Josh & Megan

So, it’s been a while since last I’ve posted – I’ve been a bit busy. It’s not that there haven’t been plenty of things I’ve wanted to blog about, but between student teaching, classes, and my required blogging for school, I just couldn’t work up the creative energy to write anything worth reading (not that I normally think my posts are terribly interesting, but still…). Since last I posted here I spent a full school year student teaching 9th grade English, and just recently received my real-life honest-to-God certification, yay! Though many have expressed concern for my mental health, I truly love working with those awkward, spastic, goofy freshmen. It may be that I’m a bit of a weird spaz myself, but I really connected with those kids in ways I never expected, and even the most challenging of days (and there were many) were peppered with moments of success, vindication and joy. Currently I’m taking some classes to finish out my Masters degree and hunting for a teaching job (few and far between at the moment). Though this last year has been the busiest and most challenging I’ve yet faced, it’s also been one of the most rewarding and has confirmed without a doubt that I’ve found my true calling in education.

a couple of my crazy kids posing as crazy Mr. C

Well, it’s been a while since I last blogged, but it’s not for want of topics. I started this blog well before I was to start school in the hope that by mid July I would have my updates down to a science so that whole school thing wouldn’t grind me to a halt. Unfortunately school starts in a week, and I clearly haven’t perfected the mechanically systematic update schedule of my dreams. But fear not, I’m not suggesting that I give up. To make up for my recent blog silence I’m going to condense my unwritten posts to a series of bullet points.

• Working at Boeing
  Despite my self declared “temporary retirement” I’ve found myself working more than I ever expected. Since early May I’ve been consulting for an aerospace company called TechSAT, working mostly with Boeing on their behalf. I’ve found myself doing everything from software development (light lifting only) to small hardware projects, to phone support to PDX to get a 747’s data loading network properly configured. Kinda crazy…

• Death Cab for Cutie & Decemberists Concert
  Meg and I roadtripped down to Bend to catch a couple of my favorite bands at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. On the way down we stayed with my grandparents Caldwell in Kalama. In Bend we stayed with my aunt and uncle and celebrated my Grandma McCormick’s birthday with some of the family. The concert was fantastic, despite some serious thunderstorms just before. Sat in the beer garden, drank local wine, rocked out. On the way back up we stayed with some friends in Vancouver and had a delicious home cooked meal (mmmm, four cheese macaroni).
  

• Student Teaching at Timbercrest
  At the end of May I went to Timbercrest Junior High in Woodinville to interview with a potential teacher mentor for my student teaching. Turned out great (despite the school being in the middle of nowhere) and I’ll be teaching 9th grade English and AP English for the forseeable future. Downside – school is too far for a 50cc scooter, so I’ve had to put that plan on the back burner.

• Beerfest
  Went to the Washington Brewers Festival and had a beer-fueled blast. Visited my pal and client Joel from Two Beers Brewery and tasted some fantastic Washington microbrews. This is definitely going to become a father’s day tradition for us (may even take my dad some time).

• Avenue Q
  Went to see Avenue Q at the Paramount with Meg. It was ridiculously awesome, like Sesame Street for the post college crowd. Bert and Ernie would be proud (or Ernie, at least).
  

• Fremont Solstice Festival
  Naked bicyclists, insane crowds, muggy weather, scrumptious foods, cool crafts, and a creepy clown in a van…
  

• Redhook Brewery Tour
  Headed down to Woodinville to do some wine and beer tasting, but after a pint of beer with lunch at the Redhook pub and 2.5 more pints during the tour there was no room for wine, but plenty of room for a good nap. For anyone who hasn’t done it I would highly suggest the Redhook tour, $1 gets over 2 pints of beer and a souvenir glass. A great way to kill an afternoon (or a weekend).

• July 5th BBQ
  Had some friends and neighbors over for a great 5th of July BBQ. Finger-lickin’ kalbi short ribs and chicken satay on the grill, followed up by Meg’s homemade shortcake and whipped cream topped with fresh berries (our neighbors Kevin & Amanda brought over the best fresh picked strawberries EVAR!)

Apparently my current state of temporary retirement has finally started to affect my mental health. For years I have avoided blogging, believing firmly that no-one could possibly care the trifling details of my day-to-day, but today that comes to an end! I simply have too much time on my hands not to bore the rest of the world with the tedious details of my lunchmeat preferences, so prepare yourselves to learn more than you ever wanted to know about Josh (and maybe Megan if she can be so convinced).

On the other hand, I may bore with blogging before you can say “First Post”, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.