This Conversation Has Only Got One Side

More Toolyweed Pictures!

2007-11-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Okay boys--this is the continued posting of the original pictures of our faithful members.

Celebrity Matches to come!

Adam

Tooleyweed Original Pictures!

2007-10-29T08:41:00.001-06:00

Hey--this might not make sense to anyone that's not in my fantasy football league. But I'm going to have the original pictures for the Celebrity Doppelganger feature here. So here's what I have so far:

Len and Jesse Koller

More to come!

Adam

It's about time!

2007-02-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. It's been more than 5 months since I lasted posted anything. Much has happened since then, and I think once you hear/read what, you'll be a little more forgiving...

For starters, I'm engaged! That's right, y'all. I proposed to Krystal on the night of December 12th, on the Stone Arch Bridge (site of one of my favorite dates with her). She said yes (exact words: "Yes! Of course! Yes!" then not much else for about 10 minutes), and we even have a date!

Side note: If you would like to hear the full story, give me a call! I'd be more than happy to fill in the holes...

While we don't have everything nailed down, here's what we do know right now about the wedding:

Date: June 23, 2007
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Redeemer Covenant Church--Brooklyn Park, MN
Dessert Reception to follow

Now, if I was really fancy, and didn't have pictures that were all over 3 MBs in size, I'd throw one in this blog of the aftermath of the proposal. Unfortunately, I'm not really fancy.

What I can say is this: if you are looking for something do to on that weekend (and who isn't? It's summer dangit!), please let us know. We may already have contacted you about one duty or another, and we may be contacting you further as we continue to sort things out! Any, and I mean any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone happens to know a solid yet inexpensive photographer, that would be wonderful information as well.

At that, I must be off, as I'm supervising two test-taking young gentleman in a very quiet and calm classroom. I hope to start back up with this blogging thing--perhaps we will have a wedding blog of some sort (sorry Kyle for stealing that idea)...

grace and peace,

adam

Till the Sun Turns Black.

2006-09-05T20:32:00.000-06:00

Today's post will double as an album review and travelogue.

We left my apartment around 5 or so on Friday night. Traffic was a lot lighter than we previously expected, and we were out into the boonies of Lakeville and Farmington before we knew it. Krystal drove, and I had the distinct pleasure of leaning over every 30 seconds or so to make sure she wasn't going 20 over the speed limit. (She never did, by the way.)

We made it to our first turnoff just south of Mason City just before dusk, and we began scouting out potential locations for dinner. If there's one thing I learned about road signs in Iowa, it's that when there's a town listed on the occasional mileage sign, it doesn't mean that town is necessarily on that road. This was made painfully clear to us as we made our way west on Highway 18, with little or no food options available to us, and our stomachs growling louder and louder as each mile passed.

Finally, we settled on eating in Waterloo, and although there was a Panera there (random, I know, but more random restauranting comes later), we chose Wendy's. Apparently, all but two of this particular Wendy's employees were gone for the evening, so it was left to one extremely harried gentleman who appeared to be managing the place (as well as cooking, salting, packaging, and delivering the fries, and running the cash register at the counter). After that unsatisfying meal, we headed over to Target, as we had run out of CDs, and the current tape adaptor for the iPod was less than stellar.

As we entered the store, we were immediately greeted by the electronics section, a constant temptation for me, who is always looking to expand his musical collection (some may call it pissing my money away, but I call it research for the one song I write every two years). Anyway, there were three or so CDs I wanted to purchase, but my faithful financial accountability partner would not allow it. This frustrated me, as my accountability partner was bold enough to actually stop me from doing something. We decided on a compromise of one CD, and that became Ray Lamontagne's latest, Till the Sun Turns Black.

Once we had made it back on to the tangled web of confusion known as the Greater Cedar Falls/Waterloo freeway system, and aligned ourselves southward, Ray went in the CD player. Maybe it was the chance to spend some quality bonding time with Krystal, maybe it was the not-quite-cloudy, not-quite-clear night that presented itself, or maybe it was just the music, but it was one of those perfect convergences of music and a situation that leaves one absolutely transfixed. I haven't had very many of these in my life, and this was a special one.

From the very beginning notes of TTSTB (hereby shortened to save you, the readers, some time, as I'm already quite wordy enough), you are surrounded by a warm, well-arranged musical cocoon of strings, acoustic guitar, and Ray's distinctive voice, demanding at once both the subject of the song and the listener to "be here now."

The album continues on in sheer loveliness, paying tribute to the best sounds of the vinyl era. One of the album's highlights is track 4, "Three More Days." It's a perfectly crafted 70's era soul song, complete with glorious Wurlitzer by John Medeski, he of MMW fame. The track fades out with horns, voice, moaning guitar, and keyboard all grooving together.

This nugget is immediately followed by the starkness of "Can I Stay," one of the most tender love songs of this new, harsh millenium. It is a study in the beauty of simplicity, with the silent spaces simply serving to further highlight the interplay between guitar and voice.

I would love to wax rhapsodic about each song on this album, but time forbids me working much longer. There should be no question on whether or not to buy this album (or burn it, if you're amoral), but rather, how soon. Its single greatest quality may have been to lend beauty to a night, and a landscape that is not often considered much to look at. You can enjoy this album at any time of day, but it is most comfortable, and the most masterful as the sun fades, and the moon takes its place.

I have listened to the album all the way through at least five times since I bought it, and its beauty and strength in craft have not faded in the tiniest bit.

Unfortunately, one cannot say the same thing about Keokuk, our eventual destination for the evening.

More to come.

The City of Five Seasons.

2006-09-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay--so I didn't really stay in Cedar Rapids on my trip through Iowa. But Krystal and I did drive through it, and we discovered that the city calls itself "The City of Five Seasons."
You might ask, "What could possibly the fifth season?"
You would be 100 percent correct in wondering if these Iowans have added to their calendar in a vain attempt to make people notice them, or if they just can't count, like the politicians in Indiana who once sought to set the value of pi at 3.2.

Don't believe me? Paste this address:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_341.html

Well, worry no further, for I have uncovered the answer to the mysterious fifth season.
It is, according to the city's website, "a time to enjoy."

One might easily wonder what people in Cedar Rapids have to enjoy, and why it is so important to lengthen the calendar to make sure people enjoy it.

Of course, one could also wonder how such a wonderfully inane city motto got past the planning board.

I have much more to write about our travels to the great land to the south, but I have to head to bed, as tomorrow is the first day of my new teaching career! Woot!

Thanks for being patient, all 3 of my faithful readers (thanks Mom!).

More will follow.

I am employed!

2006-08-03T14:55:00.000-06:00

Some of you reading this may be familiar with my employment crisis from earlier this summer, as I swore I never wanted to be an EBD teacher again.
Some of you may also remember that I had no other good ideas, so I applied to a few positions in the district I grew up in.
Those of you would be pleased to hear that last Thursday, I interviewed for an E/BD position at my old high school (Champlin Park--what what!).
Those of you would also be pleased to hear that I was offered the position as of yesterday afternoon!
Thanks be to God.
I'm excited for this for more than a couple reasons:
1. Continued employment--always looks good when buying cars and houses and whatnot
2. Continued benefits--always looks good when trying to get fancy machines to help you sleep
3. A second chance. Now, if you are familiar with my situation, you might say to yourself, "Isn't this his third year of teaching?", and you'd be right. However, my last year was a complete crapfest, and I didn't give as much as I should have, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to prove that I am capable and qualified to do what I'm about to do.
Given just how poorly last school year went, I was surprised that Champlin Park gave me another chance, but I am incredibly grateful.
4. Time during the school day to complete paperwork (something completely foreign to my previous position.)
5. The opportunity to be a part of a big school faculty--85 kids is great and all, but 3200 is so much better! I like big numbers.

The best part about this whole thing is I got hired a full MONTH before school started--which is by far the longest amount of time I've ever had to prepare for a school year. I'm not going to waste it, either. MacGyver's calling my name!

So to end what is undoubtedly my shortest blog in quite some time, thank you to everyone who was praying for me, and I hope to talk to you all soon!

Grace and peace,

Adam

The man in the comfort gel mask.

2006-07-21T12:48:00.000-06:00

Before I get started, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and prayers concerning my blog from last week. I think some of my hopelessness was due to an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, and on Monday night, I went in for a sleep study to find out exactly what that exhaustion was caused by.

The sleep study itself was an experience in itself. I arrived to meet Ed, the gentleman who would be taking care of me for the majority of my stay. He directed me to my room, which had the general appearance of a hotel room, complete with queen-size bed and cable TV. The only difference was this massive box on the wall that I soon would be plugged into. I waited a little while, and my new friend Ed began attaching wires and sensors all over the place--nowhere inappropriate, but there were a heck of a lot of them--I think I counted 30 by the time he was done. There were EEG sensors, EKG sensors, a snore microphone, a finger oximeter, and a couple belts he put around my waist and chest to see what kind of expansion I was getting when I breathed.

The last, and most intriguing piece of equipment was a CPAP machine. For those of you that are unfamiliar, it stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure. The CPAP machine combats sleep apnea, and since I had some symptoms that reminded Ed of apnea, he thought he'd get me some practice on it.

A quick course on sleep apnea: When you get into REM sleep, the muscles in your throat relax, especially when you're on your back. For most people, this doesn't create a problem. But for people with apnea, this tissue relaxes to the point where it closes off your airway, and you stop breathing for a very small amount of time. Eventually, the brain realizes it's not getting as much oxygen as it should, and it triggers you to move, ever so slightly, enough to get you breathing again. Apnea is considered more severe the more times an hour you go through this process (each incident is called an apnea). For me, we discovered at my deepest point of sleep, I was getting up around 30 times an hour. Now, this is considered moderate sleep apnea, but it's easy to see why I might be feeling exhausted, no?

What the CPAP machine does is keep your airway open by pushing air through your system by means of a mask you wear over your nose (see above). You can control the amount of pressure, as well as the humidity of the air, with this nifty little machine, and it's supposed to work wonders for sufferers of apnea.

As a result of my test, they recommended I get the CPAP machine for myself. I met with a nice man named Brent, who showed me all around my machine, and instructed me in cleaning and care of my new toy.

Well, I've written two really, really long posts, so I'm going to leave this one short. Basically, I'm able to stand the mask on my face for about 3 hours at this point, and the longer I use it, the better (hopefully) I will feel!

So wish me luck!

Oh Look! Ouimet Canyon! (Pronounced O Luk! We-Met Kan-Yun!)

2006-07-19T14:42:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning, Krystal and I took the liberty of leaving at 8:30 for our adventures north of the border. We made good time getting to the border, and equally good time getting to Thunder Bay. We found Wunderbars and Smarties for Andy and Lisa (Krystal's brother/sister-in-law, respectively), and started driving towards Ouimet Canyon, a nice little provincial park my folks told me about. Everything was going well, and we even stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial Wayside. If you haven't heard of Terry Fox before, his story is absolutely amazing. Here's a link to more info about him: http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/about%20terry%20fox/default.asp?s=1

His wayside was as nice a wayside stop you could ever hope to find. It had a memorial, and a fantastic view of Sleeping Giant (picture to follow). Impressed as we were, we trudged on, ever hopeful to find the canyon. We kept going in the right direction, on the right road, armed with only our wits and a free map from the now-legendary Terry Fox Wayside. After awhile, we a saw a sign for Ouimet Canyon Road, but I passed it up, fully believing it would loop around like it did in the map on the brochure. Well, it didn't. We ended up in Darion, and I manned up and stopped to ask for directions. Turns out we were about 5 miles too far to the east, and as we headed back in the right direction, we began to notice all sorts of signs for Ouimet Canyon--but only on that side of the road. Apparently it's beyond the comprehension of the Canadian Park Board that anyone would approach the park from the west. But it didn't matter, because eventually, we found the road, and the park, and it was wonderful. The canyon is approximately 100 meters deep at its deepest point, and its sides are steep and awe-inspiring. The park has two lookout platforms that extend over the canyon itself, and Krystal and I both made ourselves walk out to the edge. It was absolutely still and quiet, with the occasional bird song, and one could still see Lake Superior from our viewing platform. I could have sat there forever, but we had to keep moving, as it was in the high 80s, even as far north as we were. We finished our hike, and headed into Thunder Bay itself to explore.

Turns out there's not much to see in Thunder Bay. We stopped at a bookstore, and being as we were absolutely dead tired, we got coffee, then began the trek back to Two Harbors. Stopping at the border again, we were greeted by an utterly cheerless fellow who ushered us through rather quickly, and we were on our way to Grand Marais for dinner. We settled on Sven and Ole's. Granted, I am fully aware that S & O's is about as touristy a place as you can get, but it still has good pizza, dangit!

After dinner, we started up again, and began the hunt for some black-eyed susans. They are plentiful along Highway 61, but I never have gotten up the nerve to stop and take some from the side of the road. I guess it's the goody-goody in me. Anyway, that night I decided to break my resolution. We drove by a lot of flowers, but every time I saw them, there was no good place to stop. This became a game for Krystal, as she'd yell, "There's some!", but we couldn't stop, and she'd have a good laugh. Eventually, I found a wide patch of the road, and sent Krystal out to pick some flowers up. Naturally, she failed to see why she should be the only one to get them, and I reluctantly left the van (by the way, we had the parents' minivan--slick, huh?). We got some black-eyed-susans, stuck them in a water bottle, and continued on our way.

Now, when we were planning this trip, we were both told tons of places I should take Krystal, as she hadn't previously been up to the North Shore. We passed several of these places on the way back to Two Harbors, but we were so both absolutely beat, we didn't want to do any walking. As a result, when we saw the Cross River Falls, which just so happens to be right by a wayside stop, it was the perfect breather. We happened upon a couple that was absorbed in throwing objects in the falls north of the bridge, then running across both lanes of traffic to see what became of said objects. I guess if that's what you can do for entertainment in a small town, more power to ya. We made it home safely, and settled in for the night.

Sunday morning went as I described in the last blog, and with a good nap under out belts, it was time to go home. On the way out of Two Harbors, we stopped at the cemetary, and paid our respects to my grandma--it was the first time I had seen her gravestone since she passed away last March. We left the hard-earned black-eyed susans with her, and headed out of town. Since we had no timetable, I thought it'd be fantastic if we took the slightly longer route south through Wisconsin on state highway 35. This was going well until we hit Danbury, where we were informed the road was closed, and we needed to take a detour. "No problem," we thought. "What's a little detour?" we wondered. Turns out Wisconsin's DOT's idea of a detour involves going 70 miles out of your way. We went through Minong, Spooner, Shell Lake, Turtle Lake, all nice places, but all places I wish we didn't have to go through. Long story short, we managed to make what should be a 3 hour drive into a 5 hour one. We got home safe, and had a great time, but if you're reading this, and you work for the Wisconsin DOT, well....
My mom always told me if I don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.

2006-07-19T10:46:00.000-06:00

Today's first post title comes courtesy of one of the most ironic moments of my vacation up to the North Shore. Krystal and I ( and Brad and Heather on Thursday) traveled all around the area, even up to good ol' Canada! But Sunday morning, we two, along with my grandpa Gust, went to an unnamed Baptist church in Duluth. Some of my extended relatives happen to go there, so I thought it'd be a great idea.

Turns out the church didn't have any air conditioning, and we were all struggling by about 10 minutes in. The pastor proceeded to deliver a message devoid of any coherent thought or realistic challenge. His sentences were long and rambling, and his scriptural references shaky at best in their connections to the subject matter at hand. But the best moment of the morning came at the end of his cheerless diatribe, where he announced, with no apparent irony, "And now it's time to sing that old-time hymn, ' I'm So Glad I'm a Part of the Family of God." (Note: This sounds much funnier when read in the approximate voice of Ben Stein, which is approximately what he sounded like). I nearly died. It was a nice capper to the weekend. Maybe not the high point, but close.

And now to the meat of the travellogue: Pictures of this adventure will be forthcoming.

We got up to Two Harbors around midnight Wednesday evening. Morning came, and all four of us headed to Duluth, with pit stops along the Scenic Drive to dip our feet in the ice water that is Lake Superior. Once we got into Duluth, we headed to lunch at Grandma's, then a trip to Sidewalk Days, which was just about as exciting as the title suggests. It was hot, the merchandise was lousy, and we were all getting burnt. So we headed down to Park Point, and I went in the water, due to my negligence in remembering to inform Brad and Heather that we might be swimming. The next half-hour was Brad and I throwing the frisbee, with plenty of awkward diving and flopping around, as well as Brad hiking his shorts up so they wouldn't touch the water.
The evening brought dinner at Little Angie's Cantina, followed by checking out Tony and Renee's new house (note: Heather's brother and sister-in-law, respectively). We then headed back to T & R's apartment to watch a movie, only to discover their apartment had been relocated to the third level of hell. I swear it was 90 degrees the entire time we were watching the movie. Needless to say, I lost about 5 pounds in water weight, and Krystal and I bolted out of the apartment as soon as the movie was over.

Friday brought brunch at Perkins', then Skyline Drive and Enger Tower (see above). We grabbed food, and headed out to Park Point again to tan and swim. In case you're wondering, our efforts got me from a pasty white to more of an off-white--sort of an eggshell, really. Krystal and I went to watch a movie (Devil Wears Prada--yes, Devil Wears Prada). We then headed back to Two Harbors and made dinner for my grandpa, then walked down to the all-hallowed Breakwater for a stroll, as well as some Culver's action afterwards--rock on.

I'll write about the second half of the trip soon--like two hours' soon.

The Education of a Wandering Man.

2006-07-11T15:18:00.000-06:00

I write on yet another beautiful day that I have spent inside this summer. This is my first blog post, here or MySpace, in quite some time. Many of my days this summer have been spent sleeping, or playing Scenario Poker on my computer (thanks Andy!), or watching MacGyver. I've also spent a lot, a LOT of time processing the last school year.

It seemed the more I learned about my career, the less confidence I had in my own abilities. I had the extreme pleasure of having the angriest parent phone call two days before I was done with the school year. I called Krystal (my beautiful, wise, understanding girlfriend) right afterwards, and declared my intentions never to enter another classroom. It just seemed like too much for me to handle. So I went into my summer vacation having absolutely no idea where I was headed next. I was just absolutely sure I wasn't going to be teaching.

Move forward a month and some change, and I just filled out some applications for openings in the district I used to work in, which also happens to be the district I grew up in--Anoka Hennepin--what what!
Anyway, I just applied for 7 different jobs in the district, 4 of which are at Bell Center, the school I worked at for almost 2 years. I'm doing this to appease my mother before she and my dad head off to Sweden to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, so she can go with a clear mind. She likes to worry about me. So I don't feel like I want to be teaching, and I feel as if I am absolutely incompetent in the classroom, but I'm starting the process of applying and interviewing all over again. (If you're keeping track, this is Summer #3 in a row of job hunting).

So if you're reading this, you're probably wondering, "Why would he do this? Why would he go back into a situation where he gained weight, raised his blood pressure, lost sleep, and had his self-image assailed at all turns?" Good question.

What it comes down to is this: I am scared. I am scared to re-enter the classroom. I am also scared of being unemployed and financially insolvent this fall when the money from Transition Program runs out. I am scared of wherever God is leading me right now, because I can see no clear steps in front of me. I am well aware of the many promises God has made to be with us in difficult situations, as well as the promise that God works through our weaknesses to do great things. But I cannot claim that they are offering me any comfort at this point. I am nearing the point of total brokenness, which will be a good thing, but it is painful right now. It has been almost 4 years since I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and it's like they take turns in their affecting me. There were some points in this last school year where I spent every minute of my prep hour playing Internet Spades or Solitaire, because I was so absolutely crushed by all I had to do, and I saw no way out of it. So it was anxiety throughout this entire school year, and now I've got all day to think and worry about my future plans.
I am 26, and suffering from a complete lack of answers.

I need prayer, friends.

And if you happen to know of a job that you think would work for me, I'm all ears.

Coconut Boogaloo.

2006-02-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's a Monday night, and it's almost been two months since Brad got married, and since I started living alone. I understand that this subject matter may grow tiresome for you readers out there, so I'll be quick about it. There are good days and bad days right now.

Currently, I think I'm in the midst of a good day. I went home to the folks' for dinner, and had a cream cheese frittata with my mom--that woman can cook for sure! I found myself wondering what it would be like if I were still living at home right now, and I can't even imagine it, really. No more walking around singing at the top of my lungs at 11:30 at night, that's for sure.

I have a rather intimidating evaluation tomorrow. My boss who'll be watching the meeting is the kind of person to note everything you did incorrectly (and I do mean EVERYTHING). She means well, but it's rather demoralizing to sit through it more than once. As such, I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning at all. Maybe she'll be the antithesis of herself and be positive beyond belief--but I doubt it. She doesn't know how to do anything but be condescending--not intentionally, it just comes out of her like that. As a result, I will not be sad at all when June 9th rolls around. It's 3 months away at this point, and I think I can make it!

Well, I'm off to enjoy some Under the Stars ice cream before I head to bed for the evening.

Take care, all.

Dead in the Water.

2006-01-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

I am currently attempting to switch my brain from "On Vacation from Grad School" mode to "Get Your Butt in Gear, Adam!" mode. As you can tell by my posting this, I'm not being terribly successful tonight. I keep thinking there's something else I should be doing, but really, this is the most pressing thing.

Why is it my brain can so easily be dissuaded from doing anything that's actually somewhat difficult/important?

Am I alone in this?

Maybe my mind's still a blur from all the activity that's been going on lately.

My roommate (and best friend) got married a week and a half ago, and while I'm incredibly happy for him, I'm still getting used to the idea of living by myself. Of course, there are numerous advantages to having a place to yourself, not least of which is the ability to do absolutely anything that could pass for being moderately bizarre, and not have any fear of reprisal or mockery. I'm also rather taken aback at my level of productivity when I'm awake (provided, of course, it's not anything school-related). I have completely new furniture for the living room, as well as a plan for both of the bedrooms once Brad and Heather do the big move out this weekend. I've made slipcovers, assembled futons and coffeetables, and completed an idea for a sort-of-artwork that turned out much better than I ever expected.

This just happens to be the first time I've actually been completely, 100%, on my own.

I just keep telling myself this is going to be a good thing in the long run, despite how much I may be struggling right now.

I'm also reminded of the passage in Genesis that talked about it not being good for man to be alone. Now, to the best of my understanding, this doesn't just mean a spouse, but rather, spending too much time on your own with little or no connection to other people (and other believers). It's really easy to retreat into yourself, and become self-obsessed and overly self-analytical. This creates a huge opening for the thoughts of self-doubt and worthlessness to work their way in. No, instead, I need to surround myself with a community of friends and family that see the good in me, even when I have a hard time seeing that good in myself.

But now, I'm going to open my bookbag from grad school for the first time in almost a month, and at least give a decent effort at understanding what's due, so I can cram it all in tomorrow night!

If you made it to the end of this, congratulations--you'll find an envelope taped under your seat with a special prize!

Well, not really.

I don't have THAT much time on my hands...

Kicking Television

2005-11-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

So I just got done with one of the more stressful days of this young school year. I am monumentally behind in all of my paperwork.
I have little or no decent curriculum for each of my students.
To put it bluntly, this job has me by the testicles.

I care deeply for my students. They need someone who's willing to work alongside them as they work with their often difficult situations, and I think I am that person. I have a good rapport with my students, but I'm having the darndest time holding up the rest of my end of the bargain.

I'm probably freaking out because I have a meeting on Friday that could very well turn into further meetings, then wander out into the court system. This prospect doesn't thrill me, to say the least. These types of hearings are fun for no one involved.

I would, however, like to close my second post ever on a positive note. My band has picked our music for the Christmas extravaganza we're putting together, and it shall be wonderful!

Wonderful, I say.

Post #1

2005-11-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay.

I should be sleeping.

I know.

But I've got to keep up with Craig, don't I?

That's all I have for thoughts today.

Oh! I did have a student end up on the roof today.

More to come.