All,
This week saw a lot of relaxation for me. I didn't really do much but hang out with the kids, get a full workday at the school, watch our dream home go off the market, and hold a "beer tasting" at our house. You will have to read all the way to the bottom to find out what the winning beers were in this very scientific testing of 13 beers! I also found a website where you can watch live sports on your computer, so I have also been enjoying watching the Royals in their recent hot streak. Yesterday was even more fun as they beat the White Sox by getting 19 hits for the 2nd straight day and scored 14 runs. The best part (or worst if you don't like this sort of thing) was the brawl that occurred when the Royals batter got beaned by the pitcher. The pitcher threw 2 straight pitches up and in and then hit him on the 3rd. The Royals young ace pitcher later hit a White Sox batter and got ejected too. The bad blood between these two teams is now worse and willlikely only increase before their next meeting in 10 days. So what does this have to do with my title this week? Well, the Royals pitcher had to hit one of the Sox because it is an unwritten rule of baseball: "If you feel you were hit intentionally, then you must hit one of their batters. Don't aim for the head, go for the side.". Greinke hit the guy in the hip with a straight fastball. The White Sox manager was angry after the game saying a Royal batter broke an unwritten rule by bunting when the Royals were up 6-0. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But when KC almost blew a 6 run lead in the last couple innings the day before and the batter hasn't hit for a week, I don't think it was on purpose. Now, as I write rules for my high schoolers and even the 6th and 7th graders that I am going to attempt to teach this year, I am contemplating some of life's "unwritten" rules that I have come across....
(video of brawl: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280803107 )
1. "Never ask a teacher what its like to have their summer's off". A guy actually did this several beers into poker night with 5 of us teachers. I have never heard our group get so quiet. Even worse, 3 of the guys were head coaches, 2 who had practice or games virtually every day of the summer. Its like asking a "stay-at-home" parent if they ever plan to "work again". It may not be work as the working world knows it, but a stay-at-home parent works year round and a teacher works during the summer, some actually even hold real jobs!! Weird!! As for me, I have changed my overhead notes into powerpoints, downloaded educational videos off the Internet and copied them to DVDs, moved my classroom to a different room, updated binders for all my classes, made a 80-slide powerpoint to use for 2 of my classes, made a school blog and 6 school websites for my classes, and now started my lesson plans and paperwork for the upcoming school year. Oh yeah, and this wasmy first summer "off" to take care of the kids, which has been a ton of fun. But no...we don't have summers off!
2. "Every guy has a turn when buying pitchers of beer". Four guys out for some beers and one guy says "how about a pitcher" and all agree. When the beer comes, that guy pays for it immediately. When the pitcher is gone, one of the three guys left volunteers. This continues until all 4 buy one. This is actually why guys get drunk...this rule forces 4 guys to drink 4 pitchers. What if one guy has to leave? Very easy unwritten amendment to this rule. That guy, after taking barbs for being a wuss and leaving, leaves a $10 bill to cover the next pitcher and tip. Simple. I have only seen one guy not buy a pitcher when it was his turn and he is no longer teaching at our school. I also jokingly "bought" the 5th pitcher at a bar in Council Bluffs where the 5th pitcher is free....not cool. Now, for you women, you have your own confusing rules and tend to pay at the end and have to all get out your calcuators to calculate down to the penny who owes what. After 4pitchers, the group of women look like drunk accountants. Besides, if four women drink four pitchers of beer without any guys noticing and offering to pay for any of the drinks, you should probably have another...you deserve it! But make sure you all chip in $2.37!
3. "If the temperature gets above 95 degrees in Iowa, all TV News must start with the 'weather' and the weather person must make some cheesy joke and then say...but it could get even hotter tomorrow!". I don't have much to say about this rule except that it is freakin' hot here today and I am not allowed to have contact with the forecasters anymore due to a restraining order stemming from 3 straight massive rain storms they "didn't see coming". Well, our basement saw it coming you overpaid idiots, so why couldn't you? That black cloud headed our way? Yeah, you might want to check that out. Oh, and no clouds in August...uh...it will get hot, its not news. It's Iowa, it happens.
4. "If you are first at a stoplight and going to go straight, stay out of the right lane". Not a biggie, but a pet peeve of mine. I know its not always possible, but if you are going straight, stay out of the right lane. I hate waiting to turn right behind a car that is going straight. When I do it accidentally, I do try to pull forward as much as possible so that cars can get by to turn. Don't pull forward too far or else you will get T-boned and then everyone gets angry!Okay, four unwritten rules is probably enough for a hot Monday. Only 1 or 2 more Monday Emus/blogs from me, then it is off to what will be my hardest and longest semester of teaching/graduate schooling ever. I hope to get a couple Emus/blogs out during that time, but we will see how it goes. Stay cool and dry and enjoy what's left of the summer!
Love&Prayers,
Ben
Things to ponder/leave you with this week:
1. Six couples were at our beer tasting and we tasted 3 oz. samples of 13 beers through a blind taste-test with the focus being on dark or less common beers. In the end, we had 2 clear champions. First place was a beer called "Newcastle Brown Ale". This had a dark look to it, but tasted very smooth and even those who didn't like dark beers liked this one. Second place went to my #1 beer: "Boulevard Wheat". This beer is a little darker than your typical Bud/Miller Light and tastes great with a lemon slice. Both can typically be found at a liquor store or Hyvee.
2. Are the actors in the Dark Knight cursed? Heath Ledger died before the movie was finalized. Christian Bale (Batman) dealt with a strange assault charge on his own family. And now as I write, Morgan Freeman flipped his car several times and is listed as "serious condition". The news is just breaking now, but weird news for the key actors in the movie.
3. I will leave you with an intersting money saving concept started by some local Des Moines guys. Look at the site and read about how they got their start and what magazines have talked about them and where their clients are located. Interesting...http://www.smartypig.com/
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