Today's bow was a gift from a former colleague. Today was a professional development day and I spent a fine portion of the day preparing lessons for the next couple of weeks - and thinking about the Spartan Times Square Challenge - an invitational exhibition obstacle race taking place in the heart of NYC. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity that I feel pretty privileged to be a part of.
I was inspired today to create my own fabric and put out a completely original bow tie out there. I can't wait to share my experience on this user-friendly site called Spoonflower.com. I know some of my own bows may be unique in their own right, but I can't claim to have come up with the design of the fabric itself. This site lets you do just that. Be on the look out for more in a few weeks.
Here's another pair of gifts that I'm fortunate to be wearing today. The bow came courtesy of generous gentleman from Sidney, Australia and his shop, Le Noeud Papillon. The awesome shirt was acquired at the same yard sale I mentioned a day ago.
It's Day#23 in Bushwick and we're already talking about dividing fractions. I'm trying to convince the kiddos it's really like tying your shoelaces. It might be a daunting task at first, but once we master the process step by step, it's going to be pretty routine. We'll see how that goes.
Here's a vintage throwback from my early years of teaching. Unfortunately I forgot to remove it from the laundry basket. I'm not looking forward to how the laundromat treats a vintage silk bow tie that already had some imperfections.
Today was probably the most rewarding day of my 13-year teaching career thus far. A former student of mine, Nicole Vargas, dropped by to chat with my students about hard work (and what I was like during my first year of teaching) and observe some classes at my school. What made this day especially cool was that Ms. Vargas is now in her third year of teaching in East Harlem. My favorite quote of the day came when Nicole was explaining that I actually wasn't a content teacher of hers. I worked with her as one of her yearbook advisors. "Mr. Vasquez may not have taught me math, but he taught me life lessons." As you can imagine, it was hard to contain my emotions!
Today's bow - the wonderful striped number that I placed on a Nirve bike - came by way of Xoelle.com.
As the days continue to linger into nights I am anticipating another amazing year. Regardless of how tiring this craft may be, the early months of the school year are always incredibly telling. They always manage to break or bind. I refuse to buckle under. Instead I will allow the pressure to mold me into a stronger fighter. I realize this all may be somewhat vague to you if you just clicked on a link and found my blog. That's cool. I hope it makes you curious for my craft. I get to teach for a living. And, coincidentally, today was just another day I also got to wear a bow tie.
Today's bow was acquired as a gift from the man behind Knot Now and Necks Tuesday. I haven't heard from you in a while, Carlos! I hope all is swell.
It's the second week of school, but the first week I'm getting to teach some real content. Routines will have to be learned, reputations will have to be overcome and kids will get to know what it means to be a mathlete of mine. The work doesn't get any easier in year 13, but hopefully, I've learned from my mistakes and I'll get to build on the work we did last year.
Today's bow is a throwback - a vintage number I found at thrift shop during my first year of teaching.
Today's bow contains a combination of favorite colors. I'm not sure when or why I first began to enjoy the royal and gold pairing, but I ever so grateful for the gift from ties.com. Don't forget to check out their stuff!
The family and I got a chance to spend the day at the wedding of a friend from our church who was gracious enough to have the entire clan be there. In anticipation of the event I hand crafted these clip on bow ties for my sons so they can have coordinating outfits as I was interested in also wearing seersucker.
The striped bow I got to wear today is by Penguin and was acquired at a local Century 21 store.
Why so serious? I overslept/forgot about having to move the car. Since we live in NYC and aren't home owners we have the lovely challenge of alternate side parking rules to deal with on a daily basis. Sometimes when we get home late I decide to park on a metered street because I'm too tired to drive around the neighborhood looking for a place to park. I usually wake up early enough to exercise so I figured I'd just roll out of bed, move the car and then go on my merry way like I normally do. Unfortunately I forgot and my lack of remembrance cost us not one, but two parking tickets. Way to go, Jeff.
Today's bow was acquired at a local Century 21 at what I would consider a pretty nice price for a Penguin bow tie. Check out the new frames Lily found at the mall!
So today I chose to get up extra early (close to 4am) and go on what my trainer likes to call a "zombie run." It's a bit of an obstacle course (with a weighted vest) that he designs using a bit of improvisation and a local park. In less than 50 minutes of this run (I think it was a little over a mile) I felt more tired than I did running the Spartan Sprint in PA just a couple of days ago. Craziness. Get out of your comfort zone, test your grit and evolve. It's not easy, but I'm enjoying the results. Speaking of results, I can't wait for the results of the state exams. Stay tuned!
We spent the early part of the afternoon together taking in another historic landmark in NYC today. For those of you keeping score at home, it's the 2nd one we've been to this summer as we're looking to find some places around this wonderful city to enhance our appreciation for living in the Big Apple. So today we took to Staten Island to visit the Alice Austen house. She was America's first prolific female photographer and her home holds some pretty amazing stories that I can't wait to impart on my students when I see them in August. Here's a sample: Although famous for her photography, she wasn't actually a professional photographer. She took and developed over 8,000 prints using glass plates as a hobby. It was something she LOVED to do and didn't really get credit from doing her passion well until she was well into her eighties. What's the lesson here, kids? Do what you love regardless of whether you'll get credit for it or not. Who knows, maybe one day YOUR home will be a city landmark.
Today's bow tie was a gift from the very gracious Laura over at Xoelle. Have you checked out her collection, yet?
I'm still battling a bit of the sniffles today, but it's too nice out to stay inside. After my morning WOD I went out for a run, searched for a new pair of compression pants (gearing up for that Spartan Sprint next month) and kicked back to enjoy the start of Euro 2012.
What a lovely day to embrace the suck. Huh? Yup embrace it. Sometimes we skirt around the truth or try to sweeten it with soft memories of easier times. The hard truth is that sometimes the challenges we face, the obstacles we must endure to strengthen our resolve to do better than the low expectations society places on us purely and simply suck. It isn't pleasant to force yourself out of bed at 4:30, complete a rigorous workout on little rest, run when it's colder than you'd like it to be and encounter excuse after excuse why to you could do other things with your time than evolve. It's far more pleasant to be at peace with my best effort, knowing I am truly living life to the fullest capacity that God has granted me with. I choose to embrace the suck today and not take any more moments for granted.
Today's bow was a gift from Carlos over at KnotNow and NecksTuesday bow ties located here in Brooklny, NY.
Today's bow was salvaged from a vintage retailer in SoHo over a decade ago. I don't know what's cooler - the fact that it's one of few pieces in my wardrobe that has stood the test of time or the fact that it's outlasted the store where it was found. Have a great rest of your holiday weekend, folks!
What a great Sunday! I got to play my guitar alongside some family members (both my brother-in-law and my cousin play the guitar with me in our church's rondalla), got to sit in the between my sister and my wife under some much needed preaching from our uncle/pastor, got to take advantage of a few great deals at Target and all while wearing wearing this fantastically fabulous bow tie donated by a new friend from Sydney. Nothing brings people together like a common interest and a common goal. I'm truly blessed to have a growing support network to keep this site and this cause running. Thanks again to everyone who has had a hand (and a bow) in inspiring me to just keep on keeping on.
Today's bow comes by way of Nicholas Atgemis over at Lenoeudpapillon.com. Do check out their collection of fierce ties. I hope you're ready for an awesome week, kids!
It's a snowy Saturday afternoon and I'm feeling awfully blessed. We're not the most financially fortunate, but I feel incredibly wealthy with loved ones around me and complete strangers supporting this cause. In less than 24 hours we've received 32 brand new bow ties from four different donors.
Before I get to today's tie, let me pause and share a little about my sons. I woke up this morning to find our two older boys sprawled out on their bedroom floor amidst their toys. When I asked what they were up to, Luis - the eldest - says "We're looking through the toys so we could donate them to the Buckeye Corner." (Side note: The Buckeye Corner is a classroom store that his 2nd grade teachers set up as part of an incentive/ classroom economy system. Essentially students earn classroom dollars for desired behavior and get to spend that money on new or used toys, books, or school supplies.) I replied, "Did Mami ask you to donate toys?" When he said no, I follow up with "then why are you doing this?" His next line left me speechless. "Because we have too much." His decision making about his toys inspires me to get rid of some of my own. I may not have a collection of action figures that I still play with, but there are a closet full of sneakers that I don't need. OK, so maybe I'll hit up eBay instead of the Salvation Army. Either way, Luis is right. We have more than enough and we ought to be more than ok with letting go of our material things for the sake of others. <insert warm fuzzy feeling>
Today's tie comes by way of ties.com and feature a combination of two of my favorite colors. As part of their package they were kind enough to include a matching kid's tie so one of my son's could coordinate with me at church tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that.
What you have below is a short video of how I like to tie my bow ties - just for you, Christian G. It's a bit unorthodox because during Step 4 most gents usually make the second loop by pushing through the back of the first loop. I find it much easier to use the front door. Of all the videos I've seen posted on how to tie a bow tie I've never seen folks use this one. I suggest watching the 1-minute clip a few times while you're tying your own. Here are the steps I posted along with the video. Enjoy!
Step 1. Tie a regular knot.
Step 2. Make the first loop with the under layer. This is half of your bow.
Step 3. Center your loop in the proper bow tie position.
Step 4. Wrap the over layer down and around the bow's middle and make the other loop by pushing the loop in front of the first one and through to the other side.
Step 5. Adjust the loops by pulling the double ends.
Today's bow tie was actually a gift from a former colleague of mine, Thomas Garza. I'm pretty sure he'll be famous one day for his work in education reform. You can watch a profile of his work here. I've always loved the combination of blue and gold and enjoy the fact that these just so happen to be my school's colors.
.jpg)
