“Mr. Webel, aren’t you the new school psychiatrist?”

– A seventh grader

What did Delaware?

I woke up this morning, a scant two hours after going to bed, and watched the video. And I wasn’t satisfied. So after going to school and quickly setting up for chapel, I rushed up to my office and did some editing, cutting out about a minute of footage and rearranging it with a narrative that I thought was much more dramatic and compelling.

The result? When we showed it in chapel this morning, the kids were totally entranced. They cheered for their favorite athletes, gasped at the failures, and went absolutely berserk at the end of the video. They had no idea what “CHCA Olympics” are (we didn’t intro the video at all), but they went crazy anyways.

Here’s what they saw:

Yeah, this is gonna be a fun year. Oh, and incidentally … this was my first time using Vimeo to upload videos. It simply blows Youtube out of the water.

One of the first things I’m implementing here in my new job here at the middle school is a giant competition called CHCA Olympics. It should be a great opportunity for the students (and teachers) to connect with each other, use some creative energy, compete in a safe and fun environment, and build a more positive and encouraging culture throughout the year.

In short, CHCA Olympics will be like one big year-long Field Day. All students in the building will be divided up into four “countries” containing students from each grade level. Starting on September 1st, then, each country will collectively pick a national anthem, create a national flag, choose a theme verse, and come up with various other ways to identify themselves (cheers, tshirts, mascots, etc). These choices will all be revealed during the Opening Ceremonies on September 12th, when we’ll also have a Torch Relay and a Parade of Nations.

Throughout the year, then, we will have CHCA Olympic Events … competitions where countries can earn medals for their team based on their skills, craziness, dedication, knowledge, spirit, service, and whatever other criteria we come up with. For example, we might have events called “Rock Band Tournament”, “Capture the Flag Extreme”, “Bible Memorization Challenge”, “Intentional Acts of Kindness”, or “Weird Food Breakfast”. Events will sometimes happen during advisory time, sometimes for a few minutes during chapel, sometimes as an ongoing weeklong competition, and sometimes for an entire Friday chapel.

To build excitement and suspense, I created this teaser trailer tonight to show to the whole school at chapel tomorrow:

But YouTube not only limited the file size to a measely 100mb … it also somehow also stripped out all of the fades, leaving my work jerky and incomplete. Needless to say, I’m pretty dissatisfied and will soon be switching to Vimeo. But right now it’s 3:40am, and I have to wake up in a little more than 2 hours to get ready for school … so that’ll have to wait!

To me, the interesting thing about these Olympic broadcasts is how “Chinese” NBC chooses to be. They don’t release a detailed schedule of what they’re going to broadcast and when … instead, they keep viewers in suspense, forcing us to watch all of it and “become” interested and attached to things we wouldn’t necessarily choose to see. They’ve decided for us … and have no intention of handing over the information or the reins.

Is this lemming-esque experience par for the course when it comes to television viewing? Personally, I think it’s insulting and backwards … but I guess that’s what I get for liking something that’s so corporate!

I spent some time volunteering out at Pleasant Vineyard this summer … and I couldn’t resist breaking out my camera to snap some shots of the gorgeous people, beautiful landscapes, and fun activities going on.

To see all 114 images, just look at the photo set or the slideshow!

Well, it’s been a while. As I’ve indicated before … when I’m pretty silent here on wdn, it’s usually because my real life is pretty saturated and satisfying. And that has indeed been the case lately … here are some highlights:

• I started working two weeks ago … for the most part, it was pretty bewildering, looking at the same stuff from a very different perspective. I had to move out of my classroom, paint my new office and move in, figure out some priorities for these first couple of weeks, and begin to learn to communicate what my position will be about. Monday it all hits the fan … faculty orientation, followed by the first actual day of school on Wednesday.
• I’m two-thirds of the way through my motorcycle safety course … if all goes well, I should get my endorsement (license) tomorrow after spending another six hours on the bike.
• I’ve been pretty sick the past couple of days … Thursday’s hourly vomit-fest progressed into a headachy Friday, followed today by an interesting combination of diarrhea and constipation. I’m trying to just rest and drink tons of water, but it’s taking longer than I thought it would to kick.
• I spent a week out at camp, subbing for the photographer/videographer. It was great to connect with the counselors and see what God was doing out there, and creating the DVD was quite a challenge. I don’t know how I used to do that.
• I also went back to Akron for a week to spend some time with my parents and to see my sister’s fam, my brother’s fam, Paul and Sarah, Shaun and Jessica, and Ezra and Michelle. It was pretty sweet.
• A local photographer, Paul Armstrong, asked me to assist him at a couple of weddings this month. I normally reject any opportunity that I’m given to shoot (and potentially ruin) this all-important day, but working with Paul was something I just couldn’t pass up. I’ll post my shots soon.
• I’ve also been playing indoor soccer, bowling, watching Olympics, going to the ATP tennis tournament, and spending lots of time with a really beautiful person. Yep, this is the good stuff.

Well, today I start my new job and a new cross country season. And this year I feel less prepared and more out-of-place than I ever have before. Is that a good thing?