More Of The Same

New Project?

2011-01-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know I don't blog very much anymore. Let's all pretend it's because I'm really busy living and amazing life. I won't argue.

I did get to Colorado this weekend, for my uncle's induction in a Hall of Fame. Before I left, Ali told me to take some pictures. I literally thought, "Oh, that's a good idea!" because I haven't taken a lot of pictures recently. So here they are.

I really like shadows or reflections of buildings on building, especially when there's a juxtaposition of style. Here is a church shadow on a modern parking garage.

I also totally love Capitol Buildings. When I get a glimpse of one when turning a corner, I have a similar reaction to when I unexpectedly see cows on a hillside.

I love the Mile High City. I had a tough time getting to Denver on Thursday night. Major delays at every point. I got to the 20th floor of our downtown hotel at 2:30am. But Friday was gorgeous and sunny and beautiful. My sister and I went for a walk and had an amazing lunch at Watercourse Foods. It was raw-ish, vegan-ish and some of the best food I've had in a while.

We made our way to the Denver Tech Center (what seems to be a neighborhood of hotels and such) for the Hall of Fame Induction. The centerpieces were cute...and tasty in hour five of the event.

On Saturday, Leah and I decided we had to hit up the usual spots. Coors' Tavern for a Slopper was first on the list. Jorge's made the agenda for Sunday.

Uncle Duv showed us around the ballpark complex that he manages. This is a pretty classic picture - Duv on the phone while driving. Multi-tasking to the max.

While I was sitting in the airport, waiting to board, I was all of the sudden being hugged by someone. I jumped about a mile in the air before realizing it was my boss. He was invited to speak at a fundraiser in Vail and happened to be on my flight on the way home. He's a Denver native, so he was happy to get some family time as well.

Right before we were about to take off, I was texting my ride with flight details (true to SFO, we were about 25 minutes late). His response back was: "Great. See you then. Also, after dinner, we're seeing Tron." Let me be clear that I did not want to see Tron. I texted back that I expected my ticket to be paid for. I got a big "nope" to that request. I also, was not excited about a late movie, given that I landed after 8pm.

But, when I got in the car, curbside, I was greeted by this little book.

While not originally intended to be a bribe, this book got me to agree to see Tron.

This book has a bit of background on letterpress and then photos from dozens and dozens of studios across the world that specialize in letterpress. The first words out of my mouth were, "Why isn't letterpress my job?"

So, a few things I want to do: go to as many of the shops in the book as possible and take an Introduction to Letterpress Notecards class at The Center for The Book in San Francisco.

Oh, and Tron was an entertaining movie. The music was done by Daft Punk and it was very fitting and Jeff Bridges doesn't disappoint. The movie was like a two-hour video game, which has its time and place. Seeing it the night before a Monday off from school was perfect.

Some Songs

2011-01-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

What is with Ping on iTunes. I don't get it. But, I guess I'm stuck with it if I want to keep publishing playlists.

The December playlist is short, but I love Hellogoodbye's ukulele version of Everyday and songs 3, 4, and 5 are my everyday-finger-dance-in-the-car tunes (Time Bomb by The Format, Shutterbug by Big Boi & Cutty, and Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine). And the new Kanye album, is pretty dang good. A little rambling at times, but a great collection.

Maybe this link will get you to the songs. Who knows.

Hope the year starts off well for all of you.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

I hope you are excited as this little guy for the new year.

And the thing I love the most about this time of year is all the lists. I hoped to, myself, create a top 10 list of top 10 lists, but NPR beat me to the punch. They actually did Top 20 Top 10 lists. There are enough lists to keep you occupied until you have to go back to work on Monday.

HolaAdios Photos!

2010-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hellogoodbye's latest album name. Also now our motto in the math dept. "Would it kill you to do a math problem?"

Grimmy loves it!

NK won't give a speech, even though everyone was chanting for him.

Lead singer joking with NK.

More than 100 kids loving the show in Rooms 16 & 17.

Click to link the full album.

Number 5

2010-12-07T09:29:00.001-08:00

HelloGoodbye played at our school last night. It was soooo much fun. They were great with the kids. I'll post pictures when I get them from NK (if).

I went to sleep last night with a sore throat. I thought it was from screaming and singing at the concert. Turns out I'm sick for the fifth time this semester. It's pretty bad. I have been getting enough sleep. I think it's that I haven't been running. Maybe? I don't know, but I need to fix my immune system. I usually just get sick once at the beginning of the school year. This is ridiculous!

Also ridiculous is my mentee, who is sitting next to me and saying, "I don't have binder paper. Maybe I'll just erase everything on this sheet and use it for notes." You can't even imagine the look I'm giving him.

November Tunes

2010-11-30T06:51:00.000-08:00

Here are the tunes from November. Even though my trip to LA for Thanksgiving only took 6.5 hours each way (almost no traffic!), I was prepared with lots on the ipod. I made a Motown mix, which did a good job of keeping me awake on the 5 when N was sleeping.

15 Hours at Disney

2010-11-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

Well, okay, I wasn’t there for 15 hours, but I took a picture every hour that day to document its awesomeness. Today, when we were driving back North, N asked me, as he often does, to list my Top 5 favorite things about the trip. They were: 5. My 3.6 mile run along the ocean (first run in months due to all the sickness), 4. Riding the fixies and getting the tour of the town, 3. Late night Alerto’s mexican food on Thanksgiving where we met up with 5 of his guy friends from high school and they all played touch football in the parking lot, 2. Disneyland, and 1. dinner at Animal in LA with his bff. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was when numbers 1 and 2 took place. It was a really great day, and I’m glad I decided to do a 12 hours in photos theme for the day. I really only took about two pictures at times other than on the hour, so this is literally what I was doing as the big hand got to the 12 (more or less).

7am
The view out my window at N’s house. Looks a little gray and it ended up being only 59 degrees…that’s chilly for us out here! It only took me 10 minutes to get N out of bed. Not bad!

8am
Despite the fact that N has been to Disneyland somewhere around 50 times (he had an annual pass for years), he’s never been there in the morning when it opens. That’s because he’s never gone with me. Obviously, I wanted to be there as soon as it opens. Here were are, at 8am, trying to figure out where to park.

9am
A giant steamboat. We got in the park around 8:30 and immediately got our FastPass for Space Mountain (my favorite ride of the day) and did Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Splash Mountain (no line and boy did we get soaked!) before 10:30am.

10am
This is some girl looking less than enthused about the 33 club. It’s some kind of private restaurant/club that’s super exclusive at Disneyland. I guess she’s bummed that she can’t get in.

11am
N just about freaked out when he saw the signs for Captain EO (the Tribute). Let me paint the picture: it’s a 20-minute 1986 collaboration between Michael Jackson, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola shot in 3-D and with special effects like moving seats and choreographed lights and wind gusts in the theatre. I was skeptical, but it turned out to be awesome. After I took this picture, we were on Space Mountain. That ride is seriously amazing. Like when people talk about it and you think, ‘really?’ Yeah, really. I think my family was baffled that I loved Disneyland so much when I talked to them the next day. I don’t really like big crowds or hoopla, but I love amusement park rides and I also like being a tourist when I go places. And it really helped that we got to the park early enough to beat most of the crowds and that they really are geniuses when it comes to creating experiences for everyone.

noon
What to do, what to do… We started waiting in line for the Matterhorn around 11:30 hoping to get one more ride in before lunch. The line was projected at 1 hour so we took out the smartphone to do some crossword puzzles. After about 25 minutes in line, we were told the the ride was down due to technical difficulties that would probably take 45 minutes to fix. We looked at each other, hopped out of line, and set on a quest to find something to eat. As we hustled out of the park (no time to waste), the Fire Station just looked too cute to pass by.

1pm
N and I have some serious trouble picking places to eat. He will and does eat anything and I’m usually more particular. I eat most foods, but I have to be in the mood to eat something. It was actually a bit chilly at D-Land, so my quest as for something warm but not dinner-like. We walked out of the park to Downtown Disney and passed by every restaurant (because nothing was drawing me in). ESPNZone was at the end of the drag and when N saw the scroll advertising the televised Champion’s League games, the decision was made. This picture documents that I had no idea what to pay attention to. N actually did a great job of not ignoring me over lunch. I was impressed.

2pm
Back in line at the Matterhorn. Sorry, D-Land, but it’s not worth it. Wish we would have done Space Mountain again.

3pm
N pretty much hates being in pictures. But, I didn’t want it to look like I went to Disneyland by myself, so this is the best I could do. This is at the end of the Matterhorn ride. Yup…it took just about an hour.

4pm

Toontown. That place is funny and makes you feel like you’re in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” We were trying to find one more ride to go on before our second round of Indiana Jones. We got in line for a roller coaster in ToonTown and boy is Disney amazing at fooling you. You think the line is not that bad and then you start seeing how it’s winding around and going under and over and whatnot. After 3 minutes in this line, I said, “You know what, this isn’t going to add value to my trip. Let’s just do Indiana Jones again [we had a FastPass for it] and leave.” At this point, we’d done every major ride (the only things I didn’t get to do were a few kiddie things like the Carousel, Dumbo, and the Snow White ride that scared me as a 3-year old) and ate yummy churros and Dole Whip floats. Really, we’d done it all and had fun doing it. I’m not a gambler, so I didn’t want to risk ending on a low note.

5pm
We did Indiana Jones again (FastPass gets you to the front of the line at a certain time) and then N made the great call to do the Jungle Cruise. You get in a boat and mosey around a swamp and the boat captain makes all kinds of corny jokes the whole time. It was totally a perfect end to the day.

6pm
Driving to LA to get dinner. No trip to Southern California would be complete without a little LA traffic. N was asleep in the passenger seat, as happened a lot when we drove long distances.

7pm
Yup, we were still in the car, but only 3 minutes from our destination. N was awake and took this very LA shot.

8pm
At N’s friend’s house…while he and his roommate cooked the stuffing for their Thanksgiving dinner. N took this after I got up from a power nap to try to get me through the night. The Happiest Place on Earth sure did tucker me out. The two guys in the back are N’s friends from high school and they are about to open up a restaurant in LA and if that stuffing didn’t have sausage in it, I would have been tasting it.

9pm
Dinner at Animal on Fairfax. This restaurant is so not kosher (ox tail, veal brains, pig ears…and every other part of the pig, to name a few). There were about 5 things on the menu that I could eat and the three that I tried were AMAZING! The funny part is that this restaurant is in a very Jewish neighborhood with lots of Jewish butchers and the like. I guess Animal doesn’t have much competition to worry about. The chicken liver toasts (pictured) were just amazing. That is a yummy balsamic glaze on top. Oh man. I could have another one right now.

10pm
A rare shot of Nick’s face. I tried to get a picture of the two of us and this was the best I could do. This was a great first day down South although, it looks like my 100 spf sunscreen wasn’t quite as effective as I would have liked.

The rest of my trip to Orange County was lots of fun. We did some fixie riding, lots of hanging out with his friends, many meals with the fam, and lots of relaxing. Oh, and Harry Potter 7 (did you know that I watched all six Harry Potter movies in two days just so we could go see #7?). That movie is amazing. Scared me to death, but it was amazing.

I’m always bummed to not be at home with my family at Thanksgiving, but I’m very grateful to have a friend like N to show me a good time. And, despite the fact that I previously thought Orange County would not be for me, it was a great place. Beautiful weather, wide bike lanes, good food, and great people.

A Very Cali Thanksgiving

2010-11-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am working like crazy at school to get ready for Thanksgiving. I have to teach on Monday and Tuesday of this week and then we get five days off and then we have three more weeks. So, I'm making sure that I have no work to do over the break. There will only be fun for those five days.

On Tuesday, when we get out at 4:10pm (which is early for us on a Tuesday), I'm driving down to Orange County with my friend. He was nice enough to invite me to have Thanksgiving with his family. The Celtics were nice enough to lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which meant that I lost a bet to him and have no choice. If the Celtics had won, he would have to come to Boston with me at some point. But, the Lakers won, so I have to go to Orange County. I can't say it's on the top of my list for places to visit, but my friend loooooves where he grew up, so it can't be that bad. And now that I look at the weather, I'm pretty pumped. So, Orange County (do not call it The OC, apparently) for Thanksgiving it is.

My Thanksgivings have always been cold (back East and Yosemite) or rainy (here in NorCal). I greatly miss the family time every Thanksgiving that I've been here. Even though I won't be with my family, it will be nice to go to someone's home. My friend is four years younger than me and most of his friends from growing up are in LA, so there will be lots of time with other people.

Aaaaaannnnndddd...I'm going to Disneyland!!!

Me: Are we going wake up early on Wednesday to get to Disneyland when it opens?

N: If you make me.

M: Done.

A few months ago, when we decided I'd be going for Thanksgiving, we started a list of things we'd do. It's almost entirely restaurants, which sums up my friend. But the reason we're driving is so we can bring our fixed gears! I am finally healthy enough to ride! I'm also excited to hit up the driving range that's in his neighborhood and the beach that is spitting distance away (literally). I cannot wait.

Oddly, it will be my second SoCal trip this month. Last weekend, I was in Joshua Tree with Bec. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was so different than where we live. Oh, the wonder of California. Here are some pics.

Arch Rock

Bec's dreams come true when she spotted this tarantula.

It's a Joshua Tree! Oh how I love the yuccas.

Teachers love long weekends. Sorry, kids. We love you too. Mostly.

The Harmony Motel. This place was great. It's close to the main drag, so you can hear traffic the whole time, but we had a kitchen which made for lots of yummy meals.

Plus One

2010-11-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy around here. Not a lot of sleep is happening.

On Thursday night, I went to sleep at 8pm. I had no work to do and I was tired, so I just hit the hay. Of course, I woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep. At 4am, getting back to sleep seemed hopeless, I got up and worked. I did my finances for a while and paid bills. Then at 5, I got up and got ready for work. I am rarely at work before 7am, so getting there at 5:30 was a bit nuts. Our building makes weird noises, so it's a scary thing to be there in the dark.

It was a weird Friday. I was at school for 12 hours. I taught 5 periods in a row and then during 6th period, spent most of it trying to deal with my mentee who decided to start forging signatures. Then after school meant...make-up tests, helping students apply to college, re-syncing the clocks for "fall back," a shmooze-fest with the important people at our school, dinner with my good friend from high school before he caught a plane, and a Stanford soccer game. It was just a crazy day. I had been looking forward to the soccer game for a month...the Stanford women are #1 in the country. This was going to be the only game I could go to. So, I went. But, my company (also my ride) was not interested in staying. We left at halftime. To put it mildly, I was irritated.

The next day, I get a text message from my friend, who said, "I know how I'm going to make it up to you for the soccer game. Get excited for Hyper Crush tonight. They go on at midnight and you're my plus one." Now I want to say that this is N, one of my closest friends. He knows me very well. He knows that things that start at midnight do not suit me. So my first question was: how many people said 'no' before he asked me? Apparently, I was his first choice. Lucky me. One of his best friends from high school is the tour manager and we're falling back an hour this weekend...so I went...after a nap.

I haven't been to a club...since Ali's bachelorette in 2006. The closest I get is a school dance. And N, unlike me, is not a dancer. At least, not if it's a joke. So, we went to see and support his friend. Because this was so not my scene. As we were driving up, I just kept saying, "I'm nervous, I'm nervous."

Here's a glimpse of what we were seeing:

The scene was pretty wild. Lots of girls in skimpy dresses and lots of 80's everything on stage (acid wash jeans, fade haircuts, old Reeboks, Gecko t-shirts). And there was lots of dancing among the club-goers that made me feel weird and that N and I had trouble not watching like a car wreck. But, Hyper Crush does their job well. They've got their thing going and they do it all out. It's not my kind of music, but it was kind of fun. We hung out with N's friend while waiting for the club to close. We helped him pack up the equipment and got a bite to eat.

Needless to say, it was a long night for me. And of course, I can't sleep past 8:30, so I'm on no sleep again. I need a nap.

Songs and Spirit

2010-10-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the October Tunes. A mix of some indie stuff, songs that I listened to a lot this summer (but couldn't figure out how to get the iTunes mix to publish) and some poppy stuff that's been on rotation. I think that "Nothin' On You" is listened to at least once a day. Sorry I'm not sorry.

It was spirit week at school, culminating in our Halloween fun. We had Pajama Day, Crazy Hair Day, Sports Day (wear athletic gear or whatever supports your favorite team), Grade Level Color Day (careful to avoid gang colors, of course) and Costumes! Here are a few pics from Friday.

The English department as Lady Gagas and Alejandro. Amazing!

If you check my last post, you'll see that these boys are dressed as my friend, NK. They have it down...even the Gatorade and the black backpack! Uncanny!

The math department. I'm a lurking variable over there in the corner. We've got Matha-magic, a Natural Log, the 9th grade math teacher dressed as the 9th grade Physics teacher, Polor Coordinates, and a Tan Gent. Yup. We're nerds.

One of our student teachers as Superman. "Your wait is over," he said.

Our fearless leader on his birthday. Love him.

N L C S!

2010-10-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. Bucket list worthy.

At 4:25, K, N and I got on the train, heading north to the city. We were going to a baseball game.

N had been on a boat with his students, so he was not feeling well at all. Here he is, post whale watch. Not adding value.

When we got to the park, for the National League Championship Series Game 4, Giants v. Phillies. You might think that with a 2-0 lead by the Giants, N might have perked up. You would be wrong.

This is the last of me happy for a while because this was taken before: 1) the Phillies fan in front of me got in the beer line got in a literal fist fight with a Giants fan over nothing and I almost got hit with a punch as I tried to break it up and 2) a guy was in the women's room to announce that the Giants scored a run and to use a stall. It was tough for a few innings while I tried to recover.

Definitely not perked up.

Given that the K, N, and I are 3/4 of the GTL gang (we all watch Jersey Shore together on Fridays), we loved this part of the game!

Hey! There's a smile. Good to have you, N! This was right before a single in the bottom of the 9th lead to a Giants win. It was pretty great. I kept score if anyone wants a recap. Hoping for good news tomorrow night.

The Craft

2010-09-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

When I saw this picture, it dawned on me that it's rare to see your friends or family do their job. My colleague sent me this shot today. It's me, on the first day of school with my mentor group. And it's what I do every day. Talk to kids. Talk with kids. Work with kids. Struggle with kids. Encourage kids. Guide kids. Adore kids. Appreciate kids.

Every year, as a teacher, September seems benign when it's on the horizon, but then it just wrecks you. It never fails. You don't even know which way is up when it's all over. Thankfully, tomorrow, we get a new month. And I'm so excited for it. This month has been one for the books. Our camping trip was cancelled due to poor student decisions, my students are struggling to get up to speed with the material I'm teaching, I have a student documenting all the ways in which I'm doing a poor job, and I feel like I'm regressing as a teacher. I've spent an hour with each of my 17 mentees and their parents to set goals for the year, I've spent nearly every free period in study hall trying to give extra help to my struggling students, and I haven't turned off my light before 10pm yet. But, despite the fact that nearly picked up and left this place, there's just something about walking into my school every day and seeing my kids every day, that just makes it kind of worth it.

Tomorrow is Fixie Friday. I can't wait to get out on the bike with the kids (and NK) and breath deep the air of a new month. And then, to be perfectly frank, I'm going to pour a glass of wine and veg out to the Jersey Shore. Here's to October!

September Songs

2010-09-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the tunes that have been playing this month. I'm really into The xx, The Format, Horse Feathers, and Andrew Bird. But, I somehow listen to Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" every day on the way to school.

Oprah

2010-09-19T09:17:00.001-07:00

Watch Oprah

Monday September 20

On television

Talking about "Waiting for Superman"

One of my students (the one from the film) was flown to Chicago to be interviewed

Happy New Year to my fellow Members of the Tribe.

Things To Do

2010-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

I've said this one before:

If you pledge to see "Waiting for Superman" and then use your $5 Donors Choose coupon so my kids can have graphing calculators to take home (I have about 10 who cannot afford one).

And we are pretty sure that one of our students (the one who starts off the movie trailer) will be on Oprah, Sept 20 and 21. The dates are not known for sure, but keep an eye out.

I get the feeling that things are about to get a little more crazy around here.

Lucky

2010-08-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know already, I work at the best school in the world. My 17 mentees are the sweetest and the funniest (and they matured since last year). My seniors are not driving me crazy, yet. Although I think they are scared of me. That's the rumor, at least.

Today, when my mentees were filling out their daily schedule, one of my students did the following:

The sheet asked kids to record when they wake up, eat, do homework, go to bed, etc. Next to Wake Up, M wrote: "in the morning feelin' like P. Diddy." Oh thank goodness I didn't move.

Remember to pledge to see "Waiting For Superman," and then use your Donors Choose coupon here.

Monthly Playlists Making a Comeback!

2010-08-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to publish playlists in iTunes when I don't own all the songs. With iTunes 9, users became unable to drag and drop a song from the store into a playlist while logged in to their account. However, if you just sign out of your account, you can do it all you want! Let the monthly playlist resume!

Usually, I like to publish at the end of the month. But, since school is back in session and you never know how the first few weeks will treat you (case in point: I'm up too late). And I'm just so excited about this one.

So, here's the link to this month's playlist. It's a song from every artist I saw at Newport Folk Festival, in the order I saw the artists. And I think it's darn good. I am in love with Andrew Bird and I am still giddy that I saw his only 2010 solo show in North America. If he had performed both days, I would have hung on his every note through both sets. He is and was incredible!

Thank G-d

2010-08-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Potentially I'll end my radio silence, or maybe I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and check in here every so often.

What should I blog about? Grading AP exams, being a tourist at Alcatraz, the wedding of some former colleagues, my trip to the Galapagos, the wild rollercoaster of my employment status, my trip home including Newport Folk Festival and family reunion, starting school again, or my beautiful bike ride with my former mentee. So yeah, there's a backblog.

What am I going to blog about? The things I'm going to do instead of blogging. While I don't think I'll quit this thing completely, don't be surprised what happens. I have no idea how much I'm going to blog, but I do know that I've had little time to blog this summer (or little time that I wanted to blog).

I'm staying in California (in my mind, it'll be for the next three years at least), so the first order of business was making commitments to things I love, the things that make me happy. Here are those commitments:

Run 3-5 miles 3-4 times a week and feel like that is great!
Go to temple once a month
Write more letters – at least one/week
Do not be an Athletic Director
Running club in PA? Mon/Wed
Volunteer at Cycling events?
Reading – finish an average of one book a month
Friend stuff – do something YOLO-ish once per month...get outside, go to cool stuff, be with people
Cooking - do it more often, try new recipes, make lunch every day
Read the paper every day (at least enough to know what's going on in the world)
Crossword puzzle – attempt four times a week, including Sunday

There are things that aren't on here - anything about my job (I already know how to work really hard, so much so that I need to commit to working fewer hours) and cycling (I ride at least 40 miles per week to school anyway which is a good start). I have a few question marks, that I want to feel out, but I also want to make them public so that I remember to push myself on them.

The best thing that's happened to me recently is that I found a temple. It happened last night, actually. I haven't looked very hard for a temple out here and I think I've just assumed that I wouldn't find one replace TI in Boston, but last night, I honored a long-calendared commitment to go to temple. I went to a temple in SF that, like TI, holds a monthly late Shabbat service for young adults (which apparently I still am). I purposefully kept my expectations minimal, but even if I kept them high, I would have been pleased.

The service was so much like the Young Adult Shabbats in Boston. Similar vibe, similar spirituality, and just as packed, if not more so. And on the way out, I ran into a girl who I went to college with. She told me how she always wants to come more often...maybe that's something we can do together.

As I drove home, I thought about the rabbi's sermon (about finding "the place of your soul"). I am pretty sure I know where that place is for me and so far, I haven't found something to match it on this coast. I don't think I've been open to finding something like that place here. So, that's what the next year is about. Doing what makes me happy and at peace with the world...to balance all the working I'll be doing. Here goes!

Reflection On My Life

2010-08-03T11:30:00.001-07:00

"When asked "What do we need to learn this for?" any high-school teacher can confidently answer that, regardless of the subject, the knowledge will come in handy once the student hits middle age and starts working crossword puzzles in order to stave off the terrible loneliness."

— David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day)

I both love and hate this observation.

Home!

2010-07-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm home! Yay! This is my last big trip of the summer and I'll be excited to end all the traveling when I get back to Cali.

I have lots of fun planned for this trip: adventures in Maine to hit up my favorite spots in Wiscasset, Newport Folk Festival (both days!), really good seats for a Sox game, some time to enjoy my favorite parts of Boston, a Paw Sox game (AAA ball team), and then the family reunion in New Hampshire. I'm hitting up every state except Vermont (as planned so far). This is still the summer of supporting the economy, it seems, but I'm in recovery from a tough year as a 29 year old.

This is also the last time I'll be home until December. I was given the opportunity to stay at my school, work at 80% (manageable financially and very appealing emotionally), and have more time in California. While this is sad for me from a family perspective, it feels like the right thing to do otherwise. While I had found a job in Massachusetts, I never felt settled about the decision and I definitely was not excited to be leaving Cali. So, that's the big change of plans. It's not as exciting as some would hope, but I'm really excited. I get to stay in Cali, I'll have a little less work to do (maybe), and keep having gorgeous days to ride my bike. I need to make some commitments on the West Coast to get a little closer to happiness. I'm hoping those will include things like: temple, writing more letters, getting back to running, and finding more people who like running and bikes. I hope the 20% that I don't have to work can help with that.

Here's to the next year of taking advantage of both coasts while I'm on them.

It's Not What Happens, It's How It Happens

2010-07-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

These words are those of Mr. Sharpe, my 12th grade English teacher (and one of my favorite teachers in all the world and the only one who ever told me that I should have confidence as a writer). The words came after he told us the summary of the plot of Hamlet. I remember feeling a little disappointed that he gave away the storyline. Up to that point, I had enjoyed most of the Shakespeare that I read and I was excited to dive into the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark.

But, Mr. Sharpe was dead-on right and I quote his words to my students to this day.

Fast forward. I was scratching my head about a month ago when I realized that I had booked a trip out of the country for nine days right in the middle of Le Tour de France, but planned to watch it all when I returned. I got off the plane last night and immediately warned NK, my nice friend who picked us up at a time that felt ever so late for us: "Do NOT tell me anything about the Tour de France!" He doesn't pay attention to Le Tour, but I had to make sure that he wouldn't let anything slip.

I should have told the same thing to the websites I visited this morning. I went to versus.com to watch the stages that I missed (yay for On Demand sports that you just pay for...it's about time!) and right on the front page was the winner. Ugh! Then to espn.com to check on the Sox (should have gone somewhere else) and there it was again. Double ugh!

Alas, I do not feel disappointment by knowing what happened in this year's Tour. I still do not quite know how it happened. So, please don't tell me how it happened. I was excited (sort of) as I watched Stage 12 when there was some action in the mountains and I thought I was about to see the how. But not yet. There is still suspense. For those who know my penchants, you know that Contador does not ring my cowbell. Maybe my buddy CKB can fix that distaste...or maybe not. There's just something about that cyclist (maybe something called Le Tour 2009) that rubs me the wrong way.

So, my friends. It's not what, it's how. And it makes the world that much more interesting to explore.

Five Words

2010-07-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

A while back, the Webby Awards happened and winners were limited to five word acceptance speeches. Brilliant!

There are some great ones including Zach Galifianakis. I can't embed it here, but click on the link. But don't click if you don't like hearing expletives. I've been trying to think about what I would say in five words.

Generic: "Look, Ma! I won something!"

Or if it was for teaching/education: "Get involved in your schools."

Those are my lame attempts. What would you say?

And no, you're not crazy. I set up these posts to appear while I was in the Galapagos. I'll be home soon to write all about it. Hopefully in a timely fashion.

Windy, White, and Wonderful

2010-07-19T23:48:00.000-07:00

Chi Town. My sister lives there now and I went for: my birthday, the 4th of July, and as the first family visitor. It was marvelous. I think I'll stick mostly to the photos and give a few captions. Mostly because I'm tired.

Under the El on Lake Street. I have just arrived and it was love at first sight for me and this city.

Matt Kearney was performing at the free Taste of Chicago concert. He was really great, loves Chicago, and walked on some chairs through the audience. Me and my sister's bf (aka Quad Cities) had a great time without my sister, but we missed her.

She arrived! L and I took a walk along Lake Michigan.

The older sister. Almost 30.

Our first order of business was a trek up the Hancock Tower. It's the third tallest building in the city, but it's right on the lake and there's a free audio tour. This one is a "must do" if you visit The White City.

I just had to show you more views from The Hancock. We chose the most perfectly clear day to be up above it all. Seriously...how gorgeous!

Our next stop was XOCO. Quad Cities met us at the Rick Bayless joint (apparently he's famous from Top Chef) and it was one of the more yummy restaurants I've been to. I will go back.

View from the Architecture Boat Tour (which I kept wanting to call an archaeological tour) on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. This is the boat on which everyone thought we were drunk. We weren't...we just thought it would be more fun with some applause and appreciation for our tour guide and all of Chicago.

Going through the lock. Lake Michigan here we come!

The view of the city from The Lake. That Ferris Wheel is not the original from the World's Fair of 1893, but it commemorates that one that had cars that held 6o people each!

Another gorgeous view...and lots of tall building in sight.

The El over the trestle bridge.

I have a few "must-visits" in any city. One of them is Whole Foods. This Who Fo in Lincoln Park was HUGE. It had: a wine bar, another bar, a riverside patio, and an escalator just for your cart, right next to the one for humans.

Another mecca - Patagonia. I love how they hang their pants! They were a really cool store. They sell shoes (rare), have a bike rack in the store, and have a wall of fame/shame where every employee writes how they got to work...for all to see. Bikes are EVERYWHERE in Chicago!

July 3rd...my birthday...the Cubs won. Thanks guys! Check the "W" flag for the win that is flying at about 10 o'clock from the clock above the scoreboard.

Here I am as a 30-year old. My yearly documentation of my existence. This was a great birthday. I don't think my name was on the scoreboard like it was when I was 11 (? at Broncos Stadium), but we couldn't see it, so I'll pretend it was.

We had a divine birthday dinner at Boka. It was yummy and pretty. Look how our starters came...fried polenta with a kind of hummus on the bottom and foie gras on the top. It was my birthday remember.

A few years ago, the Sears Tower became the Willis Tower (as the Willis company was now the largest company in the building) and they built these cool glass boxes that stick out from the building. They were awesome! It's about $15 to get up to the top and it was crowded there on July 4th. I liked the Hancock views more, so if you can only do one, do the Hancock. But, being in the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and learning how cigarettes relate to the design is worth it. Besides, we had already been disappointed by the Buckingham Fountain (it didn't do its thing on the hour that the guidebook said) and there were so many people at The Taste. We needed something cool to end the day.

July 5th, at the Bean. I need to go back to get some more cool pictures of this thing. Anish Kapoor is the artist who did this and if you ever get to see an exhibit of his stuff (as I did a few summers ago at the ICA in Boston), do it!

I was lured in to Garrett's Popcorn by the smell, even though my sister really doesn't like it. I just had to try it (to compare to the stuff she brought back from her last working week in Indianapolis). The popular thing in this part of the world is the Caramel & Cheese Mix. It's so tasty (but Visz is right...Indy beats Garrett's)! As you can see, it's very, very messy.

July 4th at the Buckingham Fountain was a bust. But July 5th, it was raging. Every hour on the hour, the fountain does this (see above) for 20 minutes. We almost gave up after three failed attempts to see it on the 4th, but I'm glad we stuck with it and went back on the 5th.

And it felt so good to cool off in the spray! Thanks to quick-drying Patagucc clothes, I was presentable again in no time.

Here's the little sis and her namesake at the Famed Art Institute. She's so cute!

We got in for free because a woman offered us tickets at the door - she said she got four tickets from the library and the one friend who was going to join her couldn't show up. Bonus!

Do you think they'll loan this cool thing to me for my math classroom?

Sweet hologram. L & Quad Cities try to figure it out.

So serious.

Indian style.

The girl that Cameron stares at in "Ferris Bueller." If you do the Art Institute, I suggest Lonely Planet's Express Tour. Lots of the art has moved around, but the docents will help you find them and you get to see the best of the best.

My last night in Chi Town was at Second City for a comedy/improv show. We were in the front row. This meant that both L and I were involved in the show. L played the part of a mother in a skit and the cast sang a song about me being a teacher. My favorite part of the song was when they said I didn't look like I could be more than 20. Thanks, Second City!

We thought it was so funny!

I didn't get a picture, nor would I post one if I did, but this blank space is left blank for a "Chocolate Shake" from Wieners Circle. If you must know, read here or watch the last 8 minutes of "Pandora's Box" from the first season of the This American Life television show. My friends from work were in town for a conference and they came to see me and we were treated to a chocolate shake. I guess my trip to Chicago became complete at that moment.

Thanks, L, for making this trip happen. She got all the tickets and was the best travel agent I could ask for. She also forced me to make this trip happen, something that I wanted to do, but just wasn't committing to for a while. I was ambivalent or nervous or something about turning 30, but once the day got closer, I realized how little I liked being 29. So, thanks Visz for making me do this. I think it's the best birthday I've ever had. Maybe we'll have to make it a tradition.

Day 1 in Quito

2010-07-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hello from the Southern Hemisphere! I believe this is the first time I´ve been down here. Despite the fact that it´s only $1 USD an hour to be on the Internet, I will make it quick. In fact, Í´ll just copy the email I sent to my parents. Sorry for any awkward punctuation. This is a Spanish language computer I´m on.

Hey Fam,

GL and I have arrived and we are having a great time in Quito. We got to our hotel at about 1am (after about an hour delay in Miami), slept a bit, and then got right to work. Today, we diid the Lonely Planet walking tour of Old Town and saw a lot of churches and plazas. We also planned the next two days. Tomorrow, we´ll take a bus to Otovalo (sp?) to go the famous Saturday market there and on Sunday we´re going with the Biking Dutchman tour group to a volcano (Cotopaxi) where we will hike up and mountain bike down (we think). It it very cool here and we just had a downpour. Thank goodness I packed my rain jacket at the last second.

Just wanted you to know that we are safe and enjoying our time here already. We will hang out in Quito on Monday, but don´t have firm plans for our hours that day. We´re hoping for some guinea pig (totally kosher, right?) and ceviche (no shrimp, of course). I don´t plan on getting sick from food here, so we have to keep an eye on what´s in our food. Or at least I do.

¨California Gurls¨ just came on the radio in this internet cafe. Who knew they were listening to this song here too! If I have time, I´ll touch base on Monday before we fly to the islands.

Data...Animated

2010-07-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

Very cool animated infographic about "Waiting For Superman," the new Davis Guggenheim (Inconvenient Truth) documentary about public eduation. My school is in the movie, so you should see it. But at the least, I love data and someone knows how to make it look cool.

TakePart: Participant Media - Waiting For 'Superman' - Infographic from Jr.canest on Vimeo.

Bachelorette Pictures Take Two

2010-07-15T13:38:00.001-07:00

Maybe this will work...

Bachelorette VIP

2010-07-15T13:32:00.001-07:00

We were extremely lucky to be sitting adjacent to a bachelorette party on our flight to Miami. There were about six or eight young women wearing lanyards declaring them to be "Bachelorette VIPs." On the lanyard was a task card (is that just a teacher term?) with a list of dares, including but not limited to: get a guy to buy you a shot, get a guy to buy you a round, get a guy to give you a kiss, get a guy to show you his boxers, and slow dance with a dorky guy (I had to ask to see the VIP pass). Added by the flight attendants was "kiss the pilot, aka Captain Mike." The fight crew also checked off the guy kissing the bachelorette and gave the group a bottle of wine. And, as you can see, Captain Mike was passing out his email address and hoping for Facebook friends. I am only posting these pictures so you have an idea of the age difference. The picture that I did not get was the co-pilot trying to get his 'mate to 'right the plane.'

GL and I decided that if by some apocalyptic event we to end up in the bride's veil, if you will, we would have stopped just short of sitting on Captain Mike's lap and giving him a kiss. Yeah...

We also realized that you can have a bachelorette party whenever you want in your single life and are considering this for our next adventure.

Supper Club: Solstice Edition

2010-07-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

This spring, Supper Club started here in Cali. Just a group of friends and a monthly reservation at some awesome restaurant. In June (on the Solstice), a few of us went to Sushi Ran in Sausalito. I have only liked sushi since I was in my mid-20s, so I can't say that I've tasted it all, but this was THE BEST! It was gormet sushi and it was amazing.

And just look how beautiful.

I was so excited to dig in.

If anyone wants to visit me in California, I will take you to Sushi Ran. It's worth the gorgeous drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Off They Go!

2010-07-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Oh...has it really been a month since graduation? It was a whirlwind for me. I was busy packing up my professional life and helping kids pass Statistics. I was one of the five faculty who spoke at graduation and then I snuck out early to catch a flight to Daytona.

Here I am, telling stories of junior year.

Here are some of the kiddos.

My Statistics Student of the Year and me.

One of my students who I taught as a junior and two periods a day as a senior. We've become really close and I'm going to miss her.

AB is sad...

And then I was crying. Not the most flattering, but I love my kids and I'm going to miss them.

What if I Had A Backpack That Looked Like Me?

2010-06-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

I don’t even know what to do while watching this video. Laugh or cry?

Passion

2010-06-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

The world definitely needs more passionate teachers. I’m lucky that I’ve been surrounded by them for the past three years. And I think me and Ms. Schwartz would get along.

“student: why do you want to be a teacher ms. schwartz?
me: have you meet you? you're awesome. i get to hang out with kids like you all day!
student: okay but why do other teachers want to be teachers?
me: probably for the same reason, because kids are awesome.
student: that's not true. you're the only teacher i have who likes us.”

This sounds like something I would say to a kid. I’d hope that they wouldn’t respond the same way.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to let you all know how I’m cashing in my chips to follow my passion. Unless you have inside (and new) information, it’s probably not what you think.

Wicked Awesome Wednesday

2010-06-23T22:40:00.001-07:00

This morning, I was at a bar at 6:45 in the morning. There was a soccer game to watch. Although, some people didn’t realize that just because they were watching sports at a bar, it was still too early to drink and smoke. There was a good crowd of people from work there, all trying to make something out of the summer. It’s a huge difference between our school year and the summer.

The U.S./Algeria game was one of the most exciting sporting events that I’ve watched somewhere between a stadium and my living room. I was on the edge of my seat, feeling nervous, and so overjoyed when the U.S. scored to win.

We stuck around to watch the never-ending tennis match at Wimbledon. We left the bar at around 10:30, when the score was 38-37. We migrated to AL’s to watch the second pair of games. DVR makes it so that we watch these things whenever we want.

Thus, while we were checking in on Wimbledon (which was eventually suspended for darkness at 59-59 in the fifth set), KMc instructed us to cover the bottom of the screen – the score scroll- so as to continue watching the soccer games in suspense. Young Kirby on the floor would have been doing it too if he was awake.

And eventually, even summer vacation gets tiring.

Here’s to my Cali friends, who always make sure I’m included. I love them lots.

Concern

2010-06-19T03:25:00.001-07:00

I haven't used my credit card in a full week. Shouldn't my credit card company call me to make sure I'm alive?

Subconscious

2010-06-14T04:28:00.001-07:00

This morning, I woke up with "Stairway To Heaven" in my head because yesterday, that was the only thing one student wrote on his/her #6. All the lyrics, with pictures.

Grading the AP Stats tests is actually a blast. I've graded over 500 number sixes, and I don't find it boring or tedious at all. Each paper is an opportunity for a student to show me what they know. So far, they are doing fairly well, considering that #6 is typically the hardest on the exam.

There are 130,495 exams and 570 readers. I'll grade at least 1300 problems over the week I'm here in Daytona to do my part. It's possible that I'll see exams from my 40 test takers, but not probable. I hope I do though.I'm so interested in what was in their brains for those 3 hours on May 4.

I'm loving the humidity here in Florida, but hating the air conditioning. I think it's unreasonable to have entirely different outfits, depending on whether I'm inside or outside. I asked if the temperature could be increased slightly and was told, "No, we lost someone a few years ago during grading." What?!?! Someone died? Do we really think it was only the fault of the temperature?

I'm sitting at the beach, watching the sunrise, listening to the waves crash, and loving the zephyr that keeps it pleasant. My roommate is from Dallas, so I'll probably come home talking like I'm on Friday Night Lights. I'll definitely come home with a callous (so?) on my right middle finger.

Go Celtics!

Working

2010-06-11T08:19:00.001-07:00

Here's what work looks like so far today:

Watching the World Cup with a bunch of our kids. Yup, it's a school-wide event.

Love this place!

Oh The Places I'll Go

2010-06-08T15:50:00.001-07:00

Only three more days until summer. It was "cold" here until about Memorial Day weekend, so just in time for the heat (and a Gates Foundation visit), our A/C wasn't working and I'm making summer plans like crazy. Summer starts around 8pm on Friday, after our graduation. Then, we're off to the races. I don't remember the Seuss book that so many people get at graduation, but it probably went something like this:

-One week in Daytona grading AP Statistics exams. I wonder how I'll feel at the end of this week, but I'm excited for the opportunity. It will be lots of grading in a hotel, and maybe some fun in the sun. I wonder if I'll want to read books after long days of reading silly answers to AP problems.

-One week in Chicago with my sister. We're celebrating my 30th. Last year, when I had a bummer of a 29th birthday and was all alone, I knew I needed to fix that before the 3-0. Luckily, my sister feels some obligation to help with that and is super sweet in letting me hang with her in Chi Town and forcing me to book the flights.

-Five days at home for a wedding. Two of my former colleagues are getting hitched and the wedding will be a big dance party. Can't wait. I will be dancing non-stop.

-Ten days in Ecuador - split between the Galapagos and Quito. I just booked this today. I'm journeying with one of my favorite women at school. She's a math teacher like me and I envy how much she's traveled. Yesterday, she said, "Do you want to go to the Galapagos this summer?" (NK had already The great thing about friends is that I would never have thought to go to the Galapagos and as soon as I tell anyone about it, they say, "I've been dying to go there!" I guess this was the 30th birthday trip I've been meaning to plan, but didn't know it was what I wanted.

-Ten days at home again for Newport and family reunion. I booked this back in October, well before I knew I was coming back east. Oh well.

-Then a two week road trip through the northern states on my way to Boston. I'm spending money like I'm made of it (hemorrhaging, as Ali would say), apparently, but this move and the age I'm about to hit are making me feel the need for lots of distractions.

Somewhere in there, I'm hoping to work in some Cali stuff (although I will either have to save that stuff for future visits or I'll do day trips here and there). And if the Lakers lose, I have to go to Huntington Beach to make good on a bet.

Hopefully, by the time Sept 1 is here, I'll be able to get my brain back in work mode. But, I'll worry about that later.

Teamwork

2010-05-31T20:42:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my fabulous school friends, I finished a very, very fun Sunday NYT crossword at a Memorial Day Barbeque. That was in between rounds on the trampoline.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s always keep your friends with trampolines close and your best crossword partners closer.

Nine days left at the job. Time to start packing!

Critical Mass

2010-05-30T00:09:00.001-07:00

One of the things on my Cali Bucket List has been Critical Mass. It only happens on the last Friday of each month, and for more than a year, I’ve been prioritizing other things on that day. Critical Mass happens all over the place, but it started here. This is the city for every kind of cyclist. As we will see.

With only three last Fridays left, I was determined to make this THE day. Being the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I was unsuccessful in finding anyone to ride with me. Undeterred (for once), I hoped on the train with my bike and headed to our fair city.

This is the beautiful clear view of the Bay Bridge from the Embarcadero. Normally, the fog might roll in at this point, but it was a clear and blue for the ride.

Allegedly, the ride starts at 5:30, but it wasn’t until 6:25 that we got rolling. Note the man in brown booty shorts. They were furry and most of his cheeks were hanging out. I’m fairly certain that soon after this photo, he was naked, as were a few other men. Is it just SF, or does this happen everywhere?

When these guys showed up, they said, “We’re the only ones in costume…” They shouldn’t haver worried…with the naked guys, the people decked out in Goodwill finds, the spandex and bike shoes, they fit right in. There was no dress code, no typical bike, nothing usual about what was going on. Fixies, cruisers, tandems, mountain bikes, hybrids, retro bikes, single speeds, road bikes. Whatever you have, come with it.

When I arrived at 5:15, there were about 50 riders assembled. As it got closer to 6:00, the crowd thickened. Everywhere, people were in clumps with friends and people they just met. Many people walking by asked what was going on. The vibe was positive and upbeat. I am bad at estimating people in scattered formation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was at least 1,000.

One of the unusual things about this event is that there are no leaders. They call it a xerocracy. There is no specific person starting the ride or dictating its route. At various points while the long wait was happening, someone would start yelling…and many others would catch on. This happened a few times (maybe 10 or 15 minutes aparat) before nearly everyone was yelling. That must be the signal that people are ready to ride – when everyone is yelling for it.

The police escorts lined up. At least 15 of them here, and more throughout the city. They put on their helmets after the loudest group yelling…another reason that I think it’s the signal.

This woman had a fun bike, clearly doesn’t like what BP has done (who does?) The bubbles out the back were a fun touch. We started riding down Market Street and made our way to Union Square. I loved the impromptu nature of the ride. When we got to Union Square and the mass was thin, we circled the square to “Mass Up.” At intersections, massers corked the cross streets to keep the flow going, but sometimes, we’d hit a red light, stop, and the mass would yell their suggested route. “Riiiiight.” “To the Bridge!” They would yell with exuberance and encouragement.

I was thankful to have a bike with gears and a free wheel, as the hills may have taken me off my fixed gear, had I been riding it.

The mass.

The highlight for me was the ride through the Broadway tunnel. As soon as we got through, we turned right around and went the other way. There was lots of whooping and whistling all the way through the tunnel.

I have a lot of fun on my bike, but this might have been the most smiles per mile. It was just a joyous thing to be riding down the center of Van Ness, through tunnels, the Marina, and the Presidio with so many other people who loved their bikes. Just like the Maker Faire, there were so many different types of people doing this. I hope I can do it again next month, but if not, I’ll get to it in Boston.

What’s Been Goin’ On

2010-05-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

There’s a lot keeping me busy and avoiding the notion that my days here are numbered.

My friend GL is just as obsessed with the Olympics as I am (she might be more so…with here Olympics Fanfare ringtone that makes me jealous) and when she suggested we go curling, there was nothing that would stop us.

Note how serious GL is on the right. We are not messing around, here.

We got to work, learning the inside shot and the outside shot. I’m rocking the ribbons, so as not to completely intimidate everyone.

GL follows though.

As much as we made fun of NK for wearing Vans with no socks, he swept like a pro.

And look at that focus on the throw.

The next night, I went with NK, AL & LL to see Seth Meyers. He was performing in a science lecture hall at Stanford. It was “the worst place he’s ever performed in.” But at least he had the periodic table on the wall, just in case.

Meyers kept the room in stitches with great bits about T9 texting errors, some of the bits that didn’t make it on “Weekend Update,” and what happens after you finish a date that lasts for ever (45 minute flatulence). I would have paid much more than $12 to see this.

While waiting in line, the woman behind me asked me if she was in the right line. Then she said, “Maura?” It was the younger sister of one of my close friends (Danny the Dark Green Dinosaur) all through school. She is out here getting her PhD and in the way the small world works, was behind me in line to see Meyers.

Last weekend, I biked 20 miles round trip in strong winds to make my pilgrimage to Maker Faire. This year didn’t do it for me for some reason. I stayed less than an hour and hustled home to see the exciting end of the Tour of California. Props to Leipheimer and Zabriskie for making it exciting and leaving it all out there. Can’t wait to follow Le Tour.

This cute thing was roaming around the Faire. It’s part of The Tiny Parade, which is a semi-autonomous robotic float. The girl at the right was entranced, as were many kids, following the train around while patient parents had no better offers.

Monday meant AL’s birthday. I’ve been saving the dozen copies of his school picture all year and knew there would be some occasion that would demand their use.

Don’t worry, our Cultural Proficiency professional development session was still professional, despite the decor.

To continue the celebration, some of the crew went to the Giants/Nats game on Tuesday night. We trained it up to SF and I had everything possible in tow in preparation for possible rain and cold. It was actually quite pleasant and the game was a pretty good one.

P-squared and I amongst all the fans dressed as empty seats.

AL got himself a Panda hat and enjoyed my binocs. KMc might be contemplating finding new friends.

The genius of the AND came through and I set up a scorecard in my Moleskine. And taught P-squared to keep score. Pretty sweet.

Currently, we’re in our Intersession at school. For the most part, this means that we have a bit more free time. There are fewer days when we’re staying late after school and our teaching is nearly done.

On Thursday, I was going to see SATC2 (should I not admit that?) at 8pm in the town where I teach. I had work to do, so it didn’t seem worth it to go home. Of course, when given the opportunity, the boys I work with will find some sort of game to consume time.

The Aikido class is set up in my classroom and so NK and Beej just had to play Korean rules handball (totally made up) against the wall with the balance ball that the kids use. I was out almost immediately. This reminds me that my expectations for the behavior of my male students should be kept realistic.

So, that’s the report. You can see that a lot of my life here centers around school, but I’m lucky to have colleague that I love and enjoy adventuring with. I am trying to relish my time with them and psych myself up for keeping in touch despite the time difference.

Just Another Day In Cali

2010-05-19T23:01:00.001-07:00

Of course, as soon as I decide to move, I think I’m realizing what a Cali girl I really am. I haven’t blogged about my move back East because I don’t know how to handle it and I’m not feeling settled. Sigh…

But today was not about anything remotely unsettling. Today was just the greatest day ever.

I woke up this morning to learn that my colleague agreed to facilitate in my place and I fired off an email saying, “Gotta get my cowbell on. See you at 1pm.” Or something like that. Often at my school, when we send emails about our absence we write things like, “Let me know if you have have any concerns,” just to be courteous. I did not include that on my email today. I wanted to write, “Let me know if you want me to pick you up on my way south,” but that’s probably not professional.

I left the house at 7am to beat the traffic on THE 101. And I did. I got up to the hills nice and early where I proceeded to drive around trying to get an internet connection so I could download the race map and log (times) that I forgot to download before I left home.

Here’s just one of the many views I got this morning. This is on Calaveras Road in Milpitas. I almost took yesterday off to watch The Tour of California go through my backyard (like I did in Feb 2009). I’m glad I had too much work to do yesterday because it was overcast and dreary. And I’ve been there before. This was something new.

I mean, look at this. See how you can see San Jose down there? What an amazingly clear day. I parked my car down the hill (behind me in this shot) and rode my bike up to the King of the Mountain summit.

The cows! The cows! I could watch these guys all day. They were making a lot of noise today. They must have known something was up.

The riders were going to come across this ridge from San Jose. How green! That’s from all the rain we’ve been having. The landscape here just blows my mind.

I love the grass waving in the wind.

Here’s the Schwinn that I’ve had for 10 years. I love this bike. I’ve debated getting a nice road bike, but I don’t know that I need one. This bike is just so cute and useful.

I arrived at the KOM where there was a ton going on. A ride had been organized to this summit and the riders were in the hundreds. The energy and buzz were palpable.

Pretty nice view, eh? And is there any picture you’ve seen that’s more American than this one?

I walked down from the KOM point to a part of the hill that was a bit more steep and had a better view looking down.

Note: There are more hundreds of people. And everyone was on a bike. Really…this might be my little heaven. Although I heard a lot of weird conversations, like one with the word “bikesexual.” Really? Really?

See the black dot on the distant mountains? That’s the helicopter that let us know to get ready. I had my cowbell in my left hand, my binocs around my neck, and my camera in my right hand. I was ready.

Love guys like this. It’s almost like France.

The five men in the breakaway. They were working! I would too if there was a car tailing me.

And here they come. They are fierce! Click on the picture above to see the flip book pictures of the peleton churning up the hill. Scroll through them fast.

Teams Garmin and Radio Shack lead the charge up the hill. Lance was buried in the pack here, but I was ringing my cowbell extra hard for him. But then again, I ring my cowbell hard no matter what.

And then the parade of team cars. The opposite of a funeral procession. These cars drive with pep.

This was probably one of the best ways to play hooky from school that I can think of. And this is just the kind of day that I think you only have in Cali.

I went to school, talked about how to help some students graduate, and then held my revision session. It was awesome. I have about 11 kids who still need to show mastery of some key statistical concepts and they are off to a fantastic start after this afternoon. Have I told you that I love my students? And I love teaching? It’s really a great gig.

I got on 101 South for the second time and was back in San Jose for some grub with the Patag crowd.

Dia de Pesca. So worth the drive. And probably the coolest place I’ve been lately. I wish this was right down the street from me. Authentic fish tacos and juices that change daily. I had Cucumber Lemonade (so, so, so yummy), a breaded halibut taco, a grilled salmon taco, and a chile & cheese tamale. I shared with my friends, but was happy with my sample. The halibut taco was my favorite and the best fish taco I’ve had. JF was commenting that everyone around here is always talking about fish tacos. I realized that no one talks about them in Boston…do they even exist there?

Here’s the cute place, owned by Javier. I’m going to have to find excuses to come back. It’s this funny combination of structures with a patio in the middle…with cool tiled tables and benches.

Some of the gang enjoying the food, decked out in the best apparel around.

Ahhh…this is the life. Curling tomorrow with GL and NK! LTD.

Secrets from a Bike Saddle

2010-05-19T10:28:00.001-07:00

The riders will get this view just after they get the first LOL summit of the day. Really? This was a great day to ditch school.

I'm driving to the summit rather than riding since I need to be back at school at one. I have my bike in the car just in case I get hungry for two wheels.

Mobile Blogging?

2010-05-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

I'm about to take off for San Jose, to watch my heroes in bike shorts. We'll see if this mobile blogging thing works.

School, School, School

2010-05-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

This was the weekend of school activities.

The last day of the semester was Friday. Now we’re into Intersession and no kids (mostly). We have many awesome traditions on the last day: 9th grade persuasive speeches, mentor group lunch, and Senior Showcase.

My kids doing Happy Sheets.

MT is focused!

CG as DJ.

My mentor group. I love these kids more than anything. Really. I just love, love, love them. Yeah, they made me cry once, but they are still my kids and I’d really do anything for them.

My Finnish exchange student, TT, spinning to end the Showcase. He is legit!

The last day of the semester always ends with our Junior – Senior Prom. It’s one of my favorite events of the year.

My math support girls, EP and AS. Talk about girls I love.

JJ and me. This is the young lad who picked me up in a hug when I gave him Student of The Month. In the picture above, he is holding me so tightly, that my arm hurt a little after we took this :)

ZP, YO, and me. More of my math girls. And like me, they never leave the dance floor.

NK and me. Somehow, he tricked me into taking him to the prom. Something about him not having a car. Suspect. But, he did put up with me getting sweaty with all the dancing.

On Saturday night, my school held an auction. Tuck and Patti performed. Patti is the aunt of one of my students. This student lovingly refers to me as “Auntie.” It was cool to meet his real Aunt Patti…who is part of one of the groups I loved in high school.

Tuck and Patti perform for the Huskies. Look at how transformed my school looks!

Some of our best student musicians, GF and NV, watch in admiration and awe.

Overall it was a great weekend. NK and I went fixie-ing around town today and hung out with KMc and PP…just catching up on Celtics wins and trashy television. A weekend that makes me want to stay here forever.

200 Miles To Crazy

2010-05-15T16:29:00.001-07:00

Back in graduate school, my friend JD decided to rope us all in to a 200 mile relay. I had come off a career as a college athlete, so I was in pretty good shape, but it was still a completely insane thing to do. You make a team of 12 runners, put six people in each of two vans, drive around Northern California, and run three legs of the relay for about 30 straight hours.

It’s insane at every point, but so ridiculously fun. So, this has become something we do. We had a family affair with 10 of us from school, plus two spouses. If it’s unclear whether or not I love my colleagues, remember that I’m about to spend more than 30 hours in a van with five of them. Yes, I love them more than anything.

Last year, I was running my marathon on this weekend, so I wasn’t in on the fun, but it was raining like crazy and things were a bit more miserable. This year, we were greeted with amazing weather. It was warm and clear and everything that California should be.

KMc drives us over the bridge to get to our exchange point in Napa.

KMc thinks it would be funny to take AL out during his first leg. KMc thinks he’s in a cartoon, apparently.

JD is off in the distance running to see us. I’m just enjoying the view. And preparing for the leg that I’ll do next. I was slated as the top runner of the group (mostly based on my running in the 08-09 school year because the 09-10 school year has been a disaster). My first leg is this: run about 3.5 miles straight uphill, climbing more than 11oo feet. Then 5.5 miles downhill through someone’s ranch. The van couldn’t follow me because I was running through a ranch, so I was on my own for more than 90 minutes. Yeah, I was slow.

During this first leg, I was roadkill for about 4 teams. That means that 4 teams passed me during the run. That’s fair enough. Everyone doing this leg is the top runner on their team. I’m just the craziest on my team.

The first leg was hard. I ran the first mile, but walked most of the next 2.5. I ran easily downhill for the rest of the leg and was happy to see my team and hand off the wristband to KMc. I had been gone so long that the mood in the van had totally changed. Everyone was tired. But not me. One leg down (possibly my hardest one) and I was ready to get the cowbell going again.

Yeah. This is where I live. How gorgeous!

KMc killed his legs. Really. He was so darn fast. He made up for me by catching some teams and just being a beast.

JD and I wait for KMc to come in. As you can tell, it’s getting late in the day.

AL enjoys the view of Marin County. I made a mental note that this would be a really great place to retire.

Beej proposes to NK with the wristband. NK always seems to have his tongue out.

This is what you get for proposing on gravel.

Van 1. Done with one leg. And man are we happy about that.

The drive to SF. Cows on every hillside and just beautiful green grass. We planned to drive to SF to crash in a hotel for a few hours. On our way, we were smartphoning the traffic and there was police activity on the Golden Gate Bridge (I guess there was a jumper). So we decided to stop in Marin for dinner and wait it out. It was the most quiet dinner ever. We all just sat, staring, hydrating, and chewing. We were ready for sleep.

Two hours of sleep at the Holiday Inn was worth it.

AL gets ready for the handoff on the south side of the GG Bridge. That headlamp is about to become soaking wet. AL is about to become delirious as he runs along the Pacific in the pitch black at 12:30 at night. The Great Highway just looks like an endless string of stoplights. During his run, AL called us because he thought he might have missed the van.

I’m about to start my second leg in Millbrae and we were lucky enough to have two awesome students of our volunteering from 11pm-5am at this stop. They were cold, but already talking about how they were going to get a team together for next year.

I ran a fairly easy 4ish miles and handed off to KMc again. He ran so fast that Beej was just sitting in the van when KMc finished. We had a moment of panic trying to get Beej out of the van and running. But then we remembered that we were in no position to win this thing.

Our legs finished in Redwood City and we all went back to Menlo Park/Palo Alto, where half of us live, and got two hours of sleep.

Starbucks breakfast on our way to leg three.

AL looking a bit suspect about his role as navigator.

Our team was well known for the cowbell that we rang everywhere. I got the cowbell during the Salt Lake Olympics (from the official website) and always have it with me for things like this. I was obsessed with ringing it every time we saw another runner (except at night, for obvious reasons). The funniest part was that when the boys were in shotgun, they would put the cowbell down and then not be able to find it again. It drove me crazy, but in the way my kids drive me crazy when they can’t find a pencil. You can’t really get mad at them, can you?

AL started his third leg, which was six miles downhill in the Santa Cruz mountains. KMc and I decided to pump some music and have a dance party on Highway 9 while we waited.

KMc getting down to some Jay-Z.

These are my dance moves. Sorry you have to see this.

My final leg was six miles: four miles flat and two miles up another 500 feet. That’s why this set of legs is for the number one runner. You run up hills that aren’t for running. Correction: I walked up hills (others ran) that aren’t for running.

Here I am, on my way. Running skirt and all. You can’t tell from this picture, but my calves are killing me right now. They were not happy about all the running up and down hills on no sleep.

This is JD, right after he handed the wristband to me. It’s been a long relay.

I demanded that my team stop every mile along the way to keep me going. I think they only stopped three times. It actually helped me keep running because I kept thinking I was going to see them right around the bend.

Hydrating like crazy as I ponder the uphill in front of me.

I’m ringing KMc in to the exchange just like I did every other runner I saw.

KMc and Beej go up for a chest bump before the last handoff. Here we go!

The finish was at a berry farm near Santa Cruz. It was so, so windy. The boys had to nuzzle to keep warm while we waited for Beej to finish battling the horizontal winds and Van 1 to join us.

Here we are. Done with running for the near future. I think that some of us are bent over from sheer exhaustion because I didn’t have any control over my body at this point.

KMc driving us toward home along the beautiful Pacific. A gorgeous end to one of the best weekends this year.

We had dinner at the famous Duarte’s and this onion ring looked like an engagement ring. So I made HS propose to me. I’m shocked, of course.

N’awlins

2010-05-15T15:05:00.001-07:00

Three weekends ago, I was in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. My step-sister lives in the Big Easy and Jazz Fest seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit.

I flew via Dallas, and as we were getting close to DFW, this was the view out the window. What is this? I don’t know how to find out what they are, other than to ask here. I tried looking at the satellite view of Google Maps, but couldn’t find this area.

On Saturday, we ventured around the city. We had a yummy breakfast of grits, biscuits, and poached eggs at Surrey’s. Then, we made a stop at Lafayette Cemetary Number 2, which is an old, old cemetery. New Orleans, being under sea level, buries its dead in above-ground family tombs. The cemetery was closed by the time we had finished breakfast, but we peeked in and listened to someone giving a tour of the area.

Some fascinating things: When someone dies, they go into a shelf in the tomb for a year and a day. If someone else in the family dies during that year, they go into a wall tomb, which are tombs along the perimeter of the cemetery. After the year and a day, the body is raked to the back of the tomb (it’s so toasty in the tombs that they decompose very quickly) and another body can go in.

I loved the last name on this tomb. A very New Orleans name.

I would love to be in town for All Saints Day, when everyone comes out, spruces up the tombs, and seems to throw parties at the cemeteries.

Here are some beads on the phone wires. Mardi Gras must be crazy.

After the tombs, we hung out before heading to the French Quarter. We tried to catch the St. Charles Streetcar, but one never came going our direction. So we just walked the neutral zone.

Here I am enjoying a beignet at Cafe Du Monde. New Orleans is a perfect place for people watching and fried food.

We cruised around the French Quarter. Thankfully, my step-sister knows that I probably couldn’t handle this place in the dark, so I was happy to be there at 7 pm. It was still fairly wild. Lots of skin and alcohol. And odd street performers. Like this guy.

Sunday meant Jazz Fest! Juliet and I were so ridiculously excited. The food, the music…the food. We were in for a good time.

My first snoball. This was a nectar syrup snoball with condensed milk. It might have been the tastiest ice-based food I’ve ever tasted. I’m craving one right now.

This is Melissa taking a picture of her crawfish bread (basically bread stuffed with cheese, crawfish, and spices). Juliet can’t contain herself!

Here’s one of the brass bands second lining through the festival grounds after their performance. I love the parasols and the general good nature of everything about this.

Me with my namesake. I love this town!

Here’s my dream house. I love everything about it. I might do something different with the shrubs, but it even has a bike in front!

I left New Orleans on Sunday night to a gorgeous sunset over the Mississippi. This was back when the oil leak had just happened, but no one knew about it (at least no one was talking about it in NO).

Strangely enough, no one is really talking about it now, either. I think we’re all overwhelmed with bad news and disasters these days.

What Do You Do When They Make A Special Day For Something You Do Already?

2010-05-13T21:56:00.001-07:00

I ride my bike to school nearly every day (although, since the relay and being wicked sore, it’s been inconsistent). It’s just under five miles each way, very flat, and oh-so-pleasant.

Today was Bike To Work Day, here in sunny California. I felt the need for something to recognize the day beyond the usual commute.

So, last night, I got rode Caltrain with my friend and math colleague DC to his house in SF. We carbo-loaded and were up at 4:45 this morning to make the 38 mile journey to our place of employment. We started in the dark and wound our way through the city…by City College and UCSF, Lake Merced, up to Skyline Boulevard. From there, we were practically following the same route as the relay two weekends ago. Skyline is hilly in a challenging way. Up and down. Big ups and big downs. It leads to the best bike path I’ve seen around here…miles and miles alongside the reservoirs and foothills. I don’t love the dam that made the reservoir, but it was beautiful this morning in the fog and early light. At one point, a deer was alongside the path, just looking at us, as if she was waiting for us to come. So sweet. A bit later, a coyote trotted right in front of our path and then stared us down as we flew past. Ah the joys of early morning exercise.

Here we are, safe at school. Three hours and 38 miles later. There’s never a bad time for a ride.

Oh, and when we got to school, PE testing was underway for the 9th graders. Their teachers got into it. Really, really into it.

Why I Haven’t Been Blogging

2010-05-09T09:14:00.001-07:00

Grading has consumed my life.

But, I promise, I will write soon about New Orleans Jazz Fest, The 200 Mile Relay, and Seniors in their final days with me.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms I know!

People: They Are Bad At Doing Stuff

2010-04-27T21:37:00.001-07:00

I love this montage of reasons why you need an infomercial product. You don’t even get what’s going on, but once you see the fade to black and white and the red “x,” you know your problems are about to be saved.

Colons

2010-04-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just got this email from the 9th grade English teacher at my school:

So I’m reviewing rules for colons today and I’m trying to make it fun by charging kids to write entertaining sentences. Here is what SS wrote for the following rule:

Rule: Use a colon after an independent clause when introducing a list.

SS’s sentence: Rick Astley will never do the following things: give you up, let you down, turn around, or desert you.

Being a high school teacher is so worth it!

Sunny California

2010-04-18T20:37:00.001-07:00

Sometimes people mistakenly call this The Sunshine State. That’s Florida, but you’re right to be confused. It’s wicked sunny here, too. We had a great week of sun and fun.

I’ve had a lot of visitors recently, which has made things fun and made me tired.

Right after Easter, JPH came to see me between family events on the West Coast. We had a grand time, even though I can hardly get home from work at a reasonable time. We watched the NCAA Championship games for men (on Castro St. in Mountain View) and women (at The Dutch Goose – a local favorite).

This week, JMac came up from LA. P-squared, she, and I went out for Italian here in town, got gelato, went to hang out with some colleagues, and it got late, so we had a slumber party at my house so they didn’t have to drive to the city.

Finally, my sister came to town on Thursday night! I totally left her at the airport because I was in a coma and didn’t hear the multiple alarms I set. Does that give you an indication of life out here?

Friday was a fun, fun day.

JC and I wore matching shirts. Unplanned, but we are on the same wavelength in the world, so it’s not surprising. This is us, eating lunch outside as we always do.

I got my seniors to do a Minute To Win It game to end the day. The blonde on the far left is our DJ from Finland. He’s cooler than I. I love AH on the bottom right, coaching her team.

I worked all week getting the Fixie Crew together for Fixie Friday. It ended up being me and four boys. I am trying desperately to get some ladies involved. They are intimidated, but won’t listen to me when I tell them it will be fine. I think I’ll have to do a ladies ride soon.

Here we have two seniors and two sophomores. Four fixies and one multi-geared bike among us. We had fun on the miles of smooth, flat pavement.

Here we are looking out onto the Bay. Love it! I don’t know why I look puffed up, but I’m a Pelican for a reason, I guess. I’m not happy about the no helmets on these boys. At least they have brakes.

We did about 15 miles together and then I booked it home after our ride. So, I had a 25 mile day on Friday. Whew! That’s tiring on a fixie and in jeans. But on my way home, I was passes by one of my students hung out the passenger window yelling my name and waving at me. That put a smile on my face until I reached my door.

Friday night was Supper Club and we went to the Cuban spot Bodeguita del Medio. It was pretty good. Appetizers were yummy and so were the drinks (we were celebrating), but my fish entree was just eh.

Here’s NK. He’s in the Fixie Crew but didn’t ride with us, as he was after school helping kids get smarter. Regardless, we were matching all day. I’m not sure what’s going on in this picture, but it seems pretty par for the course. We are pretty goofy.

The Supper Club. NK is by default, my date, since everyone else is an official couple. We walked a few blocks down to the Nuthouse, which is KMc’s “Cheers” and played some Shoulders. It’s a drinking game that is entirely unfair if you are not drinking. NK, my sister, and I were boss at this game.

Saturday night was the reason my sister came to town. The Avett Brothers were gracing us with their presence. I love them. Love, love, love them. I’ve seen them three times now, and I’m always so impressed with the energy and talent. And their style. I love how they dress. We saw them at the gorgeous Fox Theatre in Oakland. The bottom floor is just for standing, with four levels, each a few steps up from each other. There is also a balcony of seats. We opted to stand at the front of the second level, so we were close, but more importantly, above the heads in front of us.

Scott and Seth Avett. What a great pair.

Here’s a great tune from the actual concert I saw. It doesn’t display the frenetic energy of their live shows, but it does show off their sweet way with a song.

One of the encore songs they sang was “Where Have All The Average People Gone.” They do a great, great version. Scott Avett does it here. How can I work this into my Stats class?

Today, sis and I took a drive to the Pacific before her flight.

This place is pretty magical, in case you need reminding. I think I do.

Granite State of Mind

2010-04-11T10:23:00.001-07:00

I love “Empire State of Mind” and can’t believe this is the first parody I’ve seen. This one will make sense if you’re a Yankee and will crack you up as well.

And I love Marlee Matlin. She’s put out this pilot of “My Deaf Family.” I would definitely watch this show. And who knew that Fremont, CA (right across the bay from me) has such a strong deaf community. Maybe I should stick around so I can learn sign language over there.

Endorsements

2010-04-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

A few things on the docket this week:

1. I want this owl sweater. The pattern can be obtained here. The skill to knit it…probably not currently in my wheelhouse/.

2. The oddest book title award goes to Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina. This isn’t so odd to me, as I cut out this article about the craze from the New York Times in 2008, in the midst of teaching hyperbolas. Sounds like an awesome project for a Pre-Calc class someday.

3. SepiaTown is a mashup of Google Maps (almost always makes for a winner) and historical images in major cities around the world. Of course, I love the Boston map, because I know the city quite well and there are so many preserved buildings. The best part is to click on the then/now link to see side-by-side shots of then and today’s street view. Love, love, love!

Paul Revere’s House

Kings Chapel

4. I won’t try to explain these photos, but taxidermy squirrels are reminiscent of this post, so I’m clearly a fan. Kudos to Rick Nadeau of Rick’s Custom Squirrels, for doing something he is passionate about and that people will pay for.

Don’t mess.
Photo by Jennifer Silverberg for Riverfront Times.

Infancy

2010-04-03T23:07:00.001-07:00

Why have I been sleeping like an infant? All night and all day.

Peep Show

2010-03-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

It’s time again for the Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest. Lots of snowy scenes and classics in this year’s set. Most enjoyable.

This one is awesome.

Obsolete Jobs

2010-03-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

I realize that most of my content is directing you to the content of others, but there’s stuff out there that I need to tell someone about. You are my someone.

There is a fabulous audio slide show on NPR about obsolete jobs. Lamplighters, icemen, switchboard operators and more. I love the pinsetter and milkman. When I do buy milk, it’s only in a glass bottle…a reminder of my youth when we had our milk deliverd. Surprisingly, I’m not too young for that. Check out the other jobs and listen to those who worked them.

When Do We Eat?

2010-03-30T09:39:00.001-07:00

Happy Passover.

All the Pesach videos are coming out of the woodwork. Dylan, Robots, and the Japanese.

London, 1987

both from Bizarro World, hopefully never

And from Conan’s Twitter: “Jewish fun fact: If you celebrate Passover on top of an overpass, you go back in time.”

Sounds like my night will be spent watching the hippie dippie movie “When Do We Eat?” or “Jews in Space.”

March Music

2010-03-29T07:31:00.001-07:00

I still haven’t figured out a good way to share music through this blog. The best I can do right now is this screen shot of a recent playlist I made for a friend. Most of the songs are new to the library and have quickly become part of the rotation.

Friday Fun

2010-03-28T21:20:00.001-07:00

On Friday, I got to:

start my spring break (imagine me doing this, but in 2010 instead of 2008)

double-over laughing at Jerry Seinfeld

and pick up the first CSA box of the year!

No. No. No.

2010-03-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

There are so many things wrong with this picture. Can we all just agree that this is not okay? No exceptions.

(Screen shot from a very popular upper crust clothing store.)

Januvegan

2010-03-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

My students did this thing called Novembeard. Obviously, it was the boys, and they all decided to go without razors for the entire month of November. It was a bit pitiful to witness as they cannot grow much facial hair.

I did Januvegan, which I made up. I ate as vegan as possible for the month of January. It went pretty well. It was partly a result of reading "Eating Animals," but I always like to try new rules with food. I don't know why. I fared a bit better than my students, but it wasn't record-breaking.

I was fairly vegan - except an event at Stanford that I didn't plan for and was totally starving at and some other night. Since January, I have not been vegan, but I'm not eating chicken, beef, or other land animal meet. I have been eating fish, because I am programmed to get fish tacos on Tuesday. I need to stop that. If only it wasn't right on my way home. Right now, I guess I'm what they call a pescatarian. But, I do eat very little dairy. I no longer have milk in the house and my breakfasts consist of either vegan waffles or steel cut oats. I bring this up because I'm about to encounter Passover. Keeping Kosher for Passover can be a challenge, especially when you're traveling, like I will be this week. But, now without meat! I'm trying to think about what I'm going to eat - probably salads with no legumes and maybe I'll have to fully commit to fish. But, no brisket for me. Sadness.

When I first read "Eating Animals," I thought: how can you be Jewish and not eat eggs? I mean, Challah, Matzoh Ball Soup, Matzah Brei, Kugel. Now that it's about to Passover, I'm struggling even more. I mean, sure you can do vegan & Kosher, but you probably won't eat traditional Jewish foods. But that would be fun one day...a vegan passover. There are recipes vegan challah and matzoh balls. One day, I'll have my act together to give it a whirl. Just for the heck of it.

Ooohhh…Kosher Kitchen

2010-03-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

When people find out that I keep Kosher, they always ask if I have two dishwashers. I don’t. Nor do I have two sets of dishes or the like. As someone with housemates, I don’t think I could impose my dietary rules on them.

But, after seeing this on Kitchn, maybe one day I’ll have a Kosher kitchen. I have always admired PLB’s Fisher and Paykel DishDrawers and only now do I see that they are the perfect thing for a kosher kitchen. Who knows if I’d ever go all out and do the whole double kitchen thing and have something like a warming drawer (so you don’t have to turn the oven on during Shabbos), but it all goes together so nicely in this kitchen.

Stats Love

2010-03-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Statistics,

I just wanted to write to tell you how great I think you are. You make me sharper and more thoughtful about the world. You challenge me but also make me feel smart.

And never mind all the math teachers we’ve been interviewing and how they all say, “No offense to anyone here, but I’ve never really liked Stats.” They don’t know you like I know you (although I can’t complain about the major job security, I guess). But seriously, what’s up with those people? Most of the world hates on math and then math teachers hate on you. I’ll defend you forever.

Love,
me

Now That’s A Cheer!

2010-03-23T21:08:00.001-07:00

If you are a sports fan and a fan of the kind of shows that NPR had but you are not listening to Slate’s Hang Up And Listen, please either:
1. correct that situation immediately
2. see your priest to absolve your sins and/or rabbi to repent early

I am completely in love with this show (although my friend thinks they are all a bit pretentious, I don’t mind smart people being wicked smart). Mike Pesca, of HUAL, offered this cheer (shown in the video) as a recommendation this week. He thinks it’s the greatest cheer in sports and I kind of agree (as much as I pride myself on sportsmanship). If it was appropriate to do this in my classroom, I just might try to get it going. This rendition is LEGIT! 2 Legit To Quit!

Endorsements

2010-03-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

1. Fug Madness. I’ll say it again. Thank goodness for more daylight at the end of the day. I’m spending way too much time in my office with my colleagues trying to decide how to vote.

2. Interesting Letterhead – I want my own letterhead. Like this one. Maybe that’s what I should ask my artist student to design for me.

3. Great Op-Ed about how no one responds to RSVP requests. I love the suggestion to have it be RVOM - Répondez Vite — ou Mourez.

4. Paying off loans – This spring, I am no longer in debt to the man. Granted, I owe my mom some school loan money, but my $22K loan from grad school is officially paid off at the end of this month and my car will be mine and only mine this May. Holy cow! I can’t wait to save all that extra money I’m going to have –slash- celebrate my 30th birthday with it.

5. The underdogs. Always my favorite during post-season time. I’m loving March Madness – Northern Iowa, Cornell, Washington, and St. Mary’s.

6. ChatRoulette Piano Improv. Love it! And yes, it is worth 5 minutes of your life. And Ben Folds did a great response to this, live in concert.

7. Teaching, in any form.

8. Fixie Crew! Friday was the first meeting of the Fixie Crew – a band of teachers and students alike, most of them on fixed gear bikes, who love riding bikes. And they taught me how to skid. It was so much fun.

Hope you enjoyed the weekend wherever you are.

Irony

2010-03-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Email from my mom:

"I am watching a program called 'Bach at Auschwitz'. The first commercial was for Koehler shower heads. You can't make this kind of stuff up."

Yikes. And that made me laugh.

Why Everyone Should Learn To Write A Proper Letter

2010-03-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

There is so much out there on the Internet that is amazing and wonderful and true. I love the blog “Letters of Note,” and I hope you have time to check out a letter posted there, penned by Clint Eastwood. Dare I say, it is majestic in its prose. Reading the letter made me desire a few things for my students: that their penmanship is legible and that they know how to write politely.

In an age when no one writes letters anymore, I think a personal letter will carry more and more weight. Or maybe I just hope it will. As much as I love the Internet for all it puts out there for us to learn and read and comment on, I wouldn’t mind retreating into the woods, with pen and paper in hand, left to just write.

The theme of my recent posts – I need a technology vacation.

St. Patty’s

2010-03-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, my friend told me that she heard that St. Patrick’s Day was changed by the Pope. I think her source may have been referring to 2008, when it was moved, so as not to conflict with Holy Week. If it has moved this year, no one told this website. Might that be the most useless bit of the Internet ever?

Green Chicago from Leah:

Fug Madness

2010-03-16T22:37:00.001-07:00

If you don’t read the blog Go Fug Yourself, I understand. But if you like reading about celebrities and also love sharp writing, I suggest it. Also, if you need help getting through the month of March (I’m thinking of you ADH and all my teachers out there), you should get into their Fug Madness. It’s a bracket just like March Madness, but about celebrities and who is more fantastically ugly (I prefer that definition of fugly to one with inappropriate language).

The play-in game is right now, just like the Original version. Vote now to push someone to the next round and get into it the fugliness. I probably had more than an half hour of conversation today with various colleagues about J.Simp versus A.Simp and what it really means to win a fugly-off. I am no closer to figuring out how to explain who should win, but last year’s top two might give you an idea. It’s fantastic.

Inspiration

2010-03-16T21:32:00.001-07:00

I think this video makes it clear why I admire Yvon Chouinard so much. He certainly makes me want to get out there and do something.

One Minute

2010-03-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

I’m totally loving “Minute To Win It,” the new NBC show. I really don’t like television and wish I never watched it (darn you, Internet!), so I could do without the drama of the show, but the games they came up with are so fun!

I am already planning my MTWI party and which ones to use for Faculty Fun at work. Check out the games here.

Bring It Back

2010-03-15T09:45:00.001-07:00

Here's a story about one of my mentees, M. He is awesome. For example, when he brought in personal items for his Tuesday Talk (every Tuesday, one mentee brings in about 8 things that speak to who they are and are important to them), he brought a Frank Sinatra CD because "he's the greatest singer and none of you should think otherwise"...and then we played the CD and everyone danced to "Come Fly With Me."

This was overheard in Geometry during a group test:

M (to I): Do you have an MC Hammer alarm clock? [pause] ... because I do.

I: [gives him a funny look]

M: You can just wake up and be like '2 legit, 2 legit 2 quit!' [starts dancing]

Happy Pi Day

2010-03-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

I love Pi Day. I don’t really like the spring ahead when I can’t sleep in, but I know I’ll be excited about daylight on my ride home from work.

Last night, I went to the first installment of Supper Club. We had dinner at a great Italian place in Oakland called Bellanico. It was quite tasty. Their focaccia is just like PB used to make, which is the best I’ve ever had. After dinner, we went back to my friend’s house and I played Wii for the first time. I am so bad at video games as I hardly played them as a kid, but had surprising skill at a game that involved pulling worms out from a rabbit’s teeth. I stayed up too late for springing ahead.

At my school, when a student fails a test, we often ask them to revise. I successfully revised my hemoglobin test and was able to donate blood yesterday. That’s my first donation of 2010 (as I donated on the penultimate day of 2009). I’m hoping to donate at least four times in 2010. It seems that I’ll have to wait a bit longer than 8 weeks between donations, as I think running and biking slows the turn around.

Cyclelicious had a perfect post today about Einstein’s birthday. Check it out.

And here's Mean Girls set to Disney scenes:

Spring Ahead, Stay Ahead

2010-03-11T22:25:00.001-08:00

I went to college with a guy named Osama. He was a generally positive and upbeat guy. He was the first baseman on the baseball team and talked everyone through the game. My favorite thing he would say (which I know many players say, but you have to know how much this guy said during each game to fully grasp this) was “get ahead, stay ahead.” That was to the pitcher after they threw a strike. They were ahead (closer to an out than the batter to a walk) and I loved Osama’s encouragement.

In other things I like…

There’s a blog I love called “I’m Bringing Blogging Back.” The guy who writes it single-handedly keeps me watching The Hills. I don’t know whether to love him or hate him. Well…I love him because he is so darn funny. I am crying right now because I was just laughing so hard. At what? His “Am I Wrong” posts. Here’s a relevant example.

But first: I hate the r-word. In fact, I kicked a kid out of class today for using it and was so mad I could hardly speak to him in the hallway. I hate when smart kids use that word. They have no idea what the world is like for other people. So, I apologize for that word here. Deeply, truly. But, I am not one to edit the genius.

I love people who have no clue what to do when it comes to Daylight Savings Time. You would think this is the first time they’ve ever had to change their clocks back an hour. Clearly it must be the end of the world. Then you always get that smart ass that says things like “It’s 10:00, but it’s really like it’s 11:00.” Yup, it is….except that it isn’t. That’s like saying “It’s Monday, but it’s really like it’s Sunday.” Yeah, it is…if it was yesterday. However my absolute favorite is the people who end up late to work on Monday after Daylight Savings Time. Are you kidding? You’re late? You know you had to turn your clocks back on Sunday at 2am? So basically you went ALL of Sunday “forgetting” to change your clock back? Your cell phone didn’t update itself to tip you off? You didn’t notice all day that everything you wanted to watch on TV you missed? Oh, did you miss the sun going down an hour early? Really? All those clues you didn’t pick up on? Yeah, you should be late to work. Oh, you’re also retarded. Am I wrong?

Read more Am I Wrong? to get you through the day.

I Like The Way You Work It

2010-03-11T20:43:00.001-08:00

The Centrum
December 27, 1996
My first concert ever.
Blackstreet opened for the home state reunion of New Edition.
This brings it all back.

Cover by the Klaxons.

Brown and Education

2010-03-08T21:30:00.001-08:00

Last night, I met my good friend from childhood, KL, for dinner in The City. We went to farmerbrown, a cute little comfort food spot off Market in SF. I had mac and cheese and a salad. I actually couldn’t take more than three bites of the mac and cheese, it was so rich. It sure did taste good today though. I definitely will have to return…except I’m not really eating meat. It seems like I’d want fried chicken if I went back.

KL is one of those people who I’ve known for…well…16 years now. That’s more than half my life. I love friends like this…people that are just so easy to see and engage with again. Kate and I got to talking about what’s next. She’s in a one-year clerkship in SD and I’m…who knows, but I can’t figure it out. One thing that’s so interesting is the number of people from my high school who are educators or who love school. It’s nearly all my high school buddies. That make me pretty happy. It’s nice to grow up in a town where education is viewed so positively, even if some of us came late to the party. Although, the lurking variable here is that I was a total nerd and pretty much hung out with total nerds. No offense to my friends out there, but we weren’t deviants.

Three random things:

1. If I were to be on Twitter, I’d follow this guy. Beware of the language. But also, beware of the wet-your-pants funny stuff his dad says.

2. What was up with the Oscars? So boring and dry. Thank goodness for Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges. Granted, I was only able to watch what little they put on the Internet, but what’s with the drab decor and awkward seating arrangements? I know we’re at war and in a recession, but you’re supposed to be Hollywood! T Bone Burnett also made it worthwhile to watch.

3. Watch Yvon Choinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, being awesome as usual.

What The Hail?

2010-03-08T17:02:00.001-08:00

This just happened. For about five minutes. And now it’s perfectly sunny and blue-skied around here. I feel like I live in New England again.

Looks pea-sized to me.

This is my lawn. I’m sure it’s freaking out right now.

Testing Live Writer

2010-03-07T12:14:00.001-08:00

At the encouragement of another blogger, I’m trying Windows Live Writer. Apparently, this was already on my computer, but I’ve never tried it.

On today’s agenda:

Run
Clean Room
Use my new vacuum!
Dinner with KL

So far, all I’ve done is sleep and dream of Yosemite.

Here’s a shot of El Cap before the snow.

Best Wedding Ever

2010-03-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

My destination wedding, er, school trip, was so fabulous. I don't know if I've ever had more fun with a group of students. And, like a wedding, it went by way too fast, I didn't have enough time with everyone, and I am really sad that it's over. Going back to school on Tuesday is going to be a big letdown.

We drove, caravan style, with lots of parents volunteering themselves for three days of fun in the Sierra Nevadas. Wednesday morning, I awoke to the sound of pouring rain. We drove the all-year highway, that was completed in 1926. When it was finished, visitor to Yosemite went through the roof, coupled with affordable vehicles. I can only image that the steep numbers only lasted a few years. I have never made this drive and I'm so glad I did. It was GORGEOUS...as are all routes to Yosemite. This one was a nice, gentle climb into the valley.

When we arrived, it was still raining, but there were moments of snow in the air, only to end up in puddles on the ground.

But, as you can see, the ladies in their Sorels loved it. Note what the ground looks like now.

Some rangers gave us a walking tour of the valley...mostly to Lower Yosemite Falls. I actually didn't go on this tour, as I was coordinating with parents and figured out the room situation. I had asked for the boys and girls to be separated, it didn't quite turn out that way. So, I sat in my car, dividing up the girls and boys, while the rain turned to snow.

I don't have pictures of the epic snowball fight that happened after I handed out keys to the cabins. I love snowball fights...especially when I'm wearing waterproof gear and I don't get hit in the face. It's the worst when you get hit in the face with a snowball. I think half of the senior class was running around, throwing snow, while the white stuff just kept dumping down.

It's also hilarious to see high school boys get so excited about throwing a snowball at their math teacher. What they don't realize is that a) it doesn't phase me and b) I will toss 'em right back. Which is exactly what I did. Best school day ever!

That night, we caught the bus over to dinner. Turns out that our bus driver went to one of the high schools in our district and the founding family of Curry Village went to another one. When I got there, I realized I forgot my computer to show a movie about Hetch Hetchy. So, I got back on the bus. Then on the bus, I realized that another teacher had the speakers. So, I wasn't going to be able to get those. 70 minutes later, I was back with the kids and they were restless. The movie showing a bust, we sent the girls on the first bus, so that the boys could help put chains on the parents' cars. I hadn't eaten yet, so I sat down with my food and demanded some company.

Here I am with the boys.

I was in the middle of about five conversations, one of them being about how we lost time in our day due to the Chilean earthquake. These boys love their Physics. One of my students asked me, with a worried look, how many things could he study in college. I told him it depended on time and money and he looked really sad. Turns out, he loves my Stats class so much that he wants to fit it in among Polish and music. This same student told me that the study trip was the best ever and if they had to go home that night, it still would have been the best. The boys and I played an epic game of Would You Rather? I was involved to keep this game PG, and it was mostly about how you wanted to die (remember, all the girls were back at the ranch).

We went home and put the kids to bed. Have I mentioned that I love my kids? They are really just so wonderful. Sure, they don't view us teachers as supreme beings to be respected at all times like I did my teachers, but they are ever so sweet and they've grown up so much in the time I've known them.

On Thursday morning, I awoke and dressed to run. It was sunny and a Winter Wonderland. Of course, no matter how early you wake up, someone is going to be awake. The view of Half Dome was the best I've seen...the light was perfect! When I got back to the cabins, I put on the snowshoes for a jaunt around in the snow.

When I got back from my run, more kids were out and about.

When we arrived, the ground was just dirt. Can you believe the difference? Some of them have never been in snow and many haven't been in snow as it's fallen. Apparently, Yosemite gets snow like this about twice a year. I can't believe we got to see it.

Snowball throwing resumes.

You can see here that we stayed in the cabins at Curry Village. I've only ever stayed in the canvas tent cabins and this was a treat. Heated with a bathroom and lots of space. This was a phenomenal venue for our trip. It was also easy to keep the kids in their rooms given the snow and the threat of bears.

We checked out on Thursday morning and headed to the Ansel Adams gallery for our photography walk. We heard a bit about Adams and then went to walk with our cameras. It was bright and sunny and just gorgeous.

I loved this scene of some deer just lounging.

E. walks in Cook's Meadow under a shrouded Half Dome.

Gabe, our guide, explains some technical photography skills to my photography loving students.

Gabe was awesome. He lives nearby and spends his time photographing, hiking, and climbing. My kids were most impressed with his beard, which took about two months. They attempted Novembeard and had no success.

I wish I had taken this picture at 7am when I saw it on my run. Everything was golden in color.

After our photography tour, we had lunch and some talks. We first heard from a ranger on the topic of Hetch Hetchy. I do not keep it a secret that I think the dam at Hetch Hetchy should be removed. I was impressed that the discussion was about the history and the pros and cons. it's tough when you come from a place where most of our yummy water is a result of the dam, but I don't really understand the dam. We also heard from two rangers who work on minority outreach. One of my colleagues heard a story on NPR and we contacted the park to see if we could chat with him. Somehow, it all worked out and it was amazing.

We had about an hour of free time after the talks before heading out of the valley.

A bunch of us went on a hike to the Spider Caves underneath Yosemite Falls.

From the Valley, we were off to the park's edge. We had dinner in the gateway town of Oakhurst. The pizza we ate had more cheese and grease than I've ever seen, but calories were welcome. We continued on to Tenaya Lodge, a resort-like spot in the mountains. We had amazingly comfortable rooms, a pool and spa area, ice skating, fire places, and a spinning (fake) raccoon in the lobby.

Yeah...we had fun on the skates.

R. is a skater. It's crazy to watch someone who is so comfortable on skates.

We met after the skating closed and got our kids ready for bed. I definitely did one of those mental pictures as I stood in front of 93 of the best students I've ever taught and just took it all in. I really didn't want it to end. I spent some time hanging with some girls in the lobby in front of the fire and enjoying time with my fellow faculty. Did I tell you that I had a plate of fruit and chocolate in my room to welcome me. And my bed was turned down with chocolate on the pillow. Sometimes it pays to be the one doing all the work to set up our destination wedding.

For some bizarre reason, I like doing the room checks at night. It reminds me of my times as a cabin mom at camp, getting to tuck kids in and wish them sweet dreams. Although this time, it turned into me running around the hotel filling vending machine orders. We didn't want our kids roaming the halls after room checks had started, but didn't want them being grumpy either. So, I collected money and orders and then went wandered around finding the vending machine that worked. This meant a conversation that involved a lot of saying "No" on my part (to questions like: can I get some spaghetti, is there asparagus in the vending machine, can you just pick something for me). High school boys are exasperating sometimes. In one room, I went in to take an order and ended up getting in a deep discussion with some kids (including our Finnish exchange student) about why they had to be in their rooms at 10:30pm (same kid who said, "your eyes are pretty red"...I told you!). I haven't done a lot of these school trips, so I don't know, but 10:30 seems plenty late to me. But, my students are raised to question politely. So, we had a really thoughtful and good talk about responsibility. This is when I most appreciate teaching seniors. Meanwhile, in the hall, my colleague had heard me talking in the room and said, "I think there's a girl in the boys' room." I came out just before he was about to barge in.

Buffet breakfast on Friday!

These kids were up way before me and they had already stuffed themselves. We had a relaxing morning and didn't have to get up until 8. What a treat! After breakfast, we welcomed someone from Mariposa, another gateway town, to talk about what the experience is to live just outside the park. The guy we talked to was amazing - former National Park Deputy Supervisor, who oversaw coming back after the flood in 1997 and the purchase of the diesel hybrid shuttle buses for the valley. He is now on the Board of Supervisors in Mariposa...so he's seen the federal government side of things as well as the local government side. He had a great way of engaging our students and had so much knowledge about the park and surrounding communities. The students asked great questions about collaboration among the gateway towns, public transportation, and what the future might look like for the park. I was so impressed with their interest.

We made our way home, with that euphoric feeling of time well spent. It's pretty awesome that my job this week was to take my kids to Yosemite.

I had planned to stay in the park and ski, but I opted to sleep in my own bed and get sleep. I slept for about 12 hours on Friday night and then took a long nap in the afternoon. Lazy Saturday. Quite nice.

It's hard to believe that I only have two more months to teach these kids. That's the beauty of teaching and the curse.

You Must!!!

2010-03-02T19:42:00.001-08:00

Watch the video at this link. In full spirit of Perez.

How To Flunk a Test

2010-02-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Now onto flunking. The past few weeks have been draining as I try to keep on top of my school work while planning this class trip. While, I haven't yet posted my 2010 goals, I have some that I'm keeping an eye on. I have been running consistently for five weeks and bike commuting every day this semester. This week, I've been fitting in runs after school when I'm too exhausted to get up in the morning (or even hear my alarm). After the dance last night, I slept as long as I could, before getting out for 5 miles (longest run of 2010!).

After my five miler, I bolted to my blood donation appointment. This is how it went: First try at blood pressure: too low. How low? In the 80s? What!?!? I've never had blood pressure in the 80s. She tried again and I ended up with 96/66. Again, lower than usual (how this makes sense after the annoyances of the dance is beyond me). Then she took my temperature. It didn't even register on the tab, which means less than 96. Then, my pulse. Can you see where this is going? 58 bpm. When I take my heart rate in the morning, it's usually 58-62, but that's supine and first thing. After a run and hustle over to the clinic, how is it 58? Finally, the hemoglobin test. I failed.

Nurse Wendy assured me that women have a difficult time getting their hemoglobin back up after a blood donation for an 8-week turn around, and I should come back in two weeks. It seems like my body was giving me every possible sign that I shouldn't donate blood today. I have done well with every donation so far (I feel fine afterwards and can resume normal activity easily), so I expected for all to go smoothly today.

I think my low hemoglobin is the result of three changes in my life since my first two blood donations: 5 days a week of running, 5 days a week of riding at least 45 minutes on the bike, and being a sometimes vegan/sometimes pescatarian. Going forward, I need to take my vitamins and probably donate only every 10-12 weeks.

I just watched the bronze medal curling match. For some arbitrary reason, I was rooting for the Swedes over the Swiss (maybe it's blonde allegiance). Sweden lost the match in the last end and I just felt so sad for them. On to the gold medal match and hockey!

How To Give Yourself Wrinkles

2010-02-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Last night, I decided to go to my school's Winter Formal. I wasn't planning on it, but the kids always know how to guilt me into going. When I got there, it was immediately apparent that there were not enough chaperones. So, it looked like I was going to stay.

Everyone knows I love to dance at these things, which gives me some cred with the student, but it also works to my advantage as a chaperone. I can spend the whole night dancing, but doing it through all the kids, to keep an eye on everything. The worst stuff is going on in the middle of the crowd and you won't see it unless you get in there. It's odd how kids change their dancing as soon as they see you looking at them. To the kids: if your dancing makes you feel uncomfortable around your teacher, maybe it's not a good idea.

I think I have deepened the wrinkle in between my eyebrows as a result of being at the dance. I thought I smelled alcohol on kids and many of my girls just looked trashy when they dance with boys. So, while I danced around, I was giving a lot of frowning looks at my kids. Without sounding ancient, I want to say that I get that this is how kids are going to dance now (facing the same direction), but as soon as I see a girl with her hands on the floor with a boy right behind her, I flip out. My line to them is usually: "Have some respect for yourself and get it together." Many times, I also have to motion for dresses to be pulled down. So gross! On Monday, I expect that I'll be having further conversations with girls about this. I'm sure they could care less what I think, but their actions make me really sad. It's only a few girls, but part of what we try to teach is character and theirs was questionable last night.

I was out until past midnight because the entire social committee (except one girl) left without cleaning up. I went from just showing up for the fun of it, to helping close everything up.

Best lines of the night:

I walked past a couple slow dancing (a couple that I didn't know was involved) and I heard the guy say, "I'm so sorry for the last month." I just smiled. It's such a high school guy thing to say during a slow dance.

My Finnish exchange student brought his sister who is visiting the States. She was awesome and stunning and I told her that her brother was just a great guy. She said, "I know. We are related after all." Who knew the Finns had such a great sense of humor.

Planning A Wedding

2010-02-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Did I get you to read this post? I'm not planning one, but I feel like I am. And after this experience, the thought frightens me.

So, we're planning our study trip. We're taking 95 seniors, 30 parents, and 5 teachers to the greatest national park of them all. But I now hate this place. They have screwed me over and deceived me in every possible way. And it's incredibly hard to understand this world when you don't have a partner to plan this with. I have my teaching team, but we all split up the work. I always get "stuck" with logistical stuff. It's my curse for "having a brain for these things." I am very lucky to be a bit flush with money for this trip (how did that happen) and so we'll actually survive. But, the parents might hate me for all the driving around we're going to do. But planning a 3-day affair with dining and lodging and activities and room assignments and entertainment...it's like a wedding. What if I had a wedding and only invited my students? That would be odd. Thank goodness I haven't done that.

Here's the video I needed to watch today. Fall down 8 times, get up 9.

I Am Not Stoned

2010-02-25T06:36:00.001-08:00

Every day, I have to deal with the fact that my eyes are bloodshot. I think it's a combination of no sleep, wearing contacts, and maybe even the cycling (even though I wear eye protection). It was pretty bad yesterday...so bad that I almost said, "I don't know why my eyes are so red" to my hairdresser. It makes me feel uncomfortable, especially at school.

I don't have a Twitter account and I don't really want one, but I would get one, just to read Conan's tweets. As of yesterday, he's online and still funny as anything.

The Best

2010-02-24T22:51:00.000-08:00

I think these (linked) are the best Olympic events I've ever seen. True, the outfits are no match for ice dancing, but the cross country team sprint is beyond compare. Is there such a thing a NXCDate...for Norwegian cross country athletes? I am clearly not one, but I like those guys.

Hurra!

Setting out to watch US v Switzerland because my mom told me to. Don't tell me what happens!

The Countdown

2010-02-22T21:49:00.001-08:00

Today, I felt like I worked in an ER. Triage all day. When I started the day, I planned to leave work at 3:30 and be asleep by 8. I left at 6:15 and I'm still up at 10. Tomorrow will probably be the same. I'm trying to stay positive, so I had to come up with this list of what to look forward to.

How my semester will end:

t-minus 16 - Olympics...hockey finals, relays, the figure skating fun fest, curling finals, closing ceremonies and a new haircut on Wednesday

t-minus 15 - Class trip to Yosemite and snow.

t-minus 14 - KL in town. Ranger reunite!

t-minus 13 - Supper Club: West Coast Edition kicks off in Oaktown

t-minus 12 - Curling clinic

t-minus 11 - Jerry Seinfeld first row!

t-minus 10 - Go home!

t-minus 9 - JHa in town!

t-minus 8 - my sis comes to visit and we see the Avett Brothers

t-minus 7 - first visit to Nola to see J and Jazz Fest!

t-minus 6 - 200 mile relay through Cali...of which I will run 18 killer miles in about 24 hours

t-minus 4 - Tour of Cali? Lance? Sunshine for sure.

t-minus 2 - Mem Day...something fun needs to happen

Liftoff! - Graduation

On the other hand...

What did I do to deserve to teach sex ed again this week when I haven't had a boyfriend in over two years? I think the term for this is double jeopardy.

Things I've Seen

2010-02-21T19:04:00.001-08:00

A sensational (!) victory by the US over Canada in Men's Hockey today. Did anyone watch? It was so exciting!

Yesterday's curling match between the women of the US and Great Britain. I still love curling.

An entire weekend of Olympics (I did hike with KR and go for two runs, lest you think I'm a complete couch potato).

And this:

Some woman roaming around Stanford campus on one of these. You can get one for a couple thousand. It's called Elliptigo.

And my most favorite moment from the weekend...my attempt at a screen capture from the 15 km freestyle when the Ethiopian and Nepalese XC skiers (both in red) helped the last place Portuguese skier off with his skis. I was crying at this point. They then carried him. And I fall even further in love with the Olympics.

May Your Wishes All Come True

2010-02-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

Guess what my Olympic obsessed colleague asked me today? "Do you want to go to a curling clinic?" She is my Olympic wonder twin and we are going to go to an introductory clinic within the next month. Yeah!

I'm watching the halfpipe. I love it, but it is really a sport if you can do it with your pants falling down?

Let's Talk About All The Good Things and The Bad Things

2010-02-17T21:22:00.001-08:00

So, I'm preparing myself to teach sex ed. tomorrow. Never in a million years did I think I'd be in front of a class talking about sex. I can still remember throwing some sort of tantrum and literally feeling like my throat was going to close and I was going to vomit when my parents tried to talk to me about sex. Luckily, I was scared of boys until I was about 18, so no harm came from my aversion to the topic. So, here I am, trying to remember what the labia is (too much?) and other things I'm hoping Google doesn't keep track of. I'm not worried about the conversation itself...just worrying about having no clue what their slang is...oh and I hope that my kids don't feel like they are going to throw up during this. Should I play some Salt 'n' Pepa?

Random student quote: "I would never even dare text in your class. You see everything!" I love that my students think that I have bionic hearing and sight. I don't dare tell them that they aren't the smartest at hiding things.

Another random thought: I'm finally watching full replays on NBC.com. Buuuuutttt...the full replays have no announcers. So, I'm practicing my skills. I can't tell who the people are in a race, so I make up the names and have a grand ol' time in my room with this.

More: Curling is awesome. I wish I had experience with the sport to understand it a bit more, but I love watching it. The aerial views make me feel like I know what's going on, though.

My thoughts are with the Heintz fam. They are dealing with something fierce and I hear young FelJo is not pulling his weight around the house. What's up with 6-week-olds these days? Heads up and feet pointing forward, Heintz clan. Sending you love from the foggy west.

You Didn't??

2010-02-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

I keep asking people if they are watching the Olympics. No one is. What's up with that? I thought (maybe stereotypically) that my Finnish exchange student would be all over the games. But no. That guy at the Opening Ceremonies claimed that billions of people were watching. Is everyone in Asia watching and there are only 20 of us in the U.S. who care.

Why wouldn't you watch Johnny Weir if you had the chance. Someone just threw a pillow on the ice with his name on it that coordinates with his outfit. How did they know what he'd wear?

I have found a way to watch live Olympics. Now I need to find a way to watch the replay of curling and nordic sports that happen while I'm at school.

What I Like To Hear

2010-02-15T21:33:00.001-08:00

From Paste's Interview with David Rawlings, Gillian Welch's partner in crime and music:

Paste: Can you tell me anything about an upcoming Gillian Welch record?
Rawlings: I can tell you that it is we’ve started recording some stuff, and that I’m excited about what we’ve recorded. Someone else just asked me when Gillian’s record will be released, and I think the answer is, on the happiest day of my life.

Paste: Have you been playing any of the new songs live?
Rawlings: There’s a song on my record called “It’s Too Easy” that has fiddle and is done in an old-time style, and there is a version of that that’s more of a minor, moody style, that’s going to be on Gillian’s record. We’ve been playing that live, and then there’s an older song called—well, I don’t know what it’s going to be called, honestly—some people call it “Throw Me a Rope,” some people call it “The Way It Will Be,” that we’ve played live for a long time and will be on the record.

Yes! I love It's Too Easy and Throw Me A Rope. I really need to get DR's album to help me get through these dark days until GW's new album. That will be the happiest day of my life.

We Are The World Side By Side

2010-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

You should judge for yourself, but my comparisons are below.

1985:

2010:

1985	2010	Winner?
Lionel Ritchie	Justin Beiber	1985 because I don’t know this kid and he sounds over-produced
Lionel Ritchie	Nicole Scherzinger	1985
Stevie Wonder	Jennifer Hudson	2010 - more bravado
Paul Simon	Jennifer Nettles	2010 - more umph
Kenny Rogers	Josh Groban	1985 – more country
James Ingram	Tony Bennett	1985 – more soul
Tina Turner	Mary J. Blige	1985, but not by much. I love MJB!
Billy Joel	??	none – Joel doesn’t do it for me and you can’t see his replacement
Michael Jackson	Michael and Janet Jackson	1985 - Janet superimposed is a bit odd
Diana Ross	Barbra Streisand	1985
Dionne Warwick	Miley Cyrus	1985, by a hair. Miley –you’re not bad.
Willie Nelson	Enrique Iglesias	1985 by miles! One of the most disappointing parts of the 2010 song.
Willie Nelson	??	1985 – new people not shown. But no matter what, Willie is amazing here.
Al Jarreau	Jaime Foxx	1985
Bruce Springsteen	Wyclef Jean	1985 but not because Wyclef is bad. Bruce is just a legend in WATH
Kenny Loggins	Adam Levine	2010 – Levine sounds like he could have been in the ’95 video
Steve Perry	Pink	1985, but Pink contends
Daryl Hall	BeBe Winans	2010, but mostly because Hall’s hair is absurd.
MJ	MJ	Tie
Huey Lewis	Usher	1985
Cyndi Lauper	Celine Dion	1985 – no contest
Kim Carnes	Fergie	1985
--	Orianthi (on guitar)	2010, I guess.
Chorus	Nicole Scherzinger, Nick Jonas, Toni Braxton, Mary Mary, Tony Bennett, Isaac Slade	2010 – for the ability to work in more people
Bob Dylan	Lil Wayne	1985 – Say what you want about Dylan, but he doesn’t need Auto Tune.
Chorus	Carlos Santana, Pink, Mary Mary	2010 – if some artists is good, more is better.
Bob Dylan	Akon	1985 – More AutoTune
Chorus	T-Pain	1985 – Do these people ever sing without Auto Tune?
Ray Charles	Jaime Foxx as Ray Charles	1985 because the 2010 version is just embarrassing
No rap in 1985	LL Cool J, Will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rymes, Swizz Beatz, Iyaz (why is Jaime Foxx here again)	2010 – I love this part!
Stevie & Bruce	Jennifer Hudson & Mary Mary	1985 – but how can you really compare?
--	Will.i.am & Kanye	2010, despite the controversy
Al Jarreau	Wyclef	2010 – Pretty sweet ending
Chorus Spottings: Dan Akroyd, Tito, Bette Midler, Harry Belefonte, Smokey Robinson,	Jonas Brothers, Gladys Knight, Brian Wilson, a young boy, Vince Vaughn, Randy Jackson, Wilson sisters, Natalie Cole, Faith Evans, Jeff Bridges, Jason Mraz	Both choruses have lots of people I don’t recognize. Toss up.

Winner: 1985. There's a lot of great stuff about the 2010 video, but so many of the new artists can't come close to the original. But, I'm hopeful that in 25 years, I'm going to love this new one.

A Gem:

Melting Down

2010-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

So, yes, I did have a meltdown on the slopes of Homewood Mountain yesterday. And I'm nearing meltdown again.

Yesterday, I just couldn't ski and then it got into my head and then I really couldn't ski. That's why, when I got home from Tahoe, I had to run really fast through my neighborhood. It was about 9 o'clock at night and I almost never run at night, but I just had to. I had to feel good about something.

And now, I learn that I can't watch the Olympics online. I don't have cable and unlike every other Olympics before this one, you must have a cable account in order to watch the Olympics online. As someone who is obsessed with the Olympics, this is devastating. I'm sure someone out there knows how to help me. I might have to resort to paying for the downloads in iTunes soon.

It seems that 2010 is kicking me just as hard as 2009. Shoot! I thought I was in the clear.

Order of the Nations

2010-02-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

Greece is always first in the parade, to honor the country that started it all.

Host country is always last.

Other countries come in alphabetical order by the home language, which in this case is English. It could have been French, but for some reason, they went with English, as I think Vancouver has little French going on. Of course, the official language of the Olympics is French, so you hear a lot of it during the Opening Ceremonies.

Ali was paying attention when she noticed this:

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

North Korea

Estonia

Ethiopia

North Korea is really the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, so they were in the right order, even though it seemed odd.

In other nation orderings:

I loved Slate's commentary about Ireland being the buffer between Iran and Israel.

Chinese Taipei is apparently the official name for Taipei in this Olympics. I think there's some politics around that, but I don't like to talk politics during the World's Games.

Songs I Don't Want To Listen To

2010-02-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

What I've skipped on my iPod in the past few minutes:

"Book of Love" - Magnetic Fields

"Most of the Time" - Dylan

"You are My Joy" - Reindeer Section

"Crazy In Love" - Beyonce & Jay-Z

"Outloud" - Dispatch

"This Year's Love" - David Gray
"Forever" - Ben Harper

Just to name a few.

Here's to my least favorite day of the year. At least it seems that I'm back to being a runner.