For the creative writing class that I took a couple of months ago, we were asked to write a short bio to introduce ourselves. I decided I didn't want to just start with "My name is Mike, and I teach high school social studies." That's too normal. But what I did write surprised me a … Continue reading A Short Bio
I had a student this year who is originally from Columbia. One of the nicest kids I've had in a long time. Smart too. But since he'd only been in the country for a handful of years, he had some issues with comprehension, especially when it came to interpreting old primary source texts. That's mostly … Continue reading English is Hard
Just under a year ago, we decided to buy a small travel trailer. It's nothing special, but it does the job. I was more than a little nervous about pulling a large trailer over long distances, since, up to that point in my life, I had never pulled a trailer of any size for any … Continue reading Adventures In Camping…So Far
I've written previously how I'm not really into making New Year's resolutions. I just figure if I need to change something about myself, why wait? That said, I understand how people can see the beginning of a new year as a fresh star and/or a time of reflection. I get that. I'm constantly writing notes … Continue reading If
I turned 45 today. If all goes well, that puts me at right about the halfway point. If not...lets not talk about that. In 45 years, I've learned a lot of stuff, some useful, some not so useful, some completely pointless. And I still want to know more. I like to know how and why … Continue reading 45
Growing up, my mom would constantly get upset with me because I wouldn't use a napkin to wipe my hands while we were eating. Instead, I would just wipe my hands on my pants or whatever article of clothing was most convenient. I really didn't understand what the problem was. My pants arguably worked better … Continue reading Bad Habits
The original format of my blog several years back was a place for me to post pictures from University of Texas football games. I was a season ticket holder for almost twenty years, and I enjoyed shooting photos of the game and crowds. My site was called Scenes From The Fourth Row because...my seats were … Continue reading What’s In A Name?
A Quick Note: I've been thinking about doing some kind of "deep thoughts" post. I have some ideas, and I haven't done that for a while...for good reason. There's too much serious stuff going on in the world right now. I don't want to add to it yet. So instead, I decided to poke some … Continue reading Searching For Myself
Between too much cold (I don't like winter...at all) and having too much going on around here, I've been a little out of touch for a while. Things seem to finally be calming down, so hopefully, that continues. It has been almost two years since everyone's world was turned upside down. Like many others, when … Continue reading Choose Your Own Adventure
Full disclosure: I don't actually like Rocky Road ice cream. I probably just made some enemies there, but I don't care for frozen marshmallows. The texture is too much. The fact that I even have a strong opinion about that probably says everything you need to know about my weight loss journey. I've struggled with … Continue reading The Rocky Road (Ice Cream) of My Weight (Gain and) Loss (and Gain) Journey
Reflections Of A Middle Aged Nobody 