If it's too loud, you're too old

It's official, then. I'm too old. And if I'm too old, Cas must be, as well.

Back a few years ago, I had occasion to hang out in Uptown quite often. It wasn't my favorite part of the city- parking was a nightmare, people were obsessed with trendiness, and every bar or restaurant was too noisy. 

Cas and I went to a part of Addison last night that is starting to feel an awful lot like Uptown. Parking was ridiculous- the open spaces were reserved for valet parking. I can't express how useless I find the practice of valet parking. 

We walked into one restaurant, and there were no tables available for a very long time. I think. The hostess had to shout to be heard. We went to another place where the food and drinks were wonderful, but again, it was too loud. 

I guess we are too old. We decided to head back to his place and catch another episode of House of Cards instead of battling it out any further. While we had a good dinner, I think we agreed that we wish for a little more peace and quiet in dining. 

Cas has a lot of work to do today, so I'm leaving him to it. In the meantime, my remaining homework will have to wait until after our celebration of Kris' birthday. 

Time to get moving, though. My present is wrapped, and this marks the end of our big birthday season. The next spate of birthdays starts in May. That's not the end of all celebrations, though. For the first time in a very long time, I have a really great Valentine. I picked up a little (very little) something for him yesterday. He laughed... 

Snitches get stitches

I hate being the bad guy. I really do. Today, in one of my morning classes, I had occasion to lean over and help several kids with something on their computers. I do it all the time- it's an occupational hazard.

When I reached about the twelfth kid or so, I smelled it. I wish I hadn't, really, but it was such a strong marijuana smell that no amount of Axe body spray could mask it. I'm actually mad at the kid a little bit for making me the bad guy.

If you reek of weed in my classroom, what do you think I'll do? I have to report it. Nobody smells like that by accident. So after the bell rang a few minutes later, downstairs I went. I found one of our security personnel and told him about my stinky kid. I had the kid's schedule in my hand. 

Security man had his marching orders. He was to go and investigate. The security man was off to find the kid, so I went back to my classroom. My work here is done. I snitched. 

After lunch, I got an email from another man who takes care of all the children confined to In School Suspension. My nose was correct, and it seems my student was guilty of more than smelling wrong. He must have had drugs on him. The email informed me and all of the  kid's other teachers that our student was headed to the alternative school. 

Like I said, I hate to be the bad guy. But, you really can't show up with drugs. Heck, you can't show up with booze, cigarettes or a lighter. You should have books, school supplies, and maybe, a lunch. That's about it. 

The kid is due to graduate in May. I hope he does his stint at the alternative school, comes back and makes it across the stage. I really do. Possession of marijuana on campus aside, he's actually a pretty sharp kid. 

Ah, adventures in teaching! 

And this is what greeted me when I returned from lunch today: 

That's one of my staff writers on The Hoofbeat wearing a short barstool as a hat. So, basically, it was a Friday in a public school. 

But no matter. I got home and picked up my Kindle. I am halfway through a library book, and I have nothing on the calendar for the rest of the evening. 

Book+wine awaits. But I did manage to make it all the way to my front porch to pick up the small envelope that the UPS guy dropped on the welcome mat. It's a charm bracelet I ordered when Zazzle was running a sale. Too freaking cute, if you ask me: 

Because it's there

For today's adventure, Cas and I went to the North Texas Outdoor Pursuit Center.  I had been there in my twenties when it was called Stoneworks.  It's a rock climbing gym built inside of the "historic" grain silos in Downtown Carrollton.  I used to go there with Jeff when we were younger and I was thinner.

It was still a blast.  Cas and I received the instruction on how to tie the proper knots and operate the ropes to belay one another.  We didn't exactly scale the hard courses or really make it to the top of the grain silos, but we did have a pretty good time.  I managed to keep him from plummeting to the ground, and he managed to return the favor.  We both did our level best, but it's a really particular skill set, and not just anyone can walk in off the street and do the hard courses to completion.  Neither of us had any expectation that we would find immediate success at this task, either.  In fact, I think we went into it with the correct attitude.  We both thought we would give it the best shot we could and quit to go get some beers when it was all too much.  That turned out to be the best plan, and we both felt like tapping out at around the same time.  I knew it would be tough, because I am 15-20 years older (and a bit fatter) than I was the last time I tried it.

We climbed a bit.  Since it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I thought it may be appropriate to try to think of the struggle for civil rights as I struggled to climb an actual wall.  As it turns out, I was far too goal-focused to contemplate much besides where to place my feet and how to get my hand to the next grip.  Here's Cas hooking up to the apparatus he used to keep me from falling:

After we were all tuckered out, we walked over to the Twisted Root burger company across the train tracks and had a bit of dinner.  They had a few of the coin-op style pool tables at the burger place, and since neither of us had played in ages, it seemed appropriate.  

Here's Cas lining up a shot.

He beat me both times, but we were pretty well matched.  I sunk a few and only had two or three of my balls left on the table each time.  

I have a four day work week coming up, and I think I should probably get to work on my school stuff this evening.  He had to head home to grade some tests, himself.  So, it's back to work for us tomorrow, but today was pretty great.  

Sweatpants Thursdays

Cas and I have had a standing date on Thursday nights during the school year. He had said at the end of the summer that he wanted a regular, appointed time during the week to get together- something kind of low-key. We discussed options and came up with Netflix Thursdays. It has turned out to be a pretty great arrangement.

Barring very important interruptions, when it's a standard work week, we get together on Thursday night and watch an episode of something on Netflix. We started with a season of Dr. Who. With that done, we're watching a season of House of Cards. 

Nothing is fancy. We get a sandwich or some quesadillas or something, we eat in front of the TV, and we watch a show together. 

We also dress rather casually. Sweatpants are encouraged, though lately, he has opted for pajama pants and a t-shirt. 

We're both trying to make some better decisions about diet lately, so tonight's junk food by the tube was some Wendy's chili and a baked potato for me and a small sandwich for him, along with a bunch of fruit. 

He has come to my place a few times, but it's easier with his workout schedule if I head there. 

Do you ever have that moment, first thing in the morning, when you try to orient yourself? Okay- I'm at home, in my bed. Good. What day is it? Do I have to go to work today? On Thursdays, I answer that with a smile. It's Thursday. I have a date tonight. 

Here's my food delivery method. Happy Thursday  (and now, happy Friday).

Parent conferences

When you teach high school in a large district serving a major city, your expectations for parent involvement are limited at best. I know that I am not living out Dallas' worst case scenario by any stretch of the imagination, though. In my last school, we had a very small PTA. The parents of WT White are far more involved than those of many other Dallas schools. Having said that, parent-teacher night was a bust. I met the mothers of three of my students last night. I also met two other moms who wanted to say hello, talk about the newspaper and let me know how their kids (who I had taught before) were doing in college.

Honestly, though, having only encountered five parents on parent night, it was far more useful than it sounded. I got a lot of work done, and I managed to stream a few episodes of my current Netflix binge-watching show. 

My second semester is starting off well, and if three moms are to be believed, I am doing what I should be doing. 

Time to put my head down, keep my chin up, and power through until spring break. I can do this. 

Enjoy this sad, limited sign-in sheet that (optimistically) had both sides printed with lines. Like an idiot, I picked up two of them... Rookie move for my 14th year in a Dallas classroom... 

Apathy about sports is a real time saver

It is quite clear to me that I save a lot of time in my life by not caring about football.  Today, I am told, the Dallas Cowboys were defeated in a playoff game.  No Super Bowl for the team, I'm afraid.  The game started at noon, and the score apparently upset a lot of people.  It must have angered the football gods in the area, too, because there was another earthquake this evening.  And so it goes.

No matter to me, though.  I did what I always do this morning.  It's a Sunday, and I went to my parents' house.  The thing I did differently today was that I took presents with me and headed to the local grocery store to pick up a cake for Mom.  Unfortunately, Danny got called into work right before our meal and our cake, but fortunately, Cas came to wish Mom well.  Dad was in full recovery mode today,  The one-armed man decided to dress himself in forest green sweatpants, an over sized brown shirt, some bright yellow hospital socks and his super-attractive arm sling.  

It was a good afternoon, and I am glad Cas is getting along with my family so well.  Danny came back from work just in time to say goodbye to Cas, and I stuck around for a little while longer to hear about what a wonderful boyfriend I have.  My people sure like my fella.  I'm glad, too, because I have no intention of abandoning any of them.  

I guess today ends for me on a high note, and that's probably for the best.  Tomorrow is parent teacher night, and that is kind of a brutal day.  I generally get to work around 8am, and parent conferences end at 8pm.  Nothing like spending 12 hours in your classroom to remind you how much you like your own house.  

I just finished updating my website for the week and had a nice cup of hot chocolate.  I should turn in early so I can power through my day tomorrow.  

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch is just fun to say, isn't it? Last night, Cas and I went to the movies. We saw "The Imitation Game," about British mathematician and code breaker Alan Turing. It was a very good movie, even though the end was quite sad for Turing himself. I won't reveal any further spoilers, though it's kind of hard to miss if you've read up any on Turing's life. Either way, a thumbs up and an A+ for Benedict Cumberbatch. If I'm being honest, I spent half of the time trying to decide if he should be the next James Bond. 

I'm about to get all cleaned up and head over to mom and dad's  house, now. Friday was mom's  birthday, and I have a present to give. I also have dad's present for her, as well. Dad had surgery to repair his rotator cuff on Tuesday. That, coupled with the fact that any internet shopping done at mom and dad's house generally gets intercepted by mom, made it the obvious choice to have the gift sent to my front porch and for me to use my two fully functional hands to wrap it. 

Gotta get a move on. It's time to go gift my mother. 

Time to make the doughnuts

Six o'clock this morning was a brutal and ugly time for the alarm to function properly.  After two weeks of being off work, my body had been pretty used to staying up late and sleeping in.  Six o'clock in the morning felt unkind.  

Yesterday was pretty good, though.  I went to mom and dad's house so we could celebrate Holly's birthday.  I had to make The Big Sandwich for everyone, and this time, I had some help.  As it turns out, Danny is quite good at stacking meats and cheeses.  I was also on to make milkshakes for everyone.  That is a pretty time-consuming process when you consider that there were nine people there.  

My milkshakes, however, did not bring all the boys to the yard.  In spite of the boy-free yard, the shakes were pretty well received.  I even managed to make one for myself with some Greek frozen yogurt and soy milk.  It was actually quite tasty and had the added benefit of not making me feel sick.  

Tomorrow is the first day of the second semester, and it's also the date for dad's shoulder surgery.  He has a badly torn rotator cuff, and it is scheduled for repair tomorrow.  I have three classes full of kids who I have been teaching all year, but for a change, I am now teaching something in the afternoons that is a one-semester course, so I have three sections of all new students tomorrow.  That's why I won't be in the waiting room for Dad.  Most other days of the year, I would get a sub and head off to be with my dad, but he had to schedule his surgery for the very first day of the second semester.  Alas, I have asked mom to send me text message updates.  In the meantime, I have to get ready to be a teacher again tomorrow.

Fon-doobie-doobie-doo

Last night, I went over to Cas' place and we went to Simply Fondue.  I had a Groupon, of course.  He was starting to get his brain back into work mode, and the prospect of going back to school was causing him a bit of stress.  It turns out that the right thing to do to Cas when he is stressed out is to make him go do something else entirely for a few hours.  I had been to Simply Fondue in Addison for a friend's birthday a few years ago, but I hadn't had fondue on a date before, and I had only walked past the Greenville Avenue location.  It was just the two of us, and we went to the one on Lower Greenville.  That is definitely the way to go.  We took every recommendation that the waiter made and enjoyed the whole thing.  It wasn't cheap, even with the Groupon, but it was pretty fantastic. 

I have to go back and get some work done before tomorrow, too, but more important things have to happen first.  We're celebrating Holly's birthday today, and I have a Big Sandwich to make.  I'm at mom and dad's house right now, and I have food to construct.  I'm pretty hungry, too, so I had better get a move on.  I haven't eaten anything since the fabulous fondue. 

Tannenbaum

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

I've had you for a decade

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

I throw you in the garbage

     You came with lights attached to you

     And now they work when they want to

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

I throw you in the garbage

Ringing it in

It's officially 2015 today, and I am filled with hope that this year will surpass the awesomeness of last year.  That's a pretty tall order, though, because last year was pretty fabulous.  Our stay at the Gaylord Texan was very cool.  We saw their Ice exhibit and donned the oh-so-attractive blue parkas as we walked through the ice sculptures that told the story of Frosty the Snowman.  I hadn't actually watched the whole cartoon movie since I was a kid, but the tale came back to me as we progressed through.  I think I liked it best when I saw that one of the sculptors had gone to the trouble of making a very ironic ice sculpture of a campfire.  Cas "warmed his hands."

After making our way through the Ice exhibit, we went for a dozen trips down the snow slides.  It was tons of fun, and it was also very clear that the staff was pretty well over it all.  One of the girls who was helping me said that she had two shifts left and indicated that she was done giving a damn.  Still, it was fun.  How could it be anything else?

After we wrapped up all of that, we got into the car and headed over to Fort Worth for our New Year's Eve in Sundance Square.  We had our dinner at Razoo's. He tried to find someplace that would take a reservation, but we had waited too late in the game for that.  Razzoo's had a 20 minute wait, and we were happy to wander around while we waited to get a table.  

We had a few drinks at a barbecue place and made our way to the square at midnight.  The city of Fort Worth sparked up some fireworks in the sky for us.  It was pretty great.  I haven't had a good date on New Year's Eve in a very long time, and I don't think I have ever had one like this.  

2015 promises to be a great year.