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...

Projects and More Projects...

It's late and I figured I would post something. Today, I had no kids but I still had to go into work. Remember, when you had days off in school because the teachers had meetings and you were stoked??? Yea, it's not so fun when you're a teacher- you don't get the day off- kids do- boo... it was informational and we got to practice lip sync also. I'm almost there and 2 more weeks- i'll be a pro. You would THINK that me, being Indian, would learn this dance quite easily- or one of the first to master it. Um, this is a CHOREOGRAPHED dance- which I haven't done since I was in early high school- so its been a while. Plus, our dance teacher has put some baranatium(southern indian dancing) and is a lot more intricate than I have ever done in a while. Give me a dance floor and let me do my free dancing bhangra- i'm all about it. Memorizing moves...another story. Plus, it doesn't help that the music is RIDICULOUSLY fast...

So yesterday, I forgot to mention, was Fat Tuesday. The pic on my blog of me is when I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and had the most awesome time. I wore those glasses all week and someone grabbed my camera(in drunken stupor) and took a pic of me. It came out awesome and it's one of my fav pics ever since. Mardi Gras, from my experience, is a LOT more wholesome than what it is portrayed in the media. There a LOTTTT of parades- where kids are there- and you get a LOT of beads just attending those. I had a whole carryon of beads on my way back and I didn't flash anyone. One night, I had so many beads, I could feel my circulation being cut off and I was begging people to take my beads/throws. It's a great experience- Burbon Street isn't for the faint of heart- but at the same time, I've seen a LOT worse in Amsterdam. I love New Orleans and it'll always have a special place in my heart!

As for other things, now that I have my new toy, I'm now OVERWHELMED with projects. I have Spain video that I want to edit, make new photo books, organize this puppy to the way I want it, play with other programs that I haven't even touched... the list goes on. I'm even developing a headache because of all these new projects that I'm really excited about but I know are going to take a lot of time. Time that I don't really have- but hey, I'll find because it's a fun hobby to have.

Ok- me out. Oh, in late Mardi Gras fashion- I decided to do like the Catholics do and do lent. So my big lent sacrifice is that I'm not going to eat fast food till Easter. Me and my best friend did it for a good 3 months and I made it so I was pretty damn proud of myself(he cheated twice)... So we'll see how that goes. Ok, hope everyone had a good Wednesday/hump day!!

A New Toy...

So, I got my new 'toy' last night and so today, I was itching to really get it opened and try it out. I knew once I did, I would spend hours trying to figure it out- all the new features, etc... and then organizing my old files- its somewhat a nightmare but a fun one. Like a kid in a candy store, I came home, and was like, ok- you're not going to open the box until you get the grading you have to do done. 2-3 hours later I was ready to open the box(yes, I had a lot of grading...).

In other news than my laptop, some of my co-workers came in today to try on indian suits. They look soo cute and they are stoked to be in them...and I'm stoked for them as well. I can't really be that excited to wear a suit since I've worn one since birth and wear one probably around once/month...but hey, I love to see non-Indians get excited to wear cute Indian clothes...and they love wearing it also. What is also funny is that a lot of them are old suits that my mom, my sister, or I wore- so its a little flashback for me to of when I wore them and what I was doing- what I felt like, etc. Just a nostalgic feeling all around.

Tomorrow, I don't have students- just a meeting all day. It's somewhat odd to have a meeting on wednesdays but I guess it makes having kids(and teachers) skip out on it for a long weekend. It's just hard on the mental planning thing because now, I'll be off by a day as before. Ok, what an uneventful blog entry...oh well--hopefully, i'll figure out something more 'fun' to write about...

p.s. random note... who knew about the oklahoma city thunder??? um, didn't know that team even existed...my brother would be ashamed of me right now...

Slumdog Wins!

So the one oscar nominated movie I saw- actually won...how exciting!! I still want to watch Milk which comes out next week on video- so I'm stoked about that. Today, was a really random day. I felt like my day was slipping before me and I was running all day to catch up with it. I got a lot accomplished but at the same time, not enough- does that make sense?

I've been on a Woody Allen movie thing lately. I don't know if I like his movies that much(other than Vicky Christina Barcelona) which I loved- and Penelope was awesome to get the Oscar for it- but I feel like he's one of those directors that gets a lot of praise that I never gave a chance to. we'll see if I'll watch any more(watched Annie Hall(boring) and now New York Stories(random- not good)...)...

In other news, I got to take my picture of being a kid at heart for the yearbook. we did bubbles with me sitting below a desk and my counterpart(a guy-coworker on top of the desk)- it turned out cute. i had pig tails and wore it 5th/6th periods- it was definitely a look and kids enjoyed it...i don't know if pig tails are the way to go after 10 but hey, one of my co-workers rocks them EVERYday so who knows? maybe its a trend that I don't know about...

Ok, me tired...lots of work done but more to do. Hopefully, I'll have some more exciting postings soon..

Work Weekends Suck..

So like I said, I had a lot of work to do this weekend and guess what i did?? WORK. Not even for work- this is all masters work. It's pretty much finals week so I had to do a good 20+ problems and figure out how to write-up a cow dissection. Good times. I'm not used to being at home on the weekends. It's a little odd. The next couple of weekends I won't be at home, so I guess I should appreciate being home for now. Tomorrow even brings more work- this time school. Quizzes to grade, planning to do... the list goes on. I'm usually caught up on stuff- having 'bliss' weekends- but little things have crept up on me and now I have to finish them all before they get into an unmanageable mess...

Now, I'm watching Hulu.com and just trying to enjoy my saturday night. Blockbuster denied me because their system was down and they weren't accepting any cards- only cash. That's a big NO-NO in my book- I didn't even bother going to the ATM- wasn't worth it. Oh well- we'll see. I'm broke also- too much spending this month on laptops, personal maintainence, snowboard jackets, and snowboarding. All these added up and now, i'm looking at $50 dollars left to spend till Friday. Usually, I have PLENTY left by the end of the month, but this has made me super cheap and eating stuff at home all the time. I'll be aok- I have savings if things get into emergency mode. I'm just all about staying on budget and trying not to spend beyond my limit. We'll see how I do...

Ok, back to my random movie- "falling in love" with robert deniro and meryl streep(totally 80s movie)...hope everyone is having a more enjoyable weekend...

Getting Things Done...

Today, was a much needed productive day. Sometimes, like yesterday, my whole aura was telling me to not do anything. Just relax and have fun. So that's what I did. I did the minimum I had to do and then I relaxed. Today, I know that I had a lot of work to do and sometimes I get amazed at how the brain works once you have a lot of things to do in a short amount of time. The amount of things done on my list of things to do just got depleted.

In high school, I kept a planner that I kept up religiously EVERYDAY. Because of various homework assignments, club meetings, ASB stuff, and even sports, I needed to keep things straight in my head. When I went to college, I didn't have a day to day calendar- I moved to a monthly calendar where midterms/finals/events went on. I relied less on writing things down but liked to see a visual display of what was going on.

Now, I have a monthly calendar of basically (1) masters assignments, (2) school events, (3) outdoor/weekend plans. Some of my friends/family have seen this board and think that I'm super organized. Not really- I just like seeing a visual of what the month looks like so that I don't double book things. I also like making plans so that I have something to look forward to and know that I get to do something fun. Otherwise, I do my standard- watch movies/do nothing/relax.

It's Friday tomorrow- wtf... where did the week go? I think because it was a short week for me, I think its Wednesday. Oh well...nice to have a weekend coming up. I'll be working all weekend for the most part but it'll be nice to stay at home for once in my life. Ok- me out- hope everyone had a productive Thursday!

Inspi(red) Poster

This week is Inspi(red) week- just like the GAP campaign. The leadership team tries to get the students to celebrate different things- service, nobility, intelligence, etc. Today, was intelligence so today, I got an awesome poster on my door- notice, I get inspired from sunny san diego. LOVE IT!! :) Another reason why I'm friends with the activities director! :) More later...

Brrr...

It's been pouring here in the bay. I'm usually a fan of rain- mostly because it's just a cool biological process(sorry the teacher nerd is coming out) and a lot of mystery comes around with it. A lot of people hate it because it makes you wet and cold... brr... and I get cold pretty easily. I'm a warm person myself and prefer being hot versus being cold. Rain can match your mood and I think it also makes things fun...puddles, mud...you get my point...

As for other things, just trying to get back in the grove of things. After 4 days off, it was somewhat difficult to get back to normal but I was lucky to have a guest speaker that did 60% of my day and then the other 40% was students working in groups. It was a nice transition and hopefully, tomorrow will be as well. It's nice to have a short week and just get into work again.

I'm catching up on TV shows, emails, and masters work. I've been holding out on a long of things due to my laptop being out and now its catching up on me. This weekend is going to be my work weekend since I had such a good weekend this past weekend. Hopefully, a relaxing but work-filled week will do me well.

Ok, hope everyone is staying out of the cold...brrr...thank God for electric blankets and thick blankets. Brrr out! :)

Going down a Bunny Slope in Blizzardy Snow...

So, today I headed to Tahoe thinking that I was going to the Northstar resort- but low and behold, because of the storm, we ended up going to another resort. I wouldn't mind much except that I bought a 3 pack to Northstar and need to use them by the end of the season. Oh well...more excuses to go up I guess in the future.

As for my snowboarding pursuits, I took a beginner(level 1) lesson so that I could get the basics again and have another perspective on things. It really helped doing it again and today, I ended up going down the bunny slope almost all the way down with no falls. For my 3rd time round, not bad...I'm beginning to really like it and thats what they say- you have to go 3-5 times in one season to really get it. So, I'm glad I stuck with it and now feel like I can handle the sport.

I also got an awakening on snow...it was all powder and snowing pretty bad during the lesson and especially after the lesson. My hair was white even with the a hoodie and a snowcap and I'm SOOO glad I bought my new jacket so that I saved myself from being cold up on top. Apparently, there is what I like to refer as a 'robbers mask'- something that protects your whole face when it snows- who knew?

Ok, I'm exhausted. I figured since I'm up and needed to get some reading online done and its not quite my bedtime, I could blog. Hope everyone had a good Presidents day! :)

Valentines Weekend...

I feel like this weekend is my summer vacation. I don't have a lot of work to do and therefore, I have a lot planned in a short amount of time. Yesterday, I went kayaking and we got POURED on. The tour guides even remarked that they hadn't seen so much rain in their life and they've been kayaking since they were 7!! WTF...but I got to see 2 jellyfish- so the rain didn't bother me as much.

After lunch, me and 2 other girls decided to go to the other side of the bay and see the lighthouse and some more elephant seals. My cell phone died therefore, no pics of that(cell phone looking for service=draining of battery). It was REALLY windy/cold and I had to bust out my new snowboarding jacket to shield myself from it. Thank God I had it in my trunk still. It was cool to see elephant seals two days in a row and just see them laying there on another beach.

I drove home and had my 'valentine' dinner at 4:30pm at Red Robin with my co-worker/friend. It was PACKED- wtf- we barely got a table at the bar- hello, its Valentines day and I guess people go like us to Red Robin. Just weird. I crashed out after my shower so I didn't even feel lonely at all.

Today, I decided to do a movie day. I'm on my 5th video and loving every second. I got to nap and just stay in mostly for a relaxing day. Tomorrow, getting up at 4am to go snowboarding. Yes, I'm crazy but it'll be well worth it. Ok, hope everyone had a great V-day and I'll blog on Tuesday! :)

Elephant Seals and Slumdogs...

So today was a busy day... I first went down to Ano Nuevo to go see some Elephant Seals...what an awesome hike/trip. I recommend to all. It was just cool to see these large massive animals and how they mate- the pups and then what they called the 'weiners' which are the weened pups. Just an awesome experience and even though it rained for a little bit, the sun came out and just the view was worth my drive down.

Then I decided to join the zillions of people that have seen "slumdog millionare". I literally was beginning to feel like the only indian that hadn't seen it and it was WELL worth my trip. I kept on saying- this is going to suck- its overrated- blah blah. But, in the middle, I was like, omg- i'm beginning to love this movie. Especially because I've been to India, seen things that are there, and was proud that now Americans can now see what the 'true' india is. Even though I love the romatisized view of India, I think they did a good job of showing just a smidgen of what really is there. Trust me, it's worse...but they did a good job of showing how it is to some degree. Even hearing hindi made me tear up(and realizing the subtitles were way off) and then the 'kinda' bhangra at the end was a cute way to go. The only wish I had was that they made it more bhangra versus more anglo-bhangra- but I loved the movie all in all. Thumbs up!

Ok, now going to enjoy my last couple of episodes of cosby and enjoy my rest of the day off...hope everyone had a productive Friday!! :)

We are the Champions My Friends...

So as you can see, we won our rivalry and reclaimed our trophy that we lost last year in overtime. The last game this season with our rivals- we trounced them by 25 points and it was a somewhat boring game. This time, it was at their gym(a TINY gym) and we filled up the BIG side and had to kick out the cheerleaders so all of us could sit- so school pride was definitely there. It was a nail biting event- especially 3rd period when we were up/down by a point/two- but then the last quarter, we got our heads together and ended up winning by 10. WHOO HOO!!

Today, was also a big rally- Girls vs Boys. Totally a good time and the girls obviously won because they are the better sex(IMHO)- hehe. It's been crazy trying to teach with everthing going on- but now I get to look forward to a 4 day weekend filled with hiking, kayaking, and snowboarding. Who has time to be sad not to have a Valentine? I don't...hehe. Hopefully, I get to "Slumdog millionare" also- I think I'm the last indian that hasn't seen it.

Hope everyone had a good Thursday!! :)

P.S. Here's a video of Flo 'Rida at the rally!

Rival Game Commercial/ Last Year's Lip Sync Rally

Here's a commercial that the leadership kids put together for our rival high school match up tomorrow...hope you enjoy!


And here's the lip sync rally from last year. I'm in the back and you'll see me in the middle of the dance waving my hands to get more applause.

Flo'Rida and Kid at Heart

So today, Flo' Rida came to our school. This pic doesn't really do it justice but you get the point. Our school won the Most Spirited School in the bay and we got to have the "apple bottom jeans/boots with the fur" singer go on the stage. It was just a big buzz all day long and us teachers had to lie and try to keep it under raps for security reasons. Too bad the radio announced it on the radio this morning so the surprise was pretty much done. Oh well, it was a fun rally and a good time to see all the students get jazzed up about it. He sang four songs... all of which I know(he sings that 'elevator' song with timberland- who knew?). We even have another rally tomorrow. WTF...

In other news, we had our 1st Lip Sync practice- it's going to be cute and I'm really excited about it. 31 teachers have signed up so it'll involve a lot of folks- so the students will be stoked just like last year. It's always a good time for us teachers as well because its a great bonding experience and just fun to hang out and do something together in the spirit of just having a good time.

Also, I found out that I actually WON "Kid at Heart" of all the teachers. So now, me and my co-worker get to a take a picture for the yearbook and get to dress up like kids. FUN times. I also apparently tied for "Most approachable/easy to talk to" but they wanted to share the love around-- so I felt pretty good about myself that I actually won several 'awards' with my peers and students- yea, me!!! hehe...

Ok, back to my Cosby episodes... hopefully, everyone had a good hump day...

Living a Life of Abnormality...

Apologies for the late post. I feel like this is my life- apologizing to my blog readers. All I gotta say is- my laptop sucks. I'm about ready to chuck it out the door but since I've invested a lot of money in it, I feel like I am invested in saving it. I just got it fixed on Thursday and last night, it crashed on me again. Went to the apple store and yet again, its in the shop. I had to bubble in grades at the apple store- thats how bad this situation has become. All good, I'm now used to taking down and putting up my desktop everyday...it just sucks. Just imagine bringing home a desktop, setting it up, then taking it down and putting it together again at school, then taking it down at work- and repeating- yea...my abnormal life.

Sunday night was a good night for all my Fresno folks. A lot of us showed up to a family party and it was just fun to catch up and get clued in to everyone's lives. Some family friend's I hadn't seen in forever- but my standard group was there, so it was good to see them and just catch up about new and old things. I left at 9:30ishpm and got home to the bay at like 12:30ish- so the next day, I was EXAUSTED and it was just hard to get through the day. All good...all in the name of fun. My apartment now needs a good cleaning since I haven't even unpacked yet... its just a layer of clothes that I need to put away. Boo...

Another abnormal thing in my life is that I decided to buy some bree with crackers. I never splurge on food really but I wanted to go out of my box and bought some. It was soo good. I recommend it to all. I think treating yourself once in a while is a good thing and this is really simple. I'm going to try to do it more often...I know, kinda random but good stuff to talk about.

Ok, back to my Cosby episodes compliments of my brother. He gave me season 2 and season 3 for my bday gift so now I've been watching them non-stop. Good times. If any one loves Cosby show, it's me. I think my brother has found a gold mine of gifts for me for bdays/xmas's to come. Just like I give him Jets gear for life.

Ok, hope everyone had a good weekend and a good Tuesday. Tomorrow, Flo Rida is coming to school- should be interesting(we'll all be singing "apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur"!! haha :) )

Bollywood...

Today was my day off and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I got to just sit in bed and catch up on my TV shows- I literally did NOTHING. Even my mom got me lunch and gave it to me in bed and it really looked like I just had room service delivered(i love my mom!). Anyways, it was just awesome to just chill and get away from it all. It POURED here in Fresno and I thought Gubbar(the dog) needed to come in- but he was aok in the garage and seemed to like his blankey out there. Oh well, I tried. 

A big event is coming up at my school- the annual lip sync. I really didn't say anything for a good week now because I didn't want to blow it, but I figured that none of my kids read this, and since today, this was the only thing that I have to post, I would write about it. Like a previous post, the theme is 'sampled songs'. For example, 'under pressure'-vanilla ice(ice/ice baby)-- men in black(the older version of that)--> sting/puff daddy- you get the picture. A lot of the staff wanted men in black(bleh!) and I was like, whatever. THEN, the dance teacher(who choreographs our stuff) wanted to do an Indian/Bollywood theme- aka the JZ/Punjabi MC song/Knightrider(beware of the boys) and then an Indian song(mundea tu bachai)... so yea, we're doing it!!! Totally NOT my idea, but I was all for it! 

I, of course, offered to outfit the whole production, so today, my mom/I went through ohh, 30 suits and got them all packed up and ready to go for all the teachers. It wasn't too difficult since we have so many- it was just a long process to get them packed up/ready to go. Now, I just have to see how they fit/etc. We have 3 guys doing it- one guy is indian(so he's easy), the other guys I have covered. So, I've now become wardrobe girl...which is my way of contributing. I'm just going to do the dance moves and keep quiet about how its done/etc. I'm just stoked to be doing this theme and showing all the students something different. 

I'm going to work on even getting one of my guy friends to come in and guest star in it too... how cool would it be to have a dhol/drum come in- WTF!?!? I have a party on Sunday so I'm going to ask around...

Ok, I hope everyone had a good Friday...full with Bollywood dreams! :)

Kid At Heart...

I'm finally home in Fresno...good 'ol Fresno. It's just awesome being home in my canopy bed(my dream bed) and just having ALL the creature comforts of home. I was of course greeted by mister Gubbar(my dog) and in the midst of me getting excited about seeing him/him getting excited to see me- I lost my phone. I had it in my hand and then it got taken out of my hand... now, I can't find it. Having it on silent isn't helping me either...hopefully, sunlight will find it. 

Today, my life is restored- my laptop is back in my pretty little hands and life is good again. I've never missed anything so much in awhile- i know- really sad- but for a teacher, not having a computer/own workspace SUCKS. So even though I have to deal with making this computer 'mine' again(hard drive wiped out means basically 'new' computer), it's just nice I don't have to deal with it again anytime soon. Apple even got me a new keyboard and it's just a lot nicer...whoo hoo. 

So one of the cool things that has happened at school is that we teachers got teacher superlatives. What the hell are those you ask... remember when you got your yearbook and they had 'most likely to succeed', 'best smile', 'best athlete', etc?? The yearbook staff thought it would be fun to do one with teachers--> so apparently, after asking my students all the answers(just cause it was fun to see their reaction)... one of the ones that they thought I was a 'winner' for was 'kid at heart'. REALLY?? I guess in some ways- I see it. I'm young- I relate to the students a lot- and I go off on things that are fun. One of my co-workers voted me for 'most spirited'(fun) and then another one for 'most humorous'(wtf). Thank God I didn't get voted for 'most likely to be mistaken for a student'- there are other teachers that look a lot younger than I do so I'm glad that I didn't get voted for that, otherwise I would have to change my wardrobe. 

Another interesting one is 'teacher couple that is secretly dating'. Now, I have a guy friend that is on staff that I hang out with a lot off-campus. On campus, we're in different buildings and hardly see each other. But, because we do a lot of things together on the weekends, we run into students everywhere and just going to school events(basketball/football games, plays, shows, etc)- they assume that we're secretly dating. Yea...no. If anyone knows me, I need a good close guy friend in my life and he's an awesome one that I have to bounce teacher things off of/life.We tease each other a lot about being 'off-campus b/f and g/f' but thats just a joke between us.  Another 'couple' is mostly seen on campus- so I think they'll win(hopefully) even though one of them has a significant other. I just don't want to be put in the yearbook...it's on the unprofessional side and even though it's a joke- yea, not the best one to be voted for. We'll see... 

Ok, I'm going to try to fix my computer a little bit more(putting favorites/curriculum/etc)... hope everyone had a good Thursday! :) 

Winning and Losing...

Everyone loves to win- no one likes to lose. It's about how competitive you are and how much you care to win. I try not to be competitive but when I find that winning is close at hand(aka I'm near 1st place), I want to win and will feign that I do. I'll make it out to seem that I don't want to, but in the heart of hearts, I do.

Like I said yesterday, I felt like a winner...I educated my students and felt really good about it. Today, in 2nd period, covalent bonding stumped me and then I felt like a total loser because I couldn't explain it right. My students were really nice about me not knowing how to explain it- but I felt like an idiot/loser. Of course, I retaught myself how to do by the time I had to teach it again, but for that brief 10-15 minutes, I felt like, whoa, maybe I don't know what I'm doing and I'm a big phat loser teacher. Whenever I feel that way, I always try to remember it because I know that students feel it all the time when they don't understand a concept. It's hard for me to do on various occasions, but I try my best.

In sports, since I played tennis(like every Indian)...I didn't make a big deal out of winning or losing because I knew that there were people wayyy better than me and I was never going to reach their level- so I kinda gave up. Bowling- yes, a real sport- I won a competition when I was in middle school and thought I was hot stuff. I even beat my then rival(now best friend) and was damn proud of myself. Boys get really competitive sometimes. I've seen guys go at it and raz each other just to get a rise out of each other. Bets take place, dares take place, the whole nine yards. Girls, not so much. Some do- but not often. So maybe I fit the girl stereotype- not being too competitive but liking to win when its attainable.

In other 'winner' news, my high school just won a local radio station's contest of having the most spirited school. We all had to log into the site/sign up- and get the most entries in- which we did apparently. So now, Flo Rida(who sings the 'apple bottom jeans song' and 'hands in the air song') is coming to the school- whoo hoo. More exciting for the kids but more an honor all the way along. Here's the link of our congrats...

Anyways, I'm off to Fresburg tomorrow afternoon...whoo hoo. Thanks for still tuning in and reading- the latest blog posts have really been boring. I apologize- hopefully, I'll have a life soon enough! Hope everyone had a good winner Wednesday!

Teacher Moments...

A lot of people often ask me why I teach. There are a lot of reasons- but mostly, and for most teachers, its for the students. We absolutely love being around them and learning from them as much as you teach them. Plus, I think my personality makes it easy for me to do it. I don't really think about it now that much and just enjoy things as they progress.

Today, was one of the many days where I felt like a succesful teacher. My advanced kids were doing a computer lab on the endocrine system- all the hormone issues(insulin-diabetes; somatotropin-dwarfism/gigantism; pancreas-pancreatic cancer, etc) that come about and seeing students actually interested in what can happen. Then, the main part was my Integrated students who I thought wouldn't get an exercise and did awesome. Yes, it's partly due to my teaching--> but its more exciting to see all your students understand something that you thought might be difficult for them. I even had some spanish students that didn't know a lot of English even get it(after some talking in Spanish)... these type of moments make me love my job.

So yea, I don't make a lot- but I still get to travel and do what I want to do for the most part. Yes, I skimp out on things but a lot of people don't LOVE their job. I love my job...and that to me is the most important thing. I'll be going on to more lucrative things in the near future but definitely going to still be in education.

In other news-- my computer still is out and life is abnormal. I'm getting over it slowly because I've adapted...but it still sucks. I'm also contemplating going on Facebook. I know, EVERYONE is on there and it's a great way to keep in contact with everyone. I just don't want students to see it/security/etc--> and multiple people have told me that I can do it and still be aok. We'll see...

Fresno in two days...what the... can't wait to see some family and be back at the compound. Some of my close family friends will be in town with me for a bday party so it should be a good time. Good also to see some 2nd moms and dads. Oh, and of course, my dog, Gubbar Singh.

Ok, me out...hope everyone had a good Tuesday!

Technology Issues

Apologies for not being here this entire weekend and Friday. My laptop died on me on Friday at 10:30am and I thought it was going to be an easy fix and then the Apple Genius basically said I had a corrupt hard drive. I spent much of this weekend taking care of getting my curriculum, pics, etc off my hard drive before the apple guys erase everything and replace my hard drive. Good times. First it was my car, then my phone, then my internet, now this. WTF... It was REALLY frustrating not having it this weekend since I wanted to do work and get caught up on things but I guess someone else had plans and made me relax a little bit more. Even the construction guys in my apartment complex decided to put plaster this weekend, so I couldn't even chill at my apartment for a good 5 hours.

The three things that were fun were: basketball game on Friday night(we won the championship for our league), limo scavenger hunt(limo ride all over town- finding clues- rock and roll theme-we were the Ramones) and the superbowl(an awesome game- comparable to last years game). So, I did have somewhat a decent weekend in all- but my hard drive issue was forefront on my mind.

I also got to watch an awesome movie- Vicky Christina Barcelona. OMG- what a great movie... I wasn't expecting much but a) it was set in Barcelona(which I just visited), b) they spoke a lot of spanish in it(which I love-its subtitled for those few parts), and c) the way it's narrated and the storyline are great. It makes me want to go to Spain again and get lost in the world of whatever is clever. A dream- I know.

Anyways, I have internet access at school- therefore, I'm now a happy camper. After coming in today at 6am to get some work done, I'm just happy to now be aok with things. I'm taking this computer home so I can do more work(and it's a desktop- so that means- hard drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc)...yes, I'm that desperate to have normalcy in my life.

Ok, thats it from me. I might post later if something else comes to mind. Again, apologies for not posting- trust me, I would have if I could(my phone wouldn't let me- link wasn't nice to me)....hope everyone had a good superbowl weekend!