My First Earthquake!

Holy mackeral! My house shook. It wasn't a bad one, as it didn't shake as much as I'd expect, and I didn't even feel inspired to get out of bed. The glass framed painting over my bed did not come crashing down on me. At first, it felt like when I used to babysit for people and the garage was under the house and the house shook a bit when the garage went up. But then it just kept going. Only about 10 seconds though. Crazytown!

According to this website, it's a 5.6.

Perfect

I don't understand. Ignoring the missing "o." So how does this work? Can you compromise with them about anything?

"Seniors"

Potentially Leah's last game at Homewood, in its 100th year. Here are some picture of "Senior" day. Leah's not a senior, which is why it's in quotes.

One Word

Absolutely!

The Sea Was Angry That Day

The waves in Tahoe were crazy last weekend. So crazy that the crayfish were out of the water and on the shore. We spent about 20 minutes watching them crawl around and then the ducks came along and ate them! So wild!

More of Pretty Tahoe

Last weekend (Oct 20-21), I was supposed to go to Baltimore, but as I sat in the airport, I found out my sister's game was canceled. So, change of plans. Moved the flights to the next weekend, ran home, repacked for Tahoe, and taught two periods at school (while all my students were wondering why I wasn't on a plane). Here are some pretty pictures from a hike up Alpine Meadows (a ski resort just north of the lake). We (mostly) followed one of the ski lifts up to Ward Peak, bushwhacking as much as possible, just like Matt likes it. On our way up, we saw the snow kissed bushes/trees. They are literally covered in snow on just one side (approximately the west side) but totally green on the other side. It's really pretty. I should have paid more attention to what Matt told me about it so I could say more.

The second picture is the view of the lake from the summit of our climb. I've been so lucky to be in Tahoe for such great weather! On the way up, we found some bamboo poles that (again, don't have all the details in my memory) ski patrollers or rescuers use on the mountain. They are flexible and so you can use them to steady behind you as you slide down the mountain. More bushwhacking occurred as we made our own path down the mountain and the poles came in handy. I was very nervous at first, going as slow as one possibly can, but I think I adapted pretty well and picked up the pace as I got more comfortable. Props to Matt for putting up with my nervousness and evil looks and for making me do something that pushed me a bit. Yay for Tahoe fun!

Wicked Busy!

I've neglected posting because things have been very busy around here. Last weekend I was in Tahoe, bushwacking up and down a ski mountain, and this weekend I'm off to Baltimore for some field hockey (postponed from last weekend). So, in between, I'm scrambling to figure out my curriculum and get healthy. Claritin helps and so do the early morning sessions at the Y. Oh yeah, and the Red Sox winning is good too. There will be more soon...

Bad Toyota

On October 3, Thomas Friedman wrote this op-ed in the Times. Here's an excerpt:

"Toyota, which pioneered the industry-leading, 50-miles-per-gallon Prius hybrid, has joined with the Big Three U.S. automakers in lobbying against the tougher mileage standards in the Senate version of the draft energy bill.

Now why would Toyota, which has used the Prius to brand itself as the greenest car company, pull such a stunt? Is it because Toyota wants to slow down innovation in Detroit on more energy efficient vehicles, which Toyota already dominates, while also keeping mileage room to build giant pickup trucks, like the Toyota Tundra, at the gas-guzzler end of the U.S. market?"

So, Toyota is lobbying against a bill that would increase U.S. fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles to 35 m.p.g. by 2020. This doesn't really seem consistent with the message they put out in commercials. If the Big Three are involved, it also doesn't jibe with Chevy's new campaign "gas friendly to gas free."

Go here to tell Toyota to get on the right side of this bill.

Hate Mail

I also think these are kind of awesome. You know it's good when you laugh out loud.

Post It A Day

How awesome is this? See more here.

No Complaints

Here is lovely Pacifica (looking at the hills north of San Francisco). This is where I've been surfing and where I go when I just need some ocean time. Pacifica can often be socked in with fog, but when I went, a few weeks ago, it was the kind of day that the residents brag about to all their landlocked friends.

Busted!

Here's my roommate, Yurtle (Marge and Dorian's tortoise who lives in the back yard). Look at his fig face! He totally ate the figs that fell off our tree. As far as I understand it, he can eat figs, they won't kill him, but they aren't exactly a natural part of the desert tortoise's diet. So, I threw some lettuce at him to distract him. He thinks he's so sneaky, but there's figs all over his face and "arms". I'm totally going to tell on him!

Why My Job Is So Awesome

I sent this article to some of my former Stats students and told them their assignment was to prove the numbers in it. I got the following response on Sunday night (series tied 1-1) from one of my kids who is a sophomore now (absolutely diehard sox fan):

"hahaha i like it, because we are the best team then we will win. I'm so pumped for the rest of the playoffs. I just returned to school after a weekend home in Boston for the two games at Fenway. fridays was a great one to be at and last nights was a great game with a horrible ending. But im still confident that my Sox will take it all....... and less importantly I am taking another stats course this semester and breezing through. I am like the Manny Ramirez of the class. 100 on 2 quizzes and 97 on the test. So it has taken some time but finally all of that hard work you put in teaching pays dividends. hope your enjoying yourself out in Cali and i hope your keeping up with the Sox... keep in touch."

Awesome! I told him how much this made my day but I hoped that he wasn't so much like Manny that he wore his pants awkwardly and had braids/dreads.

But Work Still Leaves Me Brain Dead

First, my kids are awesome. I can only hope to be the teacher that does them justice. I am amazed every day at how open they are to learning math (at least 80% of them). And you may recall that I am teaching four sections of Pre-Calc, which means I'm teaching the same thing four times a day. It's so much better than I anticipated. Each class has such a different feel that it doesn't feel repetitive and it's a good day when I don't have to change too much as I go along.

I had a tired Sunday of trying to get healthy and organized around the house and I just didn't feel like going to the store. So I went today after the field hockey game. This was one of those times when I felt like a moron. I wandered around for at least 30 minutes having no idea what I was doing there. I knew I needed milk (that's easy...no decisions..I've been buying my milk glass bottles and loving it) and maple syrup. I probably spent 10 minutes trying to decide which type of maple syrup I wanted. I know it when I taste it, but I can never remember if it's grade B or A light or A medium or A dark. And after some phone calls and leaving messages, I was no better off. Then it was 20 minutes of literally wandering the aisles looking for lunch inspiration. I have made soup for seven straight weekends before this, all very yummy concoctions, but that wasn't what I was going for this time, but I had no other ideas. It was painful. I was literally laughing out loud in the store at my total lack of brain power. I guess I should stick to shopping on Saturday morning when I'm at my peak.

Happy Camper!

I spend my early evening at The Farm watching #3 Wake Forest field hockey win over the Stanford Cardinal. It was awesome! I can't even begin to say how much I love watching field hockey...I literally forgot about every other thing that occupied my brain the rest of the day.

I will say though how much I miss coaching and playing (sports in general, but definitely field hockey). There's something about being involved in the game that is so exciting to me. Another good consequence of that is that you're away from the parents when you are playing or coaching. I don't know if it's because I played the sport or just who I am as a person, but it's really challenging to sit in the stands and listen to what parents say...they way they say bad things about the other team and the refs, how it should have been this call or someone should get a card. I also found it frustrating to watch Wake beat Stanford 8-0 (it was 5-0 at the half and Stanford was not without their chances but really, 8-0 because you're the #3 team with four losses and you need to make a statement?). As a former athlete, I plea to to spectators...encourage and cheer for good play, no matter who makes it. Be positive. The players learn sportsmanship from you in a lot of ways.

I'll soon be off to Baltimore for the weekend, to see more field hockey action. What a great week!

Do You Have Your Costume?

This is courtesy of cuteoverload.com and I can't look at it without giggling. I was going to wait to post this on Halloween, but decided you all might need a little inspiration for your costumes. I feel like the three on the right have very awkward arms and for that reason, the Krispy Kreme guy totally wins for realism. It really looks like he's going to eat that doughnut as soon as they are done with the picture. I have so many questions about this picture. Did someone make these costumes or can you get them in a store? Would it be a dog store or a Halloween store? When you make or buy the costumes, do you have to specify the breed? How were the costumes assigned to each dog? Was this taken right before they all went trick-or-treating? Are the neighbors prepared with dog friendly treats?

In related news, I don't have a costume yet. I guess it's traditional for the faculty at my school to dress up. If I still have a sore throat at that point, maybe I'll have to be a mime. Or maybe Lindsay Lohan...since she's been in rehab she's been pretty quiet but loving the hair extensions.

Mmmmt. Tallac

Known for its stunning views, Mt. Tallac did not disappoint. We had amazing weather...warm, calm, and clear. The view from the summit (9,735 ft) gives you a nearly unobstructed view of the whole lake, which is nothing short of breathtaking. We started at the Mt. Tallac trailhead (6,480 ft) at 11:30 and summited at 2:30, which is not too bad given that I was dealing with the combination of exercise-induced asthma and only 20 hours to acclimate to being above sea level. My calves made a little bit of noise on the way up (running injury), but did not persist, which made me optimistic until I dealt with extreme soreness in them Sunday and Monday. Matt set the pace well for me and having him in front of me kept me focused and moving.


Here we are...Matt's pretending he's taller than me and I'm happy that the altitude didn't kill me. We spent an hour at the summit enjoying "lunch" (Chewonki style), the views, and a crazy chipmunk who was totally unafraid of me while I freaked out everytime it came within three feet of me. I'm not sure why I don't have the instinct to scare animals away...I am ridiculously bigger than a chipmunk, but it's not what I think to do. Matt spent most of the hour dreaming about skiing down the this mountain when the snow comes. He hopes it comes really soon, while I wouldn't mind a bit more time to get more hikes like this in. We hustled down in two hours, as fast as our knees would let us. It was so much fun! The round trip is about 9.6 miles, so not too crazy, but you do have to work for it. We elevated our legs when we got back to the car...something I try to do whenever I hike or run...I guess to speed the recovery. It worked for my knees and quads but not the calves. We drove back to Tahoe City by finishing the counter-clockwise loop of the lake, driving through South Lake Tahoe and Nevada. It's very touristy in that part and of course, the casinos indicate the state line. Tahoe City, where Matt lives, is smaller and more mellow than the south and it's an easy drive to anthing you'd want (except Whole Foods and an independent movie theater), which makes it pretty ideal as a place to land if you like to be outdoors. Overall, great weekend. Maybe next time, I'll have a use all those sweaters I brought.

The Weather Confused Us...

On Friday, it snowed in Tahoe, so Matt gave me a revised packing list...which included lots of thick socks, long underwear, puffy warm jacket, 2 hats, gloves, etc. And it might look like all that was necessary. But this was the most snow I saw while I was there.


There was snow, but as Matt's back demonstrates, it was not cold on Saturday. We were quite toasty on the hike up Mt. Tallac, although at this point, Matt actually had his shirt on. You stay classy, Tahoe.

Beautiful Emerald Bay

This is Emerald Bay, which juts off the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe. Another reason why Tahoe is so lovely. I mean, look at the color of that water. I am totally in support of keeping Tahoe blue.

Snow!

I spent the weekend in Tahoe and this was the view as I drove (about a mile from the Emigrant Gap exit off I-80, 30 miles from Truckee). It snowed in Tahoe on Friday (this is Saturday afternoon), which made some people (Matt) really happy. I think I would be more excited about the possibility of snowshoeing this winter if I wasn't so scared about driving my car on this road in anything other than the weather in this picture.

More Faculty Fun Time!

Sorry this is a dark picture, but here's a David taking his best shot at the Diego pinata. One of our teachers, who is named Diego, received this pinata for his birthday. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to beat up a miniature version of him. Big Diego was the one who finally busted open little Diego. It was quite fun indeed and the bar is raised higher for Faculty Fun Time.

Why I Haven't Called...

Many of you have heard that my phone doesn't work in my house (I think this has something to do with a) Verizon being shut out of the towers here near Stanford and b) the materials that make up the houses here). If you call me, I have to stand outside to get reception. I am the Verizon commercial (can you hear me now)...except no one can actually hear me. It's actually getting a bit cold here at night, so sitting in my car talking on the phone isn't high on my list of desirable things to do.

I did come up with some solutions:

1. While I'm at my house, my calls are forwarded to my house phone. As far as I can tell, when you call me, Verizon thinks you're calling my cell phone and so if you're in my network, this is a great solution as the chatting is free. The down side is that I can't call you unless I stand outside and ask you to call me back.

2. Skype. I've got it. So, if you like to sit in front of your computer and talk on the phone, we can talk there.

I know...these aren't the best ideas ever. I've been to Verizon and they updated my software. That didn't help too much. When my contract is up with Verizon in February, I'm hoping that a new phone may help or maybe a local number. I really have no idea how this works. Since most people I talk to are on Verizon, I'd rather not leave them as a company, but I wish it didn't feel like they own me.

Giddy Weekend!

So, I had a few days being as giddy as I get. Thursday I saw #2 Stanford women's volleyball beat #4 USC in straight sets! They were pretty dominant, continuing their win streak. Then on Saturday, I got to run around the golf course, following the Stanford XC teams win at the Stanford Invitational meet. Arguably, many of their Pac-10 rivals were up in Oregon competing, but the Cardinal looked to be in very good shape. I love cross country meets for many reasons: I have a clear use for the cowbell (although I was shocked that I only saw two other people with one), you are basically running around yourself, going back and forth between different parts of the course to catch the leaders as much as possible, and everyone there loves runners. I was in heaven.