Tag: lists

  • rapid cycling gets you

    Ben, my colleague from Seattle, turned 37 on Sunday – so a bunch of us got together at Coast Café last night for dinner and celebrations. he really is a very cool guy – and i am very thankful for having him around! he’s been a friend to me since my first day here. come to think of it, he’s the closest thing i have to a “best” friend on the island :0)

    anyway, dinner was a relaxed affair with the usual sharing of dishes, stories and language tips that make buxiban socializing fun. and then it happened – a very pronounced episode of dysphoric mania reached it’s crescendo.

    looking back, i can see that this episode has been building for a few days – but it was only when my Taiwanese colleagues started asking me if i’m alright that i realized what was going on… NOBODY gets THAT excited about a cup of coffee! i’m not sure i spotted all the symptoms that got them worried, but i realized i was:

    – laughing randomly at myself
    – jumping from one idea to another (not necessarily obviously related)
    – giddy with excitement when my first (and only)refill (black coffee, no sugar) finally arrived and
    – spouting totally random sentences at equally random intervals.

    thankfully i recognized the situation and excused myself. i drove home carefully, as i was beginning to twitch – which can be dangerous on a scooter.

    walking into my apartment i could feel the switch in my brain flip. i got in bed just in time to sob into my pillows. major high followed by major low.

    symptom checklist:

    • period of heightened irritability followed by an excessively good mood;
    • pressured speech; rapid talking
    • decreased need for sleep and insomnia;
    • flight of ideas and the subjective experience that thoughts are racing;
    • easily distracted / attention-deficit;
    • increase in psychomotor agitation;
    • unrestrained buying sprees (Ben got quite a gift bag *lol*);
    • feelings of hopelessness (especially with regards to my relationship);
    • unprovoked yet overwhelming sense of sadness and
    • thoughts of suicide (recognized as symptomatic and treated that way)

    bipolar disorder is definitely not for sissies – and rapid cycling turns life into an extreme sport! hopefully the risperdal keeps things under control. there are only three weeks left of this semester – and we’re preparing for oral tests! not exactly the best time to go nuts ;0)

  • celebrating 1 year of sobriety!


    it’s amazing! waking up this morning, i could hardly believe that today’s my first birthday as a recovering alcoholic. what a trip!!

    so much has happened,

    • reconnected to God
    • relocated to Taiwan to teach
    • got a job
    • got an apartment
    • got a scooter
    • met the most incredible person (in the romantic sense)
    • settled most of my debts
    • reconnected with those i lost along the way
    • quit smoking
    • forgave and was forgiven
    • found peace

    since i decided to break out of Baker Street:

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjYVyndrQuU&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]

    Winding your way down on Baker Street
    Light in your head and dead on your feet
    Well another crazy day, you’ll drink the night away
    And forget about everything.

    This city desert makes you feel so cold
    It’s got so many people but it’s got no soul
    And it’s taken you so long to find out you were wrong
    When you thought it held everything.

    You used to think that it was so easy,
    You used to say that it was so easy
    But you’re tryin’, you’re tryin’ now.
    Another year and then you’d be happy
    Just one more year and then you’d be happy
    But you’re cryin’, you’re cryin’ now.

    Way down the street there’s a light in his place
    He opens the door, he’s got that look on his face
    And he asks you where you’ve been, you tell him who you’ve seen
    And you talk about anything.

    He’s got this dream about buyin’ some land
    He’s gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
    And then he’ll settle down, in some quiet little town
    And forget about everything.

    But you know he’ll always keep movin’
    You know he’s never gonna stop movin’
    Cause he’s rollin’, he’s the rollin’ stone.
    And when you wake up it’s a new morning
    The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
    But you’re going, you’re going home.

  • the blessings keep rolling in!

    hold on to your hats! i’m flyin’ high on some good vibrations today :0)

    first i hear that i’m one of my student’s idol – and then i get a marie antoinette: a real person- a real award!

    thank you so much to Rod (kickin tina) for this surprise :0)
    what do you do when your hero hands you an award like this?

    smile and spread the love, baby.

    here are the rules for the award:

    1. please put the logo on your blog
    2. place a link to the person from whom you received the award (kickin tina)
    3. nominate at least 7 or more blogs
    4. put the links of those blogs on your blog
    5. leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

    i browse, read, enjoy and devour quite a number of blogs on a daily basis. choosing the top 7 isn’t easy and some of my choices are 100% biased – but i’d like to tip my hat to the following stars in my blogosphere:

    1) Life and Times of a Gay Man in Idaho
    2) Feisty Female
    3) Bipolar to Bipolar
    4) Jockohomo Datapanik
    5) PinkSheep’s spot
    6) The Mangina Monologues
    7) Defying Despondency

    (also – if you haven’t already – do yourself a favor and check out kickin tina)

  • bullet list madness

    it’s one of those saturdays: my brain is running spirals through 4 dimensions and neither of my twins – nor my subconscious archer – have anything remotely resembling a grasp on the horse’s reins…

    just a taste of what’s buzzing upstairs:

    tiramisu requires:

    • Mascarpone cheese
    • raw eggs
    • sugar
    • espresso coffee
    • ladyfingers
    • liquor (substitute)
    • cocoa
    • heavy cream (should never be merely optional).

    5 experiences i’d like:

    stages of learning:

    • acquisition
    • fluency
    • generalizaton
    • adaptation

    or:

    • unconscious incompetence
    • conscious incompetence
    • conscious competence
    • unconscious competence

    for apartment:

    • mirrors
    • crockery
    • frames for art
    • art
    • comfortable couch
    • heaps of old books (hardcover-ish)
    • mop (cleaning service?)
    • fix the washing machine
    • drawing board
    • magnets (idea board, fridge etc)
    • lighting solutions
    • air conditioner
    • sound system (O.Cat speakers?)

    check the lease – maybe a smaller apartment is the answer?

    freelance income supplements:

    • copy writing
    • magazine work
    • apparel design (graphic tee trend set to grow before it finally blows over)
    • creative studio (too soon)
    • resurrect life-stylist concept

    aaaaaarrrgghhh – go to sleep!

  • … a job that lets me travel


    last night’s 8th graders’ conversation class got me thinking (again).

    the topic of our class was: “I want a job that lets me travel”. i asked each student to name the top 3 identifiers of their dream jobs, which i listed on the white-board. afterwards, we discussed each student’s answers, their personalities and what we know of them and “chose” their ideal occupation. it looked pretty much as follows:

    Andy:
    1) help people
    2) lets me play
    3) not 9 to 5

    Peter:
    1) easy
    2) lots of money
    3) nice office

    Tom:
    1) work from home
    2) lots of free time
    3) creative

    i was astounded – as by the end of the evening i realized that i had:
    1 philanthropic, professional basketball player,
    1 writer and
    1 arms dealer in my class!

    it got me thinking though… i’m probably not going to be TEFL for the rest of my life – so what would my list look like?

    i’ve come up with the following identifiers (in no particular order) – what would you suggest?

    • work at my own pace
    • creative in various disciplines
    • mix with people
    • non-prescriptive client base (minimal stressful interaction)
    • lets me travel
    • lets me breathe
    • conceptualization (start projects rather than finish them)
    • social impact
    • financial freedom
    • celebrity

    i’m such a gemini, aren’t i.

  • healthy relationships are all the rage

    judging by my blog stats – this post from 4 september 2007 seems to be very popular lately. worth a re-post, methinks ;0)

    • Love should be honest.
    • Avoid that which is bad in favor of that which is good.
    • Let your affections be kind, sincere and honorable.
    • Honor each other.
    • Be the example.
    • Never cool in your commitment.
    • Nurture and develop your enthusiasm!
    • Serve the Lord.
    • Rejoice in hope.
    • Be steadfast in the face of oppression.
    • Pray.
    • Help those around you.
    • Always be courteous.
    • Bless those who persecute – for they are hurt.
    • Never curse another.
    • Share in the joy of those who rejoice.
    • Share in the sadness of those who weep.
    • Always find agreement amongst yourselves. (“find” is a verb.)
    • Never, ever be conceited – in fact, avoid the conceited.
    • Choose in stead those who are humble – and be humble.
    • Be mindful (not proud) of your opinions. Learn more.
    • Forget about getting even – hurting those who hurt you, hurts more.
    • Rather fill your hearts with goodwill towards all mankind. All year long.
    • As far as possible, live in peace with everybody. Make it possible.
    • Revenge is not in your jurisdiction – leave that to God.
    • Rather care and provide nourishment to those you believe to be your enemy.
    • Even more so to those who believe you are their enemy. (The lesson goes both ways.)
    • Do not let evil overcome you.
    • Defeat evil with good.
  • reminders

    my cellular is probably the single tool i rely on the most in my day-to-day existence. not only are all the important people in my life 1 sms away because of it – but it also keeps me on form, on time and (what passes for) sane through memo’s and reminders.

    to illustrate, here is my list of reminders for today:
    0600 – wake up sunshine!
    0615 – check you pulse
    0630 – you snooze, you loose!
    0645 – break the fast
    0700 – flock (and blog something)
    0800 – shower time (can’t touch this!)
    0830 – leave for school
    0900 – lesson 1 @ Rabbit class
    0945 – snack time!
    1000 – lesson 2 @ Rabbit class
    1045 – lesson 3 @ Rabbit class
    1130 – lunch and nap time
    1400 – wake up Rabbits
    1430 – lesson 4 @ Boston class
    1515 – lesson 5 @ Sydney class
    1620 – TCE 8 @ buxiban
    1720 – snack time
    1730 – Ea 73 @ buxiban
    1900 – 8th grade conversation class @ buxiban
    2030 – dinner
    2200 – proofing and prepress @ SA
    2330 – midnight snack

    *aside: my ipod touch desperately wants to help out where my phone cannot go – but without a speaker it’s alarms are useless. (anyone want to send me the new iphone? *lol*)

  • 33 Funny Exam Answers

    1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics.They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.

    2. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible,Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children,Cain, asked, “Am I my brother’s son?”

    3. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada.

    4. Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.

    5. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn’t have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.

    6. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.

    7. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

    8. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the java.

    9. Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long.

    10. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out: “Tee hee, Brutus.”

    11. Nero was a cruel tyranny who would torture his subjects by playing the fiddle to them.

    12. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was cannonized by Bernard Shaw. Finally Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the same offense.

    13. In midevil times most people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the futile ages was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature.

    14. Another story was William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son’s head.

    15. Queen Elizabeth was the “Virgin Queen.” As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted “hurrah.”

    16. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper.

    17. The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies,comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Romeo’s last wish was to be laid by Juliet.

    18. Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

    19. During the Renaissance America began. Christopher Columbus was a great navigator who discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic. His ships were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe.

    20. Later, the Pilgrims crossed the ocean, and this was called Pilgrim’s Progress. The winter of 1620 was a hard one for the settlers. Many people died and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for all this.

    21. One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. Finally the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay for taxis. Delegates from the original 13 states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backwards and declared, “A horse divided against itself cannot stand.”. Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

    22. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.

    23. Abraham Lincoln became America’s greatest Precedent. Lincoln’s mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. The believed assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposedly insane actor. This ruined Booth’s career.

    24. Meanwhile in Europe, the enlightenment was a reasonable time. Voltaire invented electricity and also wrote a book called Candy.

    25. Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the autumn when the apples are falling off the trees.

    26. Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German half Italian and half English. He was very large.

    27. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

    28. The French Revolution was accomplished before it happened and catapulted into Napoleon. Napoleon wanted an heir to inherit his power, but since Josephine was a baroness, she couldn’t have any children.

    29. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is In the East and the sun sets in the West.

    30. Queen Victoria was the longest queen. She sat on a thorn for 63 years. She was a moral woman who practiced virtue. Her death was the final event which ended her reign.

    31. The nineteenth century was a time of a great many thoughts and inventions. People stopped reproducing by hand and started reproducing by machine. The invention of the steamboat caused a network of river to spring up. Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the work of a hundred men.

    32. Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbis. Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the Organ of the Species. Madman Curie discovered radio. And Karl Marx became one of the Marx brothers.

    33. The First World War, caused by the assignation of the Arch-Duck by an anahist, ushered in a new error in the anals of human history.

  • 10 things: I miss about home

    this morning i’m acutely aware of the absence of hot coffee in my life…
    one longing thought gives rise to the next and – before long – we have this:

    1) the strong, black coffee my Dad woke me up with each morning before Bible study,
    2) Bible study the way me and my folks do it,
    3) big, chunky, wholesome salads,
    4) supper-club on tuesdays,
    5) hugs,
    6) the style network
    7) drinkable tap water
    8) non-alcoholic beer
    9) the African outdoors
    10) peanut clusters

  • Funny metaphors used in high school essays

    I just received the following e-mail from a friend in Oman – and I very nearly wet myself!

    THIS is why I want to teach Creative Writing!
    _________________________________
    Just in case you need some writing inspiration. Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year’s winners:

    1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

    2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

    3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

    4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef.

    5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

    6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

    7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

    8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

    9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.

    10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

    11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you¹re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30

    12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

    13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

    14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

    15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.

    16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

    17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

    18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

    19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

    20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

    21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

    22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

    23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

    24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

    25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
    _________________________________

    LMAO – someone please tell me there’s a website with all of these!