Back from the dead...

Ok, so i've been really, REALLy bad about not posting. I used to post everyday and now, its not happening. Maybe because I use facebook now to do the daily stuff and honestly, school and masters have taken over my life. Yes, i have time to hangout and do nothing but blogging isn't something that comes in mind to get the stress out. lo siento...

so the past four weekends- its been nuts. 1st weekend in october- went to one of my girl's weddings. I lived with her junior year of college and even though we weren't the closest when we lived together, we've remained good friends all these years- even closer i think then we were back in college. I barely made it to the wedding since the traffic in marin was nuts and i came in running into the chapel while she was lining up. In classic 'me' style, i wore flip flops on the way there and decided i would change into heals there(since it was a good hour drive)... yea, i ran in without any shoes(gross...) and then put them on in the church. the people next to me were understanding and i saw my girl walk down the aisle...

the next weekend- went to mendicino- which was the highlight of my october. had an awesome time going hiking and going sea kayaking in the caves. i was going NUTS with all the thoughts of my masters future and what i want to do next year and it was stressing me out. that weekend, i did what I wanted to do and just got to relax and be with myself and do the things i love. it was a great mini-vacay and i definitely recommend it to anyone that needs it! :)

after that- went to OC- great weekend with my best friend and other people and just got to hang out and do some chill things. the sun was off/on but it just felt awesome to be back in so. cal and be with people that i love.

Then this last weekend- went to fresno where it was the big homecoming for my sister who hadn't been home since April. It was a big deal for that and my brother was home studying- but it was a nice get away and seeing my sister home was a special treat. We got to hang out, shop, and then take my mom's new car out for a spin- always good times.

Now, this week is Halloween- and yes, i'm being a scrooge in all terms- i'm not really going to dress up for my students- nor do i have plans... yes, on purpose. yes, i got invited to things and i've pretty much avoided all invitations... i'm planning on having a relaxing weekend at home filled with watching movies- yes, doing some masters work(boo) and then probably doing some hikes that I wanted to do. LOVE it...and no travel plans till thanksgiving- we'll see how i do. My masters program is pretty much kicking my butt right now since its the end of the quarter but i figure- work hard now and get it over with, right??

Ok, thats it from me- sorry i've been MIA- as always- life takes over. oh yes, i forgot- i was dating for a while but then the guy turned out to be a loser(same old story...)- so i was happy that i was on the dating scene again. I also have a 'crush' on a guy- but thats not gong to go anywhere just because of circumstances- but its always nice to flirt and just have fun in the dating game... me out- hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!(even though I won't be partaking in the festivities!)

caffeine detox

so for awhile, i've been really looking at my intake of diet soda(aka diet pepsi) and decided that enough is enough. people were starting to notice that I had a really bad habit and even i was seeing that a couple of hours without it, i was dying for it/needed the caffeine/started having withdrawals. i think the big motivator for me was that my brother, who I thought would never get off the juice- did it and I figured, you know what- if he did it- so can i... so i'm now on day 3... its rough. these last 3 days have been filled with headaches, tiredness, and some irritability but all in all, its not sooo rough as I thought it would be. I can't imagine what people with REAL issues have to go through to get 'sober' but this no caffeine thing is something else. I don't know how long it'll last but hopefully, one day at a time... we'll see...

school is going well- love all my classes so far. no real complaints. masters has now begun- i have really set myself up for a doozy this quarter with taking two classes instead of one- but hey, i figure, get it done and you'll be happier in the end, right? not excited- just looking forward to getting through to thanksgiving...blehh...

labor day is fast approaching too... so excited to get 3 full days off. i'm prepping so that I dont have to look at work AT ALL until I get back. I'm almost there...so excited and its only tuesday. i have one class already there... another class i just have to get the notes done- so i'm excited. such a welcome relief to all the work that i've been doing lately trying to be a better teacher- i've realized its overrated to a point- haha...

ok me out- i'll try to blog soon... :)

There is No Place like Home...

This weekend, right after school, i drove to my 'home'(at least one of my homes)... Fresno. Love Fresno as an oasis, remind me where I came from, and as always seeing my parents and my siblings is always fun. This time around we had guests and so we got to show around the city... including good 'ol Edison High. We all drove to Edison and were shocked at all the new buildings and the new quad. looked like a new school- also- a new track- no dirt...wtf... so yea, it was awesome to go and see that. we also went to my old house that I spent my majority of my childhood/college/etc and apparently there is a lot of construction going on- we don't want to ask to go in because I think it ruins what we remember...

other than that- it was a weekend of food also- i haven't ate soo much in one weekend as i did this one. went to BJ's pizza- had appetizers(spinich/artichoke dip), with my sandwich, and then shared not one, but TWO pazookies... including one that is giradelli chocolate pazooki WITH chocolate ice cream. went to campagnia- awesome food- then had prontas in the morning this morning. wtf-- gives me a stomach ache just thinking about it...

now, i'm fighting a cold... the havoc that teaching has done on my voice is now going toward a cold... so trying to rest and just take care of myself is very important..

hope everyone had a good weekend...

first day of school...

oh yes, today was the 1st day of school... so you're all probably wondering- what happened/how'd it go? it was aok... for the most part, it went well. my students seemed to amped up and mostly silent and my advanced classes are going to be fun. I really am laid back in advanced and its a welcome break after lunch to have 2 periods straight of 'good' kids. it makes the 2 periods after lunch a LOT faster and just more rewarding... so i was excited about that.

even though i downed probably a good 5-6 bottles worth of water- i still have a sore throat from talking too much. it happens each year and even though I know it happens and i do everything in my power to make it go away... it still happens. oh well. also, i wasn't used to being in work clothes and in work shoes. gone are the flip flops- and even though I have comfy work shoes- they still don't compare to flip flops or my sandles... oh well.

i'm exhausted today. I was going to do work but after a 1.5 hour meeting AFTER school today, i'm spent. I'm barely writing this already and i just don't have any brain cells to do something productive. thank god i made all my lesson plans ahead of time so that i can slack for a little bit...

other than that- life is good. i'm soo lucky to teach where i'm at and have a staff that is amazing all around. its also nice being a 'veteran' now and just knowing how things run. ok, going to rest up more and get ready for tomorrow...

Baby Mania...is it something in the water that I don't know about??

Lately, everyone and their mother is having a baby, pregnant, or in labor. I'm soo excited for all of them because I know that they are all going to be awesome parents and those kids are lucky to have them. I just feel like, whoa, what happened?? I was telling my friend this realization and she was like, um, we're at that age where people are having babies... its just that we've hit that cusp age range. That makes sense... before, it was a slew of weddings and now that I've gotten older, now its all about kids. Too bad I don't want them.

Yes, I'm a teacher and I don't want kids.

Most people when I tell them that say (1) oh, you'll change your mind when you find someone special, (2) you'll want them soon enough, (3) you'll change your mind once you get older. Um, I've pretty much had this thought for a good 5 years at least and I just don't see it happening anytime soon. Let me preface this whole thing... I love kids--OTHER people's kids. Love playing with them, love hanging out with them(to a point), and I think that I would make an excellent mom(and I've had MANY people tell me so)... I just don't want to give up my life for them- plain and simple.

Here are my main reasons for why I don't want kids:
(1) I've worked WAYYY too hard in my career- aka kicking ass in high school- college- grad school- etc. to give up my life for another person. Yes, I can go back- blah blah... I can always work, not raise a child(trust me, i've heard it all)... but yea, don't see the point of me even trying when I'm really going to give up my career aspirations/goals that i've known ALL my life

(2) Working in after school programs-- it really started to bother me that 99% of the parents that were there to pick up the child were moms. No dads. There was maybe 1 dad. I started wondering, um, if this is 50/50 partnership where the dad is supposed to do some of the work(and not all the moms were stay at home moms...)--where were the dads... bothered the shit out of me... I've heard soo many of my friends say, well the guy wants the baby--um, what changes for the guy really? he still will go to the job, but now, he comes home to kid/mom...versus just mom. Yes, his weekends are too booked... but who's life is really changed? oh yes, that would be the mom- not the dad...(unless you are doing the house husband thing- which I would consider if the offer is right- haha...)

(3) I've realized that I'm not a big fan of kids that are of elementary school age. I teach high school... there's a reason for it. I'm just not into kids that are about tattletaling, into more menial convos, or just going through the process of helping kids with homework that would bore me to tears. Again, let me preface again- I love hanging out with kids for a little bit, but I can't handle hanging out with this age group for a long period of time.

(4) I don't want to relive my childhood... I could go deeper but that would be another blog entry...

(5) I'm a traveler... always will be. It's hard to picture my life totting my kids around and being responsible for someone else. Yes, you can call me selfish- but honestly, I've met soo many couples/older folks that are in the same boat as I am and seriously have encouraged me to stick to my guns and just go with my gut.

(6) I don't have a romantized view of raising children. I think that a lot of couples go in thinking its going to be peachy keen and that everything will work out in the end. I don't have that view. Kids are expensive- they take a lot of work- and you give up your life for your kids(at least thats what you are supposed to do). I know that a lot of couples(not necessarily my friends) have kids because they are bored in their life and get pressure from their families to have children, and then think, why not? um, yea, good reason to have a kid...

Again, I LOVE KIDS and a lot of people might be pissed off that I wrote this entry but I figured I would explain myself a little coming from a girl that doesn't want kids. Especially coming from an indian girl- you should see the looks on aunties faces when I tell them(now I just don't tell them...)... If you are pregnant, just had a kid, or thinking about a kid- good for you. I'm going to be really excited for you- hell, i'll throw you an awesome baby shower. It's just not in the cards for me... I could go on, but yea, i figure that I'll just piss people off more so I'll stop- hope everyone had a good Monday and wish me luck on my 1st official day of school!! :)

Summer=Officially Over?!??!

So, I'm going to try to write more often on this since I miss writing and I need to get back in the work mode. I've been SUPER busy with orientation- it is now officially done! I had to talk to 400+ freshmen and memorize this speech that was somewhat complicated. Didn't memorize it word for word- but I think I got all the main points across to the best of my ability and I tried to read the audience so that I wouldn't bore them too much. I was lucky to have one of my other staff members help me out so it made it a LOTTT easier and not as crazy.

Other than that, school starts on Tuesday... um, I haven't worked on curriculum at ALL- don't have a syllabus done or even the first week planned out. I have everything 'done' but just not organized per se... thats why i have experience on me, right???? Plus, i'm actually getting textbooks the first day of school and that takes a good 15 minutes out of my period... i guess i just got lucky.

I'm looking forward to the new school year to some degree. Have an awesome schedule and just am comfortable at work now. Ok, well I figured I would just say hii and write a little so that I get into the habit. Hope everyone has a good weekend...

Yes, I'm Still Here...

I took a 2 month hiatus obviously. I didn't realize that people still check my blog until one of my friends told me yesterday- hey, what happened to your blog entries... oops. I've been doing the facebook thing and therefore, thought, hey, thats where people will read what I've been up to, right? I guess this is something that I still need to put up and need to work on- so I'm here- whoo hoo!

So what did I do? Well, the big thing is that I went to Peru for a good month with my friend, A*. We had an awesome time and we went with GAP adventures which is a big touring company. My friend recommended the company and I said- yea, know what- I'm going to try it. Had an awesome time with Contiki(another tour company) in Europe so why not try another? Me and A had an awesome 12 person group- we were the only two Americans- and then the rest were primarily from Great Britain, Austrailia(1), and then 2 from Canada. It was a trip filled with different climates, lots to see- and of course, Machhu Picchu. Amazing site and I recommend to all. The people in Peru are really nice(even though Costa Ricans by FAR are the friendliest I've met so far!) and the country is vast in its history of Inca history and nature in general.

I also did my annual California tour- going to Sacramento(for a school conference)- then to UC Santa Barbara to help a friend out with his leadership kids- then went to LA and then to my 'home'- San Diego. Its exhausting just typing it out but it was an awesome trip to see a lot of my friends and get to do a lot of things in a short amount of time.

Other than that, now I'm in school mode. Signed up for being one of the advisors for Freshmen Orientation(Link Crew) and now overwhelmed with all that has to be done. Why did I do this again? oh yea, cause I thought it would be fun. It is fun- just a lot of work- and talking to 450 freshmen- is a little scary... so we'll see how that goes. Tomorrow, its 80 students... so I'm starting slow. Just double the amount in my classes right? I can do this...

School starts the 17th-- whoo hoo(!) and then I have my masters class up in running(taking two classes and I think I'm going to pass out on the amount of work...thats double my usual load). SOOO yea, I'm trying to maintain my sanity, trying to enjoy my last minutes of summer vacation, and hopefully, just enjoy being back in the swing of things. I had an awesome summer, so I can't complain. I'll be on much more here on the blog ! :)

I've Gone to the Dark Side...

Ok, after YEARS of people harassing me about joining Facebook... I am now on it. Now, i need to add friends like crazy apparently. I'm in the loop now... haha. Why did I change my mind? well, lately, i've been getting more and more harassed and it was getting to me. Also, just today, I heard of two people that I thought that would NEVER have lunch together and then through facebook, they actually sat together and had a meal because of their hookup through Facebook. SOO, that was my final straw and figured- hey, why not? i hope people are happy now. I figure I'll get to watch people now...

as for me, its been a busy week... my masters class had me write a 10 page paper that I procrastinated on till the last day. Yes, I had 10 weeks to write it and I waited to the Thursday before it was due. Worked for 7-8 hours straight and was done. I only needed a 5 out of 100 to get an A out of my class so it made it doubly tough to get started. I got it done so I'm happy to be done...

I'm in fresno- its nice to be back. It's really hot here which is a very nice change from the gloom of the bay. Today, I got to eat lunch with one of my family friends that I don't see a lot and it was just awesome to catch up and get new perspective on things. I'm honestly really blessed to have soo many family friends that do care about me even though we don't get to talk/see each other very much. Afterwards, I tried to go to Old Navy for their $1 flip-flop sale- um, yea 3pm it was ALL sold out- wtf... then went to Target- one of my fav places... I can stay in there forever and be the happiest little camper...

Now what to do with the rest of my weekend... who knows?? I'm thinking about wine tasting tomorrow... i'm thinking of doing nothing...haha...

I only have 4 more days of teaching then finals- wtf... then in two weeks i'm off to PERU!?!?!! crazy times... Ok, hope everyone is doing well and apologies for being out of it lately... catch me on facebook now :)

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures...

So, tonight, I was cooking up my standard turkey burger and then I realized that I didn't have any hamburger buns. Now, in this situation, do you go to the store and get buns or do you say F-it or do you just trash the cooked burger? I was too lazy and thought- ok, I'll just do the atkins thing- just eat the burger. Then I was grossed out by this and then decided, ok- on to wheat bread.

Wheat bread- oh yes, has mold on it... greatttt... so now I'm down to crackers or scrap the whole project and try something new? So, I made mini-sliders with crackers- with ketchup and mustard as sauce- not bad... but something not to try again thats for sure. I figured they would be kinda like nachos... right?

Yes, most people would be like, hey you might want to go grocery shopping... but seeing that I'm only going to be here for 8 more days- if that- till July- I figure I should do whatever I can to not buy food that is going to rot. Just thought I would share...(i know random story...)

Laziness is Contagious

I've been on a streak of procrastination. This weekend was filled of major procrastination and being alone for the most part. Even though I had multiple plans in my head, I wanted to spend my last full weekend here in the bay till July doing nothing. It was even sunny outside and all I wanted to do was stay inside- be alone- and watch my House episodes. Pretty pathetic- but I think I just wanted to be alone and just rest. It was good and I needed it. My masters class is ending soon- just have a 10 page essay due on Friday and I haven't started it yet. SOO college- but I'll get it done. I only have 9 more days with my students so I'm trying to enjoy them as much as possible. It's crazy that the year is almost done and I'm almost to a plane to Peru- whoo hoo...

as for other news- i've been busy with meetings, dance shows, assemblies, and just getting everything going for the end of the year. it's been a good time for the most part and kept me not thinking about other stuff that is going on. apologies for not writing- may does this to me... i always am busiest this time of year and I've learned that it's important for me to take some time off and just relax. It's been good to be lazy and laziness is contagious.

Ok, hope everyone is doing well... I know I haven't kept on this- nothing exciting for me to write about...

Senior Ball, Sunshine, and Signs

So this week has been filled with a lot of drama but in the midst of it, I've had a really good time as well. When things get rough, have fun to get your mind off things. I've been working really hard also but I've been enjoying the sun that has basked the bay area lately.

My seniors had senior ball on saturday night and last year, i didn't go and regretted it. I decided to go this year because I know a LOT of seniors and never had been. It was also an excuse to dress up and curl my hair. I went to the mall on Friday and got hot pink shoes to match my dress- how random- i know- but it was a lot of fun looking for such a random pair of heels. My co-worker and I went to dinner and then went to Senior Ball. At my high school, we combined both juniors and seniors but at this school, there are separate ones for each. I had an awesome prom and it was really fun to see my students all dressed up and really excited to be there. I was an instant mini-celebrity- where kids want to take pics with you, you get a lot of hugs, and a lot of introductions to dates. We also got to take professional pics... we were only there for an hour- but it was a blast just reminescing and seeing my students so happy and grown up looking.

I also got to go to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz this weekend- it was soo relaxing not having too much work to do since I worked all week and didn't have much to do. The sun was shining and I got to go on a mini-hike, go wine tasting, and visit a friend in the process. It was just one of those weekends that I would love to repeat week after week but with my schedule, it doesn't happen for a long time.

Another thing that happened to me was I saw someone's car that I knew- not a big deal right? well, I haven't talked to them in a while and I freaked out. It ended up not being their car(the interior was different)- but same color car, same license plate, same car- you would freak out too. It was crazy... but it was a sign that I need to be grateful for what i have...

ok, hope everyone is doing well...

Happy Mother's Day!!

If you haven't seen this- this is a riot!! It's the continuation of 'dick in a box' but dedicated to Mom's. On a serious note, to all the mom's out there, you inspire me everyday especially mine who will always be special in my heart. I'll write more later...

Why I love my job...

A grand 'ol time...

So yes, I'm back from sunny san diego. It was an awesome weekend filled with sunshine and just seeing friends that I haven't seen in forever. The weather called for rain and I was really scared for my friend who was getting married- but it turned out to just be overcast. This was my smallest wedding that I have attended so far- just 50 people. So intimate and just awesome... I love small weddings because everyone there means something to the bride or the groom and just isn't there because of obligation. I got to see a lot of my old UCSD folks and it was just awesome to be together again and laugh at old times. The wine was definitely pouring and I was happy to wear my sundress that I just bought. All in all, an awesome time.

The other thing that I got exposed to was anime. I've never watched anime and I always thought that it was a little out there and not my scene. Turns out- don't knock it till you've watched it. I was actually surprised that I kinda liked it and was entranced by the artistry and just the plot line in general. It was different and I like being exposed to different things and getting to know what that reality is all about. I also got to watch a movie that I would have NEVER picked in the video store- "Tranporter 3"- such a boy movie and I liked it a lot. I'm learning that I need to give 'boy' movies more of a chance. My brother has been instrumental in doing this for me- but maybe I just need a boyfriend to do it more for me soon- who knows?

The last thing I learned this weekend- I need to join Facebook. I'm seriously the ONLY one that isn't on there and I got a LOT of harrasment(including an email) telling me to join. My friends at UCSD were like- wtf- why aren't you on there? I get a lot of this and I might actually cave this time around... I'll let you know...

Ok, me out. Hope everyone had a good weekend....

Dissections and Giants Game...

I haven't really had that much free time lately because my weekend are gone due to San Diego. Because of this, I've had to condense all my work in the weekdays and try to get things done efficiently. This week is also Dissection week in two of my classes. A little earthworm, frog, and piggy now have been cut up and demangled- but the students have loved it and I'm glad that I finally got my act together and had them do it. It's been an experience doing all three but a good one for sure. Everyone remembers what they dissected in school and I didn't want my students to be left without doing any.

As for other news, last night, I went to my first Giants game this season. It was freezing outside and thank god for my friend's jacket. The Giants were playing the Dodgers and the big rivalry was in full motion. We were in the bleacher seats and half the time, we were just watching fights happen left and right... Dodgers fans wearing their Dodger blue would come to the game and cause ruckas- and Giants fans were throwing drinks, peanuts, and whatever else at them. Other Dodger fans, sit quietly, don't get harassed that much and are fine just to watch the game. It was hard to focus on the game- but we enjoyed ourselves. I needed a break from the grind of doing work and just other drama in my life.

Other than that, tomorrow, I'm on a plane to SAN DIEGO AGAIN!! whoo hoo- this time, it's the wedding and I'm totally stoked about it. Should be a good time and fun to see all my girls. Hope everyone is having a good week...

San Diego and Wine Tasting...

Yikes, its almost been a week and no blogging- what has the world come to. First/foremost- I apologize. It's been nuts with me going to San Diego and trying to get everything done before hand. I also have dissections next week and so I've been super somewhat stressed about getting the specimens and trying to get a good lab going. The specimens finally arrived(yipee) and I'm all set to go with that. (more on that later!)

So this weekend, was the 1st weekend of my two weekend getaway to my favorite place, SAN DIEGO. Every time I go, I ask myself, why did I leave? I know the reason why but it's even harder when the weather is awesome and my friends live where I was for 7 years. The same places bring back a LOT of memories, you know where you are going, and just in general, the sun is out and I'm feeling awesome. Just to be with my girls was also a treat. I don't get to hang out with them often together so it was great to be just having a great time and not worrying about work.

Saturday was filled with the bachelorette party where we took a limo up to Temecula and went to several wineries. It was crowded and the wines were not that great- but we didn't care. I hadn't had that much wine in a while and i definitely felt sleepy on the ride home. We sang songs on the way up and just got to talk like girls all the time we were together. I haven't been that relaxed in a while and it was just great to get away from the bay and just be with people that I love.

I also got to eat one of my favorite take outs- oh yes, Pick Up Stix. They actually have one in Fresno now(trust me, when I found that out, I went bezerk) but having it in San Diego made it complete. I also got to also go to La Jolla Shores and just sit, read, and watch numerous surfers try to get their beginning wave. It was just reminescent of what I used to do all the time. Most people would be like, hey you have Pacifica and Ocean Beach up where you are... um, COLD... and not the same. The sun was shining in san diego and I wasn't freezing from the wind/fog. I guess I'm spoiled and know what a 'real' beach is too.

Now I'm back in the bay and just catching up on work. Have a lot to catch up on but it was an awesome weekend filled with good times with my girls- I definitely needed it. I'm going again on Friday and more of my UCSD girls are coming for the wedding- so I'm totally excited. It's a small 50ish people wedding so I'll see at least 3-4 of my good friends that I haven't seen in forever and actually get to hang out with them for a little bit.

Ok- me out- hope everyone had a good week and weekend...

Making Decisions...

These last couple of days have been filled with multiple decisions. They say that teachers have to go through with 100s of decisions a day because of student's needs, curriculum, etc... What's somewhat alarming about making decisions is when you have to do them outside work... Should I move to another apartment- cheaper rent maybe- but longer commute? Or stay here because I'm lazy and pretty happy here in my little apartment? Is it worth moving?

Other decisions... dating or not to date?.... teaching yearbook next year or not?... trust me, other bigger ones also but decisions that have come up that I'll figure out soon...

It's hard to really focus on what you are supposed to do- or weigh out options when time is of the essence or you don't know what to do. I did seek help with one of my decisions and it did clear things up which made things easier for that ONE decision. I know other people have more pressing issues but lately I've been wracked with these for example...

Other than that- counting down to San Diego... even though every day I am glad to go to work(because I love my school)- it'll be nice to go back to my 'home'... hope everyone is enjoying the cali sun lately...

Sunny Days...

At last, there is SUN in daly city/south san francisco... it's only lasting till wed/thursday- but hey, i'll take it. I love putting my flip flops on- tank top- and skirt and just enjoying the rare sun we get. It reminds me of St. Martin and how it is ALL the time. This weekend was filled with me working and more working-- boring i know- but the next two weekends- guess where i'm going to be...thats right, my favorite place SAN DIEGO... one of my UCSD girls is getting married- one weekend is wine tasting for her bachelorette and the other is her actual wedding. it'll be a good UCSD reunion of sorts and I'm totally stoked about it. Even my masters class only has a little bit of homework this week so I'm stoked to get a 'break' from it all.

Other than that, nothing much in my life that is exciting or that I can share here on this blog. I did watch "I love you man" and that was decent- which I thought was going to be lame but ended up surprising me. Movie6.net if you haven't seen it.

Ok- hope everyone had a good weekend...

Day of Silence

So today was "Day of Silence" at our school and many students and staff(including me) wore T-shirts with this imprint on it. The description of the day follows: "Imagine losing the Power of your Voice for an entire school day. . . Now imagine hundreds and thousands of students robbed of their Voices throughout our schools, school day after school day, year after year. . .
The GSA's Day of Silence exposes the fact that School is not Safe for many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students; it is not safe because LGBT students are harassed about their sexual orientation and/or their gender expression, (which is whether or not somebody looks or acts more like a “boy” or a “girl.”) Use your Voice to Break the Silence! The Day of Silence is a day to reflect on what each of us as Individuals Can and Will Do to Break the Silence. The Power of Individuals standing up one by one, Raising Our Voices can create positive change in our schools!"

So I think this is an awesome program and many of my students decided to come to school and not talk the entire day to show their voices being lost because of bullying/teasing/harassment of other people. Some teachers(a good 4 of them) did the entire day without talking and every year I'm like, next year, I'll do it... um, it's just rough and I'm too scared to do it. Oh well... I did support with my shirt and my rainbow band and reiterating what the day meant. I think students get a good grasp of what its about and respect students around them that are doing it. Another reason why I love my school- just the mutual respect and how tolerant students are in general.

Other than Day of Silence- it was a pretty normal day. Rushing around and now I have a whole weekend planned full of catching up on things that I've been procrastinating on and enjoying the 'sunny' weather that has now hit the bay. I still haven't seen it- but apparently its on its way... we'll see... hope everyone had a good Friday! :)

36 Years and Counting...

So today, April 16th, is my parent's anniversary. It's been a good 36 years and I only hope that I have even half of a solid marriage as much as my parents. They are still in love with one another and just make me think that in this world of where more than 50% of marriages end in divorce, my parents marriage based on love(which is rare in india) is still holding strong. So happy anniversary to my mom/dad(and the other couple-who happens to be a close family to us-celebrates on this day as well!) and many more years of happiness! (I hope this doesn't jinx it...)

Singing, Drinking, and being Merry

So today, I got my new keys from our secretary and yes, they are officially lost. SUCKS. She was really nice about it and I got a new lanyard care of the leadership team- so i'm all set to go. Today, was an interesting day in many regards. First/foremost- I read an article on msn.com(my source of news- yes, i know not cnn but it gets my info for me) and there is this lady named Sara Boyle who went on britain's got talent. She's amazing and if you haven't heard it/seen it- she made me cry- she's awesome. She's one of those people that a) never been kissed- age 47- but can sing like a broadway/opera singer. Here is the link- Sara Boyle.

Also, today at school a local program called "every 15 minutes" came by and they simulated a drinking/driving accidents. Everything with the cops, the fireman, the coroner and about 6 students who were involved. It was really powerful and seeing things that you see on TV- the jaws of life, them taking them out on stretchers, the whole gig- was really intense. It was good to get a reminder of what drunk driving does to innocent victims and I think my students got a lot out of it.

Ok, hope everyone is having a good wednesday! (I know this was a random post!) :)

The Case of the Missing Keys

Today was the 1st day back from spring break- I was ready to go to school, show off my new tan, and see my kids again. Then, when I got to my car, I was like, hmm- where are my classroom keys? um, not in my bag, not in my car- oh they must be in my apartment. I go back into my apartment and I do a mini search to no avail...great...no keys today- now have to ask for spare. So yes, this was how I started my day....sucks and it was already hard enough to get back to school...

Then, I think, wait- they must be with the stack of papers that I took out of my car--> maybe thats it... um, no- got home- no avail- maybe in my suitcase that I haven't unpacked yet- um, unpacked everything and to no avail. Now, I'm thinking misplaced is becoming LOST... SUCKS... I think i'm going to have to go to Home Depot and copy some keys during my prep... great.

The question becomes- how do you misplace a big red lanyard that says my school name- with a BIG keychain that has a big UCSD alumni keychain on it and three keys... well, i did it. It's just frustrating because I'm usually the really responsible one that has everything together/pretty clean and now, I can't find my keys- SUPER annoying...

Hopefully, they'll turn up- otherwise, I'll be going to get some new keys...blah...

Wedding Dresses and Poetry...

So yesterday ended up being a really busy day. You know those days where you're like, oh, it'll be relaxing- I'll get a lot of rest/catch up and then BOOM- really busy- where did my day go? thats the day I had...

One of my many UCSD girls is getting married in October and she was in my area shopping for a dress. I got to go and help her pick out a dress. I've gone before and I love it... It's always fun to see your friend in a gorgeous dress and be so happy for them that they are taking the next step in their lives. I also love it because I'm never going to have the opportunity to wear a white dress down the aisle(since indians wear red) and so it makes the experience even more unique for me. I'm not a good friend when it comes to saying my opinion on dresses, I've realized. I'm just so enchanted by each dress that I'm like, oh- its soo pretty- that I can't really come down with criticism unless its a really ugly dress. It was a relief that her other friend was there and was more verbal on that so I could be the gushing friend...

Right after dinner/ice cream with my wedding girl- I went to a "Youth Speaks" Event. What is that? Well, its a program for high schoolers for doing poetry slams. It's an amazing program and they have it at my school where they do many events. This event was the FINALS for the whole ENTIRE bay area. The event was at the Opera House across from the Civic Center- um, hi 3000 people showed up- and it was SOLD out. I got in only because my friend had a spare ticket. It was amazing- the poetry/spits/etc was deep and just powerful. I guess you had to be there- but two of my school's students were in it and then one even is going to go to NATIONALS in chicago to represent the bay. It was just a cool even to come out and support and I'm grateful that I went and got to see something different yet very mind blowing and inspirational...

Ok, now going to enjoy my Sunday... hope everyone has a good weekend!! :)

Back in the Bay...

Hey all... long time, no post. We got back last nigh at 6:30 after going on multiple flights- st martin to puerto rico, puerto rico to miami, and then finally puerto rico to SFO. it was nuts and i was exhausted. The rest of my break was awesome- we ended up going to St. Barth- yes, the snobby island of life. All day long, I was like, where are we??? oh yes, St. BAAARTTH... i guess you had to be there. if you ever watch House Wives of New York- Simon and the blond chic always go to St. barth because the hamptons are lame...whatever. it was nice- just lounging- but everything was ridiculously expensive. I got a key chain for 6 bucks and called it my souvenier of the day...

Now, just relaxing at home and debating what to do with my three day weekend. Lots of grading, people to see, phone calls to catch up on... maybe go kayaking, biking, etc also... who knows?

Can't say i'm glad to be back- but its good to be back in reality also...

House

So today, my sister and I went to 2 beaches and laid out in the sun- got a nice tan and it was awesome. I'm reading my Kindle and just hanging out- its awesome. Just relaxing and hanging out in the sun...such a difference from the fog that is the bay area 

I've also been watching a LOT of 'House' episodes. I got them from a 'secret source' and now I'm addicted. I have even shown them to my students because my advanced students are learning about physiology. Maybe I like it because it has all these biology references that I know about and it's a smart drama. Dunno- maybe its going to the part of me that wanted me to be a doctor... but then, I hated my physiology course that I took last quarter so thats not it.

It's been fun- i'm only on season 2..but once I'm done with all the seasons- what am i going to do? I guess I'll have to find another show...

hope everyone had a good weekend...

Finally in St. Martin!! :)

So after a good day delay, we're both finally here in good 'ol St. Martin. The weather here is awesome- 75-80 degrees. We got off the plane and literally got out of our hoodies into more summer time clothing. My legs and other parts of my body were like, wait- this is the sun- where have you been all my life? After we settled in to my brother's place, me/sister went out to go find some towels and groceries. This island isn't that hard to maneuver since its one road all the way around the island. Reminds me of how Kauai is... island living. We're also getting used to all the French and just the random accents we've been hearing around here. It's been somewhat of a change but an interesting one.

After going shopping, we headed for the gorgeous beach and full on laid out and read. It's always nice for me to just do that since I never get to do that back in the bay... weather was awesome and beach was clear blue. You gotta love it...

Ok, more updates later- but we finally made it... peace out from St. Martin. :)

Jersey Girls...

So my sister and I are stuck in Jersey. Oh yes. Fun times. Our flight from SFO was delayed and even though we ran to our next flight- it was gone. SUCKS! In all my traveling, I have never missed a flight and I guess there is a first to everything. We did get some food comps and a hotel room so that was nice. It just sucks that we're not going to be there today, but we're trying to make the best of things. We have some family friends in New York so we might go out to the city and meet with them. Who knows? If not, then we'll just chill in the room and hang out. Better than working right? In these situations, it's better to just stay positive and roll with the punches.

Ok, hope everyone is having a good Friday... and not stuck at an airport like we are- haha...

April Fools!!!

So today, I got PLAYED by my 3rd period class. They played a prank on me and this was my first really 'gotcha' moment. So, I have two students that a month ago, got in a big argument about how dissections are good/bad for students. One of my girls is a big PETA student- really into animal rights and got upset when the other student really went off on how it wasn't a big deal to do dissections.

Today, one student asked me about the upcoming dissections and then the argument started up again. This time, it got really heated with the PETA girl even starting to cry. I was at my wits end and telling myself- is this referral worthy? or is it a heated debate? By the end of it, I was about to kick one of the students out and then they both said 'gotcha' and it was a big APRIL FOOLS on me. CRAZY. It was an oscar worthy performance and I'm glad that they just understand one another and can do this 'fake' fight in class.

April Fools everyone... hope everyone had a good start to the month! :)

P.S. As a ucsd alumni, right smack dab on msn.com is an article about how a 'college' sends out an invite to tour the campus to rejected students. I'm thinking to myself, what idiot college did that? oh yes... UCSD... NICE. And i know the admissions lady that was featured in the article...doh!!! UCSD Article

Looking Forward to a Break...

I've been on the go for a long time. I haven't had a real 'break' in a while and Thursday is when I'm going away- WHOO HOO!!! I can't tell you how bad in the last two weeks I've wanted to take a day off but haven't been able to because of different things that have been going on. It'll be nice to get away and as my students say, "get another tan". We've had visitors at our school so I've had people looking in on my teaching which adds on to the stress. Also, visiting the brother and being in the sun will be awesome. All good, I'll get through...

In other news, they posted some pictures on our grade book site of the teacher lip sync- i'm not in them- but they are fun to look at... School Loop.

Hope everyone had a good Tuesday!

Retail Therapy in the Sun...Charity Party for my Sister...

So I'm back from SUNNY Fresno... more and more, I'm getting REALLYYYY annoyed with what type of weather I have to put up with here in the bay- especially in South City/Daly City. I'm constantly in fog, dreary weather, and case in point, I'm in a hoodie all the time. I go to Fresno thinking it'll be the same- um, yea, SUNNY skies, birds are chirping, and I had NOTHING that I brought to Fresno to really dress for it. Thank God for some t-shirts I have stored in Fresno that did the job.

I did MASSIVE retail therapy in the form of Old Navy. I got a coupon for 30% off and with that- I ended up buying FIVE pairs of pants for $100. WTF- i did pretty well if I do say so myself. I so needed it because I was literally wearing my last pair of jeans that had holes with duct tape covered on top of them. Yes, it was that bad. Now, I have 3 NEW pairs of jeans plus 2 casual pants that I can wear...whoo hoo.

The big event this weekend was my sister's charity party for her Team in Training Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has to raise a LOT of money but she's training for a marathon(yes, 26 miles) for June. All the money she raises goes to this society. I'm really proud of her and what she's dedicating and I think it's just awesome/amazing to see how far she has come. She's already running 10 miles which is already an incredible feat. Hell, one mile without stopping is awesome in my book. So she had a traffic light party- where people dress up in Red(taken), Yellow(contemplating/complicated relationship), or Green(please date me!) so it was cool to see where people were at. I had fun seeing some of my family friends and just hanging out at the house. The event raised $1240 so it was well worth it... all for charity I say!

The highlight of the party- was of course- my dog, Gubbar. He was in the backyard and some people went to go eat/smoke/chill outside and my dog, of course, was soo excited and played fetch in the pool. Then, he was just the awesome dog of life. He came in- chilled in the corner, and sat/lied down in the corner inside just observing everyone. Everyone kept on commenting what a well behaved dog we had, blah blah, and we were just shocked that he wasn't running around like a bandit like he normally does. He looked like he went to military training school and was just ready for orders if need be... so props to my dog! :)

Ok- thats it for now. Gotta rest for this week- it's going to be a doozy. We have visitors coming to school this week and we have to look awesome in front of them! Wish me luck. 4 days until Spring Break... 4 days till Spring break... I just keep reminding myself of that...

Punjabi Wrestler...?!?!?!?

My kids informed me of this Punjabi Sikh Wrestler on WWF-named the Great Khali. Apparently, he used to make out with girls on the kiss cam. He was a bad guy but now he's a good guy. Apparently, he was in Longest Yard and Get Smart... the things you learn from students...

The Crazy Things Seniors do...

So today is Rent-A-Senior Day at our school- what does that mean? Well, people buy seniors and then they get to have them dress up in whatever they want and then the entire day- pretty much make fools of themselves. For example, we had one senior do the "yes dance" when you clapped once, another one had to roar like a tiger if someone clapped twice, and so on. So whats the point? All the money goes to the senior class/senior ball and then the people who do it, get a dollar off every 10 dollars for their senior ball bid. Pretty good times and just an example of school spirit at my school!!

Hummus and Carrots...

I know- how random am I? Well, lately, because I'm leaving for spring break in about a week, I'm trying to get all my food in my fridge that needs to be eaten- eaten. So, in the beginning of the month, i made a big costco run and I still have a ton of food that is still sitting in my fridge. I have a big tub of turkey, a good loaf and a half of bread, about 20 eggs, hummus and carrots. And oh yea, about 20 apples. I started late on the apples and now am having a hard time eating them... blah.

So my co-worker and I are working on the hummus and carrots first- I have a big tub of it and a LOT of carrots- it has literally taken us 3 days of both eating it to really finish one bowl of it. crazy, huh? i love it- its really good for you- lots of protein and i really like the flavor. I showed one of my students and he was disgusted and didn't know what it was. oh well- i tried.

as for my other food, i need to get it into my tummy, share, or freeze it by next thursday. I'm trying to eat at home as much as possible but seeing that I'm leaving for the weekend, that takes a good 2-3 days out of the process. Oh well, at least bread is freezable and turkey too(???).... I might have to take it home so that it doesn't go to complete waste...

Nothing much going on in my life. Just working- trying to get things done before I leave and I have a lot to do. My masters class this quarter is taking more time than last time- but I'm enjoying it more so it's not as bad mentally. I'm in a rut and I know that spring break will help me get out of it- its just a matter of getting there- so countdown has started....

ok, hope everyone had a good wednesday! :)

Being a Grown Up...

So lately, I've been dealing with a lot of 'grown up' issues. Today, I got my head in the game and started a Roth IRA account- recommended everywhere for young people like me for a retirement account. I read up on it- tried to understand it- and in the end, I'm aok with my decision. I'm still really ignorant on mutual funds, stocks, funds, the money market- and whatever else but I just want to know that by age 65- whatever I'm doing- I can just hang out and not worry about money. That's the dream.

It's funny- I'm 31, single, and not dating anyone. If I told myself this when I was 16 or even 21, I would have laughed and been like, whoa- what happened? I remember even thinking when I was in my 1st year of teaching and seeing my principal who was 37 and single/never married and thinking- wtf happened? she's attractive, smart, and seems to have it all- weird. Maybe that'll happen to me- who knows? I'm a pretty positive person but now that I'm officially in my 30s- it's really crazy to see my friends a) been married for a couple of years, b) now having kids, c) even thinking about divorce(not really-but i've heard other friends talk about their friends).

Also, more and more, I've been seeing a LOT of people around me being sick- I know I wrote this earlier but is it because I'm growing up and people around me are older or just that sickness is all around but I never saw it before? I'm as healthy as a horse(thank god- knock on wood) and have been lucky to go through the winter not getting sick. And this is me going to tahoe all the time, doing the things I do...

Going to the place called Fresno this weekend- should be good times. Haven't been in like 2 months- so it'll be nice not to be a grown up and have my mom/dad take care of me. And oh yea, of course, Gubbar give me some love- dog licks/jumps are always good times.

Ok, hope everyone had a good tuesday...this blog is getting sparce- i'll have more to write about soon hopefully...

Chocolate Sickness

Hope everyone has been having a good week! Today, my sis and I went chocolate tasting in SF. Never been and oh my God, SOO much chocolate. I'm a big fan of chocolate but after having tons of chocolate shards, truffles, fudge, chocolate toffee, and even chocolate liquor... by the end, i was so chocolate out- my sister made it all the through. It was good to hang out and just do something different.

Lately, a LOT of my friends have becoming sick. It's either stress related, or they are in the hospital, or they are having weird stomach aches... just more and more, i'm hearing people getting sick. Even my friend in my masters program is sick... what's up? I just hope I don't get it...

Two more weeks till Spring Break- so excited. I'm going to see my brother in the Caribbean so I'm excited to get in the sun and get on a plane... countdown has begun...

Ok, hope everyone is having a good weekend...

Love from my Students!

Just an example of what cool students I have... (I get this all the time but for people that aren't in the teaching world and don't understand why we do this job- this is one of the many reasons...)

Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, and Lepricons

So right after Lip Sync, I didn't get to go out with the crew and celebrate- I went straight to go to Tahoe. It was a good time... there was 6 people in the cabin- 3 girls and 3 boys- and it was a great cabin- hot tub, wi-fi- granite kitchen/bathrooms... We all went skiing/snowboarding the first day(i'm am now officially on the green runs- whoo hoo and not falling) and then on Sunday- went snowshoeing. As you can see from above- it was a lot of fun but a hard workout- hiking 2 miles is one thing- hiking two miles in the SNOW is another. We all rented snowshoes but it was rough... had a good time and the hike was gorgeous.

Yesterday, I had the day off(THANK GOD!)- my poor body was just like, WTF did you do? I've never slept so long and my muscles were screaming for rest. I even had a big lunch so that I could feed the body that spent so many calories.

Today, is St. Patty's Day. No, I didn't get to celebrate because oh yea, grades are due tomorrow but it was nice coming back to school and having all the students congratulate me on the dance and tell me that I was awesome. They were soo nice about it and just wanted to support me which is an awesome feeling. On the other hand, I had bad luck today also. It's March and I realized that I haven't written a referral all year and was HOPING that I could go the entire year without writing one. Of course, that record got blown today. Boo- not my fault and nothing to do with me- it just happened in my room- one of those automatic referrals...boo. Oh well- record gone.

Ok, hope everyone had a good Lepricon day! :)

Here it iS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's another view- more on the ground level and on the senior side!


Center View: (and you can hear the music more)


Ok- here it is!!! Its a decent video and you can see me in the end. I'm in the middle with the bright blue pants- then I move right in front of the camera...

Hope you enjoy!!! (it's awesome!!)

here's the link if you can't see it!! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMKZyAWYew

My New Love- Fancast.com

So I haven't blogged in forever... reason being is that my life right now is really boring. There are only three things going on in my life- School(work), Masters, and Lip Sync. Just mix those up again and again- that sums up 90% of my time. Of course, I try to get some food and some sleep in there- but other than that- thats it. Pretty boring.

Today, we had our first lip sync dress rehearsal. It was fun seeing everyone in their costumes and my mom(the savior) shipped not one, but TWO turbans, for our two punjabi guys in our lip sync. They fit well and it looks like my job is done as wardrobe girl is done. WHOO HOO. I know the dance pretty well and can now do it in my sleep. I think i'm just getting nervous because this year I KNOW what i'm getting into(hi, 1500 kids screaming) and what it entails. Last year, no idea. This year, pretty good idea. The kids that have seen/snuck a peek at it think it looks awesome so we're stoked that we're already getting some nods of approval. I'm going to be by the junior section and of course, i have a TON of juniors in my classes from this year and last. It'll be interesting.

Another thing I stumbled upon last night was Fancast.com. Can I say SOOO much better than Hulu??? It's actually a partner site with hulu and has A LOT more full episodes of things so now I'm like a kid in a candy store. For a girl that doesn't have TV/cable, oh yes, this is a dream.

Other than that, just looking forward to lip sync to be done and over with. Hopefully, next week I get my lunches, preps, and after schools back and can lead a 'normal' life that I know of. Hope everyone had a good tuesday!! :)

Hanging out and OxyClean!

So this weekend was dedicated to me sleeping and taking things easy. I didn't do much- in fact, on Friday, I slept at 9pm and woke up 12 hours later. I think I just needed to get some rest after the week I had. I did manage to get out and hang out with a friend of mine but Saturday involved a whole bunch of movies(all pretty worthless but for 99 cents/each you can't beat it!). Today, I got a lot of things done that I needed to get done. Masters work, school work, and just other little things.

The one chore i HATE with a passion is vacuuming. I have no idea why- it doesn't take long but I think its just a pain for me to take out the vacuum and do it. Everyone has their one chore they hate- but I did it today... and my apartment is very thankful. Not that its ever really dirty, but I can tell it hasn't been done in a while. I also HAD 4 stains in my carpet that I don't know where it came from. Everyday, I was like, okay- gotta fix that- you bought OxyClean- get it done. Today, I finally got my head in the game and OxyClean came to save the day!! WTF- something on TV works! haha.. i think i just got lucky that the stains were not that deep/bad and therefore, got out.

Other than that, I've been catching up on Hulu movies and just chilin like a villain. 5 days till lipsync- whoo hoo. Scared...Hope everyone had a good weekend!

I'm Officially Tenured!!

I had a meeting with my principal today and I'm officially tenured!!! For those that don't know, for any teacher, it may be 2-3 years at a school- and then a teacher (1) doesn't have to get observed every year(multiple times), (2) usually they can't fire you unless you do something REALLY stupid... So I guess I passed my two years and today, I'm officially off the case. I wasn't worried about my job per se- more about the observations. I HATE being observed. I get really nervous and I feel like judgement of who I am as a teacher is coming down on me. Yes, its supposed to be good for you- but yea, NOT my gig. So I'm stoked I don't have to worry about that anymore.

As for today, it was a weird schedule again at EC. My juniors and seniors didn't have to show up until 9:45am and they still were 10 minutes late. When the bell rang, I literally had 6 students in my class of 35. WTF... i was pissed. A lot of them went to go get Dennys or didn't pay attention to the real time when they were supposed to be there. Oh well- made for interesting times. I also brought my high school collage to my class- one of my students asked to see my prom picture since Junior Prom is coming up- so I brought some pics/collage of my friends/family friends/etc... my kids enjoyed seeing me so young- with braces- and the styles of 96... bringing it back in the day...

As for everything else- my life has become work- lipsync- masters- work... nothing much besides that. kinda sad but oh well- lip sync will be over next week and i think a lot of my life will be back. i think i got the dance down- its a matter of all of us practicing all at once... it should be interesting.

Ok, me out- gotta get some caffeine in me or I'm going to fall asleep! :)

Turbans, Wine Tasting, and Texting...Oh my...

Today was a crazy day. I got home relatively early than I have in the past 2 weeks and I had just little things come up. First/foremost- lip sync is coming up(as I'm sure you're already sick of) and now the two guys that are wearing kurtas want turbans. Um, yea- so I call a good 2 of my family friends and they basically start laughing at me because they have no idea/haven't done one in like 10 years. I have a lot of people in Fresno and I could reach out to others- but that would mean a good 45 minute drive or calling up favors to uncles that I don't talk to that much. So my poor mom now is shipping things for me... I love my Mom...

In other news- completely separate from the lip sync- i'm planning one of my best girlfriend's bachelorette party- so just dealing with evite's- how it looks- etc- took a toll on me. It'll be fun once we all get there- limo ride from san diego to temecula- being with some ucsd girls- always good times- cant complain. I'm stoked to be going to san diego and just hanging out with my friends as well... just somewhat of a trial to plan stuff if you have ever planned anything...

then, in the course of these two events, i was texting people like mad. I'm not usually a HUGE texter but i definitely put in my texts today. the phone above is exactly like my phone that i had a while back- except that it was blue- i thought i would go old school...haha.

ok- its late and now its bedtime. hope everyone had a good wednesday(where is this week going??? i can't believe its already going to be thursday tomorrow!)

Groceries and Rain Don't Mix...

I've been a total slacker on this blog lately. I don't know if it's because I don't know if people are already bored with me or just have tuned out. Oh well... I guess I did this blog in order for myself to write more and kinda recap my day. It also makes me wonder or think about a subject to write on.

Today, it rained and hailed like crazy. Since, I had absolutely NO food in my fridge, I had to make a Costco run. Now, my costco runs usually are like 70-100 bucks but today, since I had literally NOTHING in my fridge, not even toilet paper, I ran up a good double bill. But, I figure it'll last me a good month-or 6 weeks and it'll be worth it in the end. So right when I get home, it starts POURING... like hailing and pouring at the same time. I park as close I can get to my apartment and I was this close to saying F-the groceries- I'll do it later. But, I had frozen items, eggs, refrigerated items that could go bad in a couple of hours- and I braved the rain AND hail so that my groceries were safe. I don't think many people would have done the same thing- who knows?

Other than that, I've honestly been busy just catching up and trying to get back in the swing of things masters wise. I started a new class this week(Genetics) so I'm stoked to leave Human Physiology behind. I really didn't like that class since I have no intentions of being a doctor or even learning the minute details of the body like the class wanted. I'm pretty good at Genetics- so hopefully, I get to be better with the upcoming weeks ahead.

Lip sync is coming up so people(including me) are getting a little worried. We're down to less than 20 teachers- teachers are dropping out like flies. Who knew that our dance would cause knee issues, neck issues, out of town issues, etc??? Hopefully, the good size of us still stays and it'll rock like last year.

Ok, me out- hope everyone had a good Tuesday! :)

Asilomar Retreat...

Above are pics of the civic center, the orpheum theatre in SF, and a nice dusk picture of Asilomar. So, I'm here at Asilomar...you're probably wondering where the...? Basically its right near Monterey and it's a retreat to go out where there is a small beach, deers, and some tide pools. I'm here for a conference for S-Club(service club) and have 4 of my students here since I'm the advisor. It's been nice to get some grading done, hang out with students, and be out of town for a bit. Been somewhat relaxing and good to meet some new folks here and there.
Ok, other than that- just wanted to check in...hope everyone is having a good weekend...

A Wicked Small World...

Ok, I just got back and HADDDDDDDD to blog... now, I went in thinking- this is going to be the most overrated play that I've seen in a while... yea, I was wrong. It was awesome. From the costumes to the whole thing, it was just cool. In the beginning, I was like, wtf- I don't get why its all that and a bag of chips. But, by the end, it was all worthwhile. If you are/were an avid "Wizard of Oz" movie fan, this is definitely up your ally. It basically explains how things went down before and then you leave wanting to rent "wizard of Oz" again.

Random side note, I got there early an took some pics- those will be posted later...but like I said, earlier, the SF theatre where it this play is- is the SKETCHIEST part of SF that you can be in. I encountered MULTIPLE drug users/homeless/etc and just shady business all over the place. I even saw a guy try to unlock the garbage so that he could get in. Just really sad and somewhat scary. Anyways, on the way HOME, when I was waiting for BART, I glance over and I'm like, um, thats my family friend from Fresno...um, RANDOM. She was there with her husband and had a date night apart from their newborn daughter- they loved it too so it was nice to see them and just catch up for like 10 minutes. I was slightly embarrassed since I had my UCSD hoodie and jeans and didn't look like I just stepped out of 'Wicked' but I did portray the college student look very well...haha.

Ok, going to bed- long day ahead...whoo hoo. If you have Wicked near you, SEE IT. You won't be sorry. If you're cheap like me, get the balcony seats and you pretty much get to see the same thing that the people in Orchestra saw for 4 times less. Trust me, I like balcony a LOT better. Ok, me out...till later...

Wicked...

So tonight, I'm off to see 'Wicked'. I have no idea what it's about except that a) it has something to do with the bad/good witch of the Wizard of Oz and how they came to land on Oz.... b) that it's an amazing broadway play. I don't want to look it up and see what it's about because I love going into a movie and being surprised about the plot and what is going to happen. I heard that it's going to be good and I've seen a lot of broadway plays(in and out of New York)- so I am somewhat a snob when it comes down theatre and that kind of thing.

A lot of people dress up for going to plays/theatre. Last time, I rolled in with a hoodie and I think my favorite yoga pants. I think that was for Avenue Q(an awesome play- everyone should see that!). I'm probably going to roll in the same way but I have my jeans on this time. Last time, people came in really nice stuff and trust me, I KNOW this- but hello, we're just seeing a play. It's like a movie- but yea, back in the day- it was an event. We're in the 2000s and it's not as festive. Especially for me who has to go on BART- go past ohh, 20 bums because the theatre is in the tenderloin district(one of the most shady areas of SF)... and where my friend's car got broken into for a GPS unit. His experience wasn't the first I heard- I've heard MANY stories of people parking their car near the theatre for a nice night out and then getting getting broken into. Hello, I would too if I was a burgler- hi, these people are going to a play- they have to be somewhat well off- they are going to be in there for ohhh, 2-3 hours and they are probably not returning till 10-10:30pm...perfect timing. Apparently, the police don't care/see it everyday/can't do anything because people are paid off to not say anything(aka parking attendents/etc)... So yea, NOT fun to drive there or look like you have a lot of money. Hence, me looking as much as a college student just happening to go to a play. Good times.

I'm off to Asilomar(Monterey) tomorrow for my Service Club officers- its a california get together of all the S-Clubs and so I get to take them. It should be a relaxing weekend of just hanging out, reading, and getting a little bit done on the weekend. They have wi-fi in the lobby I think so I'll try to blog from there if I can...if not, hope everyone has a good weekend...I'll try to blog about Wicked if I feel up to it tonight...