Just Tie Your Shoes!

The other day I noticed a student had their shoes untied. This could lead to some unfortunate things like falling down the stairs and getting seriously hurt or beginning an escalating series of events between students ultimately ending in a fight and missed class time as well as another headache for me and administration to deal with that doesn't involve educating our youth which we are primarily paid to do.

You may think I am making too much of a simple untied shoe, but after a decade in the classroom you learn how "little thing" lead to big things more often than not. In this case, a loose shoe string may be stepped on by another student intentionally or unintentionally angering the student with the untied shoe. This leads to words of frustration towards the "culprit" creating a response that is rarely positive. Next thing you know people are talking about the other's mother and pushes follow with punches next and we end up with some conference in the office over all this stuff that has nothing to do with an untied shoe.

But to be completely honest, when I told the girl that her shoe laces were untied and she should tie them, I was thinking it was just a safe thing to do. I didn't want her face first in the ground at some point.

Well, God forbid I tell another person to do something!!! The look of disdain and complete resistance I received from this child was out of line. By no means was I disrespectful to this child. In fact. I thought I was helping her. How do I deserve this?

Here is my other problem: Let's say I didn't say anything. Or let's say I didn't persist until she finally tucked the lace in her shoe (mainly because a peer finally stepped in and said the obvious, "Just do it, it's not that big of a deal"). If she did end up tripping and falling down the stairs or getting in a fight because another kid stepped on the lace while she tried to take a step, who would mom or dad come barreling into school to blame? Me. Or her teacher. Or the principal. Oh, that wouldn't happen all the time, Huey. Uh, well, it happens a lot. It happens often at my school anyway and has for 9+ years at least. The majority of the time a student gets in a fight, the parent storms in and wants to know how we disciplined the other party in the fight. Their main focus is not on holding their child accountable for their part in the altercation, but in keeping us in check and making sure we are fair. It goes back to the lack of trust in our schools and the disconnect between parents and teachers.

I can only look at me. I can only control me. I need to focus on what I am doing. So i need to make sure I am putting forth the effort to communicate with parents from day one to help create the connection myself. There are things I can and need to do to fix this kind of problem. But to be honest, when I get the treatment from those students like this on a daily basis I just lose my motivation. I internalize the negative feelings I just received and feel horrible and downright apathetic. It becomes that much harder to go the extra mile. And I have a family. I want to spend my evenings with my wife and daughter. I need to spend time with them.

This is what cuts to the core of my displeasure with the current state of affairs in my life right now. I am tired of doing the right thing, or trying to, and somehow getting blamed for other people's lack of effort or resistance to me. I am tired of the resistance period. But then to get that resistance reinforced, frustrates me even more.

I mean, all I am doing is telling someone to do something that will benefit them! Why am I the bad guy here?

Open Letter to the Haters

As I read the articles aiming "told you so's" at me and my Buckeyes and skim the comments from college football fans around the country, I see some things that need to be cleared up. So anyone who loves to hate the Buckeyes and their fans let me clue you in on a couple of things.

First, we KNOW our team is overrated. We watched that game too. As a matter of fact, we already knew before the game started. The amount of phone calls into local AM sports talk radio here in Columbus were overwhelmingly siding on the side of "We are going to lose. We are not as good as our ranking." OVERWHELMINGLY! Can I say it any louder. So when people like Mark Kriegel write that "...everyone but the fans who root for Ohio State" were giving Tressel and the Buckeyes alto of heat, he is wrong. (Mark Kriegel MSN.com linked right here) Tressel has been getting heat from Buckeye fans for at least this past week if not the whole off season after the second weak showing at the BCS Title game where our presence was questionably deserved in the first place. No Mr. Kriegel, Buckeye fans understand the over hyped misranking as well.

Secondly, we also know the Big Ten is not very good. We understand that our schedule has been weak. But guess what? Your team does it too. Yes LSU fan for instance. Your team's schedule is poor. At least we played USC and will again next year. Things go in cycles. Take a look at Florida St. See Nebraska. Think about Miami. Don't forget the beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. In fact Miami has come and gone and come again and is now gone again just in my lifetime. They'll be back too. The Big Ten is weak right now. This conference will be back soon enough. In the meantime, OSU will have to hear about it, but don't think as a fan base we are ignorant to the obvious. We are not. Oh yeah, and let's not forget USC was not exactly killing people back in the 90s. They were down for awhile as well. Of course OSU was in the mix back then as they have been for the past several years overrated or not. So while you bask in the limelight of Mark May, ESPN and Hollywood in your backyard, don't forget that OSU consistently finds itself in the top 20 even during down years. Nebraska, Florida St., Miami can't say that. Shoot, I'm not sure Oklahoma and USC can. My facts may need to be checked, but outside of Michigan, not too many teams have more overall wins that OSU.

But I'm getting off my point. Right now, we are not that good. I, and many other Buckeye fans get that. The true fans don't wear blinders and scarlet and gray sunglasses. We see and understand the reality of college football.

Next, not everyone of us digs that overexposed OH-IO thing. We didn't realize it was going to go this far. It is fun for the kids and the fringe fans. But seriously. Those of you getting absolutely sickened by it, same here. We all have our unique college chants, catch phrases, fight songs, mascots and traditions but this one is getting blown out of proportion. I agree it needs to be put to rest for about a decade. Or kept within the confines of Ohio Stadium or whatever bowl game we play in....maybe a tailgate or two.

Finally, your little nicknames for us like "suckeyes" or "luckeyes" are not that clever. Just because you can switch one letter to make a different, derogatory name doesn't make you smart. Much like the OH-IO thing, it is getting old. Whatever positive coolness you got out of it has worn out. It is just sad now. But I guarantee it is going to be thrown about a whole lot over the next couple months so go ahead and get your use out of it but know when something has run its course please. Move on. You can come up with something better. I know you can. Go get 'em haters!

I know you all love to put down other programs. I know how much the common college football fan loves to talk smack and kick a team when they're down. I know it is getting boring to kick Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida St. and Miami around so you have switched your focus on us, we are fresh and much more "new" and trendy, but understand this: We aren't blind or foolish enough over here not to realize the same things you do. So don't act like we are stupid.

******************
For the local readers, Bruce Hooley of WBNS 1460 The Fan is a good journalist and see,s like a perfectly nice, intelligent guy. But I rarely see eye to eye with this guy and this morning was no different. After reading an article that stated Mark Sanchez felt as though the Buckeye defense was predictable because they played the same looks they saw in practice and it made things easier on them to score against us, I get in my car and listen to Hooley complain that Tressel didn't stick with the game plan he has used the past 8 seasons or so. What the?!

Granted he was speaking more of the offense but.... For real, what did he think was going to happen if we just ran over tackle all day! Didn't he himself say that last week's vanilla, predictable offense was the reason we struggled with OU? He was really ticked off about constantly switching QBs and blamed that for Boeckman's unending turnovers.

NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is my take:

1)Heacock needs to be fired yesterday. The defense's game plan sucks! Ask Sanchez.

2)When Tressel was switching QBs, the offense moved. In fact it managed to score. With that scheme, the offense marched down for a field goal. Scored a TD taken back by a penalty. And marched down for a missed FG by no fault of the offense.

3)Where I have a problem with Tressel's decision was when HE WENT CONSERVATIVE like Hooley wanted. The second he left Boeckman out there and did that off tackle crap we went nowhere. What was that Hooley?!

4) I have to bring up that 2nd and 22 play call when he ran Boeckman on an option for the third time in the game. I get the decoy, change it up thing but not the thrid time. Not in that situation. What did he really think we were going to get out of that? Either do it with Pryor or don't do it at all. Go with a mid range pass that was usually open at that point in the game. Give yourself a manageable 3rd down play.

5) I don't blame the QB switching for Boeckman's problems at all. He did the same things before when he wasn't switched out. This is just par for the course.

6) I do put some of the blame on the offensive line. T.B. had no time in the pocket. He deserves alot of blame but the additional reasons were not the switching is and out as much as the lack of protection from an overrated line in front of him.

7) I really like Pryor and can't wait to see him as he learns the offense more and begins to mix in more passes. He showed some arm strength that lit up my eyes.

Thank you sir can I have another!

@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here I am again. Wait, I should say here WE are again. Buckeye nation and I stand before our peers with our heads down and ready to take another lashing for being overrated and over hyped and we have nothing left to say. It was hard enough before this game but at least we had this game to look to for redemption. Now the sword is even deeper in our hearts and we have no reason for hope of redemption anywhere on the horizon.

Yes, the loss today to the USC Trojans will set us and our beloved football program back even further. What it will take to earn national respect again may be insurmountable. It will takes years and probably numerous championships to get any credibility back. I just pray Jim Tressel can continue to go into the living rooms of the best high school football players out there and look them and their parents in the eye and tell them Ohio State is still as good as any other program for their kid.

My fear is that the same Jim Tressel won't be able to coach his way back to national prominence. I have been a big, big fan of his. He won me over in '02. Actually he won me over before he got the job. The resume he brought with him from Youngstown State and his passion for Ohio State and his class pushed him to the top of my wish list after John Cooper was fired. But now I have watched him get out coached by guys I thought he never would, Les Miles. I have seen questionable play calling. I have seen horrible defensive schemes and lack of adjustments. What has happened?

Today's game was horrible. After last week and careful reflection, I knew it was going to happen this way. Check my earlier posts. Even when I tried to be positive in my preseason prediction I referenced this possibility. The offensive line was over matched. They tried to play physical but when you are getting called for holding penalties like they were, you know you are not able to do what you want. Those are signs of lack of discipline or inability to maintain a block. Todd Boeckman was horrible. He continues to be a turnover machine in big games. The defense couldn't do anything. They were also over matched and outplayed. The fire was there. They were aggressive and gang tackling but there wasn't enough pressure and they couldn't tackle McKnight before he was 5 yards or more down the field.

I am thoroughly embarrassed, demoralized and deflated. I have had to hear everyone around the nation hate on my team and my team's conference. I wanted to be able to counter their attacks with something but I got nothing. Their side has been fortified tonight.

Maybe this is a good thing though. We knew this was coming. Maybe we have now finally reached our bottom so to speak. The days of being overrated can now end. Everyone obviously sees our deficiencies. we will now be ranked lower. Nobody is going to think we have a chance. Not so many people are going to pay close attention to us. There won't be so much hype surrounding the program for awhile. We can kind of fly under the radar for awhile. We can lick our wounds. Other fans can forget about us. Turn their disgust and spiteful feelings somewhere else for awhile like.........Florida! How about Georgia! Maybe Oklahoma!

This senior class can finish out this season with their eyes now on winning the Big Ten and getting in the Rose Bowl. That is still pretty cool and respectable. They can then go on to the NFL and underachieve there. Then we can focus on this new crop of Buckeyes talent. We can start fresh next year without all the eyes and expectations on us. We can start the season ranked in the teens and slowly creep up. We do get USC again next year and you know they will still be Mark May and ESPN's darling. We can sneak a win against them at home. Maybe the Big Ten will be a bit more respectable. Penn State and Wisconsin can do their part and Hot Rod Rodriquez may have Michigan up and running better. Throw a couple big wins against those squads in '09 and quickly we could move up to that coveted #1 or #2 hole and get another shot at it. This time we may have a better chance with Pryor, Small, Posey, Sansabacher, a revamped offensive line and defense. I think we'd have a new kicker too.

This is probably what we need. No more questions. No more excuses. There was no 30day layoff this time. There was no way Wells would have made enough of a difference to win this game. There were no bad calls that cost us the game. No fluke plays. We got beat and beat bad. Everyone saw it. There are no two ways about it.

Take a deep breath. Take it like a man. Lose with dignity and pride and move on. I must write before I end this that Tressel and the players did lose with class tonight. I was proud of that. Each interview was handled with respect. You could see the anger and disappointment in their eyes and demeanor but they answered the questions with frankness and class. Tressel sat at the press table and answered each question the same way he always does. Nobody blamed anybody or made excuses. They admitted USC was the better team. They admitted they made mistakes. They admitted they wanted to win bad. They admitted they were hurt. They said they still had plenty to play for. They said they were not finished with the season. They handled themselves like men.

And I thank Jim Tressel for that. I may begin to question a whole lot else but I won't questions the man's dignity and the class of his players. We can be proud that our Buckeyes can at least do that.

Is this Fatigue?

Let me tell you...this post is all about me unleashing some venom.

I am really cranky, irritable, and tense. I don't want to work on this house anymore. I feel like we have been racing to get things done for months now and we still have so much more to go. I thought I'd feel some satisfaction from crossing off things on the to do list but each thing that gets scratched off turns into two or even three other things to do!!!

Also, I feel guilty because there have been numerous people helping out. My wife is doing more than I am doing. Her expectations are a bit higher than mine. Her parents have helped out tremendously with their expertise. As I blogged before, fixing things is not my forte. I need much help and education. So I shouldn't be so tired of this.

In addition to the frustration over the amount of work, we have spent a tremendous amount of money on these things. If I have to watch my wife buy any more flowers, paint, brushes, light bulbs, blue tape, box cutters, door stops, carpet, carpet padding, floor tiles, glue, light fixtures, towel racks, top soil, grass seed, pipes and pieces for pipes I never heard of or knew about, and so on...I will gouge my eyeballs out slowly and mercilessly. I can't even pay for this because I am dead broke. Ok, ok not really broke, but broke after the bills are paid. Nobody's filing for bankruptcy here.

So far my vacation has consisted of ripping out bushes and mini-trees, growing grass. pulling weeds and planting a garden, pulling more weeds, cleaning the shutters, painting the garage, three bedrooms, outside trim, pulling off wallpaper in the basement, painting that basement, fixing two bathroom sinks, putting up a towel rack, taking down and putting up two light fixtures, fixing two three lights, getting new carpeting, fixing baseboards and putting in three new vents, boxing up clutter and taking out furniture not used anymore, finding a plumber to fix the leaks we didn't get, calling to get bulk trash pickup and then finding out we have to dump most of it somewhere ourselves, hearing nobody will help with the shutters leaving us to deal with them despite the fact that they are too high up for our ladder, dealing with a misquote by the stupid people at Home Depot and still going back to fix another mistake they made on the price, dealing with the nickel and dime crap they put us through with the charges for installation (easy one time charge of $199 my ass!) and planning with the wife and in-laws how to do it all.

And I still have to paint the back exterior steps, plant more grass, level more of the backyard, paint the rest of the garage, move furniture while the carpet people install because moving furniture wasn't in their contracted amount, figure out how to rid ourselves of the piles of trash in our garage, fix the smoke alarm and CO2 alarm, fix the front outdoor water socket, fix the back patio exterior outlet, seal the driveway, steamclean the basement carpet, paint my daughter's room, clean the place up and down and more that I have forgotten.

I'm really pissed off.

My poor daughter is getting bored and my patience with her is nonexistent. Her mom takes her all over the midwest to amusement parks, county fairs to ride rides and meanwhile we have her watch us work. We try to let her help us paint, she loves that, but she drips it all over the place. I am trying not to take it out on her or my wife but they are getting the brunt of it.

I am glad this is happening when we have time, the summer. To think how stressed I would be if I was teaching through all of this? Missing my football on the weekends? Oh my, my, my. To think if I had to do this on my income alone? Fortunately, my wife makes enough to pay for this while I keep cranking out the monthly bills and debts. We haven't had to put any of this on credit cards.

This was my attempt at venting....exhale.



Ok, I feel better now. Tomorrow is a new day. Day of more work...but new attitude.

In my opinion....

I have stayed away from politics for the most part on this blog because I am quite ignorant about them. But I obviously have an opinion on many hot button issues of today so I am taking this opportunity to share with you my stance on some things and look forward to reading some comments that may support or disagree with my positions.

First of all, let me begin by stating that overall, I am rather moderate in my views I would think. I fall on the left on a number of issues but on the right on others. Many times my views have changed as I have grown up, entered different stages of life or experienced things to see them differently.

2008 Election:
I voted for Barack Obama in the Ohio primary. I am not a 100% backer of Obama though. I like Hillary Clinton as well. In fact, I even fell into that category of people that may lean democrat but liked McCain. I still prefer McCain over any of the other Republican candidates. But I as I have read more about McCain, I have become less comfortable with him.

So as of now, I would love to see a Obama/Clinton ticket. Here's why: I am a proponent of change and I think they will bring it. Things are really bad right now and have been for awhile. I can't tell you why or whose fault it is, but it's somebody's. So fresh blood needs to be infused.

I like the fact that they are really pumping changes in Healthcare. I am not knowledgeable enough regarding their ideas or how well they will go over in Congress and much of that, but something needs to be done and I feel there is a better chance something will be done to help the middle and lower class if they are elected. That is pretty much the running theme for me in most other issues: Which candidates will help the middle class most? I highly doubt Republican John McCain will.

Gay Marriage
I strongly have a problem with people's basic civil liberties being taken from them. I was under the impression that this country was founded on freedom. We obviously had issues with this for over a century and still do in terms of race. But it seems like we have been at least trying to move in the right direction over the past 50 years. It seemed like progress has been made with the feminist movement, civil rights and so on. So why take such a step backwards?

Also, I was under the impression that this country was founded on the freedom of religion and separation of church and state. I will respect a religion's view that homosexuality is wrong. While I disagree and will choose not to practice that religion, I will continue to respect that belief system unless it gets to the point of promoting the harming of gays as a result. These religions should therefore have the right to not recognize the union of same sex couples. But the government should not be making this decisions based on these religion's particular beliefs either. I understand many people like to use religion to drive morality but it gets very scary the more you do this. Religion has been used to oppress many people many times throughout history currently with the lack of gay rights and even in the before the civil war to justify slavery.

In a democracy it should be up to the people. And as it has been, the people of this hillbilly state have voted same sex unions down. So I can't say much except that my vote and opinion is for the freedom of same sex couples to be united and sharing in the benefits of traditional couples. Love is love. Both parties are able to aknowledge it and honor it, so I support it.

Welfare
I feel as though there are people in our country that need assistance and the government should be responsible in part to provide them with it. As fellow citizens, we should chip in.

Even if we have a problem with giving our hard earned money to other people we have no "connection" with, it benefits us in the end as the overall quality of life will be better. I don't feel good when I see or hear about people living on the streets or unable to get medicine especially children. I don't like driving around run down areas. I don't like being a victim of crime because someone is desperate for money.

While I realize this can never be completely fixed and people get themselves in these predictaments much of the time and should get themselves out, there are legitimate situations where honest people need help. I, too, have a problem with people living off the system. I understand welfare, obviously, won't fix it. And I worry the system promotes laziness and feelings of self-entitlement, but we can eradicate this without ridding our fellow citizens of welfare all together. We just need to rethink it and do it right.

Death Penalty
Simply put: I am for it. I know it isn't a reliable deterent. I know it costs alot. I am also afraid of killing someone who didn't commit the crime. But when it comes to serial killers, rapists, mass murders and major criminals, they need to be removed from our society completely. They did it, so they should suffer the same consequences.

Abortion
Toughest one for me. In my heart I am pro life. And in my life I choose to do everything I can to handle my situations in a prolife manner. But I see the other side clearly. The woman's body is the woman's body. There are situations when abortion unfortunately needs to happen. I think if we asked God what the correct stance on this one is, it would say something both sides would not want to hear. (Kathryn M. Huey circa 2005)

In my mind, the focus of both sides should be more on finding a way to prevent the reasons for abortion as much as we can in the first place. For example, wising up and providing birth control in schools. It won't promote more sex. New flash: Kids are already doing it. They have been for decades now. No sex until you are responsible enough to handle it is ideal and should be emphasized but let's be real, kids will aren't going to listen so prepare a back up plan.

If all the time in energy we spend fighting about what is right was spent on how we can avoid unwanted, unprepared pregnancies in the first place I think we could get so much closer to not needing abortions (except EXTREME conditions).

Education
NCLB stinks. Holding teachers accountable is a good idea but this not the way to do it. Penalizing instead of rewarding isn't a successful tactic in this case. Education 101 could teach you that. Funding for schools in Ohio, at the very least, has been ruled uncontitutional several times and nothing is being done about it. More and more pressure is put on the teachers with less and less support. The students need people. Teachers need people. We are spinning our wheels in the mud changing the ways we teach every couple years and keep missing the point. The problems are coming in with the kids from the streets or homes. Teachers then have to deal with them directly or indirectly before they even start to teach. How do we solve this? PEOPLE! Resources IN THE SHOOLS. Social workers, nurses all day everyday, assistant principals, classroom aides beyond kindergarden and security.

Then as we teach, please let us teach fundamentals in the lower grades. Middle schools and high schools can teach the higher level conceptual stuff. They need the basics first and we are so worried about teaching higher level conepts in 2nd grade that they go to middle school without knowing math facts or parts of speech. We need to go back to the old school of contructivism.


My Solution to MANY of the issues and problems we have today
In addition to the issues I grazed over above, there are many other problems. I have a solution to most if not all of them. Birth control in the water. We can then control the population better. We are not taking the right to have children away at all. Adults with an income and steady job history, insurance, passing parenthood exam score and classes passed and no more than 3-5 children already in the household can apply for a parenting liscense each time they want a child. Then they can obtain the shot required to neutralize the birth control and have their child.

Listen, I know. This is far fetched and scary. I get that. I am bordering on fascism if not already there. But think about it. Think of how things would be.

Celtics or Lakers
Neither. Can't stand either of them. KG ticks me off. Kobe is a premadonna and lying cheat to his wife. Boston fan is the most annoying sports fan EVAAAAAAAAAA!! Forget them both!

So what would you call me? Liberal? Conservative? I never can tell.

I Can't Stand Boston Fans

Coming from Cleveland I have a lot of built-in bitterness towards other cities. The weather sucks most of the year in Cleveland, the economy has been bad more than good, there isn't as much to do without having to work to find it and the voters in this state are idiots more often than not. But at the same time, like many other Cleveland natives, I take it personal when people insult or joke about my hometown (or area since I never technically lived in Cleveland itself...that's a whole other blog post in itself). I notice many people from Cleveland are quick to defend it or prove its legitimacy. It is like we have a chip on our shoulder regarding our place of residence. I haven't picked up on that with people in Columbus yet.

We also love our sports in Cleveland. And we have collectively put up with a lot of pain and suffering with our teams. No team has won a championship here since before my generation was even born. We had our beloved football team taken from us. We have had heartbreak just short of getting to a championship several times over in dramatic fashion.

These are things I have blogged before. This time I am venting about another so called "torchered" city. This being Boston.

What prompted this post is an HBO special I watched with my brother about the Brooklyn Dodgers. After watching and seeing how the fans in Brooklyn dealt with even more gut wrenching disappointment than me and my fellow Cleveland fans losing to the hated Yankees in the World Series seven times before they finally won I believe. And I think it went to 7 games more than half of the time. They also suffered through "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" homerun by Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants. I think that was the year they blew a 13.5 game lead as well. And THEY lost there team as well just like my Browns.

Ouch.

Anyway, HBO did a great job of mixing the first hand accounts and emotional music in the background to create a dramatic feeling of support for the Dodgers and their epic struggle. Then came another documentary on the...Boston Red Sox and their "supposed" struggle to win a World Series. The "Curse of the Babe." Their numerous heartbreaks to their bitter rival Yanks. Oh, those poor fans. They had such a difficult stretch of time rooting for their Sox, and Pats and Celtics and Bruins.

When the Patriots began their Super Bowl run earlier this decade I had to hear all about how AWESOME they felt. After dealing with so much they finally were able to get the monkey off their back. They had waited so long to have that feeling. They didn't know what to do with themselves. The demons were exorcised. Life was grand. The sun lit the sky again. Life was worth living. All was right with the world.

And then again when the Red Sox won the Series we had to bear all of this AGAIN with even MORE pomp and circumstance since it was the battered Sox and the Curse was broken.

Apparently the Celtics and Bruins didn't count? The fact that the Celtics were viewed as one of the greatest basketball franchises ever meant nothing. The Patriots had at least made it to the Super Bowl once. The Bruins won the Stanely Cup in recent memory.

Put that aside. What bothers me most is the downright arrogance of the Boston fan. Please. I can't stand your overdramatic, exaggerated "pain." Your rings mean nothing.

Not only do we have to deal with the lack of championships in Cleveland, the ridicule that comes with it, the weather, the bad economy, being the butt of jokes around the country, losing our team we care most about, the conservative voting hillbillies and closeminded types but we don't even get credit for all of this pain. Of course we do if it means jokes and insults will follow. Somehow dealing with lack of success in Boston is romanticized while in Cleveland it is rubbed in our face.

Don't cry for me Boston fan...I'm already dead.

All This Bad Stuff

I realize this isn't the healthy way of doing things. Right now I should be exclaiming all the positive in my life, but "that ain't gonna happen!" You are lucky enough to read a list of things I am tired of in my life right now (and others):

1)Middle school kids coming to my elementary school to fight. Sometimes the elementary kids themselves? What does that prove?

2)People with no clue telling me how to do my job.

3) My boss' boss trying to blame everything on her instead of taking the heat like a man and standing up for a decision he and his other "people" made for her.

4)Kids doing the wrong things and just staring at me when I tell them to stop like I mean nothing to them because....I do mean absolutely nothing to them.

5)Kids consumed with bullying other kids. Just flat out meanness.

6)The impending economic demise of our country. Not to mention the current problems (i.e. gas prices, weakness of the dollar, unemployment etc)

7) The closed mindedness of people in this country and the results of their closed minded votes. (i.e. banning gays from marriage without giving religions the choice themselves to recognize it or not and the concealed weapon law here in Ohio)

8)Lack of legal funding for our schools.

9)Teaching overcrowded classrooms and losing support staff.

10) Being held accountable for someone else's results and being vulnerable to their mood or disposition on a given day.

11)Busting my butt all day at work just to come home and realize how lazy I really am.

12)Feeling like I've done everything wrong in one of hte most important roles in my life....fatherhood.

13)Dealing with school districts that won't cooperate in giving my daughter the attention she needs. And wondering how parents of kids with same needs get what they need for their kids knowing even less than I do.

14)This weather and time of year.

15) The Jackets can't seem to get their stinking rear ends in the playoffs.

16) Drew Gooden now joining Andy and Sasha on the injured list.

17)Nobody reading my blogs.

This is the tip of the iceberg, I just have to go to work.