Where Do the Mermaids Stand?

This morning I attended a workshop for parents of Gifted, or "TAG" kids in our school district, and at the end of the first session about gifted kids with "overexcitabilities," the instructor played the video (above). If I wasn't in a room with a bunch of parents, I might have cried.

"Where do the mermaids stand? All those people in this world who are different, who are not like everyone else, who don't belong in pigeon holes and who are determined not to give that up?" (Robert Fulghum)

Tonight, the Mrs. and I saw, "The Italian Girl in Algiers", a Rossini opera produced by the Austin Lyric Opera (note: please support the arts in your community). On the way home, I showed her "the mermaid video" and we talked about the video, this morning's gifted-student seminar, tonight's opera, and (as awfully cliche as this sounds) how the journey to peace and realization isn't always easy -- and certainly not always popular. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall; on these principles I am reminded that I am blessed to have ability to do the things I love, and the support of the ones I love that allows me the freedom to pursue those things.

In my ongoing effort to determine where I "fit" as a teacher, this week I accepted sub positions at a couple of high schools, one middle school and a last minute half-day position as a substitute at an elementary school.

I showed up with about 45 minutes until lunch at the elementary school gig, and within that 45 minutes, the kids had gotten comfortable enough to ask me to stay and have lunch with them (apparently, elementary school teachers very rarely eat with their class). After lunch, we worked together on some math problems (fractions), read one story, two Shel Silverstein poems, took a short quiz and did about twenty minutes of independent reading/study before we broke for the end of the day. When the independent study time was over, four of the kids brought me "thank you" notes with pictures on them they had drawn and two kids asked me to come back and be their teacher every day.

What a great week...

...I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be counted among the mermaids again.

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WODBLOG

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One of the suggestions offered this morning for helping gifted children with overexcitabilities was to get them involved in sports or exercise, and help them better understand a healthy diet. I've noticed that I am always most at peace when "health" is a priority in my life.

This week I did several fun WODs, and had some pretty good scores on a few, and some other scores where I didn't impress myself.

Last Saturday's WOD in the "competitor class" at CrossFit Cedar Park was brutal. Carson, Dave, Deric, Janice, H.B., Ro and I tackled a monster:

10: Front Squats, Push Press, Thrusters (115 lbs.)

2: Box Jumps, pull-ups, burpees

8: FS, PP, Thr

4: BJ, P-U, Burp

6: FS, PP, Thr

6: BJ, P-U, Burp

4: FS, PP, Thr

8: BJ, P-U, Burp

2: FS, PP, Thr

10: BJ, P-U, Burp

Deric scored about 10 min, Carson and Dave around 11, me at 14. Killer WOD.

Monday, I did the WOD from Crossfit.com:

3 rounds for time:

10 Deadlifts @ 275 lbs.

50 Double unders

Out of about 250 people from around the world who posted their score on Crossfit.com, I came out 11th, with a time of 3:23.

After I finished that WOD, I strapped on a 25 lb. vest and ran a mile and a half.

Tuesday was some OLY lifting (never enough!)

Wednesday was a great Kettle Bell WOD:

4 rounds for time - 1.5 pood:

3 Turkish get ups (each arm)

3 Clean and jerk (each arm)

3 Snatch (each arm)

I think this one took me about 12 minutes -- I wasn't impressed with myself.

Thursday was a "HERO" WOD, honoring US Army Captain Jason Holbrook from Burnet, TX.

5 thrusters @ 115 lbs.

10 pull ups

100m sprint

Rest exactly 1 minute, repeat for a total of 10 rounds.

Record fastest and slowest times.

Fastest: 1:05

Slowest: 1:40

(not too bad for an "old fat guy" like me)

Friday I did another HERO WOD: "Randy"

75 Power Snatch at 75 lbs.

5:47 (again, not an impressive time for me, but sort of burnt from Wednesday and Thursday's shoulder and leg work)

As always, we encourage you to get off your duff and join us at CrossFit Cedar Park. We do things that benefit everyone ~ even folks like me who are prone to "overexcitabilities"...

Whether it's life or lemonade...

What an awesome week!

Monday was Martin Luther King,  Jr. day.  I like to click on youtube every once in a while over the course of the year just to hear the man give me that line one more time:  "I have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal..." 

Thank you, Dr. King.

Looking past Monday's holiday, I knew I had a lot of school work due very soon, and had accepted two substitute teaching jobs as part of my ongoing effort to get a flavor for as many different campuses and teaching environments as I can this semester.  I'm hopeful that my strategy will lead me to the best "fit" for me as a teacher -- there are pros-and-cons to all grade levels, so we will see.

One of the jobs I accepted was at an elementary school and the other at a high school where I had subbed before and had been requested for another job (which is quite a compliment).  It turned out that the elementary school job wasn't for one day, but for three, and at the end of the third day,  they asked me to stay for a fourth (another very nice compliment).

I approach every job with the attititude that there is work to be done and I am not above any work.  I will take out trash, sweep, carry heavy boxes, "whatever."  From life to lemonade, it doesn't matter if the glass is half-empty or half-full, sometimes, it is best to first be grateful that you even have a glass.

Anyway, my "just do the work" attitude was well placed this week.  It turned out that I was brought in as sort of an "admin-overflow" person, and one of my jobs was not very glamorous --- lunch duty!  Yes, I was on duty in the lunch room, essentially working as a waiter and part-time referee for kids ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade.  Whatever they wanted (condiments, napkins, approval to go to the bathroom, help opening their milk) came from me.  We can learn a lot when we put our pride and "relative self-importance" aside and just do the work... Oh, and here's a tip:  kids like ketchup.  They like it a lot.

I think most of the kids were pretty intimidated by me at first -- I was a big, unfamiliar man walking around and talking to them in their lunchroom while they ate.  That initial intimidation changed after a day or two.  By the end of the week, several of the kids were giving me "knuckles" or "high-fives" as they came into the lunchroom and just about all of them would at least give me a smile... It was pretty rewarding to get those kids to engage --- and I reckon there are lots of parents out there who might be surprised if they knew how many carrots I was able to get their 1st grader to eat this week!

I also spent a big part of my time helping out in their library, and W-O-W!  What an awesome project this neighborhood school has going, sparked by their librarian, Trudy Marshall.  Trudy has worked tirelessly for the past several years here in Austin developing an organization she founded called "Libraries of Love." Libraries of Love does book drives and raises funds to open libraries and has been successful in opening nineteen libraries in schools across Uganda.  Many of the kids she has helped had never even held a book until they met Trudy.

One day this week, Trudy asked me to read the "Three Little Tamales" (a variation on the Three Little Pigs) to a group of 1st graders, and I loved it.  The kids were wide-eyed throughout the story and laughed when the Big Bad Lobo wound up in the pot, and once again, all was right with the world...

Follow the link to Libraries of Love and get involved -- it is easy to get behind people who have Trudy's drive, and your time and money will be well spent.

Thank you Laurel Mountain for the experience.  There are some incredible people and programs available to young people these days.

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WODBLOG

Outside of my substitute work and school (btw, I got a 98% on my first grad school paper, so I'm happy with that), CrossFit is going strong.  I smoked through one of my favorite type WODs on Wednesday and my two classes (5:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. / M,W,F) are growing and blowing with some really great, great people.  As always, we'd love for you to get past the stigma of my classes being "toodamnearly" and get in gear with us.

Our box is in the middle of the "I Do The Impossible Challenge" right now.  It is an 8-week challenge where each coach has been assigned a team of six people who have set individual fitness goals that we help them reach.  My group is kicking ass!  Thanks Norma, Danielle, Shane, Doug, Neal and EMILY!  You guys are working your tails off right now and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of your success!

After this morning's FREE 9:30 a.m. community workout, I'm going to train with some remarkably fit CrossFit competitors at the "Master's Class" at CrossFit Cedar Park.  I'm going to get my butt absolutely kicked three ways to Sunday...

....but I guess I have to put my pride aside, do the damn work, and just remember to be happy that I even have a glass...

Revolution <--> Trevolution <--> Evolution <--> Teacher?



And for my next act, "teacher."

As of this week, I am back in school, getting a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction, along with a teaching certificate. Yep, I am going to be a teacher.

I couldn't be more excited. Honestly.

As I've mentioned to my friends, I look at life like a river. We steer the best we can, but we are at least in part, at the whim of the power of the river's currents, depths, eddys and obstacles (including our fellow travelers!).

This is the next stop for me, and it is a good one. Most of you who know me know that even though I've tried cases that went to the Lousiana Supreme Court, outside of the law itself, I don't much care for the practice. My talents lie elsewhere, and teaching makes sense.

I'll still coach CrossFit at CrossFit Cedar Park (because I friggin' LOVE IT!), but professionally, I'll be putting my law degree in the closet and taking on something I consider much, much more important and rewarding.

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WOD LOG

Ugh, I hurt my foot late last week and had to boogie out of town to new student orientation, so I had a layoff of several days.  I was back at it today and I had a ball watching the energy flowing from all of our coaches who will be competing in upcoming events this spring.

Today, I did a Back Squat Progression and then "Tabata Something Else".  Probably not the best idea to do squats before tabata squats from a competitive score standpoint, but like I said, I've been off for a couple of days and feel the need to get back at it -- HARD!

"Tabata" is an 8 round workout.  Each round is a total of 30 seconds; twenty seconds of work and ten seconds of rest (8 rounds = a four minute workout).  Don't laugh until you do it... Trust me.

"Tabata Something Else" is a WOD that starts with "Tabata Pull Ups" then goes immediately to "Tabata Push Ups", then immediately to "Tabata Sit-ups", then immediately to "Tabata Squats."  Yes, eight full rounds of one exercise (i.e. - burnout/failure) before moving to the next exercise for a total of 16 minutes.

It was a blast....

If you are in the Austin area and want to try out CrossFit, please contact us!  I coach a 5:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. class and we are starting to fill up, so come check it out.  We'd love to introduce you to this whirlwind...

3-2-1...GEAUX!!!

OH - and a BIG P.S. of THANK YOU for the kind comments after my last post.  I took a week away from posting just so I could click back on my blog and be humbled again.  Honestly --- those were probably the nicest words I've ever had spoken of me, and completely unexpected.