JFF - Just For Fun

Those of you who have seen, or at least are familiar with the Bayeux Tapestry and its story may find this amusing as well! History + Star Wars = Awesomeness

Cheers!

Procrastination

I really shouldn't be blogging right now. I should be reading Hesiod's Theogeny. Or Machiavelli. Or grading essays. Or creating lesson plans. Or maliciously snickering as I create yet another quiz on Herodotus for the poor kiddos.

But I need a creative outlet right now. I need to distract my mind from other nagging thoughts. Thoughts of sad teacher salaries, prolonged anticipation for home and personal shortcomings. Including thoughts like jealousy that my roommate gets to come home to play with her dog and watch endless hours of Law & Order SVU because she teaches music. And we all know how music teachers get the fun part of the job.

I guess I should look at the silver linings.

I have my first Gingerbread Latte for the Christmas season sitting right next to me.

I reconnected this weekend with a friend who also happens to be new to the Springs.

I have my Landie back. I missed her terribly.

I finally laminated some of my history pictures and began decorating my drab classroom.

One of my students, Ramon, surprised me with a mini pumpkin loaf. He is such a sweetheart.

I received 5 history books in the mail today. They were all free thanks to my credits on paperbackswap.com.

I have a cute little hedgehog face snuggled in the folds of my blanket next to me. Something like this.

I am blessed in so many ways. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Okay. I think I've sufficiently relieved myself of pent-up angst. Time to hit the books, make a quiz on Malleus Maleficarum for the sophomores and one on Archaic Greece for the freshies!

Cheers, Lindsay & Thistle

p.s. praying for a snow day tomorrow. I need a day off!

No I did not die... I've just been MIA

Well, I've had some pretty big changes in my life lately - hence the prolonged absence. Last time I left off hinting at a highly anticipated interview at Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy. Long story short, the position of history teacher I applied to was filled the day I submitted my resume, but they wanted to meet with me anyway. The fact that I graduated from Hillsdale College was a huge deal with them and my educational philosophy fit perfectly with their school's. Three days after my meeting at The Vanguard School (name of the CMCA's High School) I received a call saying that the original position I applied for opened up again. One interview later & I'm officially a High School History teacher!!!!! I now teach 9th grade Honors Classical History and 10th grade Honors European History at one of the top performing schools in the entire state of Colorado.

God's hand has been undeniably present in every detail of this whole series of events. From unknown network connections, to unexpected referrals from previous teachers of my own, to the circumstances surrounding the positions' opening... it couldn't have played out any more perfectly. I never thought I wanted to be a teacher, but the longer I worked in corporate business environments, the more I found myself wanting the atmosphere, colleagues and intellectual expectations I love so much in academia. Now I am so excited to be sharing my love of history with these children who are so incredibly well behaved and just as excited to be at Vanguard. I love giving them little teasers for the end of the year when we'll get to studying WWI and WWII history!

I've had an unusually rough start to the year, mostly because A) this is my first year of teaching, so I have an incredibly steep learning curve to climb and B) when I assumed the position, school had already been underway for 2 weeks. I inherited a position that was abandoned by the former teacher, patched together by substitutes and other teachers until I was able to step in. Most of all I sympathize with the children. The sense of disorder, lack of consistent information and irregularity of authority figures in the History classroom must be disconcerting to them, let alone hindering to good academic performance. So I'm basically staying a day ahead of my students. Sometimes I'm literally 30 minutes ahead of them. Want to know how? For example I gave my 10th graders a test yesterday. I literally made the test the half hour before class and the copies were still warm when I handed them out at 7:45 am. These last three days have been particularly difficult as progress reports have gone out, so I am learning how to handle the righteous indignation and wrath of parents to failing students! eeeeeeek!!!

I have never really been able to comprehend how some people can be workaholics. I like my personal time, family & friend time and of course sleep. Never before have I dedicated so many hours to work so effortlessly. Time just seems to fly by and I never have enough! I'm regularly spending 12+ hour days in Colorado Springs and it feels like its only been 8 hrs. Speaking of which, yes the school is in CO Springs, while I am still living in Denver. So these last three weeks have been perfecting my hour long commute abilities at the disgustingly early hour of 5 am. A move to COS is planned shortly, so bye by Denver.... hello COS!

I'm excited to move to Colorado Springs. I found a great house with three other teachers from the high school and its only located 10 minutes away. I'm the 7th Hillsdale College Alum to come on board at Vanguard and beyond the High School there are dozens of other Alum who live in and around COS. I am so grateful to have good acquaintances nearby and other individuals who understand Hillsdale! Finally! The Springs area is beautiful. Denver and the Rockies backdrop was something new, beautiful and fascinating, but the Springs takes all that and makes it even more dramatic. It has more of a western feel because the soil has a red clay hue to it. Temperatures are cooler due to a higher elevation. There are gorgeous rock formations around the area, most famously the Garden of the Gods. More so, its beautiful because Colorado Springs lies at the very base of the Pike's Peak and the southern stretch of the Rockies. Denver lies a good half hour's drive from the base of the Rockies, but I look out my window at school and they're so close I keep thinking the sky is purple!

I'm excited to make the official move in the first week of October and begin making Colorado Springs my home. I can attend school sports events and support my students. Spend time with other Hillsdale grads and fellow teachers and resume a regular social life! and most of all work on some of my life goals more resolutely now that I have the comfort and security of a full time job that supports my academic endeavors. I'll still pursue wine on the side as an amateur - taken from the Latin roots "for the love of". Posts from now on may still be a bit irregular as I continue to smooth out the kinks and other road blocks I encounter on a daily basis, but I'll write updates as often as I can!

So have a cheerful weekend, I thank God for His infinite love and blessings, thank you all for your faithful prayers on my behalf & go Vanguard Coarsers!

Not at all bad, for a Monday

I've been pretty productive today - which is most surprising as I have been craving a day of R&R lately. Had the day off, so its been busy with errands, business calls, organizing my mess of papers, et cetera.

One such important errand includes making a trip to the local Borders. As you may know the entire corporation is folding up, hence uber discounts at store liquidations! I had to slap myself on the wrist when I almost bought the entire series of "The Pacific" on Blu Ray for $40. Amazing deal, but God, will you please mark it down even further before I go back again??

I decided I'll wait till after Thursday (to be explained) and treat myself after my important meeting. So today I settled for Laura Inghram's latest book, "Of Thee I Zing," ($9 for a $30 book? Yes, please!) It's a social commentary on the decay of our American civilization today, from "Muffin Tops to Body Shots" as she wittily describes it.

As per Thursday, I am looking forward to driving out to the Springs and meeting with the director of a Charter High School that is classically focused much like Hillsdale. I'm really excited to meet with people intimately familiar with Hillsdale, its mission and values. As my fellow graduates would testify, it is extremely difficult to explain and have people understand the concept of Hillsdale and the Liberal Arts. So in short, this is a very special opportunity for me - I long to re-immerse myself with academia.

On another note...

Here is a long-forgotten story about American generosity to our troops during WWII. Incredibly touching!

Recently saw this documentary on how big our government has become since the Reagan administration ended. It was pretty helpful actually, and it simplified some principles that seem to get lost in political jargon. The documentary also pointed out this Obama faux pas. I'm surprised that A) I haven't heard this till now (then again, I did live under a rock at college) and B) who would elect a guy that doesn't know how many states make up the USA?!?!?

Nevertheless, if you wish to be patriotically inspired, Noonan's "When Character Was King" is an incredible portrait of Reagan's character and the American optimism of the time. I've only read one chapter and I'm already emotionally drawn in.

Speaking of Reagan, if you ever find yourself vacationing in Southern California, you simply MUST visit the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It was a gorgeous facility and a wonderful experience!

Wino Wednesday | What would you pay for an old bottle of vinegar?

Better late than never, right?

Today's post was inspired by my latest read, The Billionaire's Vinegar. What a fascinating book! A brief summary for you all... In 1985, a cache of wine was found walled up in a Paris basement. The bottles were old and engraved with "Lafitte, 1787, Th. J."

Now here's some Wine 101. The old spelling "Lafitte" refers to one of the premier crus in Bordeaux, Chateau Lafite. To give you an idea of its value on the market, recent vintages from 2009 or 2010 can go for as high as $4k. Another thing to know about some of these prestigious Bordeaux growths is that they are most often made with the intention to age. Why age a wine? Have you ever had a red that was much to big for your palate to handle. It may be overly strong on the tannins leaving a "furry" feeling on your tongue. Well, over time, the minor amount of oxygen in the bottles will temper the wine giving it a completely different taste and softening out those harsh tannins. In fact, back in the 18th and early 19th centuries, European aristocratic families would constantly be stocking their wine cellars, not for themselves, but for their progeny. The wine you drank was what Dad bought.

The date 1787 on the bottle obviously made this Lafite extremely valuable. The question was - has it exceeded its prime time? Bottles left to age too long will start to lose their flavor. The engraving most important to this bottle was the "Th. J." Can you guess what that indicated? The wine hunters of that day had uncovered a treasure trove of bottles of Lafite, Yquem, Petrus and other prestigious vintages once belonging to Thomas Jefferson, well known for leading the American discovery of fine wine.

To make a long story short, Christies first auctioned one of the Jefferson bottles and sold it for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. Wallace narrates the story from there, the history around the bottle, Thomas Jefferson, the elite circles of antique wine collectors, and ultimately the dark mystery of its origins. What I loved most about this book is it takes a complete 180 halfway through - it kept me mesmerized the entire time!