Ok so here we go 100 things about me...ok not 100 anymore

1. My middle name is Wayne

2. I am a junior (named after my dad that is)

3. I tell people I am 6 foot tall

4. I am really 5’11’

5. My Mother and I share the same birthday

6. I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Though hard to believe, this does not make me Mexican.

7. Corpus is the home town of Selena. (yes thatSelena) The City’s name means “body of Christ” in Latin.  The city Council decided not to put a statue of Jesus on the sea wall.  Instead they erected a stature of Selena.  They also toyed with the idea of changing the cities name to Selenaville. (You can’t make this stuff up)

8. I have two Younger siblings; Ryan (age 24) and Katie (age 19) Katie and I look alike Ryan looks like a white version of Sam Cassel

9. I used to run, I haven’t in a while.  The most I ever ran was 20 miles, in a row.

10. I teach English at Stafford.  That statement holds more irony than you will ever know

11. If I could do any part of my life again it would be College, I had the best time at A&M. 

12. My Roommate was my best Friend Bryan.

13. I moved to College Station after being rejected by A&M and lived in an apartment with two guys I didn’t know.  One looked like the love child of Forest Gump and RC Slocum. I think he other guy was a bridge troll who shaved his beard.  We didn’t see him much since he locked himself in his room (literally) with his girlfriend.

14.  Bryan Moved in my second semester.  We lived in Briarhood…opps Briarwood, across from the Mall.

15. I once challenged Bryan to a bubble gum eating contest. I lost because after having eaten and kept 58 pieces in my mouth Bryan said he was done (having only 47 pieces in his mouth) I took mine out and he then stuffed 25 more pieces in his mouth beating me.  Bastard!

16. I once painted my entire body blue, put on red pants, a red hat (Smurf style) and red Smurf shoes and went as Papa Smurf.  Yes my face was painted, yes it took forever to get clean.

17. I also went as Haunz and Bryan went as Franz on Halloween.

18. My Parents are still married (29 years)

19. I backpacked through Europe for two months.

21. I ran with the Bulls in Pamplona.  It was the coolest thing I have ever done.

22. I like to spend money, even money I don’t have. 

23. I love to do things on the spur of the moment.

24. I plan for every thing I can and research all possibilities in my mind.  Even on things that are quickly done at a moments notice, I have Think it all out in my mind.  This confuses some people.  Duality is a bitch.

25. I am an Eagle Scout, the highest honor a Boy Scout can receive. I think this is a big deal and that it is cool.  I could care less what you think.

26. I camped about once a month from age 12-18.  I enjoyed camping.

27. I backpacked for two weeks in the mountains of New Mexico.

28. I ran into a bear while in the forest, Bears are fucking scary and not as cool as you would think.  No matter what they tell you, you run when you see a bear. They say you can’t out run a bear, I agree.  I can outrun my fellow back packers though!

29. I shared a room with my Brother for 18 years.  I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.

30. I learned to drive on a 1971 Volkswagen Beatle.

31. My first car was a 1991 Toyota Tercel.  It had plastic seats and was not cool at all.

32. I suck at spelling. I penalize students for misspelled words though. Is that wrong?

33. I enjoy using a variety of words and expanding my vocabulary.

34. My eyes are Hazel/green.  I get compliments on them all the time.

35. I don’t like to shave or dress up everyday.  I think that this had an influence on my becoming a teacher. 

36. I have extremely strong will power.  I like to test it by keeping myself from doing things I enjoy.  I then get pleasure from knowing I can do this.  Then I wonder if the ultimate test of will power would to let myself do all the things I enjoy for as long as I wanted thus denying myself the pleasure I get from denying myself the things I like.  (think about it for a while…….don’t worry you’ll get it next week)

37. I minored in Philosophy (could you tell from number 36?)

38. I also minored in History

39. I majored in English

40. I hate Cell phones. I didn’t have a cell phone until My last semester in College.  I still don’t like talking on it.  I have 1000 minutes, only once did I ever use over 600 minutes.  
41. I love talking on Instant Messenger.  I think it is the 2^nd best invention ever!

42. The best invention is www.theFacebook.com you either understand or you don’t.  If you don’t then I am sorry for you.  All greatness is measured by facebook. 

43. Facebook is The Matrix

44. I wrecked my Grandpa’s 4-wheeler when I was 13. I broke my knee cap and had 50 stitches put in my head.

45. I have a tattoo on my right ring finger.  It is a design I drew myself.  My friend Justin has the exact same tattoo.  I like it.  It is covered by my Aggie Ring.  I feel like I lead two lives a tattooed life and a non tattooed life. 

46. I once made a case in class for the influence that Sherlock Holmes and Watson must have had on the writers of Batman and Robin.  The look on the teachers face was worth priceless as a drew similarities between the two stories and made a case that Batman and Robin were the modern day Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

47. I wrote an essay explaining why Superman was a ninja, just for fun.

48. I am addicted to Aggie football. I eat sleep and breath it.  I subscribe to Aggie Websider and pay ten dollars a month to be in it.  IT takes up on average 4 hours of my day.

49. I am going to France and Italy this summer.  
50. I dunked my ring in 23 seconds.  I didn’t spill a drop.

51. I love having long talks with people I know.

52. I hate small talk and talking to people I don’t know very well.

53. I drive a 1992 Honda Accord.  it is not that cool but it gets the job done

54. I drink about a pot and a half of coffee a day.

55. I drink no coffee on the weekends

56. I drink my coffee Black with no sugar.

57. I can drink coffee and then go to bed. It has no effect on me.

58. I hate sweets, I don’t eat candy, cake, Ice cream, cokes or sugar in any of my drinks

59. I like tea, with no sugar

60. I love ICE TEA

61. I get extra Ice in everything because I like to chew on ice

62. I don’t believe that because technology has made me accessible at almost any time that I am actually obliged to BE ACCESSIBLE at any time.

64. Bryan and I had a no Cell phone policy in our apartment. You had to leave the apartment to use your cell phone.

65. I could eat Mexican Food any time, any day.

66. I would wear Flip Flops everywhere if I could

67. I wore Flip flops with a suit once (ok more than once)

68. I was in a bachelor action where I went for more money than a Yell Leader.   
69. I weighed 160 lbs in High school

71. I am extremely conservative

72. but I consider myself a libertarian

73. High School was overrated (well most of it)

74. I will try anything once

75. I have eaten Cow Balls

76. I also have eaten Cow Stomach

77. I love spicy food

78. We threw a 4 Keg Party my First year at A&M. The Cops came after I shut down the part in my Apartment

79. I refused to pay for the ticket we got.

80. I got two MIP’s in 1 week

81. One was dropped for no reason

82. I hate Star Jones and Oprah

83. I think the show LOST is the best show on TV

84. I have driven an hour to watch 18 year old football players work out

86. I am not Gay

87. I hate texas university and every sports team associated with it. I think Vince Young is overrated and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise.

88. I have friends that went to that school, I do not hate them.

89. I think Austin is a cool city

90. If I had won the Lotto a month ago and won 250 million dollars, I would have had Coach Fran fired and given a huge gift to A&M athletics.

92. I had my eyebrow pierced for 6 months.  It was cool, then.

93. I have to be at work at 7:20. It takes 20 min to get to work. I get up at 6:50 and leave at 7:00.  I have never been late.

94. I shave my arms. I would explain why but it would take a long time and I really don’t have to explain why I do things to you.

95. I am not buying a TV with my Tax return J

96. I love my computer.

Currently Listening Keep It Like a Secret By Built to Spill see related

I haven’t written in a while because I have been so damn busy that it is nearly impossible but I will when I can. 

Today too many things happened for me not to tell them

On the way home from Lunch today My roommate Joey and I saw homeless guy...he is lying on the ground and not moving in a field just behind the 59 diner. He is lying in a peculiar position and both Joey and I notice that his head is in a position that is very hard to maintain not resting on the ground.  We both comment that he looks like he was dead, being the concerned citizen that we are we stopped to make sure he was ok. 

This is where the story gets interesting…

Joey back the car up and I roll the window down and yell out…”are you ok”

Homeless guy starts to stir, opens his eyes and says, “ yeah man I could use some money and food and a place to stay” He then gets up and start walking to he car.

(At this point I believe that we have satisfied our morbid curiosity and determined that the guy is in fact not dead. Having learned this I expect Joey to drive off, unfortunately this did not happen)  Still, I waited…

Caught off guard, I keep my eyes on this homeless man approaching the car and talking to me in slurred speech.  It is Christmas and I have been blessed many times over this year so I pulled out a five-dollar bill that I had and gave it to the homeless man that had presented his hand to me. Still, I waited…  His hand was dirty and the finger nails had not been clipped in what appeared to be years.  They were long and as yellow as corn with years of filth built up behind them. As he clutched the money in his hand and fondled it looking at the amount he looked up at me and I looked into his eyes.  He smiled a smile that needed no words, as disturbed as the man obviously was he knew that I had given him more than I needed and he was touched. Still I waited…  Looking at his unshaven face and blue eyes he reminded me of a cracked out Gary Busey, Yeah I know Gary always looks cracked out but imagine him disgustingly gross and smelling like equal parts Smoke, urine, body odor and fecal matter.  His beard was about a week old and his clothes looked ragged.   All in all he was your typical homeless guy. 

Hoping that this was enough to appease him I waited for Joey to drive off.  Still, I waited…

The man then asked, “How are you guys doing?”

Ok by now I really just want to go, a conversation with a homeless guy is not exactly my idea of a great afternoon.  Still, I waited for Joey to drive away. 

At a loss for words I retort, “how are you doing?”  Immediately I realize the absurdity of this question and ironically enough so does the homeless guy.  He looks at me with a smug look and motions to his current condition as if to say that if the sight of his current state does not answer that question I need some help.  Embarrassed and still grasping for a common topic for us to discuss and desperately wanting Joey to leave I sit staring at the man. Suddenly he clutches my had and shakes it and almost tearing up mouths to me, “thank you”  to me.

At this time I am absolutely weirded out and screaming ion my mind for Joey to hit the gas…still I waited…

Finally I said “well we need to get going”

Hoping that Joey would take the hint. The man just held my hand in his looking into my eyes with a look of thankfulness.  After what felt like hours he slowly backed away from the car.  He didn’t let go of my hand but as he slowly backed away he let my hand slide out from his two hands, much like he was rubbing something on them.

Joey finally started to drive away and I started to question him and why he stayed that long…. little did I know that this was just he first time that day that Joey would fuck me….

Late while watching the Big 12 Championship game, at he half I was 43-3 so Joey was going to go get his haircut. I asked him where he got that done and he told me. I asked him if they did a good job and he assured me they did…As I walk in he says something under his breath about a deaf girl. 

I HAD TO WRITE DOWN WHAT I WANTED ON A PIECE OF PAPER! 

This girl was deaf and could not talk and obviously could not hear.  Explaining what you want is tough enough when I have words and can motion with my hands.   Apparently I did not express myself the way I wanted because I ended up with basically a buzz cut with long bangs….THANKS JOEY!!!

I have never felt more certain in what I want, less certain in how to get it and at a loss as to weather it is a good choice.  The next three months will be the most interesting and important in my short life.  They will determine the next few years of my life and start me on a road to a life that only God can see.  I feel like I am standing on the edge of a expansive sea.  Is this what Christopher Columbus felt like? 

This year should see me get a job, move to the city, possibly buy a house.   Last weekend the majority of my friends graduated from College and they have now embarked on their own adult lives.  When I graduated last year but I have felt in limbo, one foot in the real world and one still in college.  While I was able to travel and look for jobs, that I ultimately didn’t want, I still felt like I had one foot in the past, unable to move on to my that new chapter in my life.  I never felt much peace this last year, floundering around looking for a job that I felt comfortable with and ultimately finding none.  I stumbled into the one thing I thought I wanted least and found it as comforting as my grandmas old quilt, teaching.  I am not sure if I will love teaching but I know I would have hated the other jobs.  I have been reading The Purpose Driven Life and Rick Warren brings up the point that I was made for a reason and that God put me here for a reason.  I am not suggesting that I was put here to teach or that I have some grand fate that must be fulfilled but I do know that my soul screamed out in torment as a wrestled with the decision to take some of those jobs. I never felt comfortable and that is the exact opposite of what I feel when I think of teaching. I am at peace with teaching.   Perhaps that was God, the Holy Spirit guiding me or maybe it was indigestion. I stand here and although I still have questions and nothing it promised to me I know that I can still look at myself and say that I have stayed true to myself.  I have not betrayed myself or sold myself out to make a dollar and I have not sacrificed my happiness.

My mom and I talked the other day and the asked me if I could have my dream job what would it be?  I honestly could not give her an answer. I told her that I don’t care and that my life is not defined by my job and therefore any number of things can make me happy but I just need to find one.  Maybe teaching is that thing I have been looking for, maybe it isn’t, we will soon see. I am looking forward to this journey and all that it brings.  As Joey pointed out when he said “this is my last college party.” And then poured his beer over his head thus putting a fitting end to his college career, I too have found an end to my college career….now where's a beer?

Rob

Those who can’t….

Teach, or so the adage goes.  Does that apply to coaching or is the opposite true.  The question posed is can a coach who never played ball past say high school be an effective coach?

Many I have talked to say no.  They believe that to be an effective teacher you much have intimate knowledge of what you are teaching.  Unlike cerebral activities like math and other subjects games like football or basketball involve an element of innate “feeling” and ask you to do physical things that others can’t.  The proponents of this belief will say that a coach who could never perform on that level can’t know what to expect from the player and how far he should or can push them and what he can expect from them.  They ask “how can you teach them to turn their hips coming out of a back pedal if you are not able to do it your self?”  I can understand these arguments and they pose interesting questions. They also bring up the fact that respect from your pupils is extremely import and much of that is gained through having been in the same situation as them knowing what they are going through and relating to them.  I can agree that this argument may also have merit.

Yet after careful consideration I have come down on the side that it is not a prerequisite that you have experience on the field of battle to be successful as a coach.  While I agree that it does have advantages it does not hamper you if you are studious and have a great mind for the game.  I routinely ask people to perform tasks both physical and mental that I could never dream of performing but I think that I am no less of teacher or manager than others.  The innate feeling is something that while I may not feel I certainly can tell them what they should feel.  I can ask others who can feel it what makes them “know” when do a certain thing and I certainly can  praise people when they do it right, scold them when they do it wrong and make sure they know what to do.  In this way I can condition them to perform the way they should, even if I can not perform that task myself.  The issue of performance is also proven moot when age is considered.  Many coaches have won championships and performed better as teachers in older days than at younger. There may be a point where you do begin to slide but I thin this is normal with any job and so it’s not especially pertain to coaching.  JoePa and Bobby Bowden have both been “old” for a while and both have performed well, although JoePa has slid as of late. I also wonder if some of the greatest coaches of all time could compete today?  The athletes are bigger stronger, faster, quicker than the players of yesterday and many of the coaches who made squads in the 30’s,40’s and 50’s and went on to coach may not have been talented enough to be on a team today.  Would this have meant they would have been worse as coaches?  We can debate this for along time but I would argue no. 

I think that teaching is about preparation and willingness to work with athletes to show them what they need to do to be successful.  Through hard work repetition and studious behavior they can teach athletes to be successful on both the field and court and in life.  I come don on the side that If you learn the game, know it inside and out, have the will to win and the passion to teach that you could teach at the highest levels and be successful.

I am tried of the played out Yellow Lance Armstrong bracelets that everyone wears. In fact I am tired of all the colors that are worn. I am sick of people buying yellow, red and pink arm band so that they can feel a notch cooler. 

I understand that these bands raise money for causes that otherwise might be able to raise money and that this money goes to these wonderful causes. 

My disgust originates not in the reason behind the manufacturing but the perverted meaning that it has taken on.

Repeat after me

“I am not cooler by Association! We are not in high school!  Lance is cool because he is genetically Superior to me not because he wears a yellow wrist band.”  This craze that swept the nation hasn’t been seen since slap bracelets ruled the early 90’s.

What really gets me angry is the self righteous attitude that goes with wearing a bracelet.  Like you are some giant component in the fundraising of breast cancer awareness.  Face it you bought it to be cool, not because you give a damn about Cancer.  If you cared about cancer you would have just given ten dollars to the cancer research fund. You never did that before and I bet the majority of the people who wear these stupid bands will not give much money to these causes in the future.  The moment that the Lance bracelets aren’t cool anymore is the moment they take them off.  I wonder if they just put a jar on the counter at gas station with lances picture if that would have raised the same amount of money.  I bet not.

This entry stems from an interesting story. First let’s look at these bands.  Basically they are large colored rubber bands. That is all they are rubber bands.  I used to wear rubber bands on my wrists; I got lots of pictures to prove it.  Rubber bands are both fashionable and useful.  Sometimes people made fun of me and some even popped the bands and broke them. I was a trend setter years before my time.  It is ok all the major trend setter and geniuses are never recognized until way after they are gone, I will survive. My point is that I have no aversion to wearing one of these bands.  It so happens that A&M has a Maroon Band that they sell.  The Proceeds go to some company in the form of (gasp) profit! Liking the color, having worn Rubber bands before and being as popular as they are I thought this is great! I won’t be some hag wearing some color of some cause I don’t support or care about (I am not saying I don’t care about cancer I do, just not that damn bracelets) this would be a great way for me to be both cool and different. 

Well this was fine until some girl asked me about it.  I tried to just explain it was a A&M bracelet but she started in on her little speech about “the causes”.  that conversation did not go nicely If you wear a bracelet I wish you would sell it and take that money and give it to the charity that you like, Don’t buy something just give them the money.  Ok this rant it over.