let's face it

so i haven't really posted nearly as much on blogger. sorry. therefore, i'm directing you to my xanga site, which is more frequently updated.

http://www.xanga.com/grantfranke

enjoy the postings and feel free to comment. just as you had to sign up for blogger, you need to sign up for xanga in order to comment. there's no fee or stupid emails. if you don't want to comment, you don't have to sign up. enjoy!!

pigeon

i caught a pigeon yesterday.

i was on my grading period break at school, and i went down to the boys' bathroom. while doing my business, i heard some strange noises. next to the bathroom is the boiler room and janitor supply room. as i walked inside and turned on the light, i found something i didn't expect. it was a pigeon. a live, noisy, and very poopy pigeon. i have no idea how it got in, but it was there, and it pooped all over the floor.

of course, my school concentration went down the tubes, and it was my goal to figure out how to capture and release it. i found a garbage can, and carefully made my way in its direction. The pigeon froze, and so did i. for a moment, i saw the confused terror in its eyes. before either could blink, i lunged towards the pigeon and enveloped it with the garbage can! it was captured, and the task nearly done. i found a piece of carboard, slid it underneath, and started to carry it ouside. on the way, i had to lift it over the heads of preschoolers. "what's that mr. franke?" "oh, nothing. i just like carrying garbage cans around school." :)

i finally let it free outisde the front door of the school. all the students in a nearby classroom say me, and then they were completely distracted from their studies. oh well. all in all, it was a pretty adventurous free period. much better than grading papers.

teaching

howdy everybody!

two months later, 35 students, and 6 1/2 weeks of teaching are under my belt for the 2006-07 school year. things are shaping up well, but there have been many hurdles to leap over since the year started.

you'd think that your second year would be easier than your first. generally, i believe this is a true statement. unfortunately, i'm not part of the the general criteria.

teaching has been crazy because of all the new tasks and expectations my principal has established. first of all, my school does not have any "grades." yep. the students took tests, and they were divided into five groups according to their math and reading ability. the idea is that students are grouped with people of like-ability so they can move at the same pace. it's proven different and theoretically sound, but i'm unsure of it thus far.

secondly, i don't have the same books to teach from. my students are learning from a new set of social studies materials, and all my notes, lessons, tests, and other plans from last year will not be used. also, this new set of books did not come with any teacher resources b/c the school couldn't afford them. dang it.

bah. i just gotta stop blabbing. basically, it's been a much different year from the first, but i'm maintaining and adjusting fairly well.


things with kristin and i have been great! she's currently living in indianapolis, IN, and we travel between there and cleveland regularly. she recently visited cleveland, and it was quite a good visit. she came to school on friday (oct. 6) and was my hott assistant. (btw, thanks for helping!) we also made a trip to little italy, walked on the beach, and went to the west side market.

:)

anywho, back to school and the life of a teacher. now that i've posted again, it'll be happening more frequently again. thanks to all my faithful viewers!

peace and joy,
grant

engaged!

here are the long awaited updates...

summer school for LEAPS is over!!!
and now i have my second year of teaching to look forward to. i'm excited.

the other big news is...

i'm engaged!
i asked kristin huang to marry me on august 09, 2006, and she said yes. :)

here's the longer story:
kristin and i have been friends for over 2 years now, though we have
only been dating for the past six months. things have been going so
well that we indeed decided it was time to get married. :)

here's how i proposed:
on wednesday night, august 09, 2006, i took kristin to the top of the
vuca on valpo's campus. yes, we climbed up the side of it and sat on
the roof. i brought a backpack with a blanket, homemade cheesecake,
strawberries, wine, candles, and a scrapbook inside. after eating
cheesecake and having some wine, i took out the scrapbook i made (of the
two of us) and showed it to her. as we drew near the end, there was a
page that had a picture of a ring. kristin told me that i needed to
"get on top of that," and i said, "well, speaking of which..." i pulled
out a ring and started to propose. and to make things more interesting,
i propsed in french. (i had kristin's french professor help with the
translation). she fittingly responded, "oui!"

it was a fun night.

here are some picture of us...

you can't change it

well folks, i've done enough talking, and i'm sure you've had enough. i went ahead and simply did it.

did what?

i got a tatoo. :)

indeed i did. after approximately five years or so of debating and weighing it out, i finally went for it. my two biggest qualms with a tatoo were the permanancy and the fact that my mom was worried i might develop hepatitis. so far i cannot wrap my mind around the next 70 years of displaying a tatoo, and i don't feel the symptoms of hepatitis (though you could go months before ever noticing that!).

first of all, you might ask what it is. it's a kokopelli. (Koh-koh-pell-ee) The kokopelli is generally considered a symbol of joy and mirth and adventure to life. It stems from the early southwest native american tribes such as the pueblo and anasazi. however, it also happens to be a representation of a fertility god. i think that's my favorite part to tell people because of the reaction i get to see on their faces. ;)

not only did i get a tatoo, but the beautiful kristin huang also sprung for one. we had this crazy idea to live out a kenny chesney song called summertime. the song references a number of joys to experience during the summer, and kristin and i attempted to try them out. we drank yoohoo, wore cheap shades, had the windows down and the radio loud, found a swimming hole (had the shimmy effect), and definitely got the tatoo! talk about fun...

here's the pictures:

this is my post tatoo bandage


this is my shaved left leg


here's an upclose version


here's kristin's pre-design in pen


here's her foot bandage


here's the final product!

the trapeze artist

i recently made my way back to rockford, IL to see my family and work on the house we are trying to sell soon. one of the crazy jobs that needed to be tackled was cleaning the gutters.

one problem: i'm afraid of heights.

you might be saying, "grant, why the heck did you volunteer to clean the gutters then?!" well, the rest of my family has the same problem i do. since i'm the one that climbs buildings for fun on valparaiso's campus, there was little excuse for me to decline the job. i should also add that heights are not so much the problem, but it's ladders. ladders are mobile, buildings are not. :)

my dad and i spent 4-5 hours of our monday finishing this task. he held the ladder while i climbed up it and did the dirty work. we did, however, come up with a good pulley system of a rope and bucket to control the gutter waste. you may be able to notice the small white object with me on the ladder in the pictures below.

i'll leave you with the news that i am alive and well, though my knocking knees have seen better days. ;)

last day of school!!!

today, thursday, june 15, 2006, i have officially completed my first year of teaching.

this year has been one of the most memorable, most adventurous, most challenging, most sleepless, most puzzling, most encouraging, most angering, and most spiritual years of my 23 years of life thus far.

i worked hard.
i laughed much.
i prayed daily.
i failed fashionably.
i reflected regularly.
i lived gracefully.

1: basketball team coached.
4: roommates that survived together.
7: the classes daily taught.
38: number of students impacted.
185: scripture lessons created
1,274: hours spent in a classroom with students.
1,295: lesson plans created
infinite: value of the relationships created and the wisdom gained.

i look forward to a brief break, but i also look forward to doing it all over again. please continue to pray for me and all the other teachers that love on kids and people.