Happy Flippin New Year

Well, another year is gone, another year to come...guess i should update this at least once more before the big pretty ball in Times Square drops.

So to start with wrestling, December was a crazy month, the majority of our matches were in Dec. and overall, my boys did great. They, for the most part have individual records of around 0.500 which is just plain spectacular given that they are all first year wrestlers. We still have yet to get our first team win, I hope that that comes soon for the sake of my boys' moral. But overall they are happy with what has been happening. Now in this wonderful month of January, we have 4 tri meets and 4 tournaments....so this will be a great month to prepare the guys for the post season coming up in February. I'll be sure to keep you all updated (all one or two of you that actually read this).

A great spin-off of me coaching wrestling is, i have lost a bunch of weight. I'm down 15 pounds from when i moved into Petersburg. This, really causes me to get excited about climbing in the coming months. I figure i'll keep workin' at physical shape till wrestling is over in Feb. and after that i'll start really kicking in training for my big trip this summer in June (still hoping to hear from kids about who want to go; first day of climbing being June 21). This trip will last till I'm sick of climbing, or flat freekin' broke. Also, to help me train for this, i got a hangboard for christmas, so now i can get my calluses back and even work on my climbing endurance. Gotta get the blood vessels built up and stop the pump from killing me.
~~~One an important side note PLEASE COME CLIMB WITH ME THIS SPRING

Teaching, well that will be getting back underway this Wednesday. And to be honest i have completely forgot about it over the past week. I haven't even bothered grading most of the work that needed to be done. Ohh well, i'm sure it will be fine.

On the kayakin' side of my life, i almost went the one day when i was home, but the water was still only about 3.5 feet, a full 2 feet lower than i would have liked so i didn't feel like freezing my balls off for "so-so" kayaking.

Hope you all enjoy this quick update. Have a safe and happy new year. May you make a resolution that you can actually keep unlike the vast majority of Americans. And if you are curios about mine, it is:

In the coming year of 2008 C.E. I plan to:
(A) Purchase a house here in the Moorefield/Petersburg Area
(B) Continue my physical training and continue to lose weight [goal is 165lbs (not part of my resolution, simply a goal)]
(C) Climb at least one of the following or greater V5 and 5.11a

Now i have proper record of my resolution, and we can all look back to see how i do.


Keep Kickin Ass,
Bails

Snow in WV

Well, it's official, WV sucks at removing snow. We had 3 inches of snow yesterday ending at 8PM and we didn't have school today.....wow, what is wrong w/ the crazy WVDOT people that can't clear 3 inches of snow.

As for that first match, it got postponed to a later date.....so now our first match is Saturday (hopefully nothing stops that).

Guess i'll update you all then as to how the little lads do that day.

Let's Go Jackets

So for those of you who care to know, tomorrow is the first wrestling match for the Moorefield High School Yellow Jackets in nearly 40 years. And already the criticisms fly: "your kids don't have fundamentals," "They don't know enough moves." So on and so forth....jackasses, the kids have had 3 weeks to learn what many wrestlers have had years to learn. I'm flippin' proud of them. Hopefully at least one guy will win. That will be a moral victory for my guys. I'll be sure to post in the next few days to let those who will be sitting on the edge of their seats w/ ulcers from the suspense how they did.

As for climbing, i just have one question to let you know how that is going. "What is climbing, and how does one do it?" it's killing me driving past a really cool bouldering area every day. I have yet to really try the area out, it's right along the road and i just noticed it once the leaves fell off the trees. I just can't wait to sink my hands into what looks to be a sweet (painful) hand crack running out the apex of a 20 foot roof. The offwidth dihedral crack tapering off to a seam leading to that roof hand crack. Then the lip of that roof which would make for a sweet 50 foot traverse which will end up being a bit of a high ball, this roof tops out at or slightly above 20 feet. All-in-all i can see (while driving by at 50mph) about 15 lines that would keep me entertained for atleast a month or so this spring once wrestling is over. The best thing about this, it's only about 2 miles from my house, so i don't have to drive hours to get there (infact it might be the same distance as the wall was from my apt. in lewisburg.

I guess while i'm on here i should update you all on teaching. Wow, it's getting to be interesting. The students have pretty much made up their minds that they refuse to do work outside of the classroom; which does not go well with my "college preparatory class" i run. They will not be prepared if they are not doing any work outside of class. Last night 2 out of 22 did the worksheet they had for homework. And i thought i was a slacker.....wow this is amazing. Outside of that, the behavior has been much better than past weeks.
Climb On, Rock On......

And on one last side note, i haven't asked any professional athletes if they were in line to shit recently.

Climb On

Seneca Rocks

Today was a nice day...that included a meeting near Cumberland, MD for wrestling, and being a wrestling coach....it was really cool and enjoyable...i met some other coaches that were very helpful and excited about our schools new wrestling program...

after this though was the more interesting part of the day....got to go down to Seneca Rocks again, but this time i got to hike up to the top of the mountain...i thought that it would be nice...and it was...the view was beautiful....but there was one major problem...while i was up there it was a major let down that i didn't climb up there....i wish i was topping out on those climbs and walking down...that would have just been awesome....i would have loved climbing 4 or 5oo vertical feet to the top of that mountain....just amazing....hopefully someday soon i'll be able to pull that off....

another downer was that i was thinkin about trying to get a job down there this summer to make a little money and get some time on the mountain...but i saw a large group of people there and i doubt they would need my assistance..........guess i'll try anyway...no harm in trying.......

check ya later

Karma's a Bitch

Lets just say this now, this is by no means a seious post, nor is it a true represenation of my beliefs...

This past weekend i was hiking to a crag with some buddies, and i looked down and saw a woolly worm on the road. So i picked him up and was trying to remember this saying about how they relate to the winter and how harsh/soft it will be. So i turned to Shawn and asked him if he knew, alas, he did not....so i explained what i did remember to him since he never heard about this concept.

Shawn not wanting a harsh winter said "well lets just stop the worm from causing a bad winter and step on it"...to which i responded "no, that is bad karma...if i step on him i will fall down the ladder, while this worm who has done nothing wrong would climb the ladder (possibly to human state)...and once i am a woolly worm and he a human...he could then step on me, leading into an indefinite cycle of people stepping on worms....just doesn't seem productive to me....so today i will set the worm down and walk away with both of us alive"

So at this point it doesn't seem that amusing, though trust me at that point in time it was an interesting conversation.....

ohh and a piece of advice if you are interest in a specific hobby to which there is a "worlds best ________" don't walk up to them and ask them if they are in line to take a shit.....they laugh at you and walk away rather than giving you an autograph or just having a conversation.

Check ya later dude

All i have to say tonight is -

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two road diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost~

This i feel is a great poem to describe where i am right now in this life that i have been given (i will post a great dialog soon from this past weekend about me and a woolly caterpillar)

Yet another big weekend

Well, it's been a while since i gave an update on here. things have been going really well in the classroom. I have been learning a lot about teaching lately, trying new procedures, labs, lessons, methods...all kinda of new stuff. A good deal of my time has also been spent trying to get my classroom better ready to teach. I spent most of my plan today and yesterday cleaning glassware so i can just take it out and use it for labs when the time comes. Also, while i'm cleaning glassware, i am re-organizing and creating some sort of order. My goal is some day to have my equipment organized by the lab, so i know where everything is very quickly and easily. Another thing is i got my water purifier almost fixed up...all that needs done yet is the plumbers need to come and put a new water regulator on the purifier, then it will be ready to rock.

As for this weekend, i'm checkin out tomorrow afternoon and headed to the Red River Gorge for some sport climbing fun. I hope that my little bouldering i have been doing has helped my sport climbing. I know i don't have the endurance i once did, but i am more confident in myself w/ smaller holds. I also think i have been improving on some of my techniques. Anywho, i'm sure i'll have some pics to post, and some stories to post on here from the weekend. all i need to do is survive the 6 hour drive down there after school tomorrow then head back sunday afternoon. Hopefully someone will want to stick around and climb for a while on sunday, till like 2 or so atleast.

Check ya later dude

Big Weekend Planned

Well, the weekend is finally here...guess how i rang it in....i did work, cleaned my apt. a little...and watched tv....it was nice sitting back and doing very little to nothing...

Tonight begins a great weekend, the Phills are winning, and the Mets are losin, so after tonight the philly will be winning their division by 2 games.....what a great friday night

Tomorrow rings in a busy weekend...i have a conference from 9-2 in martinsburg....from there i'm headed for a visitation trip to shippensburg for the night (maybe, as of now yes, but may change)...then up early sunday morning to head back to COOPER'S ROCK for another day of bouldering madness...wont be able to get any pictures this time....but i will get my hands back on those wonderful, sicky, sharp, beautiful, sexy, lines......

i think this trip im gonna have a go at several V1-V3 problems, and try to work them out.....only way to get better is to send harder than before.....shit its time to send hard i say.

I'm sure there will be an update after the weekend, and i get my work caught up.

Climbin' On

Another Day, Another Dollar

Well, another day of those little bastards is over...today i had a meeting w/ the parents of one of them, and well, it certainly changed his tune in my class....if only all the parents would do this w/ their kids.....an example, i gave an exam today w/ 100 questions, totaling over 125 points, and the test will be graded out of 75 points....in other words, 75/75 is a 100%, so there is a shit ton of opportunity for students to increase their 40% averages.....well the two that really needed it only answered 56 of the 100 questions, and they were all 1 point problems....in other words....they just done stuck a phallic shaped object in a very uncomfortable place on their own person....dumbasses...

other than these fun students, it was an enjoyable day. Many students were learning, and doing well....most are improving their grades as we speak.

Tonight was wednesday, so it was wing night...so a few teachers and myself went out for wings and it was again a great time. We got to bitch about the students we are annoyed with, and we got to discuss the amusing things others have done. I really enjoy these nights out because i get to be social w/ someone that isn't on my TV, or on the telephone, IT IS SPECTACULAR.

So this weekend i have to go to martinsburg on saturday to a seminar, but i'm seriously considering leaving from there and going straight to coopers rock again this weekend to climb on sunday....

This past weekend i got to climb again, something i hadn't done in forever, and i didn't realize how much i missed it...the physical strain on my muscles (the soreness the next day)...it was great...and the best thing about it was the sense of accomplishment i had when i completed climbs, and overcame my nerves when i was 20' off the ground w/ no ropes. In one case, i spotted a random guy on this highball problem (V1, which anywhere normal was bout V2) and he couldn't send it, so i asked him to spot me, i jumped up and flashed that shit....i got to the top and was about 20-25' off the deck and just kept on going w/out thinking about the fall below me...it was the best feeling i have had in so long....so i think i am going to do it again this weekend. At least i want to....

ohh well, here is my quick update....no i gotta do this work so i can go climbing this weekend.

Peace out

p.s. remember, don't clap it kills bacteria in the air please show pleasure w/ an environmentally friendly 'thumbs up'

Finally A Weekend Out

Well finally i have something to talk about on here other than work. I spent this weekend at/around Cooper's Rock State Park. This was my first trip there and it was all i had imagined. Friday i rolled into the park around 6 and got lucky...i got the very last campsite in the park.....but then again it did cost me 20bucks.....too damn much for a campsite in my opinion. Then to make things "worse" i couldn't even go night bouldering like i had hoped. but then again, i got up, and was on the rock by 8AM. What a great climbing area....though the rocks did brutalize my tips, but it was great....i sent about a dozen routes between VB and V2....but then again, those ratings are very different from anywhere else....the V2 problems were like V4 anywhere else i have climbed....they were wicked stiff grades....but it was fun....

i do hate my ankles, i climb for 3 hours....ankles are great...even fell a few times.........then i walk to the jeep to get some water and band aids and i roll my ankle on the walk......re-donkulous.

Other than climbing, it was great because i got to see some friends i hadn't seen in a while...hopefully i can get atleast one of them to come back to boulder again with me at Cooper's.

After a weekend away, that just gets me into more trouble, now i have a bunch of work for school i spent all day catchin up on....writing lessons, grading papers, wishin i had done my first Mod for marshal right, then i woudln't have to re-write it this week.....andi gotta figure out how to do this scenario for my special ed class........you'd think this would teach me how to deal w/ my "Special" students, but instead all i have learned is to teach, you need to know what you're talkin about...and you just need to repeat yourself a bunch...and then a little bit might...MIGHT sink in...

I wish i could get away in october, and head to the Red River Gorge for Rocktober-Fest and do some serious sport climbing with the gang....but i don't see that happening...at least as of now :-/

The good, The bad, The ugly

Well, gave out my first detention yesterday....little guy just didn't want to listen, so he landed himself in detention, and re-teach for a week....then it got even better, he got moved to another class, so i wont have to deal w/ him for a while....other than all that...teaching is still wonderful....i think i'm finally getting this "teaching" shit figured out a little more, they seem to be pickin up what i'm teaching a little quicker than before....

as for stuff that isn't related to teaching i have a climbing trip kickin off tomorrow....i'm going to cooper's rock state park for some camping, climbing, and food time at a friends lake house nearby...hopefully i'll have some pics and vids to post after this trip....

just thought i would give a little update....

Climb On!

Keepin on Movin on

So 3 weeks of school are done...so I have been teaching for 3 weeks, and I have been takin' classes at Marshall for 3 weeks....All in all, it's been damn busy. I haven't even had any time for running or working out really. Most of my evenings are spent grading, typing lessons, and when i get a few minutes, reading my assignments.

Overall teaching has been going very well...2 of my 3 classes are really fun to teach...the third is a difficult group, who seem to be doing anything and everything they can to avoid learning. In fact i just calculated their grades after the first 3 weeks to be sent home on Monday. It seems that almost 1/3 of the class is failing, but i don't want to blame this only on myself because i have done everything i could w/ them....i spent a week and a half on 1 simple thing, so this is just painful.

Though, i have been enjoying going to after school activities. Normally at least 2 days a week i go to some sporting events and i think it is really good. It gets me out of the apartment for a while and i think the kids like it when i attend their games. Also, i get to meet more and more people around the area. Hopefully this Wednesday when a group of people go to wings, I'll be able to meet even more people around the area.

I want to go hiking here again this week sometime, i want to find some climbing in the area, cause as it is, i'm going stir crazy right now.

179 Days Left

Well today is almost over, and my first day in a classroom is now complete. After my experience today, and I have to give credit to all the teachers that I have had over the years, especially the college profs. It takes soo much work to prepare and present an lesson for 90 minutes, and to make sure students understand what you're doing.

My one class today I was showing them how to convert between units and half of them were lookin' at me like "I'm bored" and the other half was thinking "what is this guy talkin' about." It's just going to take a lot more work, and patience than I had ever thought going into this profession. I think I'm going to like the challenge that this will present in my life.

Cheers

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow's the big day, students show up in my classroom for the first time. My first day as a teacher, the first time I will get to try to educate the youth of tomorrow. Though I am excited for it, I am also very nervous about all this. I'm worried about some of the stories I have heard about first year male teacher: girls coming in with skirts on and no underwear and other foolishness like this. I'm worried about things like this happening and causing problems for me in my first days as a teacher.

I do know one thing, and that is I must be strict, and firm the first days. So i guess once again, Time will tell. I'm sure I will be posting again this week.

Teacher of the Year

Today was the first day of in service for the year, and i spent the morning listening to last years State Teacher of the Year (from my county) and the 1998 National Teacher of the Year. Now I don't want to say it's dumb, but good Lord, they were two of the most boring speakers I have ever had the dis-pleasure of listening to. They pretty much said everything I never needed to know about nothing (exciting I know).

Then i was really blown away by the afternoon meetings. The topic of discussion for about an hour was homeroom, which they have never had in the area. So I spent an hour listening to how a homeroom teacher is like a pseudo parent for each of the kids in the homeroom. So when they get in trouble, you must also be on their case about it....now the only problem I have with this was nothing got accomplished because 2 teachers felt these 10 minutes were the biggest drain on educational time ever. A good idea other than when the 10 minutes used for homeroom were added to the school day, so there are still 4 blocks of 90 minutes for teaching.

The idea of 90 minutes gave me another chuckle today. The teacher of the year from the district had a big chunk of their talk focused on how the attention span of a person is equal to their age until 20 but the maximum attention span of anybody is 20 minutes...but her home district is using 90 minute classes...I found that funny, but maybe I'm wrong.

Cheers

A Quick Hello

I just thought this would be a fun way to keep track of all my adventures in the wilderness or the classroom.

As of now there are no trips planned for kayaking or climbing. But once the BU Climbing Club starts doing trips I'll hopefully be able to tag along for the ones to the New and maybe even the Red if I can get away for a spell. Also, once the good Dr. D gets back to the states hopefully he will remember me when he makes trips to run rivers down here in the south.

No matter what, for either of these activities I need to cut back on my weight, and increase my cardiovascular abilities. Hopefully once the school year starts I'll be able to fall into a regular work out schedule for running and maybe even get some Yoga in. I checked online, but was unable to find any yoga classes in the area, so I'll have to teach myself more positions. Time will tell with this, but i would like to look at little bit better.

I keep referring to school starting, well that will be tomorrow when my first in service days begin, and then on Monday students will be starting. Then I will be able to give my first lessons, hopefully it works out well for both the students and myself.

Time will tell seems to be the theme for tonight