Carrie and Tala: BFF

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.

It was a nightmare (literally, girls actually have nightmares about things like this). Can you imagine not having a dress mere minutes before the wedding? Panicking, now only 5 minutes after we were supposed to leave for the wedding, Mommy was the calm in the storm and called the concierge to bring a sewing kit. Making tiny stitches and trying her best to hide them, Mommy sewed me into that dress up the zipper line while Daddy and Ben anxiously waited to leave for the wedding.

A carefully places shawl hid the stitching brilliantly and the evening went well. Getting the dress off at the end of the night was just as hard. Even after I took out all the stitching, the broken zipper kept me locked into that dress. I ended up having to actually cut myself out of the dress. It was awful.

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!).

In other news, Spencer has a cold and has been sneezing frequently. As a kitten, Spencer was diagnosed with feline herpes, so this is probably just a flare-up. Don’t worry, human beings can’t catch feline herpes. Schataje on the other hand is doing well. She is eating her food and continuing to take her treatments like a sweet cat.

Senioritis is in the air. Prom (on the Queen Mary) is in a three weeks, senior night (at Disneyland) is in six weeks, and graduation is a mere eight weeks away. I will be graduating nine special education seniors, which I am rather proud of as the graduating class is only 53 students (that is, if all my seniors manage to pull it off and pass all their classes this semester). My special ed. seniors have already been accepted to:

- UC Irvine

- Cal Poly Pamona

- Cal State Northridge

- Cal State LA

- Cal State Domingas Hills

Yesterday, Sri, Eugene, Keith and I went climbing at Big Rock, near Lake Perris in Riverside County. We started on some easy leads (5.5 and 5.6) since it was Eugene’s first time climbing outdoors. Since we had two ropes, we were able to get some fun pictures (see below).

After lunch, we tried out a different section of rock with some 5.9s. We set up one rope and then Keith wanted to try another 5.9 near by. I was lead beleying and Keith was lead climbing. About 50 feet up, the bolts got sparse and Keith climbed a full 25 feet with no protection (a fall would have been over 50 feet and against rough granite!). He was over a high ledge so I couldn’t see him or hear him and was beleying totally by feel. It was pretty scary and I was annoyed at Keith for taking such a risk. He got so high that he exceeded the rope length and had to down-climb to some loops on a different route. We discussed it later and decided that we wouldn’t do climbing like that again in the future.

After a little rest, we did another couple routes and then headed some for some much needed food and rest.

Big Rock has very crimpy holds.

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.

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.

The dress I ordered for the wedding was too big, so I sent it back for a small. I got the small one in the mail today and ugh, it still hangs on me like a burlap sack (maybe its the fabric, not the fit). Anyway, I have to go shopping tomorrow for a new dress and send this one back for good. I'll try Macy's.

Two exciting things happened today.

#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)!

Another day with nothing in particular to do. I watched two episodes of Sopranos (which I have free on demand because I have digital cable and a special promotion).

I have been working on lesson plans for summer school. I am planning to teach Animal Farm and am trying to make the curriculum accessible for all students regardless of ability level, because after all, all students are equal but some students are more equal than others.

Here are some pictures I took of the animals today.

"Four Legs good, two legs bad."

"Ugly Doggie is watching you"

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.

This weekend I went rock climbing in Joshua Tree. A couple months ago, I went to Indian Cove with the 10^th graders, so I thought that Indian Cove would be a good place to try out without the kids.

We left early Saturday morning and got to Indian Cove before noon. We started out by scoping out the rocks and were disappointed to discover very few bolts and very few bolted anchors.

Since it was hot, we went and explored a secret cave for a few hours. We made it all the way through the cave. We went in under one rock and came out a fair way away on the other end. Finding our way through took quite a bit of exploration and we took several wrong turns before finally making it out at the end. It was very exciting.

After the cave, we drove a few miles to the public library to look up “sport climbing in Joshua Tree” (sport climbing means with bolts). We discovered via the internet what we already saw ourselves: that there are very few bolted climbs in J-Tree. Undeterred, we returned to Indian Cove and scouted some possible climbs for Sunday.

We stayed at Motel 6 and headed back to Indian Cove early Sunday morning to try our first climb: Billboard Buttress, a 10.a with 5 bolts and chain anchors. Unfortunately, a large group beat us to the rock and were trad climbing our climb!

Rather than waiting for the group to clear, we decided to explore a large bolder clump called Morbid Mound. Morbid Mound has nary a bolt so we knew it would all be top-roping. We scrambled up the back and patched together some anchors by slinging long lengths of webbing around arm-chair sized boulders. I am ashamed to say that our anchors were not perfect as our webbing was inadequate for such a set-up. Among my immediate group of rock climbing friends, all together, we have just barely enough webbing and carabineers to set up safe top-ropes with decent bolted anchors. With nothing but nature, it was tough. Nevertheless, we did what we could and made sure we had two to three sources or protection for each top-rope. The climbing itself was fun but fairly easy.

After 4 or 5 climbs, we knew that it was time to go. We got back to L.A. tired and sore. It was a fun weekend!

Happy 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.

Today, as I swept the kitchen, I discovered numerous feathers. It is mysterious and somewhat worrisome. Schataje, naughty cat!

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!

Interesting fact #1:
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.

On Sunday, several buddies and I went climbing at Point Dume. We started on a tricky 10.C. The lower part of the climb was simple enough, but chaucy, up top though, the climb got really hard as the face was bald and smooth. The roar of the ocean, which was only a few yards away, was all you could hear up there, and it was a little scary! Next we climbed the beach facing side of the rock and did a fun 5.7 that everyone was able to finish. The weather was perfect and we saw dolphins, whales, and a seal!

I have mostly completed the great garage clean-up. Almost everything is neatly packed into plastic containers or brown boxes. The floor is swept and the furniture is covered with dust cloths. Hurray me!

I was out of work sick today. I was up until 2:00 AM, coughing, I hope this isn’t another Bronchitis, I don’t think I could stand it.

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!

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).

Exciting news: only two more days before the big ECHS Talent Show (Friday, 7 PM, Redondo Beach Playhouse, $5 – for interested parties). I have several students who are performing and I am really looking forward to it. One of my students is performing poetry and several others are singing. I can hardly wait!

Parent teacher conferences start tomorrow and mine span the next two weeks. Conferences are thoroughly unpleasant for all parties. They are unpleasant for me because I usually have to break the bad news about how poorly the kid is doing in this area or that. They are unpleasant for the parent because they have to receive the information about how poorly the kid is doing in this area or that, and they are unpleasant for the kid because, well, you get the point. Of course, I try of focus on the positive, but I teach special education and it follows the kids struggle academically, so the parent conferences are bound to have some unpleasant moments.

The worst is when I present some unexpected bad news, like this paraphrased conversation from last semester.

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…..

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.

I missed my CPR/First Aid course today due to a bad cold and fever. When I woke up this morning I felt dreadful and knew that I wouldn’t make it through a whole day of training. I took some Actifed (the best cold medicine I have found) and started to feel better. Nevertheless, I have been battling a fever all day and have been tired and achy as a result.

Tala and I did manage a little bit of activity today. We took a walk by the creek and went to see the new comedy/horror movie, Slither, which wasn’t very good.

Tonight, Tala and I will be playing Settlers with several friends. I have a new strategy to try out, so hopefully I’ll get a win!