Mental Health Day

I used to think it was pretty funny that my dad got Mental Health Days.  He was a teacher, for the longest time a French teacher, and finished his career as a grade 8 teacher (usually with a 7/8 split because of the tiny school he was at).  And once in a while he’d just take a day off to do the things he liked to do.  He was never one to miss work, I think in all the years that I can recall he might have been actually sick enough to miss work a dozen times.  When he retired he had loads of banked sick days. So a day off once or twice a year must have been nice.

I say I used to think it was funny because how much work could it be to be a teacher?  I have been at school, it didn’t seem all that hard for the person at the front to give out work, and keep the rowdys under control.

My god do I know the difference now!

Today for me in fact is a ‘Mental Health Day’.  I am not sick (though my neck is killing me!) but I just needed an extra day off, especially with doing CPR all day Saturday.  I have been a bit stressed out at work, which seems odd because I do get to draw and colour and stuff all the time.  But being a teacher in any setting, school, karate, daycare is not nearly as easy as the people who are good at it make it look.

Teaching, and especially teaching children, takes an enormous amount of energy.  you have to give energy out, you have to be able to absorb it from others and you have to be able to control the energy of the room.  At times I have felt like I am in the zone while at work and that is when the job is easy!  Other times, and most recently, I have felt like I am fighting it all day.  I have to be able to find that zone again where things just roll.

Friend Making Monday - TV, Movies and Me

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

TV, Movies and Me

1. If you could be a recurring star on a show that is currently on TV, which show would you choose? 

Currently…  Hmm, I guess I would go with Big Bang Theory.  I’m not as smart as those guys buy I fit in with them nerd-wise.  And I’d probably get a shot at Penny.

2. Name the movie that you are most embarrassed to admit that you love.

I think that I’d get a few raised eyebrows if I admitted I like The Powerpuff Girls Movie, but I’m not embarrassed by it.  The Powerpuff Girls are awesome.

3. Name one show that you’ve never seen and would love to watch. 

This one I don’t know what to answer with between Netflix, the Internet and Cable I watch pretty much everything I want to watch.  I can think of should I would watch but have not been made yet!  Like a Nightwing show akin to Smallville, but where Dick is actually Nightwing and figuring out how things go without Batman around.

4. Do you ever go to movies alone? 

Yep, lots.  Not as much anymore with straps on disposable income, and that I could be working out or something instead of sitting still but I still go alone.  Usually it’s to see a good movie again that i am on my own.  Like seeing Green Lantern for instance.  The movie I saw the most times in theater (and most times alone) would be either Fellowship of the Ring or Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  The movie I have seen the most times in theater with people would be The Dark Knight

5. If you could only watch one TV show for the next year, which show would you choose and why? 

Mythbusters. It’s smart, it’s funny, it has explosions.

6. If you could star in one reality show, which one would it be and why? 

Amazing Race I think.  Amber and I were going to try out for the Canadian version, but her school teaching schedule doesn’t really allow it.  I think it would be awesome to travel either the country or the world for free and do stuff.

7. If someone rented a billboard for you, what would it say? 

Hmmm, if they are renting it they would get to choose wouldn’t they?  So how ‘bout it people, what would the billboard of Chris say?  Leave a comment!!!

8. Who is the most famous person with whom you have been in the same room? 

Sports-wise I have shaken Guy Carbonneau’s hand, former NHL player for the Canadiens and the Dallas Stars, and at the time Coach of the Canadiens.

I have been in the same room as singers only really,  most famous, I was at a little theater to see Weird Al,  Some might question why I choose him over Barenaked Ladies, Pink, NSYNC, Bon Jovi etc…  Three things, I like him better than all those, it was a much smaller venue so the ‘room’ bit applies better and his career has nearly spanned my entire lifetime!

9. If you were chosen to be a contestant on a TV game show, which show would you want to be on? 

Not a Canadian game show for sure because I want to win more than $50!!  I think actually Family Feud, it looks fun.  I’m not clever enough to actually win on Jeopardy, and the pace of Wheel of Fortune is too slow.

Wait scratch all that, The Price is Right!  As long as I get out of contestants row!

10. If there was a movie being made about you, which actor would you choose to play you?

Amber shot down most of my pics, I kept the young Harrison Ford card off the table till now though.  Think Raiders of the Lost Arc age.

Amber has suggested and I agree with Chris Evans, he was pretty cool and funny in both Captain America and The Avengers – He should have been Green Lantern I think!

 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!  And put up what`s going on my bill board!  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!

When Is The Weekend Not The Weekend?

When you have to go to the head office of work and take a CPR course for the whole Saturday!

I’m so not a fan of giving up my days off to do mundane work type things.  Sure send me to a conference where I’m learning something exciting and new and stuff, but to re-up my CPR is not fun.  Boo.

However in exciting news I won a Shigeru Miyamoto autographed copy of Luigi’s Mansion from Nintendo of America!  They had a contest on twitter that asked people to send in their favourite Luigi memories.  I have two. 

Back in the day I used to play Super Mario Bros. a LOT, and on my own.  I liked Luigi’s green and white better than Mario’s red and brown so I used to start up a two player game, and then kill off Mario just so I could play as Luigi!.  I have done this on many, many different Mario games as well.  My other memory involves actual people and competition though.  When I was 21-22 I lived in an apartment with three other guys, we played a lot of Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube.  It was general consensus that Ian and I were the best players in the house, he with Link and me with Luigi.  During one particularly epic battle, we were both down to our last man, both highly damaged and were contesting a a little piece of space on the back of the Great Fox (from Star Fox).  Link was trying to reach back up to the stage, and did a spinning sword slash to try to make some room.  I jumped backward with Luigi, the blade narrowly missing his face and then SMACK, knocked Link into oblivion.  Victory and bragging rights for the night were mine!

Once I get the signed game I’ll show you guys, should be pretty cool!

Friend Making Monday–Childhood Flashbacks

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

 

Childhood Flashbacks

1. Did you have a set bedtime as a child?  If so, what was it?

I don’t actually recall if I did.  When I was a little kid I might have, like 8 o’clock or something but I’m not sure of the time.  I know that when I was very small, like less than 6 and we lived one house over from my grandma and grandpa I used to lean out my window and talk to them on their back porch.  “Are you supposed to be in bed Chrissy?’ She would ask. And then I would go to bed.

2. Were you taught to be a member of the “Clean Plate Club?” Did it affect your eating habits as an adult?

Nope, I was a member of the ‘you have to try it club’ though.  Generally it was fine if I didn’t clean my plate, but I did have to take a taste of everything on it.  Ketchup was my friend as a child, even on mashed potatoes! Ick.

I would say yes, I’m a bit adventurous when it comes to food, if you read the posts about the cruise I just took you’d know I tried everything from alligator to snails!

3. Share one thing that you were not allowed to do as a child.

I’m again not actually sure on this one, besides the obvious.  Play with fire and so on.  Of course by the time I was 10 I was lighting the fires in the woodstove in the morning to heat the house. 

Swear is another obvious one, and I would get in huge trouble the few times that I was caught.

 

4. What is the cheapest gas price you can remember? 

I’m not sure.  I know the cheapest I have paid is somewhere in the $0.70 per Litre range.

5. What was your favourite thing on the playground? 

We had like the merry go round on our school yard, and we loved it.  We’d all get it spinning as fast as we could and then grab a bar and hop on.  the flippin’ thing would nearly tear your arm off doing that.  Or while it was moving slowly we’d walk on the bars.  It’s astounding that we had no severe injuries!

6. Share one thing that your parents always made you do that you didn’t like doing. 

Clean my room, make my bed and help shovel the driveway.  I hated to clean my room and usually I would just shove all my toys loose into the drawers that I had.  I figured as long as the floor was clean I was good to go (and I usually was).  Mom always wanted me to make my bed, I would usually do a pretty weak job of it really.

I always had to help shovel the driveway too.  Dad figured that if I wanted to be driven to friends houses (we liked like 3k from anyone) that I had to help.  our driveway was like 7 or 8 car lengths long!!

7. Do you remember your first kiss? 

Yep, I kissed Sarah in the classroom during recess in grade 5.

8. Did you prefer to play inside or outside? 

I was a play outside type of guy, going out and about through the woods, knocking down little skinny dead trees, climbing rocks, mucking about in creeks and fishing at the lake.  Of course I liked playing with my toys and Nintendo too.

9. What was your favourite TV show growing up? 

Depends on the age.  My favourite show rotated quite a bit but it went from He-man to Ghostbusters to Ninja Turtles and then the Batman cartoon.

10. Share one awesome childhood memory. 

My grandma used to let me ‘drive the car’.  I would have been about 4 or 5 and her car had the old style bench seats even in the front.  I would sit in her lap and believe I was steering.  Of course she was doing all the work!  Later my dad used to let me steer from the passenger side while going on our back road!  Very cool.

Bonus: Share a picture of yourself as a child. 

 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!  Happy Monday, my friends!