hear. Saturday was great, the race went well and we had a good time hanging out in the city afterwards.

Sunday, we went to Baton Rouge to visit my brother and his clan. Gotta give some props here, the BBQ was freakin' awsome. The kids were all quite agreeable and overall it was just a good day and good company.

Monday, we got Sadie back from the kennel. Or as I like to say, that's the day I sprung her from the pen. It was also my mothers birthday. K, Moms, and me did some outlet shopping in gulfport, we spent 2 hours at Hudsons, I think I deserve a reward for that. We did Copelands for dinner. I created a new dish combining the catfish acadiana and the topping from some other dish with crabmeat and shrimp. Quite tasty if I must say. Tuesday we went to Baton Rouge, K had class there. While she was in class I took Sadie to the dog park. It was awesome. She loves the dog park. At one point all of the dogs were chasing her in a big circle but she kept weaving between the trees so they couldn't quite catch her.

After her class, we headed back to the bayou. The rest of the week We stayed pretty laid back. did some shopping, some exploring, and K actually did some work, I ran a couple days and that was enough work for me. So now it's monday and I'm back at working wishing that I was still on vacation. The students have been pretty good today, I found an activity that is keeping them busy so my day is going pretty smooth. There are 2 months until summer break, the problem is that there are no breaks or 3 day weekends betwenn now and then. I suppose this is the part of the year where I just put my head down and push forward until it's all over. I try not to think about how far away summer is but I am living on the fact that it is right around the corner. 2 more months-it doesn't sound too bad.......or does it?

I Wrote a Simple Song

If you don't know who the man in this picture is then I'll tell you. His name is Billy Preston and he passed away june 6, 2006. Though you may not know who he is you are probably familiar with some of his work.
He is one of the greatest keyboard and organist ever. He was also a great song writer and human being. Instead of writing a narrative I will just make a list of just a few of the things he did in his 59 years on earth.
-Wrote the songs "You are so beautiful", "Will it Go 'Round in Circles", "Nothing From Nothing".
-Played on 3 Beatles albums including Let it Be, The white album, and Abbey Road.
-Played at the Beatles last ever live performance, the "roof top" concert
-played with ray charles, including rays final album "Genius loves Company"
-played on several rolling stones albums including "Miss You"
-also played with Aretha Franklin, Sly and the family stone, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Nat "King" Cole, the Jackson 5, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Eric Clapton, Geaorge Harrison, Ringo Starr, Sammy Davis Jr., Quincy Jones, Jonh Lennon&yoko ono, and B.B. King.
-And so much more.

I know that this may not be of much importance to a lot of you that read this blog(if anyone still reads this blog) but I like Billy Preston and wanted him to know that his life and work are important to me. But, since he is not here, I'll tell you instead.

The title of this blog comes from a BP song Titled "I wrote a Simple Song". But not only did he write a song with this title but his most famous song, "you are so beautiful" is a very simple song with one verse. BUT, if you know the truth then you know that the song actually has a second verse. Why Joe Cocker chose not to use it is beyond me. I suppose the truth and heart in the first verse said all that needed to be said. Who Knows?

Because it's Carnival Time!

Happy Mardi Gras to you and yours! I hope you all are having a good time today. For those of you who are not celebrating today, I say shame on you. I had a brief mardi gras season this year. Two weeks ago I caught Krewe de Viuex in the French Quarter. If you've never been then you should. It is a treat. Other than that I caught the big Slidell parade Selene on friday, Endymion on saturady, The super bowl on sunday, Drove back to the bayou on Monday, and just got back from the Thibodaux mardi gras day parade. Let me just say that I had no problem finding a parking spot and there was no problem finding a place to watch the parade. On the other hand, the parade only had 10 floats. K had some work to do so I took Sadie with me. She spent most of her time sniffing out chicken bones on the ground. She was a crowd pleaser as usual. Many kids petted her, and she didn't mind. At least 10 people stopped to talk about her and tell me how beautiful she is and what a sweet temperment she has. I know, She's the best, but I try to be humble. Above is a picture of her wearing some of the beads she caught.

Let me take this oppurtunity to congratulate the New York Giants on a victory in "The Big Game". Well played.

One more thing. I also wanted to give a shout out to the Catholics and the French for coming up with this Mardi Gras thing. I think it is brilliant to have a giant party leading up to Lent. I also think it is genius to give me a week of from work just so I can go to a big party. I know I have sometimes had my differences with the Catholics and the French, but today I raise my glass to you. Umm, my glass of apple juice, that is;)

I like being a teacher, and here's why!

I like days off. Of course we all know that teachers are off during the summer, which is well deserved after spending 9 months locked in a room with 25-30 kids. And we also have the week off between Christmas and New years. But What I'm excited about is that it seems that I have days off every couple of weeks this semester. Here's the schedule.

School starts Jan 7th.
3 weeks later, off on the 21st for MLK Day.
3 weeks later, off a week for Mardi Gras.
5 weeks later. off a week for Easter.
then work 2 months with no interuptions till summer
Last day of school, may 29th.

I am off for a full week in Febuary and in March. Not too shabby!

Now don't get me wrong. I love my job and find it easy to get out of bed in the morning, but who doesn't love vacation. Especially now that I have a paycheck that will allow me to enjoy it!!

Something to say

Congratulations to the LSU fighting tigers fo their BCS championship victory of the Ohio State Buckeyes. I still don't like LSU but they did lay the smack down on the buckeyes, props to ya!

In other news, yesterday was my first day as a full time certified teacher. All in all I think the day went well. I am teaching world geography(9th grade). The students(I don't like to call them kids, though they are) are great. I think they are smarter than they think they are. I'm looking forward to helping them see that.

There is a new video of sadie over there to the right. I made a mini movie, check it out.