These Are the Days

I go 2 weeks without a post & then I hit up 2 in a couple days. This is worthy of it…I was trolling ESPN.com one last time before I went to bed tonight & this headline rolls across the screen:

BREAKING NEWS: Favre Will Play In 2006

I immediately broke into celebration & then flipped on ESPN. SportsCenter was just cranking up & it was their lead story. Brett will light it up this year & will bring another Lombardi Trophy home. I may have to party it up all night, my Packers have a team next year!

Earlier in the day…

I had been trolling NASCAR.com, I know all of you are loyal readers…When the headline:

Paint it black: Junior to drive black No. 8 Sunday

Not sure what to expect, I clicked the link only to see the most beautiful hotrod I have seen in years. The car is unbelievable. I guess I am just a huge fan, but I had chills from head to toe. The car honors Dale Earnhardt’s induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame.

My main man Kevin Harvick won last week at PIR, Jr. is winning this weekend in that hot ride. It’s going to be sweet.

Currently Playing…
Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll
By Keith Anderson
“Every Time I Hear Your Name”

Posted by D. Schwa at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

It has been a while since I have written anything on here. Well, where to start…

I have been teaching 6^th grade the past couple of weeks at Washington Middle School in Green Bay. For most teaching program, you sit & observe for this portion of your education. At the SNC, you actually get to student teach for 5 weeks. It has been awesome.

Washington has a student population that is roughly half minority, just a little different than the 1% minority population we had at DePere High. 70% of the students are on free & reduced lunches. This means we are not exactly talking about the wealthiest families. Parent involvement lacks also. For conferences my 1^st week, 10 of our 45 students had parents attend.

Give the above statistics, you would never guess how awesome the kids are. The experience has been so much more than I expected. It was hard at first to get used to being called Mr. Schwa, but the respect you get from the kids is great. Considering a lot of their home circumstances, it is hard to believe the excel as well as they do.

Another great part has been the teachers I am working with. They are pretty much exact opposites & it is fun working with the contrast on a daily basis. Both have done anything and everything to help me out. I have also meet a ton of people in the district which will pay off come graduation time in another year.

I have been doing my part to experience everything I possibly can at the school. In the 1^st couple weeks I have already set up a book exchange program for my students, as well as a basketball tournament during study hall, & have gotten involved as a track coach. There are a few other things I am looking at tackling in my time there. Next Wednesday, May 5, I even get to go on a field trip down to Milwaukee. It’ll be my 1^st field trip in years & I am stoked.

There are a ton of funny stories I could tell, but I will wait until I am out of the school to unload a few. Maybe the funniest so far has been one of my students persistently trying to hook me up with her older sister. On the other end are some of students, cocaine, & prostituation.

If you know how much I hate waking up anywhere before noon, you’ll be amazed that I haven’t bitched once about having to wake up at 6 everyday. I won’t lie, it has been rough at times but I have so much fun at school, it more than makes up for it.

I think the best part of the experience has been validation. A lot of people doubted I would ever get this far. I always had a plan to get back to school & always knew I would graduate. I am backing that all up now. Not only am I doing something I love, I am excelling at it & performing at a high level. Not a lot of people can claim that. This has done a ton for my already soarings elf confidence so watch out.

Summer is coming soon & I can’t wait. Last summer I learned a lot about myself & had a lot of fun in the process. I plan to duplicate that this summer. I can’t wait to see where the road leads me.

Currently Playing…
What’s Left of Me
By Nick Lachey
“What’s Left of Me”
(I am going to take a beating for this recommendation but I love the song. I saw a show on the CD & the next couple of singles, I Can’t Hate You Anymore & Resolution are amazing also. I am going to actually buy the disc.)

Posted by D. Schwa at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

It feels like we have had a 21^st b-day every week this year. Friday night it was Rory’s turn to become a man.

We 1^st headed out to Tom’s Garage just off the Ave. to check out the Knaves & support local comedy. The Knaves kicked a little ass & the comedian was pretty funny. After a few drinks & a little laughter we headed off my favorite bar on the Ave., Bazil’s.

After killing a tower of beer & chilling for a while, we took off for the Bar.

Obviously everyone’s goal for a 21^st b-day is to get said birthday person as drunk as humanly possible. This is a especially difficult when you have someone like Rory who is a man among boys when it comes to drinking. We took our bets shots though.

Everyone was sending shots Rory’s way knowing a couple Coors & a few Cement Mixers weren’t going to drop Goliath. After Bazil’s we headed to The Bar, maybe my least favorite bar on the face of the earth. I would rather drink in a crap hole in Kaukauna than drink at The Bar. I just dislike the joint. They showed me why tonight.

We hit the bar & ordered Rory up a 3 Wisemen + a shot of Rumplemints. The bartender knows Rory is on the verge of destruction, however is still cool serving the shots. She takes the cash & then stands there watching, waiting. 1 went down easy, 2 went down hard, 3 killed him. For the 1^st time ever, I saw Rory boot. It was just a tiny bit into his chaser glass, but it counts. The chick then kicks him out for it. Next thing we know there are a few bouncers around us & we are on the way out of the bar. I was shocked.

One of the funniest exchanges of my life occurred during this event. The bartender tells Rory if he wants his free b-day mug, he’ll have to dump it in the toilet. He drops, “Can’t you dump it in the sink?” She refused. So Rory drops on her, “Fuck it! Keep the fucking mug!” I almost cried.

J & I headed over to Sal’s pizza joint for a great pizza break. That’s where the pic of J with pizza in his mouth comes in if you check out my Yahoo! account.

Next up was Andruzzi’s. We had all heard good things about the joint but had never made it over. I highly recommend this place. We had a really good time. The night ended with Rory falling in the middle of the dance floor & completely unable to get back up. We were asked to leave again. I have never been kicked out of a bar in my life. 2 times in 1 night. Classssssssssssssssy.

As we waited for our ride, the majority of us picked up hotdogs from the street vendor. These guys are the few people I guarantee are going straight to heaven. There is nothing better than a dog when you are hammered at 2/3 in the morning. I always tip well.

Chris’ step dad Bill picked us up in his badass Titan & we were headed to Chris’ house. When we hopped in the truck, Bill had a puke pail ready & waitng, good move. Instead of us passing out, a battle raged. Chris’ bro John start drilling people with an air soft gun. Rory put his ass on people. It was just crazy.

Rory’s b-day didn’t end there though. We all went out to Slugger’s the next night, Saturday. It was pretty much second verse, same as the 1^st. After spending the entire day on Chris’ couch, Rory vowed not to touch liquor. Well, his family started sending shots & beer over so the rest of us had to participate. Chris, J, & I all took turns dropping shots on Rory. Soon the volcano erupted. Off a shot of Quervo, Rory’s face went beet red. Then he grabbed for his glass & booya! Then booya again! The second time he filled up the cup & it flowed all over the joint. His 3^rd & final blow was into our half full pitcher of beer… delicious. It was great to see that Rory was human.

We all vacated the area immediately but the law caught up with us. The guy ripped the beer out of Rory’s paw & cut him off. A couple minutes later I slid Rory my beer. The dude immediately rolls over & freaks out. At that point we decided to leave. We ended the night at Corleon’s in K-town, cool joint.

To check out all the pics from the 2 nights, click here.

I start teaching tomorrow so expect a couple stories from that experience, until then…

Currently Playing…
Rascal Flatts
By Rascal Flatts
“I’m Movin’ On”

Posted by D. Schwa at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Ok, I am becoming a huge loser when it comes to country. For the 2^nd straight week I was as Wal-Mart at midnight to grab a favorite CD of mine. Both have been well worth it. I used to think Rascal Flatts was the most depressed band on the face of the earth. All of their songs were so depressing. Really though, I think that is why I started liking them so much. Their tunes hit every emotion you could ever imagine. Me & My Gang is an incredible disc. Seriously, every other song is a hit single. This disc is going to rip up radio. Here are my thoughts…

1. Stand

This song is for sure going to be a single & just dominate. It is all about the ups & downs of life & is inspiring to be a lot like Feels Like Today was…”Cause when push comes to shove / You taste what you’re made of / You might bend, till you break / Cause its all you can take / On your knees you look up / Decide you’ve had enough / You get mad you get strong / Wipe your hands shake it off / Then you Stand, Then you stand.”

2. What Hurts The Most

What Hurts the Most is #1 right now on the charts. These Days is one of my top 5 all-time favorite songs & What Hurts the Most is every bit as good. The 1^st time I heard it, the lyrics blew me off my feet. This song is amazing, the video is even more impressive.

3. Backwards

I was rolling in my rig last Wednesday & they were previewing this song on y100. They tore this song apart. I think it is hilarious. It answers the question, “What do you get if you play a country song backwards?” “You get your house back / You get your dog back / You get your best friend Jack back / You get your truck back / You get your hair back / You get your first & 2nd wife back.” Backwards is a great change of pace for the disc.

4. I Feel Bad

This is a really interesting break up song that should hit the radio. It is about someone that just broke up with someone & just is done with it. “That I don’t feel bitter, alone / I just feel its time, its time to move on / I just gotta move on and on and on.”

5. My Wish

My Wish is just a really feel good song. This is another I think you’ll hear on the radio. “More then anything, more then anything, / My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it, / to your dreams stay big, & your worries stay small, / You never need to carry more then you can hold, / & while you're out there getting where you're getting to, / I hope you know somebody loves you, & wants the same things too, / Yeah, this, is my wish.”

6. Pieces

This is the most honest song I have heard in a long time. Pieces is my favorite song on the disc by far, I felt like it spoke to me. “So you turn to me / Your convenient friend / Oh but I know what you’re doing / & what you hope to find / I’ve seen it a thousand times / Oh the fire we had before / Are now just bitter ashes / Left scattered on the floor.”

7. Yes I Do

This song is where Jack Johnson & country meet. It has a really cool beat to it.

8. To Make Her Love Me

This is a really, really honest song about someone praying to get a lost love back. It is incredible…”I've said some things I shouldn't have / Tried everything to win her back / I'm human, I messed up, Is she gone?, Are we done? / Forgiveness, another chance, that’s all I want, it's in your hands.”

9. Words I Couldn't Say

This song will be a huge single, “What do I do now that you're gone / no back up plan no second chance / and no one else to blame / all I can hear in the silence that remains / are the words I couldn’t say.”

10. Me And My Gang

If Bon Jovi where to continue on his current country path, this song is what it would song like. It’s an ok tune, not really country at all though.

11. Cool Thing

This is a really romantic song. I like it a lot. Cool Thing is about a chance meeting with someone & just never pursuing it. “We won't take a deep notion / You know that place where footprints disappear / Just like that evening she drove away / It'll be burned in my mind for a million years.”

12. Ellsworth

Ellsworth is an amazing song about someone reminiscing about their grandparents & fading memories. I immediately began thinking about my incredible grandma & her talking about my grandpa while looking through photo albums & scrapbooks. “Her tired eyes glow wild & bright / when she talks about that town. / Tomorrow she won’t remember what she did today, / but just ask her about Ellsworth, Kansas 1948.”

13. He Ain't The Leavin' Kind

Leavin’ Kind is about a wife dealing with the loss of her husband. It is a pretty amazing song.

If you buy the bonus pack & Wally’s World, you get another disc with 5 live tracks. The songs are This Everyday Love, Then I Did, I’m Movin’ On, Here’s To You, & Feels Like Today.

Currently Playing….
Me & My Gang
By Rascal Flatts

“Pieces”

Posted by D. Schwa at 1:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

So there is so much in mjy life happening I can't write about I figured I would write about a few things that are applicable.


Friday night Jaren, Chris, & I all rolled out to Tom's Garage just off the Ave. to check out Mike's comedy show. I'll be honest, I have ripped Mike's shows hard before ebcause I just didn't find them funny, but i was very impressed. Mike has that completely offensive humor only I tend to laugh at. He owned up on the joint & pissed off everyone in the bar. It was hilalrious. My favorite had to be him talking about his mom's stroke & her walking in a circle because she drags her foot... Verrrrrrrrrry classy.

As good as Mike was, the closing band was incredible. It was a comedy duo called Nice Peter. I laughed so hard my face hurt at the end of the night. He mocked the crowd & pissed half of them off. Then had songs ripping everyone from our idiot president to 50 Cent. It was hillarious. I bought the CD if anyone wants a rip.


Today was the culmination of my Henry V project out at West DePere Middle School. The pic is of my class, my partner was Jen P. & is on the front left. We turned out to be a great team & the presentation went really, really well. The most rewarding part was the one kid that gave us troubles the entire time was disappointed we wouldn't be back. I'll never figure out kids but it felt good.

Next Monday I start my 5 week student teaching experience. I couldn't be more excited. I have a 6th grade class (Which should be very interesting.) at Washinton Middle School in Green Bay. I meet my cooperating teacher tomorrow morning. If I didn't mention, I am way excited.

Posted by D. Schwa at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments