Well, my first class period went pretty well.  We got through all the material I prepared and I passed out enough candy to make them like me a little bit, I think.  After class, I set the candy down on my table up front.  Next to my projector.  Next to the exhaust fan of my projector.  The point of an exhaust fan on a projector is to move hot air out of the projector.  Unfortunately it moved all the hot air right onto my M&M’s and Crunch bars.  Guess what happened.  Those M&M’s most certainly melted in their hands, not in their mouths.

It looked like there were enough chocolates to make it to the end of the day, so all wasn’t lost.  After a free period and Forum (an all-school meeting, kind of like a chapel, but not), I met the students for Algebra 2.  Things were going all right, I had some games planned to reinforce concepts and just as I got things ready to go, I reached for my bottle of water.  The bottle of water that was sitting next to my laptop.  The bottle of water that was sitting next to my laptop with the lid off.  You see where this is going?

Well, the water not only hit my laptop, it hit all the paperwork I had put together to run the class.  I had read enough articles about spilling liquid on a laptop to know to power down immediately, unplug and leave it open to dry.  A kind-hearted senior ran and got some paper towels and helped to clean up the water all over my table.

I had some other good ideas to do in that class, but they kind of depended on the powerpoint stuff I had put together that was now drying on the window sill.  My next class was deprived of my great materials on my computer as well, so we had to go old school and use the whiteboard.

After lunch, I checked my laptop and it appeared to be dry enough, so I powered it on and crossed my fingers.  Everything seemed to work fine and I prepared for my last class, Geometry, which went off without a hitch.

All in all, the day could have gone better, and, it could have gone worse.  I could’ve had a day like my wife’s.  The students were really great, especially the Alg 2 kids that had to put up with my clumsiness.  Valor is a great school to work at and I’m excited about getting past my first day.

ESV Study Bible – This recently came out and has been getting great reviews.  I have really enjoyed the ESV translation and prefer it over the others I’ve used.  The study Bible has tons of useful articles and commentary.  I had read it had a lot of information, but I was still surprised by the amount and quality of the information it contained.  For me, one of the things I appreciate most is the online access.  Purchasing the Study Bible give you access to all of the content online.  Having access to that from anywhere has proven invaluable since the Bible itself is difficult to carry around because of its size.  Its written from a Reformed perspective which is especially obvious in passages and articles dealing with salvation.  All in all, this is the best study Bible I own or have seen.

Guitar Praise – So a while back I was at my sister’s house and somebody had Guitar Hero (or maybe it was Rock Band, I forget) for PS2.  I tried it out and thought it was a lot of fun, but I didn’t care for the music.  I told my wife that if they ever made one with some of my favorite Christian music, I’d buy it.  Well, Digital Praise came out with the PC game, Guitar Praise.  The game works basically the same.  Its not quite the same quality of the other guitar games out there, but the idea is the same.  You have five frets and the strum bar.  You can set the level of play based on your experience.  To start with, you have five songs to choose from and once you complete three of them, you unlock the next five.  The song selection is decent.  A few of them, I’m not sure why they’re included as they aren’t really heavy on guitars.  I’d like to see some bands that weren’t included added later on through expansion packs.  I’m voting for a Third Day expansion pack.  I’d love to play along to songs like Consuming Fire, Tunnel, Rock Star, Agnus Dei, etc.  I’d also like to see some Casting Crowns, Switchfoot (just to play Stars), The Afters, and some others that weren’t included.  All in all, its a fun game and I can easily get addicted.  I’d recommend your computer exceed the minimum system requirements, as I’ve had a few problems playing on my laptop.  I’d also like to get a second guitar to try the two person play with one on lead and one on bass.

Third Day Chronologies – This CD/DVD set comes in two volumes.  Its basically a greatest hits collection for Third Day.  I already owned a lot of the songs, but its revived my interest in many of them as well as introduced me to some that I hadn’t heard before.  Some of the live tracks are great, like “Blessed Assurance”.  I enjoyed the sound of “She Sings in Riddles” (off a rare EP).  I haven’t yet watched the DVD content but I’m looking forward to it.  I saw them in concert a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Bible-saturated, God-centered approach. 

“Over and Underneath” by Tenth Avenue North – A student of mine introduced me to this band and they’ve quickly become one of my new favorites.  Tracks like “Love is Here”, “By Your Side”, and “Hold My Heart” were already familiar, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed new songs like “You Are”, “Beloved”, “Hallelujah”, “Let it Go”.  I could probably list the whole album.  I rarely find an album where I like pretty much every song, but this is one of them.  There are a few bands that are automatic buys for me when they come out with a new album and Tenth Avenue North is now one of them.

So we’re at the reception after the preschool program and I was standing at a table with Arianna.  A woman came up to me with her grandson, Jimmy, who is in my daughters’ class.  She told me, “Jimmy wanted me to come and meet Sophia.”

So now I want to know who is this Jimmy kid and why is he so interested in my Sophia.  I’m just not ready for this aspect of fatherhood.

1.  The ESV Study Bible – I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and I really like my ESV.

2.  Come Weary Saints – I get my recommended daily allowance of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs from Sovereign Grace.

3.  Chronology Vol. 1 and 2 – Third Day is one of my all-time favorite bands.  I saw them in concert for my birthday and thoroughly enjoyed their great Christian testimony.

4.  Slippers – not super picky.  They just need to be comfy.

5.  Starbucks – unless somebody would like to bring Dunkin’ Donuts to CO.

6.  Rockettheme Pro Membership – These guys make the best looking Joomla sites out there.  I’ve used them for every site I’ve built so far.

7.  Wii Fit – because I can barely keep up with high school basketball players anymore.

8.  The Dark Knight – still haven’t seen it

Mom:  What are you doing for your Christmas program?

Arianna:  Someone will be Mary, someone will be Joseph, the other boys are all shepherds, and the rest of the girls will be angels.

M:  What are you going to be?

A:  Well, I’m going to ask if I can be Mary, but I’ll probably be an angel.

]]> http://markandchas.com/blog/archives/149/feed 1 http://markandchas.com/blog/archives/146 http://markandchas.com/blog/archives/146#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:41:46 +0000 chasgomez http://markandchas.com/blog/?p=146 This Labor Day, in an attempt to rest from the labor we normally do every week, we decided to head to the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa, Avery and Valerie. We packed the van up and headed off early. I have a zoo membership so we spend at least one day a week at the zoo, but it was great to have some help! We snacked on breakfast burritos that Grandma made- so delicious- and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Elijah pretty much slept the whole time. The twins love visiting the animals and constantly asked “What does that animal eat?” And Ella basked in the attention that Grandpa always gives her:)  We saw the whole zoo in about 3 hours and the girls were delighted to pick a “suprise” in the gift shop at the end of our adventure- something that I never let them do on our weekly trips:) We are so thankful for the wonderful family that God has blessed us with. The fact that we get to spend time with them on a regular basis is something we don’t take for granted!

1. Visit Italy, Hawaii, Australia, France, and Africa

2. Get Laser Eye surgery so I can get rid of contacts

3. Go skydivingand ride in a hot air balloon

4. Eat out at a fancy restuarant every night so I wouldn’t have to cook

5. Buy a convertible and ride with the top down everywhere I go (providing it is summer  when I’m dying)

6. Meet Jim Halpert

7. Finish all my scrapbooks

8. Open my own Dunkin Donuts in Colorado so western DD lovers have a place to get good coffee!

9. Get a pedicure and massage once a week

10. Love and cuddle on my 4 kids and awesome husband!!