Should Be A Fun Year

This is my student teacher on crazy hat day. Sweet!

Me...In the Morning

Here I am in the math office this Friday morning. It was crazy hat day (more on that later) and JD decided I looked like I could have been on the cover of a folk music album (Joni Mitchell or the like). This is the office that houses five math teachers and four student teachers. It's quite the full house, which I love. There's so much opportunity for discussion and more minds to tackle the NYT crossword. We didn't get very far this Thursday though. The past few days I have liked getting there early to drink my tea and ease my way into the day.

First Soccer Game

The first sporting event! How exciting. We lost 4-3, but against a very good team (it was 7-2 last year). A bunch of us went over before Parent Orientation night. Soccer's pretty big out here and as you can see, Andy loves the Huskies. Coincidentally (or maybe not), today was the day where we all wore school related clothing, so we were all decked out.

Behold...Mindtribe

After three years of hearing about this place from Brandon, I finally got there. Mindtribe, in my own words, is a company specializing in product design, calling on electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and generally creative people to make things such as ipod docks and other things with "moxie." They do not bodystorm. This is the entrance to their offices, showcasing some products they've designed. They also have some of the most comfortable office chairs I've ever sat in.

Enviro Dry Cleaner

Tonight I went for a walk to downtown Menlo Park. It's really close by but I usually walk through the residential area, so taking my time down there was a first. I have tried to research an environmentally safe dry cleaner (like Zoots in Boston) but haven't had any luck finding one where I live. Tonight, I walked right by it on Santa Cruz Ave! Yay for teacher clothes being cleaned a bit more responsibly.

A Message From The Boys of the World to the Girls

Boys like it when you do things like leave your number in the comment box at Patagonia (or the like). So, do it!

Turning Compost

Whew! Just got done turning the compost. Since my phone only works outside, I decided that I would multi-task and do it while I caught up on some phone calls. Unfortunately, the calls could only be to people on the west coast due to the time change. But, I finally turned the compost, which only made me gag at the beginning, and then I was fine. Note: whole limes don't seem to compost, neither do whole apples and the corn cobs that were way down there are still in tact. We'll see if this works. Next up: planting lettuces (I think...I need more mentoring on this).

Mental Health Time

So, today we talked about teacher resiliency and renewal. This is not usually a topic in schools as most schools don't have time or believe that people can work it out on their own. The truth is that teaching is a very challenging profession and often attracts people who are perfectionists and hold themselves to very high standards, so a lot of time the work is never really done. So, we brainstormed things we are going to do to stay resilient. We were supposed to brainstorm something in each quadrant of emotional (I), behavioral (it), cultural (we), and systems (its). I don't remember who came up with these quadrants... Anyway, it was a valuable exercise to talk with other teachers and then reflect on our goals for ourselves. Jason and I talked on the quick ride home (11 minute commute!) about my primary and secondary activities and what I want to make a priority for my happiness (I think that's the gist),

What I'm currently doing:
Farmers market browsing on Saturday
Lots of cooking on the weekends
Inviting people over for dinner, hanging out, etc.
Keeping up the blog (it's a kind of therapy, right)
Getting out for walks sometimes
Listening to good music

What I want to do more of:
Write more letters
Read more
Go for more walks (neighborhood and in nature)
Get on the bike
Catch up with long distance friends and family on the phone more regularly
Pipe dream: have time to row during the week
Go out on the weekends? I'm not sure I can pull it off.

So, obviously I really want to limit the amount of electricity in my life, which is always appealing to me. So, for now, I think I'm going to try to commit to one or two of these for the fall. We'll see...tonight instead of going for a walk I went to Kinko's to make my plan book. It had to be done...I was going crazy without it.

Battle of the Sexes: Pictionary

Here are the men of the school. It's actually basically even here, which is pretty unusual. We had to draw words associated with the school. The women ended up winning.


Here's Dave, about to draw. I don't remember what he was supposed to draw but like most things, it started out as a "big box." He was very skilled in getting his team to guess correctly if I recall.


And Todd, our principal, drawing Revolution Food, the company that will sell organic, local (?) lunches at school. He drew this thing (apple or strawberry) then a guy eating it, then Che Guevara (for the Revolution part). He also drew something like a clock and drew a revolution of the hands of the clock. It was great. But they guys didn't get it.

Me Too Sarah!

Sarah's shirt says "i love nerds." She's our AP Environmental Science (APES) teacher. We kind of have to being the math and science crew.

Wow

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/08/why-the-us-amer.html

Two Likes Go Out the Window

Yesterday I was looking at the roof of the house next door and thinking how much I liked it...it's one of these California roofs that is just a lot of randomly shaped wooden shingles that's very natural looking. Then this morning, as I was getting dressed, I thought how much I like my little half window because I'm not worried about anyone looking in. Then, this happened. At around 7am (a little early I think) a truck came in and these men started tearing off the roof next door...they were right out my window. Tough morning for me.

Great Stuff

1. This blog for endless hours of laughter and because it suggests other awesome blogs: http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/
2. Local restaurant suggestions including Jesse Cool's restaurants (JZ Cool, Canner Arts Center, Flea Street Cafe)
3. New band to listen to: Luna
4. Getting a sweet ipod dock (charger/holder) that fits in the VDub (awkward cigarette lighter positioning) and is compatible with the tape adapter that I got with my Discman in 2003 (I'm usually a bit late on that kind of stuff). The dock was given to me and made at Mindtribe! Double bonus!
5. This blog...for many reasons, most of them obvious once you read her profile: http://maurathelibrarian.blogspot.com/

My appreciation for the day: Humor.

Garage Sale!

My third exclamation point post of the day!

You missed it...the greatest garage sale I've ever been to. Dorian and Margorie purged a lot of stuff...much more to go, but it was a good start. Here are my two favorite items. 1. Sekular (from Ikea), valued at $7, despite being a Yankee Swap gift and I can't believe it was mass-produced. Dorian slashed the price to $1 and it still didn't go. So, if you want it... 2. A roll of 50 pennies, bought by an older man on his third visit (after exhausing all other options I guess). He bought it, saying something like, "This is a great deal, my brother will love it." He paid for it with nickels. I will never stop being amused by that. Unfortunately, Dorian believes that this man was not doing it for the humor.

The people you meet at garage sales are really a fun bunch for the most part. One older man asked me when I was moving back to Norway, having never discussed my lineage at all. He bought a big tent that I sold him on because "his little grandkids will love it. " He says he'll have to sneak it into the house, past his wife. Another guy walked in saying he didn't have room for stuff, but bought $33 worth of goods, including a kite, a set of plates, fleece pants, and a oil filter top remover. What I liked best was that Marge was given lots of books by her school librarian and the deal was a grocery bag full for $5. There were a few kids who walked away with many, many great books (including the Elizabeth Enright books I remember reading as a kid).

It was a good day. Not a lot of real work done for me, but the time outdoors was needed.

Chowdah!

After looking up what a chowder really is (and learning it has to do mostly with the pot it's cooked in), we agreed this could really be called a Chowder Party (despite no rendered pork or dairy). There were about 13 of us at the house for some food and fun. I'll walk you through it. Started at 6pm but my linear model tells me (and it was correct tonight) that the first person usually shows up a half hour after start time and many people are there an hour after start time. Bec, Adam, and Dorian don't count, as they were helping set up. The first picture is a shot of us "looking like we're having fun," which is a classic Rebecca picture to take. I found some cute little chilis at the farmer's market that I really liked as center pieces. Bryan was the first to arrive. It was mostly my co-workers, but we did our best to talk about non-teacher stuff. It's so hard though!

Adam and Dorian ready to forge!


A (dark) picture of cute Sarah and Jim!


Angela, second from the right, is boasting about how she plans to have 5 bowls of chowder! Most people don't seem to believe her.


Jen is pumped. Brian...shocked and awed!


More Jen, this time loving the desserts. JPa's "reindeer droppings," No Pudge brownies (the best in a box), and Bec's key lime squares recipe. Mmmmmm


The outdoor couch reaches capacity. Dorian, Marge, Lindsay (all the way from Belgium for the chowder...what now Ritz?), Adam, and Bec. I don't know if Lindsay knew she was the filling for the engaged people bread.


And this is how the night ended. This is the closest I'll get to internet dating. I'll let you know if I get any (offers, that is).

Redemption!

So, I decided that if I'm going to be paying the deposit for bottles and cans (something I've never done really with my main beverages of milk and water), I'm going to get that money back. So, after three weeks of collecting mostly sparkling water and root beer bottles (for when Dorian visits and helps me figure out the house), I decided that I needed to try out the CRV (California Redemption Value) system. I found a redemption center close to school and decided to try it out. For a little background...in Massachusetts, when you redeem bottles you go to most any grocery store and put the bottles and cans in a machine that spins them around to read the bar code, washes them (I think) and crushes them. It's great because you can do it during store hours at your convenience, usually without waiting too long. Here in CA, you have to go to a special place that has special hours and follow their special process. I tried to redeem earlier in the week and I was told where the place is by someone at Long's Drug Store but couldn't see anything but trailers, so I didn't know what was going on. I went back to redeem on Saturday and found the trailers open and people were gathering. The way it works is they give you one trash barrel for each type of container you have (plastic, clear glass, green glass, brown glass, and I think that's it). You separate your stuff and if you have a lot, they weigh it (you can see the weighing in the first picture). I had $1.50 worth so he just counted. Compared to these other people, I was a lightweight (...yeah). It's actually amazing to watch people roll up with their trucks with everything already crushed and separated. Despite the fact that there's an electronic scale and the guy used a palm pilot -like device to record and calculate everything, you don't actually get money there. You get a receipt that you have to take a few stores down to Foods Co, a grocery store that feels a bit warehousey and was an interesting place in its own right. I was concerned that I'd have to buy something but the first guy I asked, who had no idea what I was asking about, just told me to go to the cashier and ask. It worked! I got a dollar fifty.

The final analysis is that I think I'm going to turn into one of those people who collects lots and lots of cans so I don't have to do that every week just for a dollar in reward.

Our Feerless Leaders

Enjoying the end of a great, but busy week.

Kids Get Classes!

Yay! We're putting kids into their class sections. The first picture are the intense sorting of the 100 11th graders by Spanish class. The next are student teachers helping organize. Love how they are just jumping right into this! The bottom two pictures are of Howard and me working the spreadsheet with Elana assisting me. And what's is that teacher doing in the background?

These Two Again!

The demonstration of "the international symbol for Drew has a question." This is actually part of our training. JD's got it down.

Yeah Maths!

Here we are...the math department. Six on the faculty and four student teachers. We had our first department lunch today and this is the first picture documenting our spirits this year (although perhaps people felt obligated to smile). I can say that from my end, I'm pretty darn happy and excited for this new adventure. Below, Jon is describing another math teacher, very intently I might add. The next is my student teacher eating his farmers market goodies.

Some Party Favors

I went to two parties this Sunday...the first was in SF and at the door, there was a bowl of condoms. The second was in Menlo Park and at the door there was a bowl of assorted dark chocolates. I'm not sure what else there is to say about that but I felt I needed to record that for posterity.

If you think you want a blog...

Here's a synopsis of what it's like:
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/2/7/161047/1869

Sweet Apples and Honey!

And to think I've been avoiding Krispy Kreme's. This ties into my idea for a bagel shop name. The Loxsmith. I'm glad I have myself to crack up sometimes. From chowhound:

Kosher In The Bay Area

Don't know if this was referenced before, but Congregation Beth Israel has a list of Kosher resources in the Bay Area. Well, who knew all Bay Area Krispy Kreme's were Kosher ... or the Albertson's in El Cerrito carried kosher baked goods.
http://www.cbiberkeley.org/resources/#

Here's a Halal list for the Bay Area. It's pretty good and covers the rest of the U.S. and also international. Nice sort of short cut to Med and Middle Eastern food as well.

http://www.zabihah.com/lir.php?id=1

New Setting

Okay, so Dorian told me he was sad that not many people comment on my blog. I told him that my impression is that it's just another thing people have to sign in to do and remember some username and password. I think I have enabled the setting that allows anyone to post, but I would appreciate if you signed your comment in some way, so I can communicate back to you....Jenn. So, I hope you comment. That will make me feel like this is a bit more two-way than one-way. Thanks!

Zazie

So, one of the original intentions of this blog was to inform you all about life on the west coast and to try to convince you to come visit. Mahoney has already been here...where are the rest of you? Anyway, I forgot to mention my great dinner on Thursday night (camera ran out of batteries and sometimes without pictures, I forget to post) and since I can't sleep, I'll fill you in.

I went out with some new school friends to Zazie, a french bistro in Cole Valley (at Carl and Cole). After lots of hemming and hawing we decided to go to Zazie after hearing that it does an awesome brunch on the weekends. The thought being that the dinner would probably be decent. We waited for a very long time. It was supposed to be 20-30 minutes and it was over an hour as I recall, but Finnegan's Wake next door kept people well beveraged. Zazie does a prix fixe dinner for $21.5o which includes a certain subset of their menu. I got a great spinach salad with gorgonzola and carmalized walnuts. My main was a perfectly cooked fetuccine with summer vegetables and dessert was a strawberry rhubarb crisp, which was good, but no SpecialTeas crisp. I also had the first glass of wine that I've ever ordered and paid for at a restaurant...a quite good Russian River Chardonnay I believe.

It looks like their menu changes often, as the online menu is different than what we had. There were 5 of us from school plus two significant others and it was a great time. And I loved that we went from being totally indecisive about dinner to having a big night out and my best meal on the west coast. I highly recommend this place.

This Might Blow Your Mind

In Menlo Park there is a street called Menalto, which I believe to be the Brangelina of street names. Except I don't think the street gets as much press. Anyway, this blew a few people's minds tonight.

Should I Be Scared Of Earthquakes

First...I was out of the house for about 12 hours and I come back and there are about 40 new Perez posts! Ahhh! But, really, I have a painting hanging above my bed and should I be nervous about it crashing down on me in an earthquake? What do Californians hang over their beds? Please, send me advice!

The Lovely Couple in Their Very Own Home!

Marge and Dorian have the cutest first house ever! They had a housewarming today which was in true D&M style (I know I've only known them two weeks but...), casual but well executed. The first picture is facing east-ish from the dining room into the kitchen. The second is at about 9pm while eating brownies with ice cream (ahhh...Achilles heel) facing north-ish in their living room in front of the doors out to the deck. It was a fun party with lots of engineers and teachers. Right in my wheelhouse.

ReNorm Fest '07

Today we celebrated Bec's 2nd anniversary of being on the west coast...it's also my two week anniversary for those of you keeping score at home. I thought I'd share these two pics because there's Bec, making a classic Bec face (note the guy in the back playing with a big glass ball)...and then there's something I never thought I'd see....hot dogs wrapped in cheese and THEN bacon! They were obviously made with me in mind. Kind of like Paula Dean's famous shrimp stuffed with crab wrapped in bacon. This party also had burgers wrapped in bacon. It was basically like every joke I've ever told about keeping kosher...just wrap it in bacon! Oh yeah, and they made 96 of those hot dogs. I'll ask Rebecca how many were left at the end of the night. The party went from 2pm until past 9pm and featured belly dancing, tarot card reading, face painting, a raffle, etc. It was on a whole new level...and sort of made me intimidated. And...this is my 100th post! Yay! Happy happy anniversary all around! I start working tomorrow, so the posts may taper off a bit from here.

360 Degrees of My Room

Here's my room...all organized. I finally found a place for just about everything. I still don't have a good solution for my laundry and since I don't have drawers for the desk, I don't know how to make that look nice yet either. I also need a mirror for over the dresser, softer lighting (I don't like overheads), and I'd like to do some sort of fabric maybe behind the glass-paned door (it has soundproofing behind it). I did get some flowers at the farmer's market to liven up the place. It's getting very close to cozy. I have this blanket I got a TJ Maxx that is nice because it's not too heavy, but as soon as it gets cold, I'll put on my down comforter with the red duvet to really warm up the room.

Setting Up The New Schoolhouse

I was at school on Thurday and Friday getting unpacked and settled in the new school building. Last year, the school was in portables on the corner of another school's property. Now, we have a five year contract to be in an actual school building designed for a small school. We lost some outdoor space for the kids, but gained parking for everyone, a place to gather the whole school, an indoor eating area (good for when it rains every once in a while), and a lot of natural light. We also lost our hallways being outside, which I think is so very California. So, during my two days at the new site, while I was unpacking the math office and my boxes, parents and students were hard at work, moving furniture, unpacking boxes, hanging this great mural, setting up the library and college center, cleaning walls and desks, fixing shades, and bringing lunch. This is an amazing community and this is what can make charter schools really special. It was nice to meet some of the kids and parents before school starts. I don't know too many other schools where kids want to come back before they have to.

Progress

I really should have taken a "before picture" because this morning I couldn't see my floor at all and I had to leap to get out of my room. I bought a dresser on craigslist (my second furniture purchase ever...the first was the couch and chair I bought last week from JD) and got myself a little more organized! There's still more to do including hanging art but I have a few more days until school gets under way.

One Way to Quantify Four Years

Here is my car after being loaded with all my school stuff from the past four years. I think this is crazy. It's about the same volume as the stuff I drove across the county. I'm a bit worried that I won't really have places to store this stuff...like bookcases and file cabinets, closets, etc. I'll let you know.

This Is What My Heaven Would Look Like

Scenes from one of three farmers markets I went to this weekend. There was one in downtown Palo Alto on Saturday, one in Menlo Park on Sunday and one on California Ave in Palo Alto on Sunday as well. There are more in other towns too...I just tried to stick to what was really local. Some highlights: made Pat's amazing summer squash and tomato soup with all ingredients coming from within 100 miles of my house, a wonderful mother and daughter sold me most of the ingredients for the soup from their farm (PA market), some yummy varieties of stone fruits (peaches, plums, etc), my first experience with tomatillos (jury's still out), and revisiting my favorite nut guy (MP market)...he has amazing cinnamon almonds which are so addictive and dried slab apricots which are so juicy and flavorful. It's nice to be back here.