Graduation!!

JOHN - After almost three years, I finally wanted to finish our blog!! We graduated in December 2009 (I can't believe it's been almost three years...it feels like yesterday)!! But that's not where our story ends...

Jayma decided to stay in Illinois and got a job teaching for the Monroe School District. She is not only teaching but coaching as well. She continues to work at the Bartonville pool in her summers. She is now engaged to be married in summer 2013. She misses my effin' enchiladas.


I took a teaching job for NISD, in San Antonio, and have remained there ever since. I am currently teaching 6th grade science AND coaching girls volleyball, basketball, and track for Anson Jones Middle School. I hope to start working towards my masters degree in 2013. And it's still effin' hot in Texas!!

Train & Uncle Kracker concert (Nov. 21)

JOHN – After a pretty horrible week and finally making up with Jayma after a few days of fighting and ignoring one another, we finally patched things up thanks to our “listening chair”. Plus, it didn’t hurt that we are done with the stress of student teaching and have a week off for Thanksgiving break. Even though that stupid curse was still following me.

A few months ago, I introduced Jayma to Train and we were really excited about the concert. Uncle Kracker was opening so it was a double-shot of awesomeness. Train was performing at La Zona Rosa, the location of our first Texas concert and where I got to dance with Sugar Ray. So we were looking forward to going full-circle and ending our concert tour at the same place we started it.

Jayma and I were going to go to Austin for a day of fun in the sun. However, it didn’t work out the way we’d hope. We ended up going out the night before with Jared and had a good time with Jared. However, that good time caused us to be a bit lazy and slow on Saturday in getting going. So, we didn’t end up leaving the apartment until 3:00 or so. By the time we left, the sky was pretty overcast.

When we finally arrived in Austin, the traffic was pretty steady because the Horns were playing Kansas that night and there were a lot of people there for the game. Jayma and I wanted to visit this little Lutheran college that her niece is considering going to. Well, Jayma, being the Queen of Plans, failed to get the address and found out that the building had moved. I started to laugh because it really is a small college.

After making a stop at the capitol building and walking around and getting pics, we decided to stop and park close to La Zona Rosa. Well, Jayma redeemed herself and found a parking spot on the street less than a block from the venue. And it was free parking!! We decided to walk down 4th Street to see if there was anywhere to eat. We didn’t want to settle for pub food, we actually wanted to sit down in a restaurant and have a nice dinner. After walking around for about an hour and doing a little souvenir shopping, we finally settled on The Iron Cactus. The Iron Cactus was really good Mexican food. I had this spectacular burrito and Jayma ended up chowing down on a delicious steak. And it was a restaurant!! After dinner, we went and had a drink and played a little darts before heading down to the show.

We arrived at La Zona Rosa around 8:40 and patiently waited for Uncle Kracker to come on. And when he did, he was awesome. He had a short set but he played all of his hits and even a cover of Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long”. That was interesting because he stated that he helped write that song about 10 years ago. I hope to have the chance to see him again because I bet he can put on a great show and actually be a headliner.

Now, the moment we had been waiting for: TRAIN!! Let me say this, they were amazing. Pat’s voice is phenomenal. They played all of the songs we were wanting to hear, especially OUR song which is “Hey, Soul Sister”. Jayma and I love that song and it’s officially our new song (our last song was “Hot N Cold”).

I was pleased to say how much fan interaction Train had with the crowd. During one segment, they invited some tween girls up who all got a shirt and were affectionately named the Trainettes. At one point, Pat said that he was going to sing without a mic. What an amazing and intimate moment. He literally got up in front of the crowd and sand amazingly!! As I said before, they were incredible, one of the best live acts I have ever seen. They ended up closing with “Dream On” and “Mississippi” and ended up inviting some cougars on-stage to finish the show. All in all, a great show and I am looking forward to seeing them this spring when they come back. Hopefully my partner-in-crime will be able to join me.

Return of the Thanksgiving Curse - John's Worst Week. Ever.

JOHN - I had, to put it mildy, a really crappy week. I mean, let's be honest, if my week was to be described as a smell, it'd be "shit". And with it being so close to Thanksgiving, that can only mean one thing: The Curse of Thanksgiving has returned!!

You're probably thinking...what is this curse John is talking about. Well, it all started when I was a kid and my cat, Beamer, got sick. It was a few days before Thanksgiving and I thought that he was going to be okay. Well, things got worse, to the point my mom ended up taking him to the vet on Thanksgiving Day. I am sure you can guess where this story is going but we ended up having to put him to sleep. On Turkey Day. Yeah, I had a lot to be thankful for that day. And so, the curse was born.

Over the years, the curse has hit in my numerous ways. I got a ticket on Thanksgiving eve when I went to pick my brother up from work at Best Buy. I have gotten into major fights with girlfriends on Thanksgiving. I remember Gina screaming at me, in front of her entire family. Karen and I had a knock-down, drag-out because I stayed up all night playing Street Fighter. I have seen my family well at each other. Last year: Jenna (need I say more). And now this year, I have had the apartment broken into and just last night, I got a speeding ticket on the way home from the Train concert. Yep, the curse is alive and well.

So, after the fiasco of the break-in, I was back at school on Monday. Margie had called me around lunch and informing me that all of the Livetext work I had uploaded was nowhere to be found. Well, I went home that night and I was eventually able to find it but I wasn't sure how to transfer it to my portfolio. Well, I was going to ask Jayma to help me but we ended up having a nasty fight. Yeah, I was a bit a jerk but she has a way to get under my skin so we both found new ways to piss each other off. So, there went my help with Livetext.

Of all of the things that was most valuable to me, which was stolen, was my laptop. I really needed that because EVERYTHING I have done this semester was on it. Everyone was asking me why didn't I back my stuff up. How many people do you know back their stuff up? Probably 1% so I really don't want to hear how everyone does it. Anyway, I was able to get all of the Livetext stuff done by late Tuesday night. But I was still behind on getting my resume uploaded on Northside's website. I was going to do it that previous weekend but couldn't, for the obvious reasons.

As the week progressed and was able to knock out the resume, I received a letter from ISU on Wednesday listing my endorsements. The endorsements listed were: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Business/Marketing/Management. Waitaminute, where was my Language Arts endorsement. I immediately emailed my advisor about this. Well, guess what? On Thursday, she emails me back and states that I was still 3 credit hours short. However, this contradicts EVERYTHING she has told me over the past year. Evidently, a communications class I took at ICC was no longer allowed to be applied towards the L.A. endorsement. What pissed me off was how nonchalant she addressed the email. There was no “John, I am so sorry I have been misinforming you for the past year” or “John, I am sorry you spent $400 and 2 months on a class this summer only to not get your endorsement even though I told you that you that’s all you needed”. Nope, I was informed that I could take another class. I am thinking “When am I going to take this class when I graduate in two weeks”. What irks me the most is that this screw-up could’ve cost me employment opportunities. This was not just about my certification, this is about my life!!

Well, I immediately emailed some higher-ups in the C&I department at ISU and voiced my feelings and expressed how unfair and unprofessional this is. It reminded me again of what happened when I questioned my grade. It seemed as if ISU was not intending on helping its students. I find that ironic considering that we, as future teachers, are told to be accountable for our actions. Yet, who is holding ISU accountable? And how many students has this happened to and no one question them? I was not going to let this just happen and I was going to fight it.

It ended up working out because by Friday, I had received word that it’s been resolved and that I was going to be receiving my language arts endorsement. However, as much as it feels like a small victory in a bad week, I still have a sour taste regarding the entire situation. Why was it that it had to get to this point? WHY? I am not just student who is graduating from ISU with my first degree. I am an alumnus of ISU as I graduated with a degree in Political Science back in ’98. I am not some spring chicken, I have lived in the real world and I have paid my dues. And I remember ISU do this EXACT same thing to friends of mine back when I was in school the first time. If this blog does anything, I want it to bring awareness to other students. As a student, it is your responsibility to be on top of grades, endorsements and graduation requirements. Do not always take what your advisors say at face value. Anything they tell you, be sure to document it. Save emails and notes. And if you question something and don’t like the response, find someone else to give you a better one.

Ok, I am getting off the ISU soapbox. I don’t want my feelings to be a reflection of how I feel about the university, as a whole. For the most part, I have enjoyed my experience. I have had the pleasure of attending classes with some wonderful teachers who seem to really care about the students. I am proud to be a Redbird and a two-time graduate. And I want to thank everyone who helped me resolve this (hopefully) last hiccup on the road to graduation.Just when I thought the Thanksgiving Curse was over (I mean, really, how could it get worse?) I ended up getting a speeding ticket last night on the way home for the Train concert. So, with five days before Turkey Day, I am curious how much more bad luck is going to find its way into my life. I think I am going to be a hermit and hide out and pray that bad luck won’t find me. But then again, the holiday isn’t over yet. Damn.

Classroom Divided - Texas vs. Texas A&M

JOHN - Mrs. Schiebel and I decided that the week before Thanksgiving break we would arrange the classroom. To be more specific, we were going to split the room right down the middle. On one side, Mrs. Schiebel's, the room would be painted in maroon and Aggie colors. On my side, it's all burnt orange and UT!! Since the big UT-A&M game is on Thanksgiving, we wanted to get in the spirit of the game. This is such a big rivalry here, similar to Cardinals-Cubs back home in Illinois. So you can imagine the state is divided on this. Unless you're a fan of Texas Tech and then you could care less about either team. But TT is insignificant so that's neither here nor there.

On Monday, some of the students came to classroom before school started and helped decorate. Mrs. Schiebel had her A&M supporters and I had my UT fans. I am soooooo glad I brought my UT blanket, football, shirt and Colt jersey to school on Friday the 13th. Because if I didn't...it would have been stolen!!

Anyway, the room turned out to look really nice. The door was also decorated by our advisory kids and was also split down the middle. I am posting lots of pics and I am really excited about the game. On another note, the Raiders play the Cowboys that day and that should turn out to be a really good game too! Well, maybe for a minute. Thanksgiving...here I come. HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!

Last Weeks of Student Teaching

JOHN - The semester is quickly wrapping up and I have finally completed all of my student teaching. This past week, I started giving classes back to Mrs. Schiebel. To be honest with you, I was ready to give them back and she was ready to take them. Not that I didn't want to teach the kids, do the lesson planning, etc.... It's just, after the break-in, my focus has shifted from enjoying the remainder of the semester to just getting finished with school and starting on the next phase of my life. It's a shame I feel that way because it's somewhat tainted this entire experience.

Anyway, let me say this to any and all future student teachers...STUDENT TEACHING IS GOING TO BE THE MOST REWARDING LEARNING EXPERIENCE YOU WILL HAVE YOUR ENTIRE TIME IN COLLEGE!! I have learned so much while completing my student teaching.

First and foremost, I have to thank Mrs. Schiebel. If it wasn't for her, I do not believe I would have gained the knowledge I already have. I wish I could take her years of experience, her calming demeanor and unending patience and give me just a portion of it. She is supportive yet willing to give constructive criticism. Plus, she's not one of those cooperating teachers who goes off to read a book and leaves you alone w/ the students. She's there to help you if you need it. She gives you enough space to run a lesson but is willing to offer up advice when appropriate. In fact, we would meet and discuss the first two lessons during 3rd period and she'd give input and suggestions for the later class periods. The one thing I noticed is that I would usually make most of my "mistakes" in 2nd period but by 6th, 7th and 8th period, the lesson went more smooth and the "bugs were worked out.

The other thing I have taken from this experience is that there are many key things to student teaching. Here is my list of items I feel is needed to be a successful student teacher (or teacher in general): 1. Content knowledge: You have to know the subject you are teaching. However, keep in mind, just because you are good at something doesn't make it easy to teach. Those skills will develop and come with time. 2. Time management: 50-minute classes go so quick!! You blink and the class is over. So this means you have to plan accordingly. 3. Patience: You need to be patient with young adolescents. They are in a constant rate of motion and are squirrely. I have gotten better about their behavior. But don't be afraid to have them settle down. Sometimes they need to move and sometimes they need to just relax. 4. Discipline. This is one area I constantly worked on (well, I have worked on everything but this was an area of concern for me). The key to discipline techniques is to just remain consistent. Do as you say, say what you mean. 5. Comfortable shoes: Trust me on this, get shoes that will not tear up your feet. Girls, no heals. Boys, those dress are nice but a good pair of Skechers are still dressy and comfy!!

After a long semester, it's finally come to an end. It's a bittersweet feeling. I am sad to be leaving these kids I have grown to care for. I want each and every one of them to be successful. I will miss their insanity and their bluntness. I will miss their calling me "Mr. G". I will miss joking with them or telling them to get quiet. I will even miss the days they failed to do their homework. What I will miss the most is their ability to surprise me. These kids have a way of making teaching worth it. They will surprise you daily. Sometimes bad. Most of the time, good. Maybe even great. When you have kids telling you that you are his/her favorite teacher and that you will be missed, it almost brings a tear to my eye. And it just reminds me that I have chosen the right career.

I arrived here in August with the excitement and nervousness of teaching middle school. I am leaving with the anticipation and pride of teaching these students again in the future. As I said in my initial reflective essay; "Someday, I will be somebody's teacher". Someday is now.

Breaking and Entry - Friday the 13th

JOHN - Well, as many of you already know, our apartment was broken into on Friday, the 13th. How freakin' appropriate, right? I was looking forward to going to Rawlinson's 7th and 8th grade dance that night. In fact, it was around 5:00 PM when I got the phone call from Jayma that changed everything for us.

As I said, RMS had a dance that night so I decided to stay after school and do some final ISU-required stuff with Mrs. Schiebel. We got the classroom set up and we were going to go grab a bite before the dance started at 6. I had my phone's volume off, which I usually do during the day, so I missed Jayma's initial. When I did see that she called, I noticed she called twice w/i a minute and even left a voice message. If anyone knows Jayma, she NEVER leaves a voice message. She'd much rather text you. When I listened to the message, she sounded hysterical. After calling her back, and finally understanding what she said, I immediately drove home.

As I arrived to the apartment, the first thing I saw was the huge crack in the door frame. It looks like the thieves broke down the front door. I was a little bit shocked that they had the balls to break thru the front door in the middle of the daytime. As I walked thru the apartment, I first noticed Jayma's tv (the one she just bought a few months back) missing. Then, I noticed both of our laptops were gone and then I moved into my bedroom.

Inside my bedroom, I immediately noticed that the mattress was moved. My room wasn't torn apart but lots of things were missing. My custom made Tim Brown Raiders jersey...GONE. My rare Vince Young Texas Longhorns Rose Bowl jersey...GONE. Plus, I had other jerseys including my Bruins, 3 Cardinals and a Celtics jersey....GONE. My PS2, which was under my bed...GONE. All of my Sunny and Scrubs dvds in the living room....GONE. I had a cd case which held 20 cds...GONE. I had some comics...GONE. Even my black suit, YES, my black dress suit with matching shoes...GONE. Assholes took some of my hats, too. Camera, guitar, MP3 player...ALL GONE.

Thank god Jayma and I both have renter's insurance. And I realize now that a lot it is just "stuff" and can be replaced. But now I have mixed emotions on everything. Once I get my check from the insurance company, do I want to go out and buy everything I lost. Not that I don't want my stuff back but rather, I wonder what's the point to having all of this stuff if it can happen again. I realize that I cannot stop living my life b/c of these pricks but our life has been turned upside down b/c of this mess.

The two things I really want back is 1) my computer and 2) the Vince Young jersey. That jersey is rare. I tried looking for it on Ebay. No one is selling one. Granted, it means it's going to be valuable but I don't care about the value, I just want it back. I will never get it back and probably never find another one. It just pisses me off that someone, somewhere has my jersey. Ironically enough, I took ALL of my UT stuff to school that day b/c Mrs. Schiebel and I were decorating the room for the UT-A&M game. I decided to take my Colt McCoy jersey instead, thinking that I didn't want the kids to do any damage to the jersey. I chuckle now it would have been safer at school then at home in my closet.

As for my computer, this sucks because I just bought that computer and I liked it. But what's worse was, my entire life was in there. Every picture I have taken w/ my camera (which was also stolen), is gone. Jayma was lucky enough to have some saved on a flashdrive but still, it sucks. However, EVERYTHING I have done this semester is GONE. EVERTHING. Granted, there are some things I was able to find on Livetext and on sent emails but still, I have spent hours saving things and changing passwords. You never realize how much your life has become dependent on computers until yours is stolen.

I think the thing that bothers Jayma and I the most is that we no longer feel comfortable in this apartment. Even with all of the maintenance issues and loud neighbors, we still felt that this was our little home. Not anymore. Now, it's just a place to keep what's left of our stuff. Jayma no longer feels comfortable being here alone. We decided to keep all of our windows and blinds shut. We'd rather turn the air on than give anyone another opportunity to violate us. I have since packed up what remaining valuable items and moved them to Don and Lisa's. My room is pretty bare minimum now and that's fine. Granted, I still have a bed (with a missing pillow case which was stolen and really pisses me off), I don't sleep well here now. Hell, I woke up at 3:30 Saturday morning thinking my spare set of car keys could've been taken which would make it easy for my car to be stolen.

I will say this, Lisa and Don have been wonderful to us during this chaotic time. On Saturday night, Lisa invited us to the Spurs game. Granted, the Spurs lost to Oklahoma City, it was nice just being out of the apartment. We ended up going downtown for some drinks (I needed one or ten) and tried to get our thoughts off of it. Sunday, I went to Don and Lisa's and they were gracious enough to let us borrow one of their laptops and tv's. That was so amazing of them. It's weird how much a tv adds to a living room but it makes the room feel "right" again. It's strange, I know, but it helps bring back some level of normalcy.

As the days of progressed, Jayma and I have been trying to get back to normal. We have contacted our insurance companies and have created our lists of missing stuff to send to them. We are not going to go out and buy things since we are leaving in a few weeks. We are just going to try and get through the remaining time here and then head back to Illinois on December 7. I know that, even though I am coming back here in January, I am not going to live here at Fountainhead.

Here's my advice for those students considering moving to San Antonio or getting an apartment (and this could go for anywhere you live): 1. DO NOT rent from Fountainhead. Have Linda Mendoza help you find another place but DO NOT live here. Some of the clientele they have moving here is looking shady. 2. DO NOT rent a ground floor apartment. Get one as high as you can. Having worked in property management for 9 years, I can say that if you take some small but smart steps, you can rest easier knowing that something like will not happen to you. No guarantee, just be smart.

Texas v. Central Florida game (Nov. 7)

JOHN - Before I even came down here, I knew I was going to go to at UT football game. I mean, I have been a fan since I was a kid so I had to see at least one game. And I didn't want to see them possibly lose because I always enjoy a blowout. This is why I settled on getting tickets for this game because UCF, though it's tough, probably wouldn't have beaten UT. And guess what, they didn't stand a chance!!

After I finally got over my illness from the past couple of days, we decided to go to Austin for the game. We had already purchased tickets and I was feeling better. Plus, this may be the last time I get to see them play live this year. Anyway, it turned out to be a perfect day. The weather was gorgeous as it was in the upper 70's. The sun was shining down on us as we were getting burned on our right sides.

The game started and UCF took a 3-0 at the start of the 2nd quarter. It seems that the Horns always start off slow each game but then really come on around the 2nd quarter. Well, it happened again. UT pretty much pounded UCF and moved the ball all over the field. Colt looked amazing but Shipley had a record-breaking day. He ended up finishing with a total of 273 yards!!

At the end of the game, Jayma and I decided to wait around the stadium. She noticed that there were people getting pics taken on the field so we decided to see if we could. Remember, Jayma and I live under the mantra "What's the worst that could, they say no"? So, we proceeded on down to the usher and he lets us on to the field. We were only there for a sec but we immediately walked into the end zone. It was a dream come true for me!!

As we were walking out, we ended us seeing one of the smoking-hot cheerleaders and I had to ask for a picture. What she doesn't know is that she's going to be my future ex-wife!! And that's okay because she was definitely nice on the eyes.

After the game and on our way back to S.A., we stopped at the Harley-Davidson dealership and picked up Terry a shirt. We stopped and got dinner before heading home. That night, Lisa and Don and Bentley stopped by and watched a movie. Another fun day in the life of the Dynamic Duo!