1 I have to stop having potato chips for dinner. My ears are likely to fall off.
2 When your team gets to the World Series, you do all sorts of idiotic things.
3 One of my rituals was making a small bowl of Lays' BBQ chips and sprinkling some freshly grated cheese over them, settling in to a raspberry Crystal Light, and then blasting Sugar Magnolia to the extremes of the Universe.
4 I also wore a Steal Your Base baseball shirt and got myself into a seventh state of Zen, if there is such a thing.
5 I would then turn on my computer an hour before the game and work on grading papers and entering grades, as though nothing was happening.
6 I changed my pants to shorts, every single night.
7 I KNEW that these sorts of things would send particles into space, and that those particles would help the Giants. I believed that these sorts of rituals were going on in billions of homes in the Bay Area, and that those psychic forces were going to make it to Detroit. Detroit never saw it coming. Cosmic tsunami.
8 I still believe that is what took place.
9 I would lighten my mind and hope that my laptop would go on. It has been a little touchy, but it has always pulled through. Sometimes it would take about thirty tries to get it going, but that mirrors my getting out of bed in the morning.
10 Each day I would get rid of some odd thing called "jucheck." It pops up out of nowhere and is the computer equivalent of an interjection in speech. It has no seeming computer value any more than an interjection has any grammatical value. You hit your thumb with a hammer, for example, and what you blurt out is an interjection.
11 I would then wait until right before the anthem, and then turn down the teevee sound and turn up the sound on KNBR, because KNBR has the greatest baseball announcers on the planet.
12 They have this odd delay between the teevee and the radio.Our announcers were always around six or seven seconds ahead of each pitch, which gave me a Nostradamusal advantage over the rest of the nation.
13 To me, it just gave me six or seven seconds more of going crazy. When your team is clearly dominating another team, it obtains an other-earthly advantage over the rest of the cosmos in terms of ultimate torture, and ultimate ecstasy.
14 I also got to enjoy six or seven seconds more than anyone else when Cabrera struck out on that cheeseburger.
15 I got over all of it rather swiftly, as I do most things. I love the past, but I don't like lingering there. Once something happens, I get over it pretty quickly, whether it is tragic, or in this instance, comic and atomic.
16 There are still people grousing about the Giants. There are still people grousing about the election. I'm like, "Dude, really?"
17 The only thing I can't seem to put behind me is the bowl of Lays with freshly grated cheese, and an ice cold Crystal Light. I don't play Sugar Magz too much anymore because there is simply no need.
18 We won. I don't have to launder the same clothes at the end of each night anymore.
19 I'm very hygienic.
20 I had people I know BRAGGING about not changing their shirts for three weeks.
21 Homie refused to go there.
22 Dude. Soap is good. Soap and water work. Soap and water do nothing to vibes.
23 Amateurs.
24 Moving On, Part the First: Back to yesterday, I came home, changed my clothes, threw them into the laundry, cleaned up a bit, and set up my desk for grading. The ritual seldom changes.
25 Our grading period ends today, and I had around thirty more things to grade, all due on Thursday.
26 I sat down to go in and take care of business.
27 I didn't bother turning on Sugar Magz, or even wearing my Steal Your Base baseball shirt. We already won, so no pressure.
30 But I couldn't resist the Lays' BBQ with the freshly grated cheese, nor the chilled glass of Crystal Light. I feel responsible for keeping the cosmos alert to good vibes.
31 I fed Phoebe the Amazon, our dog, and her sidekick, the benign Rocket J. Dog, one of the best puppies on Earth.
32 I settled into doing some grading, and knocked off almost everything when my daughter Nicoley came by to pick up the Rocket.
33 We decided to take both dogs for a November walk in the rain and talk teaching.
34 We must have walked at least two miles, or at least it seemed like it. It reminded both of us when we used to walk around the neighborhood in October and November so that we could crunch leaves and watch sunsets.
35 It always worked, and it worked once again. Plus we got to compare teaching techniques in a workshop that was clearly better than all the meetings I've been to this year combined.
36 I don't mean to brag, but my daughter Nicole is a brilliant teacher, and one of her best coaches is my daughter Caitlin.
37 Awesome techniques, brand new, and the result of professional studies.
38 Amazingly, I have used a lot of those techniques just by trial and error.
39 The most amazing technique to me is what the most amazing technique has always been for a successful teacher: passion for the job.
40 You either have it or you don't, the same way athletes either have it or they don't.
41 I see teachers who look at the job as a job. You can't do that if you want to enjoy a career. You have to love the pain. You have to endure the hard times. And you have to energize from the good times.
42 It was a great walk, and a great talk. The particles shot through the cosmos,and I'm quite certain both of us got energized by the walk and the talk
43 I'm gonna cut this one short.
44 It's Friday, and that job does not own me.
45 But it sure can be fun.
46 Have a GREAT three-day.
47 Peace.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News1 I have to stop having potato chips for dinner. My ears are likely to fall off.2 When your team gets to the World Series, you do all sorts of idiotic things.3 One of my rituals was making a small bowl of Lays' BBQ chips and sprinkling some freshly grated cheese over them, settling in to a raspberry Crystal Light, and then blasting Sugar Magnolia to the extremes of the Universe.4 I also wore a Steal Your Base baseball shirt and got myself into a seventh state of Zen, if there is such a thing.5 I would then turn on my computer an hour before the game and work on grading papers and entering grades, as though nothing was happening.6 I changed my pants to shorts, every single night.7 I KNEW that these sorts of things would send particles into space, and that those particles would help the Giants. I believed that these sorts of rituals were going on in billions of homes in the Bay Area, and that those psychic forces were going to make it to Detroit. Detroit never saw it coming. Cosmic tsunami.8 I still believe that is what took place.9 I would lighten my mind and hope that my laptop would go on. It has been a little touchy, but it has always pulled through. Sometimes it would take about thirty tries to get it going, but that mirrors my getting out of bed in the morning.10 Each day I would get rid of some odd thing called "jucheck." It pops up out of nowhere and is the computer equivalent of an interjection in speech. It has no seeming computer value any more than an interjection has any grammatical value. You hit your thumb with a hammer, for example, and what you blurt out is an interjection.11 I would then wait until right before the anthem, and then turn down the teevee sound and turn up the sound on KNBR, because KNBR has the greatest baseball announcers on the planet.12 They have this odd delay between the teevee and the radio.Our announcers were always around six or seven seconds ahead of each pitch, which gave me a Nostradamusal advantage over the rest of the nation.
13 To me, it just gave me six or seven seconds more of going crazy. When your team is clearly dominating another team, it obtains an other-earthly advantage over the rest of the cosmos in terms of ultimate torture, and ultimate ecstasy.14 I also got to enjoy six or seven seconds more than anyone else when Cabrera struck out on that cheeseburger.15 I got over all of it rather swiftly, as I do most things. I love the past, but I don't like lingering there. Once something happens, I get over it pretty quickly, whether it is tragic, or in this instance, comic and atomic.16 There are still people grousing about the Giants. There are still people grousing about the election. I'm like, "Dude, really?"17 The only thing I can't seem to put behind me is the bowl of Lays with freshly grated cheese, and an ice cold Crystal Light. I don't play Sugar Magz too much anymore because there is simply no need.18 We won. I don't have to launder the same clothes at the end of each night anymore.19 I'm very hygienic.20 I had people I know BRAGGING about not changing their shirts for three weeks.21 Homie refused to go there.22 Dude. Soap is good. Soap and water work. Soap and water do nothing to vibes.23 Amateurs.24 Moving On, Part the First: Back to yesterday, I came home, changed my clothes, threw them into the laundry, cleaned up a bit, and set up my desk for grading. The ritual seldom changes.25 Our grading period ends today, and I had around thirty more things to grade, all due on Thursday.26 I sat down to go in and take care of business.27 I didn't bother turning on Sugar Magz, or even wearing my Steal Your Base baseball shirt. We already won, so no pressure.30 But I couldn't resist the Lays' BBQ with the freshly grated cheese, nor the chilled glass of Crystal Light. I feel responsible for keeping the cosmos alert to good vibes.31 I fed Phoebe the Amazon, our dog, and her sidekick, the benign Rocket J. Dog, one of the best puppies on Earth.32 I settled into doing some grading, and knocked off almost everything when my daughter Nicoley came by to pick up the Rocket.33 We decided to take both dogs for a November walk in the rain and talk teaching.34 We must have walked at least two miles, or at least it seemed like it. It reminded both of us when we used to walk around the neighborhood in October and November so that we could crunch leaves and watch sunsets.35 It always worked, and it worked once again. Plus we got to compare teaching techniques in a workshop that was clearly better than all the meetings I've been to this year combined.36 I don't mean to brag, but my daughter Nicole is a brilliant teacher, and one of her best coaches is my daughter Caitlin.37 Awesome techniques, brand new, and the result of professional studies.38 Amazingly, I have used a lot of those techniques just by trial and error.39 The most amazing technique to me is what the most amazing technique has always been for a successful teacher: passion for the job.40 You either have it or you don't, the same way athletes either have it or they don't.41 I see teachers who look at the job as a job. You can't do that if you want to enjoy a career. You have to love the pain. You have to endure the hard times. And you have to energize from the good times.42 It was a great walk, and a great talk. The particles shot through the cosmos,and I'm quite certain both of us got energized by the walk and the talk43 I'm gonna cut this one short.44 It's Friday, and that job does not own me.45 But it sure can be fun.46 Have a GREAT three-day.47 Peace.~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
