Wrestling - Season To Date

So Cpher has returned to wrestling since his time in 8th grade. He was convinced/cajoled into this - I’m kind of surprised (but happy) that we ended up here.

1) His friend Sean has been working on and trying to get Cpher to return to wrestling since 8th grade.
2) I think, sadly, his lacrosse days are over. More on this later as we move into spring. But since he might not be doing that Mom and Dad have strongly suggested he continue to do a sport (or two) to help with fitness and weight control.

Cpher is 3-5 so far this season. His wins, for the most part, happen because he can bring his size and strength into play and the other kid, who is invariably smaller and lighter, can’t handle it. His losses are almost all the same - he runs up against someone who is a better ‘wrestler’ and he gets Cpher into a bad position and Cpher can’t escape and gets pinned.

The last ‘meet’, two matches on a Wednesday night, are probably worth describing as a good summary of where we are at. Cpher thought he’d lose both of these league matches and turned out going 1-1. I’m ecstatic that he got the win but disappointed in how the loss came about.

The first match, the win, was the first time I’ve seen Cpher get out of bad spots. He was down 4-0 in the match; the kid from Jackson had taken him down twice and usually once Cpher is down with the kid above him it’s a very bad thing. But he battled and got to the edge of the mat twice and that got him back to a ‘neutral’ position (although still ‘down’ - better than a position where he could immediately get pinned) and then eventually escaped (earning a point, losing 4-1 now). And then he got the kid in a hold, took him down to the mat and 20 seconds later Cpher wins.

The second match was against the guy he is going to have to beat at some point this year to have any ‘success’ this season (in league, in districts, etc.). And for about a minute Cpher was having quite a battle with him - the kid can’t get Cpher down and Cpher can’t get him down either. Finally the kid does get Cpher on the mat and the pin happens quickly after that. I’m disappointed that Cpher, to me, didn’t try harder to escape - it was pretty clear that Cpher was happy enough just winning once on the evening and he even admits he didn’t try very hard (like he did in the first match) to escape.

Brooklyn

Last weekend was Mom and Dad driving Kevin out to New York for his last internship, a tour with the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for Southern New York. And the major themes and pictures are out on Facebook. But here are some random comments that didn’t make it there.

1) Man it was cold. But the wind was the killer - I think we could have gotten through just fine because we are Michigan-acclimitized without the wind. But the wind made hats an utter necessity, and it turns out that Suzanne hated the look of my hat. And I think my hat was the most functional of the bunch. It’s this cap-scarf combo that I guess could go under a ski-helmet. Suzanne hated that it looke goofy on my head; I loved it because it covered my ears and my neck and I bet I was the warmest on New Year’s Eve when we were standing on the Brooklyn Bridge.

2) I’m glad I have Suzanne to ‘force’ me and the family to have all of these experiences because there are things we did this trip (the Bridge on NYE) that we probably wouldn’t have done if she didn’t have us doing it.

3) But the one thing I realized I disliked the most was the walk through Times Square - the older I get the less thrilled I am to be out battling through these situations.

4) Highlights? Loved the trip to Bryant Park.

(NBC News had this frozen fountain as a shot on the news last night)

Was really glad we went by the window display at Macy's

5) Lowlights? The roads were not optimal BUT we did avoid any major snowstorms so I shouldn’t complain. The van changed color from maroon to this ugly salt-crusted brown by the end of the trip. And as a family, we need to be better about moments when we end up ‘off-book’.

6) We saw movies since it was so cold. Loved the Alamo Drafthouse - what a great place to see a movie. Enjoyed Molly’s Game - can’t believe I didn’t fall asleep during it! I Tonya was good but the music really made it great. And The Post was good but not great - for me it was the worst of the three movies we saw in NYC - but the memory of the movie was Kevin nudging me with the enthusiasm of a twelve-year old and telling me to look at Mom, whose head is tilted back, mouth slightly open and she is G-O-N-E sleeping!

Personality Test

Maybe I’ll get Kevin’s or Suzanne’s here too….we’ll see

http://www.personalitylab.org/tests/bfi2_self_pol.htm

Score (0-100)

Personality Dimension

77

Extraversion

High scorers tend to be talkative and energetic. They like being around people, and are comfortable asserting themselves in a group. High scorers tend to have more friends and dating partners, and are seen as more popular. They generally prefer, and are successful in, social and enterprising occupations. They are more likely to serve in community leadership roles, and to do volunteer work. They tend to prefer energetic music such as hip-hop, rock, and heavy metal, exercise more frequently, and are more likely to play a sport. They experience more frequent positive emotions, and react more strongly to positive events. Women tend to score higher than men.

Low scorers tend to be socially and emotionally reserved. They generally prefer to be alone or with a few close friends, and keep their opinions and feelings to themselves. Low scorers tend to pursue, and do better in, jobs that involve independent work rather than social interaction. They are less likely to engage in thrill-seeking or risky behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and risky sexual activity.

69

Agreeableness

High scorers tend to be considerate and polite in social interactions, and enjoy cooperating. They find it easy to trust people, and feel compassion for those in need. High scorers tend to be well liked by their peers, and establish satisfying and stable close relationships. They generally prefer, and do better in, social occupations. They are more likely to be religious, to serve in community leadership roles, and to do volunteer work. They tend to prefer pop, country, and religious music. Women tend to score higher than men, and older adults tend to score higher than younger adults.

Low scorers express themselves directly and bluntly, even at the risk of starting an argument. They enjoy competition, and tend to be skeptical of other people's intentions. Low scorers tend to earn higher salaries, and are more likely to engage in some risky behaviors, such as smoking and aggressive driving.

46

Conscientiousness

High scorers tend to be organized and responsible. They work hard to achieve their goals, and see tasks through to completion. High scorers tend to earn higher grades in school, and perform better in many occupations. They are more likely to be religious and hold conservative political attitudes. They tend to exercise more, have better physical health, and live longer. Women tend to score higher than men, and older adults tend to score higher than younger adults.

Low scorers tend to act spontaneously rather than making plans, and find it easier to look at the big picture than pay attention to details. They prefer to jump between tasks, instead of finishing one at a time. Low scorers are more likely to hold liberal political attitudes. They tend to engage in more risky behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, and risky sexual activity.

17

Neuroticism

High scorers tend to be emotionally sensitive, and have up-and-down mood swings. They experience more frequent negative emotions, and react more strongly to negative events. Women tend to score higher than men, and younger adults tend to score higher than older adults.

Low scorers tend to be emotionally stable and resilient. They usually stay calm, even in stressful situations, and can quickly bounce back from negative events. Low scorers tend to feel a greater sense of well-being.

69

Openness to Experience

High scorers are generally open to new activities and new ideas. They tend to be creative, intellectually curious, and sensitive to art and beauty. High scorers tend to prefer, and do better in, scientific and artistic occupations. They are more likely to hold liberal political attitudes, prefer classical, jazz, blues, and rock music, and engage in drug use.

Low scorers tend to be traditional, down-to-earth, and stick with tried-and-true ways of doing things. They prefer the familiar over the new, and the concrete over the abstract. Low scorers tend to prefer, and do better in, conventional and practical occupations. They are more likely to hold conservative political attitudes.

I’ll blog this!

I knew this was going here the moment I saw it and started to read it in Boston before having it roughly (and rudely!) snatched from my hands. But the primary motivation to return to blogging is Kevin, so, he can’t bitch much when I use his content to continue to add to the family’s institutional history. Glad he left it where I could find it (again!) and put it here.

What to blog?

It’s a harder question that you might think. With facebook being the primary place to share photos I’ve had to really think about what to post here. The same pictures? Not sure that makes much sense, especially since we can purchase books (for about $40) of each year of facebook.

So maybe try and discuss things and concepts that won’t end up on Facebook? We’ll see.

Random Stuff:

The newest card game to hit the house is Wizards, a combination of spades and hearts and a pretty good introduction to bidding and trump for the boys. Christopher, at first, refused to play and couldn’t understand why we would play a game that came from Trump, and we had to slow down and point out that trump is a card term not a mental lunatic of a President.

So, it’s fun - we’ve played four times so far, I’ve won twice (hah!) but all of the games have been pretty competitive. The games went better once Cpher figured out the concept that you had to follow suit in accordance with the rules(!)

Wiley gets all the ‘text’ around here, but I would have to reluctantly admit that the ‘most loving’ of our three dogs is Holly and she would easily get the crown of ‘best’ dog if she just wouldn’t bark at anything and everything she sees outside that she perceives as a threat to the house (that’s everything she sees…)

We bought antler head gear and other santa stuff for the dogs - the only one who would even remotely let that stuff stay on her head for more than a few minutes is Holly.

American Literature

I don't think I've ever had a kid hate a class, no, hate a teacher, as much as Christopher is hating American Literature. Before parent/teacher conferences I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell me, he said "Tell Dockus she assigns way too much homework!". I did; she wasn't very amused by this.

And he's right, she does assign a shit-ton of writing assignments. Fortunately for me, and this blog, she assigned a 'blog' that Cpher has had to write. So I'm going to capture those posts here (if there are more than one)

Football Experiences and Memories

In every sport you can make memories and have good experiences. Football is no exception. Since football is a team sport, the player has to work with their teammates to achieve a goal. With this in mind, the player has to become close with other players, thus making memories and having good experiences.

The people you play football with makes a huge impact on the result of the game. If you play with serious athletes that only care about winning, it won’t be as fun. And if you play with people who only care about having fun, odds are you won’t win. Having a team that is equally balanced is superb, and that was how my team was this year. Ever since I started playing football, I didn’t get along with a lot of teammates. I didn’t like the “popular” people and most of the “popular” people played football. I always thought that my teammates were jerks, but this past few years have been different. Especially in the last season, I became friends with players I’ve never talked to before. One of my favorite parts of practice was goofing off and talking to my lineman friends. Since football is usually broken into different positions, you and the other players that play the same position become close. I’m friends with all the lineman on the team and the bond we create is truly special. One of my favorite experiences with them was at the team dinners, or waiting to start practice in the locker room. We would always joke and there would always be a fun, cheerful vibe.

The experience of my first varsity season is unforgettable. From having an amazing coach, to having a winning season, everything was amazing. Ever since the first day of freshman year, my grade knew that the year that Okemos did good in football, would be the year when we were juniors. With our grade and the grade above us, we have a strong line, and skilled players to run and pass the ball. The seniors were nice and helped the juniors through our first varsity game. They gave us tips and advice on what to do, and that was very unusual. For previous years, the senior and juniors didn’t get along with each other. I always heard that the team felt separated, but this year we came together as one, whole team.

Even though the season wasn’t the greatest, it was still very good. Okemos hasn’t had a winning season since 2014. It was nice to know that I was part of a team that was making history. We won our first four games in a row. That hasn’t happened since 1998. We lost four times in the season. Two of the loses, we should have won, but knowing that we were in the game until the very last seconds, made it feel better. Even after the losses, the team still came together and it was very moving. To see a team slowly separating, and then coming back together to finish with a winning season was very meaningful. Overall, I have enjoyed playing football, making the memories with great people, and having an unforgettable experience. Have you made any good memoirs from playing a sport? If so, let me know!

One last try

Well, Blog 2.0 didn't go so well.   So we will take one more shot at it before giving up on this idea for good.

Might as well go with an easy but well-worn topic.

Wiley

(It may not look comfortable, but, Holly ends up on top of Wiley a lot..)

He's 2 months short of his 12th birthday - he made it to yet another happy arrival of Kevin home.  He's had his bad moments this year.....there are definitely some times where I was worried that he wasn't looking so good.  But as they year comes to a close he seems to be in fine form; looks good, gets around pretty well, relatively active.  Active enough to scarf a pan of fudge off of the counter! 

Maybe the most notable thing about Wiley is that we think he's starting to go deaf (or has gone deaf).  If you call and he's not looking at you, well, you are out of luck for the most part.  This has had one very bad outcome.....he doesn't 'hear' the warning for the invisible fence and has blundered his way through it once or twice in the last month.  The most memorable 'breakout' was Wiley and Bailey trotting their way down the road; they made it all the way onto Sower and were heading towards Bennett Woods before I caught them and even then Bailey came when I called but Wiley just kept trotting.   I (barely) caught him before he made it to Hulett...and that would have / could have been a disaster if he had made it that far.    This was at about 2:40 in the afternoon so I just sat on the curb over near Capeside and waited for Fric and Frac to come rolling home from the high school to take us all home. 

So yeah, he's doing just fine.