Dad

Here is something I found just a few days after Dad died. It says a lot for me

Grad School Drop-out

I have officially decided to become a grad school drop-out. I will finish the winter, spring and summer terms. I will then have 18 credit hours needed to apply for my professional teaching license. I have come to realize that reading is not my thing and I do not want to be a reading specialist (what my grad degree would allow me to be). I have also been too stressed out going to classes six hours a week with an additional 10-12 hours needed to complete the assignments. It felt that I was not able to put enough energy into my classroom and I feel that I owe more to my students than I am able to currently give them. I will eventually go back to school, but have not decided what I will study. If I could I would love to go to school for speech and language pathology, but that would require me to get whole new degree. What to do, what to do.....


A lighter note....2 weeks until the Home Opener! Matt and I will be enjoying our new season tickets while watching Mando (maybe?) pitch the way to a VICTORY!

Just an experiment

Come on, now

So far we have middleman and me brother that will engage here.

What up with you lurkers?

Ain't this a family? Where are my sisters?

Oh, and mr. chopper; mr. mike - cat got yer tongues?

What up Tom? John? Mr. Awesome? How has life been treating y'all? Happy, or what?

Molly, Karyn, Katie - are you so thrilled with your existence that you have become speechless? Let it out kids. What are you waiting for?

I mean, I'm pretty certain that you carry these genes. Is it possible that our Sisters have so dominated you that you feel as loathe to post as MA and Liz?

Me? I'm a loud-mouthed dickhead that makes no excuses for being a thorn. But you two are as mysterious as the Bible, what gives?

Detroit Basball Club Fantasy Baseball

I wanted to invite everyone to join our fantasy baseball league. It it through yahoo and the league id# is 156717 and the password is jourden. So come on and have some fun with us this summer!

Mistake Eraser

While I was shoveling snow earlier this evening...

...its one of those heavier, wetter snows that are so much a part of February. Thing is, we were not so attentive to the last layer of the slushy stuff. We let it go while we watched the TV weather folks predict 40 degrees and sun. I even had that certain civil guilt feeling when I looked up and down the street, you know, when you feel like you've let your neighbors down...

anyway, I noticed that underneath the new snow, the old had so melded into the fresh wetness and been blown so deftly into lock-step, that my mistake had been erased. Now, my nearly clear walk is cleaner than the neighbor's.

My mistake has been erased.

Funny, sad, or ridiculous pt.2!

I was jus wondering what has been the overall feeling of the goings on in Washington D.C.? Have people not been posting because they are happy about the way things are going?
What does everyone think about a cabinet that is still unfilled because of tax issues? I thought the new President signed into effect some type of bill that limited the roles of lobbyist in government. He then appointed a guy who was a lobbyist and then lied about that income on his taxes.
What about the role of Burris and Blago? Sorry to everyone for missing a great shoe throwing opportunity. I live on minutes from that idiot.
Is everyone happy with the stimulus package?
What about or troops having to go through Afganistan to get home?

Funny, Sad, or Ridiculous?

I came across this web-site while prowling around the other day.

While I don't agree with the views expressed, I do believe that one should make an effort to see and understand issues from a variety of perspectives.

Have at it:

Another Perspective

On my way to North Carolina

A short trip. Leaving this afternoon from MPLS and getting to Greensboro, NC late tonight. Meeting all day tomorrow about the project at TransTech Pharmaceuticals targeting the enzyme I've been studying for almost two decades as a potential for anti-obesity, anti-diabetes treatment. I'll be back in town late Monday night. This is how I earn my consulting money. I usually donate my fee to the Minnesota Medical Foundation and direct it to the Ann and Charles Okar Basic Medical Research Fund so that I can use it to help fund my own lab.

Other than that, life is the same as usual, writing grants that don't get funded and trying to do some research in between meetings and paperwork.

The snow is melting - slowly. But its only February, so any talk of "spring" is wishful thinking. Spring is not so great (in my opinion) because its mostly mud and rain.

Today is the Day

Out with the Old
In with the New

and all.

Based on all the excitment that was buzzing around here in November, I'm a bit surprised that I'm the one to point to Washington DC on this day.

The visuals tell alot of the story. The people. The momuments. The man. The family. The world.

What will it bring and how long can it last?

That's up to us.

For now, sit back or stand up, and embrace this moment.

Gulin is fine

Everything went as expected and she will be discharged tomorrow morning.

Thanks to all for their thoughts, prayers, mantras, and positive energies.

Made my day

A kiss goodbye

Hole Baby

You know, Mr. Obama and I are the same age. Demographics says we are "Baby Boomers", but we are not. Mentality says we are "Gen X" (or whatever BS label it is today; Post-Label).

Calliope's Voice

Molly el puma grande has a point.

Hopefully you are all acquainted with The Muses. This poem was written in Minneapolis while I was hosting Voices From the Well Open-Mic. At the time, Chris Shillock was doing an early version of his epic poetry cycle, Millennium City. Its a rather gothic poem and Chris can really get into it when he gets going, especially with a band behind him. Anyway, this is my response to his cycle. Somewhere in the City, Chris dwells on inspiration and dares the Muse to dance with him.

Calliope is the Muse of Epic Poetry, by the way.

So...

Fruitcake

Can anyone trace the history of the family fruitcake? Where did it start and why?

Okar Family October 2008

Christmas Plans

I am keeping the Christmas get together on December 21. It will be an open house style gathering. People are welcome to start arriving at noon and can stay as long as they like. I will have snack food, baked goods and sandwich fixings. People are more than welcome to bring any other food and their own beverages--beyond water and soda. I would love to see everyone and hope that you can make it!

Well, That's That

Did you feel the earth move?

A historic Presidential Administration is set to begin. Are you ready for it? Can you dig it?

Renaissance Thinkers

I was reading a chapter in my textbook for my graduate class. The book is about reading comprehension and the ability of getting students to truly understand what they are reading. The current chapter I am reading is titled "A Renaissance of Understanding". It is discusses how the great thinkers of the renaissance thought and how the ability to think like that is not only nit being fostered in schools, but is actually being suppressed. The author describes renaissance thinking as having to do with finding connections among disciplines, seeking the highest form of aesthetic expression, inventing new thinking, pursuing a wide range of interests, creating models to capture our thinking, speculating about the possible and seeing almost unlimited potential in each person. She continues to say that true understanding may come chiefly from doggedly pursuing answers to one's own gripping questions. Those questions needn't be the philosophical, scholarly, or artistic quests we think of when we read about Renaissance thinkers; they may just be how to take the best sunrise picture of a flower in an overgrown meadow, why someone thought to preserve a spot for an urban garden, how to create the winning game plan for the game next week, or how to find time to become ta well rounded person with a variety of interests that will help you become a renaissance thinker.

I thought of our blog when reading this chapter and the debates that are had here. So, I challenge everyone to widen their interests and learn new things. Science minds learn about the written word and the history of language, the geography of the world, or the economics of our country. Literary minds learn about the chemistry of the processed food we eat or the history of politics. Academia minds learn about physical education, yoga, and sports. This could go on and on but I hope to one day be all of these and more...it is the best thing for me as a teacher to do. I hopefully have the personal experiences needed to help my students make connections.

A Case of the Vapors

This timely report comes to us from the Onion. This is precisely the kind of President we need. No joke.

Now, I suspect that the writers at the Onion may not have completely understood how close they came to this truth. Rather, I think they are riffing on a percieved lack of substance; reality vs. dream. I think they've hit a much larger target.

Those readers that are familiar with the Temple Tapes will see the connection.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/obama_warns_he_may_cease_to

World Series

Who is going to win it all? I told Matt that the first team to score would win the series, so I guess I am predicting the Phillies. I really want to see the Devil Rays win. Oh no, I said Devil and have to pay the $1.00 fine. What does everyone else think?

What about summer?

What about sometime during the summer?  I would suggest sometime around the last week of July.  The only concern is that the rentals are weekly May to September.  The fall is also fine with me and the rentals are nightly after September.  Then at either time would we have more than 6 or 8 or 14?  

Sorry if you voted for me!

I just couldn't be the last one!  So, hello all!  I don't have any plans for the holidays as of yet, so any weekend for a get together will work for me (and I speak for Greg, too as the  family scheduler.)  Once Nutcracker is over with (Dec. 5++) and the only other tradition is we spend Christmas Eve Eve with our friend Gloria we are pretty much free.  If it can't be worked out before Christmas what about the Sunday after Christmas?

The Next Reunion?

After some discussion at the 2008 Okar Family reunion, we thought that we might take up Bart's (middleman's) suggestion to visit the Chicago area. Because it is unlikely that we could all fit into Bart's place, Katie did some on-line searching and found this place:

link

In Michiana, near the shore of Lake Michigan. It looked good to those at MA and Jerry's breakfast table. Visit the link and see what you all think.

Or, perhaps some else wants to host? Maybe you have another idea, let us know. Thing is, we have a time deadline, of sorts, because this place will likely go rather fast, and we need to make reservations quickly.

As far as I know, we are aiming for the same time of year: Early October.

Thanks, Katie, for your efforts. I'll send you an email to help you sign up as an author.

Another Poem