Posted by Brad on March 6th, 2010 — Posted in Journal
About a year ago, at the end-of-season wrestling banquet, I got a gift card to Chameleon Cafe. It’s been sitting by the front door since then. Going to this year’s banquet reminded me I had that card, so I finally used it.
I was able to get in right after 6pm, which was good. I don’t eat late dinners very much any more. I had fried oysters for an appetizer. They really weren’t that oystery. The cornmeal breading was tasty.
My main dish was monkfish. I loved it. I don’t know why I don’t see monkfish on menus more often. Are they rare? Are they the baby seals of the ocean floor? They certainly aren’t as cute. Maybe that’s why people eat them. Or maybe it’s because they taste so good.
The sides were also very good. There was broccolini (which is just very fun to say), and sweet potatoes cooked with bacon (smoky and sweet… mmm…). And the sauce on the plate was delicious. I mopped it all up with the monkfish.
It was a great meal. Thank you, wrestlers of 08/09.
3 Comments
Posted by Brad on March 5th, 2010 — Posted in Journal
I wore a tie yesterday that had the monkeys on it who are in positions symbolizing “Hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil, do no evil”. It’s fairly new, but I don’t remember where I got it. Since I only buy one tie per year now, I’m pretty sure I didn’t buy it myself. It must have been a gift.
After I got to school, I started wondering what the origin of this symbolism was. Then I started worrying: could it be some pagan teaching? I did a little quick research and came to the conclusion that it may have had some religious origins in the distant past, but was more of a cultural statement than a religious one. Wikipedia says:
In the western world the phrase is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by looking the other way, refusing to acknowledge it, or feigning ignorance.
I’ve never thought of it that way. I sort of took it at face value. But then, it IS monkeys. Can they ever be trusted to be straightforward?
7 Comments
Posted by Brad on March 4th, 2010 — Posted in Journal
I got a birthday present from Beth in the mail yesterday. The first part of the present was how much fun it was to try to open. I was in my living room and only had a fingernail clippers. It was an enjoyable challenge. The second part of the present was the clue on the box. It was labeled as a “box of nostalgia”, and she said “Maybe you remember.” Maybe. Heh.
Here is what was inside:
And did I remember? I had a full-blown memory seizure. I was suddenly in Grandpa and Grandma Hummel’s kitchen. I could smell their house. I could hear the radio playing. Cantaloupe was lying cut on the table. The bowl is from that kitchen.
The candy is what we called “haystacks”. Grandpa Hummel always brought it when he visited. It’s caramel flavored and full of coconut. So sweet and tasty. And so hard to find. I don’t know where you got this, Beth, but it tasted right on. Yum. I ate half the bag last night.
4 Comments
Posted by Brad on March 3rd, 2010 — Posted in Journal
Last night was our end-of-season party for Middle School Wrestling. The food was really good. One of the wrestlers has and aunt and uncle who own a pit beef restaurant. He brought beef and ham. Mmm…
I did a pretty good job of speech-making. Dave is the talker, so I left more time for him. 
The boys did a good job this year. There was lots of hard work, there was good improvement through the year, and they really pulled together and encouraged each other. Our last two matches were canceled because of snow, so the season sort of ended with a fizzle, but it was still a nice season. Good job, wrestlers.
Everyone got shirts, and the families gave us gift certificates. I got one to Toscana Italian Deli, which I’ve never been to. I’ll be excited to find out what’s there.
4 Comments
Posted by Brad on March 2nd, 2010 — Posted in Journal
I enjoy having interesting things out in the open and waiting for someone to see them. It’s like having secrets that someone else can discover.
I really like using an intact piece of chalk. It bothers me a lot when chalk breaks and I’m forced to use tiny nubs when writing on the board. When kids use my chalk, it breaks. Even when I ban them from using it, it somehow gets broken. I’m trying something different now: I’m hiding it in plain sight. A couple of kids have seen me take it from its hiding place, but they never touch it. And it has remained unbroken for over two weeks now. Cool!
Right next to the chalk is my other secret: when assigning the current memory passages, I decided to take all of them from Psalms. All three grades are in the same book. I’m thinking that if I were a student, I’d notice it right away. Especially since they’re all written on the board next to each other. But no one has said anything yet.
6 Comments