Heavy Recruiting

I haven't been so specific about my "working" activity throughout the posts on this blog over the years. That was a mostly tactical decision. In any case, as occupational activities have changed, I find myself in a secondary school setting in South LA, and there are many things that offer ideas for posts.

In this specific case, I've made some observations that I find alarming.

In high schools around the country, one of the main thrusts about discussions of the future is college. When I started working at the school I'm at, I had an unrealistic idea of how much attention was being paid towards college; I figured between the kids and the teachers, that nobody cared about college. That was unrealistic. Almost every student regards college as a useful thing and a noble goal, even though some kids have unrealistic expectations about themselves.

One student, when I asked what he wants to do after graduation, responded that he wants to play football for USC, and then move on to the NFL. Sports as a viable option out of the 'hood--this is a very real means of escape. But this student, notwithstanding his slim chances of actually graduating, doesn't actually play football right now in high school.

Our football program itself doesn't quite condition kids well enough for Division I college ball anyway, but we don't talk about that; we're not dream killers...

There is plenty of attention from big Ivy League schools back east being paid to our elite academic students, and I imagine federal money for admitting South Central LA kids is a motivating factor in that. BUt really, out of 1400 kids over four grade levels, we have, like, 19 seniors with a GPA higher than 3.5. Nineteen.

This all brings me to my first alarming observation: there are more than Ivy League schools recruiting around here.

DeVry, ACC (American Career College), Phoenix University, and Everest Career College are some of the heavier recruiters on campus, and they specifically target the students that have a GPA under 2.0.

On the one hand it's nice that students who don't shine so well in high school are being recognized and even encouraged to learn and be better prepared for a career.

But these are students who don't have the drive to succeed at the high school level, and who may be at a loss for understanding how student loans work, how much money it ultimately costs to go to one of these for-profit universities, and what the prospective salaries will be in the (rare) event of a program's completion.

I was a pretty stellar high school student, and the finances of my university education were mostly foreign to me for years.

I've always been a bit wary or for-profit universities, and until now I had no idea they actively recruited students.

Should I be anxious about this development?

Sleeping in the Woods

This past weekend I went to my first professional conference, the CMC-South, held in Palm Springs, and I can say I got plenty out of it. That surprised me, actually. In any case, it was a conference---of math teachers. Lots and lots of math teachers...spooky.

In any case, upon returning home, I was reminded that we were going camping the next weekend. Of course, how could I forget?

Corrie, in her driven way, has made lists of the things we'll be needing to organize to be ready to enjoy ourselves in the Big Siggity. She laughed and said, "I've never planned for a camping trip, and it's more challenging than I thought, you know? We've never gone camping before..."

Before I could say, Really? I think there's photographic evidence pointing to the contrary, she finished her thought, "We've only gone out sleeping in the woods."

I had a good belly laugh and agreed. The trips that we'd embarked upon in the past were far more of the "sleeping in the woods" variety than any planned activity resembling camping.

So, we're trying to crack that pattern. Which means, really, Corrie's trying to break that pattern. I can't even keep the trip in my head.

AND it's to freaking Big Sur! One of this planet's Official Beautiful Places...

Disneyland in Fall, Part 2

Wow, back-to-back sequels. Click here for the original "Disneyland in Fall", posted two years ago in October of 2011.

This time we had updated shirts, or, I guess, "shirts", as we wore fancy baseball jerseys. This time it was my mom's birthday, and we surprised her at the park as the crowds began mustering.

And oh my...the crowds. It was a beautiful Saturday in October, and the people were out in force. It didn't help that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of the better rides at the park, was shuttered; that would have alleviated some of the crowding everywhere else.

If you follow the link above and read through, I'm pretty sure I mention that it was Gay Day at Disneyland on that specific day. This Saturday trip wasn't Gay Day, and this time around I got a sense of the real visceral difference: at least 30% of the human beings at Disneyland this time around were under eight years old.

Holy cow, the kids... And Norman was with us again, but now he was nearly 2 and a half, and running around and having some fun.

Here's a post-surprise shot, where you can see our matching jerseys (thanks a ton Auntie Peg!):

After walking down Main Street, where all the buildings are 3/4 scale, we went to my mom's favorite ride, the cheesy and fun Jungle Cruise. I hadn't been on it for years, and Corrie had never ridden it. It's about the adventure and the guide's delivery of the jokes that make it what it is. It can be fun or a disaster, but I have faith in Disneyland's management in placing the right individuals in the guide spot, and I bet it's a heavily sought after job for specific individuals.

From there we went to Pirates, then the Haunted Mansion, then the Train ride through time, basically a resting ride for the adults, and then we went across the old parking lot to California Adventure. It was getting late in the day and the lines were outrageous, but we were enjoying ourselves.

I'm mostly crunched fr time right now, so if you're looking for a post with nostalgia and feeling and personality, go ahead and click through the link above. That Disneyland post has more character than many of my other posts.

Here are the "Sisters" with their names on their jerseys as we went down Main Street:

Only 10:30, and the crowds were crushing...also, I liked how all the parents just posted up their strollers and left them parked like cars:

With the right perspective and timing, we're beginning to warm up to the idea of "going to Disneyland" as a regular activity, especially if we complicate our lives with offspring.

Good Old Fashioned Manual Labor, Part 2

Click here for Part 1, originally posted back in October of 2009.

That post was about helping out some loved ones, Corrie's cousin Joshua and his wife Elizabeth, with some home construction work, namely setting tile in their would-be laundry nook.

This post is similar in that it involves a laundry nook, only this time it was OURS! Hell yes, we finally became adults! Or at least it feels like it now. We bought brand new editions of a washer and a dryer.

We got the type you can stack if you so chose, and we did, so that's that. Shorter folks might need a ladder for the dials on the dryer.

Unlike October of 2009, though, I didn't need to set any tile. Rather, I needed to make a hole in the wall for the dryers exhaust. But we have no Sawzall...what are two resourceful college grads to do?

Use a drill two dozens times, of course. See me trying avoid the nasty particulate inhalants with the train robber mask.

Here's the finished and installed exhaust pipe:

Oh, yeah...we're legit!

Movie "Super": Who knew Rainn Wilson was a guy?

I guess if you're a fan of "The Office", then you're familiar with the character Dwight, who is played by someone named Rainn Wilson. When we looked at the Netflix listing for the movie Super, we saw it was about normal folks who donned costumes and fought crime, starred Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon, Andre Royo, and the person named Rainn Wilson.

I've seen the name before, but was mistakenly under the impression it was a young Hollywood starlet. Andre Royo I mention because his name appears in the opening musical number next to an animated rendition of himself, a spot in the story saved for significant bit stars. Andre Royo, for those who don't know, is Bubbles from The Wire.

There were a few things I wanted to mention about this movie. Maybe the first is to address one of the easy things to say about it in general, that it was perceived as a rip-off of Kick-Ass and Defendor (maybe Defendor came out afterwards...). Rainn Wilson is a line cook (a burger guy!) in a burger joint who has married the former junkie Liv Tyler, who shacks up with her former dealer, leaving the dopey fry-cook. Kevin Bacon plays the bad-guy drug dealer, Andre Royo plays the buddy and fellow cook, and Ellen Page plays a girl who works in a comic shop and who, eventually teams up with Wilson when he snaps and starts wearing a costume and "fighting crime".

Wilson's character has a "vision", where the hand of god comes down and touches his brain, and this leads into something else I wanted to say about this movie: it's a wildly pro-Christian production, and nowhere online does it say anything like that.

One of Rainn's inspirations for his costumed psychotic break is Nathan Filion (the Canuck actor from "Firefly") playing a Christian costumed superhero on some Christian channel who, along with god, visit Rainn during his vision. The vision is after a scene in which a sobbing Wilson begs god for a sign. Maybe that's "God", but at this point, who's counting?

So, Rainn Wilson dons a red jumpsuit, grabs a plumber's wrench, and spends evenings behind a dumpster waiting for action. That's pretty funny, really. How boring being a crime-fighting superhero could be. Eventually he finds some action, swoops into the scene calling himself the Crimson Bolt, and brains some folks with his wrench. This is quite funny, really, because the news treats it as we would today: "Crazed man in a costume has been beating folks with a wrench!"

Eventually Ellen Page figures it out and talks herself into the role of kid sidekick. Meanwhile Kevin Bacon has snatched up Liv Tyler and is using her as tester for the heroin he's buying. What a dastardly drug dealer! Pimps and folks who do what they can to keep customers or their "stable" strung-out are serious problems in these circumstances, but rarely does something this cartoony happen.

It felt like it was a plot point out of the brain of someone who knew nothing about junkies or The Game, but what can you do? It felt a little like finger wagging from a Christian school-marm, like the dealers exist just to tempt you, and you have no power over your needs for strong dope.

Another less vaguely Christian aspect is the movies feelings about marriage and sexuality. The cops are onto Wilson's character's real identity, so he's sleeping on the couch at his 22 year-old "kid sidekick's" place, the silly and sexual Ellen Page. She's playing the role as a mix of violent-exuberance and sexual needs, and at one point suggests that she and the Crimson Bolt make out. He responds, "I'm married, and that's a sacred bond. And you're my kid sidekick!"

I'm not saying isn't a sacred bond, but that may not be the way in which I express similar thoughts, and, in the movie, that isn't the first or the last time he says it. "Marriage is a sacred bond!" he's yelling all the time. So, how does sex work its way into this film?

If you said "rape", then you're right, but not as you may expect. The only sexual encounter is Ellen Page forcing herself onto a resistant Rain Wilson. He even throws her off after she climaxes and runs into the bathroom to barf.

If you're keeping score, the main character's wife is a former junkie mildly kidnapped by a dealer, and the only other woman in the movie rapes him.

Ellen Page, whatever your feelings on a young girl getting off riding an unwilling participant, is easily the best part of the movie, and, being a rapist by the movie's standards, gets what rapists in movies should get: (SPOILER ALERT) a bullet turns her skull into a canoe.

At least the Crimson Bolt mourns her.

I liked the cast, and the this movie had its moments, but I may be overly sensitive to overtly Christian storylines...sounds like my own problem. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes the "regular guy snaps and become a costumed superhero" sort of non-Batman realism. Also, if the thought of Ellen Page forcing herself on someone intrigues your sick mind, this may be worth your time.

Four Grand-Slams to Tie

In baseball a "grand-slam" is a play in which all three bases are full of players from the batting team and the batter hits the ball out of the park in fair territory, which itself is called a home-run. A home run with the bases loaded.

It sounds pretty weird when trying to explain it, but I assume that any of my readers are familiar with such a term and such a play in the game of baseball. If that's not the case, then my readership is far and above what I could ever guess. Or just hipsters...

In any case, a grand slam is exciting when your team hits one; hell, it's the best possible outcome in the situation. All three runners score, the batter scores, and nobody makes an out. It sounds silly to expound on the merits of the grand slam, but as long as we agree that it's more rare than common, I'll be done.

My mother's birthday just happened, and seeing as how it was a big one, we decided a good trip would be a trip to a Dodger game at the Stadium on Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers this year started out playing like reheated turds, but a stretch after the All-Star break had them playing like the '98 Yankees, and they'd clawed their way back to not only the top of the NL West, but for a time, to the best record in all of baseball.

Yasiel Puig, the Cuban sensation, plus a mashing Hanley Ramirez have been largely responsible.

Ricky Nolasco, the LA-bred pitcher the Dodgers scooped up on the cheap from the Miami Marlins, was the starting pitcher for our Saturday night game. And, by the way, our Saturday night game was against the Giants, the longtime rivals of our Boys in Blue, and, I'd like to add, what do you think the chances of me finding Saturday night tickets for a Red Sox game in the Bronx are? I'd guess maybe a single ticket for magnitudes of cost more than I paid for four Dodger/Giants game tix. Oh well...

So, Ricky Nolasco labors through the first inning, loading the bases at one point, but giving up only three runs. That's a lot, no doubt, but you get the sense he's off and it could've been more.

Then the Dodgers get their turn, and Yasiel Puig is the leadoff man. I mentioned to Corrie that Puig likes to swing at the first pitch, and I was joking about getting my camera out fast enough. It turned out not to be a joke, as Yasiel put the bat on the ball on that first pitch, sending a liner to center field. I did catch a picture of the ball in the air and Puig off for first, which is kind of a cool action shot:

Puig then went to third on a soft blooper to right field, and scored on a routine groundout, pretty much manufacturing the run by himself. After the first inning was done, the score was 3 - 1 Giants. That was as close as it would get all night.

Nolasco gave up four more runs in the second before getting pulled; his final line was 7 runs give up and only four outs made. Ouch. The 4th and 6th innings were the only innings in which the Giants did not score runs. They loaded the bases in at least four separate innings (1st, 2nd, 5th (they hit a grand slam that inning), and 9th) and even their scrubs were getting in on it--some guy named Britt went 5 for 6 with two RBIs.

Puig scored a second run sometime in the late innings, and, up until then, accounted for 2 of the Dodgers' three hits and both of their runs. Then a Dodger rookie hit a homer to give them 3 runs.

Going into the 9th innings, the Giants were up 17 - 3, and I was joking that the Dodgers were down by two touchdowns. When they scored another run in the 9th I was angry--not because the Dodgers were dropping a stinker on my mom's birthday game (I was far over that), but because my two touchdown joke would no longer work. But then they scored another run, making the score 19 - 3, and we realized that it would take the Dodgers four grand slams to tie the game, which makes baseball fans' heads explode.

Puig laid out for a blooper--diving to catch it--and roughed himself up a little. He stayed in the game for a bit, scored that second run, and then was replaced, taken out as a precautionary tactic in game that had ceased to be important.

I hope my mom had a good time. Besides the score, it was pretty exciting. Dan had purchased a spot on the scoreboard to read, "Happy Birthday Kate (last name)! Enjoy the Game!" We took a picture of it with Corrie's nice camera, but are still getting pictures offloaded. Thanks Dan!

I'll always remember having a good time, sitting up high, getting to see Puig do his young DiMaggio impression, and a laugher of a result.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Test Run

I'm using this post as a test run of some equipment. I didn't mean to have my mother's birthday post be about my issues with my new laptop (which I'm not currently using...).

This is only a test...