Damien at the Speed of Life – DATSOL

Dynamite Lesson Plan is an education-related blog featuring posts on teaching, parenting, psychology, and education.

My Other Blog
Thanks to my readers here at Damien at the Speed of Life (DATSOL). I’m excited to tell you about my “other” blog today. Around July 2008 I launched a teaching-oriented blog entitled “Dynamite Lesson Plan.” (DLP) It’s grown since then to have about 200 RSS subscribers.

A Community
The comments have been enlightening and educational to read and it feels like a community over there. I hope you can help me spread the news about this blog. If you are a teacher or if you are interested in education and teaching, I invite you to visit DLP:

SITE: Dynamite Lesson Plan

-or try the feed for a while to see if you like it-

RSS FEED: Dynamite Lesson Plan FEED

Guest Post Authors Invited!
I hope my articles there continue to be informative and interesting to teachers and all readers. In addition, I had the special opportunity to host a guest blogger twice. She is a wonderful writer and I am interested in hosting more from her and others of you out there. If you are interested in a guest post spot on DLP, please get in touch with me at:

EMAIL: rileycentral at gmail dot com

Here’s to a great summer 2009 for all of us!

-Damien Riley, Author of “Dynamite Lesson Plan”

Jumping in a freezing pool gives your body a shock and your brain a complete shuffle. I highly recommend it, especially when you’re overwhelmed or overheated. I took my 10 year old son to play tennis today and it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on the court. It was his first lesson so we were running all around and after an hour at it, I must admit … this 40 year old out-of-shape dad was ready to go get a cold drink and have some lunch. Believe it or not, as indefatigable as he is, he was ready to stop as well. We had a great time and I really enjoy spending time with my son.

After lunch, we spent some time doing yard-work. I mowed and he did a little weed whacking along the back fence. When we were done, both our shirts were soaked and we were sort of in that ethereal place being overheated and probably over-exercised.

That’s probably why I lost all sense and ran voraciously toward our backyard pool

I had enough presence of mind to remove my wallet with all my credit cards and notes about appointments for the next month. I also pulled my LG VU tv phone (which I really love) out and set it on the counter. But I tried to be fast about removing these things because I wanted to show my son he needs to be crazy sometimes. After all, it isn’t Summer yet and our pool probably is around 60 degrees or less. I just galloped straight in fully clothed to my son’s delightful amazement. Man, it was a full body shock but when I got out and peeled the wet clothes off, the peace was indescribable. It was as if a brand new fill of antifreeze was bringing a high temperature motor down to normal. I felt mentally refreshed.

The day that has followed has been full of letting old, dead ideas that aren’t working go. I’ve made “do-lists” based on healthy projects and cut bait from those thoughts and ideas that have been stealing my energy. My son is not yet brave enough to jump in a freezing pool. He is a bit more timid than I was at 10. But, I know he has seen me do crazy, healthy things like jump in a freezing pool to change my state of mind. I know he may “fall back” on them when he gets overwhelmed or overheated.

There is wisdom in doing crazy things once in a while. Have you done anything crazy to change your mind-frame lately? Id love to hear about it.

Here’s 7 taken from the article.  Click on the link below them to visit the original post and read the rest.  What a great post for teachers.

“1. Great teachers never forget that it is people, not programs, that determine the quality of a school. 2. Great teachers establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. 3. When a student misbehaves, great teachers have one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again. 4. Great teachers have high expectations for students, but even higher expectations for themselves. 5. Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: THEY are. 6. Great teachers create a positive atmosphere in their classrooms and schools. 7. Great teachers consistently filter out the negatives that don’t matter and share a positive attitude.”
What Great Teachers Do Differently

If I can add my own: they are so tech savvy they can work a document camera and know how to buy add-on Apple memory if needed ;)

These are so great and positive I had to feauture the article here!  Here’s the first 10.  Read all 25 at her post linked below:

“1. Rock on! 2. That’s awesome! 3. I can tell you’ve been practicing. 4. That’s very colorful. 5. I like how neatly you’re working. 6. You really followed directions. 7. Way to show what you can do! 8. Bravo! 9. That’s fantastic. 10. Great work”.
Twenty-five Ways to Say Good Job!

The first part of this post was written: Oct 1, 2008

My wife and I have been struggling with our three year old at bedtime.  She is a very willful child which is not always bad but at bedtime, it has been.   We tried several things and found that this worked best for us (in case anyone out there is having simlar issues):

1. Routine: Establish a routine in which the child follows the same steps every night.
2. Read her a story.
3. Tuck her in and tell her she cannot get up anymore.  Tell her you will check on her in 15 minutes.
4. Turn out the lights (night light on is ok).
5. MAKE SURE you follow through by checking in 15 minutes.

We have found our child is going right to sleep after we read the story.  Best of luck.

UPDATE: April 13, 2009 Now a while later, we have a 2 year old going through a far worse time with it. Our girl referenced above is now pretty good with bedtime and needs only minor discipline here and there. Well … minor that is in comparison to our terrible two-year-old! Last weekend I spent close to 3 hours each night trying to calm her to sleep without her bottle. She is very attached to it. We want to wean her off it for socialization as well as tooth issues but she will not have that! I don’t think I’ve ever gone through something so frustrating as a parent as this. We gave in after three nights of literal torture for her and us. Her screaming, us staying up holding her, her never going to sleep.

We’ve decided that it isn’t the time to take it away yet. Still that is our goal and we are working toward it.  My list above is a good guideline but I have learned and now believe that kids aren’t a ten step list on “eHow.com” Sometimes they color outside the lines and in our house, that’s okay.

This parenting stuff ‘aint for kids folks but it’s gonna be good if we just hang in there.

I sent my boy off to science camp this morning and my heart is welling with emotions. Most of them are good. Some of them are sad.

He’s now 10 which has meant now at over 100 pounds we don’t wrestle quite so hard these days. He’s into some of my music we play in the car as we go to work together, you see – he attends the school where I teach. He asks me questions about everything from guitar to how certain jobs work in the world. You see, we have become inseparable through the years. One of our favorite things to do is grab a donut and he a milk, I a coffee on our way to work. Incidentally, most the time we do this I use my PayPal blog card and the money I’ve earned from doing what you are reading now. Let that be a statement against anyone who says $100/month is chicken feed ;) – though I sometimes make 2-3 times that -

But I digress

My son is becoming a young man and I can imagine what he will look like, be like, and sound like when he fully matures. It’s the coolest “project” I have ever had a part in. His mom and I got married when he had just turned 4. Almost in a 2 month period, I went from a single guy who didn’t care if he dropped everything and moved at the drop of a hat to a dad who was looking for an insurance quote for a family of 3. I actually was going to my first science camp that year as a teacher and he and my wife tagged along staying in a hotel and visiting as much as visitors were allowed in the snowy paradise. Now, nearly 7 years later, he himself is going up the hill with bag and suitcase in tow. I see him smirk when I tell him how proud I am of him. By any other 10 year old’s standards, that would probably be embarassing but my son and I have been through a lot together. He taught me how to be a dad and I’ve taught him what “not” to do mostly by example LOL.

In all seriousness though I am proud that my son has listened to my teaching and I look forward to a lifetime of teaching each other.

The once “three” of us (add two girls now) c.2002
I will miss him this week but I secretly know he won’t miss me. This is my boy growing up and I am elated to see it happening right before my eyes.

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my | You can find all my other stuff in one place at Riley Central

Damien Riley Plays
the Ponderosa Restaurant
Fri April 17, 2009
9:30 pm
ALL AGES ADMITTED.
Kids welcome.
9544 Kiowa Rd
Apple Valley, CA 92307
(760) 247-7727
$6 admission
I’m performing an acoustic show. It will feature songs that I’ve written and some of my favorite covers. The Ponderosa is a restaurant with a bar, pool tables, and live music. If you have questions, you can call me on my cell: (760) 954-4973 or call the restaurant: (760) 247-7727.

——

The location on Google Maps: http://ping.fm/HI38j

MySpace Page: http://myspace.com/damienrileytunes

——

My set will include songs like these (it varies):

Black Balloon – Google Dolls
Talk to Me – original song

Day Tripper – Beatles
American Day – original song

Rockin’ in the Free World – Neil Young
Julianna – original song

These Days – Jackson Browne
People – original song

Our Lady of the Well – Jackson Browne
The One I Love – REM

Sycamore Tree – original song
Angelyne – The Jayhawks

——

-Damien

Contact me: rileycentral@gmail.com

MySpace Page: http://myspace.com/damienrileytunes

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMebpl02xy8

Show Promo Photos: http://rurl.org/1e8o

Official Website for the show: http://www.damienriley.com/damien-plays-the-ponderosa-april-4-2009/

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my FEED Thanks for visiting!

In this age of Facebook and MySpace, I regularly get friend requests from old friends who want to know what I have been up to.  The first few that asked several years ago, I wrote long emails to.  Since then my “catching up” emails have gotten progressively shorter.  Whether it’s the baby needing changing or just a flood of emails I have to return, there is usually no time to share what’s been happening with me since high school.  For that reason, I’ve written this post.  In a way it’s a bio … but more casual and more personal.

1987-1997
Since this is 20 years total, I’ll cut it into chapters … Part 1:
Ch. 1 Rock-n-Roll – I played in my band the 63 Lipless Fish until 1992 off and on.  In 1991 I approached Dave Sharp, guitarist of the 80’s alt rock band “The Alarm,” at a show he played at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.  In that approach, I made him a business proposition to produce one of our songs.  In the next two years, he produced 2 with us and I hung out with him playing a coffee house and a few bars.  He was and still is one of my heroes.  That time was priceless for me.  My apologies go out to my faithful band, we never became famous as I had promised.

Ch. 2 Back to School – I begrudgingly gave up my rock dreams and enrolled in college at 22.  College fit me.  I had my Master’s in English from Cal State Fullerton by 1998.  This included a summer spent living in Mexico studying Spanish conversation at UAG.

Ch. 3 Fifth Grade Teacher – After that I subbed while looking into PhD programs.  I wanted to teach college writing.  Santa Ana Unified offerred me a contract teaching on an emergency credential and that began a long strange road of learning more than I ever thought I’d know about teaching.  It was sink or swim.  I sank at first, but somehow lived.  Actually, I thrived and started what would become my current long-term career.

Ch. 4 Night School – I spent countless hours at National University getting my credential cleared.

Ch. 5 Coffee Houses and Bars – I stayed true to my wanderlust for places to play and sing in.  I remember them all fondly.  I played quite a few places in this decade.

1998-2009
Okay, now in pt. 2 we’re flash forward to 1998!
Ch. 6 High School and College Teacher – I taught one year of high school remedial English.  Some kids were great, others carved bad Mexican words in my door.  I also commuted and taught evening writing classes at Saddleback College.  I did that for one semester before burn out set it like I really shouldn’t try to explain.

Ch. 7 Pizza Enterprise – I decided to leave teaching and try and make huge bonuses as a Tricon manager for Pizza Hut.  I was the general manager in Dana Point from 2000-2002.  Some of you may have seen me :)  Guess what?  The first bonus was nice but the second was NOT.  By not, I mean NOT.  I missed teaching and started working back to it.

Ch. 8 Adelanto Move Forward to Teach – I got an email from EDjoin about a 5th grade teaching job in a place called “Adelanto, CA”  The word actually means “move forward” in Spanish.  I felt it was calling my name so I drove 80 miles to the interview and was hired the same day.  I had 5 other interviews scheduled in places like Long Beach, La Mirada, and Mission Viejo but I was done, I knew this would be my new home in the High Desert.

Ch. 9 High Desert Princess and Prince – I met my lovely high desert princess Sarah Youngs(Riley) on Yahoo! Personals.  She is a bit younger than me (9 year gap). I was looking for a friend in this new place as was she.  Her son was a Prince at 4 and almost instantly became my sidekick and son as well.  At time of writing this he is 10 now and our girls are 4 and 18 mos. They’re all peaches!

Ch 10. Online Enterprise – I’ve been blogging since December of 2006 and written down many of my thoughts about life.  I’ve also turned it into a business making upwards of $400 a month.  In that respect, my bonuses are even better than the second year at Pizza Hut :)

Believe it or not, that’s the short version.  I’d love to get in touch with my old friends from social networks.  please leave me a comment or an email and let me know what your journey has been!

Relevant Damien Riley Links:
http://www.postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com/
http://www.damienriley.com/
http://www.dynamitelessonplan.com/
http://www.podcast.damienriley.com/
http://myspace.com/damienrileytunes

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my FEED Thanks for visiting!

I was entertained by my son’s game tonight.  It had just as much excitement as an NBA courtside seat.  My son did great.  This was his first real competitive game at age 10 and I was so impressed to see him get out there and get his workout.  Since I’m new to this I may be preaching to the choir.  Before I get to the list, let me recommend a link to you:

Step aside big insurance companies, there a lesser known company with less flash online.  I recommend you try them for your auto insurance needs.  They are: New Hampshire auto insurance.

Back to my son’s game: His coaches have trained the team to clap for each other.  They do this when someone scores and even when they shoot and miss.  It was really neat to see these one decade old people having such a habit of encouragement.  I think sports are great for a myriad of reasons but after watching the game tonight, here’s what came to mind:  Sports are good for kids because,

1. The reveal character
2. They teach you how to work with others.
3. They teach you the importance of strategy.
4. You can escape the drama of 5th grade and get out on the court.
5. They keep you physically active and mentally sharp.

He’ll be playing at the high school soon as that is where they play their championship games.  I’ll try and get some photos and share with you how cool his games are.

I got up this morning with a strong motivation to get the Christmas lights up on our new home (6 months old that is). My dutiful wife had all my lights ready along with her “vision” to put them up a certain way. I liked the idea. We have two peaks on the front of our home and she wanted them lined along the top. The lower one was not too bad, but the higher one required a tall ladder and a seasoned “handyman” type who isn’t afraid of heights … which I am not.

I have always thought this tradition was an “unnecessary foo foo” for homeowners.  You might even have said I was a Scrooge or a Grinch about it.  I even had a friend I sneered at when he bought so many pillar candles for his luminaries every year. This year, I changed my mind: putting up lights might be worth it.  This is the front of our house. You can see the two peaks.

Imagine the creak of the ladder as soundtrack

I started right up the ladder, nailing, twisting wire and hanging. It wasn’t a bad chore … in fact, I rather enjoyed the exercise and hammering of it. I felt like the homeowner I’ve always striven to be. But getting up to that second tier had my hands awfully sweaty.  I’ve been afraid of heights since I was a kid and I had to face those kid fears head on.  That’s my 10 year old son down below.  He’s wishing he could climb on ladders and have “fun” with Dad.  Oh son, when you’re older with fears and responsibilities of your own, you will get your turn to have “fun.” Trust me.

How I almost became an archive

Bear in mind these are pictures taken by my wife from the next-to-top rung of a fully extended ladder.  She was shaky taking the picture but she told me she knew I would want to blog about them later.  Of course I told her I probably wouldn’t blog them.  Looks like she knows me better than I do.  It really was quite scary being up there.  At one point I slipped a couple shingles down and thought for sure I was going to fall off the roof and break my neck. Thankfully, I did not.

One slip can make quite a difference

This picture is just before “the slip.”  Unfortunately Sarah was down with the camera when I almost died.  If you decorate up high this year, be extra careful.

In the end … it was all worth it

Well, I’m still in one piece and the lights look great.  Have a look at the final product below:

Peace on Earth, isn’t it lovely?