Seasons are changing

Well this year has been full of many changes and there are many more to come. The most recent changes have been a career change that just seems to keep on lingering this summer.

After finally being done with my Ed testing I am able to submit my paperwork to become an official teacher at Jordan high school. I'm definitely looking forward to this change as I feel that ending my nursing assistant position is long overdue. It has been a great experience in many ways however it is not a position that I can handle having for an extended time.

After 5 years of being on the job there are many things that certainly need changing in the healthcare system and the biggest issue is how things are being implemented through the management positions.

It seems like no matter where you go there are always these generalized statements about how we need to work harder as a floor and how we need to do a better job with individualized cares. I feel like this is a great goal to have and this is certainly something that a hospital should work for but it should also be accompanied with praise for people that are doing a great job because I feel that when these statements come out to the floor I am not recognized and only feel scolded when I believe I am already doing something to make the floor better.

I think that by creating a better system to recognize those doing the good work but working in silent ways is a more effective way to keep employees engaged. Other problems with the system is an unfortunate schedule process in which employees trying to continue their education are not able to be assisted and are in turn forced to become a part time or casual employee.

I believe that there will probably always be these similar problems but my hopes are helping me move forward and be in a position on which I feel like my concerns are heard and my voice is one that matters.

Well this should probably be all for now on this rant. I think I'm at a point in my work career where it is time to move on because there is not the appreciation I deserve.

"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge." ~ Albert Einstein

Currently I feel stuck in a place between religion and science.  There are certainly things in life that can be answered by both, but with advances in technology and the advent of the God particle, it's hard to really follow both sides.  Einstein certainly had a point with this quote as there are many things in life where we must take an objective view at the matter and cannot allow ourselves to be biased through religion.  I think that living during WWII must have been a strange time with the invention of the atomic bomb and the catastrophe that followed.

Right now things are beginning to continue to be stressful while student teaching comes to an end, another thing will fill the void with searching for a new apartment in a new town, the joys of moving, and the time it takes to adapt to a new area once again.


I am hoping to get out fishing soon because at least with that I will be able to take my mind away from everything and have some time to regenerate from the last 4 months of the hectic life of student teaching and working.

Luckily I have a wonderful fiance that puts up with me and the things that make me tick.  I am truly excited for things to come in the future, just not necessarily all of the extra planning and stuff that has to be done first.  Time just doesn't seem to be something I have a lot of right now it seems.

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." ~ Albert Einstein

After ten weeks

After ten weeks it's hard to believe how much has changed. The first few days of teaching seemed shaky but things slowly started to become under control. I feel that by now I have a fairly good understanding of classroom management, how to plan effectively, how to keep students in line when things start going downhill, and how to maintain confidence when a student tries to challenge you with the most absurd behaviors.

After ten weeks it is still crazy to think that I am the one in control of another persons classroom but it is a blast. I have learned a lot in this time but I do know where I still need to work on my skills as areas for growth.

After ten weeks I have many things to show for my classroom accomplishments as I have compiled many lesson plans, a few projects, some useful PowerPoint presentations, and a website that will come in handy with future classes. All of these things should help with finding a teaching position but from the statistics I'm hearing, it's going to be a tough few weeks as I hear back from schools and hopefully receive a hiring letter.

After ten weeks, it's really only just beginning. There is one more placement of six weeks followed by a summer of finishing my work at the hospital, starting to relocate for what becomes my new job, and hopefully many adventures outdoors as I plan on doing a lot of fishing and camping.

How time flies

Well it's been a month since my last posting and that seems to have gone by far too quickly. Student teaching is wonderful but stressful at times. Lesson planning is not too bad except for submitting them occasionally because those forms are more on depth. Life is excellent but extremely busy with student teaching full time, working part time, going to school part time, and bouncing between two living situations as I spend time at my apartment and my girlfriends place. Now that spring break has arrived my calendar is already filled with lots of activities, to-do's, and work hours. This break isn't really a break at all with so many things going on but at least the weather is beautiful and should allow for some nice outdoor activities throughout the week ahead. Well that's all for now. Perhaps at some point I will post about teaching specifics and things related to that.

The first two days

.... have been fantastic but also a little eye opening. I have been waiting a long time to start student teaching and I'm extremely excited for the next 16 weeks. Things are going well but I do have some areas to improve. I think right now is the time I need to focus on my classroom management. I think a few more days teaching will help but I also feel like when I start my own lesson plans things will be going better because i will know exactly what needs to be covered each day.

A few positive notes...
- my teacher complemented my interactions with kids and said that I do a great job of explaining things but I do need to be sure how I position myself so I don't have my back to the classroom.
- I guess I do fairly well when thins start getting loud but the one thing to work on is getting full attention so I don't gave to explain the same thing multiple times.
- and my last positive thing is that my teacher is great. I get along with him very well and I think we have a good understanding of what each other is expecting over the next few weeks.

A little south of now

Today I went fly fishing for the last time in a while.  It was a cool, damp, and foggy day.  Spending time fishing is always good, but being outdoors is really my main focus this time of year.  Because I am new to the region I am having to spend a lot of time scouting new areas, and doing a lot of research and other legwork now in order to benefit more in the future.

During my scouting I visited three different streams; one of which was basically a bust because of low water and limited public access. The first location was a great section of water with a long stretch of public land. We only saw a few fish in this first stream, but it has a lot of promise for spring and summer. Things should also go better when I have a better understanding for trout fishing as a whole.  My technique and knowledge is limited in this area because I have really only been out for panfish on a regular basis.

A good portion of the day was really used up by trying to determine what is the best way to go about catching any fish and determining what type of fly might be the best.  A few times throughout the day I was able to spot a few varieties of bug stages and that was helpful because I was able to get closer to using a fly that mimics fairly well.  I still need to work on adding a few other fly styles to my collection, but I feel like I do have a good start on the basics for most seasons.

As I practice my cast I feel like I am getting signicantly better at casting around trees and aiming into specific pools and gaps in the water.  My presentation isn't the best with the two-fly setup but I am getting better with that.  I prefer using a single dryfly because I think that is what keeps me closest to my comfort zone with panfishing.

After seeing what seemed like thousands of deer tracks and trails throughout the day we did come across a carcass.  It was just a little yearling, but it had been there for quite some time as everything was removed and bones were scattered.  There was a lot of other animals that were active in the area.  A number of bird species were out as well as tracks of raccons and beavers.
  

Finishing the day out at the third stream of the day was pretty nice as well.  It is a medium sized stretch of water, but it does have a lot of promise because of the regulations the state has in place for size restrictions.  Here I was able to spot a few more fish, but was still unsuccessful in catching anything.  There were four other vehicles at this location so I feel like I was just in an area that is over-fished and I should probably find a different location, or walk deeper into the territory before I start to fish anything.  From brief conversation with one gentlemen it sounded like other people had caught a fish or two but it hadn't been an overly abundant day for them either. 

     I am glad knowing I am not alone in this matter, but it will be nice once I am able to catch fish (and more frequently).  Depending on the next time I am able to go out again, I will either scout a few more locations further south, or possibly return to one or two of the spots I have found in the past month of locating trout streams.

The final days

As the week winds down I inch closer to a real leap in my future. Student teaching begins and I become the teacher for 16 weeks. It is a bit scary but I do find that things will go well as long as I stay on top of everything else in my life. Hopefully over the next few weeks as I write my lessons and quizzes, and probably get involved in writing a test, things fall into place nicely as my content knowledge flows out and I keep those youth entertained. I feel like the biggest struggle will be making sure I am able to support myself on fewer paid hours while spending a large portion of my day teaching and paying to do it.

Another struggle will be making sure that I am supporting my girlfriend as I should, but also working on deepening our relationship in what will probably be less time together. I have faith that our time spent working out together will help our bond grow, but also that our faith will kelp us strong as we try to incorporate our weekly bible study into the chaos we will call life.

With all of the extra commitments in my life I hope that I will be able to spend some time fishing and be able to go outdoors to clear my head.

Tomorrow I will be spending my last free weekday fishing and then that will go on the back burner for a while with the exception of a planned ice fishing trip that I am very excited for.

Over the next few weeks, one thing I am hoping to become better with is the verse Matthew 5:25. Being too prideful is something I struggle with but I try not to be boastful. I think the reason I try to stay filled with pride is because I am without family nearby and I must not let anyone down. I always try to find success and not make mistakes but when I do I find it difficult to give a verbal apology that is heard.

The use of words is a concept I am not used to as I usually go with the silent giving unto others. Hopefully my apology reaches out but I will also become blessed with assistance on this difficult task.

Stupid in America

Unions are causing the educational system to fail.  This statement may be a little harsh but there is certainly a fair amount of truth to this.  In 2007 there was a 20/20 documentary about how America is failing students because this current educational system is basically a monopoly for the government.  Money is the common answer for how to make things better but does it really help?  Schools are constantly being compared on grades, test scores, and standardized tests.  The amount of money that each school recieves per students is also compared.  Many schools are spending upwards of $10,000.00 per student while others don't spend $3,000.00 but are more successful with their students.

I feel like unions are causing more problems for education than what they are doing to benefit teachers.  Yes it is good that they make sure teachers are not just fired for any argument or miniscule item, but making it nearly impossible to even fire a teacher over sex offender level activities is just outrageous.  There are too many teachers that are still working only because they have reached tenure.  It would be far more beneficial to get rid of tenure and do your job because you want to help students learn and not just keep a paycheck and retire at 55 because of your contract.  There are far better ways to ensure you still get this same opportunity if you only work to be a better teacher and create an effective learning environment in which students are safe and interested in the content.

The Week Away

After one week on my new work schedule, things have been fantastic.  It is so nice to actually get time away from the hospital and spend time in the world doing things I enjoy.  I feel like this week has been full of accomplishments, some larger than others.

1. I was able to spend time fishing, both fly fishing and ice fishing.  The weather has been wonderful this week with a few warm days to fly fish a few open streams followed by a few cold days to get out on the ice and fish a few hours with the guys.  I bought a new fly rod/reel combo this week.  It's just a beginner set but it will come in handy when in need of a second setup for a friend or my girlfriend on trips we are planning to do this summer. One can never beat a day of fishing.

Top: Scientific Angler Rod, SA Reel (green line)
Bottom: Cabela's Traditional II rod, Ross Reel Flystart (orange line)

2. With fishing comes knowledge.  The extra free time has allowed me to located new fishing areas and look for new possible locations in the future.  I have been able to follow the great MN DNR trout stream maps to locate nice areas to head out.  I have also spent a good amount of time tying new flies for the future.  Some should be okay for trout while others will work better for panfish and bass.  Hopefully this summer I will be able to get out to different lakes, rivers, and streams to fish more frequently as well as do some camping.

The first flies I have made.

Part of my mix of homemade flies.

These should be decent to try for bass.  I'm hoping to try a red one soon.

3. Because there was a drastic increase in the amount of free time this week I was able to dedicate a lot of time for creating lesson plans for my big unit plan assignment.  I have been able to get a strong outline for the unit as well as create the majority of the lesson plans and assessments.  It will be nice having a good portion of this completed now rather than doing the sprint finish like I have for most assignments thus far.

I thought this was clever.

4. With this free time I have been able to relax and spend time with my lovely girl and some friends from school.  Having the evenings off to actually go on dates or date like activities has been great and I cannot wait for a lifetime with this girl.  We stopped at the Red Bull Crashed Ice event in St Paul on Saturday evening.  It was pretty exciting and kind of a neat even although seeing the entire course was difficult.  Here is a neat photo I found online.

2012 has been rather eventful thus far and I don't expect deviation over the next 11 months.  A few major changes will be happening in my life and I cannot wait for them to start happening.  The next 6 months will be huge as they will be the months that really shape my future and determine how the rest of my life will look.

A Day Away

Today was the first day I've had nothing planned out in a quite a while.  It was nice to sleep in especially since I've been getting a bit sick lately.  Not sure what it is but my head is cloudy and unpleasant.  For my new year resolution I said I was going to fish more and the last two days have finally allowed for it to begin. 

Sunday I was able to meet with an old friend and go ice fishing for a little while before work.  It wasn't successful but it was a good time catching up while we were able to spend a beautiful afternoon outside.  Today I was lucky enough to accompanied by my girlfriend to scout a trout stream.  It was a somewhat successful trip but I think that because of the dry 2011 year the water is low in the streams and it was difficult to find much public access for streams.

My next plan is to head south a bit and located a few good streams to try out and keep in my list.  In order to keep track of these new things I decide I would get organized with my locations by keeping a binder with information about what I found and what needs to be done the next time I go in that direction.  We'll see how long it keeps up but at least I'll be able to keep printed off maps somewhere.

The next step in my fly fishing adventure would include more flies for the winter and early spring seasons.  I've got a handful of fly styles but I do need some more winter flies if I'm going to be successful and I think I'll need some smaller flies in my case as well.

Hopefully this week I will be able to get out of town and track down some good streams and spend a little time tying some new creations.

On the school side of life I've been working fairly hard on lesson plans that are coming together nicely and I think I'll have a good unit plan that I can actually use in the future.  Student teaching will begin soon and I cannot wait until I have more information on this experience.  I do feel prepared but I am anxious without more information.

If politics went half as fast as real life....

            A few days into the new year and things seem to be going pretty well.  I have bought some more fly tying supplies that should keep me busy for quite a while.  Hopefully I can find a few different styles to try out that work with the supplies I have on hand.  I think at this point I have 5 or 6 different style that I have tied and I will probably work my way up to 10 different fly types over the next few weeks.  Some have been pretty basic but others take a bit more concentration.  I think I will get the hang of things quickly but it will also take practice.

            Working out has not been going quite as well. Started out strong the first day of the year but haven't done much since. I will run again in the morning so I will have day 2 completed for the first week and I plan on going swimming at least once or twice around the weekend.

            Food moderation is tough stuff.  I love food. I love to eat.  I'm eating cookies as I type.  I think one of the things that would help is if I were to buy different tupperware containers for work food because I tend to just put leftovers in somewhat large containers and go with that.  The biggest problem there is that I feel like they must be FULL! I have been doing fairly well with drinking more water again so that should help a bit.

          As far as the rest of life goes, things are pretty busy.  Work is going to slow down soon with the schedule change for school, but each shift seems to be getting more and more busy.  My school work is continuously being put on the back burner but thats mostly because I don't want to work on some of this stuff.  It's a bad habit that I'm trying to break and it is slowly getting better.

       Politics is crazy.  I hate that in order to run for your office you basically have to completely bash the current person there.  All of these extra polls, caucuses, and other BS doesn't really matter much but the coverage is everywhere.  The nice part about this stuff is that it does coerce a few in the running to dropout.  After the Iowa Caucus of 2012 there should be at least two people dropping out of the race.  It seems like the top position will be pretty obvious after this vote and the next two or three "big voting states."  I'm just ready for there to be a smaller number of options because in a time of crisis we do not need more options on how to do things wrong.  I feel like what we need is a large number of people to really agree on something and make it happen.  We need those in power to step up to the plate and make a choice.  We need those people to take charge, to take the blame for not getting things done.  Each party is at fault and there should not be any argument with that.  Both sides are too stubborn to listen to the voices that matter.  More people are losing their jobs than those that are being hired. 

         If politics went half as fast as real life, many of these politicians would have heard in the phrasing of America's television: "You are the weakest link, goodbye" "The Tribe has spoken" "You need to pack up your knives and go" "Your work of art didn't work for us" "Your time's up" "I have to ask you to leave the mansion" "You must leave the chateu" "Your tour ends here" "You've been chopped" "You have been evicted from the Big Brother House" "Your dessert just doesn't measure up" "Sashay away" "Give me your jacket and leave Hell's Kitchen" "I'm sorry, you did not get a rose" "You have been eliminated from the race" "You are no longer in the running to be America's Next Top Model" " You're Fired" Auf Wiedersehen!

It's the New Year

As 2012 has finally arrived, the usual activities continued.  Lots of parties, lots of friends, lots of resolutions.  For 2012 I have created a list of 4 resolutions that I plan to work on and plan to accomplish in full.

1. Work out at least 3 days a week, possibly increasing as the year goes on and personal time allows.
2. Become more organized in planning, in my apartment, and being on top of homework.
3. Fish more frequently this year and make it a point to fish on a regular basis.
4. Be the best boyfriend I possibly can.

I believe this list will be something that is achievable but also easily expandable as time moves on.  While the things I have listed here are not necessarily as detailed as I plan to make them in the future, they are a great starting point.  Today I was also able to accomplish all four of these things (well somewhat). 

First I started the day with a nice workout session that also included a run.  Next I was able to spend the day with my wonderful girlfriend working on some homework and cleaning up the apartment a bit more which meets goals 2 and 4.  I was not able to get out and fish today, however I was able to make some flies for fly fishing in the coming months.  I decided I was going to make it a point to fly fish more often this year and in order to do so I need more flies.

Starting Top left then down - Woolly buggers, Elk hair Caddis, Adams Nymph, Pheasant Tail
Right - Gray Rock Worm, Olive Rock Worm

Today was a great day to start the year and this trend should continue.  I do feel I should add a fifth goal to the year to include more blogging of these efforts, but I think this will come as I make it a point to track my daily and weekly efforts of the new resolutions.