108 of 200...

THANKS go to Neighbor Jane Payne. This list was so fascinating as I looked through both Michelle's and JT's that I couldn't resist sharing my own version.

Things I have done are in bold, and things I want to do are italicized.

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16. Gone to a huge sports game. (Yuck)

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Very infrequently...almost never.)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb.

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster.

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (I always care who is looking and I don't dance)

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (a long time ago in a world far away...)

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (then gave her my number and she never even called!)

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Ever worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business.

58. Taken a martial arts class.

59. Been in a movie

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check (and who hasn't?)

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy.

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did.

71. Called or written your Congress person (actually just dropped by my senators office, Senator Bob Bennett for a surprise visit with my grandfather and we actually got to see him for a little while. I guess my grandfather knew him somehow...)

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth (Yuck)

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone (toe)

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph (I wish I had a flux capacitor...I wish I had a flux capacitor...I wish I had a flux capacitor...I wish I had a flux capacitor...I wish I had a flux capacitor)

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions.

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream (and I love it!)

99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair

103. Been a DJ

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four

106. Raked your carpet

107. Brought out the best in people

108. Brought out the worst in people

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap

112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child (Lola Jane- 4 years ago on the 27th of this month.)

114. Gone to a Broadway play

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket.

117. Danced at a disco.

118. Played in a band

119. Shot a bird

120. Gone to an arboretum

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book

128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in an historic place

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise (Why is it so so hard!)

132. Made a hole-in-one

133. Gone deep sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class

139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite

140. Flown in a helicopter

141. Visited Africa

142. Sang a solo

143. Gone spelunking

144. Learned how to take a compliment

145. Written a love-story

146. Seen Michelangelo’s David

147. Had your portrait painted (Sean Diediker...I actually appear in several of his works...twice even in his 'last supper' where I am ironically the model for both the Savior and Judas.)

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane

151. Ran away

152. Learned to juggle

153. Been a boss

154. Sat on a jury

155. Lied about your weight

156. Gone on a diet

157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget

158. Written a poem

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160. Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books

171. Been stuck in an elevator

172. Had a revelatory dream

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert

175. Saved someone’s life (many times as a lifeguard...AWESOME!)

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint

178. Laughed till your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hostel

184. Been a cashier

185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma

188. Built a campfire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had hives

191. Worn custom made shoes or boots (why would I?)

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube

196. Know CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime

200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

Super Wednesday

Super Wednesday is what Craft Supplies USA (woodturning supplier) calls the sale day before the beginning of the Utah Woodturning symposium. Super it was. There was a perfect storm of incredible events that made Wednesday, June 20, 2007 one of the greatest days of my life to date.

First thing Wednesday morning I got up early in order to get to the sale at Craft Supplies on time. Lincoln came over and picked me up at 7:40, and we left by 7:45. We had to park almost a block away because there were so many cars, but we got right into the front of the crowd before anything got started. There are two sales that happen at CS for super Wednesday, each in a separate building across the street from one another. One is in the main shop where they give graduated discounts (up to 15%) depending on how much you spend total. The other is a clearance sale for whatever they feel like blowing out and getting rid of. We decided to start at the clearance sale, of course, because once that stuff is gone, it's gone. We were a little disappointed when we walked up because there are only two entrances to the warehouse and there were also two long lines that had formed along the perimeter of some caution tape that marked out the sales area. We were right next to the tape, but way back in line. When it was finally time to start the sale, the tape fell to the ground and the "lines" turned into a mob that rushed the warehouse. With a group of 95% geriatrics, Lincoln and I had major advantage with our fully functioning joints and good distance vision. We swept into the warehouse and snatched up (for Lincoln) the only mini lathe on clearance that year. We also got away with a grinder, grinding system, various drill bits, pen kits, project kits, lathe accessories, various polishes, dyes and waxes, even some antler. The clearance sale was fantastic. We then moved over to the main showroom. There we picked up my lathe (a Jet Mini), some tool sets, a few pen kits...basically just filled out our order with whatever we couldn't find at the clearance sale. We got home and realized that we were actually missing some of the kits that we had ordered, so we drove back and the guy didn't even look to see if what I asked for was even on my original receipt, he just grabbed what we were missing and gave it to me.


This also happened to be my finals day. I went to school, took my history test and nailed it (97%). Feeling really good, I walked right back upstairs and took my Statistics final. did fine with an 82%. I took a break and wandered over to the physics building to see if there was any lunch happening. REU (summer internship program for physics nerds) was having an opening social, so I helped myself to some fresh grilled hamburgers and a few different salads. I was really stressed about my history paper that was due, so I ran upstairs for about an hour and a half to polish it up, then turned it into my professor. The only test I had left was Math. I drug myself back to the testing center and took the test. It was hard, but I still got 50% which will curve up to about 68% and I should get a solid C+.

By this time I was so giddy that I have nothing left, and a lathe waiting at home, I thought the day couldn't get better. Then it did. I was supposed to pick up some of the presenters ( for the woodturning symposium) at Craft Supplies at 5:30 and transport them to a meeting at BYU at 6:00. I made my run, then met Linc at BYU. The presenters were served dinner at the meeting, and KC (Dr. Kip Christensen) invited both Linc and I to stay and eat. We then shuttled anyone who didn't have a ride up to Mike Mahoney's (super amazing woodturner who lives in orem...http://www.bowlmakerinc.com/) house. Mike invited us to stay and hang out with everyone (basically our idols) so we did. He has an amazing place with some beautiful landscaping, a great shop, chickens, bees, his own vineyard from which he bottles his own wine, and a cat. It was really great to hang out and try not to gawk at all the turners. We also got a private tour of the grounds from one of his business partners that we had gotten to know earlier in the week.

After about an hour and a half, KC showed up and Linc and I were free to head to the penturners rendezvous. Penturners are, as a group, an uber geeky/bizzaro subculture of woodturners as a whole. It was nerd central inside, and I felt right at home, but also very outclassed (gratefully?). The registration fee for the rendezvous was $10.00, and I didn't really expet anything back from that ten bucks, so I was pleasantly surprised when we each got a pair of holy land olive wood pen blanks with out raffle tickets as we walked in the door. There were some really cool pens on display and for sale, and there were also some really horrible pens on display. I mean really horrible. It was fun to see some faces from the online list and interact with people in person that I only knew from email previously. We didn't get much mingle time though, because the raffle started pretty soon after we got there. With roughly 50 people in attendance, I though I had pretty poor chances at winning something until I noticed where the prize table was. It was loaded. They went through every single raffle ticket and nobody went home empty handed I even won twice. From the first draw, I won a set of wire burners and a pen mandrel (both of which I had purchased that very morning), and from the second draw I won a set of 10 olive wood blanks. Link won a huge (by penturner standards) Red Malee burl cap. It was tons of fun and I can't wait for next year.

The rest of the week was full of great classes from world class woodturners, and awful camera work by some real knuckleheads. Many thanks to Charlotte for watching Bella because I wouldn't have been able to go without her superb babysitting skills. Also thanks to KC for letting me work my way in instead of paying like some sort of chump. Mostly thanks to JT for letting me do this for the last three and the next eighty years.

Thanks, Michelle!

I have had a lot of good food lately, most noteably some Martha Stewart cherry/otameal cookies (of which I gave some away because I thought they were raisins), and some fantastic Cherry pie (of which some got stolen because "it was too good not to steal" I was told). Both came from Michelle as part of a very exclusive desert-of-the-month club (membership 1 or 2). No...you can't join...invitation only. I love my club, but there has been some dispute in the past few weeks that I finally have a chance (hopefully) to settle (I say hopefully because I am not going to request, but Grandma Charlotte has served me cherry pie every time I have visited, even when I was not actually part of the family...but I digress).



Jessie claimes that the aforementioned cherry pie is better than Grandma Charlotte's while I claim that Grandma Charlotte still has a narrow lead over Michelle. It is really a very notable place to be because while I am a cherry pie conniseuor, and feel that I have final say in the matter, Jessie has had more of Grandma Charlottes cooking, and feels that her pallete is more in tune with the nuamces involved. Either way, it was an amazing "first-time" cherry pie and I am really looking forward to Decembers desert.

I am also looking forward to the Thanksgiving meal in Denver. There are some classics that I will be missing from my family's repetoire (most noteably carrot caserole...mmmmmmmm), but I am never disappointed. Add inthe fact that I get the week off school (with the exception of a little research and a few homework assignments) and I am in heaven about the whole deal.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, I hope everyone enjoyes it as much as I will!

So much to say...

Been a while since I blogged last. A lot has happened. Hold on tight.

Block classes finished the last week of October (I prefer Oktober) and I did fairly well on my final and in my one block class...or so I thought. I got an email from my professor that said, in a nutshell, "You are better than a 'C' student. Come pick up your assignments and redo them for an 'A' or I won't give you a passing grade." Maybe he is right, and maybe I didn't try that hard in his class, but I would prefer to take my C and have no work left to do. Lazy? perhaps, but I have a lot going on and I am not necessarily a lazy person.

I have done two more observations at high school woodshops, and one more teaching experience at a middle school. The observations went well, and the teaching also went well, but I did learn a few things:

• Woodshop is an elective, so I need to be more fun and exciting than other electives if I want students to take my class.
  
• Success needs to be stressed, but also easily achievable at first. Slowly build to advanced skills.
  
• I have the personality to get the kids excited and involved, but I need to bring them back to order a little more often.
  
• Lecture when you absolutely have to, and keep it interesting with pictures, objects, and lots of student involvement.
  
• Lathe turning and bent wood is a great beginning class because the machines are smaller and less intimidating.
  

I am a little behind in my furniture class, and I am a little worried about finishing in time. I scheduled extra shop time, so I should get caught up, but I also keep thinking of extra things that I need to do in the shop too. JT really wants me to cut a block set for Bella and I have a few gifts that I want to work on, so I just need to get busy.

I am getting more and more excited for Thanksgiving. A much needed break from the school grind. Also, my parents were kind enough to buy tickets for JT and I to go out for Christmas. I couldn't miss too much work, but we were able to get about 8 days, so that should be a lot of fun too.

Our yard is almost perfect right now, very few patches and what little grass can be seen under the fallen leaves is very green. Someone should really enjoy our little yard next summer.

We have been listening to Harry Potter on CD for a while now (we have finished all of book 6 and are half way through book 4) and I love it. Charlotte is letting us borrow the CD's and we have a friend who has the rest when we are ready for more.

I have started to download podcasts, especially from NPR. This is one of the greatest ways to stay current and have interesting things to listen to. I love it.

My brother Matt and his family came down from Idaho on Sunday last and hung out for a couple of hours. We took family photos and I had a good time talking with them. I really want to go up to Idaho and see their place, plus Matt has promised some furniture building which is always fun so it will have to be sooner than later, but with school and all...

compliment?

We reviewed video of the class that I helped teach. My professor did say that I looked very comfortable, and said I had a great teaching personality, but then had some hard critiques. Not wrong, just hard. I think really that I knew better, and I was winging it for some of the stuff anyway, but It was still hard. Also, turns out that I am a teaching hog and probably took way way way too much time on my own stuff and didn't let anyone else have a chance. We planned it out and I stuck to the plan mostly, and my group members said I didn't take too long, but I probably did and they were just being nice to compensate for my professors comments. Oh well. It was a learning experience and even though I did take too long, at least I was comfortable up there...

Teaching at Last

I got the opportunity to take over a classroom for one period on Thurday morning. When I say I, I mean me and seven other students in my class, but I did get five minutes of time to myself inthe beginning of the lesson. We taught about how to look for information online, and showed an example of an untrustworthy websites (theonion.com). The kids seemed to not care about any of it, but I did get a few of them to make comments and participate. After a little more introducation we split into four groups with a pair of teachers per group and researched and built paper airplanes.

This is something that nearly all of the kids did, except for one in my group who kept searching strings like "dead Barney" or "hanging elmo" on google. He wanted to show off and be funny but I wanted to punch him in the face. I did get last laugh, though, when he finally noticed that we only had thirty seconds left and he still didn't have a plane ready for hte competition. I helped him hurry and finish one, but it sucked and he didn't win anything.

I had a lot of fun, but I don't think the kids actually learned anything. We tried to tie it all in at the end fo the lesson, but we ran a little short on time and totally ran out of attention span. I think it would have been a lot easier to manage with fewer teachers (8?? come on...) but it can't be helped and I think we did good for the limited time that we had.

One of the hardest parts for me was the fact that we only had one day. I keep thinking that we can't really teach anything in one day. First of all, you don't know the students and it is difficult to get them to open up and share so you can't assess wether or not they get it. Secondly, we were forced to plan a lesson that played out too quickly and had little or no relevance or continuity for the kids. If we had the chance to talk about a few things the day before or reinforce some of the concepts in days after the lesson, we would have had much more impact. Again, teh way our class is set up, it just isn't possible, but it is something that I will keep in mind for student teaching and my career.

I also had to write a resume on Friday adn I hated it. Resumes mean job hunting, and job hunting means interviews. Interviews scare me. I just want to send some video of me teaching raher than sit through an interview with prospective employers picking my resume apart and asking questions like "Where do you see yourself in five years?" or "Do you prefer the Rocklin testing meathod, or the Wilson-Benet?" After half an hour of excruicating discomfort, I admit that my palms are too sweaty to shake hands comfortably, bid everyone good day, and leave them to talk about how my flo was open the whole time or how my hair stuck up funny and wonder about what exactly was stuck in my teeth.

By the way...if your curious...it seems that the best design for a paper airplane had a thousand times more to do with how you throw it than how you fold it. A crumpled up piece of cardstock would have easily won all of the conteses that we had for the students. I'm just glad they didn't think of that...

High School Observation etc.

I went to Timp View High School this week and observed mr Bill Velora's metals class. Actualy it was small engine reapir first period, metals second, autumotive maintenance and repair third, and back to metals for fourth during which I left. I learned the following:

• I can't stand all day...I need to sit sometimes.
  
• High school kids are easier to teach, but still not as mature as I remember myself being in high school.
  
• What I teach in not as important as how I teach it, and who I teach it to.
  
• Most will always get it, but someone always won't.
  
• Most wood and metal shop kids can be creative, but not all creative kids can be wood and metal shop savvy.
  

Not a complete list, but I have a few good ideas and I still get to observe 3 more times so I should have more to say.

I have a cherry branch that may or may not work for the music stand I am working on, so I continue to look for a better tree. most of you don't know what I'm talking about, but it's ahrd to explain...I'll scan some of my sketches and post later.

I am really into dried fruit lately (banana chips and mango being some of my favorites) and I think I should invest in a dehydrator. Fruit is cheap in the season, and I could dry enough to last for a long time. Trail mix with a fruit twist anyone? Me, please.



I just finished building a trebuchet. For those unfamiliar, it is a cross between a catapult and a sling (David and Goliath style, not Dennis the menace 'Y' branch style...also see illustration). I got the plans online, and built it to fit small sports balls (tennis, golf, racquet, etc.). I am thinking I should bring it to the Tanner family reunion becasue we could maybe even launch small water baloons or play an oversized game of "500".

I got the dickies that I wanted for my birthday and I finally got one of them hemmed to fir perfectly. Big THANKS to Denise for her affordable and professional alterations. I love them even more than I thought I could.

Not much else going on, but I enjoy being back online, and I enjoy the comments. Thanks all for playing along.

I think I'm an addict...

RSS. I have no idea what it stands for, but those three letters have revolutionized the way I surf the web. There are many different ways to do it, and I don't claim to be an expert, but here we go.

RSS is basically a feed that can be read by an agrigrator which is the complicated way of saying that I check about a dozen websites all on one page and I know what is going on without having to go to each particular site. Blogs are a great example...Michelles blog is updated often, but not consistently at the same time every day. maybe once today at noon, then tomorrow at three, then a day off, then tuesday at ten, four, and seven. how do I know when to check? RSS.

Here is how I use it. Any website can be used if it has the orange rss box or icon (usually in the corner of the address bar or at the bottom of the page).
Clicking on this will allow you to add that "feed" to your "aggrigator" (sp?). My professor prefers a mozilla (firefox) plug in called sage. I prefer google homepage. I have a google acount and I add lots of stuff to my home page so I can keep up with a lot of stuff at once. Hard to explain, please see graphic.

I just don't quite know what else to say. try it out and you'll love it. I have probably made myself 15-20 times more efficient on the web and I can easily check all of my feeds on just one home page (huge dial-up advantage). I can't say enough good about RSS. It may have changed my life even more than tabbed browsing (download Firefox and you'll get hooked too.)

reflections...

I am supposed to be doing a reflection journal for one of my classes, and I have been having a hard time finding time for doing it among all other things that I do in a day. This may not be the most interesting information for most of you but this is where I will keep my journal becasue I will have a record of things that I do and don't like about teaching and classrooms and shops and projects etc. I think it will come in handy later on.

I just finished my Jr. High observations last week and I learned a few things.

• Jr. High kids take hours to do what should take minutes, and you can't change that about them. Just plan around it.
  
• Modules are the worst teaching style I have ever seen. The drawbacks are severe for very limited benefits.
  
• I will know the name of every kid in my classes by the third week of school.
  
• Showing my personality is a strength.
  
• I won't teach things I don't care about.
  
• I will decorate my room with cool, original stuff...not free posters from tech trade shows or other junk.
  
• High school is my first choice, but I am not scared of Jr. High anymore and I don't think it would kill me to be there for a few years.

I am also having a blast with photoshop lately and I am excited to keep learning. Here are a couple of recent samples.

Juvenile, yes, but funny. damn funny.

All made from scratch. Simple but fun.