Life of Spud

My wife called me this morning at 8:45 am (about 10 minutes before class) to tell me that our babysitter hurt her back and could not watch our daughter for the day. She also told me that she had an all-morning meeting at her job, so she couldn't take her in with her to her place of work. ( Side note: Normally my cell phone does not work in the school building, but every once in a while my wife manages to get through to me and every time it seems to be something important/pressing ) Thinking on my feet, I made some calculations and decided that she should drop my daughter off at the school and I would watch her for the day. I only had two classes to teach and I already knew that my first-period class was going to be working on an in-class assignment (which would give me some time to plan for my third-period class). I informed my class (freshmen) that she would be coming in warned them that, under no circumstances should they look at or talk to my daughter while she was in the classr

So my daughter turned 2 last Thursday. Her birthday happened to coincide with the Leafs' (Toronto's NHL hockey team) visit to Washington to take on the Caps, so I took it as a sign from G-d that she should go to the game. My wife thought I was nuts for wanting to take her (the game was an hour away and started at 7 pm) but she doesn't really get what it means to be a Leafs fan (get them while they're young, because if they're too old they'll be smart enough to cheer for a team that has some hope in hell at winning the Stanley Cup - and then they're lost forever). "My guy" who works for the Caps hooked me up with four tickets (eight rows from the ice) and a VIP parking pass, and we invited the Bierers and their almost-2 year-old and headed south. And even though the Leafs lost, it was a positive overall experience. There's so much that goes on at a hockey game (loud music, flashing lights, videos and - yes - hockey) that it was the perfect stim

This is my first blog of the new year. Lots has happened since the last entry. Winter break came and went, we paid a visit to the family in Toronto, I (basically) finished my "synagogue project" and school has resumed and we're back in full swing. Here's a more detailed recap of the last couple of weeks: I was really looking forward to winter break. With it being a Jewish leap year, we don't get another break (Pesach) for a long, long time. Unfortunately, plans fell apart pretty quickly. First, my little brother and his family were supposed to come down to Baltimore for the first part of the break. Unfortunately that plan never came to fruition because, the night before they were supposed to leave, they couldn't find their passports. I mention this only because my brother was worried that I would. In reality, though, I had a ton of work waiting for me with this project that I had to complete for a program that I attended in the summer. Most of my vacation was