Sailing and then some

Jibing, Tacking, Spinniker, Hiking out, Jib, Port, Starboard, Ready About, and many more...

Before yesterday, I had no idea what many of these terms meant. I was a child in the world of sailing. I still am but I have one race under my belt and 2 hours experience with an excellent sailing teacher. My friend Mary invited me to go sailing with her On Wednesday. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We went to the Riverton Yacht Club in New Jersey that has sailboat races every Wednesday night on the Delaware River. Often some boats are looking for extra crew because they need weight in the boat or an extra set of hands. I was lucky enough to get picked up by a Allen and Diane. Their third crew member was unable to come that night so I took his place. The next two hours were a crash course in sailing. Needless to say we didn't win the race, but I personally had a nice time trying. I was invited back for next Wednesday's race and I think I might take Allen up on it.

After the races are over, everyone meets on the dock for snacks and drinks. It is really a neat culture to be a part of....if even only for a couple hours every week. There are three types of ships in the races: J22s, Lightnings, and Mariners. I rode in a Lightning. We are given a mapped out course and compete against the other ships in our category...so all the Lightnings set off at the same time to compete to finish the race first. We actually didn't finish the race because we didn't cross the final buoy on the port side so oh well...it was still a great experience...and I look forward to hopefully learning more next week.



That isn't me or the boat I was one, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like last night.

Amazing Grace

I just finished reading a book by Jonathan Kozol entitled, Amazing Grace: The Lives of School Children and the Conscience of a Nation. The book is a bit dated in that the material comes from interviews and information from the early 90s, but my guess is the majority of the situation described in his book hasn't changed. The author interviewed, researched, and basically inserted himself into the lives of many individuals living in the South Bronx in NYC. He talks to AIDs patients, preachers, children, teachers, drug addicts, mothers, fathers, drug dealers, and almost anyone you can think of. He paints a grim picture of poverty in America that is both disturbing and I should think accurate. Sometimes I think some of the material is based more on individuals emotional responses to situations, but the author does a decent job of backing up stories with factual information and even citing his own reservations and trust of people's recollections of events.

I find it hard to read this book and not want to do something. What that something is I am not sure. I sometimes think I am already doing something by volunteering and working in a urban school but often that feels more like my job than actively working to reduce poverty. Be forewarned, the book does not provide solutions. If anything it provides a bleak picture of our nation and what we are not doing to help the most in need. I definitely recommend it.

I don't know where to start

I am so far behind in this whole blogging thing. I was going to try and catch up but I decided that might just be too difficult so I guess you get what you get. Recently, I was given a free offer to try Blockbuster Online for free. Who isn't going to turn down free movies. I of course accepted the offer. What is great about Blockbuster Online (no this isn't a shameless plug) is that you can return your movies in the store for a free in store exchange. It is like getting more movies for free. So this month I am currently on movie #5. Here is a list of the previously watched movies and my recommendations.

#1 - Children of Heaven - Well done movie about about a brother and sister in Iran. The brother loses his sister's shoes and the movie is a beautiful story of what brothers and sisters do for each other.

#2 - The Darjeeling Limited - Not for the feint of heart. I am a Wes Anderson fan so I immediately liked this movie. The folks I live with weren't as high on it as I was, but I truly enjoyed this movie about three brothers and their "spiritual" journey.

#3 - To Be and To Have - A documentary about a rural French school teacher over the course of his school year. It is seems like a slow movie but really it just parallels the different pace of life in rural France. The teacher is incredibly loving and caring while also being strict and teaching his students effectively. I would encourage any teacher to watch it.

#4 - La Vie en Rose - Edith Piaf...enough said. Obviously many are probably familiar with this movie, but I finally saw it last night. What a tragedy to be given such an amazing gift but then to have a life that is filled with sorrow and disappointment. I was both amazed by her life and filled with sorrow. Marion Cottilard did an incredible job in the movie...It is not surprise to me that she won the Academy Award for her portrayal in this movie.

#5 - Pan's Labyrinth - I have already seen this movie, but no one else in my community has seen it. I am looking forward to seeing it again.

Also, I have a non-store rental I saw recently called Under the Same Moon. It is a movie about a illegal immigrant from Mexico and her son's journey to find her in LA. There are parts of the movie that are a bit overly sensational but overall it was a wonderful film and may even change your perspective on immigration issues in our country. I cried multiple times...not that that says anything...I cry a lot in movies.

As you can tell with my movie picks, I apparently enjoy foreign language films. I don't know when this happened but I definitely watch more documentaries and foreign language films than your run of the mill American movies. These are all great movies and I highly recommend them all.

Happy Viewing!

Clean Air 5k

We had the first race with kids from my school this weekend with Students Run Philly Style. Sixteen kids from the school and 8 faculty members ran the race. Some others came out to watch and all in all in was a great day. It was the first race any of the kids had ever run so it was pretty exciting. All 16 of the kids finished and we are gearing up for our next race in two weeks. It is a 10 mile run so it will be much more difficult but heck if they have to walk a ton there is no shame. It is exciting to be a part of this and introduce these kids to running. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the day. Br. Patrick who was taking the pictures got better with the camera towards the end so not every kid got their picture taken. I am looking forward to sharing more storied and pictures about our running adventures as we go.

Oh and Mayor Nutter was there....Sara and I got a picture with him at the very end of the day.

A New Addition To The Family

I am proud to announce a new addition to my family. It was a big decision but already well worth it....so check out my new bike. I have ridden it twice and it is oh so nice....if you are in the market for a bike, I would strongly recommend you check out Surly Bikes. They are very versatile and look pretty sweet.

Students Run Philly Style

As many of you know, I am pretty into running and well all sorts of sports. Well as I was training for the Chicago Marathon last fall, I noticed a ton of kids running the same paths as me with t-shirts on that said "Students Run Philly Style." I was very curious as to what this organization was so of course I googled it. I found out it is an organization in Philly that brings free marathon training to youth in Philly. Not only do they get free training, but they also get free shoes, race shirts, race registrations...basically they get to be a part of a team and become a runner for free. It is unlike any organization I have seen. I thought the program was so great I decided to join. I was able to recruit teachers at my school, West Catholic, and start a running team. This was was our first practice and we have anywhere from 20-35 kids running with us (depending on the day). It is really great to hear kids being proud of themselves for running their first mile and celebrating the beginning of some big accomplishments. I don't have any pictures of the team yet, but once I do I will definitely post them. Being a part of this has already been one of the most fulfilling experiences for me in Philly.

You can check out their website here http://nncc.us/studentsrun.html

Another Great Movie

If you haven't already seen Tsotsi, you should check it out. It is a hard movie, but also very well done. The movie is about a gang member in South Africa and the results of his well bad decisions....