What if I Had A Backpack That Looked Like Me?

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

Passion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.