I've been thinking a lot about the various traditions I encounter in the Church, especially the last few days. Anyone who's followed this blog knows I have written about this before, particularly understanding the difference between doctrine and tradition (and between doctrine and policy and between policy and tradition). The following are the ones that have been on my mind recently, though by no means is this the first time I have thought about them. Take my opinions of them at face value. In no way does my opinion affect my testimony and feelings about the doctrine itself.
Standing when an apostle enters a room
This was most obvious this past Friday when I was at a special meeting in Kirtland to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the Historic Kirtland village. Elder M. Russell Ballard was in attendance, as he was also in town for the Kirtland Ohio Stake Conference the following two days. I was at this meeting as part of a choir made up of cast members from all different years of This is Kirtland! as we performed two of the songs from the show. I even had a solo in one of them!
The meeting started at 7:30 but I was in the building an hour early. Just before the meeting was about to begin, Elder Ballard entered the chapel and everyone stood up and the room went silent. I knew this would likely happen as this was hardly the first time I've been at meetings when an Apostle was present. Previously I'd been at sessions of General Conference in Salt Lake City, plus I attended two meetings where Apostle Richard G. Scott was present: one on my mission and then another about 2 years later here in Ohio when he attended our Stake Conference for the Akron Ohio Stake.
I personally don't understand the purpose behind the silent standing. From what I have heard it is somehow viewed as a sign of respect, but I don't personally see how that signifies respect. Yes, I believe Apostles are called of God and stand as special witnesses of Jesus Christ, but I still recognize that they are human beings. There is certainly no doctrinal basis for standing up as it's clearly a tradition. While I don't think it's bad, per se, I can easily see how it could be misinterpreted, especially in a meeting like I was at. And yes, I know that standing for many other things is for respect, like for the flag or the National Anthem, or even in a courtroom.
The meeting I attended was definitely an LDS meeting, complete with prayers and hymns, but it had several non-LDS dignitaries in attendance as it was just as much a community event as it was a church event. Seeing everyone stand and go silent until Elder Ballard got to his seat and sat just looked very bizarre, especially from a non-LDS perspective. If I were an apostle, I'd definitely ask people to NOT do that.
I saw it happen at a non-church event that was hosted in the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. When I was a student at BYU-Idaho, I attended the regional American Choral Directors Association convention in Salt Lake. Part of the program was a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Conference Center that all the delegates were invited to and got to go on stage to sing Battle Hymn of the Republic with the choir. Right before the concert started, President Thomas S. Monson entered the room (he was first counselor at the time) and many people started to stand in silence as he walked to his seat. I remember some people behind me asking each other what was going on and then realizing it was one of the Mormon leaders. They didn't say anything rude or disrespectful (not surprising considering quite a few people around them were standing!), but they clearly thought it was bizarre. Is that what we want? To make people just think we're weird or mindless?
Clapping in the chapel
Anyone who's been to an LDS meeting knows we don't clap in our worship services, whether it be for a great talk or a musical number, we are pretty subdued. The church's official Handbook of Instructions specifies that "Applause is not always appropriate in the chapel." While that is clearly not doctrinal itself, it's based on the idea of reverence and keeping the chapel a reverent, peaceful place. What has happened, though, is that MANY in the church interpret "not always appropriate" to mean "never."
This only becomes an issue when the chapel (which many other churches would refer to as a sanctuary...the main meeting room) is used for events that are not sacrament meetings or other religious services. For instance, chapels can and are often used for recitals and concerts or for presentations. All events in the chapel have to meet certain standards (so no political rallies, rock concerts, etc.), but that does not mean applause is never allowed or even appropriate.
This was actually somewhat of an issue in that same meeting this past Friday. Near the beginning, one of the Lake County Commissioners presented the local church leaders with a proclamation commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Historic Kirtland village and highlighting the church's role in the county's history, present, and future. At the conclusion, it was met with the typical silence that pretty much every event in a Mormon meeting ends with. Thankfully, some of those around me and then I started clapping and others joined in. Because I was sitting on the stand, I could see the audience and I could clearly see people looking uncomfortable clapping in the chapel, like somehow they were sinning or something. It was just a simply applause to acknowledge the proclamation, not irreverent or loud. Applause was most certainly appropriate there, especially in light of the fact that not only were lots of people present who aren't LDS, but the commissioner isn't LDS either, so instead of seeing it as an expression of LDS culture, it instead just looks, again, bizarre.
The same was true when we did a multi-stake performance of Handel's Messiah. At one of the performances, audience members were specifically asked not to clap at all, even at the end of the performance. We sang the Hallelujah Chorus, everyone is standing, it ends, and just silence. Tons of non-LDS people in the audience, a natural reaction to want to clap, and nothing. It was so awkward. The leadership thought they were respecting the reverence of the chapel, but instead they were just making Mormons look weird, and for no reason at all since applause is not forbidden in the chapel, doctrinally or procedurally. Again, tradition trumped actual procedure because it was viewed as doctrinal, even though it clearly wasn't.
The Sabbath and money
Latter-day Saints, for the most part, take the Sabbath Day seriously as a day to attend church and rest. We are counseled to avoid working where possible and to avoid doing things like going shopping, going out to eat, entertainment, sports, etc. It is supposed to be a day of rest not only for you, but for everyone. Of course most people in the world don't adhere to that, so many of us do the best we can.
Like any counsel, there are Latter-day Saints who take the Sabbath to the extreme, like wearing their church clothes all day (I'm not talking about doing so just because they don't feel like changing, but doing so because they think it's more righteous), or completely avoiding television and/or the radio.
Now, I will say that overall, keeping the Sabbath is a very personal thing. Obviously there are some pretty clear cases of what to do or not to do, but for the most part, it's a personal matter. So, if someone feels like they need to stay in church clothes all day or completely avoid TV, that is certainly their right, though you certainly won't see me doing that! Where they cross the line is if/when they present their choice or preference as more righteous, like not doing that is somehow "breaking" the Sabbath.
This often comes up with the idea of spending money. Like I said, we are counseled to avoid going shopping, out to eat, etc. on the Sabbath (which is Sunday for LDS in most of the world), but I have noticed many people have interpreted that to mean we should avoid spending money on the Sabbath. We realize that many businesses are open on Sunday and stay open because they get a lot of traffic, so our abstinence from shopping on Sunday is simply a matter of principle. But with the arrival of machines and the Internet to do shopping, is spending money actually making people work? In my opinion it isn't, at least in most cases.
For instance, if I go to a website and order something, while there is a possibility the order may be taken right there, chances are it won't be. Sunday is not considered a "business day", so most times, any order made during the weekend is simply taken care of Monday morning (websites will often state something to that effect on the ordering page). Websites do not need to have constant supervision or someone manning the resgister. Obviously the same is true for anything bought from a machine, like pop (soda), snacks, or even a newspaper. No one has to work if you choose to buy something and there is certainly no doctrinal basis that spending money on the Sabbath is somehow sinful. Heck, even some gas stations can operate without anyone inside since many have card readers right at the pump that can function without anyone in the store (though, in all honesty, I avoid getting gas on Sunday unless I absolutely have to).
Now, like I said earlier, the Sabbath and "honoring it" or "keeping it holy" is mostly a personal matter. If people are uncomfortable buying things via a machine or online because somewhat might have to work as a result of their purchase, hey, no shame in waiting until Monday or doing it on Saturday. But don't tell me I'm "breaking" the Sabbath because I bought something online on Sunday or put a dollar bill into a vending machine.
In closing, I can understand being "peculiar" for things I know are doctrine, but for traditions? Um, let's examine them and make sure they have a rational purpose behind them and that in the process of standing for what we believe in, we aren't totally "weirding out" the world around us. That doesn't mean we get rid of traditions all together, but it does mean we don't mindlessly do them. I'm all for traditions and following procedure, but let's please make sure they have clear purposes and aren't confused with doctrine. Following doctrine is a must, following procedure is highly recommended (though "spirit of the law" vs. "letter of the law"), and just following tradition should be done with caution and understanding, as well as differentiating between the three.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
An open cover letter
Looking for a good addition to your company or organization? Look no further. While my resume has been posted online for some time, and I maintain a LinkedIn profile, there's a lot more to me and my experience than just what is contained there.
So yes, subbing is far more than simply glorified babysitting that anyone with a pulse can do. It often takes quick thinking, staying on your toes, and being able to assimilate all that information quickly so that decisions can be made not only quickly, but carefully, which can be applied in many other workplace situations.
As a director of a musical theater production this past summer, my attention to details was manifest in making things on stage like facial expressions, cast members staying out of view of the audience while not on stage, lights being aimed perfectly (and centered if it was required), and annunciation. Outside the stage, it included doing the playbill myself to make sure information was in a logical order for guests, and organizing a photo shoot for the cast and crew to have professional head shots taken for a display.
In my personal life, details are in making sure pictures hung on the wall are straight, paint on the wall is even, the lines between the ceiling and walls are straight, and colors are balanced in any kind of decoration. It's also about keeping a daily journal (currently on volume 16), and making sure I use correct punctuation and grammar in all communication. And yes, I am often asked by friends and family to proof writing and even things like posters not only for correct spelling and grammar, but clarity in organization, use of color, and font size. I have used those skills on Wikipedia too, including a Featured Article on Kent, Ohio.
As a substitute teacher and in my other teaching experience, I have had to tap into my managerial experience as well. When you're responsible not only for the education of children and teenagers but their well-being, that involves managing who is in the room, making sure they're on task, and knowing what to look for and how to motivate. As a sub, obviously that can change radically from day to day, such as managing an elementary gym class compared to a high school Advanced Placement English class.
In social media, I have been on Facebook since 2006 and also have a Twitter account that I have started using more frequently. On Facebook, I have experience running and contributing to official pages, including the one for the musical I directed. I already mentioned my LinkedIn profile, plus I have this blog, my history blog, and even a personal blog. I am also a regular Wikipedia editor, and have written articles, edited others, and contributed scores of photos and graphics to use in all sorts of articles there. That alone requires attention to detail, working with others, and understanding policies and norms.
Finally
Although I have a teaching license, that shouldn't let any perspective employers shy away from contacting me for opportunities that may be outside the realm of education and/or music. I seek any kind of job opportunity that I can use my skills and feel like I am making an important contribution. I am, however, not interested in any kind of direct sales position, basically a job where my pay is dependent on the choices of others and whether I can convince them to buy some service or product. While I have no problem promoting products and services I have used (I occasionally do that right here on my blog), sales jobs such as selling insurance or cars are not something I would excel at. Even so, I am always open to propositions. Please feel free to contact me using the links on my resume or LinkedIn profile.
Oh, and did I mention I can sing too? Not that it would make a difference in most companies, but you never know. I have done the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians multiple times (most recently in May 2013 and was scheduled to sing for the tie-breaker game had the Indians needed that at the end of September) and have done other teams like the Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Aeros, and Columbus Clippers, and of course, my hometown and Alma Mater Kent State!
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| Photo credit: Janelle Nutter, Square Root Photography |
I can assimilate information quickly
A quick glance at my resume shows that I have had quite a bit of experience as a substitute teacher, so far at four different districts, which includes a total of nearly 20 different school buildings. That means on a given day, I not only have to remember the policies and routines of a particular building, which can vary even within the same school district, but also that of a specific classroom. In most cases, I walk into a classroom with little, if any, previous experience there and have between 10 and 30 minutes to absorb the lesson plans for the day, class rosters, any potential fire or tornado drill instructions, and any other rules or instructions that may have been left. Instructions can be as simple as a few lines ("give students this worksheet and have them complete it") to multiple pages long (such as an elementary school classroom). I have worked in environments where I'm one-on-one with students to environments where I have upwards of 60-70 kids in a room at the same time. There are even days where I spend part of the day at one school, then totally change gears and spend the rest of the day at another school in a totally different class.So yes, subbing is far more than simply glorified babysitting that anyone with a pulse can do. It often takes quick thinking, staying on your toes, and being able to assimilate all that information quickly so that decisions can be made not only quickly, but carefully, which can be applied in many other workplace situations.
I can troubleshoot
Troubleshooting, of course, doesn't mean I can fix every problem I encounter, but at the very least, I can identify the problem and the best person or solution to fix it if I can't do it on my own. This is anything from troubleshooting simple computer problems (which I have done at home on a regular basis and even at some of the schools I sub for), to physical maintenance problems, to personality issues. This is part of my abilities to solve problems, whether it be a simple physical fix or some sort of compromise between two parties, or even just calming people down and discussing an issue, which plays into my next quality.
I am level-headed
Emotion can be a very powerful tool that drives people to complete tasks they may have otherwise failed at for a variety of reasons. On the same page, though, if not used correctly, emotion can cause people to make rash and illogical decisions. I am someone who can make a quick decision when needed, but can also weigh the evidence, the possibilities, and potential long-term ramifications. That's not to say I lack opinions, but my opinions are based on evidence and are subject to change based on additional evidence that may be brought to light. So, in a heated argument, especially one that is more ideologically-based, I will certainly have my beliefs and opinions, but not to the point of belittling others who disagree or disrespecting an opposing viewpoint. That said, it is also important for me that when I do make decisions, I can logically explain my reasons so that even if you disagree with what I did, at least you understand why I made the decision and that it wasn't made flippantly. I expect the same out of those around me too. It's great to have beliefs, but be prepared to defend them with logic and reason and not a lot of emotion.
I'm detail-oriented
Details are what sets things apart. In my experience as a teacher and presenter, that means going the extra mile in preparing materials for students and guests that help them not only memorize the info, but understand it far better than they did before my class or presentation. In a presentation I did in 2012 about a local historic building, the details I added were photos from old yearbooks, photos from places in the building that few had seen, and going into old newspapers and finding information that had long since been forgotten. I even had tour guides throughout the building pointing out subtle but still visible reminders of changes made in the building to help guests get a feel for its history. |
| Example of graphic used for a presentation I gave in 2012. Blue numbers indicate where tour guides stood to point out specific features, red arrows were entrances we needed opened by the custodial staff, while the yellow areas indicated to the school district which rooms we needed to use. |
As a director of a musical theater production this past summer, my attention to details was manifest in making things on stage like facial expressions, cast members staying out of view of the audience while not on stage, lights being aimed perfectly (and centered if it was required), and annunciation. Outside the stage, it included doing the playbill myself to make sure information was in a logical order for guests, and organizing a photo shoot for the cast and crew to have professional head shots taken for a display.
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| While I did not personally make this, it was something I made sure happened. Thankfully, I was able to find a photographer (Janelle Nutter of Square Root Photography) who had the same vision and attention to detail I did to make this become a reality |
In my personal life, details are in making sure pictures hung on the wall are straight, paint on the wall is even, the lines between the ceiling and walls are straight, and colors are balanced in any kind of decoration. It's also about keeping a daily journal (currently on volume 16), and making sure I use correct punctuation and grammar in all communication. And yes, I am often asked by friends and family to proof writing and even things like posters not only for correct spelling and grammar, but clarity in organization, use of color, and font size. I have used those skills on Wikipedia too, including a Featured Article on Kent, Ohio.
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| A picture collage I put together at home, making sure the frames were straight and spaced out evenly |
I have managerial experience
As I mentioned previously, during the summer of 2013, I directed a local musical theater production. It was my first time ever taking on such an endeavor and it proved to be quite a challenge. Not only did I have to worry about the theatrical aspects of the show (who does what part, where they stand, how they act, etc.), but I had to worry about virtually every aspect of the show from the technical, to the music, down to the programs. That's not to say I did everything because I most certainly didn't. I had one dedicated crew and a group of people who were not only reliable, but bought into my overall vision for the show. Total, I had a cast of about 60 people, over half of which were children and teenagers, plus a full orchestra, and a crew of about 10. We had eight total performances and saw a noted increase in attendance from years prior, on top of a multitude of positive feedback from audience members and former cast members who attended (this was the 10th season of the show). |
| Early rehearsal, May 2013. Photo credit Lisa Lovato |
As a substitute teacher and in my other teaching experience, I have had to tap into my managerial experience as well. When you're responsible not only for the education of children and teenagers but their well-being, that involves managing who is in the room, making sure they're on task, and knowing what to look for and how to motivate. As a sub, obviously that can change radically from day to day, such as managing an elementary gym class compared to a high school Advanced Placement English class.
I'm computer literate
I have been using computers since I was in elementary school and my grandma had an old Commodore 64. We got our first computer in the mid 1990s when I was a freshman in high school, so I have grown up not only using computers, but getting to know the various programs and operating systems. I'm more familiar with Windows than Macs, but that's mostly due to circumstance. I have extensive use and understanding of Microsoft Word, Publisher, and Excel, and even programs that I may not be as familiar with, I can pick up rather quickly with a simple tutorial, doing a web search for help, or just trial and error. I have done tons of scanning for presentations and personal use, and am an avid amateur photographer.In social media, I have been on Facebook since 2006 and also have a Twitter account that I have started using more frequently. On Facebook, I have experience running and contributing to official pages, including the one for the musical I directed. I already mentioned my LinkedIn profile, plus I have this blog, my history blog, and even a personal blog. I am also a regular Wikipedia editor, and have written articles, edited others, and contributed scores of photos and graphics to use in all sorts of articles there. That alone requires attention to detail, working with others, and understanding policies and norms.
Finally
Although I have a teaching license, that shouldn't let any perspective employers shy away from contacting me for opportunities that may be outside the realm of education and/or music. I seek any kind of job opportunity that I can use my skills and feel like I am making an important contribution. I am, however, not interested in any kind of direct sales position, basically a job where my pay is dependent on the choices of others and whether I can convince them to buy some service or product. While I have no problem promoting products and services I have used (I occasionally do that right here on my blog), sales jobs such as selling insurance or cars are not something I would excel at. Even so, I am always open to propositions. Please feel free to contact me using the links on my resume or LinkedIn profile.
Oh, and did I mention I can sing too? Not that it would make a difference in most companies, but you never know. I have done the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians multiple times (most recently in May 2013 and was scheduled to sing for the tie-breaker game had the Indians needed that at the end of September) and have done other teams like the Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Aeros, and Columbus Clippers, and of course, my hometown and Alma Mater Kent State!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Roosevelt to the Suburban
Most of you who know me know that I take an interest in high school sports. I wouldn't call it an obsession, but I do attend high school sporting events fairly regularly and keep tabs on the happenings in the high school sports world. Playing along with my history interests, I'm also interested in the history of high school sports, and was recently referenced in an article in the local Record-Courier about the long-standing rivalry between Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent and Ravenna High School.
The biggest news recently, outside the Kent-Ravenna game this past weekend, was the announcement that Roosevelt will be leaving the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) and joining the Suburban League in all sports. The initial announcement said it would be in 2016, but seeing as every other school has indicated 2015, I won't be surprised to see that change for Roosevelt either. As the announcement has come about, I've noticed a lot of the same questions in comments, the biggest, of course, is why? Also, people are wondering about the rivalry with Ravenna.
First, in addressing why, the answer mainly lies in the issue of competitive balance. Money is somewhat of an issue, but not in terms of making more money, but rather spending less. Athletic conferences in Ohio are designed to make sure schools have regular scheduling partners who are of similar size and relatively close distance. The move from the PTC to the Suburban doesn't really represent much of a change in travel costs--in reality it will probably increase travel costs slightly--but it does represent a change in competitive balance.
The Suburban League, in its new configuration, will be set up the same way the PTC is: two divisions that are determined by a school's enrollment. As enrollment numbers change, a school's position can also change. In theory this works, but in reality, what I've seen so far is the break between the "big school" and "small school" divisions isn't usually that big, so the schools at the bottom of the "big school" division are often better suited for the "small school" division or vice versa. In the PTC, though, you have Roosevelt well ahead of any other school in enrollment. Typically, Roosevelt is around 1,300 students while the next largest school is around 900 (that can be Ravenna, Norton, Springfield, or Coventry, all of which are roughly the same size). Roosevelt is nearly twice the size of Crestwood and Field, which have about 700-750 students each. In the new Suburban League, the enrollments will be much closer. All of the schools in the "small school" division, of which Roosevelt will be a member, are between 900 and 1,300. Copley, Cloverleaf, Barberton, Highland, and Revere are all schools with over 1,000 students while Aurora and Tallmadge are both around 900.
Why does that matter? While having more students is no guarantee a school will always have better sports teams, mathematically, it means that in most years, they likely will. More students means a larger pool of talent. Sure, you'll always have smaller schools that buck the trend or that have a particularly talented group of athletes come through every so often. But in the long run, there is a much better chance that the large school will be more competitive more often. That is why the state divides sports into divisions based on enrollment, so more schools have the opportunity to play for state championships against similar schools.
In football, where there are 7 divisions now (the number of divisions depends on the sport), with the largest schools being Division I and the smallest in Division VII. Ohio uses a computer system to determine who makes the playoffs. Within each division are 4 regions and within those regions, the teams are given computer points. While winning always gets a team those valuable computer points, beating a team from a smaller division means you get less because the computer expects the larger school to beat the smaller school. This was most evident in 2010, when Roosevelt and Ravenna were both in Division II for football (which is not the case this year). Despite Ravenna beating Roosevelt head-to-head and winning the PTC Metro that year, Ravenna missed the playoffs, finishing 9th (top 8 qualify) just behind Roosevelt. Roosevelt's early-season wins over Division I Stow and Division II Kenston off-set Ravenna's wins over smaller schools by just the slightest, but enough to send one to the playoffs and not the other.
Those football points, right now, largely work against Roosevelt since it is the largest school in the PTC. This year and next, it will be the only Division II football school while the rest are all Division III. It's not an issue if the team goes 9-1 or 10-0 or even 8-2 (this year they are 4-1 thus far). But 7-3 and 6-4 records will look a lot better to the computers coming against fellow Division II schools like Copley and Barberton than they will against Division III schools like Crestwood and Field.
Another aspect of the size differential is the additional sports that don't have a home in the PTC. Roosevelt has almost 30 varsity teams. Boys volleyball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls swimming & diving, girls golf, ice hockey, and girls field hockey all play in other leagues because not enough (or any) schools in the PTC have teams. Playing in other leagues increases transportation costs for most of the sports because the teams generally have to go outside the area of the PTC to find leagues to participate in. A move to the Suburban will find homes for most of the above listed sports, with the exception of ice hockey. Of the sports listed above, the only other PTC schools to have them are Crestwood with boys and girls swimming & diving and Southeast with a girls golf team. For all the others, Roosevelt is the only PTC school to offer that sport.
So, what happens after this? The first question most people have is in regards to the rivalry with Ravenna. In the new Suburban League, Roosevelt will have 7 league games and 3 open spots for non-league games. I have to believe that Stow will remain one of those 3 (Stow is also joining the Suburban League, but will be in the large school division, so the game won't count as a league game) just because of the money aspect. Stow coming to Kent and especially Kent going to Stow is a huge money-maker for both schools' athletic departments, so I don't see it ending anytime soon as long as it remains competitive.
The same is largely true with the Ravenna game. It is still competitive and will likely remain a revenue-producer for both schools for some time. While the magnitude of the game may lessen by the schools not being in the same conference (meaning you won't have a game like 2011 that decided the PTC Metro title), there will always be the long-standing rivalry between the two communities regardless of whether or not it's a conference game. The only way I could see the Kent-Ravenna rivalry ending is if it becomes non-competitive. Even if that would happen, it would likely take a very long period of domination by one school to bring an end to the football rivalry. In other sports, I think Roosevelt will continue to schedule Ravenna as non-league, again, because of the overall rivalry and the interest it generates. About the only change might be just one meeting in basketball each season instead of two, but anything is possible.
This move will affect other rivalries too. I would say a rivalry was definitely developing between Roosevelt and Field in several sports and also with Streetsboro, at least in boys basketball. I anticipate both of those rivalries will come to an end, though Streetsboro may remain a boys basketball non-league game (which it has been for a number of years and likely will be again this year since Streetsboro is back in the PTC County). I don't see Roosevelt scheduling Field in sports beyond Cross Country and Track if at all, which is how it used to be before the formation of the PTC.
Conversely, I definitely foresee a rivalry developing with Tallmadge. Right now, Tallmadge's big rival is Green, but Green is leaving the Suburban (which is what largely caused this all in the first place), plus Green isn't adjacent to Tallmadge like Kent is. While I don't see a rivalry with Tallmadge ever eclipsing Ravenna, I easily see it becoming a strong one, especially from the perspective of Tallmadge since they will have no true rival and if both remain competitive in football. Tallmadge and Roosevelt were longtime members of the old Metro League until 1990 and periodically play each other in boys basketball and a few other sports.
Barberton is another old rival that Roosevelt knows well. Barberton was a member of the old Metro League and then the WRC South, so it's only been 8 years since the two were league rivals. While there has never been a fierce rivalry with Barberton on the level of Ravenna or even Stow, there was clearly a rivalry between the two in their old Metro and WRC days, though seeing as the old Metro only had 5 teams at the time it finally merged to form the WRC, every team had a rivalry of sorts with the other. Barberton also has some of the most intense fans in the area (especially for basketball) and travels well. When the PTC was looking to expand about a year ago to replace Windham and East Canton, I was hoping Barberton would join, but the PTC ended up not expanding at all.
That leads to the next topic: what's next for the PTC? As I said, the PTC avoided expansion two years ago when Windham and East Canton announced they were leaving, mostly because there weren't a lot of viable alternatives. It's clear the PTC doesn't want any larger schools, but instead, seems to want to add smaller schools so that Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge can all be bumped into the Metro Division. Right now, in addition to the gap between Roosevelt and the rest of the Metro, there is a noticeable gap between Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge and the rest of the County Division. In other words, Roosevelt leaving may be a blessing in terms of organization and achieving the balance the PTC wants.
Two smaller schools in Geauga County, Cardinal and Berhshire, have already been mentioned as possibilities since those two are leaving the Chagrin Valley Conference soon and have expressed interest. Even if that happens, it still leaves one more opening. When the PTC debated replacing Windham and East Canton, 4 schools applied: Northwest in southern Summit County, St. Thomas Aquinas in Louisville, Lake Center Christian School, and Barberton. Barberton is off to the Suburban again, so they're obviously not in the picture, and Northwest would likely be in the Metro Division. Lake Center Christian would be the smallest school in the PTC, but they don't have a football team, which makes them rather unattractive. The problem St. Thomas Aquinas presents is that they're a private school, so my guess is that other PTC County Division schools would feel (and likely be) at a disadvantage against St. Thomas since St. Thomas can draw from a much wider pool of talent even if they have a similar-sized enrollment as other PTC County schools.
Although the PTC area is almost surrounded by smaller school districts, most of them are in conferences that are stable, so there is no pressing need to change affiliations. With that in mind, it may be difficult for the PTC to get back to 16 teams. They could still function at 15 and have the County with 7 and the Metro with 8. While less than ideal for scheduling, it is hardly impossible, and it would largely solve the enrollment disparity that currently exists in both divisions.
Overall, I hope it's obvious that I think this move is a good move for Roosevelt, the PTC, and the Suburban League. The Suburban League was having some enrollment disparities of its own, so this allows them to address that on both ends. For Roosevelt, it allows them to compete and associate with schools that are more similar than those in the PTC, not only in terms of enrollment, but also facilities, and gives more sports a home league. For the PTC, it allows them to also address the enrollment disparity in both divisions. People forget that Roosevelt wasn't in the initial wave of invitations that brought about the PTC from the old Portage County League. It was only after Roosevelt was faced with the option of staying in the old WRC and having to deal with increased travel costs and being the smallest school in the league that they pursued membership in the PTC. Had Barberton not left the WRC when it did, I don't think Roosevelt would've either.
The biggest news recently, outside the Kent-Ravenna game this past weekend, was the announcement that Roosevelt will be leaving the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) and joining the Suburban League in all sports. The initial announcement said it would be in 2016, but seeing as every other school has indicated 2015, I won't be surprised to see that change for Roosevelt either. As the announcement has come about, I've noticed a lot of the same questions in comments, the biggest, of course, is why? Also, people are wondering about the rivalry with Ravenna.
First, in addressing why, the answer mainly lies in the issue of competitive balance. Money is somewhat of an issue, but not in terms of making more money, but rather spending less. Athletic conferences in Ohio are designed to make sure schools have regular scheduling partners who are of similar size and relatively close distance. The move from the PTC to the Suburban doesn't really represent much of a change in travel costs--in reality it will probably increase travel costs slightly--but it does represent a change in competitive balance.
The Suburban League, in its new configuration, will be set up the same way the PTC is: two divisions that are determined by a school's enrollment. As enrollment numbers change, a school's position can also change. In theory this works, but in reality, what I've seen so far is the break between the "big school" and "small school" divisions isn't usually that big, so the schools at the bottom of the "big school" division are often better suited for the "small school" division or vice versa. In the PTC, though, you have Roosevelt well ahead of any other school in enrollment. Typically, Roosevelt is around 1,300 students while the next largest school is around 900 (that can be Ravenna, Norton, Springfield, or Coventry, all of which are roughly the same size). Roosevelt is nearly twice the size of Crestwood and Field, which have about 700-750 students each. In the new Suburban League, the enrollments will be much closer. All of the schools in the "small school" division, of which Roosevelt will be a member, are between 900 and 1,300. Copley, Cloverleaf, Barberton, Highland, and Revere are all schools with over 1,000 students while Aurora and Tallmadge are both around 900.
Why does that matter? While having more students is no guarantee a school will always have better sports teams, mathematically, it means that in most years, they likely will. More students means a larger pool of talent. Sure, you'll always have smaller schools that buck the trend or that have a particularly talented group of athletes come through every so often. But in the long run, there is a much better chance that the large school will be more competitive more often. That is why the state divides sports into divisions based on enrollment, so more schools have the opportunity to play for state championships against similar schools.
In football, where there are 7 divisions now (the number of divisions depends on the sport), with the largest schools being Division I and the smallest in Division VII. Ohio uses a computer system to determine who makes the playoffs. Within each division are 4 regions and within those regions, the teams are given computer points. While winning always gets a team those valuable computer points, beating a team from a smaller division means you get less because the computer expects the larger school to beat the smaller school. This was most evident in 2010, when Roosevelt and Ravenna were both in Division II for football (which is not the case this year). Despite Ravenna beating Roosevelt head-to-head and winning the PTC Metro that year, Ravenna missed the playoffs, finishing 9th (top 8 qualify) just behind Roosevelt. Roosevelt's early-season wins over Division I Stow and Division II Kenston off-set Ravenna's wins over smaller schools by just the slightest, but enough to send one to the playoffs and not the other.
Those football points, right now, largely work against Roosevelt since it is the largest school in the PTC. This year and next, it will be the only Division II football school while the rest are all Division III. It's not an issue if the team goes 9-1 or 10-0 or even 8-2 (this year they are 4-1 thus far). But 7-3 and 6-4 records will look a lot better to the computers coming against fellow Division II schools like Copley and Barberton than they will against Division III schools like Crestwood and Field.
Another aspect of the size differential is the additional sports that don't have a home in the PTC. Roosevelt has almost 30 varsity teams. Boys volleyball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls swimming & diving, girls golf, ice hockey, and girls field hockey all play in other leagues because not enough (or any) schools in the PTC have teams. Playing in other leagues increases transportation costs for most of the sports because the teams generally have to go outside the area of the PTC to find leagues to participate in. A move to the Suburban will find homes for most of the above listed sports, with the exception of ice hockey. Of the sports listed above, the only other PTC schools to have them are Crestwood with boys and girls swimming & diving and Southeast with a girls golf team. For all the others, Roosevelt is the only PTC school to offer that sport.
So, what happens after this? The first question most people have is in regards to the rivalry with Ravenna. In the new Suburban League, Roosevelt will have 7 league games and 3 open spots for non-league games. I have to believe that Stow will remain one of those 3 (Stow is also joining the Suburban League, but will be in the large school division, so the game won't count as a league game) just because of the money aspect. Stow coming to Kent and especially Kent going to Stow is a huge money-maker for both schools' athletic departments, so I don't see it ending anytime soon as long as it remains competitive.
The same is largely true with the Ravenna game. It is still competitive and will likely remain a revenue-producer for both schools for some time. While the magnitude of the game may lessen by the schools not being in the same conference (meaning you won't have a game like 2011 that decided the PTC Metro title), there will always be the long-standing rivalry between the two communities regardless of whether or not it's a conference game. The only way I could see the Kent-Ravenna rivalry ending is if it becomes non-competitive. Even if that would happen, it would likely take a very long period of domination by one school to bring an end to the football rivalry. In other sports, I think Roosevelt will continue to schedule Ravenna as non-league, again, because of the overall rivalry and the interest it generates. About the only change might be just one meeting in basketball each season instead of two, but anything is possible.
This move will affect other rivalries too. I would say a rivalry was definitely developing between Roosevelt and Field in several sports and also with Streetsboro, at least in boys basketball. I anticipate both of those rivalries will come to an end, though Streetsboro may remain a boys basketball non-league game (which it has been for a number of years and likely will be again this year since Streetsboro is back in the PTC County). I don't see Roosevelt scheduling Field in sports beyond Cross Country and Track if at all, which is how it used to be before the formation of the PTC.
Conversely, I definitely foresee a rivalry developing with Tallmadge. Right now, Tallmadge's big rival is Green, but Green is leaving the Suburban (which is what largely caused this all in the first place), plus Green isn't adjacent to Tallmadge like Kent is. While I don't see a rivalry with Tallmadge ever eclipsing Ravenna, I easily see it becoming a strong one, especially from the perspective of Tallmadge since they will have no true rival and if both remain competitive in football. Tallmadge and Roosevelt were longtime members of the old Metro League until 1990 and periodically play each other in boys basketball and a few other sports.
Barberton is another old rival that Roosevelt knows well. Barberton was a member of the old Metro League and then the WRC South, so it's only been 8 years since the two were league rivals. While there has never been a fierce rivalry with Barberton on the level of Ravenna or even Stow, there was clearly a rivalry between the two in their old Metro and WRC days, though seeing as the old Metro only had 5 teams at the time it finally merged to form the WRC, every team had a rivalry of sorts with the other. Barberton also has some of the most intense fans in the area (especially for basketball) and travels well. When the PTC was looking to expand about a year ago to replace Windham and East Canton, I was hoping Barberton would join, but the PTC ended up not expanding at all.
That leads to the next topic: what's next for the PTC? As I said, the PTC avoided expansion two years ago when Windham and East Canton announced they were leaving, mostly because there weren't a lot of viable alternatives. It's clear the PTC doesn't want any larger schools, but instead, seems to want to add smaller schools so that Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge can all be bumped into the Metro Division. Right now, in addition to the gap between Roosevelt and the rest of the Metro, there is a noticeable gap between Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge and the rest of the County Division. In other words, Roosevelt leaving may be a blessing in terms of organization and achieving the balance the PTC wants.
Two smaller schools in Geauga County, Cardinal and Berhshire, have already been mentioned as possibilities since those two are leaving the Chagrin Valley Conference soon and have expressed interest. Even if that happens, it still leaves one more opening. When the PTC debated replacing Windham and East Canton, 4 schools applied: Northwest in southern Summit County, St. Thomas Aquinas in Louisville, Lake Center Christian School, and Barberton. Barberton is off to the Suburban again, so they're obviously not in the picture, and Northwest would likely be in the Metro Division. Lake Center Christian would be the smallest school in the PTC, but they don't have a football team, which makes them rather unattractive. The problem St. Thomas Aquinas presents is that they're a private school, so my guess is that other PTC County Division schools would feel (and likely be) at a disadvantage against St. Thomas since St. Thomas can draw from a much wider pool of talent even if they have a similar-sized enrollment as other PTC County schools.
Although the PTC area is almost surrounded by smaller school districts, most of them are in conferences that are stable, so there is no pressing need to change affiliations. With that in mind, it may be difficult for the PTC to get back to 16 teams. They could still function at 15 and have the County with 7 and the Metro with 8. While less than ideal for scheduling, it is hardly impossible, and it would largely solve the enrollment disparity that currently exists in both divisions.
Overall, I hope it's obvious that I think this move is a good move for Roosevelt, the PTC, and the Suburban League. The Suburban League was having some enrollment disparities of its own, so this allows them to address that on both ends. For Roosevelt, it allows them to compete and associate with schools that are more similar than those in the PTC, not only in terms of enrollment, but also facilities, and gives more sports a home league. For the PTC, it allows them to also address the enrollment disparity in both divisions. People forget that Roosevelt wasn't in the initial wave of invitations that brought about the PTC from the old Portage County League. It was only after Roosevelt was faced with the option of staying in the old WRC and having to deal with increased travel costs and being the smallest school in the league that they pursued membership in the PTC. Had Barberton not left the WRC when it did, I don't think Roosevelt would've either.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Would the Indians Move?
1. Attendance
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| Game this past May against Seattle I went to |
If attendance were that important of an issue, then the Tampa Bay Rays would've moved years ago. Their attendance has never been good and currently ranks LAST in the Major Leagues despite the Rays being in the chase for both the East Division title and a Wild Card spot. This is also a team that went to the World Series just a few years ago and has been in the playoff hunt for the last several years now. While the Indians are still technically in the playoff chase here, they're a long shot. The team has made the playoffs once since 2002 (2007) and the last 3 years has started out very well only to fizzle by the middle of the season and finish below .500.
2. Market size
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| Downtown Cleveland in May 2013 |
In addition to market size, market saturation is another issue that has to be taken into consideration, not only for attendance, but TV viewership, something the Indians typically do very well at. If there are too many sports/entertainment options for a market, one or many of them suffer. That's why you likely won't see an NHL team in Cleveland anytime soon or an NBA team in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are smaller markets than Cleveland, plus both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have major college athletic programs in addition to their pro sports teams. Columbus, Ohio has a similar situation because of Ohio State. Not only is Columbus between two cities with professional sports, but Ohio State controls a significant amount of attention and fan interest that would hurt a parallel professional sport like football or basketball. Hence, Columbus has an NHL team and a Major League Soccer team, neither of which are present in Cleveland or Cincinnati and don't directly have high-interest counterparts across town at Ohio State.
3. Stadium
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| Summer 2012 on a ballpark tour I took |
When Art Modell threatened to move the Browns in 1995, his biggest grievance was that Cleveland Stadium was outdated. That meant more than it was just old; he meant it lacked a good number of suites (Cleveland Stadium had some suites, but they were added much later and there weren't that many), and it needed tons of money just to maintain it. That was on top of fan amenities and services it lacked because of the era it was built. Because of that, Modell claimed he was losing money. Attendance-wise, the Browns were doing quite well and always have. It certainly wasn't an issue of fan support here, it was a belief that the county (which owned Cleveland Stadium) wasn't supporting the team, especially in light of the Gateway Project that had opened the year prior for the Indians and Cavaliers. I could go on about how Modell was a pretty lousy businessman and him losing money was much his own fault, but those were his reasons for getting a stadium deal with Maryland and ultimately establishing the Baltimore Ravens.
Why is that important? Because the stadium did and can play a major role in a team relocating, but only when a team is faced with having an outdated stadium that lacks suite revenue and/or presents other financial liabilities. The Indians have no such complaints with Progressive Field, nor would they be able to justify in any way that they need a new ballpark for the financial health of the team, which they did when Progressive Field was built. The last MLB team to move was the Montreal Expos when they moved to Washington, DC to become the Nationals. The Expos had horrible attendance (far worse than the Indians have had even this year), had an outdated stadium (Olympic Stadium had hardly any suites and multiple maintenance issues), and Washington, DC represented a top-10 market (#8) without a baseball team (despite the objections of the Baltimore Orioles), meaning MLB could easily justify moving the Expos there because they would generate far more money in DC than Montreal, in ticket sales, suite revenue, local TV coverage, and advertising.
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| Fireworks in May 2013 |
Friday, August 30, 2013
Summer Travels
If you read my last post about This is Kirtland!, you know I said that the show ending wasn't really a sad event and that I was basically ready to move on with the next stage of life. Well, part of that was due to the travel plans I had!
After we had the cast party on July 22 and then did a cast recording session July 23, I got moving on my first leg of travel beginning July 26 and lasting to August 4. I left for Perrysburg, Ohio, where I visited my good friends Michelle and Julie, and my friend Amanda, who was visiting from Utah. My reason for visiting was that I was scheduled to sing at the Toledo Mud Hens baseball game on the 27th, so it was nice to be able to visit with Michelle, Amanda, and Julie and they were able to be at the game! As is always the case, singing the national anthem never gets old. This was not only my first time singing for Toledo, but my first time ever at a Mud Hens game (they are the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers). Despite a slight delay for rain, the performance went well and the weather ended up being great! Even better was that because of the delay, most of the crowd was in the stands when I sang and it ended up being at or near a sellout of over 11,000. Even better, it was a fireworks night!
I was very happy with my performance that night, plus a lady sitting in front of us asked me for my autograph for when I "become famous". It definitely made me smile, and yes, I totally signed it. She even asked me to make it out to her personally. I got tons of other very nice compliments from people as I walked around the ballpark (I took a bunch of pictures and got some food too). One guy even told me that his friend was a season ticket holder and I was the best singer he's heard all season. Always great to hear. I'm hopeful to sing for another baseball game somewhere, but nothing is scheduled this point. This season, so far, I've sung for the Columbus Clippers (AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians), Akron Aeros (AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians), the Cleveland Indians, and the Mud Hens. I'd love to sing for some other Major League teams, but so far, only the Indians have responded.
Anyway, I had a great visit with Michelle and Amanda, and we spent several hours talking about everything under the sun and just catching up, staying up for hours and hours longer than we should have (it was totally worth it, by the way). I really enjoyed it, though it was only for 3 days. I left Sunday afternoon and continued west to visit my sister and her family in Indiana, where I stayed for a week.
While in Indiana, I had a great time just hanging out mostly with my sister and nephews and my brother-in-law when he was home from work. We did something every day, as simple as going to the library for a bit to going to Indiana Dunes State Park and spending the afternoon on the shore of Lake Michigan. I also went with Becky and the boys to the mall and the candy factory, and we had an adventurous time eating out one night at a restaurant in Chesterton. All in all, a wonderful week and tons of fun for me getting to spend time with everyone and help Becky out a bit with the boys during the day. It was also the first time for me having both carseats in my car. We have a carseat here in Kent that Becky bought a few years ago since they still lived in Utah and flew here, so bringing a carseat would've been more difficult. I brought that with me and then we took Ryan's carseat out of their car since David needed it for work some days, so that made things a tad easier than having to move both carseats.
One thing I did in Indiana was crack Nate's resistance to eating all his food at meals. Seriously, this kid would eat like a bird and hardly ever ate the little bit of food he had been given. Becky went so far as to "offer" $1,000 to anyone who could get Nate to eat an entire meal. Well, let's just say I'm owed $1,000. How? Somehow I figured out that using the timer feature on my iPhone would be a motivation for him. I would give him about 8 minutes, and he'd eat while he watched the phone count down. They were visiting Kent back in July right when I first got the phone and I remember he just stared at the countdown for a good 10 minutes in church when he was playing with it. Well, it worked and he ate every meal except the one we ate out (because he had way too much food on top of a larger-than-normal dinner). It was almost a game to see if he could beat the timer, plus we tried using the stopwatch to see how quick he could do it. I also "bribed" him with Jelly Bellies, but it was great because I could give him a whopping 4 and he thought that was a good amount, so I went with it.
I have to say what I enjoyed most about being in Indiana was hearing Ryan talk. The things he says always make me laugh, plus the way he says them is even better. Just a few complete sentences here and there ("I want chocolate", though he says "chock-it"), but my favorite was when he wanted a drink "mm drink" or when he say candy and he'd say it really fast. What a character.
After I got home from Indiana, I had just under two weeks before the next trip, so I got to work on my main project, which was painting the back part of the house, which we call "the addition". The addition is basically a larger room and a smaller room with a bathroom (which I painted last summer) in between. This job was to paint those two rooms and the ceiling, which was quite the undertaking since we have tons of furniture in there and nowhere to move it. What I ended up doing is basically moving everything together, then moving it all again as I progressed around the different parts of the room. It made for a very cumbersome job, but there really wasn't any other way to do it. Outside of Sunday, I worked on it every day from Saturday until late Wednesday night (early Thursday morning). Not only did I have to paint, but I had to do plaster repair on several places where the drywall tape was coming off or had gotten wet from the roof damage (which was replaced recently). After that, I got some of the big furniture moved around as we decided to switch where the office area had been with where the TV had been. Because Mom and I were leaving for Nashville the morning I finished the painting itself, the room was largely a disaster, but I did manage to get the TV set up by moving the wiring for the U-verse and getting both computers set up while everything else stayed away from the walls. The rooms definitely needed painted not only for regular maintenance, but the paint had faded quite a bit to the point if we moved any of the pictures on the wall, you could tell where they went. Yikes!
After getting back from Tennessee, we've been working more on getting organized. Still not totally there, but making some big progress! It's exciting to see the changes, especially finally getting the chalkboard out of the room (the addition was built to house my grandma's tutoring business in the late 1980s, so it still had the basic setup of an office even though it hasn't been such in 20 years).
So, on to Tennessee. Mom came with me for this one as we went to get out of town for a bit and to celebrate my niece Evelyn's 1st birthday. We were planning on visiting Tennessee at some point in the summer anyway, so I decided it would be fun to come for the 1st. I'm glad we did because it ended up being a really fun week, especially for me!
Evelyn only recently started walking, so it was great to see her moving around. I discovered she's a daddy's girl too (NOT surprised!!). By the time we left, I'm pretty sure I was an acceptable substitute for her dad as she cried a bit when I handed her off to my mom when I had to go out to the car (we were hanging out while Heather got some of the cleaning done). What was funny was when I first got there, she cried since she didn't recognize me, but once she got used to me, hey, we were best buds! The last day I was there I went to the Nashville Zoo with her and my brother, and we had a great time even with the heat and humidity. She was a bit out of it because she was recovering from hand, foot, and mouth disease, which she came down with about the time we arrived (I first noticed her coughing that Sunday).
Another thing I enjoyed doing was singing in sacrament meeting in Andy and Heather's ward. I love to sing--no secret there--so I like to sing in different wards (congregations) outside my own whenever I get the chance. Since no one was scheduled for their ward the week I was going to be there, I figured why not? Not only do I get to do something I enjoy, but it's a great way for people to notice who you are and gives them an excuse to come talk to you, which can be tough when someone is visiting like me. I've done it in my sister's ward in Indiana and when I came back during my visit, people remembered me and later asked my sister if we could sing together again :). She likes to sing too, so now she'll get more opportunities too. Anyway, I was very happy how my song went and was most grateful that Heather plays the piano! She did great on short notice!
During my trip to Tennessee, I made a "trip-within-a-trip" down to Louisiana to visit my friend Will, who was a missionary companion of mine in Las Cruces, New Mexico from December 2002-February 2003. We've kept in touch over the years, but hadn't seen each other since 2008 when he was a student at the University of Maryland, College Park and my brother was living in the same area near Washington, DC. Hard to believe that was 5 years ago...it seems much sooner than that. I had intended to visit him last year when I was in Tennessee for Spring Break, but he got called out for work (he's in the Air Force) at the last minute (I was visiting another friend in Texas, so was in the area, but just went back to Tennessee earlier than expected). Will lives 8 hours from my brother's (which is how long it takes me to get there from Ohio), so it was a bit of a drive, but I enjoyed it. It was great to see him and to meet Megan (his significant other) and Brody (their dog) and just relax a bit. I had originally planned to stay just overnight and then head back to Tennessee, but Will convinced me to hang around an extra day, even though he and Megan would be at work on base for most of the day. I didn't mind since it meant I got some sweet solitude and really, as long as I have an Internet connection, I'm OK. Even without it, I'll find something to do. I told him "boring people get bored." But really, it was so good to see him and catch up a bit. He showed me the planes he flies for the Air Force (B-52) and took me around the base. Megan was a good sport with all our mission and Mormon jargon as we talked too. But yeah, it was good to talk.
We stayed in Tennessee 2 days longer than originally planned, but that was because of my trip to Louisiana adding one more day and then after going to the zoo on Friday, I was pretty exhausted and had a headache, so we left Saturday. The only inconvenience was Mom needed to do the bulletin for church that coming Sunday, so we got it set up on my laptop and after much effort, got my Grandpa to send her the Microsoft Word file so she could type it all up. Once we got back to Kent, I set up a Microsoft SkyDrive account for Mom (cloud storage) so she can access all her files from any computer from now on. No more having to talk someone step-by-step through the process!
It's been a great summer and certainly eventful with This is Kirtland! taking so much of my time and energy through July. It was so nice to finally get away and just relax and enjoy some new sights, familiar sights, and being around people that I enjoy being around and enjoy having me around. And hey, those long drives are actually very therapeutic for me, so long as I don't have to deal with traffic problems (thankfully only minimal ones on all legs of the trip!). Still one more trip to come as Mom and I will be heading back to Indiana in about a week to spend time with everyone there, enjoy some local events, and help Becky out a bit. I found out while I was in Louisiana that she'll be having a girl in December, so I'll be getting TWO new nieces by the end of the year! Yes!
After we had the cast party on July 22 and then did a cast recording session July 23, I got moving on my first leg of travel beginning July 26 and lasting to August 4. I left for Perrysburg, Ohio, where I visited my good friends Michelle and Julie, and my friend Amanda, who was visiting from Utah. My reason for visiting was that I was scheduled to sing at the Toledo Mud Hens baseball game on the 27th, so it was nice to be able to visit with Michelle, Amanda, and Julie and they were able to be at the game! As is always the case, singing the national anthem never gets old. This was not only my first time singing for Toledo, but my first time ever at a Mud Hens game (they are the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers). Despite a slight delay for rain, the performance went well and the weather ended up being great! Even better was that because of the delay, most of the crowd was in the stands when I sang and it ended up being at or near a sellout of over 11,000. Even better, it was a fireworks night!
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| Ended up being a beautiful night for baseball after a rain delay before it even started. It was my first time ever going to a game in Toledo! |
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| Amazing to think how far we've come and that we've known each other over 10 years now! |
While in Indiana, I had a great time just hanging out mostly with my sister and nephews and my brother-in-law when he was home from work. We did something every day, as simple as going to the library for a bit to going to Indiana Dunes State Park and spending the afternoon on the shore of Lake Michigan. I also went with Becky and the boys to the mall and the candy factory, and we had an adventurous time eating out one night at a restaurant in Chesterton. All in all, a wonderful week and tons of fun for me getting to spend time with everyone and help Becky out a bit with the boys during the day. It was also the first time for me having both carseats in my car. We have a carseat here in Kent that Becky bought a few years ago since they still lived in Utah and flew here, so bringing a carseat would've been more difficult. I brought that with me and then we took Ryan's carseat out of their car since David needed it for work some days, so that made things a tad easier than having to move both carseats.
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| "In disguise" thanks to Amanda :) |
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| Being taken out of the park against his will |
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| At the mall while Nate rode the carousel |
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| Indiana Dunes State Park on the shore of Lake Michigan |
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| Getting Nate in this far is somewhat of an accomplishment... this kid is not a big fan of water |
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| Venturing out...he was promptly knocked over by the next wave, and yes, I was right there to get him out :) |
I have to say what I enjoyed most about being in Indiana was hearing Ryan talk. The things he says always make me laugh, plus the way he says them is even better. Just a few complete sentences here and there ("I want chocolate", though he says "chock-it"), but my favorite was when he wanted a drink "mm drink" or when he say candy and he'd say it really fast. What a character.
After I got home from Indiana, I had just under two weeks before the next trip, so I got to work on my main project, which was painting the back part of the house, which we call "the addition". The addition is basically a larger room and a smaller room with a bathroom (which I painted last summer) in between. This job was to paint those two rooms and the ceiling, which was quite the undertaking since we have tons of furniture in there and nowhere to move it. What I ended up doing is basically moving everything together, then moving it all again as I progressed around the different parts of the room. It made for a very cumbersome job, but there really wasn't any other way to do it. Outside of Sunday, I worked on it every day from Saturday until late Wednesday night (early Thursday morning). Not only did I have to paint, but I had to do plaster repair on several places where the drywall tape was coming off or had gotten wet from the roof damage (which was replaced recently). After that, I got some of the big furniture moved around as we decided to switch where the office area had been with where the TV had been. Because Mom and I were leaving for Nashville the morning I finished the painting itself, the room was largely a disaster, but I did manage to get the TV set up by moving the wiring for the U-verse and getting both computers set up while everything else stayed away from the walls. The rooms definitely needed painted not only for regular maintenance, but the paint had faded quite a bit to the point if we moved any of the pictures on the wall, you could tell where they went. Yikes!
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| Can you see where the pictures used to be? |
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| Visual evidence that I did actually paint... |
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| FINALLY removed the chalkboard that was a holdover from the office days. You can see the original color of the room too. The white strip on the side there is where I had to remove and later replace drywall tape and plaster (see the debris below it). |
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| Where the chalkboard used to be! |
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| After a somewhat trying day where the ceiling had to be scraped in parts due to earlier water damage that caused the old paint to peel off when I painted over it. Oh, and my feet hurt like #$%& |
So, on to Tennessee. Mom came with me for this one as we went to get out of town for a bit and to celebrate my niece Evelyn's 1st birthday. We were planning on visiting Tennessee at some point in the summer anyway, so I decided it would be fun to come for the 1st. I'm glad we did because it ended up being a really fun week, especially for me!
Evelyn only recently started walking, so it was great to see her moving around. I discovered she's a daddy's girl too (NOT surprised!!). By the time we left, I'm pretty sure I was an acceptable substitute for her dad as she cried a bit when I handed her off to my mom when I had to go out to the car (we were hanging out while Heather got some of the cleaning done). What was funny was when I first got there, she cried since she didn't recognize me, but once she got used to me, hey, we were best buds! The last day I was there I went to the Nashville Zoo with her and my brother, and we had a great time even with the heat and humidity. She was a bit out of it because she was recovering from hand, foot, and mouth disease, which she came down with about the time we arrived (I first noticed her coughing that Sunday).
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| Mom and me (NOT "Mom and I") traveling to Tennessee. And yes, after seeing this picture, I fixed that handle in the background! |
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| Evelyn's actual first birthday with her favorite: spaghetti. No shortage of pictures of this kid! |
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| Cakes Heather made for the birthday. The little lady bug cake was just for Evelyn |
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| Yes, she liked her cake! |
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| SUCH a daddy's girl! |
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| Little E is cool with me too :) |
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| Opening presents on her birthday (we did a larger "party" a few days later when some of Heather's sisters could be there) |
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| Grandma with the granddaughter |
During my trip to Tennessee, I made a "trip-within-a-trip" down to Louisiana to visit my friend Will, who was a missionary companion of mine in Las Cruces, New Mexico from December 2002-February 2003. We've kept in touch over the years, but hadn't seen each other since 2008 when he was a student at the University of Maryland, College Park and my brother was living in the same area near Washington, DC. Hard to believe that was 5 years ago...it seems much sooner than that. I had intended to visit him last year when I was in Tennessee for Spring Break, but he got called out for work (he's in the Air Force) at the last minute (I was visiting another friend in Texas, so was in the area, but just went back to Tennessee earlier than expected). Will lives 8 hours from my brother's (which is how long it takes me to get there from Ohio), so it was a bit of a drive, but I enjoyed it. It was great to see him and to meet Megan (his significant other) and Brody (their dog) and just relax a bit. I had originally planned to stay just overnight and then head back to Tennessee, but Will convinced me to hang around an extra day, even though he and Megan would be at work on base for most of the day. I didn't mind since it meant I got some sweet solitude and really, as long as I have an Internet connection, I'm OK. Even without it, I'll find something to do. I told him "boring people get bored." But really, it was so good to see him and catch up a bit. He showed me the planes he flies for the Air Force (B-52) and took me around the base. Megan was a good sport with all our mission and Mormon jargon as we talked too. But yeah, it was good to talk.
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| I've been in the cockpits of retired planes, but never a live one outside this one time when I was 6 and I got to see the cockpit of a commercial liner. This is the cockpit of an active B-52 bomber. It was built in the early 1960s. |
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| I guess Will is like a brother to me...we had a great time serving together in Las Cruces, though hard to believe it's been over 10 years! |
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| Me with Brody! |
It's been a great summer and certainly eventful with This is Kirtland! taking so much of my time and energy through July. It was so nice to finally get away and just relax and enjoy some new sights, familiar sights, and being around people that I enjoy being around and enjoy having me around. And hey, those long drives are actually very therapeutic for me, so long as I don't have to deal with traffic problems (thankfully only minimal ones on all legs of the trip!). Still one more trip to come as Mom and I will be heading back to Indiana in about a week to spend time with everyone there, enjoy some local events, and help Becky out a bit. I found out while I was in Louisiana that she'll be having a girl in December, so I'll be getting TWO new nieces by the end of the year! Yes!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
30 Things Ohioans Love?
1. Ohio State football
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| Ohio State vs. Toledo in Cleveland, 2009 |
2. Being a Swing State
I definitely enjoy the fact that Ohio is a swing state. Sure, it means we get TONS of political ads running for months on end and a seemingly endless stream of visits from candidates, but still, it's nice to feel like your vote really matters. Part of that is because Ohio doesn't have a dominant metro area like New York (NYC) or Illinois (Chicago), so you have a balance of rural vs. urban and a pretty even balance of conservative vs. liberal. I'm sure a lot of Ohioans, though, would rather not be in a swing state so that they don't get robocalls every 5 minutes for months before an election.
3. Ranch dressing
I fail to see how this is unique to Ohio or that Ohio has some kind of unusual affinity to Ranch dressing. I've lived in 3 other states and visited every one of them except California, Alaska, Hawaii, and Delaware, and have never noticed anything different. I mean, I like Ranch dressing, but hardly exclusively, and I've seen it in peoples' homes all over. According to this article, Ranch dressing is the top-selling salad dressing in the US, and has been since 1992, so while many of us Buckeyes do love Ranch, so does most of the rest of the country.
4. Hating LeBron
I am certainly not a fan of LeBron, but I wouldn't call that "hating". It's more because he plays for a different team than anything else. That said, I'm not really a fan of any specific player to the point I follow them if they change teams. For the most part, I think most Ohioans are indifferent to it all, particularly in his hometown of Akron where he has a fair amount of support because of charitable causes he participates in there. There is still a fair amount of animosity over how he left, but mainly with sports fans and not everyone here is a sports fan by any stretch.
5. Mountain Dew
I've seen people drinking Mountain Dew all over the country. Hardly anyone I know drinks it (LDS or not), and I certainly don't. I have never noticed any unusual love affair with Mountain Dew in Ohio. If anything, I've noticed more teenagers and college students drinking it.
6. Referring to random parts of random towns and cities as "downtown"
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| Downtown Kent...it's not Manhattan, but it's still a downtown! |
7. Sperrys
I have never owned nor wish to own Sperrys, and to be honest, didn't really know what they were called until I read this. I guess I have seen a lot here, but haven't noticed anything unusual or higher than any other place. I seem to associate them with certain types of people (very laid back, easy-going) rather than places. Maybe they had a lot where the author went to school or are popular with college-aged people?
8. Donatos
This is a regional thing, not a state thing. I am familiar with Donatos, but rarely ever have pizza from them because they don't have a location near where I live. I can list several other national and local pizza chains that are probably more popular than Donatos, at least in my experience, so I'm guessing this was another item more specific to where this person went to school or he/she was just around big fans of Donatos.
9. American-made cars
Maybe because I have a Honda, but I seem to notice quite a bit of foreign-made cars here, though it should be noted even many of the "imports" are manufactured either in the US or in North America (my Honda was manufactured in Canada). It would be interesting if there were a survey done of what kinds of cars people drive and if Ohio actually does have a higher percentage of American cars. We do have assembly plants for Ford, Chrysler, and GM in northern Ohio, but we also have a Honda assembly plant in central Ohio. Again, not something I've really noticed a major difference. In my own family, only my grandparents on both sides have American-made cars (Ford and GM) and my dad has a GM. The rest of us have Hondas, a Hyundai, and a Kia.
10. Defending the Cleveland Browns
11. Chinese buffets
I'm not really a fan of Chinese, so I don't go to buffets all that often. Again, this is something I can't say I've seen anything abnormal here, but who knows?
12. Dating their high school sweetheart far into college… or, eventually, just marrying them
The author must've known several people who did this. I know of some, but they're not all from Ohio. I know just a few from my own class who dated in high school and continued and got married eventually, but I also know people from other states who have done the same thing.
13. Cedar Point
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| Cedar Point, 2010 |
14. Referring to soda strictly as "pop"
I am one of those who generally use the term "pop", but my mom says "soda" and I know many people here that also use soda or they interchange "soda" and "pop" regularly (I do that sometimes). As this map shows, it's hardly unique to Ohio to use "pop" by any means...in fact, it's fairly common across the northern US.
15. Most restaurant chains (namely: Panera, Olive Garden, Chipotle, and Outback. I could go on.)
I'm guessing that since the author is from New York, he/she generally has a local place or places they frequent. In most of Ohio, and most other places outside large cities like New York, you generally don't have lots of local choices. But that's not unique to Ohio by any means (New York is hardly void of restaurant chains) and varies from place to place. Even here in Kent, we have several local places or regional chains. In all my travels around the country, mostly by car, I haven't noticed anything unusual about restaurant chains in Ohio or Ohioans preferences.
16. Their high school
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| If you ever see this picture out on the web, I took it in 2009! Rah rah for Roosevelt! |
17. Wearing athletic clothing while having no intention of working out
I'll have to watch for this. I wear what, I guess, could be considered "workout clothing" when I do yardwork, but mostly in the summer because it is lighter. Workout clothing for me, though, is typically gym shorts and a t-shirt. I've seen people in the stores here in what could be considered "workout clothing", but I just assume they're coming from or headed to some kind of workout or other use for it. Since I don't follow people around, I can't comment if they actually work out or not.
18. Chicken bacon ranch pizza and sandwiches
I have never had chicken bacon ranch pizza (I like bacon, but don't really get it on my pizza very often) and have only had the chicken bacon ranch sandwich from Subway once several years ago when it first came out. I'd say buffalo chicken is more popular, but that's my observation and preference. Come to think of it, I can't even think of even seeing chicken bacon ranch pizza until I read the article, and I live in a college town!
19. Drive-thrus in general
That's typical for just about any suburban area, so I guess it would be accurate that Ohioans love drive-thrus, but so does pretty much the entire US.
20. Saying “you’re fine” instead of “no problem” or “no worries”
This is true, though, I say "no problem" and "no worries" quite frequently. I do hear "you're fine" quite often, but haven't noticed it only in Ohio.
21. Skyline Chili
Skyline Chili is mainly in central and southern Ohio. I had never even heard of it until recently when I met some friends in the Cincinnati area at a Skyline Chili there and had a nice lunch (I actually got a wrap...I'm not a chili person). There are a few Skyline Chili locations in northern Ohio now (4 in the Cleveland area including Stow and one in NW Ohio in Lima), but it's still mainly found in the Columbus area and south and is based in Cincinnati. According to the Wikipedia article, Skyline also has locations in Indiana, Kentucky, and Florida.
22. Cornhole
It does seem popular here, so I guess it's accurate. I'm not really a fan of it, but will play it. It seems more popular with college-age and high school-aged people, though.
23. Claiming to live in a city but really living in a suburb
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| Yep, it's a city, like it or not! |
24. "The range"
I have never gone to and don't know anyone who goes to the range (based on the picture the author uses, I'm assuming they meant shooting range). I know people who regularly go to a driving range for golf, but not a shooting range. I'm guessing it's more of a rural thing. I can't even tell you where the nearest shooting range is off the top of my head.
25. Referring to sneakers strictly as “tennis shoes” or “tennys”
My experience has been that athletic shoes are often referred to as "tennis shoes". I hear "sneakers" a lot for shoes in general, though it's not a word I use very often since my shoes are running shoes. If I had sneakers, I'd probably just call them my shoes and then differentiate from my "running shoes". I usually call my black dress shoes "church shoes". I have never heard the term "tennys" used.
26. Graeter's Ice Cream
I had to look this one up because I've never even heard of it. Turns out, like Skyline Chili, it's based in Cincinnati, which would explain why I haven't run into it here in northern Ohio. It does have some Cleveland area locations, but none of them are anywhere close. My favorite local chain is Katie's Korner, which has a few locations in the areas around Youngstown, Ohio, including Kent.
27. Going to the beach aka Lake Erie
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| Lake Erie beach in Euclid, Ohio, 2013 |
28. Referring to vacuums as “sweepers”
My grandma does this (she also calls gas stations "filling stations"), but it isn't a term that my mom adopted or that I use. Most people I know, myself included, call it a vacuum, though I do hear "sweeper" somewhat regularly. I've always considered it kind of an archaic term. If you want a unique Ohio term, try "devil strip" for the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road. That's pretty localized to Akron and the general vicinity. Many here also call it the "tree lawn".
29. Wendy's
I enjoy going to Wendy's, but can't say I go there any more frequently than other places when I get fast food. Yes, it's based in Ohio, but it's everywhere in the US. I can't say I've noticed any greater affinity for Wendy's here than anywhere else. Maybe in Columbus where it's based... (it's actually in suburban Dublin, Ohio).
30. Being "the birthplace of aviation"
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| My idea for a plate |
There you have it. I guess I was disappointed that many of the things the author attributed to Ohioans weren't unique to Ohio at all or were localized to parts of the state (in these cases, central and southern Ohio), at least in my experience, but it did stop and make me think about the many wonderful and crazy things we do in this state and why.
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