Fall

Gotta love fall --

Practicum

So I started doing my pre-service teaching practicum at a high school in Belleville.  The town is beautifully situated on some lakes formed by the Huron River, and the school is large, clean, and appears new.  In the practicum, I am helping out the teacher and generally observing, which is fun.  I met a nice student named Adam, whom I hope to talk to a little bit each class, so that's cool.  I'll be there once a week for almost all of the winter semester, so something to look forward to!

Oh, I saw a coyote crossing the road today... How cool is that?

Three Days

Two days ago: I was meditating in my pop-up mosquito tent when a skunk walked right in front of me, crossing from left to right not two feet away.  It was interesting to observe my reaction: from the 'oh shit' to the sudden elevated heartbeat.  She didn't appear to notice me (the mosquito net must obscure my appearance) much to my relief. 

One day ago: Labor Day weekend, so of course it rained. We went to Metro Beach Metro park, which was a little disappointing.  The beach was very thickly seaweed-y, and the rain was vicious.  My wife invited several families, and I had to watch the kids, unfortunately, so I really couldn't enjoy it very much   It looked like an interesting park, and I hope to visit it again soon. 

Today, I screwed up.  I thought that my semester started today, but in fact my classes do not start until Thursday.  I wondered why nobody was coming to class: including the teacher!

Made a homemade mediation cushion with a pillow case, some duck tape, and some folded newspaper.  My wife enjoys sleeping with my regular pillow, so something had to be done. 

Realized that my mosquito tent was a sacred space: all eight directions, with nadir and zenith as well..

Am noticing settling and levels of depth ... 

Sunday Misc. Continued

Observed: A train engineer has his elbow out the window of the train engine -- must be fun to drive a train, I would think...  (Might be wrong about that, though...) The train was festooned with spray-painted slogans -- tagging is a particularly irritating and ugly form of literacy if you ask me.

Had to set up my portable mosquito net in order to mediate today... They haven't been bad lately, as the evenings have been very cool.  Love it when a train comes by when I'm meditating... The neighbor spreading some sort of pesticide on his back yard...

Am reading: Team of Rivals by Goodwin (Lincoln has always fascinated me), the last chapter in a text (Building Adolescent Literacy in Today's English Classrooms) that is required for an upcoming class (starting in two days), the latest Asimov's Science fiction magazine (I'm on story number 3), and Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space (which I read before: it didn't impress me then, but this time I'm enjoying it thoroughly).  

Sunday Misc.

Heat lighting last night, with some rain off and on.  I couldn't sleep, so I did ten minutes of meditation.  Did it help?  No.  I don't often have insomnia, but last night I sure did.  After the meditation, I got up to use the computer.  That didn't help much either. 

Enjoyed "Into the Dalek".  The Doctor asks "Am I a good man?"  I'm sure we've all asked ourselves that once or twice in our life... I know I have.  Loving the Capaldi's Doctor though.  Brilliant casting choice, and well acted.

Sun today goes in and out of the clouds... now sunny, now dim.  

 

Butt, Ice Cream Man, Pine Needles

Observed: a woman at the MacDonalds' playground with her cut-off blue-jeans cut so short that the bottoms of the buttocks were visible.  Three well-behaved kids clambering about the structure.   She rubbed the shoulders of her husband often as they sat there (although he seemed fairly oblivious to her ministrations), and the two often kissed.  He had thin beard cut low and shoulders like a linebacker.

Observed: My daughter is interested that the ice-cream truck man is in MacDonalds to have lunch.  She runs over say hi.  

Observed: a picture of a football player on the back of the car, with a name and 1990-2009.  I pointed it out to my daughter and mentioned how sad it was that this man had only lived 19 years old.  The owner of the car, coming up behind, said "thanks for noticing". 

I notice, while meditating on the back porch, that summer is coming to an end.  I love the summer months.  It is so simple: no sweater, coat, scarf needed, not even shoes if you don't feel like it.  I love the fall as well, but fall is infected by melancholia, the sense that things are closing down and coming to an end (at least temporarily).  Falling dead pine needles kept falling into my lap as I sat in half-lotus. 

Looking forward to "Doctor Who tonight".  Never been a huge fan of the Daleks, myself, but many people are, of course. 

Scene

A flashlight bobbing along the length of a stalled train --

Afternoon delight

The sound of maybe the last ice cream truck of the season does not interrupts my meditation so much as enhance it -- the sun though the grape leaves -- the taste of chai tea, and the sound of an airplane ...

The ancients compared random thoughts to a monkey jumping around -- to me today, it seems like random blogging or updates...

New Doctor. (Who?)

On Monday night, I went to see the big screen showing of the premiere of Doctor Who's 12th (?!) Doctor, Peter Capaldi.  It was the second time I had seen it: I could not wait, and saw it live on BBCA on Saturday night.  I thought that Peter was fantastic, as I had expected him to be.  My old friend, Ralph, also seemed impressed.  I liked the new Doctor's gravitas, humor, and especially his darkness and maturity.   Did he push the bad guy to his death?  Or did the cyborg kill himself?  Time will tell (or not).  I especially liked the eyebrows!  Seldom can a body part say so much.   

I never really warmed up to 11th Doctor Matt Smith.  He was great sometimes, and I didn't dislike him.  But her didn't fit my image of what the Doctor should or could be.    I am, incidentally, firmly that my opinion is of the minority, but that's okay.  So Matt didn't float my boat, so what?  One man's Dalek is another man's Cyberman... or something like that. 

Anyways, welcome Peter!  "Change my dear, and not a moment too soon"...

Fire

My wife had a hotdog party with her friends today, and I did my final meditation of the day in front of the fire she had built.  It had greatly decreased in size this late at night, and I had to sit quite close to even feel the warmth from the lackluster flames.  I tossed in a stick, which improved the situation slightly. 

Reflection upon my meditation

Eyes: Glowering embers, strobe-like flickers of light, the stars above, the glowing window of the house next door.  The stick burning down its meager length. Fire always seemed to me to be such a happy, enthusiastic force.  The flames blue close to the wood. 

Ears: Crickets, snap of flames, cars on the road.  Unknown animals moving through the trees and grass. 

Nose: Wood smoke, chill night air away from the flames.

Mouth: Nothing really.

Skin: Comfortable warmth.  One or two mosquitoes landing upon my skin.  A violent case of goosebumps. 

Mind: Irritation at my wife turning on the light and then interrupting my meditation with a reminder. Last night's season eight premiere of Doctor Who. The Buddha's Fire Sermon. 

Today...

Twenty minutes of mindfulness today while preparing lunch... why do my feet fall asleep in half lotus?  

Meditation Hour

 Twenty minutes three times a day: after 6 a.m, after 12 p.m, after 5 p.m. 

Small irritations (like itching) rise, crest, ebb, disappear... 

Ignoring my math homework
To write poetry instead --