Meridian

Well ladies and gents I am back to the blog after a very long absence. I stepped away from the blog back in March when I began running much more and training for two races, a ten mile and a half marathon. I am very pleased to report that I finished both of these events under my time goals! I am now training for my second half marathon, The Monster Dash. It is a Halloween themed event so I plan on putting together a Star Trek related costume to run in… I LOVE BEING A NERD!

The school year is back in full swing and I am so very happy to have the structure back in my life after a summer of fun and college classes. I am always amazed at how much we as educators actually get sick of summer and crave being back in the classroom. I know for me it is just as much about loving working with my students as it is about needing to have some degree of structure in my life. I know I shouldn’t complain about my summers off so I won’t, because even if I do get sick of it at the end of the summer I still love having the time to do whatever I want to do.

For a first post back I’m really sad to admit that I don’t have anything witty or even that earth shattering to report as of yet but eventually. There are some extremely good things happening in my life that I hope to share more about in good time!

 Workout Summary

        Today I ran 4 miles on the treadmill in 38 minutes :-)

Meridian

                Sisko, Dax, Bashir, and O’Brien are on the Defiant doing some research in the Gamma Quadrant, despite the threats and warnings from the Dominion. While exploring a star amazingly and out of nowhere a planet arrives. Once they have made contact with the residents of the planet the crew is informed that the planet appears in this sector once every 60 years… yes ladies and gays this is Star Trek’s take on the classic musical Brigadoon. Well the crew starts to work with the inhabitants of Meridian to solve their problem of fluxing between realities and they figure out how to do solve the problem. Well the new problem of course is that Dax has fallen in love with a native Meridian man and she decides to stay on the planet. In the end something goes wrong and she is not able to phase with the planet and she is returned to the Defiant and heartbroken.

                Meanwhile back on the station a traveling business associate of Quarks has developed a crush on Major Kira. He strikes a deal with Quark to create a holosuite program for him starring Kira in a compromising position. Quark spends the rest of the episode trying to get the program created but of course Kira and Odo outsmart him and turn the tables on him in the end. 

Second Skin

Second Skin

Kira receives a communication from Bajor looking for details of her time in a Cardassian labor camp. This is utterly confusing to her because she never spent time in any labor camps during the occupation. Upon further investigation it turns out that yes she did even though she can’t remember it at all. She plans a visit to Bajor to clear the issue up but never arrives. Next Kira finds herself awoken by a few Cardassians welcoming her home where she discovers that she now appears to be a Cardassian herself. She is told that she is the daughter of a high-ranking Cardassian and was part of a sleeper undercover agent program that failed. Her Father Ghemor is brought in to visit with her and she is given medication to help her memory return.  The memories have not returned and then she is put through torture and still nothing is returned. Ghemor decides to help her escape and reveals that he is a member of the dissident movement on Cardassia who wants to overthrow the military’s rule. Meanwhile on the station Sisko and Odo blackmail Garak into helping rescue Kira and he has not choice but to travel along. At the right time Garak and crew rescue Kira and Ghemor. The whole crew returns to the station where Ghemor and Kira have a wonderful parting scene. It is also revealed that Ghemor was set up so that he could be outed as a member of the underground and executed. 

Another crap post.... Sorry:(

Equilibrium

Well I have simply not had the time to blog the past few days though I have worked out each day with the exception of Friday. On Thursday I participated in a broomball tournament and my friends and I took third place!!!!! I never thought I would enjoy participating in a team sport but I did and I’m pretty excited to do it next year. During the game I banged my knee up pretty badly which made me worried about running but I have been fine the last few days. Today I ran 6 miles, which is the longest run I think I have ever done. Other than that I have been doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and not doing a whole lot.

Equilibrium
Dax appears to have some issues happening but she doesn’t want anyone to know what is wrong with her. Eventually she passes out and Bashir does a little research and finds that she is having some major medical issues between her brain and the symbiant’s brain.  Sisko and Bashir take her to Trill to be examined and they seem willing to work with her but only so far until the recommend that the slug be removed from her in order to save it.  Sisko does some investigating and determines that there was a host between her 5^th and 6^th hosts. When he confronts the Trill doctors they acknowledge a cover up but they don’t want it getting out that nearly 2/3 of all the population could be joined. In the end Dax goes to the underground caverns where the other slugs help her to integrate the new memories. 

Yes I know this summary sucks but It is hard to remember details a few days later. SORRY FOLKS

The House of Quark

Today was a snow day so I got to stay home and relax all day YEAH. The good thing about that is the fact that I got home from the Maroon 5 concert at 1:45 in the morning so I would have spent the day tired as hell. I spent a good chunk of my day on the couch I’m not going to lie and then I went and ran my three miles at the gym. Now I’m waiting for my iphone to finish updating before I head to bed.

The House of Quark
An angry Klingon is hanging out in Quark’s bar and he is the only one there much to Quark’s dismay. Apparently no one wants to have a good time there anymore what with the new Dominion threat. The Klingon refuses to pay his bill and attacks Quark but trips and falls on his own blade. Quark proceeds to tell everyone that he killed the man in self defense. Quark is soon paid a visit by the Klingon’s brother making sure that the death was honorable and Quark continues his lie. Next Quark is visited by Grilka, the man’s wife. Grilka kidnaps Quark and tricks him into marrying her. Quark is now the head of a great Klingon house but must find a way to keep the house in Grilka’s hands and not to be taken over by the brother. Quark proves that there has been financial fowl play but then must fight the brother to the death to claim his house. In the end there is no fight and Grilka is given her house to govern as she sees fit.

Meanwhile back on the station Keiko is down in the dumps because the school has been shut down. The school closing is because all the families are leaving due to the Dominion threat. At first O’Brien tries to create an arboretum to give her a project but everyone tells him this won’t last for very long. So O’Brien finds a botanist job for Keiko and gives her permission to leave the station and the two agree to the arrangement. 

The Search

What a weekend this has been! I’ve done some cleaning, work at school, a bit of grocery shopping, lunch with a friend, and some Dr. Who. I also ran a total of 8 miles over the two days. Today I ran 5 miles and it was a bit of a challenge especially for the last mile but I made it through. I have also decided that I 5 miles is my limit on the treadmill because well it is simply because of sheer boredom. Tomorrow I am taking my sister out for her birthday to go and see Maroon 5, one of her favorite bands. She is a bit more excited about it than I am but I’m still really pumped to see the show.

Day 1- 3 miles in 35 minutes
Day 2- 5 miles in 60 minutes

The Search, Parts I & II

Part I
Sisko has spent the last few months at Starfleet command to review to new potential threat of the Founders and the Jem’Hadar. He is now back with a prototype Starfleet warship, the Defiant but this ship has a few surprises in addition to its huge arsenal of weaponry. The ship has also been equipped with a cloaking device, which the Federation got from the Romulans in order to assist them with the mission at hand. Starfleet has put Sisko in charge of contacting the Founders and trying to relay a message of peace. He recruits everyone on the senior staff to take part in the mission, even Quark is asked to help with the mission. The only now part of the mission is Odo, who Starfleet has requested to be taken off senior Staff. Kira convinces Odo to go along as a representative of Bajoran interests. Once in the Gamma Quadrant Quark is charged with making contact with his business associates who then relay them onto a specific planetary relay station. Dax and O’Brien beam down to the relay station and are captured by the Jem’Hadar. Soon after the Defiant is under attack by several Jem’Hadar ships and they are easily over taken by the superior Dominion force. Odo and Kira escape the ship in a shuttle and make for the Omarion Nebula, a place that Odo has felt drawn to since he entered the Gamma Quadrant. Once there he and Kira are greeted by a shape shifter who welcomes him home.

Part II
Odo and Kira are greeted on the surface of the planet and the female shape shifter begins giving Odo a bit of a introduction to the lives and history of the shape shifters. Odo is delighted and seems to ignore Kira for a bit. Later she wants to send a transmission but the other shape shifters deny her request to keep their location secret. The shape shifters have a massive distrust of “the solids”, their name for anyone who is non shape shifter. Meanwhile Sisko and Bashir are in a shuttle on the verge of death when they are picked up by Dax and Sisko in a shuttle. They all return to the station and find that things are moving and a shaking politically. The top Starfleet command officers are there and so are the Founders. They are engaged in a series of peach talks to form an alliance but things are a bit off and so Sisko and company agree to make a run for the wormwhole and collapse it to keep the Dominion away. Meanwhile back in the Omarion Nebula kira continues to attempt a communication but finds a mysterious power signal underneath the surface. With Odo’s help the door is unlocked and all of the survivors from the Defiant are in some type of suspended animation. The female shape shifter enters and explains that they were testing them to see what would happen if a Dominion invasion were to happen. The shape shifters are revealed to be the Founders and seek to eventually take over the Alpha Quadrant. Odo decides to leave and the rest of the Defiant crew is allowed to leave as well.

Simply a great start to the third season of Deep Space Nine! Also once the Defiant showed up it allowed the series a little more freedom of movement and even just a bit more action as far as space battles go. From this moment on as well it is a slow and steady build up to the Dominion War which will take place in the last few seasons of the show. 

The Jem'Hadar

Season two of Star Trek Deep Space Nine has come to an end and now Dominion War story really kicks into gear. This week has been long but that is Ok, I am now looking forward to having a relaxing weekend.

The Jem’Hadar

Jake, Nog, Sisko and Quark are going on an adventure in the Gamma Quadrant to complete a science experiment for Mrs. O’Brien’s class. At first it was to be just the Sisko’s but the two Ferengi are invited along in the end even in Commander Sisko is hesitant. On the planet Quark is a pain in the ass and hates practically everything about nature while everyone else seems to love the whole experience. The trip is cut short when Sisko and Quark run into an alien and are then captured by a few Jem’Hadar soliders. The Jem’Hadar soldiers reveal themselves to be the soldier force behind the Dominion, which is the major source of power in the Gamma Quadrant. The other alien is named Eris, a woman whose planet was overtaken by the Dominion and now she is on the run. The three attempt an escape but at first it is no good so they go back to the drawing board. Meanwhile Jake and Nog have made it back to the runabout but are stuck in orbit and can’t get back to DS9. Around this time a Jem’Hadar ship comes through the wormhole and threatens the whole Alpha Quadrant with reprisals if they continue to violate Dominion space. They also promise to make an example of Commander Sisko. A Federation ship and the runabouts mount a rescue mission and they are successful until the Jem’Hadar attack. Everyone makes it out alive but the Jem’Hadar decide to do a suicide run on the galaxy class ship just to give an example of the type of warriors they truly are. Back on the station Sisko grows suspicious of Eris and she soon reveals that she is a member of the Dominion and that this whole thing has been an elaborate plot to learn more about the Federation. She also warns that “they are everywhere” implying that there are Dominion spies in the Alpha Quadrant. And that is how season 2 comes to a close.   

Tribunal

So to quote Pink “I’ve had a shit day, you’ve had a shit day, we’ve had a shit day”. The day at school went ok I guess and then well I just got into a funk that hasn’t gone away despite an excellent run and a good number on the scale. In talking to my good friend Laura she recommended that I list five positives from the last few days. So here goes:

I finished writing an extremely important and lengthy report for work and the feedback so far from my bosses/supervisors has been very positive

I had a wonderful 3 year observation meeting today with my principal that only reconfirms that I am in the right field and in the right place for me to make an impact in the lives of the amazing students I have the privilege of working with each day.

I submitted 2 pages of my yearbook that have taken a lot of planning and work time to create and they look FABULOUS.

I just got the coolest asymmetrical blazer in the mail that I intend to wear tomorrow in one of the coolest outfits of all time. I like to think of myself as one of the best dressed guys at my job which I find fun. This one sounds a little arrogant but I really don’t mean it to be.

I stepped on the scale this evening and the number was very nice, 197 which is great. I have been working towards getting back to 190-195 since the new year and I am getting close.

I killed my run today at the gym. 3 miles in 35 minutes. I  am working my way up to a ten minute mile pace, but will honestly settle for an 11 minute mile.

I learned that my grandfather had a stroke over the weekend which is a bummer but the positive is that he is still alive and is stable. I intend to visit him this week, most likely on Friday.

I got to spend the night on Sunday watching the Oscars with my sister and next Monday we are going to see Maroon 5 together for her birthday!

I am nearing the end of the second season of Deep Space Nine and season three is where the show started to take off and get really good.

I guess a tenth positive is that I have a really great group of friends who support me and love me and who are willing to tell me when I’m being an idiot. I have been kind of dealing with a big question lately and each of my close friends has given me wonderful advice on how to handle the situation but everyone has ended with this comment “Paul , I just want you to be happy because that is what you deserve”. I am blessed.

I guess an 11^th blessing has been the discovery of the SWEET BROWN clip on youtube which has brought endless joy to my life…. OH LORD JESUS IT’S A FAAAHRE!

Tribunal
The O’Briens are leaving on vacation for the first time in 5 years and the chief is running a little late. You see a good friend of his has stopped by the station and the two connect for a few minutes in the hallway. While on their way to  their destination the O’Briens are stopped by a Cardassian ship and the chief is brought to Cardassia Prime as a prisoner. Cardassian justice is a little different than the justice system on Federation planets. On Cardassia the verdict is discovered before the accused is brought to trial and the verdict is always guilty. No one is telling O’Brien the crime he has been charged for but eventually the Cardassian judge contacts the station to review the charges. O’Brien has been charged with selling arms to a terrorist group. Odo and Keiko leave for Cardassia where Odo will be O’Brien’s legal aid. Odo takes as much time to extend the trial as long as possible as to buy the crew of the station more time. Dax discovers that a voice print by O’Brien was altered and that his friend Boone is not who he says he was. The crew discovers that Boone is actually a Cardassian in disguise. Boone is brought before the judge and O’Brien is set free. 

Check out this crazy Cardassian bitch judge's hair... WOW