I played basketball yesterday for the first time in a while. I learned from that experience that I'm terribly out of shape. I used to be able to play for 3 hours straight, but that's no longer true, not even close. I get so winded during a single game that I don't have enough left in my legs to make a jump shot. I airballed 3 shots. I think that I really need to start working out again and running because I'm so out of shape right now. It's a little bit ridiculous. There were some high school kids there that play on the varsity team now, and watching them run around with endless stamina was a little depressing. That used to be me! Sadly, I'm more aware that 23 can feel much older if you don't take care of yourself. New Year's resolution?
In other news, I got to hang out with some friends last night that I hadn't seen in a while. A lot of folks were home for Thanksgiving, so I got to see some of them. Andy, Joey, and Jeff were back for a few days. It was nice to see them and catch up. I was over Andy's house and got to see some of his slide show he was showing his family from his trip to Europe. There were some pretty amazing pictures. I watched the Celtics game at Conor's. Scalabrine had himself a pretty eventful game; he drained a trey and then someone was ejected for flagrantly fouling him. I got to meet Joey's girlfriend, Jen. She's really nice, not great at pool, but nice. She's from Tennessee so she's got an accent which is fun to poke fun at.
Overall, it was a fun day. However, I'm still very disappointed in my poor endurance and stamina. I need to do some running. My next chance to play is on Thursday evening in an old man league. Maybe I will be in better shape than some of those guys, but I doubt it. They play every week while I play once every couple of months. I need to get into shape, better shape anyway.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for several reasons:
1. There is usually a very large and bountiful feast for me to devour, which challenges me mentally and physically as I love to eat.
2. Thanksgiving is one of the only times I think people actually sit down and think about how lucky and fortunate they are. In elementary school, we used to go around the classroom and say one thing we were looking forward to eating and one thing we were thankful for. Being young and somewhat oblivious to almost everything around us, sometimes those two things were the same. I encourage you, though, to take a minute or two today and just think about a couple of things you are thankful for.
3. Football! I haven't been following the NFL as closely this year as I usually do. I think not playing in a fantasy football league this year is affecting the regularity of my viewing. Football is so classic though, some turkey and pigskin.
4. Time with friends and family.
This list is not in any order of importance, just random.
Sometimes when I think about all the things I'm thankful for, I also think about people who might not be fortunate enough to have what I have. Although I think that everyone must have something to be thankful for, there are some who have far less than others. I think one of the great things about Thanksgiving is that it gives me some perspective on things, and I'm thankful for that. Also, like I've said, I love to eat that food coma-inducing turkey with mounds of mashed potatoes flowing with gravy. One of the things I never did in college is bring a friend home for Thanksgiving. My closest friends all went home, so I never really had a chance but I'm sure I could've looked a little harder. It just seems like a fun thing to do and a good way to get to know someone better over a short holiday break.
Anyway, this year, I'm extremely thankful for and grateful to my friends and family for their ever-present support and love for me. I don't deserve it, but I will gladly take it. You guys have shown me such kindness, compassion, and trust. You've done so much for me and I can't tell you how much it means. Well, I could but I wouldn't be able to convey the magnitude of what you've all meant to me. Whether it was having me stay with you during a visit, extending your hand out to support me, helping me with the job search, helping me write resumes and cover letters, just watching tv with me, buying me dinner because I'm unemployed, taking a minute out of your work day to chat with me, or simply staying in touch by reading my blog. I really appreciate all the help and support you've given me. I just want to wish each one of you a happy Thanksgiving. So whether you're in South Korea, Kazakhstan, Puerto Rico, the West Coast, New York/New Jersey, Maryland, or even closer, know that I'm thankful for your friendship and love above all else.
1. There is usually a very large and bountiful feast for me to devour, which challenges me mentally and physically as I love to eat.
2. Thanksgiving is one of the only times I think people actually sit down and think about how lucky and fortunate they are. In elementary school, we used to go around the classroom and say one thing we were looking forward to eating and one thing we were thankful for. Being young and somewhat oblivious to almost everything around us, sometimes those two things were the same. I encourage you, though, to take a minute or two today and just think about a couple of things you are thankful for.
3. Football! I haven't been following the NFL as closely this year as I usually do. I think not playing in a fantasy football league this year is affecting the regularity of my viewing. Football is so classic though, some turkey and pigskin.
4. Time with friends and family.
This list is not in any order of importance, just random.
Sometimes when I think about all the things I'm thankful for, I also think about people who might not be fortunate enough to have what I have. Although I think that everyone must have something to be thankful for, there are some who have far less than others. I think one of the great things about Thanksgiving is that it gives me some perspective on things, and I'm thankful for that. Also, like I've said, I love to eat that food coma-inducing turkey with mounds of mashed potatoes flowing with gravy. One of the things I never did in college is bring a friend home for Thanksgiving. My closest friends all went home, so I never really had a chance but I'm sure I could've looked a little harder. It just seems like a fun thing to do and a good way to get to know someone better over a short holiday break.
Anyway, this year, I'm extremely thankful for and grateful to my friends and family for their ever-present support and love for me. I don't deserve it, but I will gladly take it. You guys have shown me such kindness, compassion, and trust. You've done so much for me and I can't tell you how much it means. Well, I could but I wouldn't be able to convey the magnitude of what you've all meant to me. Whether it was having me stay with you during a visit, extending your hand out to support me, helping me with the job search, helping me write resumes and cover letters, just watching tv with me, buying me dinner because I'm unemployed, taking a minute out of your work day to chat with me, or simply staying in touch by reading my blog. I really appreciate all the help and support you've given me. I just want to wish each one of you a happy Thanksgiving. So whether you're in South Korea, Kazakhstan, Puerto Rico, the West Coast, New York/New Jersey, Maryland, or even closer, know that I'm thankful for your friendship and love above all else.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Good News
I heard some good news today along the job front. I applied to a public charter school called the Match School in Boston (near Boston University) for a tutoring position. The position requires that tutor 5 students one-on-one throughout their 8am-5pm day. I think the idea behind the school 's long hours and tutoring philosophy is that students will rise to meet and/or exceed challenges. By making them stay in school for much longer than most public schools, more learning and enrichment can be absorbed by the students as well as keeping them off the streets and out of trouble. I think this philosophy is great, and it has had some impressive results. The school is ranked among the top 100 schools out of over 18,000 across the country. In terms of math proficiency, it is the top in the state of Massachusetts. Right now it serves 220 students from grades 9-12 and 90 students in grade 6. Over the next two years, the school is planning on expanding into grades 7 and 8. The results have been phenomenal so far for this star on the rise school. There's a lottery just to get into this school. Anyway, I heard back from the Director of Recruiting, and he informed me that they are interested in having a phone interview with me shortly after Thanksgiving.
I heard about this school and the tutoring positions a while ago, actually. I had a friend that applied to it last spring. I've always thought that it would be work that I would enjoy. I mean I get to work with kids in an educational setting and probably coach sports while I'm there. That's exactly what I want. There is only one minor detail about the job that might be a negative: the pay or lack there of. The pay is really an AmeriCorps stipend of $600 a month, but it does come with free housing on the top floor of the school. That was the only thing that was really keeping me from applying to this school earlier. I'm just worried that with student loans rearing its ugly head that I needed something that would pay more than $600 a month. I don't want my parents, who have already done so much for me, to worry about my loans and my living expenses after college. Although, I guess they still feed, clothe, and house me. I feel like moving to Boston and working this job will fulfill me, but will also require me to spend more money than I make if that makes sense. It's like that time I stayed at Dartmouth during an off term the spring of my Junior year. I had to pay $3,000 in room and board while making a little more than $1000 working as the Intramural Sports Coordinator. I had a great time that term, ,but that left my parents to pay the bill. I'm worried the same thing is going to happen with this job and I don't want to be a burden for them. I wanted to go to college so that I could get a job to support them.
I'm glad that I applied though and I'm seriously considering taking this job if it leads to an offer. After this weekend at the SEAD reunion, my desire to work with kids from under-unprivileged communities is renewed. I know I want to make a difference there even if it's just a small and maybe even unseen difference. I guess I'll just have to learn to live off very little, not that I live a very extravagant lifestyle anyway. I feel like this weekend with the kids was very well timed for me and then I hear about this phone interview. I don't exactly believe in predetermination or that everything happens for a reason or anything, but I'm just glad things happened as they have. For a while, I was really struggling to find myself. I didn't really know where I was and, more importantly, where it was I wanted to go. I had this sickening feeling that I was just stuck in place, and no one else seemed to be afflicted in the same manner. I think that I was also feeling pretty sorry for myself, which is incredibly silly. I was talking to a friend I worked with over the summer and talking about how we noticed that there are two personalities to us: our SEAD personalities and our normal personalities. I would like to think that I these two personalities are not completely different, but I do notice that there are differences. The thing I think I like most about how SEAD affects me is that it puts everything into perspective for me. I start to feel silly about feeling sorry for myself, which is a very good thing. How can I complain about my life when I know some of the atrocities that plague these kids? I start to think more about how lucky I am and how many wonderful people and opportunities I have in my life. I love that sobering effect it has on me as well as the awareness it imparts on me about the lives of inner city kids. I saw a poster for Teach for America this weekend at Dartmouth that said: 50% of low-income, inner city kids don't graduate high school and that only one of ten graduates from college. Those numbers are insane and depressing. I wonder if I would've noticed that poster if I had not known these kids. I also wonder what would've happened to me if I had still been living in Dorchester, MA instead of Cape Cod. Would I be where I am today or just another statistic?
Ideally, I want my SEAD personality to be my normal or default personality. That's pretty hard though since I'm not going to be with those kids every single day or maybe ever again. The only physical remnants I have of them is a scrapbook that each one of them signed for me this past summer and the messages that lie inside. I find that I look at that scrapbook a lot when I'm feeling down. I remember falling asleep with the scrapbook on the students' last night and my first night home each of the two summers I worked with the program. Mostly, the scrapbook has really nice things to say so it usually makes me feel better. I also like that the comments describe a person that I want to be everyday, not just for a month every summer. The good news is that I have been that person before, so I know I'm capable. The hard part is getting that done without the SEAD atmosphere and the kids around to help me. But like I've said, I have some wonderful friends and family in my life. I'll need to apply my SEAD philosophy to my interactions with all of them. As a result, I think I can better keep these kids close to my heart and my life because I'll be living my life the same way I did when I was with them. I still miss them very much.
I heard about this school and the tutoring positions a while ago, actually. I had a friend that applied to it last spring. I've always thought that it would be work that I would enjoy. I mean I get to work with kids in an educational setting and probably coach sports while I'm there. That's exactly what I want. There is only one minor detail about the job that might be a negative: the pay or lack there of. The pay is really an AmeriCorps stipend of $600 a month, but it does come with free housing on the top floor of the school. That was the only thing that was really keeping me from applying to this school earlier. I'm just worried that with student loans rearing its ugly head that I needed something that would pay more than $600 a month. I don't want my parents, who have already done so much for me, to worry about my loans and my living expenses after college. Although, I guess they still feed, clothe, and house me. I feel like moving to Boston and working this job will fulfill me, but will also require me to spend more money than I make if that makes sense. It's like that time I stayed at Dartmouth during an off term the spring of my Junior year. I had to pay $3,000 in room and board while making a little more than $1000 working as the Intramural Sports Coordinator. I had a great time that term, ,but that left my parents to pay the bill. I'm worried the same thing is going to happen with this job and I don't want to be a burden for them. I wanted to go to college so that I could get a job to support them.
I'm glad that I applied though and I'm seriously considering taking this job if it leads to an offer. After this weekend at the SEAD reunion, my desire to work with kids from under-unprivileged communities is renewed. I know I want to make a difference there even if it's just a small and maybe even unseen difference. I guess I'll just have to learn to live off very little, not that I live a very extravagant lifestyle anyway. I feel like this weekend with the kids was very well timed for me and then I hear about this phone interview. I don't exactly believe in predetermination or that everything happens for a reason or anything, but I'm just glad things happened as they have. For a while, I was really struggling to find myself. I didn't really know where I was and, more importantly, where it was I wanted to go. I had this sickening feeling that I was just stuck in place, and no one else seemed to be afflicted in the same manner. I think that I was also feeling pretty sorry for myself, which is incredibly silly. I was talking to a friend I worked with over the summer and talking about how we noticed that there are two personalities to us: our SEAD personalities and our normal personalities. I would like to think that I these two personalities are not completely different, but I do notice that there are differences. The thing I think I like most about how SEAD affects me is that it puts everything into perspective for me. I start to feel silly about feeling sorry for myself, which is a very good thing. How can I complain about my life when I know some of the atrocities that plague these kids? I start to think more about how lucky I am and how many wonderful people and opportunities I have in my life. I love that sobering effect it has on me as well as the awareness it imparts on me about the lives of inner city kids. I saw a poster for Teach for America this weekend at Dartmouth that said: 50% of low-income, inner city kids don't graduate high school and that only one of ten graduates from college. Those numbers are insane and depressing. I wonder if I would've noticed that poster if I had not known these kids. I also wonder what would've happened to me if I had still been living in Dorchester, MA instead of Cape Cod. Would I be where I am today or just another statistic?
Ideally, I want my SEAD personality to be my normal or default personality. That's pretty hard though since I'm not going to be with those kids every single day or maybe ever again. The only physical remnants I have of them is a scrapbook that each one of them signed for me this past summer and the messages that lie inside. I find that I look at that scrapbook a lot when I'm feeling down. I remember falling asleep with the scrapbook on the students' last night and my first night home each of the two summers I worked with the program. Mostly, the scrapbook has really nice things to say so it usually makes me feel better. I also like that the comments describe a person that I want to be everyday, not just for a month every summer. The good news is that I have been that person before, so I know I'm capable. The hard part is getting that done without the SEAD atmosphere and the kids around to help me. But like I've said, I have some wonderful friends and family in my life. I'll need to apply my SEAD philosophy to my interactions with all of them. As a result, I think I can better keep these kids close to my heart and my life because I'll be living my life the same way I did when I was with them. I still miss them very much.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Contract Killer
Yesterday I played approximately three hours of video games, watched almost three full movies, and ate chinese food for lunch and dinner while my girlfriend was out volunteering with some kids from Harlem. It was glorious, especially because of the final movie in my day. While I started off with some sci-fi vampire action with 30 Days of Night and continued by unintentionally watching most of SWAT on FX, the true highlight a 10 year old Jet Li movie called Sat sau ji wayng, known as the Contract Killer in the US. Wikipedia tells me this is the last Hong Kong-produced movie Jet was in before he crossed over to US fame with roles in Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die. Anyway, this movie is awesome partly because of the sick martial arts action, but also because it has the unfortunate English dubbing that martial arts films of the 70s and 80s often have. We're talking translations that lose all depth in meaning of the original dialog and delivery that makes everyone sound like they have jumper cables attached to their nipples. There's also those weird comedic moments that just don't quite resound with Western audiences. Anyway, in this movie Jet Li plays a struggling contract killer. He's struggling because he's too nice and doofy to actually assassinate anyone, but he ends up getting involved with a con artist looking to cash in on a contract, and hilarity ensues. There's also this tall white guy who must be from Eastern Europe who fights using LEDs to blind his opponents. Seriously. You should definitely check it out, Khiet. Now if only I could discover a true cinematic gem like this everyday. I really need to see Hard Boiled.
SEAD III Reunion
As I mentioned in a previous post, I headed up to Dartmouth this weekend. It was freezing! It was cold and windy. I went up on Thursday morning and left Sunday afternoon. All the students I worked with over the summer were there and even some of the people I worked with on the staff. I was overjoyed to see everyone again. The program is called SEAD, Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth.
Thursday: Failed blood giving attempt. That night, I went to the opening dinner. I got there a few minutes early. The bus from Boston was a bit late in getting to Hanover with the students. Once everyone got there, it was great. I was pretty anxious while waiting there for them. I was wondering if we would still have the same dynamics or how much they had grown and changed. I got a chance to catch up with a lot of the students. One of them in particular, one of the ones I am closest with, showed me her engagement ring. Yeah, she's engaged. I was the first person from her extended SEAD family to hear the news a while back, but that still didn't prepare me for the shock of actually seeing a ring on her finger. She's so young. While I wish the best of luck to her and fiance, I obviously have my concerns. We've talked about said concerns, and I am confident in her decision making. After all, there are many people who marry young and have great relationships. One example is one of my English teachers in high school; he married his high school sweetheart and is still happily married. I know she has a good head on her shoulders. This weekend, I've heard stories of students from previous SEAD groups that got pregnant and skipped out on college. This thought is incredibly discouraging, but I'd like to think that the program has gotten more comprehensive since its start in 2001. Hopefully, this means the program has instilled the necessary mindset and skill set for them to think about college more than before. Each of the 27 students is applying to college, which is a great start for them and their futures. Seeing those kids was the highlight of an otherwise not worth mentioning last couple of months.
Friday: The students went to Hanover High School in the morning for some classes. I was very tired from not sleeping much Wednesday night in combination with driving, so I met up with them after lunch. They had workshops with Jay Davis, the program director. He also runs the secondary school training for Dartmouth's Education department and is the father of Katie and Andrew. That last part is a SEAD joke, so don't worry about it if you don't understand. The workshops were about Obama and professionalism. During Study Hall, I basically went around chatting up the kids which I wasn't really supposed to do. They had homework to do and other tasks they needed to have done before the weekend was over. I don't think I was too distracting; I even helped a few with their homework. The ones that had less work and I would just talk amongst ourselves just like I did in my study halls back in the day. I actually managed to get a lot done. I finished a Thursday and a Friday Sudoku and, with the help of a few staff members, also completed the Thursday and Friday crossword puzzle. After dinner, a few of the kids went to see the Women's Hockey team play Cornell. The rest of us went to hang out at C and G, an off-campus senior society house. Some of them watched a movie while the rest of us just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. I tried teaching a couple of people how to solve a Rubik's cube. I didn't force them to learn either, they were genuinely interested and asked me to. I think it's difficult to explain every little step. You just have to learn the method and find your own way of getting there. Several people made fun of my cube because it has been fairly worn in. After hanging out, the students had to leave and go back to their host family's houses. I stayed in East Wheelock with a '10 friend. She was nice enough to let me crash on her futon. She had an Organic Chemistry midterm that night and a paper to write for Saturday by noon. When I got back to her room, she had already had a lot of the paper done. We ended up hacking with a hacky sack for quite a while. I haven't done that in so long. My buddies and I used to play all the time in high school. We once got yelled at by a mall security guard for playing outside the movie theater, waiting for our rides. He said "no Koosh ball playing!" I'm pretty sure we snickered and giggled as he walked away. I really miss hacking and found that my flexibility is nowhere near where it used to be and I wasn't even a flexible adolescent.
Saturday: I got up at 10:30 to get lunch before meeting them at another Study Hall. They were in two different rooms: one room had computers for them to work on a survey to reflect on their experience with SEAD and the other room was for finishing up any homework and writing letters to the SEAD group that will be in their second year of the program this coming summer. Some students even worked on college application stuff such as their essay, common application, and short answer sections. It was nice since there were staff members there to help those in need. I walked around a lot between the two rooms, helping with whatever I could. Towards the end, I got to sit down with a few of the people I worked with last summer and even the summer before that. It was nice to catch up with them and talk about what everyone was up to and fond memories we had of each other. I'm not doing anything so that part was quick for me, but I have too many fond memories to write out. One fond memory I think about often is line dancing in the Lodge on Mt. Moosilauke. I'm say it right now, I DO NOT like to dance. It takes someone or a group of people I really care about for me to dance. I've just never liked it, but I have enjoyed it in the past in certain situations when I'm surrounded by those I feel comfortable with. I feel safe making a fool of myself in front of them. I actually even volunteer to make a fool of myself for their entertainment because I know that my insecurities and doubts about myself are safe with them. That is such a rare and wonderful feeling to experience. There are things I don't tell anyone, not my family, not my classmates, not even some of my closest friends that I have offered to these kids. And it's not that I don't trust my friends and family. I trust and love them entirely. There's just something about the unique circumstances of this program that allowed me to be exactly the person I wanted to be, someone that could share fears, doubts, and insecurities. A lot of people have at least one person they could go to for anything, but I always looked inward rather than seek someone out. In the past couple of years, I think that I've made great strides towards opening up. I usually joke and laugh away any feelings that weren't happy. Just writing about it is liberating. I know I still have a long way to go, but I'm seeing progress which fuels the process. I want to thank SEAD, but especially this group of students for allowing me to be myself and making me feel comfortable. Their incredible ability to open up and talk about themselves and how they feel inside made me ashamed of myself for being so scared. How are they supposed to look up to someone that can't be himself or tell how he feels? I feel selfish and guilty sometimes when I think about how much they taught me and how little I actually taught them in return. Sorry, back to the rest of Saturday. We had a scavenger hunt outside in the cold. They split up into their 5 schools and each group got a camera to take pictures of the destinations. The clues all hinted at various locations on campus. I went with the Claremont group and was delighted and surprised by how well they knew the campus after only about 8 weeks on campus, stretched over 3 years. I missed the next activity (I think it was an arts and craft activity having to do with their SEAD memories) because I went to help cook dinner. I applied a very uniform half peel (alternating strips) to the cucumbers, chopped and steamed broccoli, and helped with the cookies and the baked pasta. Then we all hung out. I played some Rock Band, Cranium, Twister, Connect Four, and Boggle. I also had peach cobbler for the first time; it was as delicious as expected. Then the kids got picked up by the host families. I went to Lone Pine Tavern with two people I worked with and listened to some live music and asked each other Trivial Pursuit questions. Then I went to bed because I had to get up at 6am the next day.
Sunday: I was so scared that I wouldn't wake up to my alarm this morning. But I guess that I've always gotten up to an alarm whenever I really needed to. I went to good old EBA's. There was a breakfast buffet set up and we had the whole back room of the restaurant to ourselves. Everything was pretty tasty, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I realized that I was much quieter than usual after two students sitting across from me called me out on it. Before breakfast even started, the California kids had to leave to catch a flight home. They have the longest to travel and are always the first to leave and are the hardest for me to visit, being the furthest away. Dorchester and Spartanburg left together. Claremont took a van back, only 30 minutes away. I got to spend an extra couple of hours with the Bronx kids, which was nice. The first time I cried in a long time was two summers ago at their graduation dinner from SEAD II (their second of three summers in the program) and also hugging them goodbye when they got on their buses and vans. I still have trouble recalling exactly what it was that set off my long dormant tear ducts. For as long as I could remember, I've always thought of crying as a sign of weakness. I didn't think of myself as a hard dude or anything (well, maybe a little bit), but I would certainly say I was stoic in these types of situations. I would maybe sometimes feel sad that I was moving to a new school and never seeing old friends again or sad to graduate high school, but I never let my feelings show through me. I'm good at lying, very good. I can usually hide how I'm feeling. It's not a very good skill or character trait to have, but I have it and I can't help it. As I was saying these goodbyes, I almost didn't know what to say. Of course, I found some words of advice about working hard or continuing to work hard. I told them to stay in touch and keep me updated on college stuff. And when I say these things, I do mean it. However, I say it with the experience and expectation of only hearing from some of them. It's not their fault. They're high school seniors (teenagers) and have better and more important things to do than to update me every time they get a college letter in the mail or a report card. But for the few that I've gotten to know the best and have developed close relationships with, I do love to hear from them and do on a semi regular basis. Not having a job, I welcome any sort of communication from anyone. You could even copy and paste something interesting to read onto an email and send it to me. I would be thrilled to have gotten an email and then also happy to have something interesting to read. Anyway, the goodbyes this time didn't make me tear up; I wasn't even that sad. I wondered to myself: Am I just reverted to the same exact emotion-hiding person I was a few years ago? I think part of it is that the kids left in waves so the totality and impact of their departure escaped me for the time being. I got to hang out with the Bronx kids until almost 10:30, and it still failed to hit me then, although I did notice my stomach was in knots. I packed my stuff up, thanked my host and took off. I can't stand to stay on the Dartmouth campus after anything SEAD related, I associate SEAD too much with Dartmouth. SEAD was the best thing I did at Dartmouth. It was in the car, 20 minutes outside Hanover, that it finally hit me. On Thursday, Jay mentioned that this was the last time the kids would all be together at Dartmouth and that came rushing back to me suddenly. Not to be a pessimist, but I realized that I would never again see many if not the majority of these kids that have become such a big part of my life in such a short time. I might never hear Brandon tell me to stay black again or learn Cambodian words from Savy. I might never share a fruit by the foot with Ashley (we shared two over the weekend) anymore or be called Kitten by Ishaya. I really wish I could say that I will see them all again, but I think that would be setting myself up for some serious heartbreak. I don't really know what else to say, I've said a lot. I just want to wish these amazingly wonderful kids the best of luck in their future pursuits. At breakfast, Jay read from their surveys where they put down where they thought they might be in 10 years. Some answers were funny, some exactly as I expected, but mostly, they were incredibly selfless and socially responsible. They don't want to simply better their own lives but also the lives of others in their communities and the world around them. I'm really sad that they're gone, but I think they're going to do wonderful things and I'm very proud to have known them and been their friend.
Thursday: Failed blood giving attempt. That night, I went to the opening dinner. I got there a few minutes early. The bus from Boston was a bit late in getting to Hanover with the students. Once everyone got there, it was great. I was pretty anxious while waiting there for them. I was wondering if we would still have the same dynamics or how much they had grown and changed. I got a chance to catch up with a lot of the students. One of them in particular, one of the ones I am closest with, showed me her engagement ring. Yeah, she's engaged. I was the first person from her extended SEAD family to hear the news a while back, but that still didn't prepare me for the shock of actually seeing a ring on her finger. She's so young. While I wish the best of luck to her and fiance, I obviously have my concerns. We've talked about said concerns, and I am confident in her decision making. After all, there are many people who marry young and have great relationships. One example is one of my English teachers in high school; he married his high school sweetheart and is still happily married. I know she has a good head on her shoulders. This weekend, I've heard stories of students from previous SEAD groups that got pregnant and skipped out on college. This thought is incredibly discouraging, but I'd like to think that the program has gotten more comprehensive since its start in 2001. Hopefully, this means the program has instilled the necessary mindset and skill set for them to think about college more than before. Each of the 27 students is applying to college, which is a great start for them and their futures. Seeing those kids was the highlight of an otherwise not worth mentioning last couple of months.
Friday: The students went to Hanover High School in the morning for some classes. I was very tired from not sleeping much Wednesday night in combination with driving, so I met up with them after lunch. They had workshops with Jay Davis, the program director. He also runs the secondary school training for Dartmouth's Education department and is the father of Katie and Andrew. That last part is a SEAD joke, so don't worry about it if you don't understand. The workshops were about Obama and professionalism. During Study Hall, I basically went around chatting up the kids which I wasn't really supposed to do. They had homework to do and other tasks they needed to have done before the weekend was over. I don't think I was too distracting; I even helped a few with their homework. The ones that had less work and I would just talk amongst ourselves just like I did in my study halls back in the day. I actually managed to get a lot done. I finished a Thursday and a Friday Sudoku and, with the help of a few staff members, also completed the Thursday and Friday crossword puzzle. After dinner, a few of the kids went to see the Women's Hockey team play Cornell. The rest of us went to hang out at C and G, an off-campus senior society house. Some of them watched a movie while the rest of us just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. I tried teaching a couple of people how to solve a Rubik's cube. I didn't force them to learn either, they were genuinely interested and asked me to. I think it's difficult to explain every little step. You just have to learn the method and find your own way of getting there. Several people made fun of my cube because it has been fairly worn in. After hanging out, the students had to leave and go back to their host family's houses. I stayed in East Wheelock with a '10 friend. She was nice enough to let me crash on her futon. She had an Organic Chemistry midterm that night and a paper to write for Saturday by noon. When I got back to her room, she had already had a lot of the paper done. We ended up hacking with a hacky sack for quite a while. I haven't done that in so long. My buddies and I used to play all the time in high school. We once got yelled at by a mall security guard for playing outside the movie theater, waiting for our rides. He said "no Koosh ball playing!" I'm pretty sure we snickered and giggled as he walked away. I really miss hacking and found that my flexibility is nowhere near where it used to be and I wasn't even a flexible adolescent.
Saturday: I got up at 10:30 to get lunch before meeting them at another Study Hall. They were in two different rooms: one room had computers for them to work on a survey to reflect on their experience with SEAD and the other room was for finishing up any homework and writing letters to the SEAD group that will be in their second year of the program this coming summer. Some students even worked on college application stuff such as their essay, common application, and short answer sections. It was nice since there were staff members there to help those in need. I walked around a lot between the two rooms, helping with whatever I could. Towards the end, I got to sit down with a few of the people I worked with last summer and even the summer before that. It was nice to catch up with them and talk about what everyone was up to and fond memories we had of each other. I'm not doing anything so that part was quick for me, but I have too many fond memories to write out. One fond memory I think about often is line dancing in the Lodge on Mt. Moosilauke. I'm say it right now, I DO NOT like to dance. It takes someone or a group of people I really care about for me to dance. I've just never liked it, but I have enjoyed it in the past in certain situations when I'm surrounded by those I feel comfortable with. I feel safe making a fool of myself in front of them. I actually even volunteer to make a fool of myself for their entertainment because I know that my insecurities and doubts about myself are safe with them. That is such a rare and wonderful feeling to experience. There are things I don't tell anyone, not my family, not my classmates, not even some of my closest friends that I have offered to these kids. And it's not that I don't trust my friends and family. I trust and love them entirely. There's just something about the unique circumstances of this program that allowed me to be exactly the person I wanted to be, someone that could share fears, doubts, and insecurities. A lot of people have at least one person they could go to for anything, but I always looked inward rather than seek someone out. In the past couple of years, I think that I've made great strides towards opening up. I usually joke and laugh away any feelings that weren't happy. Just writing about it is liberating. I know I still have a long way to go, but I'm seeing progress which fuels the process. I want to thank SEAD, but especially this group of students for allowing me to be myself and making me feel comfortable. Their incredible ability to open up and talk about themselves and how they feel inside made me ashamed of myself for being so scared. How are they supposed to look up to someone that can't be himself or tell how he feels? I feel selfish and guilty sometimes when I think about how much they taught me and how little I actually taught them in return. Sorry, back to the rest of Saturday. We had a scavenger hunt outside in the cold. They split up into their 5 schools and each group got a camera to take pictures of the destinations. The clues all hinted at various locations on campus. I went with the Claremont group and was delighted and surprised by how well they knew the campus after only about 8 weeks on campus, stretched over 3 years. I missed the next activity (I think it was an arts and craft activity having to do with their SEAD memories) because I went to help cook dinner. I applied a very uniform half peel (alternating strips) to the cucumbers, chopped and steamed broccoli, and helped with the cookies and the baked pasta. Then we all hung out. I played some Rock Band, Cranium, Twister, Connect Four, and Boggle. I also had peach cobbler for the first time; it was as delicious as expected. Then the kids got picked up by the host families. I went to Lone Pine Tavern with two people I worked with and listened to some live music and asked each other Trivial Pursuit questions. Then I went to bed because I had to get up at 6am the next day.
Sunday: I was so scared that I wouldn't wake up to my alarm this morning. But I guess that I've always gotten up to an alarm whenever I really needed to. I went to good old EBA's. There was a breakfast buffet set up and we had the whole back room of the restaurant to ourselves. Everything was pretty tasty, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I realized that I was much quieter than usual after two students sitting across from me called me out on it. Before breakfast even started, the California kids had to leave to catch a flight home. They have the longest to travel and are always the first to leave and are the hardest for me to visit, being the furthest away. Dorchester and Spartanburg left together. Claremont took a van back, only 30 minutes away. I got to spend an extra couple of hours with the Bronx kids, which was nice. The first time I cried in a long time was two summers ago at their graduation dinner from SEAD II (their second of three summers in the program) and also hugging them goodbye when they got on their buses and vans. I still have trouble recalling exactly what it was that set off my long dormant tear ducts. For as long as I could remember, I've always thought of crying as a sign of weakness. I didn't think of myself as a hard dude or anything (well, maybe a little bit), but I would certainly say I was stoic in these types of situations. I would maybe sometimes feel sad that I was moving to a new school and never seeing old friends again or sad to graduate high school, but I never let my feelings show through me. I'm good at lying, very good. I can usually hide how I'm feeling. It's not a very good skill or character trait to have, but I have it and I can't help it. As I was saying these goodbyes, I almost didn't know what to say. Of course, I found some words of advice about working hard or continuing to work hard. I told them to stay in touch and keep me updated on college stuff. And when I say these things, I do mean it. However, I say it with the experience and expectation of only hearing from some of them. It's not their fault. They're high school seniors (teenagers) and have better and more important things to do than to update me every time they get a college letter in the mail or a report card. But for the few that I've gotten to know the best and have developed close relationships with, I do love to hear from them and do on a semi regular basis. Not having a job, I welcome any sort of communication from anyone. You could even copy and paste something interesting to read onto an email and send it to me. I would be thrilled to have gotten an email and then also happy to have something interesting to read. Anyway, the goodbyes this time didn't make me tear up; I wasn't even that sad. I wondered to myself: Am I just reverted to the same exact emotion-hiding person I was a few years ago? I think part of it is that the kids left in waves so the totality and impact of their departure escaped me for the time being. I got to hang out with the Bronx kids until almost 10:30, and it still failed to hit me then, although I did notice my stomach was in knots. I packed my stuff up, thanked my host and took off. I can't stand to stay on the Dartmouth campus after anything SEAD related, I associate SEAD too much with Dartmouth. SEAD was the best thing I did at Dartmouth. It was in the car, 20 minutes outside Hanover, that it finally hit me. On Thursday, Jay mentioned that this was the last time the kids would all be together at Dartmouth and that came rushing back to me suddenly. Not to be a pessimist, but I realized that I would never again see many if not the majority of these kids that have become such a big part of my life in such a short time. I might never hear Brandon tell me to stay black again or learn Cambodian words from Savy. I might never share a fruit by the foot with Ashley (we shared two over the weekend) anymore or be called Kitten by Ishaya. I really wish I could say that I will see them all again, but I think that would be setting myself up for some serious heartbreak. I don't really know what else to say, I've said a lot. I just want to wish these amazingly wonderful kids the best of luck in their future pursuits. At breakfast, Jay read from their surveys where they put down where they thought they might be in 10 years. Some answers were funny, some exactly as I expected, but mostly, they were incredibly selfless and socially responsible. They don't want to simply better their own lives but also the lives of others in their communities and the world around them. I'm really sad that they're gone, but I think they're going to do wonderful things and I'm very proud to have known them and been their friend.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Drugs
This post is not actually about drugs. It's about how the guy trying to take my blood failed to find my vein and bruised my arm, making it appear to the average on-looker that I am heavy into intravenous drug use. I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt when he did his little needle search of my arm. Right then was when I was almost 100% sure that this guy had very little training, no idea what he was doing, very tired and couldn't see straight, or all of the above. I was fooled because I usually associate a blood technician's age with experience. Don't do that!
So this guy sticks the needle into my arm, and I watch it go in because I love to watch. Unfortunately, no blood is coming out. My first thought was actually that maybe there was something wrong with my blood today. I watched a German movie recently called "Anatomy" and it's about a med school student that uncovers a secret Anti-Hippocratic society. They believe in the advancement of research above the care of patients. Anyway, in the movie, there is a drug that is used to make the blood rubbery in preparation for turning the cadaver into a plasticized display piece. I thought maybe that had happened to my blood for the slightest instant. Then I came back to reality and realized this guy just missed my vein entirely.
He realized he missed the vein too, so he took the needle halfway out and went in again at a different angle. He did this several times. When he didn't get his desired results, he plunged deeper into my arm, and that was the part that was most painful besides watching this man embarrass himself. Basically, all that extracurricular stabbing of my arm caused a little bulge in my arm that looked like it was going to burst. At this point, I had filled the very small bag before they really start collecting. However, he was still not in my vein or perhaps the bulge was blood that couldn't get by the bruise he created. Either way, the whole thing was brought to an end and the needle had to be taken out to prevent further damage.
The bruise is not that bad; I put ice on it for a few hours after the butchering of my arm. And the thing is there is always a blood shortage and I was going to give double red cells, which might have been very useful to someone in need.
I also noticed the Red Cross flag is the inverse of the Swiss Flag. There are German-speaking areas of Switzerland. I'm thinking there might be a conspiracy to live out the horrors of this movie I saw maybe. Perhaps the Red Cross is nothing more than a secret Anti-Hippocratic society that cares not for the people giving blood, but only for the blood they get. There are a few holes in my theory:
1. IMDB.com says this movie is actually an Italian movie.
2. There probably aren't too many people who've seen this movie.
3. If they don't care about the blood givers, why serve juice, water, sandwiches, and cookies to them.
4. Isn't this theory just a little crazy?
My response to non-believers:
1. It may be an Italian movie, but it takes place in Germany and they spoke German. I should know. I can say "It is hot" and "I am a nurse, feel better" so I think I know German when I hear it. Also, I'm sure there are Italian speakers in Switzerland being a "neutral" country and all.
2. It only takes a few to see the movie to sell it to the masses. It's called propaganda and peer pressure, powerful stuff.
3. Obviously, they're only serving you these foodstuffs and beverages to enrich your blood, so they can take more from you. They could care less about your well-being. It's like the old witch in the candy house fattening Hansel and Gretel so she could cook them later, oldest trick in the book.
4. Yes, it's just a little crazy. I've seen stranger things come to pass. Ex. JFK's magic bullet, Stretch Armstrong, knee-high socks, nano pets/tamagotchis, Floam, two dollar bills, green ketchup. etc., etc. Just think about it. That's all I'm asking.
All jokes aside though, do give blood if you can. I've done it a bunch now and this was only the second time it was botched. It's gone perfectly well every other time. It's a good cause and very worth an hour or two of your free time.
So this guy sticks the needle into my arm, and I watch it go in because I love to watch. Unfortunately, no blood is coming out. My first thought was actually that maybe there was something wrong with my blood today. I watched a German movie recently called "Anatomy" and it's about a med school student that uncovers a secret Anti-Hippocratic society. They believe in the advancement of research above the care of patients. Anyway, in the movie, there is a drug that is used to make the blood rubbery in preparation for turning the cadaver into a plasticized display piece. I thought maybe that had happened to my blood for the slightest instant. Then I came back to reality and realized this guy just missed my vein entirely.
He realized he missed the vein too, so he took the needle halfway out and went in again at a different angle. He did this several times. When he didn't get his desired results, he plunged deeper into my arm, and that was the part that was most painful besides watching this man embarrass himself. Basically, all that extracurricular stabbing of my arm caused a little bulge in my arm that looked like it was going to burst. At this point, I had filled the very small bag before they really start collecting. However, he was still not in my vein or perhaps the bulge was blood that couldn't get by the bruise he created. Either way, the whole thing was brought to an end and the needle had to be taken out to prevent further damage.
The bruise is not that bad; I put ice on it for a few hours after the butchering of my arm. And the thing is there is always a blood shortage and I was going to give double red cells, which might have been very useful to someone in need.
I also noticed the Red Cross flag is the inverse of the Swiss Flag. There are German-speaking areas of Switzerland. I'm thinking there might be a conspiracy to live out the horrors of this movie I saw maybe. Perhaps the Red Cross is nothing more than a secret Anti-Hippocratic society that cares not for the people giving blood, but only for the blood they get. There are a few holes in my theory:
1. IMDB.com says this movie is actually an Italian movie.
2. There probably aren't too many people who've seen this movie.
3. If they don't care about the blood givers, why serve juice, water, sandwiches, and cookies to them.
4. Isn't this theory just a little crazy?
My response to non-believers:
1. It may be an Italian movie, but it takes place in Germany and they spoke German. I should know. I can say "It is hot" and "I am a nurse, feel better" so I think I know German when I hear it. Also, I'm sure there are Italian speakers in Switzerland being a "neutral" country and all.
2. It only takes a few to see the movie to sell it to the masses. It's called propaganda and peer pressure, powerful stuff.
3. Obviously, they're only serving you these foodstuffs and beverages to enrich your blood, so they can take more from you. They could care less about your well-being. It's like the old witch in the candy house fattening Hansel and Gretel so she could cook them later, oldest trick in the book.
4. Yes, it's just a little crazy. I've seen stranger things come to pass. Ex. JFK's magic bullet, Stretch Armstrong, knee-high socks, nano pets/tamagotchis, Floam, two dollar bills, green ketchup. etc., etc. Just think about it. That's all I'm asking.
All jokes aside though, do give blood if you can. I've done it a bunch now and this was only the second time it was botched. It's gone perfectly well every other time. It's a good cause and very worth an hour or two of your free time.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Going North
I'm heading up to Dartmouth tomorrow for the SEAD reunion. SEAD is a summer program that I worked for the past two summers. I'm very excited to see the staff members I worked with and the students that we worked with. I bet it's going to be insanely cold. I heard there's already been a pretty big snow storm. Weather.com predicts it's going to be no warmer than 33 degrees the entire time I'm there. Still, I'm very pumped for this weekend.
I made an appointment today to give blood, double red blood cells. If you haven't tried it, it's definitely worth a shot. You have to be a certain size and weight I think, so if you qualify you should try it. The needle is smaller, which is nice if you're not into needles. It takes a little longer than giving blood normally because they take twice as much. They take a pint, centrifuge it, keep the platelets, give you back the plasma, take another pint, and repeat the process. One great thing about it is you don't really have to wait in the long lines. One drawback is you are not allowed to give as often because they take more. Do people really go to those shady places that pay for your blood? I don't think I could go to those kinds of places.
Anyway, my question of the day is why the Red Cross is so blood hungry? I understand there is often a blood shortage, but they have records of the people who donate, so they know not to call those people who recently gave because they can't give again for a certain amount of time. Yet, they call you anyway asking you to give blood. Luckily, they check the previous donation date when you go to give blood. Otherwise, someone might die from giving too much. I guess it's pretty tough for the Red Cross to compete with blood banks that pay people for blood, so they have to adopt this cut-throat recruiting agenda: call people all the time even if they aren't allowed to give blood at the time. I don't know, I see why they do it. They're just trying to get blood to save lives. However, I think they can be much more efficient in the way they call and could probably get more blood if they call people at a date when they can give.
And what's the deal with bow ties? What percentage of the population can even tie those things? Also, raisins are gross. Yeah, I said it.
I made an appointment today to give blood, double red blood cells. If you haven't tried it, it's definitely worth a shot. You have to be a certain size and weight I think, so if you qualify you should try it. The needle is smaller, which is nice if you're not into needles. It takes a little longer than giving blood normally because they take twice as much. They take a pint, centrifuge it, keep the platelets, give you back the plasma, take another pint, and repeat the process. One great thing about it is you don't really have to wait in the long lines. One drawback is you are not allowed to give as often because they take more. Do people really go to those shady places that pay for your blood? I don't think I could go to those kinds of places.
Anyway, my question of the day is why the Red Cross is so blood hungry? I understand there is often a blood shortage, but they have records of the people who donate, so they know not to call those people who recently gave because they can't give again for a certain amount of time. Yet, they call you anyway asking you to give blood. Luckily, they check the previous donation date when you go to give blood. Otherwise, someone might die from giving too much. I guess it's pretty tough for the Red Cross to compete with blood banks that pay people for blood, so they have to adopt this cut-throat recruiting agenda: call people all the time even if they aren't allowed to give blood at the time. I don't know, I see why they do it. They're just trying to get blood to save lives. However, I think they can be much more efficient in the way they call and could probably get more blood if they call people at a date when they can give.
And what's the deal with bow ties? What percentage of the population can even tie those things? Also, raisins are gross. Yeah, I said it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Stand-Up Comedy
Since I've been watching a lot of Seinfeld, I've been thinking a lot about how much I admire the art of stand-up, comedy that is. Jerry Seinfeld's brand of comedy can be summed up as the "Do you notice when..." "What's the deal with..." type of stand-up, or more technically referred to as observational humor. It must be so difficult to make seemingly mundane observations funny. That is why I believe stand-up to be such a creative art form. It takes a pretty creative and intelligent mind to make those observations and word them in a way that makes people laugh.
Of course, comedians that perform in comedy clubs have a distinct advantage over street comedians or casual atmosphere comedians (see work place comedian, dining comedian, etc.). Being in a comedy club, people are expected to laugh and expect to be made to laugh. So already, the comedian has that going for him/her. Also, I believe in the goodness of the human spirit. I feel like there aren't too many people that go out to comedy clubs simply to heckle. Nor do I think that many people enter a comedy club having made a clear choice to resist laughter. Imagine a rogue audience member who comes to see a show with a "I dare you to make me laugh, there's no way you can make me" attitude.
That was my pretty lame attempt at some observational humor. I think the beginning had some promise. I'm just not any good with the wording, at least not yet. I'm working on it. In my defense, I'm not standing up at the moment, I'm sitting in bed. Hit me with some feedback if you feel like it. I feel like my brand of comedy is more about knowing my audience and being comfortable enough around them to say some pretty silly/weird stuff.
For example: "Mel Gibson stole my sandwich" was written on a T-shirt I wore for a few hours. Only about 3 or 4 people would think that was funny.
I also tried my hand at writing comics once and came up with one about David Hasselhoff. I thought it was pretty funny but, to my knowledge, only one other person has read it and thought it was genuinely funny.
I once nicknamed my left and right arms Law and Order, respectively, as a joke. I don't think anyone, including myself, thinks that is funny.
Moral of the story is comedy is tough stuff, and comedians have my respect and admiration for their tireless efforts to fill our lives with laughter. I'm sure I'll pay tribute to doctors and other professions, still haven't seen all the House and ER episodes.
Of course, comedians that perform in comedy clubs have a distinct advantage over street comedians or casual atmosphere comedians (see work place comedian, dining comedian, etc.). Being in a comedy club, people are expected to laugh and expect to be made to laugh. So already, the comedian has that going for him/her. Also, I believe in the goodness of the human spirit. I feel like there aren't too many people that go out to comedy clubs simply to heckle. Nor do I think that many people enter a comedy club having made a clear choice to resist laughter. Imagine a rogue audience member who comes to see a show with a "I dare you to make me laugh, there's no way you can make me" attitude.
That was my pretty lame attempt at some observational humor. I think the beginning had some promise. I'm just not any good with the wording, at least not yet. I'm working on it. In my defense, I'm not standing up at the moment, I'm sitting in bed. Hit me with some feedback if you feel like it. I feel like my brand of comedy is more about knowing my audience and being comfortable enough around them to say some pretty silly/weird stuff.
For example: "Mel Gibson stole my sandwich" was written on a T-shirt I wore for a few hours. Only about 3 or 4 people would think that was funny.
I also tried my hand at writing comics once and came up with one about David Hasselhoff. I thought it was pretty funny but, to my knowledge, only one other person has read it and thought it was genuinely funny.
I once nicknamed my left and right arms Law and Order, respectively, as a joke. I don't think anyone, including myself, thinks that is funny.
Moral of the story is comedy is tough stuff, and comedians have my respect and admiration for their tireless efforts to fill our lives with laughter. I'm sure I'll pay tribute to doctors and other professions, still haven't seen all the House and ER episodes.
Why?
I decided that since I have no fun stories to share because I live a boring life, I'm going to ask really pertinent and thought-provoking questions.
Please refer to my picture from the previous post: the one where the soccer player is getting OWNED by a soccer ball (futbol or football if you're an international reader, of which I have none).
As you can see from the picture, the ball and the man's face are in a fight. That's a pretty rare event actually. You usually use your head on purpose. That said, I did hit a kid wearing glasses in the face during a high school soccer game. I made him bleed, cracked his frames in half. The jagged, cracked frames cut him right between the eyes. It only bled a little though; he lived.
My question though, is: Why do soccer players not wear cups? Baseball players, lacrosse players, and football players wear cups. Why not soccer players? If your face can get smashed like that, what's to keep your package from enduring the same treatment? I find it odd, that's all. I have seen some close calls/direct hits in person. I just think safety precautions should be taken. Think of the children. Some kids start playing in recreational soccer leagues as soon as they can run around. Think of the children! Children are our future.
Please refer to my picture from the previous post: the one where the soccer player is getting OWNED by a soccer ball (futbol or football if you're an international reader, of which I have none).
As you can see from the picture, the ball and the man's face are in a fight. That's a pretty rare event actually. You usually use your head on purpose. That said, I did hit a kid wearing glasses in the face during a high school soccer game. I made him bleed, cracked his frames in half. The jagged, cracked frames cut him right between the eyes. It only bled a little though; he lived.
My question though, is: Why do soccer players not wear cups? Baseball players, lacrosse players, and football players wear cups. Why not soccer players? If your face can get smashed like that, what's to keep your package from enduring the same treatment? I find it odd, that's all. I have seen some close calls/direct hits in person. I just think safety precautions should be taken. Think of the children. Some kids start playing in recreational soccer leagues as soon as they can run around. Think of the children! Children are our future.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Blog Fail
Sorry it's been so long since I updated this thing. My life just isn't very glamorous.
I have been watching a lot of Seinfeld, one of the best shows ever created. Until now, I hadn't realized how many of the episodes were written by Larry David. Check out the wikipedia page for Seinfeld, there's a lot of information and good stuff. I've watched all episodes through six seasons. I thought I also had season 7-9, but I only have about half the episodes in each of those seasons. As you can imagine, I was completely distraught when I found out.
I noticed something I thought was kind of weird when I was watching though. I noticed that both Jerry and George are left handed, like myself. However, they were both throwing righty in another episode. Isn't that weird? Or am I making too much of it? Usually, you throw with the hand you write with. They must both be ambidextrous. I would like to offer a possible explanation. When they were young, everyone was taught to throw righty and there weren't many lefty gloves around, so they eventually learned to throw righty.
My dad told me that when he was younger, his teachers would force everyone to learn to write righty, of which most people were anyway. I wonder if it's random chance whether you become a lefty or righty. It really can't be random though can it since lefties make up much less than 50% of the population. Weird.
I leave you with this picture. Think about it.
I have been watching a lot of Seinfeld, one of the best shows ever created. Until now, I hadn't realized how many of the episodes were written by Larry David. Check out the wikipedia page for Seinfeld, there's a lot of information and good stuff. I've watched all episodes through six seasons. I thought I also had season 7-9, but I only have about half the episodes in each of those seasons. As you can imagine, I was completely distraught when I found out.
I noticed something I thought was kind of weird when I was watching though. I noticed that both Jerry and George are left handed, like myself. However, they were both throwing righty in another episode. Isn't that weird? Or am I making too much of it? Usually, you throw with the hand you write with. They must both be ambidextrous. I would like to offer a possible explanation. When they were young, everyone was taught to throw righty and there weren't many lefty gloves around, so they eventually learned to throw righty.
My dad told me that when he was younger, his teachers would force everyone to learn to write righty, of which most people were anyway. I wonder if it's random chance whether you become a lefty or righty. It really can't be random though can it since lefties make up much less than 50% of the population. Weird.
I leave you with this picture. Think about it.
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