Dear Summer

"I know you're gunna miss me. We go together like Nike Airs and crisp tees."

The world is moving fast these days. I often feel like my life is somewhat of an enigma (everything you read next may make you question my understanding of the word). For example, I love to eat unhealthy amounts of food. I know that it is not always the best decision to do so, but I choose to do it anyway. I have this thing where if I see an entire pizza on the table I must eat it. I remember I was in school the other day after work and my Asst. Principal called me down to the office as I was in the middle of eating a tuna sandwich. So naturally I went down to the office without finishing my sandwich to see what was up. And the entire time I'm in the office I couldn't stop thinking about the tuna sandwich. I wasn't terribly ravenous, but it was killing me that I had not finished the sandwich. Furthermore, my hunger was perfectly satiated once I finished the sandwich. R.Bens never believes me when I tell her this, but when I order a sandwich I want the entire sandwich and not one bite less. I have offered to buy her an entire other sandwich before sharing even one bite with her.

It seems like many things in my life go that way. I get into something and then I do it overboard. Anyone who is close to me knows that I don't have an off button when it comes to breaking basketballs. Gaining control of my sense of control will be key to the future. I firmly believe that life is about, as Al McGuire said, "walking barefoot in wet grass." I've been reading about the Kennedy family and people closest to Jack Kennedy were always struck by how he had this dual personality where he could potentially be a carefree man who roamed the globe in pursuit of intellectual and spiritual happiness, or he could be someone who devoted his life to gaining status and power and would eventually become the President of the United States. We all know which road he chose, but is it the right one? But more importantly, did Jack's destiny have to be mutually exclusive entities? Can someone live bowling balls to the walls in both his or her personal and professional life?

Either way winter is always cold in Chicago and the summer is usually warm. Your days will be days no matter what time of year it is. So sleep when you're dead and don't forget to go to the lake when the skies are clear.

ExPAMdable and HELMSessary

So I've been thinking for awhile that Pam Beasley on NBC's The Office no longer has a good use or purpose on the show. Prior to the Halpbert marriage Pam was both funny at times as well as cutesie with Jim. I miss the days where cute Pam would make a humble remark that would be fitting for the particular scene as well as cuttingly funny. Pre-season four was a golden era for her that has now been lost.

I would say that Beasley need to loosen the collar a little bit and play into the humble Pammy that we all came to know and love. It would definitely endear her more to fans again and allow for her quirks to be better appreciated.

Luckily for the show Ed Helms (Oberlin 96') has elevated his game. His sense of humor and delivery is a perfect fit for the continuously changing landscape of The Office. The scene in which he and Pam make a trip for an in person sales call and he's singing the names of the offices and the floor numbers of a particular building is priceless. Helms clearly has a good sense of the type of humor that works for Office fans. The Carell, Wilson, Helms show will definitely keep people watching for years to come and I would love for Pam to be apart of that too.

Married With No Prenup

So I've been deep into the game now and CPS is getting its money's worth. I've been spending pretty much all my time working on this school thing. It's tough, but something I definitely enjoy. I never thought I'd be as tightly wound as I am right now. I'm constantly thinking and considering things, which is a new thing for me because I consciously try to spend as little time contemplating as possible, especially ideas of substance. Consequently, I'm gaining more and more confidence in my abilities to be productive in this world. For as much time as I've spent in school these past 17 years, it seems like my 18th school year is finally showing something I'll be able to directly use in my life. Before the last couple of weeks I learned things that I mostly enjoyed and chose to learn. And I was fortunate enough to learn from a great group of professors and teachers. As of late though, my learning experience is one of trying to do the best that I can do within the confines of 1224 minutes that we get every day.

Having said all of that I am terribly grateful to have my partner in crime to come home to every night. Without her I'd likely never come home. I'd be Dwight Schrute. Although she may prefer me to be Rainn sometimes, because it would be pretty cool to date a movie star, RB is the perfect gal with whome to spend my time, sans stress of course. So yes, I'm married to the job right now, but that doesn't take away from everything else I'm doing these days.

Some times you feel like a Yup

So tomorrow will be my first day on payroll as a full time teacher at George Rogers Clark Elementary School. I will be teaching students from the 6th-8th grades in social studies as well as a class in writing and a class called Reading 180. Mr. Monroe will be my alias while in the school for those of you who don't already know.

Due to the fact that this is a paid position, I now technically qualify as a "professional" teacher. And given that I am young and live in the city of Chicago I am also a "young urban." These characterizations do not make me happy. I now live in a world in which exercising, drinking San Pellegrino, and walking a dog that is too big for my apartment are the norm. Gone are my days of semi-unemployment and comfort bumming around the city every weekday and freakin weekend. No longer will I spend my pay days walking in the sun and rain, but I must now work straight through them or PD the heck out of the day. My bank account may subsequently die from a lack of activity. It typically expects constant and unabashed losses.

So put up your micro brewed beer that no one has heard of and few care to drink and toast to Mr. Monroe for his entrance into the life of a yuppie.

One day, all teachers will get placed in Chicago

Although I was skeptical of my chances for employment the further we went into the 2009 school year in Chicago, I must say (with a self-congratulatory tone might I add) that I accepted employment this morning at George Rogers Clark on Chicago's West Side.

I will be teaching social studies as well as reading and writing. I do not anticipate this to be a small task, but I must also confess that this is exactly the position that I was looking for. I couldn't be more well equipped to teach these subjects in that they are the ones at which I recently excelled as a student.


Finally, my dream can be lived out. Big shout out to the people working downtown in Teach For America Chicago. They have done quite a bit to ensure that the title of this blog post comes true.

I remember listening to a story told by Charles Barkley about a dinner he had with Ramsey Lewis. Regarding fame and wealth, the Chicago-born legend (and graduate of the same high school as my father), told the Round Mound of Rebound that once you get to the top it's your duty to send that elevator back down. And while I have accomplished next to nada in my short experience on this earth, I do think that teaching will at least allow me to send the elevator back down from my first floor vantage point and pick up children and help them get to the top themselves.

Don't forget to wash behind your ears

Although I have always found bathing to be one of the more enjoyable and peaceful times of my day, I do find the process of beginning and ending a bath/shower to be cumbersome.

First, the transition from dry to wet can at times be shocking. The control you once had with dryness gets taken away with every drop of water.

Second, as a bath man I find no other feeling in the world as stinging as a cold tub on the back. It's like taking a forty pound popsicle and plopping it on your 98.6 degree (or not depending on how familiar you are with biology) back. Ouch!

Third, the drying off process sucks. In the winter time it is especially annoying to leave the warm nest of the tub and live life in the tundra that is your bathroom. How about that for motivation to get to work?


Anyway, I'd love to see some of the world's great thinkers get together to tackle this worldwide dilemma. Time for me to scruba dub!

This is the picture in front of Times Square of Blog posts

It seems that most people who go to New York City inevitably come back with a picture in front of the billboards on Times Square. Having gone there a few summers ago and refusing beforehand to take such a picture, I can attest to the fact that taking the picture is somewhat of a necessity. Hey, if everyone else is doing it then it's got to be right, right?

Anyway, bloggers seem to abide by the same mindset in posting their inaugural blogs that often tell about themselves and why they have decided to start the blog. And while I have debated both blogging in the first place as well as what my first post would be I, like my fellow New York tourists, have chosen to follow the crowd. I'll keep it short though (that's what he said).

I sit here before you typing away strictly due to my motivation to leave something behind. And though I would like to abide by the Harry Truman method of journal writing, this seems to be a more fun and interesting way to share out my thoughts. The likelihood of having any readers is small, but my mark is now left. For anyone who cares to delve into the contents of this blog will find some wacky and passionate views on the world and life.

Leave logic and reason at the door.