I can't be held responsible for the things I say or write...

6.15.2008

Watching game 5 of the finals

I'm watching the NBA finals right now and it's fun to watch, Lakers v. Celtics, whoop de freakin do.

So I guess it's exciting, but these games really don't seem much different to me than a regular season game, other than the stakes. OK, they do, but they follow the same pattern as all regular season games. Team A goes on a huge run early. Team B then follows up with a run of their own and HEY, what do you know, we have a close game in the end.

So I guess that's exciting, if incredibly predictable is exciting...which, in this case, it is. After all, after (man, 2 afters in 3 words...talk about impressive) Thursday night's game, I decided I would live if the Celtics actually won this title. My anti Boston sentiment wouldn't initially allow it, but how do you root against a team with 3 superstars who play together, one who was loyal to his old team for years, another who has mentored younger players his entire career and the third a guy who has played in boston, with all that scrutiny and drama that comes with that, only to be there for 10 years now...add to that the way their role players play and they play defense first...I'd have to hate sports to not be happy for this team.

Anyway, I have no idea where I was going or how far I diverged, but I did have a purpose for boring you with NBA comments...or at least I did. Completely gone now.

Well, i guess we should talk about something else then. I'm happy to announce that I found a car in Mario Kart Wii that makes it fun to play with Toad again. I had been playing with a whole bunch of randos, but now I unlocked this ATV looking car that works with a superstar of Toad's size, I can now comfortably compete with the legend that is Toad.

Man, I wish I remembered what the hell I wanted to write about the NBA...lousy ranting going nowhere.

I know it had something to do with the rules because I think a ton of NBA rules are just pathetic. First off, they penalize for hustle. Why is it that if two guys dive for a loose ball and contact is made, there is a foul called on the guy who doesn't get possession of the ball? That frustrates me to no end. I also think offensive fouls shouldn't count as personal fouls. They should have their 6 personal fouls plus like 3 offensive fouls...Maybe that's too many, so how about this: 5 or 6 personal fouls and offensive fouls count only as team fouls? Cool enough? Man, I hope.

I REMEMBERED:

Here is something I think is completely ridiculous:

In the NBA, the bench is pretty damn close to the court. A lot of times, players shoot 3s from right in front of this bench. It's not illegal for a player on the bench, to stand up and scream in the ear of someone who is setting up a shot. Why not? If anything, this is just terrible sportsmanship...actually, that's exactly what it is and exactly why I think the league shouldn't allow it.

You can't criticize an official in the NBA. On the court, they give you a technical foul. Off it, they fine the shit out of you.

Flopping was a big issue this post season. Plenty complained and the rule next year is that players who flop will be fined. To me, that's pretty soft. I'm not positive, mainly because I only read that players who flop will be fined on ESPN's bottomline, but I don't think offending players will get fouls called on them. It's seems a little soft that you're going to fine a player who doesn't commit a foul? Or maybe they are giving fouls for it too. If that's the case, then it's all rad with me.

But back to the point. Why is it permitted for bench players to scream in the ear, wave towels and stomp feet behind and next to a player on the court, in bounds? Like I said, I think it's pretty unsportsmanlike. Now, if the players on the court want to yell or whatever, so be it...but those who are resting or just bench or role players shouldn't be allowed to have an effect on the actions of the opposing team on the court...that is the role of the fans, IMHO.

6.11.2008

Oh Mighty My!

Hello from a far away place! Officially, the Live's are residents of NYC.

First things first, some exciting news to report. Nope, no procreation to speak of...yet...or for a few years...but:

QP Live is officially a 6th grade Math teacher in the NYC public school system!!! Just got the call a few minutes ago, so I figured, "Hey, what a sweet way to let some people know without making 8 phone calls". By the way, thanks to the loyal 8 of you that might still check this. I know it's been a bit since we've caught up on the interweb here, but times are busy.

I have to say, I think I'm pretty lucky. Last Tuesday, I drove a U-Haul from DC to my parents place in NY. From there, I showered, shaved and put on a suit, got in my car and drove to a job fair. I met with a bunch of prospective employers, some who took my resume and simply said "Thanks" and a few others who took the time to talk to me and ask questions/answer some of my questions. In the end, I had one school ask me to come and give a demo lesson, another who invited me to come and visit and a third who said "We'll call you next week to set up an interview".

The demo lesson was Tuesday. I was to give a 60 minute demo lesson to a 6th grade math class. A few things you should know:

- I've never taught anything before, so 60 minutes scared me poo-less.
- Despite my ability to speak non-stop, inappropriately and whenever the spirit hits me, I've never spoken for 60 straight minutes.
- I recently taught myself math all over again. This was a must because after freshman year of miserable college math classes, I'd pretty much forgotten everything.

So I was nervous. However, thanks to good ole goooooogle and some fond memories, I put together a rad lesson that must have been what the school was looking for because they offered me a position that day. Sweet, right? Well....

The fellowship program I got into that has me looking for teaching jobs is NYC Teaching Fellows. In this program, they assign you a teaching area, which is also the area you will work towards a masters degree in. I was assigned to Special Education, so any job I found had to have a majority of my time spent with special ed students.

The school I demoed at already filled their special ed position before I got there, presenting an issue. Was I wasting my time doing a demo lesson there? Part of me wanted to walk out because I was pretty nervous about doing it in the first place. Thankfully, I sacked up and realized it could be fun and moderately successful it was. Successful to the point where I was offered a position at the school about 10 minutes after the lesson...

So that meant I had to try to switch my certification area...Is this possible? I had no idea. I figured it could be since it was kind of arbitrary that I was assigned to Special Ed, so we'll see, right? Right. Well, the administration at the school didn't want to force me to switch out of Special Ed and the NYC Teaching Fellows people didn't want me to be forced out...So I got to thinking, what would be best for me?

I don't think I'd always want to just work with special ed students and the only reason I was going to be doing so was that I was assigned to it arbitrarily. The school is pretty amazing. It's a public school that acts in a similar fashion to the KIPP schools and other charter schools. It's relatively small (about 300-400 students) and has similarities to the environment that I went to middle school in (i.e. dress code, expectations, etc.) Best of all, they seemed to really like me and to tell me how I'd be a good fit personality wise. These are all good things in my mind.

So it took a day of calling back and forth between NYC Teaching Fellows and the school to hammer it out and as of 4:45 on Wednesday, I was officially offered the position.

So I had to cancel a school visit and I still have to call and cancel an interview, but this is a pretty good situation for me. It's about a 35 minute commute to the school (Yankee Stadium is on the way home!). I also needed to change my certification area from Special Education to "Common Branches", which is more elementary...which also means I need to change the school I'm studying at for my masters. This is decent...at least I think so. Before, I would have to commute all the way back to where I live now and go back uptown on another train to get to my college. Now, I just get back on the same train and head 6 stops further up the line to get to the college...not too bad in the end.

So that's the work update. Let's get to the "You're a complete effing moron" update.

So like I said, I drove a U-Haul from DC to NY last Tuesday. Move in day was last Friday, so it sat at my parents house until then. All was good until Friday until we packed a few more items into the truck. In the excitement, Dr. Live and I take off down the ridiculously windy road my parents live on and then another mile away before I turn and ask, "Did I close the truck?" Obviously the answer was no....

Oops.

But those that know me know this: I am an amazing packer. I can pack almost anything in an amazing amazing (imagine that) way. For example, one year Mo was moving from Cape Cod to Colorado. He stopped by my parents house with his pickup packed to the rim. the night before he drove down, he won a cot in a poker game. So I got to thinking...he's going on a road trip, visiting many friends on the way with a truck bed full of apartment stuff, including a makeshift bed...I'm making this into an apartment. So I take everything out of his truck, set up his rug in the bed of the truck, set the cot up and pack everything else around it to the point where he has an apartment in the back of his truck. sweet.

Anyway, so I'm a pretty good packer, meaning not one item shifted in the back of the open 14 foot U-Haul, including the lock that remained on the bumper all the way.

Dunce moment # 1.

When we finally arrive in Manhattan, after having to drive the truck through the entire city, I park at the end of the block where our building is. A spot opens up directly in front of the building, so I hop in the truck, start backing up, hear a horn and figure this is NY so it could be anything and then feel a bump. I start to wonder what that could be because I know there is no street lamp behind me when I realize that there is a NYC Sanitation car behind me.

Oops.

Turns out, this guy turned the corner and pulled in behind me. Now, I was already illegally parked, so this guy was twice that. I couldn't see him because there is no way to look out the rear view mirror of the truck and this guy was so close the side view mirrors were no help either. So I get out and we see that the hitch of the truck punctured this guys license plate and bumper. After a brief discussion of "Are we cool?" and then another "Are we cool?" the guy was like, "Yeah, sure." WOOOHOOO.

Dunce moment # 2

So now we're unpacking the truck. Dr. Live asks where the bed frame we just bought from IKEA is? The one that only fit in my XUV if we leaned forward in the front seats and would easily fit in a half full 14 foot U-Haul.

OH that? Oh, that's at my parents house, sitting 10 feet from where the U-Haul had been parked.

Dunce moment # 3.

Once we're all unpacked, it's time to drive the U-Haul all the way back through Manhattan to the return place in the Bronx. Considering the NYC driving style, the size of the truck, etc., it was going pretty good...until we cross a bridge that for some reason doesn't have street lines. I was OK with it because I was in the far left lane and had a barrier next to me. The truck to my right wasn't as capable, so we played kissy kissy with our side view mirrors. Here I am 1/2 mile from the end of this monster truck with no damage to report when the side view mirror is thrust up against the truck.

Oops.

Fortunately, the truck mirrors are made to do this and no damage is there to report...just a blue balling story.

Dunce moment # 4.

So that's my boost mobile.