Did it to myself…

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I’m taking two classes this summer – one in the Mini-term (Criminal Justice 433) & one in the first term. It was either go with the summer classes (which I’ve never done) & be done in about 7 weeks, or wait & take 2 classes in the Fall semester (August – December 2006) After discussing it with the fam & doing some searching of the dark recesses of my soul, I opted for the 7 weeks, knowing that packing a semester into 7 weeks is demanding. Boy howdy.

I switched my graduation date from December 2006 to 1 August, got my final two courses approved by the appropriate red-tape cutter, & dove in w/o a break from the Spring semester.

So, here I sit with my head spinning… Feel like I’m on the machine… Not to 50! There’s 4 days more of class #1, TYVM (thank you very much,) knowing far more than I ever wanted to about prisons & just how inaccurately they are depicted in movies, TV, THE media, etc. Why Criminal Justice? Needed an upper division elective from a non-Liberal Arts/Sciences College that would be offered during the mini-term…

First term I’ll be in a 4 credit Geology w/lab class – Its also a required course that I should have taken in 1987. Sue me. I hope to become something of a rock-hound. A rock-hound that stays inside most of the time & looks at rocks virtually. Cool.

Trying to continue with some semblance of life at the same time. Did it to myself… Drop dead date: 7/14.

Speaking of Spokane – #2

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More Highlights from the weekend in Spokane

  • Watching the dog whisperer for the first time. Not Moe & his German shepherds; the real dog whisperer (DW) who’s got a TV show where he teaches & trains peoples dogs (Kinda like a canine “Super-nanny”).

    The DW cracked me up with silly comments, all made with a lisp, about a particularly aggro-dog, like “Ooooo. He becames excited.” Actually, the best part was that all of us were sitting in my brother’s living room watching this – my brothers, Ope, Bender, & Whitey. All guys. All glued intently to DW & his lispy wisdom. I guess you had to be there. I was.

  • Flying Southwest, & watching my brother spread out his stuff in order to discourage people from sitting next to him on the flight. I loved it because he made it look completely random, yet each movement had been specifically calculated to repel humanity. Good times.

  • Eating an entire rack of ribs all by myself.

  • Visiting the Gonzaga gym – where the magic happens (by that I mean where the hoops team plays.) Very cool – very small, but very cool.

  • Seeing Spokies. Cowboy chic meets hippy-grunge meets 80s hair (TRANSLATION: Mullet central. Mullets galore.) Loved it. Uniquely Spokane, from what I’ve been told. I especially was glad to see the guys in the house behind the alley who were on their garage roof shooting a gun at something. Very nice. From a distance.

    • I believe a good time was had by all, especially me.

    Test. Test. Is this thing on?

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    FROM THE UK (& from the journal of things that pastors’ fear)

    THE sound of a preacher having a WEE was broadcast to his entire congregation. The Rev John Hawdon accidentally left his radio mike on when he nipped to the loo. Worshippers heard him making quite a splash…

    The full article is at newsoftheweird.blogspot.com – it had a link to The Sun, which I chose not to include here.

    Speaking of Spokane – #1

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    My finals are over – offering me a one week respite between Spring & Mini-Term, which rolls directly into the first term, & then… el fin. I know the relief that I feel with the end of my undergraduate career firmly in sight. I can only imagine the oliphaunt that has been removed from brother Moe’s back upon his completion of 3 years of some of the most intense academic labors known to humanity: law school. Way to go Moe!

    As you know, last weekend was the celebration of Moe’s accomplishment, & I got to go to Spokane to celebrate with him & some friends/family.

    HIGHLIGHTS FROM SPOKANE

  • hanging out with brothers & friends in the backyard w/brats & a brew

  • getting to see the house where Moe & Jen have lived for the last 3 years – & how they’ve transformed it from a “fixer-upper” to a home – how they did this while still doing school & being married simultaneously is a source of wonder

  • walking through the downtown area – great architecture & some cool sights – Reno could take a lesson from downtown Spokane

  • visiting Gonzaga – nice campus, cool brick buildings, requisite student bookstore to buy GU bling & merch, etc. – But in the law school library, they have stacks & stacks of books/bookshelves known as “the stacks.” You can turn a handle & actually accordion the stacks apart & together. Much joy was found by attempting to trap each other between the stacks. Note: an alarm sounds if a person is in the stacks. Note #2: my mom tried to squish me between the stacks, albeit unknowingly. I think. :)

  • seeing my brother, w/his flowing mane & dressed to the 9’s, dudded up in his cap & gown, cross the stage when they called his name. Imagine that. I flashed back to the times before he was called Moe. I was transported to a living room on Upson Lane, where he was a <2 year old that had somehow acquired the nickname Goonit McWill, the little Whosit (from the Martin/Lewis movie ‘The Stooge’ I believe.) He hadn’t yet grown into his ears, & was quite the precious sight to behold. My brother Johnny & I didn’t quite know what to make of our little brother, as I was only about 8 & Johnny was about 5 – but we knew that we loved this little guy & we would spend all kinds of time playing hide & seek – GMcW’s favorite hiding spot was under the desk, behind the chair; he was probably the only one of us that could fit back there. We’d pretend we didn’t know where he was, & then he’d come crawling out & try & run for home base – we’d sweep in & turn it into a pro wrestling gala. Good times. I love being a big brother.

  • seeing Moe sweep his wife of 3 years into his arms after graduation for a hug – knowing only a handful of the pain, toil, hard work, & joy that was crystallized in this short embrace – he who finds a wife finds a good thing & receives favor from God. Yes.

  • going to Baccalaureate Mass on Friday night & listening to Benj sing along in his special falsetto with the cantor with the castrato-voce. I almost rolled on the floor listening to Benny hit the high notes, which I couldn’t even begin to approach.

  • Another highlight was figuring out that the cantor would raise his arm, like making 1/2 of the letter ‘Y’, when it was time for us to sing, vs. him going solo. To think that I wondered why no one else was singing. Der. I hate not knowing what is going on.

    • Highlights – to be continued…

    Seen any Spokies?

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    I’m off bright & early in the a.m. to go to Spokane in order to be a part of the festivities that surround my brother’s graduation from Gonzaga Law School. Time has truly flown by, & the last 3 years seem to be only about 9 months in the scope of my fast-fading minds-eye. Still, Moe is done, & has passed his tests with flying colors. He even has a “clerk-ship” lined up with a judge in the Capitol City of Nevada. He & his family will be moving here in July-ish.

    Now, don’t get the idea that I get to be Uncle Louie yet – their kids are 2 German shepherds named Mulder & Zotti – Mulder is a rare, white German shepherd, & has a personality to match from what I’ve heard. My other brother has two dogs too – Higgins & Carter, both of which are mini-pinschers. Which means that with my mini-Pastor Jack, there are a lot of dogs of German heritage hanging out in the backyards of the Locke boys… (I’ve heard that this factor makes Opie a little jumpy. Don’t worry: PJ loves you.)

    Back from the digression: one of the things I am most looking forward to seeing in my first (& last) trip to Spokane is a hidden people group reportedly living in Spokane. These rare creatures resemble Arkies, Mizzou-ans, rednecks, hicks, & other such fans of the Dixie Chicks & Buck Owens Bakersfiel’ country music, from what I’ve been told. I’m hoping that Moe takes me to a place where the Spokies can be observed in their natural habitat.

    If I’m lucky, I’ll post with any discoveries I make in the next 72 hours.

    5th Grade Birthday Party Invite

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    I thought I’d share the following with you – one of my kids received it from a friend. When we get an invitation to something, it immediately goes up on the “party cabinet,” which serves as a visible reminder of the upcoming social calendar.

    Yeah that’s right I’m having a birthday party
    and you’re invited to it. I’m turning 11 and
    having the coolest party ever. There will be
    swimming {bring a bathing suit or swim in what
    you have}, food drinks, games, and a lot more.
    This will probably be the best 5th grade party
    ever. So if you want to have the best time of
    your life, then come to my party.

    May 13th. Mark your calendars.

    School

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    I have 2 days of school left in the Spring semester, if you don’t count (which I don’t) the day (5/15) that I have to show up for Final Exams. All of my requirements for the semester have been completed & turned in, which makes attendance today (& Monday 5/8) seem like a really, really bad idea. Especially with the advent of summer.

    If I don’t go, what do I miss?
    Reviewing for the final in Law & Ethics, where our prof. is doing all he can to make it so that no one fails…

    A few really, really awkward moments in my public speaking class…

    Two great lectures on Ronald Reagan, the fall (& future rise?) of the Iron Curtain, & the Bush/Clinton/Bush presidencies.

    Going through the hoops…

    Immigration…

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    TULTITLAN, Mexico – Considered felons by the government, these migrants fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take their money.

    While migrants in the United States have held huge demonstrations in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico suffer mostly in silence.

    And though Mexico demands humane treatment for its citizens who migrate to the U.S., regardless of their legal status, Mexico provides few protections for migrants on its own soil. The issue simply isn’t on the country’s political agenda, perhaps because migrants make up only 0.5 percent of the population, or about 500,000 people – compared with 12 percent in the United States.

    FULL ARTICLE

    Quote…

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    Here’s a quote from EL 401 – Educational Law & Ethics – or How to navigate through teaching in Nevada’s public schools

    “Keep in mind that education is really political – get the parents on your side, so that it is harder for the principal to go after you. It is much more difficult to prosecute a teacher that everyone likes than it is to stick it to the person that no one really likes. Don’t be that person that no one likes…”