Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

Greetings all. As you all know, I am FootballGuy51, which is a username I use quite frequently on many messageboards, emails, and games. My actual name is Jeremy, I live in Bowling Green, and I am a very recent graduate of BGSU. I graduated in May 2006 with a Bachelor's in Secondary Integrated Mathematics Education. Now, for those of you who may ask what this is, it is a fancy way of saying "I'm now allowed to deal with those little hellion high school kids and try to make them want to learn math." Originally, I lived in Fremont, OH, which is only a short 30-minute drive east of Bowling Green on Route 6. I would say you should visit it sometime, but even I wouldn't wish that upon somebody. I've left there, and the only reason I go back is family.

This past year, the only teaching I did was subbing for a few days in Fostoria, OH, teaching my younger brother how to improve his golf swing, and teach myself how to get through each and everyday in an improved manner than the day before. In fact, one of my mottos (and one that my best friend Joe says sounds very Zen-like) is "To be the best teacher, you must also be the best student." In life, learning never ends, and I see it as a wash of a day if I cannot say I learned something, no matter how insignificant, that day.

So what have I been doing since I graduated from BGSU? As I said before, I've been a substitute teacher for a few days, but right out of college I went to work 3rd shift for Whirlpool on their dishwasher assembly line. That month that I worked there was probably some of the hardest work I've ever done, and for the pay that accompanied it, I didn't feel it was worth my time or effort. I made $9.20 an hour, and every morning when I got home it took me several hours of lying in weird positions so that my back could relax enough to allow me to sleep. So, when the new Wal-mart Supercenter opened in Bowling Green, I applied to work there and do ANYTHING. I was hired to work in produce and have been working there ever since June 2006. The funny thing is that the work isn't as labor intensive, the people I work with are capable of semi-intelligent conversation, and the pay is actually better than what I would be making at Whirlpool now with that temporary employment agency. You can't beat that. If it weren't for the fact that I am going back to school soon, I would have taken Wal-mart's offer to enter the management program, but I suppose the Wal-mart story is for another day.

Back to school??? Are you kidding me??? You didn't have enough of it the first time around, so you're going back??? Yes folks, I am foolish enough to get some more of that there edumacation. In just under a week, I will be starting my Master's program, once again at BGSU, for a Master's in Mathematics. Yes, everybody may now call me the math nerd. What can I say, I love school and I love math. Probably why I wanted to be a teacher. The teacher gets to spend 30 years of his life in school. Wonderful if you ask me.

So what will I hopefully be doing? Well, my graduate school years will be filled with learning more math and teacher some undergraduate math courses. After graduating from my program, it is my hope to once again teach math, but this time at either a high school or college. My ultimate goal is to become a tenured professor in mathematics at a solid 4-year institution, and regardless of where this profession may lead me geographically, I will always be a Falcon at heart.

For those of you who wish to know a little more about Fremont, here we go.

Fremont, OH, was originally called Lower Sandusky and was, before that, a fort for the War of 1812.. Fremont is probably best known as the hometown fo the 19th president, Rutherford B. Hayes, who may have also been the most controversial election winners. Many claim he won due to ballot stuffing. Also, we are the hometown of recent Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, a 2 or 3 sport athlete as a Fremont Ross Little Giant, and a defensive star at that University to the north of Ohio (you know, that one in Ann Arbor), as well as the hometown of such NFL talent as Rob Lytle and Bob Brudzinski. Fremont is also home to what I believe is the largest Heinz Ketchup plant in the U.S. Due to it's location, Fremont is a highly traveled town for those people looking to visit Lake Erie, Cedar Point, or Toledo. Also, Fremont Speedway is a frequent stop of the World of Outlaws series and seen many great drivers of that series and even some NASCAR greats drive on it's dirt banks.

Cool philosophy on things... for a nerd.

Welcome...again! I once got kicked out of a Jr. High gym class for fighting with Rob Lytle's nephew.... just a little claim to fame, or, um, something...

Fremont used to be where we'd go for "stuff." (I grew up in Woodville) Buckeye Mart in the Potter Village shopping center was BAD ASS!! The Great Scot store there... the rolls at the Chinese restaurant on 20 right by the tracks on the west end of town. But yeah... now it's... well... Fremont.

And you know Wal-Mart is the devil, right? I can't believe you'd prefer working there over Whirlpool. I mean, Whirlpool is a union shop... and Wal-Mart... well, it's not, is it?? (tongue in cheek... walking away....)

Welcome aboard footballguy51! Thanks for sharing your story.

I did my student teaching (back in '92) at Fremont Ross Jr. High (6th grade language arts). I hated the drive. There's no worse drive (except the entire state of Georgia heading to Florida) other than rt. 6... especially when you get stuck behind a tractor.... or a slow car....

Do they still have that great costume shop off of rt. 6?

Fremont has Joseph Wise Fine CLocks on West State as well. Wise is a real expert on clocks and is, as I understand it, the go to guy on antique clocks in this region. Did some great work on three of mine-major increase in value as a result of his puttering. Fun shop to visit-all kinds of antique and new clocks, including classics and novelties. And you can stop and get some new ink at the tat parlor right next door.

With a math degree you could make a VERY comfortable living in business. I'm surprised Whirlpool didn't put you in their quality control dept. Nothing says happiness quite like tracking standard deviations day in day out.
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So, college professor, eh? Sounds good!

ZiggyZoomba wrote:Fremont used to be where we'd go for "stuff." (I grew up in Woodville) Buckeye Mart in the Potter Village shopping center was BAD ASS!! The Great Scot store there... the rolls at the Chinese restaurant on 20 right by the tracks on the west end of town. But yeah... now it's... well... Fremont.

And you know Wal-Mart is the devil, right? I can't believe you'd prefer working there over Whirlpool. I mean, Whirlpool is a union shop... and Wal-Mart... well, it's not, is it?? (tongue in cheek... walking away....)

Welcome aboard footballguy51! Thanks for sharing your story.

Yeah, Fremont still is the place to go for "stuff". It's the middle point between the wonderful cities of Cleveland and Detroit, so there is a lot of "stuff" that goes through there. Makes me glad I don't live there anymore for that very reason.

Ziggy, I hate to break it to you, but Whirlpool isn't union, either, it's just that you don't hear about them in every union advertisement on the radio or the TV because Wal-mart is the largest retailer in the U.S. and all of the unions want to stake their claim on that company.

Also, Wal-mart's work policies are actually more relaxed than most unionized retailers, and their promotion process makes perfect sense (evaluation every year on your anniversary date, and the raise you get is completely based on how well you've performed). So, if you slack off, you get didly for a raise, but if you work your butt off, you can get almost a dollar an hour raise every year. I'm making $10/hr right now stocking produce, and in a year I could be making 10.60 if I score high enough on my eval.

Trust me, I felt the same way about Wal-mart before I worked for them. I shopped at K-mart or Meijer all the time. Now, I realize why the unions put all of those adds out on the airwaves, and I've experienced this "horrible working environment" and rather enjoy it...until I can teach college or do something with my degree.

Ohiogal wrote:Do they still have that great costume shop off of rt. 6?

Costume Holiday House? Yep, it's still up and running, and it's about the only decent place to get a tux for the prom these days.

Rightupinthere wrote:With a math degree you could make a VERY comfortable living in business. I'm surprised Whirlpool didn't put you in their quality control dept. Nothing says happiness quite like tracking standard deviations day in day out.
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So, college professor, eh? Sounds good!

I was shocked Whirlpool didn't ask me to do something else besides put stickers on the dishwasher doors. Yes, that's right, I had the completely entertaining task of taking the empty dishwasher tubs off the racks, putting them on the line, placing the information stickers on the doors, inserting the heating element, attaching the motor to the bottom, or taping on the energy guides to the outside of the tub. The problem is, there is only one way to get into Whirlpool, and that is through the temp agency. Whirlpool does not take any outside applications, and the temp agency only takes people to work the lines, so I would have had to stop in the main office during one of my breaks (I worked third shift, so there's nobody in the office), and then convince these people that I could be of more use off the line. It was just easier to go find a more appealing temporary job until I could go back to school.

By the way, thanks for the support on the college professor thing. We always need good teachers out there, and the english speaking ones are always a plus, too (sorry, shouldn't say that). Thanks for the welcome, everybody!

I am from Fremont too

ZiggyZoomba wrote:Fremont used to be where we'd go for "stuff." (I grew up in Woodville) Buckeye Mart in the Potter Village shopping center was BAD ASS!! The Great Scot store there...

I grew up in little Helena...so Fremont was definitely where we went to get our stuff!! We went to Food Town at the other end of Potter Village. And Buckeye Mart?....was that also called Big Wheel??? This is making me dig a LONG way back into my brain matter trying to remember those places!!!

Helena....I grew up in Pittsburgh, and to get to BG, I would take the Ohio turnpike and get off and take route 6 into BG right through Helena. I remember there was an antique store that had a cigar store indian out front.

tiznow wrote:Helena....I grew up in Pittsburgh, and to get to BG, I would take the Ohio turnpike and get off and take route 6 into BG right through Helena. I remember there was an antique store that had a cigar store indian out front.

I love that little joint.

Falcon Fanatic wrote:

ZiggyZoomba wrote:Fremont used to be where we'd go for "stuff." (I grew up in Woodville) Buckeye Mart in the Potter Village shopping center was BAD ASS!! The Great Scot store there...

I grew up in little Helena...so Fremont was definitely where we went to get our stuff!! We went to Food Town at the other end of Potter Village. And Buckeye Mart?....was that also called Big Wheel??? This is making me dig a LONG way back into my brain matter trying to remember those places!!!

Big Wheel....Also called Hecks

One of the first bits of advice I got from Cleveland-area upperclassmen - watch your speed going through Helena.

1987alum wrote:One of the first bits of advice I got from Cleveland-area upperclassmen - watch your speed going through Helena.

That too. They're nasty.