IndianChicky

Back from the dead...

2009-10-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

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??

2009-08-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

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?!??!

2009-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-23T18:44:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-05-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-05-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

A grand 'ol time...

2009-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-17T18:23:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-04-16T22:52:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

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!! :)

2009-04-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-04-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-04-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-29T20:28:00.001-07:00

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...?!?!?!?

2009-03-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-27T10:35:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-03-25T21:14:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-03-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-03-08T20:19:00.001-07:00

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!!

2009-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-03-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-03-03T20:54:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-02-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-26T23:26:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

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..

2009-02-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-18T13:16:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-02-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-16T23:06:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-13T16:32:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-02-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T16:57:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-02-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-06T22:45:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-02-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

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!

Being Single in a Couples World...

2009-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the 'late' blog- just didn't feel like writing anything and didn't really have anything to write about honestly. Valentines day is around the corner and last year, I went to Austin with one of my girls and had an awesome time. Valentines day wasn't even on my mind- nor did I care. That trip has really helped me get over the very Hallmark holiday and just get over not really having anybody. I think technically I've had one boyfriend for a Valentines day and it was average/ok... but not over the top- so I'm trying to focus on just having an excellent weekend(since I have a 4 day weekend).

I've been pretty good about being single these last couple of years. All of my friends know that I travel alone, do things alone, and just pretty much am a free person to do things that I love. My biggest trip that I did was Spain BY MYSELF(no program, no help except me) for three weeks. I survived and am very proud of what/where I went. It's just frustrating trying to find places that are cheap, safe, and adaptable for single people like myself. Everything out there is for couples or families. Nothing wrong with that- but if you find deals online- almost all of them say "prices for double occupancy"- aka for couples. Yes, I can invite friends/family- but most people (1) say they want to go but flake(trust me on this), b) don't have the time that I want to go out/don't have the vacation time, c) have someone else in their lives that prevent them from leaving them.

This is beginning to sound like a rant but it's more that it gets frustrating after a while. I love being in a relationship, don't get me wrong- but being single should be a little easier for those that want to be single. I almost feel like a handicapped person who is trying to find a bathroom that fits them. TOTALLY not the same thing(I admit) but sometimes I'm that frustrated. Even getting a table by yourself or going to a movie by yourself. Try it. It's a little weird but more weird getting the looks from the waiters/cashiers/etc. I've gotten over it to some degree but its a couples world out there for sure.

Other than that, it's been a relaxing week for the most part. Not having students yesterday(just an all day meeting), not having a lot of masters work, and just looking forward to the weekend is good. I'm even going to take a day off next week to go home to Fresno- whoo hoo. My sickness is getting better and I'm starting to appreciate things more as well. Ok- hope everyone had a good wednesday/thursday! :)

Honesty Is the Best Policy...

2009-01-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

For years, I've been trying to work on being honest with people and I think it's a good trait to have. Obviously, you can't be honest all the time because in doing that, you will hurt someone's feelings. Over and over again these last couple of weeks, I've been dealing with 'should I be honest with this person about this?' or let it go... It's really scary putting your thoughts/concerns out there for someone to know and then the feeling of rejection might rear its ugly head.

A lot of friends/etc. have urged me to be honest with my feelings/insights and just bite the bullet and do what I need to do. It's hard when you don't know the outcome or remember the time that you put yourself out there and were rejected. Yes, its years later from rejection but the same scared girl is still there. If you remember 'Notting Hill' with Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant- "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her"... I know, not the greatest quote of all time, but the quote still resonates with me on things concerning relationships/being in that vulnerable position. I think thats why I haven't really started any new relationships or even gone over old ones because of the fear of being honest with my feelings. I over-analyze like all girls and try to figure out what the true meaning is of every little thing that happens- or if it meant anything at all.

I know this post is really random- just didn't really have anything else to post. I'm sick so in the process of getting better, a lot of thought and thinking about 'what is the meaning of life?' questions keep popping into my head and I figured I'm allowed some random postings. Anyways, hope everyone had a good tuesday!

Experimenting with Drugs..

2009-01-26T23:06:00.001-08:00

Two conversations I've had lately has had to do with drugs- as in the illegal ones. I've been a really good girl and never done any of the illegal ones. Most people are surprised at this fact because knowing my partying days at UCSD, I had many opportunities and never took it up. Just thought it was lame and never wanted to. The closest I came to it was (1) holding a cigarette for one of my sorority girls(nicotine), (2) having ecstasy in my hands when someone offered it to me as a 23rd birthday gift(I didn't take it). I even tell my students the story just so that they know that I was tempted, even held drugs, and yet, decided it wasn't for me.

One conversation I had with a good friend of mine is: Is it a deal breaker if the person you are dating is into pot or into drinking a lot more than normal? Now, that I'm in my thirties, I would like to think that people are out of the phase of experimenting and now can say, no thanks. So when I hear people doing pot/binging on alcohol in their late 30s--I'm like, um, are we 21 again? No judgement if you're in your 20s- hi, have fun- you're young... if you need to experiment, go do that(i didn't- but your choice is on you). Now, you're in your 30s, you have a good job(in schools no less)- is it still ok to do it? If everything else is aok in the relationship, is it a big deal? I think it would be a deal breaker because I wouldn't want it around me and just wouldn't say a lot about ethics about the person. But, who are we to judge about someone else's way of life?

Other than having conversations about drugs, I honestly am trying to get over the start of a cold and enjoying having a little 'breather' from work(masters and high school). I'm trying to figure out things for february(including valentines day)... we'll see how that goes. Ok, its getting late- bed is calling for me. Hope everyone had a good monday! :)

Sleeping In...

2009-01-25T22:14:00.001-08:00

How great is it to sleep in? I don't get to sleep in very often because a) i'm a morning person and I like to get things done in the morning, b) my sleeping schedule makes me get up at 'normal' teacher time, c) too much sleep gets me groggy. I went to bed somewhat late(1am) after eating some monstrous pazooki at BJs(good stuff) and then figured, I don't have anything to do today/no plans so why even get out of bed. I think I officially got up out of my bed at 1pm. My stomach was growling and it was getting a little ridiculous.

As adults, we don't get a lot of sleep. I'm TRYING to get 8 hours but its almost impossible for me since I like to stay up late/can't go to sleep till 11pm(at least). But, days like today, I got plenty of sleep and now feel somewhat groggy. It's finding that nice balance of what works for you and what doesn't.

Other than sleeping in, I got some phone calls from my girls and graded like a fiend. My students will be happy that I got things done. Lately, because of my social calendar, grading hasn't been a priority, so therefore, its fallen off the way side. Now, because this was my 1st weekend officially at home, I got stuff done. It was a nice lazy sunday- one that I needed for sure.

Ok, hope everyone gets some rest and gets to sleep in for tomorrow. Nite!

Confidence

2009-01-24T19:37:00.001-08:00

I had a big midterm that I needed to complete today by 9pm PST. When I opened it, I was like, wtf- I'm going to fail. I was in that uncaring mode of f-it and I don't care if I fail(when I really do care). But, once I started(really started), it all came back to me. I learned more in the last 5.5 hours completing it than I have in the entire course(long story and I know pretty sad). So I feel pretty confident that I did aok(lets all pray for my B) and hence the my picture of this posting- relieved to be done.

My confidence has been wavering a lot lately. Even with learning snowboarding, the instructor was like, you're good for a 2nd timer- stop worrying- more confidence in yourself and you're there. The next time I tried it, I did my S-turn. So I don't know if it's from that lesson, my best friend visiting, or just life in general- I've been really thinking a lot about how my confidence has diminished ever since college. I don't know if it's because I'm more shy, more aware of my surroundings, or my life has changed to make me this way. I'll figure it out but things like me finishing my midterm today in a great time period made me be aware that my confidence in my self just needs a big dose of medicine.

Oh, in other news, my school kicked our rivals butt by a good 25 points. It was kinda boring being soo ahead but it was great revenge for last year's loss(losing by 1 point in double overtime). Anyways, hope everyone is having a better weekend than I am(relaxing more)... Nite!

Back in Business...

2009-01-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

So I got back my Internet after it was gone for two nights in a row. Comcast gave up hope on my wire in my room and now I'm using basically another cable cord in another room- whatever works, right?

The last couple of days have been interesting. I've been dealing with this internet issue, my car issues, and just trying to get caught up with everything else. It's hard to catch up on things that I've been putting on the pile of 'stuff to do' and now I'll definitely have to pay for it this weekend. At least I can do my masters midterm tomorrow without worrying about internet.

The best thing that happened was that one of my best family friends visited me for a couple of hours yesterday. He's abroad this year and I miss him a LOT since he's my sounding off board for a lot of my drama/insecurities on life. I think we missed each other and it was nice to just catch up face to face and get another perspective on what is going on in both of our lives. I've had a hard time just accepting the fact that I'm the 'alternative' indian girl as he refers to me and focusing on being unique versus weird(just one of the many topics we covered). It's always nice to talk to people that truly know you, where you come from, and where you're going- and believe in you. I needed that and it was a nice surprise in the middle of the chaos that was going on around me.

Ok, I gotta get ready for a great game of basketball. :) Hope everyone has a great Friday and I'll be posting more often!

Internet Issues...

2009-01-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hey all- apologies about not blogging for 2 days. My internet has been out due to a network issue. My modem is only flashing 1 light versus the 5-6 lights that it is supposed to. So I've been out of luck for the last two night(comcast came by yesterday and were like, oh- someone else has to come out- boo). I'll be home most of this weekend trying to catch up on work and just trying to beat this sickness that has now turned it's head in a sore throat. Hopefully, I'll be up and running this afternoon. I have the big rival high school basketball game today so I'll be there cheering on my team. Ok, till later and thanks for still checking in- more to come hopefully tomorrow.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T17:08:00.001-08:00

So, today, was an obviously special day for the United States and the world. Inauguration day. I really don't remember another inauguration in my lifetime that meant as much or created as much buzz as this one. It was an awe inspiring sight to see thousands of people out in Washington mall all in support for our new president. If you've ever been to DC- one end to another end is a LONG way. To see it that crowded and filled up to the rim, is nuts to me but a great sign that our nation is going in the right direction.

I was scared that I would miss the moment because I was in the computer lab all day with my students. But, because of CNN.com and live streaming, I got to use it on our projector screen/SMART board. It was awesome to see the students all excited and what was WEIRD timing was that the actual swearing in/speech came right at passing period. So kids were rushing to their next period, or wanting to get out early to get to catch the speech in their next class, or staying with me till it ended. Even my freshmen that came in during the speech were silent as they walked in and just really respectful and interested in the speech. It was just an awesome day.

Other than that, just trying to relax and nurse my bruises and soreness. My knees are totally banged up but at least I'm walking. I'm excited about the upcoming weeks because they are totally booked and just concentrate on things that I want to do/goals that I have. Ok, hope everyone had a good Tuesday and got to watch the inauguration with friends/familly/etc.

Muscle Soreness Relief with a Spa Day

2009-01-19T21:39:00.001-08:00

Last night was a doozy to get in bed and then wake up. I woke up with major soreness and barely able to walk. I knew this was going to happen and therefore, I booked a spa package at a local spa that won the readers choice award for 'best spa'. I forgot how awesome spas are and this one was just on another level.

First, they led me to a room, where I had my own jacuzzi, a sauna, and a cold dip. Gave me slippers and a robe, and basically, I was alone for a good hour going to all three. I was REALLY skeptical about the cold dip-- ice cold water-- but after a jacuzzi/sauna- i was ready for relief. It was rough at first, if you can imagine(just imagine dunking yourself in ice cold water), but then you feel it just being a great, refreshing thing for my aching muscles. In a spa, you truly forget your worries. Every time you think about something in your life, it just magically goes away because your body takes over on the relaxation front. Such a weird experience but just an awesome one.

After that, got to have a dry brush(oils rub down with a smooth brush) and then a good hour massage and facial. I was THAT close to going to sleep, but I was dedicated at feeling everything that was going on and just remaining alert. When I got out of the spa, I really felt sleepy and had a hard time even driving home- that's how relaxed I was. Totally missed a one-way street and almost ran into someone because of my relaxation.

I have some narly bruises on my legs as well as swelling on my knees. I was going to take a picture of my blue bruise, but I thought I might gross people out about how big and how blue/purple it is. Oh well, a part of the game of learning something new.

This was one of the best weekends I've had in a while. Just an amazing experience all around. Hope everyone got to celebrate MLK the way I did(in a relaxing way) and hope everyone has a good start to the week.

The Indian Snowboarder...

2009-01-18T21:26:00.001-08:00

I'm back from Tahoe...no injuries(just a couple of deep purple bruises and major soreness) and now a Level 2 snowboarder. I moved to Level 2 just in one lesson and the instructor took me/another girl up on the easy course(you can see if in the 3rd pic the second hill in the center) and I made it down(falling a lot but I made it down). It was a gorgeous two days- way too hot for a puffy jacket- just needed a cotton turtleneck and a fleece and I was good to go. I did my first S-turn and impressed two instructors at the same time. Good stuff. Now I'm the addicted one. Will go back soon definitely. I'm officially an addict(I think).

So what was also interesting was the fact that I was the only Indian girl snowboarder. Northstar was PACKED with zillions of people and I guess Indian/brown people just don't ski and snowboard. I saw a handful of Indians(maybe 2 familes) but thats about it. A random snowboard Indian dude here and there- but mostly on the slopes there are two types of people: (1) Caucasion/White(mostly skiers that have done it all their lives), (2) Asian(mostly Japanese who learned to ski in Japan/figured it was easy and the thing to do). I get it to a point... but it somewhat bothered me about the numbers(as does a lot of things that I do). Maybe all my activities that I do(outdoorsy stuff) is dominated by these races. I dunno. It started bugging me 2 years ago and I'm seeing it more and more. Nothing wrong with it- trust me, I have a ton of friends in both races- but it bothers me about the numbers. If America is now dominated by brown people, me being one of them, then why aren't there more of them on the slopes, on trail heads, outdoors stuff, etc??? I realize expense has a LOT to do with it, family togetherness(as one of my hispanic friend tried to explain it to me), and just the fact that all the things I do apparently seem like 'work'. I'm sure it'll still boggle my mind for a long time. Out of all my Indian girls that I know, I'm pretty much the only one like me. I guess I'm different(in a good way, I would like to think).

Anyways, I'm super glad I went and had an awesome time just understanding the ski/snowboard world. I just have to work on my S-turns more and then maybe, just maybe, I can go down an 'easy' run all the way down next time. Here's to hope.

As for tomorrow, SUPER excited about my 3 hour spa day I got lined up. OMG- it's going to be wonderful/soothing/painful(in a good way) to soothe out the soreness. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.

My Love for Target...

2009-01-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to Target after school with a co-worker of mine because we both needed to get stuff. I love Target- or in other phrasing- Tar-jay. One of the best gifts I got was last year when I received a $250 dollar gift certificate and I used that card for a good 2-3 months just having a spending spree on myself for random stuff.

Why do I/other people love it? It's called ONE-STOP shop. You don't have to go to a zillion places to find what you need and it's all relatively inexpensive. I've spent many hours of my life roaming the aisles just parusing. I've even had many intellectual talks with random friends and learn a lot from them when purchasing items together. I don't go as often as I used to- but I still make a good amount of trips. I'm lucky that I have three targets within a 5-10 minute drive of my house. I just have to decide which one to go to-hehe.

I do want to send a shout out to Sports Authority today who gave a super deal on snowboarding pants. I have a snow bib that I bought like in middle school...it still fits BARALY(my sister was shocked that I still had it). I had to suck in my stomach and I am just afraid that if I sit down or do something weird, it's going to split. So, I decided to go out and buy a new pair. Normally, snowboarding pants will run 80 bucks to 15o dollars. Today, I got mine for $60 bucks. Burton brand too(which is like the Nike of snowboarding). Granted, they were $130--> dropped down to $80, and I got them for $60. They are kinda not the best color- kinda poop brown- but, hey, I'm not making a fashion statement on the slopes quite yet. Just want to stay water-proof, warm, and comfy. Who cares what I look like, right? Poop brown for $60, I'll take it!! I'll wait for the two other 'cute' pairs/normal colors I saw/tried on for later for $100(more motivation to learn how to snowboard!).

Ok- I'll TRY to post tomorrow night but I'm going to be really busy with events after school and packing for my trip. I'll be back from Tahoe on Sunday...we'll see if I have enough energy to post then. If not, I'll post Monday after my spa treatment. Oh, its going to be an awesome weekend. Let's all pray that I don't get any injuries like some of my friends have and just have an awesome time. Ok, hope everyone has a good weekend and gearing up for the inaguration on Tuesday! :) Nite!

The GPS- Revolutionizes One's Life

2009-01-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

This is my Garmin Nuvi 650. Basically, a GPS system. For YEARS, I thought, wow, people with GPSs in their cars are crazy- what a lame way to get around and depend on something. Then, last year around October, I was at a friend's house in SF and needed to get somewhere else in SF. Being new, I was looking at my map and my friend busted out her GPS and then wrote me out the directions in a matter of minutes. I was hooked. I was all about getting one and needed one ASAP. Costco had a sale and I got one for relatively cheap and all the niceties that I could ever want.

The GPS has REVOLUTIONIZED my life. I hardly go to Mapquest anymore. For non-believers, just count how many times you go to Mapquest and you'll see what I mean. For the travel girl in me, it's taken me to things that I would have never gone to. It has saved me in so many instances. Still not convinced? I went to Kauai last spring break. It was pouring rain and I just got into my rental car. With my handy dandy GPS in tow, the GPS found my hotel and I was on my way. No maps, no worries. I even called my mom in the pouring rain to check in and just tell her I was on my way to the hotel without even looking at a map.

Another instance was when I was in Austin and wanted to go to San Antonio. I have NO concept of Texas freeways...and oh yes, the GPS led the way to all the major attractions and I was just this ignorant girl who was just following the GPS. No cares, no worries. Even led me to this dive burger joint that was amazing and very Texas style.

Why a blog on my GPS? I've now spent a good 3-4 hours now updating my maps today on the GPS. It's a little ridiculous the time it takes to do this, but in the long haul it'll be worth it. I use it at least 2-3 times a week and this little guy has become my best friend in a lot of senses. If you know SF at all, yea--> saved my butt on more than one occasion. Parking structures, one-way streets, attractions, hotels- you name it- I've done it for SF. I've basically sold the revolution to many of my friends/family who have seen it in action and now they want one as well. I should get a new one because of all the GPS's I have sold(kidding).

Ok, it's late. I gotta catch up on zzz's. Today was such a productive day but I still have a lot of work to do before the weekend trip to Tahoe- which means that a) school(EC) needs to be done and then b) masters work as well. Too much going on, so little time. Hope everyone had a good hump day!

Catching up with Old Friends...

2009-01-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been trying to catch up with some old friends on the phone because I haven't talked to them since the new year. I was on the cruise during the new year so in order to catch up with just one person, it entails a good hour conversation on the phone(at least for me). A lot of them are my girls from UCSD who I was roomates with, or partied with, or had classes with. All mean a lot to me and since we've known each other since college, its been a LONG time of friendship(over 10 years). We've seen each other grow into who we are and can still laugh at our stupid moments and yet celebrate our good ones.

Like I said in an earlier post, I've gotten some RANDOM emails from blast in the past people wishing me a good birthday. One of the blast of the past people called me last night at 11pm(hello, I'm a teacher, remember- bedtime is 10pm-11:30pm MAX) and after about a good 4-5 years of not talking to one another. It was nice to have that phone call but a little weird/awkward at the same time. Going off of memories of what was back then, friends we had in common, and just catching up on our lives was interesting. Also, just knowing how much you've grown since then, the new jobs that I've had, the new love interests are all a part of the past. The person I talked to had pursued something else that he was developing back then(music) and I was in another place as well(outdoors versus the prissy girl that I was). We both are doing well and we both were happy to hear that of one another as well. I guess that's all you can wish for. At least it's not a question mark of what they are doing now and can close that chapter somewhat of that person.

Ok, it's getting late. I need to catch up on some zzz's. Hope everyone had a good tuesday!

Making Painful Mistakes...

2009-01-12T22:12:00.001-08:00

I burned my finger today pretty badly. Not to a point where I need to see a doctor, but to a point where it still kinda hurts. My overhead went out on me in the middle of a lecture and so being the resourceful person I am, I decided, hey, I can fix this. Next thing you know, I'm reaching for the overhead light and it was a *little* hot. Make that sizzling hot to burn my finger. Of course, my students get a kick of my stupidity but then, realizing I'm hurt, then feel sorry for me. Oh, well, I deserved it. As my brother says, "and they gave you a college degree? Good job college grad!"

Another time where I thought was resourceful was about 2-3 Thanksgiving's ago. I'm not the best cook in the Sidhu family- my brother and sister take over the cooking for Thanksgiving since it's my mom's day off from cooking. So its around 8pm and everything is ready to go on the table and my only responsibility is to take things out of the oven/microwave. The stuffing needed to be reheated in the microwave and once it was done, I was like, ok, just carry it out. Little did I know...oh, yes, it was a scad bit too hot and I dropped the stuffing on the floor. Glass pieces everywhere- stuffing lost on Thanksgiving with no other backups. All the stores were closed(obviously) and it was too late. That Thanksgiving we didn't get stuffing and I will NEVER live it down. I still get shooed out of the kitchen because of this and my habit of not really assessing the risk factors of hot items. Don't mess with stuffing on Thanksgiving.

I'm sure everyone has these kinds of stories but in typing with a burned finger, its a constant reminder of my painful mistake. Hopefully, tomorrow, it'll be better and I'll forget about it. Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Mechanics of My Car

2009-01-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here's a pic of my car(not exactly my car, but you get the point). I have a 2002 BMW 330xi. Now, you're probably wondering, why is she bragging about this? Um, actually, quite the opposite. I got this car because a) it was somewhat a grad school graduation gift, b) my old honda accord- bless her soul- just was on its final legs(120,000 miles)- I still miss that car, c) my dad believes that all of us kids should drive nice cars(his dream). Let me preface the rest of my blog entry: I'm REALLY blessed to have this car and will always be thankful to have it- so don't get me wrong- I'm thankful to my dad and what he has done for me and will always be thankful.

BUT--> the day I got it, I literally cried(in sadness) to my friends(it was a surprise purchase). Why? Because I thought 'everyone' would now see me as an 'indian princess'- which when people really know me, I'm not. My friends thought I was nuts but that's what I truly felt. It's somewhat embarrassing driving in a teacher's lot and having the nicest car and then them wondering how I got the nice car and their assumptions that come with it. Students also... I bypass that for the most part and just remind myself, it's their opinion/just a car, they don't know me.

It's also weird driving this car when I'm the outdoor girl in the family. I go hiking, kayaking, caving, etc. and whenever I drive to those places, I definitely get the looks. I did a carpool recently with other people and I had to bypass and explain why I had this car. I get over it, but just my experience having a car that doesn't really fit my lifestyle.

Saying all this, you're probably wondering why my car sparked a blog entry...well, for the last couple of weeks, my car has been giving oil change lights and today, I decided to take care of it at Jiffy Lube(trying to avoid the dealership because they cost an arm/leg). I figured $50 bucks tops, if that, for it and whatever else they found. Um, my bill came out to be over $600(and will be $800 by the weeks end). Why you ask? They started finding air filters, brake fluid, air conditioning filter, new wiper blades, etc. that were all in dire need of replacing and then the kicker- oh yes, one part-the reservoir??--> cost me($300). They showed me the leak and they said that if I don't get it fixed, it will overheat in the month of January, for sure. GREAT. I guess it's all a part of maintainence but I wish I knew more about cars. I even told the Auto teacher at my school that I need to take his class and really get a lesson about all the parts. I have NOO clue about that and I hate being ignorant and just saying 'yes' to stuff because it seems important. I don't want to be that dumb girl that gets ripped off- but it all seemed legit/needed. Who knows?

So that was my adventure today. I did save money by going to the dollar store to get school supplies and going to Taco Bell for lunch...Ok, hope everyone had a good weekend.

Elkhorn Slough

2009-01-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

Ok- here are some pics of Elkhorn Slough- pronounced "slew"--> I didn't have my normal camera because I didn't have any charged batteries(doh!)... so these are off my camera phone. Not bad considering I was scared that my camera/me would capsize in the water. Anyways, kayaking was awesome as you can see. Sea lions, sea otters, and even harbor seals were all over the place. It's just awesome to see these animals in their natural habitat and just hanging out, trying to survive. It was a gorgeous day and well worth my hour and a half drive to get to it. The sea otters(my personal favorite) were ALL over the place and just grooming and having fun with each other everywhere you looked. I have never seen soo many otters in one place(and I've kayaked a LOT), so it was a real treat. It reminds me why I love to see animals in their natural habitat versus in Monterey Bay Aquarium or any other zoo. Even though they educate the public, the animals deserve to be in their natural habitat(just making my opinion heard here).

After kayaking, I went to see my travel girl and we made a *small* purchase. A 3 week trip to Peru in June!!! We are SUPER stoked about it- no Inca Trail, but Macchu Picchu is definitely on the trip (lots of reasons why I didn't go with the Inca trail- even though I'm somewhat sad about it- I'm getting over it). I'm glad I'm going with someone and this trip is a tour- so no stress about planning. Pay the money- get on the plane- enjoy. No worries about arrangements/bookings/etc. It's awesome. Haven't done this since Europe- so it'll be fun to be on another tour with other people as well. I'm now broke as a joke, but hopefully, my tax refund will repay for the trip and I'll be back to where I was.

Ok, hope everyone had a good Saturday as much as I did. Nite.

Friday Nights...

2009-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

So, in the past, my Friday nights were a lot of clubbing, hitting the parties, and just hanging out with friends. Now, in my thirties, they have more become movie nights in, dinner/movies with friends, or happy hour after school. I really don't have the club girl in me anymore and by Friday, I'm exhausted. I even went to bed at 8:30pm last night- WTF. I guess I wasn't used to working and my body needed the rest I got when I was on the cruise.

I'm off in two hours to go kayaking in Elkhorn Slough. Should be good times but its going to be really cold. Afterwards, going to hang out with my Argentina/Costa Rica girl. I met her in Argentina and realized that we were both from the bay and now we've been friends ever since- even go on trips together. Yes, very random and the fact that we're both teachers(she's a kindergarden teacher) is also fun to contrast high school to elementary.

Anyways, I gotta get ready(eat/shower/etc) and get on my way. I'll write later, hopefully, but just in case this is my entry. I ran across two articles that were somewhat interesting: one was about how teachers are paid/not respected/debate that goes with that and the second one(the more fun one), was this white guy who went to India and decided to be a Bollywood extra. Here are the links:

Teacher and Bollywood Extra

Hope everyone had a good Friday and a good start to the weekend!

Procrastination

2009-01-08T22:14:00.001-08:00

I'm sure everyone has had those days when you know you have a lot of work to do and you just don't want to do it? That was me today. After work, I had all these aspirations to do all these things that are on my list of things to do- and nothing got accomplished. I just futzed on my internet and did absolutely nothing. Well, I did talk to two friends but other than that- just watched some TV clips on the internet, read a lot of articles, and basically kept yelling at myself to start.

Once 9pm rolled around, I was like, COME ON- get a move on. And less than 30 minutes later, I was done. Yes, the two major important things took me 30 minutes. 6 hours of yelling at myself and it only took me 30 minutes. Sure, I wanted to get ahead on other things, but the two deadlines that needed to be done by tomorrow, I accomplished. I guess all that matters, right?

I'm usually all about getting things done ahead of time, but I think today I just wasn't in the mood. I'm usually the one that has lesson plans/work/trips/etc planned out way in advance and I pride myself on that. I think I get that from my mom who does the same thing. Oh well- one day out of many in life where I'm not the go-getter. Maybe I need this weekend to re-energize and get things going again. Maybe its the weekend looming and laziness is stalking me. We'll see...

Ok- off to bed and pajama day is tomorrow so I can just roll out of bed and go to work. The perks of being a teacher- hope you all had a more productive day than I did...and didn't procrastinate.

Birthday Redo...

2009-01-07T18:29:00.001-08:00

This week has been somewhat a doozy- from coming back to school, having a bum birthday, and having a new year...its a lot to take in. I'm really grateful for all the love that I've been getting from emails from blast in the past people, family friends, and even students and teachers. Today, I got this sign in my room from the leadership students which shows you what kind of leadership class we have at the school. It was just nice to have and know that my good friend, who is the leadership teacher, look out for me as well as his students. The flowers above came on Monday from one of my best girlfriends from LA- I don't think I've EVER had flowers delivered to me, so it was definitely a surprise to have them when I came home from school. So I think officially, my birthday has been redone and it'll get even more redone with the upcoming weekends in the future.

Other than just trying to get in the swing of things, I've been working on dressing a little bit more at work. It's hard to make an effort at 6-6:30 in the morning but today, with a new top compliments of my family, I felt somewhat like a professional. Three days in a row of dressing cute is somewhat a lot for me, but it goes with the New Years resolution of taking things from my past and putting them now in my future. Friday is pajama day so you know I'll be taking FULL advantage of that one- screw the New Years resolution on that day- haha!

Ok- hope everyone had a good Wednesday--> hump day. Only 2 more days till the weekend(this week is flying by!).

Naps...

2009-01-06T23:16:00.001-08:00

I love naps. I try not to have them everyday but sometimes, like today, it was necessary. The problem with my naps is that I don't put an alarm on and then next thing you know, its 2-3 hours later. A good nap(according to a book I read on the cruise) is 30 minutes max. If you go longer than that, then you get into REM cycles and blah blah. I think it's an awesome way to recharge and sleep is always good in my book. As adults, a lot of us don't get a lot of sleep so it's imperative to have good nappy time.

In other news, my cell phone was a CHARGER issue. I swear, me and my issues with technology lately. Apparently, my home charger sucks and doesn't work...so now, I'm dependent on my car charger. The Verizon people were nice and told me that I could replace it for free so I'll do that soon. What was weird about this whole experience was that I put my phone on the car charger and even after I turned off the car, the battery was still charging... um, WHAT? So, I left my phone in my car to charge and now, it's fully charged. Am I the only one that didn't know that? I thought the car had to be turned on for any cigarette charger to work. I learned something new today.

Also, because of my birthday, I've been getting some RANDOM emails from people in my past. I think because of calendar birthday programs that email you when you have a friend that has a birthday, it's almost the excuse to get in contact with them again. I get the emails all the time and am grateful for it. I'm appreciative of any love I get, but today, floored me with some belated wishes from people- people that cut you off in the past or you think that they have forgotten who you are...those kind of people. You know what I mean...

Ok, its late... but because of my excessive nap- now, i'm wide awake. The drawbacks of naps- oh well- it was well worth it!

Daring to be Cell Phone Free...

2009-01-05T20:26:00.001-08:00

This is my cell phone- the Verizon LG Dare. It's been acting weird ever since I got back from Mexico... it's a great phone for the most part- touch screen- has email/browser/etc- texting both ways- very much like the Iphone(but I guess not as trendy). Anyways, it died on me today during school(weird) and then after what I thought was a good charging amount of time- it died after a good 30 minute convo with a friend. WTF!??! So now, off to Verizon tomorrow...hopefully, it'll be like my laptop issue- new battery, good to go.

I am now realizing how dependent I am on my cell phone. Just not having the option to text someone or have an emergency line out to the real world is a little scary. The phone has now become one of those things that you always check for on the way out of the house- keys(check), phone(check), lunch(check), book bag(check)... I remember when I was soo against having a cell phone my senior year of college, that when I finally got one, I was like, why didn't I get this earlier? Now, land lines are out the door and it's rare for someone my age to have a land line...

As for other news, school was good today. I missed my students and my 1st period got treated with a birthday cake courtesy of my birthday(we didn't really eat it in Fresno). It's always weird getting back in the swing of things and even the 1st couple of minutes of starting class, I was like, how do I teach again? Oh yea...this is how. I am also adapting to the cold here up in the bay--yes, I know east coasters- not as cold as you guys, but for me, damn cold(45 degrees). I'm too cheap to put on the heater so now I've resorted to putting this little personal heater and directly getting it to me. Works miracles. Compliments of an ex-boyfriend that never took it back- hehe. He still has my Italy shirt so I guess its fair...

Ok, hope everyone survived their manic mondays... let's all pray to the cell phone gods and revive my phone...

Catching up with Dawson's Creek...

2009-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

I'm back in the bay and getting ready for the grind tomorrow morning. I'm actually feeling pretty good about seeing my students and just getting back to things. It's always a good sign when I'm not dreading going back to work like a lot of people in the U.S.

One of the things that I do randomly is watch my Dawson Creek's DVDs. Yes, I own all SIX seasons of Dawson's Creek and I love watching some episodes. I didn't really watch the show when I was in college/etc. so I got hooked after it was done. I remember being somewhat interested in who Joey ended up with and was PISSED when I found out that it didn't go the way that I wanted. Now, in watching my episodes again and again, I now understand it. People often ask me why I watch this show...there is a lot of reasons. First, I love the writing of the how- really intellectual and I get nuggets of information each time I watch. Second, it relates to my life in 2 ways: having a guy friend that turned into a boyfriend and then having a close family friend in my life that turned into someone special in my life/best friend. Just scenes that I see in it/etc reminds me of what I went through in college/high school and even gives me advice on things for me now. I know...I'm weird. Just sharing.

Even with all the Dawson's Creek watching, I was still way productive and got a lot done. I even managed to see a friend for dinner and pretty much do what I wanted to do today- always a good thing. The only thing lingering that I didn't do was return bday phone calls and emails. So to everyone that called/emailed/texted me- I WILL get back to you this week and I'm very thankful to have friends that do care... I didn't have the greatest bday(in fact, it went down as one of the worst bdays I've had) so thats why there was no blog entry on it. Not a big deal... just going to make sure that these next weekends make up for it(which should for the most part-have kayaking/hikes/etc booked). I even booked a spa treatment on the long weekend...so I'm super stoked about that.

Ok- hope everyone had a good productive Sunday! :)

Back on the Mainland/New Years Resolutions!

2009-01-03T20:25:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm back- 'free' internet and on the mainland. The effects of the cruise are lingering--> all of us are experiencing somewhat still feeling like we're still on the boat/feeling a little woozy. I'm going back to the bay tomorrow and back to the grind. I think the vacation- like all vacations- are about the 'reset' button and just getting perspective on life. I read a lot- slept a lot- and went snorkeling a good three times.

So yes, its the New Year and now its all about the resolutions... the main one I want to achieve is going toward the good parts of the girl that I was in college- more put together and more self-confident. So it'll be rough- but I feel like its attainable to some degree. At least its not like, hi, lose 10 pounds and then the 1st sign of not going eating well/exercising- resolution over.

I'm exhausted and I have a long day tomorrow... I'll be more coherent tomorrow!

Happy New Years!!

2009-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hi again from the boat. I hope everyone had an awesome New Years. The Sidhu clan did a very 'different' thing and broke an 8 year tradition of having New Years at the house to go on this cruise. I/Sidhu Clan apologize for any of the Fresno/etc clan that was effected- we do feel bad to some degree. But, we needed a break and it has been a good one. I have now snorkeled in three different places, have a HUGE tan, and have brushed up on the Spanish skills. The boat guys love me and my sister because we talk Spanish to them and apparently no turists even try- sad. New Years on the boat was fun- everyone was in tuxes/suits- prom dresses/etc- so VERY formal- and the party was all over the boat. My fam and I decided we were going to be out on the deck and they had screens that let us know when midnight was and the countdown. So at the stroke of midnight- streamers and balloons as well as the band played "Celebrate" and that was our New Years. It was fun to see the crew/captain/etc even be out and about celebrating with us and just being part of the crowd.

As for us today, just got back from Cabo San Lucas. One of the best snorkeling spots I've been to in a while and it was just awesome seeing all the schools of fish- and the different colors. There was a box on the bottom of the ocean that the guide picked up- apparently it was someone's remains- whoops. Yes, this is the type of information I get when talking Spanish. Anyways, since this is costing me a ton...I'm going to log off. I'll try blogging tomorrow and see how many minutes I have left. Be back in Fresno on Saturday... (hopefully the 405 will be kind to us like it was on the way down)...

Happy New Years everyone and thanks again for reading my blog...if anyone is still out there..

Hi From the Sea...

2008-12-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it costs a bundle to be using the internet but I figured I would say hii to all. Lets just say 2 hours costs me the same as one month in my apartment. Cruise is awesome so far- easy check in- and no traffic on the 405(miracle- i've never seen it soo clear)- just been relaxing on the boat- it was a little chilly on the deck- but with my kindle in hand, i'm a happy camper. It's nice spending time with the family. Tonight, was formal night so guys were in tuxes/suits and girls had their prom dresses on. One couple even had a top hat and a renassaince dress on which was awesome. People are really nice and just ready to have a good time. We have one more day on the boat and then off to Puerta Vallarta. My siblings/I will be doing a snorkeling/hiking adventure, so that's always a A+ in my book.

Ok, can't spend too much time on this site. Gotta watch the minutes. SUCKS. Hope everyone is recovering from Christmas and is making plans for the New Year!

Cruising to Mexico!

2008-12-26T15:10:00.001-08:00

La familia de Sidhu van a Mexico para un cruise manana!! Estamos alli por una semana. En este semana, es el dia de neuvo ano, y vamos a celebrar este fiesta en el barco. En el pasado, mi familia celebro el neuvo ano en mi casa, pero este ano, nosotros estamos en Mexico. Yo estoy muy alegre que todo mi familia puede estar en este vacacion y podemos celebrar juntos.

Ok, for those that can't read/understand Spanish- I'm off to Mexico for a good week-long cruise to Mexico. The Sidhu Clan is excited to go as a whole family(no one is left behind) to enjoy the sun and just relax on the boat. We went on a cruise to Mexico ten years ago, but we (1) weren't of age, (2) it was a 10 day cruise instead of 7 days, (3) we were with another family, (4) we weren't professionals/didn't know how to relax in the sun. So I'm excited to do some snorkeling/ATVing/ get in the sun and get a tan. There will be wi-fi supposedly but I plan on not being online much other to a) maybe read email, b) maybe blog. I'll probably gain 10 pounds on the boat since there is soo much food and I'll be doing nothing- but hopefully, the hiking/outdoor stuff will burn some calories.

As for other news--> I booked some important trips for the future. Spring break= visiting the brother in St. Maartin and then I am on my way to learning how to snowboard. I'm going to go to Tahoe on the long weekend in January(taking lessons/gammit). Also, debating a Portland/New York(looked at flights and its doable) for Valentines Day. Last year, me/girlfriend went to Austin for Valentines and it was the best decision for both of us. This year, she's not available, but I'm always up for getting out of town on that day and forgetting that I'm not attached. We'll see- I might just do another snowboarding trip if I start loving it.

Ok, I'm out. Gotta pack and get ready... I'll try to blog on the boat- but no guarantees! Happy New Years if I don't and I'll be back on the 3rd(which happens to be my 31st bday!)...

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T20:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone had an exciting Christmas day and just got whatever they wanted. The Sidhu household was a little different this year since we're not doing New Years this year(a 8 year record)-- the house isn't decked out as much as it has in years past, but our front yard looks damn good with all the Christmas lights.

Every year, we agree not to get Christmas gifts for one another but my mom gets too much in the spirit and then she buys gifts for everyone. Then we all buy gifts for one another and so on. My dad's bday happens to be on Christmas so we celebrate that more than Christmas so that has always been our excuse to celebrate. No, we're not Christian, and in the past, we've somewhat gotten a lot of negative vibes from other Indian families that don't celebrate and the fact that we do- makes them angry. We're kinda over that as of yet and we see it more of a)my dad's bday, b) everyone is celebrating, why don't we celebrate? no harm, no foul.

I got some cool gifts. A sweater, a coverup for swimming(since we're going on a cruise), socks(my mom said my socks were gross) and then the best gift ever, a Camel-back backpack for hiking complete with a water hose. Basically, its a backpack from REI that has a water system in it. Awesome gift for the outdoor girl in me. Good for my hiking trips that I have next month...also, for Manchu Picchu.

We capped off the night with poorji(eggs/onions) and prontas...good stuff...all in all, a great Christmas of doing nothing all day and just hanging out with the fam. Hope everyone had a good Christmas!! :)

Shopping on Christmas Eve...

2008-12-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, I survived Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. I had to go get my computer revived(thank God it was just a battery issue- $130 dollars later- laptop is a happy camper)... and get some stuff for the family. My brother and I braved going to Fashion Fair mall and just was smart about it. Don't go down the main drag(Shaw) and go down Fresno Ave- go to the back of the mall where there is plenty of parking- not the front. Walked into Macys Men and bam- right into the Apple Store. Get in, get out.

Then, we had to go to River Park shopping center. Another cluster parking nightmare. Park in random lot, walk in- no problem- it wasn't that bad. Even got to go to two parts- two different parking spots. Borders somewhat had a long line to check out but within 5 minutes we were out the door. Lines that go fast, you don't even notice how long you're in there. Plus, most stores now have those "impulsive buys" that you can look at and want because its like, hey, why not? My brother got suckered into Ghirradeli Peppermint Chocolate... not that bad on the choices of impulsive shopping.

Honestly, I'm just glad that I didn't have to go through more of a crunch. My laptop is aok which is one of the best gifts that I could have gotten. Basically, the battery was running at like 20% of what it was supposed to so yea, it was pretty much dead. The "apple genius" says that I have maybe a good 1-2 years left on this one if that, so I'll take that and run. No new laptop in the near future. Maybe in the summer or next year for xmas/bday.

Ok, hope everyone has a great Christmas Eve...

Sick Laptop...

2008-12-23T21:47:00.001-08:00

So, today, my laptop is sick. I have an Apple G4 that my sister gave me 4 years ago as my 2nd computer. My 1st one, I bought on Ebay(yes, used and for only 600 bucks) and it lasted me a good 5 years. When I took that laptop in after the screen was flickering, the Apple Genius bar guys were all surprised at how ancient my laptop was and were surprised that it still ran. That laptop had been all over the world and had survived a lot of ongoing things.

This laptop, I'll be sad if this one dies on me too. I trust Apple a lot and know that the sell awesome products. It took me a while for me to switch over but now I'm a big proponent on it. My laptop that is sick now is not powering up. At first, it would randomly dim the screen but once the power was really plugged in properly, it would be aok. Now, its officially 'died'. I can't turn on the power even though minutes before it claimed the battery was 100%.

Now, I don't mind getting a new laptop. It'll be exciting for the most part and since my birthday happens to be next week, it'll be a perfect bday gift. BUTT, the ONLY thing, like anybody that has had a sick laptop/computer, is the data. Even though I transfered most of it this summer after Spain, all the stuff that I've done since August- not there. Being a teacher, this is somewhat a nightmare, but at least I have the old stuff and hard copies of the new stuff.

Let's all pray to the Apple gods that my laptop is fixed tomorrow and it's just a battery situation. Yes, I have to brave Fashion Fair Mall on Christmas Eve to go to the Apple Store- wtf- yes, I'm crazy, but this is an emergency. Omm....Ommm... let my laptop be aok(chanting is good...).

Ok, hope everyone is surviving the Christmas season...only 1 more shopping day left! :)

Spas...

2008-12-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

In the past, I always thought that girls that go to spas were overly girly, self-indulgent, and just not a thing I would do. I thought it was too expensive to treat yourself with a massage or with facials where the money can go somewhere else. I still think this way to a point- but last year, around this time, my definition of what a spa day changed.

On my 30th birthday, I had my first spa day. I got my 1st massage ever, a facial, and a manicure. Yes, I had gotten a manicure and a facial before(on the insistence of others) but not all at once. Let me tell you- my spa day somewhat changed my life in a good way. First, you change into those fluffy robes and slippers and then go into the sauna to just sit there and do nothing. That just puts you in the mood of relaxation and I hadn't done anything yet. Then, I was whisked away to my 1st massage. I was somewhat nervous about the whole naked thing- but I got over that fast. The massage therapist was awesome and we just chatted the entire time and it made me forget about school, my worries, or anything in general.

Then, I waited for like 5 minutes and I was whisked away to my facial. My body was already relaxed and my face got a scrubbing like it never had before. It was like, my skin cells were saying- thank you for doing this. Then, not knowing what time it was, it was off to my manicure. My mom showed up and let me know that I was in the spa for a good 3 hours! Wha?? When you're in the spa- you don't even notice time.

Ever since that day, I've been a big believer in spas. It was the best birthday present I got/gave myself and now, thinking about making it a year tradition. Yes, I know- I'm not a mom- nor don't really have the stress of someone that is an executive or something- but it's nice to be pampered once in awhile. Remind yourself that you're worth it. I used to be like, wtf- those girls that go to spas are ridiculous. Now, I'm one of those girls...oh well, I embrace it! :)

Maybe I'll get one in the next week and relive my experience. If you haven't done it- I recommend it. OK- spa girl signing off...

Needs versus Wants...

2008-12-21T19:32:00.001-08:00

In the hustle/bustle of the holiday season, it's very easy to go out and buy everything that I want. I've been really stingy this month because I've been trying to save up for trips in the future(St. Maartin(spring break), Peru(summer), maybe Portland(valentines/presidents day break)) and just trying to save a little for future purchases. It's hard not to think about things that I want versus need. Do I need a new pair of jeans, shoes, etc? Or do I want them? Do I need a new laptop when this laptop does its job aok even though it's having little issues?

I'm sure I'm not the only one that struggles with these decisions everyday. In my junior year of college, I was a shopoholic to some point. I went out almost every weekend and shopped just to make myself feel better/have something to do. Now, I almost don't like shopping. I don't get that kick of adrenaline I used to. Some people don't know how to kick it out of their system. Thank God I never got into credit card debt because of it and knew how to spend within my limits. Maybe it's because I make my own money now that I'm stingy. Maybe it's also because I'm a travel junky and want to take extravagant trips all the time. Who knows?

I think I always get to thinking when I have time on my hand and itching to do something/spend some money. Fresno is an oasis but also my reset button. It makes me think about things in my life and just what I could do in the future. Spending money is always another thing to do in Fresno- but needs versus wants- as someone has always pointed out to me- is something that I struggle with everyday.

Gubbar Singh

2008-12-20T14:14:00.001-08:00

This is my dog, mister Gubbar Singh. He's an awesome dog and loves swimming, hot dogs, apples, and any food you give him. He's a golden lab and loves his tennis ball. You have a tennis ball, he will sit and do poses like this to get it(cute, huh?)

I love dogs. I wish I had one in the bay or could take Gubbar to my place, but since he's such a big dog, it wouldn't be ok. He lives in paradise over here and we rescued him from a one bedroom house that had about 8 labs there. Gubbar did have a brother that died about 2 years ago, mister Kalia(a black lab). He died from cancer and it was really sad. But, Gubbar is doing a LOT better without him because he's not bullied and now loves to play fetch and swim in the pool.

His name comes from an Indian movie, Cholay. People that know that movie- two characters- Kalia(means black) and Gubbar... so thats how he got it. Nicknames include: Gubbs and Gubbar Singh(which is his full name). He's grown up a lot and now is nice to people(doesn't jump up on them), listens for the most part, and just is a little kid when it comes to playing fetch. He does the standard poses: sit, lie down, stay, paw, etc. Gubbar was a dog training dropout but not because he was one- but because his owners were getting lazy in his training.

I want to get a small dog when i 'grow up' and hopefully, that'll happen. But, Gubbar is a great dog to come home to in Fresno and just hang out with. So if you're in Fresno, and want to come visit mister Gubbar, please have a tennis ball and he'll be your best friend. :)

The Fresno Elf...

2008-12-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

Made it to Fresno- in record time too. I got lucky with traffic with leaving at 12:30pm and got here in 'normal' time versus adding another hour to my commute when I leave at 3pm. Gubbar, my dog, greeted me and I'll post some pics of him soon so that everyone can see why I love my dog- just a goofy dog that likes to have a good time all the time.

As for me, the real story, is that a Fresno Elf, in the form of my smart, med school brother, helped me TONS on my masters work and now, I'm set. Saved me HOURS of time and now, this weekend isn't going to be doomed as I thought it would. Maybe, this was someone's plan of helping me out when things are rough. So thank you mister Elf for the best present I could have gotten in my time of need.

And, of course, Fresno=Indian food. Yum. I don't get to eat Indian food often and always a good meal with garlic naan and chicken curry/kofta- is good stuff. Hopefully, I'll bang out the rest of my work and get to watch some TV that I've missed on.

Hope everyone had a good Friday! :)

Apologies...

2008-12-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

So, as some of you might have noticed- I've been MIA for about 2 days. It's called partying and more partying. Yes, I have a big deadline ohh, tomorrow(sat) and sunday- but what do I do? Oh, I decide to go to Happy Hour and then we had our staff party and then more partying happened. I haven't partied this much in a while and its nice to get out- be with some friends- and take life at it's fullest. I WILL be paying for it tomorrow and sunday but oh well- I guess thats the way the cookie crumbles.

I've been somewhat sad about an issue that has come up in my life that should be resolved soon(hopefully). But, in this sadness, its funny how things are put in front of you to remind you that life is good. Friends come out and support you, you get random emails from a close family friend that remind you that they love/support you, and you get christmas cards from students and teachers. Even being around my staff yesterday was just an awesome way to end out the semester and be with people that do care about me and we can still have a good time outside of school.

I'm off to good old Fresno for the next two weeks. I look forward to be in the compound, see my siblings/parents, see my dog, Gubbar, and just be spoiled for a limited time. I'm already packed and ready to go and just looking at the time until I get to go. No students today- just 'working' in our classrooms(yea, right- karaoke party in a teacher's room, dogs coming to spend the day with us, and just wandering the hallways). Yes, some people are working- but its more of cleanup/get grades in/wish everyone a great holiday day.

Ok- I'll write more in Fresno...and apologies again for not blogging- life got in the way.

Reading for Fun...

2008-12-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm one of those 'weird' people that likes to read for fun. Now a days, more and more people don't like to read because of the internet, video games, and TV, but I love reading if I have time and there is nothing to do. In my overwhelmed state of my head today, I decided to say "F-it" and read my Kindle. My Kindle, for those that don't know, is my new toy that I bought myself late October and now is somewhat an addiction. Basically, it's an electronic book that is linked with Amazon so that if you want to read a book- it wirelessly downloads it and within a minute, you have it. No going out to the bookstore, no dealing with parking/etc/lazyness. Also, the prices are usually less than 10 dollars and in the end, you save a lot money(even though you put up $300 bucks in the beginning).

Ok, now that I'm done with that advertisement, since October, two things that have peaked my reading interest. One- the Twilight series. I first heard of it through an old co-worker last year and she was pretty much begging me to read them. I was like, um, yea, not into vampire stories and it sounds weird. Then, my sister promoted it as well and then I was pretty sold since she knows what I like. Warning- once you read one, you will finish all 4-700 page books within a week- its that addicting. I think its the way she(Stephanie Meyer) writes it and how its such a great love story. I didn't like the film- but thats another story.

Another addiction for reading is Nicholas Sparks. You're probably like, who? He wrote "The Notebook", "Walk to Remember", "Nights in Rodanthe", and "Message in a Bottle". I can't get enough of his books. I've now read pretty much every one that he has written. I'm a sucker for a classic love story and anything that has to do with rights of passage. No, this isn't Harlequin romance stuff- if you've watched any of those movies, you know what I'm talking about. So, tonight I read "The Wedding" by him and loved it-as always. My last book by him unless I want to read "The Notebook" and "Walk to Remember" even though I've seen the movie. Now, I have to find something else to read...

I think my love for reading really started with my mom. My mom used to read to us and encourage us to read a lot versus watching TV. My mom wouldn't let us watch TV after 9pm and so it forced us to read the books that we wanted to so that we wouldn't get bored. My sister/I read "Babysitters Club", "Sweet Valley Twins", and then when we were older, one of our family friends gave us a whole box of "Sweet Valley High" and we thought we were hot stuff because we were now older/wiser to read it. At one point, my sister/I even made a library complete with a check-out system and were pretty strict about it. Yes, I guess we were reading nerds to a point...haha.

Now, that I'm older, I read when I'm on vacation. I'm a big fan of "chic lit" and read it constantly-- Sex and the City type books, Bridget Jones's Diary type books. No, I don't read anything serious(unless you count some Oprah's Book Club books) because then it takes the 'fun' out of reading. Yes, its awkward when I tell people I read, and then they ask what- and then I reply "Chic Lit" but hey, at least I'm reading right? That's the important thing.

Ok- it's getting late and I need to rest to give out some more finals for the kiddies. Hope everyone had a good Tuesday!