Sunday, April 30, 2006
continued wedding dress woes
I started getting ready for the wedding an hour and a half before we had to leave. I showered, did my hair, did my make up, and finally, 30 minutes before departure, slipped on my dress (the $170 Anne Taylor dress that I finally settled on). I pulled up the zipper and it stuck half-way up. I asked Ben for help and giving it a mighty tug, he pulled it up the rest of the way. About three seconds later, a grand ripping noise let us know that the zipper had popped. Several attempts at zippering and unzippering did not fix the problem; the zipper (that went from thigh to bust) would not remain shut.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
climbing rest
I am taking a couple days off of climbing after going to the gym on Monday and failing to be able to climb a 5.10c that I have done a dozen times before. I usually have a very good climbing day after a short break, so when I go back to the gym I should be able to climb an 5.11b or so (I wish!).
senioritis
Senioritis is in the air. Prom (on the Queen Mary) is in a three weeks, senior night (at
- UC Irvine
- Cal Poly Pamona
-
-
- Cal State Domingas Hills
Sunday, April 23, 2006
climbing at Big Rock
Big Rock has very crimpy holds.
Friday, April 21, 2006
sicky
sick dog
Tala has been sick. Last night she stayed in the blue chair with a big bloated belly all evening. During the night, she woke me up a couple times to let her out so she could vomit outside. She puked on the front steps outside the house. At least she didn't puke in bed. I can tell that she still feels a bit ill. She wants to get in my lap and sleep there, she needs comfort and attention. Poor dog.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
iceage
I had my first ipod freeze today. It came at an inopportune moment when I had a whole hour of driving in front of me. I was reduced to listening to the radio and (ugh) an actual old cassette tape that I had in the car. When I got home I discovered that I could do a “soft reset” by holding down the menu and select button simultaneously. This solved the problem in 10 seconds flat, whew! I have a year warranty on this gadget anyway, so I wasn’t worried.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
wedding preparations
I also got a hair cut. She took about ½ inch off the bottom and I think it looks a lot better. It had started to get really straggly at the ends. The hair cutter lady even exclaimed, “Wow, how long has it been since you got your hair cut?!”, which made me feel a little embarrassed, like I have been abusing and neglecting my hair and someone should call the department of hair and human services on me. Actually, it has been over two years since my last hair-cut, but I didn’t admit that to the lady.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
bad news
exciting things
#1 (very exciting)
I visited payless for a quick look-round and discovered, to my great joy, that the sandals I have been lusting over (but couldn’t bring myself to spend $90 on) have a knock-off. Newport Keen ($90), meet Payless Airwalk ($27).
#2 (most exciting)
The climbing helmet that I have been lusting over (but couldn’t bring myself to spend $70 on), arrived unexpectedly in the mail. It must be an Easter miracle (thanks Mommy and Daddy)!
4018 Tilde Ave = Animal Farm
"Four Legs good, two legs bad."
"Ugly Doggie is watching you"
Monday, April 17, 2006
celebration of Cadbury
In celebration of Easter, I introduced a Jewish friend to the joy of the Cadbury Cream Egg. He got through 1.5 bites before throwing it into the garbage. I got through 2 bites before throwing out mine. He is not a cream egg fan; he has decided to sick to macaroons. Now I have four boxes of macaroons that he forgot to bring home after the climbing trip. Macaroons are better than cream eggs. Cream eggs make me feel slightly nauseated.
sport climbing Joshua Tree
This weekend I went rock climbing in Joshua Tree. A couple months ago, I went to Indian Cove with the 10th graders, so I thought that Indian Cove would be a good place to try out without the kids.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Earth Day
At Environmental Charter High School, we celebrate Earth Day with a big carnival. All of the students contribute. The ninth graders set up informational booths about environmental issues, the tenth graders lead games, and the 11th and 12th graders do stuff too. Every year, over 600(!) elementary kids come and share Earth Day with us.
So, today is Earth Day and the kids are all here and it is pouring rain. Everyone is soaking and all the booths are drenched. Fortunately, I was assigned to the reading room, where we are reading little books that our students wrote about environmental issues. I am nice and warm and dry, but I am one of the few.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
feathers
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
naughty cats
The cats have developed this very annoying habit of meowing to be let in despite the fact that they have a cat door. In and of itself, that does not sound too bad, but imagine Spencer bawling at the window at 1 in the morning. Yeah, it is a problem. If I leave them, they keep yowling, but if I go open the door, it rewards the bad behavior. What a pickle!
professional developments
I am one of only ten people who were accepted to the Cal State Long Beach Educational Specialist Level II credential program. I’ll be starting in the fall.
Interesting fact #2:
I am considering pursuing National Board Certification next year, which is the highest level of certification that a public school teacher can earn.
Interesting fact #3:
I have decided to start researching educational administration/leadership programs at the universities so that I can start working on my administrative credential.
Interesting fact #4:
I am going to apply to be a presenter at next year’s National Charter Association conference (Inclusion in Special Education: A Model for Charter Schools).
Interesting fact #5:
I was invited to interview for an assistant principal position here at my school, but I decided not to pursue this opportunity at this time.
Point Dume
Sunday, April 09, 2006
clean garage
Thursday, April 06, 2006
home sick
I was a boring day. I like staying home if I have planned it and things to do, but hate staying home sick, it seems like such a waste. I did use the time to get several chores done.
#1 Dropped off my application to CSULB (although I have been a student there for the past year, red tape required me to completely reapply to the university for my level II credential)
#2 Bought a new toothbrush and a new collar for Schataje
#3 Packed up much of my “cookware” (baking pans, casserole dishes, etc.)
#4 Downloaded a bunch of music for my IPOD, for example:
a. Shine – Collective Soul
b. Nothin’ but a G Thang – Snoop
c. Wannabe – Spice Girls
d. Summer in the City – Lovin’ Spoonful
e. Desperado – The Eagles
f. Many more
#5 Took some pictures of the animals (see below)
#6 Wacthed multiple espisodes of Sell This House, Move This House, and Flip This House
What a day!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
school stuff
I did conferences today, and only had two “no-shows”, which is probably my best success yet. They actually weren’t that bad. Usually I get at least one or two criers, but this time no parents cried, no students cried, and I didn’t cry (got close though, talking to a parent whose six-year-old is struggling with brain cancer and feels so guilty about not having time to devote to her older kid).
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
parent teacher conferences
Me: Jan is failing three of her classes.
Mom: What!? Why didn’t anyone let me know before now!?
Me: I’ve sent home a progress report every Friday for the past 12 weeks.
Mom: Well, I’ve never gotten even one of them. You need to make sure that the parents are getting them.
Me: I require that be signed and brought back on Mondays. In fact, my records show that I’ve gotten back a signed progress report from Jan every week this semester.
Mom: Well, I sure ain’t signing them!
Jan: Ummmmmm…..
T41
18 months ago, my school started a 3-year lease on 11 T41 IBM Thinkpad laptop computers for $46/month each. Two of these laptops have since been stolen.
Of the remaining nine, eight have not had to either have their hard drive, motherboard, or power supply replaced. These laptops are less than two years old. It seems amazing to me.
My own laptop has had both it's motherboard and hard drive replaced.