Our Arrival!!

As Katie and I checked in for our international flight, we learned that had been moved up to business class, but we wouldn't be sitting together. The lady said it would work out fine - suggesting we'd "make it work." Sure enough, two gentlemen were kind enough to let us switch so that we could sit together - did I mention business class?

In business class, my feet couldn't reach the seat in front of me. For our meal, I had a choice between cheese tortilini and filet migon (I chose the latter). Everyone was taking off their shoes - it's a German thing. The things we learn when we travel...

I won't go on and on, but the flight couldn't have been better. The lay overs were managable, and it actually seemed painless when we finally reached Amsterdam. The one our flight to Frankfurt was easy.

When we finally figured out which train to take out of the airport, we were on our way. As we left the dark terminal on a high speed train, we popped out into my first sights of Germany. The train sped it's way through a forest of trees - birch and pin oaks. What an amazing introduction to the country!! The trees were all seemingly perfectly straight. Browns and whites were streaking past us as we made our way to the city. Two stops later, we were at the main train station. Our hotel is literally across the street. We just got done walking the downtown. Hard to describe - wonderfully new and fresh. We ate an appetizer outside at a nice cafe, and now we're off for dinner.

Thanks for checking in with us. Pics might be hard to come by but we'll do what we can.

Until then, hope you're well.

Hans and Katie

My Wife and March Madness

It's 7:29 am on a SATURDAY and my wife is checking online to see how how she's doing in the NCAA basketball pool. That's about all I have to say.

March Madness

Well, it's that time of year - March Madness. I'll write a little more when I have more time, but for now, a couple interesting articles I found today. Is your productivity lacking because of your bracket...?

The (Overblown) Cost of March Madness

March Madness by the Numbers

I Got Quesadillas

I got quesadillas for dinner tonight. Does this deserve a blog entry? If you knew how good I eat b/c of my wife, you'd understand.

Katie and I had a pretty full day. Nothing stressful, but we had church, errands, homework, and then Katie went for a run (yeah, a COLD run). When she went for a run, I cleaned a little and ran to see a friend who was in town. When I got back, Katie was in the kitchen still in her running clothes. She said her run was "excellent" and in the same breath, she said she was making a treat for us tonight. Our plan was to stay in and watch a movie or West Wing. And Katie was making quesadillas!

All I want is for everyone to know how great of a wife I have. After a long, cold run on a Sunday afternoon of a busy weekend, my wife is making our night all the better with her excellent cooking. Tonight, I got quesadillas.

Cut and Paste Pics

I love photography. I love candid shots of people. I love pictures that make me appreciate beauty. So I found these off wtopnews.com I hope I'm not infringing on any copyrighted material, so I've cited my sources (I hope).

Lunch Time!
Panda cubs drink milk at the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, China Friday Feb. 9, 2007. A mini-baby boom last year has pushed up the number of pandas bred in captivity in China to 217, state media said Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. Some 34 pandas were born by artificial insemination in 2006 and 30 survived, both record numbers for the endangered species.(AP Photo) CHINA OUT

Toddy Tapper
A toddy tapper climbs a palm tree to collect toddy in the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Friday, Feb.23, 2007. Toddy, or palm wine, is a traditional intoxicating drink created from the sap of various species of palm tree. The drink is particularly common in parts of south India. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)

'The Queen' Arrives
British actress Helen Mirren, won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her work in "The Queen." (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

'Happyness' Stars Arrive
Will Smith, nominated for an Oscar for best actor in a leading role for his work in "The Pursuit of Happyness," arrives with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and son Jaden for the 79th Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Real Time Adventure

I love this weather!! I just got done with a post talking about the last snowfall. Well, this still counts, I guess. Weather forecasters have been telling us for days that this weekend will be a mess. I ran out for a couple things, and stores were busy today b/c people were "stocking up" for the weekend so they don't have to go out. I went to Blockbuster, and so did half of Madison.

It's kind of fun when so many people clearly all in the same situation. Katie and I came home from the gym today and the plow had created this 2-foot road block in front of our driveway.

So I backed up across the street, took a running start at it and plowed through. Yeah, it would've been better if you were there. So thinking of such a dilemma, I had Katie take a picture of the Outback taking on the small snowbank. Yes, I realize it was small, but would you do this with your car?



The approach.









And we have contact.

So this is a Real Time post, here on the Game Plan, because Katie and I are hunckered down for the night. We had our homemade pizza and just got done watching a documentary - Mad Hot Ballroom. Great film!!

Now we're about to watch Ronin - DeNiro on a Saturday night is always a good thing.

Katie Turns 28

On Tuesday, we took the day off work to celebrate Katie's 28th birthday. She decided to go to Milwaukee's Art Museum. As you probably know, Katie is a wonderful artist and loves art history, also. As we were walking through the museum, she would comment how certain pieces were done before other ones - just by their style. Needless to say, I was learning a lot that day.

Art is so interesting, especially when you're observing it with someone who knows what they're talking about. And when you read about the artist, the time period, and the culture associated with a certain piece, we begin to see the world through the eyes of very talented artists.

This is a progression of Katie's 3 Pears:

One Last Snowfall

I realize I'm in the minority on this one. But I can't get enough of the snow. I hold on to winter as long as I can. Just tonight, Katie and I were coming back from Tex's Taco Tub (it tastes better than it sounds). As we were driving, the snow was really starting to fall. I just LOVE my Outback in weather like this.




So when we got home, I opened the front door to look at how everything was becoming covered with this white blanket of snow. Have you ever looked outside late at night during a good snowfall? Everything is quiet. Cars don't speed by - they seem to creep down the street, packing the snow all the way down the road. It's quiet, so the world seems a little bit smaller, cozy.

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I really love my Wisconsin Winter.

What's Happening in the Schools

In my search for a teaching job, I’ve been subbing in the Verona Area School District. I just got finished with a long-term sub position in elementary P.E. and realized how much I missed being in the schools. It’s been a very frustrating endeavor applying to schools and hearing how many other candidates put their resumes in for the same position. Lately I’ve been thinking about “outside the box” ideas for teaching. I’ve had a home school opportunity come my way, and the idea of running my own business and having it be in the field of education is very appealing to me. I’ve also looked into an outdoor education program, and really like the possibility of doing something like that.

To be honest, it’s really hard to trust God for this when I haven’t really seen anything work out yet. The long-term sub thing was great, and maybe that was my “re-entry” into the field. I just don’t know where to go – is it time to leave Madison and maybe even Wisconsin? I know (many) other 20-somethings are struggling with the same issues and situations, but it doesn’t give me much comfort.

What I do know is that I love teaching and I love physical activity. I also know God cares about me and my family a great deal, and I must continually put this before Him and be a good steward of my time and resources.

In my subbing days, I’ve been all over. One of the coolest things I’ve seen was at Glacier Edge Elementary. It’s a new school in Verona, so they have all the newest technology. The have a mobile computer lab for the whole school to use. It’s a cart that is equipped with a printer on the top. When you open the side panel, this is what you see:

This is 22 Apple MacBooks. They all plug into the cart to recharge before they travel to the next class that needs them. Each student gets their own computer. If there’s work to print, they can wirelessly print to the afore mentioned printer on top of the cart. Pretty cool set-up.

One of my subbing assignments last week was a math class for 7^th grade. During one of the classes, two girls were playing with the teacher’s pet lizards, who have a cage along the window sill of the room. They took out the lizards, and so I decided I had to have a picture with them.

Schools are really exciting places to be. There’s political crap that certainly gets in the way. That’s why the idea of my own program with home school students is appealing. Outdoor education probably would be free of some of the same politics. No job is perfect, I’m just very anxious to find a place to get my teaching career started.

Link Winter Retreat

I have been doing college ministry at Blackhawk Church for over 6 years, and I absolutely love the retreats. They've changed a lot over the years from just hanging out to very spiritually focused. I'd say this year was something of a mix. We went for a more spiritual direction, but as always we left plenty of time for hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Here's a few pics from the retreat.

Craig, Nick and Travis on a chair. Matt Cranney is there, somewhere.






See, I told you he was under there.








Cranney, Craig, and me.









Al, Matt, Casey, Zach, me.










Brian and me.









(l to r) Mari and Jenny. The Pewaukee Connection: Dan and Andrea Wolck, and me. Metzger and me.

Subzero Sleeping

One of my friends, John Swee, is a big outdoors guy. He works at REI and has more gear than anyone I know. If I could post a picture of my jealousy, I would. Anyway, he and I were on the Link Retreat and were discussing the possibility of sleeping outside. Note: temps this weekend were highs of 1 and lows of -13. After discussing our strategy, we began to prep for our adventure that night.














Our plan was for each of us to put one sleeping bag into another. I had a bag rated to 15 degrees and another rated to 0 degrees. John had one rated to 15 and 50 degrees. I had a little gear back I'd keep in my bag with my iPod (incase I couldn't fall asleep), small water bottle, cell phone, extra hat, and camera. Every nighttime outdoor activity requires a headlamp. Here, we're packed and ready to go.














After a few minutes of adjusting, we're in our beds for the night.









So you're probably asking yourself: "How cold was it out there?" Great question. John had already planned to monitor our situation. Here's what one thermometer said, sitting against our boots outside our bags.









The next logical question is: "How warm were those bags?" Another great question, thanks for asking. John had another thermometer in his bag and after we got settled, he was giving me 30-second updates: "65 and rising. 70 and rising. "

Finally we maxed out the thermometer - 80 degrees inside our bags. After thinking about it, it made sense that these down bags would keep in our body heat (which we all know is 98.6) and we should be able to keep warm.

It was time to call it a night. We wrapped up for our final sleeping position. This turned out to be the most difficult adjustment for sleeping in sub-zero weather. If you completely close off the mummy-bag, your breathing is tough b/c the air is so warm and clostrophobia begins to sink in. Both John and I experienced this for the first time. We figured out that if we created a "hood" with the end of our bag, we could have a sliver of cold air that quickly warmed when it reached the warmth of our bags. This fresh air was important for our compfort throughout the night.


In the end, I woke up at 5:45 and had to go to the bathroom so bad. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so I called it a success and took my gear inside the lodge and slept for the last hour of the night. Later, John would tell me that at 4:30, he woke up and had the same thougth. Except he got out of his bag, did what he needed to do, and got back in!! He is hardcore.

Subzero sleeping is very doable with the right gear, a little planning, and the will to adventure out and try something new.

Athletes in Action ROCKS

My friend Scott works for Athletes in Action here at the University of Wisconsin. Friday morning I got an email from him announcing their full-page add in the USA Today. This was done by the national office, not here in Madison. I checked it out here at the coffee shop and it looks amazing.

The ad features the two coaches in Super Bowl XLI - Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. Both are committed Christians and have teamed up with AIA to share more of their faith with anyone who wants to listen. Here's a small pic of the ad:

I hope you can blow this image up, I know it's kind of small. Check out the AIA website (above) and if you can find a USA Today, check out the Super Bowl section backpage.

Jim Phelps Would Be Proud

"Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is... As usual, should you or any member of your I.M. Force be captured or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."

It's probably a guy-thing, but Mission:Impossible was one of the coolest shows I watched growing up. It made espionage the best job ever. Say what you want about the M:I movies, but Alias, Bourne Identity, and now 24 have tapped into our obsession with spies and specialized government agents.

Well now technology has caught up with Hollywood. Just like Jim Phelps, you too can send and receive self-destructing messages, text messages that is. I found this online and if it's not worth your time, then THIS message will self-destruct in 40 seconds. Good luck.

ARTICLE: SELF-DESTRUCTING TEXT MESSAGE

One Great Deal

Just a heads up: Barnes and Noble is having a huge sale on DVD box sets - 2-for-1. The box set must be more than $30 and more than one disc - which ones aren't. I'm hoping to get West Wing seasons 4-5 this week.



And in a related and developing story, Katie is really getting into the West Wing. Is this really happening???

24

What can I say, I'd been waiting for January 14 for months! It marked the 2-day, 4-episode premiere of 24. Jack Bauer is back!!




I know some people wonder how many times a single man can save the country. The answer is as many times as the country needs a hero like Jack Bauer. Here's some info on Jack:

MISSING

EXPERIENCE:
Department of Defense, Washington DC – Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense CTU – Director of Field Operations, Los Angeles Domestic Unit CTU – Former Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Domestic Unit Los Angeles PD - Special Weapons and Tactics

EDUCATION:
LASD - Basic SWAT School Master of Science, Criminology and Law - University of California (Berkeley) Bachelor of Arts, English Literature - University of California (Los Angeles) Special Forces Operations Training Course

MILTARY:
US Army - Combat Applications Group, Delta Force Counter Terrorist Group

PERSONAL:
Widowed Daughter - Kimberly Bauer

Are you catching the drift? This is serious stuff. At least to some of us. Sunday night Katie and I watched the premiere together. Then Monday night we got together with the Metzgers and Cranneys for the 2nd night. If you're not already into this show, I doubt you'll check it out. But if you want a thrilling drama every Monday night, you can catch up in one night. Otherwise email me and I'll give you a summary.

UW Hockey - Saturday Night Tickets

You gotta like two nights of college hockey!!! As I said, Katie and I went out for a burger and beer - Dotty's Dumplings. You need to try the Ostrich burger.


We got to Dotty's a little late for a Kohl Center Event. The wait was 30-40 minutes, but it ended up being about 60. All my worries were put to rest when we got a seat just after 6pm, and I knew we'd eat and get to our seats before they dropped the puck.

A sad night, though, as the ugly (and I mean UGLY) Gophers beat us, 1-0.

UW Hockey - Friday Night Tickets

I just told Katie a week ago that I really miss going to UW basketball and hockey games in these cold months here in Madison. If you have been to more than a few of these, you know what I mean. There's nothing like walking from the cold weather into the warm confines of a UW Athletics event. And this week I was offered tickets for three events:

Friday - Women's Hockey (in a suite)
Friday night - Men's Hockey (in a suite)
Saturday night - Men's Hockey (student section)

Here's Katie and I at the Nitty Gritty after the women's game. We went out with a bunch of her co-workers.









After this, I went to Ian's and met Kirk and Matt for some pizza before the men's game. The Badgers are playing the Gophers who are ranked #1 in the country. Kirk got us into a suite through his work. Life is good in the suite.










And tonight I'm taking Katie downtown for a burger and beer before the 2nd men's game tonight. Oh, thanks for asking (Todd). The Badgers won 2-1 in an exciting game that went down to the final shot w/ 8 seconds left. This makes for excellent drama tonight.

GO BADGERS!!

Back In The Gym

As noted weeks ago, I have put my arborist business on hold for three months while I accepted a long-term teaching job in Verona. The first thing I tell people is that the kids make me laugh. Remember that show with Bill Cosby, Kids Say the Darndest Things? I feel like I’m on the show when I’m playing with these kids in the gym. It fascinates me as they are learning about games and activities in the gym. I am lucky enough to have a front row seat as they grow and develop their skills and accomplish things for the first time. Jumping rope is new to a kindergartener. Then they learn to jump backwards. But when I challenge them to do “criss-cross,” they quickly make it known that they can’t do that, yet.

The question I get the most is, “Will this turn into a full time thing?” Unfortunately the answer is no. I’m filling in for a teacher who’s taking three months of paternity leave. He’ll be back January 22. And I’ve been asking all around about other jobs in the district. Bad news for gym teachers. They cut one at the high school, and they reduced one from 100% at a school to 50/50 between two schools because enrolment dropped 50 kids at one of the schools.

Note to reader: I am so frustrated at the lack of funding in the public schools. Even before I became a teacher, I felt it doesn’t make sense that the people teaching our kids, the future of our country and world – it doesn’t make sense that they make such little money and there’s not enough for additional teachers. Another blog for another day.

So I’ve been trying to pray about my situation. God certainly has refreshed my desire to teach, but the question of “where” is still unanswered. I’m thinking about the traditional idea of a gym teacher, but I’m also thinking about how else to “market” myself as a self-employed teacher. Sorry if this is boring you or you’re confused. But basically I’m trying to be more effective and more independent than the public school teacher. It’s just hard for me to ignore experiences I’ve had with business and thoughts and dreams I’ve had concerning my career. Stay tuned.

What else? Merry Christmas!!

As I sit with my wife's family, it's a gathering like so many others. We're all on our laptops, iPods, cameras, and updating Facebook.

We've watched Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Christmas Story. Now we're starting National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. You need to go watch that right now.
"Going for a new, landspeed record..." Griswald is the last real family man.

You're probably reading this after Christmas, so all the rentals are back at the video store. Go rent it now and write me a comment.

Insight into Leadership

I have been doing leadership with the college ministry at Blackhawk for over five years now. As my experiences grow, I am learning so much about what it takes to influence college students, and particularly college leaders. I love to read books and go to conferences on leadership development, but so often we learn best by the experiences we have with those we're leading.

This semester, as I was writing out my thank you cards to those on my leadership team, I was able to reflect on what these students have done in the last 16 weeks (or so) for the ministry. This wouldn't have happened if the card read as follows:

Dear Leader - thanks for your help and service this semester. Looking forward to next semester. Here's $10 to use at Starbucks.

I don't mean to slam you if that's the extent of your thank you card, but I guess I kind of am... If you are serious about leadership, you're serious about making an impact. There is no impact in that thank you.

So I made sure to write a few sentences of specifically what I was thankful for in their service, what I saw in their efforts with the ministry, and (specifically) what I was looking forward to as we prepare for the second semester. This was such a great reflection for me - it's really going to be a springboard as we begin thinking about the spring semester.

Are you a leader? Do you want to influence others? Imagine the impact you can have when you get specific with your thank you cards and pour out praises for team members... Celebrating victories and encouraging spirits go a long way in the heart of the leader.