February 2005

02.28.05, Monday:

[11:30pm] What an absolutely wonderful, restful day...=) I was at work until 5ish, and after, stopped by the gym to play on the Elliptical, which I haven't been on for a while. The main motivation to go though? To read while I'm on it! I am reading "Rain of Gold", and my goodness, I can't put this book down!!! It even mentions the city of Corona in it, as that's where one the character's family is at. In fact, it's a true story...and Victor Villasenor has this wonderful way of putting words together that just captures the entire story perfectly. I ain't done with it yet, hee hee...I stopped by the gym yesterday evening too, after finishing my lesson planning (the day seemed long and slow...very nice...), and that's when I started the book. I'm on page 283, hee hee. =)

I've hardly put this book down since I came home today, hee hee...I haven't graded this past week's work at all, though I did grade most of the make up work after school while helping out some kids. =P Oy, my kids are crazy already - last week alone, two of my good students somehow were involved with bringing a knife to school and one of them held it up to another kid, pretending to threaten another kid who ended up reporting it; another was caught stealing rock salt from the back of my room (I have this big bag that I have, well, nowhere to put, so it's the back cupboard area, safely hidden, but I guess he found it when sent to the back one day?), and he was really sorry about it; two kids withdrawn from the class; Star Party rescheduled to sometime in April; one girl that was sent to the office with a referral by my sub on Tuesday for saying a cuss word, only to find out she said it because some other kids were teasing her and saying she had no nipples, but then as it turned out, she was twisting the nipples of a male student, and the parents of all those involved were outraged at each other and the kids about it (while I had no idea because my sub only knew the last part; most of it happened before they came in the class, so I couldn't get much details from him). Sigh. But everything is pretty much fixed and calmed down for now...and I have La Lluvia de Oro to read, so all is good...^_^

This weekend was fun! Saturday, I got to see Edwin, who's back on the westside for some interviews. Dorothy, Lorraine, Gilbert, Shelton, my bro and I joined him for lunch at Earthen Restaurant down in RH (mmm! Green onion pancake galore!), and afterwards (minus Lorraine), we went to the Pacific Palms and played on the driving ranges for a bit. Edwin was going to stay at DVD's that night, so we went there for some basketball (swinging for Dorothy and I...it was cold...we both got nauseous on the swings! I think it was the cold, or else we're both getting old, hee hee...), Texas Hold 'Em, Pizza, and Mah-Jong. Fun fun! ^_^ Bye Edwin - sorry I couldn't see you off on Sunday night...come again soon! ^_^

Sunday was church...busy as usual...though I've decided that there's no reason why I should be spending my Sunday lunchtimes running around anymore. I can't even just sit down, enjoy my lunch and fellowship with my fellow homies in Christ. So the decision to resign the title as "Youth Leader" makes sense to me...no more stressing over details, crying over things not working out, or whatever...I'm still me, and still there, and still helping out and advising, but not as "official" Youth Leader. I'll probably still go to events, still mentor and be someone they can ask questions for, still chill and hang out and do those Girls Night Out days, but the title won't be there, and responsibilities will be spread out waaaaaay much more because there's no way that any one person can do what I'm doing, have this much responsibility, and still remain happy and serving. And I've been doing it for the past 7 years. Does that make any sense? I'll send out a email that makes more sense to clarify any questions that the youth may have, yep. I myself was still perplexed and saddened by the "resignation", but I've come to realized it's not like it's me being gone from them. Perhaps the words "resignation" wasn't right. Perhaps it should be "reorganization", like my cousin Paul said. Which, by the way - thanks for all those that have called/emailed/given me tissue or whatever to support, comfort, or advise me - even Mello (actually, her mom!), who gave me a ride back home when I had no ride home yesterday! ^_^

Junko did show up at RCAC though! Awesome! And yes, we can cafe afterwards...mmm....definitely!!! ^_^

02.25.05, Friday:

[06:30am] I love 25s! ^_^ Happy 25! ^_^

• Edwin is here for the weekend! Woot woot! ^_^
• The full moon in the morning is awesome!
• I keep waking up late...this week, I kept waking up after 6am. =P
• Gosh, how could I not post it? Being busy is no excuse! Happy Birthday Huy (for the 18th!)! ^_^ Hopefully...those packages get there...it's got fun stuff for you...! ^_^
• Just had a veggie and meat bao for breakfast. Baos are wonderful Chinese inventions. Similar to the American sandwich,the Mexican empanadas, and the Italian calzones. Packets filled with yummy goods. Actually, there's a lot of Chinese packet-type foods, besides baos: won-tons and dumplings of all sorts. Yum!
• Actually, the Chinese "jong" (sticky rice wrapped in leaves) is like the Mexican tamale...and the Greek dolmades. Hee hee. =) Food is good everywhere (though I'm biased for Chinese food.)! ^_^
• I really am not a biiig fan of country music. Some is nice, especially the more "modern" ones, but most of it, like the traditional ones, I've heard at my high school much too much. Yep. Norco High. Where I still can't forget that people were comparing how many laces high their boots were, comparing belt buckles, and cowboy hats. Sigh. =)

02.22.05, Tuesday:

[07:26pm] A long week indeed...! In short, for last week through today:

• Star Party was cancelled, so at the moment, coordinating a rain date with RAS for our annual stargazing night...
• Thursday night = madness due to to final preparations for Winter Camp, Friday's lesson, and today's sub plans.
• Friday after school = to Big Bear! 6 Hour Drive! It wasn't so bad, with lots of good snacks (courtesy of Vanessa and Amy) and good music to sing to in the car...but yeah...60 miles in 6 hours??? That was like a 10 mph drive up there. We arrived a little after midnight, and searched a bit to find people to tell us where to sleep for the night, and move things in. By the time we finished settling in and slept, it was about 3am.
• Saturday - Sunday: Winter Camp! Snowing all weekend, lots of praise, fellowship and fun in the snow! Campers included Theo, Josh, Chris, Ian, Jason, Thomas H., Vanessa, Amy, Tiffany, Allie, Anna, Megan and Autumn. Mello, Thomas, Calvin and I were the counselors for the weekend. It was neat with my student there - I got to know her a little bit better as an individual, and she was completely prepared with everything - she had snow clothes and boots, and a hair dryer with her, which was a lifesaver, hee hee...everyone used it to dry EVERYTHING...from shoes to gloves, socks, pants, jackets, beanies, everything! Heh heh. There was SO much beautiful snow...you'll have to see the pictures to check it out. =) Calvin has pictures too! ^_^
• Oh! Speaking of pictures, Valentine's Day pictures are online too. ^_^
• Yesterday was a day off - President's Day, to be exact. So I took my mom to the doctor's down in OC for the morning, and she got new medicine for her blood pressure (I was worried as heck before leaving for camp. Things are smoother now, and I hope it gets better...!), so we'll see how this works. We also stopped by Sam Woo's in Irvine to pick up some lunch. My goodness, that whole center is all remodeled and fancy lookin'. Wow. And JJ's has a Cafe too, only they don't serve any jook for breakfast. =P They have the Chinese Donuts (yow za gwei) and Green Onion Pancake things though. =)
• Came home, and here was my dear, dear Shelton, back from Las Vegas! It is always so good to see him...thank you for putting up with my stressfulness yesterday...! ^_^
• I've made a big decision...for seven years, it's been part of who I am...but the past few years have been tough...my goodness, when people say they are "too busy" to go to church, attend youth events, etc...it usually (usually, because some people have real excuses, and it's not due to procrastination, etc...) bugs me because I know that hey, I'm the one that's busier than most of them by a long shot, and they're using some lame excuse in attempt to be polite instead of just saying the truth ("I don't want to go because...", or "This is the real problem...").  But yeah, it's been too much, and despite my concerns and worries, I've decided...and I thank those that have let me talk to them about it, ha ha, and have shown me comfort (because it's a choice that I struggled with deeply!) and support. Especially my mom, hee hee, who was hilarious in her...ahem..."method" of support, shall I say? =)
• Perhaps with that decision, I can make it to church clean-up. I know that attendance there sucks. I haven't been able to make it because of time, but now, perhaps I can. I feel really bad for those that are doing it every time, even if rarely anyone shows up. I really admire those that do that.
• Good news! Gilbert's mom is awake and conscious, and recovering well. She's still at UCLA for now, but hopefully, she'll be fully healthy again soon. Praise the Lord indeed! ^_^
• Today, I was not at school - out for a workshop with the district. The workshop this time was actually quite good - we had a lot of great discussion, and lots of ideas were thrown out that could be implemented rather quickly into the classroom. That last time I went, it was more of a few teachers arguing with the presenters, and at least this time, it was more of everyone collaborating, sharing ideas, and coming up with new ideas to try out. It was great! ^_^ And I went back to my classroom - my students were well behaved, minus three of them whose names were written down. AWESOME! ^_^
• The rain is crazy! I don't know if I like it THAT much anymore...=P
• I finally made a Jeopardy Board for the classroom. I've wanted to make one since fooorever! Anyways, it's all done, and I'll bring it to school soon. Hopefully, we can use it soon - that's my plan anyways! =)

02.15.05, Monday:

[06:28pm] Yesterday was...THE BEST...!!!...Valentine's Day ever! Hee hee. That, or well, it was my first "real" Valentine's Day anyways, because I was lucky enough to celebrate it with that special, dear someone, hee hee. =) I went out to play with Shelton, and we stumbled upon a Hong Kong style cafe place for lunch in Alhambra. Mmm. I had some yummy fish and creamy corn rice dish, and he had his long-awaited pork chop ketchup rice, hee hee. =) Then we were off to the California ScienCenter to check out the Body Worlds 2 exhibit! Such a nerdy, lovely trip of science. =) Afterwards, we meandered all over Exposition Park. Though everything had closed by then (it was around 5pm), we still had fun taking silly pictures all around...which aren't up on my computer yet.  ^_^

My one day of relaxation was then spent down at the Irvine Spectrum, where Shelton gave me the option of either ThaiFoon or Cheesecake Factory for dinner. How could I choose any other? Cheesecake Factory it is...the yummiest American-style food I've ever had...our stomachs were filled with a yummy Spicy Ahi Tempura Roll,  Chicken Madeira and Chicken Piccata...and of course, Tiramisu! ^_^ Jason & Nolan, this twin electric violin duo, were playing on the street areas, and they were really good...! I'm contemplating the CD. ^_^ The Spectrum continues to get bigger and bigger...I do have to admit that I still like it though. Perhaps I am, as always, biased and loyal to places that I've worked at. =)

I was invited to Puerto Nuevo, "the most visited gastronomic center in the world", by some fellow colleagues at school next month. What a title! How can I not resist? So I'm really, really contemplating visiting "The Lobster Village", hee hee...We'd even stay at that Grand Baja Resort! Niiiiice. =)

Ah yes...Hotel Rwanda...such a powerful movie, and still a burning fire in my bones too...!

Okay...back to grading...

02.14.05, Monday:

[08:56am] Happy Valentine's Day! ^_^ If anything...head out to See's Candies and ask for that Awesome Nut and Chew Bar, ha ha...a Vday gift all for yourself! ^_^

My goodness...such a busy weekend...I really need to stop the busy-ness one day. I think though, that it's almost impossible...but anyways, that is a completely different matter altogether, so I shan't discuss it here. =P

My sickness is getting better, and gradually so as the days pass, and that's woooonderful! ^_^ Friday night was full of pre-weekend craziness, but my bro decided to have me watch Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with him. I liked it! I liked the Batman-esque graphics...they should make a Batman movie in that style, hee hee...but yeah, I do recommend! Then later on, Shelton came over and after almost finishing my grading, we watched that new Jackie Chan movie (out in Asia), New Police Story. I didn't like the first half quite so much - it had a feeling like Battle Royale, where people were dying, but as if it was just a game, without honor nor justifiably killed like in the usual kung-fu flicks. I really didn't like the bad guys. But then the second half was better, with good triumphing in the end, and that made me happy. =) So, mixed feelings on the movie. =P

Saturday hit, and Shelton and I went to RCAC for the Chinese New Year festivities of sharing and songs, adults and children in shiny traditional garbs, more than a thousand and one dumplings, and even traditional clay figurines by Kevin! Kevin made a few figures, including the Hulk (complete with muscles and facial features!) and a rooster for the year! He made the clay himself, out of flour, dye, oil, and some other ingredients. He's such the artist, and even had some displays of his sketches and paintings! ^_^

During the festivities, I discovered that about 5 more kids were coming over for the sleepover/cookout...sigh...that's why I ask for an RSVP...so I can prepare food, home and stuff...So after church, Amy and Tiffany jumped into my car and we were off to Albertson's to buy a bit more food, hee hee...I finished my grading and did final clean-ups while they watched Sky Captain, and eventually, we started on cookies. We wanted to try out Amy's new "Cookie Master" machine, hee hee...it didn't work very well, but soon enough, we had more help than needed to shape and create our own cookies! Allie...Vanessa...Tony and Tina...Megan and Mello...and later Thomas H...soon, more than enough people to make colorful cookies in the shapes of trombones, music notes, faces, hearts, stars, and all kinds of shapes with their own two hands. =) Mello helped me out with cooking dinner (Thanks girlie! Shelton did too!), and we feasted on one of those signature egg/potato omelette thing, chicken, salad, rice casserole and dessert (ice cream). The kids got to work afterwards, preparing all the food for the fundraiser, and they really did a great job! It was nonstop action for the night - making the filling for crab rangoons, and stuffing them in the won ton wrappers, making meatballs for spaghetti, boiling spaghetti noodles, chopping veggies, splitting puff pastry, spreading the meat onto tortillas, and so on. When we finally finished, we watched Princess Diaries 2, ate our Strawberry Napoleons, changed and slept (sorta, for most of these kids! They were talking for a long time, hee hee!) for the night.

Sunday morning...actually getting up took a while (Anthony required some pillow knocking to get up. ^_^)...but once we were up, we had our breakfast (strawberries and cream waffles, and pizza for some, heh heh...we ran out of waffles...=P), packed up the cars and were off to church! Our fundraiser was awesome! The kids all worked well, and we cooked up a storm of food!

-Mrs. Heng's Triangles (deep fried tortilla things) // Crab Rangoons // Vermicelli Soup with veggies and meat // Spinach and Bacon salad // Lasagna // Mabo Tofu // Spaghetti and Meatballs // Roast Chicken // Strawberry Napoleons // Pizza // and some more...I'm quite sure...^_^ I didn't get so much to eat though, because I had to run around and do this and that. But I did get a few triangles. Mmm. ^_^

-Extras included some Cake, Egg Roll (actual egg rolled with fish paste. Mmm.), roasted pork meat and some vermicelli-veggie plate.

Lots of food...! And we banked in $410! Woot woot! ^_^ All that moolah is going to help with Winter Camp costs. Yay! ^_^ We had a lot of guests today as well, including the Ludwigs. These people have two daughters - and they're like two of the most gentlee, nicest, sweetest kids that I've met. You can so tell that they were raised well, and it's always nice to see people like this when you look out, as a teacher anyways, and see all kinds of crazy family situations where kids have completely no stability nor support nor guidance. Despite how crazy our world is, there is always going to be those that shine light in it - there are many of those people around, but unfortunately, our world seems to always focus on the wrong ones. So it's nice to be reminded every now and then...and part of why RCAC is so nice is because you can see this almost always going on with many of the families there! =) Part of what God can give is that stability. As we talked about in Sunday School yesterday, He is Relational...Righteous...and a Ruler. Without one of these three, what kind of God would He be? It would certainly affect us, no doubt...!

I couldn't go home afterwards, as much as I wanted to rest...the Governing Board meeting was on, but I couldn't attend because of the fundraiser, so I had to hand Grace and Pastor a bunch of things for the meeting. After cleaning up at the kitchen, there was still Praise Practice, so I did go to that, and that lasted for quite some time...Finally, I got to go home, and stopped by Target to let me relax a bit, as well as take care of some errands, hee hee. =) At home, I finally ate a lunch, around 4:30pm. I dilly-dallied at home, doing very little, when instead, I should have been lesson planning.

So, even though last night, I made a PowerPoint and video presentation for students on Tuesday, I still have to plan out the rest of the week. I just might have to do that while going out today, somehow! Heh heh...I have ideas, and know basically what I want to teach...so it shouldn't be too difficult at all. =)

02.09.05, Wednesday:

[09:06pm] Aghhhh! Free me now from sickness! Oy...>_< Bleah. Being sick sucks...I'm just sitting here, waiting for the Progress Reports to print out. Each time, it takes several hours for all 180 of them to come out of the printer. At least I'm compensated for ink, right? =) Anyways, so I thought I'd blog.

Shall I talk more about how sick I am? Briefly: It's gotten worse today! Not the cough, but the nose. My students were like, Dang...Ms. Lau, your nose is so red! Are you sick??? Yeah. Sigh. And the runny nose, which has been going nuts, has blocked up my sinuses...which makes for a headache...and later a slight fever...which doesn't help much with my usual teacher-energy in the classroom...and yeah, I'm alllll messed up. I feel so helpless...sigh...always good to be reminded that we need Him, right? ^_^

However, good things happened today too!

• Short day at school today...so I left as soon as I could to come home and nap away a bit. We really should designate nap-time in the Post-Kindergarten Era, right? I'm sure it'd be healthy for all adults to take short naps during the day...like how Spanish countries indulge in siestas. However, I remember that my roommate from Spain, when I was in Beijing, would nap when we'd go play in the afternoon/evening, and be out late-late-late and always would be late - or close to late - to class in the morning. Sarita would nap for a long time though - it was like she slept in the afternoon, and napped at night. Napping and sleeping are quite different.
• At least I have quite an appetite, unlike yesterday! I ate two bowls of rice for dinner, and lots of what good stuff that my mom always finds a way to whip up in half an hour for dinner. She's the best cook I know! =)
• Mr. Hague, my favorite of favorites (it's so funny that many of the students are scared of him, or think he's horrible. He's the nicest person EVER, a thorough teacher, and always is considerate for those around him. He watches out for me always, and of course, makes the best chocolate chip cookies and apple cider. ^_^), blessed me with a Chinese New Year gift!!! So awesome of him to remember! ^_^ He came in the morning and brightened it up immediately by giving me a big book of China photography. It was cool, as I recognized a few places that I was at this past summer! His note inside: "May this book bring out your wonderful smile which brightens everyone's day. You are a brave person for sharing your lunch with students. May the year of the Rooster be good to you." Isn't he another one of those wonderful people that the world should have more of? =)
• Ha ha! So what if I'm 26? I still get those little red envelopes for Chinese New Year! So I raked in a few bucks today. Handy, as I'm running low on cash. =)
• I tried convincing my mom to get me a dog today, hee hee...after all...dog on Chinese New Year = good luck, right? So what if it's not a stray that just happened to pass by our house? =) But of course, she said no. My uncle piped in that it should be a chicken, seeing as it's the Year of the Rooster. That didn't work either. =)
• Just maybe, all this will be over soon, and this weekend would be rejuvenating and fun, right? Yep. The bright side of things. =)

[05:42am] With tissue stuffed up my nose, I greet you Happy Chinese New Year! ^_^

I've been taking Tussin DM since Saturday for my cough - my dad found something that was Doctor Recommended and Alcohol Free. Hee hee. So it's been working well to suppress coughs.  However, since then, my nose has been running much more, and last night, my mom had me take Sudafed on top of the cough medicine. Well, you can just imagine the effects of that. I was drowsy like a fat boy loves cake...drowsy during our New Year's Eve dinner and not very hungry, though I ate. Like how I will eat our dumpling breakfast (yum! I smell it downstairs!) even though I'm not that hungry right now. I'm not drowsy anymore though - how can I be, when I went to sleep around 9-ish, and woke up at 1am and 3am and now 5am to blow my nose? *sigh* No more double medicining. My dad suggest this allergy medicine, but I read the back and it says "may cause drowsiness", sooooo...

This is when I do wish I had a wider nose, hee hee. It's got no bridge, and it's little, and I don't mind my button nose, but if it was wider now, perhaps it'd be easier to breath, despite the stuffy nose. Maybe not. =) I think I just wish my nasal cavity would stop producing this immense amount of, well, snot. =(

Hopefully, it will ease up by this Saturday, when the youth come over for our sleepover and cookout.

I think I have to stop by the store this morning, and pick up some cough drops...not so much for the cough, as that's so much better now, but so it can keep my nose clear, heh heh...at least it's an easy couple of days at work. The kids are writing their summarization paragraphs, which is nice for me, as I've graded everything and simply need to make sure they're okay during the writing. The hard part is grading afterwards (killer weekend), and taking time to get Friday's slide show ready. Since we're writing about the Huygens probe, I thought it'd be nice to show them some pictures taken from the probe and what-not. After all, it'd be nice to see what they're writing about really had produced, you know? =)

Is it still wise to go to the gym? I think I still will. At least for some light ellipticalling, if not Super Street. It always feels nice to at least have done something, ha ha...at least it keeps my walking fix in check. =)

02.05.05, Saturday:

[07:49pm] Kung Pow - such a strange movie...heh heh...Simon, Shelton and my bro are downstairs watching it. I'll return shortly. =)

I took Nyquil this morning, when I couldn't sleep after getting up at 4am, because of this cough. I was knocked out until past 11:30 this morning! Oy! I've been woozy all day, heh heh...after grading everything, Shelton let me take a nice, nice nap, and he cooked dinner for us here at home. Wow. =) He made pan-fried tofu, of all things, topped with mushrooms, and pan-fried spam and corn. Hee hee. Isn't he the best? ^_^

Okay, back to Kung Pow. =)

02.03.05, Thursday:

[10:00pm] Oh. My. Goodness. I just watched Hotel Rwanda, and it was and is one of THE BEST movies I've seen in a long time. I mean, from the moment it started, I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen, and it was as if I was right there with the main character, feeling his emotions of hope, despair and determination, seeing the suffering and sadness...and realizing that it's based on something that really did happen. In fact, it all happened when I was like 16 years old, completely unaware of Rwanda and probably focusing on AP History and other school books instead of the pain and injustice that was going on in the lives of children and adults on the other side of the world.

If you haven't seen it, or heard of it...go see it. I really do recommend it...there wasn't a moment of me thinking this or that was too long or boring, and every second of the story showed something important. The genocide, hatred, selfishness and yeah...it was certainly a movie that pulled at your guts. Did my eyes tear up? Indeed it did! I was relieved that I wasn't the only one sad - that it wasn't only me that had tears running down my face at times - after I talked to the rest of our group after the movie.

I had a crazy day - left my cell phone at home, and didn't know it till way too late to call Heidi up. Didn't get directions for Heidi's work off my email because somehow, I had missed it. Had to run around campus and find someone with email since my internet connection is dead in my room for the time being, and the library was closed by then. And when I finally got to a computer, I realized I'd be late, so I got to the movies, missed the trailers, and got to it RIGHT when the movie was about to start. Couldn't find the gang because the lights dimmed within a minute of me getting there, so I just sat by myself...but that was actually pretty cool. I've never sat by myself in a movie theater. I think in any other movie, it'd been weird, but THIS particular movie had me captivated, and I didn't mind that I was by myself in the least. =)

After, Heidi, Julie, Sue and I went to eat at Taj Mahal. Heh heh.

Other than that though, the students were fine, and we have a quiz tomorrow...which equals little work for me. =) I was supposed to norm with the other science teachers today after school - half of them forgot. Again. So, forget the norming, I guess. =P

02.02.05, Wednesday:

[09:59pm] OH yeah. Really important. =) While at the mall, I was teaching Angela tricks on getting free things. For example, we got pins from Helzberg's for free. They didn't have any english "I Am Loved" ones, but they did have spanish ones: "Soy Amada". ^_^

Then we went to See's Candies, to get a sample chocolate. They had these signs on their window for a new thing, a "Awesome Nut and Chew Bar", featuring Chewy Honey Nougat with Almonds covered in Dark Chocolate. Mmm. So we asked for a sample, and they gave us a WHOLE BAR instead. My goodness! So we were quite happy with our free finds.

Tempting enough to go back tomorrow, just to get more free stuff...hee hee...^_^

[07:44pm] The second day of February, also filled with many surprises! =) Why am I not blogging this onto my gummychild.com website? I think it's cuz I'm too lazy to set up a new archive page for the month. Must do so soon. And I think I will have to copy and paste these two February entries onto there, because I like these - and I usually reserve the best ones for my website. =)

Ah, so more details of the fight from yesterday was presented today at the staff meeting. Turns out that it wasn't a 20, 21 year old - it was a 19 year old. And he went to pick up his sister from school, but instead, the sister took him ON campus and around, pointing out the girls that were problematic. Words were somehow exchanged, and next thing you knew, he was beating down on them. Other kids that jumped in weren't jumping in to fight - in fact, they were jumping in to help out that girl that was in the headlock! As a result, none of them were suspended (though it's no surprise that K, the sister, was suspended and looking into a transfer. I wouldn't go back to this school either if I was her!), which I actually feel is pretty fair.

The kids actually, from what I heard, chased the man into the literacy center (good going! That, or he ran into there to allude all of them.), where other teachers were holding him in there by guarding the door. There were times when he wanted out, and the teachers (big ones, like John Smith) held the door closed. At the same time, the girl that got beat had her Mexican brothers and friends out in the car, who at one point came on campus looking for the guy, wanting him beat dead. There were allegations of a gun on one of them - but one of the teachers on campus took a bunch of pics with his digicam, and authorities believed it was a cell phone in the pants pocket. =P

They stayed in the car, off campus, for a while, until way later. Police came and took the 19 year old away on handcuffs, and charges will be filed by the family of the girl that got beat. The 19 year old is not in custody...but danged if he ever stepped foot on campus again, eh? Did I ever mention that right before he hit the girl, he did yell out that he hated all Mexicans? What a statement to make to get a mainly Hispanic school into a frenzy!

What else happened today? Some parent called, and is accusing me of losing many, many assignments of his son's, and is, as his ex-wife says, trying to get me fired. I have the support of my principal fully (LD has been REALLY supportive and nice this year. So strange!). His ex-wife (this is a difficult situation, because I have both sides of the family calling me all the time. Bleah.) is more reasonable, and says that that dad does the same thing EVERY year. EVERY year, this student, who by the way is never a problem - just that his grade has been slipping, and I've been calling parents every week or two about it, and emailing WEEKLY about it - has the same pattern of doing well the first few months of school, and then slipping during the second trimester, from since Kindergarden, according to the ex-wife. The dad would blame the teacher every year.

The kid talked to me at lunch. He admits that he hadn't turn in his work, and that it's him, and not my fault. We searched every nook and cranny for ANY of his papers and found none, because he hadn't turned any in. He knows this, and admits it, and yet, his dad doesn't seem to believe it. The kid has done work, as I've seen him work on it in class - but it hasn't been turned in for the paast few weeks at all. He says there are things going on, but I didn't press the issue, as he didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, though I think he was quite relieved when I talked to him one on one, explaining to him that I'm not angry at him or anything.

Anyways, meeting with principal, crazy dad and stepmom who probably is taking his side, and reasonable ex-wife, and the kid, sometime next Monday. =P

After work, I went to the mall to see if I could find me a bunch of those I Am Loved pins at Helzberg Diamonds. I give them to my students around Valentine's Day. On my way out, I ran into Angela! Awesome! She's a new math teacher this year, but she was there last year as a student teacher, under Mr. Hague. So instead, I stayed with her and we shopped at the mall. Shopping with her is horrible - I ended up getting a few pieces of jewelry (on sale. Whew.) and a watch. I KNOW...I have too many watches...but this one, I liked, and it was on super-sale...and Angela made me do it! Her fault! ^_^ j/k...hee hee...she's cool. A geek. And geeks and nerds make good friends. ^_^

I came home, and got some nice things in the mail too! One is Jenn's wedding invitation - wonder if I should go...?

The other was a card - suuuuuuuch a nice card, purchased from Target: this is why I love my boyfriend so much, ha ha ha. ^_^ My dreams are not limited - you're part of them. ^_^

02.01.05, Tuesday:

[10:56pm] What a looong day...not a bad day at all - just nonstop long, and I just realized it's almost my bedtime, and I'm not even halfway done...!

The first of February consisted of:

-Me getting up late this morning (slept really well last night)

-Finding that Chinese thing (poem? thoughts? lyrics?) on your xanga, and slowly deciphering it. Hee hee. My Chinese is still sucky. =) Aw...maybe you can sleep early tonight, and rest well. No midterm tomorrow, right? =)

-Parent showing up early for parent meeting this morning. She got there like 5 minutes after I got into my classroom!

-The lucky thing? Our schedules are a little whacked for this week, so there's no Zero period. Which means our day starts at first period - my conference period.

-Somehow, my name was written down to volunteer to work on our school's new Eagle Chats thing during first period. I had only signed up for Thursday, not today. So I had to tell Coe that I couldn't do it. His response? If I feel that there are things more important to do at this time (yes, dang it! Prepare last minute things for my lesson today!), then I can use my professional judgement to do that instead. So I did, and got lots done. =) Melissa, wonderful as she is, said that many teachers didn't even sign up to help, so I shouldn't feel the least guilty, and Cassandra said the same thing. =)

-Day went well and smoothly. No problems with the kids, and lunch was limited to those with passes. =)

-Right after school, two of my kids were involved in one of THE craziest fights I've ever heard of. One girl, K, was having trouble with some other girls, so she called her brother to come over. Her brother did. Some words were exchanged, and next thing you know, the bro has one of the other girls in a headlock and *BANG* punches her on the head! Of course, B, another one of my students - I like her particularly, because though she's a little gangsta' and quiet at the same time, she's always up for what's right, and has a strong sense of justice - jumps in to help the poor girl, and before you know it, some big fight has broken out. The part that got me? The brother that came to help after school? He was like..20 or 21 years old! Pick on someone your own size, man...=P So the cops were at our school, he was handcuffed, and well, they were there until I left around 6:30 tonight. =P

-Skipped the gym tonight. =( Sad. But too much to grade. Uh oh. Can't let myself get into that mode, or else I'll neeeever go, right?

-Contemplating a pair of flats I saw at Payless Shoes Monday night (I stopped by there after stopping by Food 4 Less, to get snacks for my students), ha ha...they're $8! Ha ha! Kinda crotchet-y, and this bright turquoise blue. Good for the beach. Like in Hawaii.  Only I don't really even having a bathing suit, so I should think of that first, I guess. Maybe. =)

-Another parent meeting (actually, the whole entire family came!) after school, with a few more kids there after to get help. At least I got the week's grading done. Just summarizations (results cycle work) to do.

-I got home, to find that my parents weren't home yet. They had a crazy day too, as my mom was told to work overtime last minute, and my dad waited in the car for several hours...and then they had to drive home, which took several hours...=P

-I started grading the Summarizations. Screw that last week, we didn't get to norm, and were supposed to norm today after school, only it got pushed back to Thursday, and that my kids won't get their summarizations till it's too late and almost meaningless to help them do better on the next one. =P However, I'm not even halfway through these. Sigh. And with no help here, I'm thinking of changing the lesson for tomorrow and part of Thursday. Maybe I'll give it back to the kids, ungraded, and we can go over some of them and work on them. At the least, it will be constructive and meaningful for them, instead of throwing it back at them and then giving them another one, their final one, to do all of a sudden, right?

-Takako called me. Yay! It's interesting - she's about to be married sometime this year, and she's talking about the people she hangs out with - others that are married, or about to be married too. Does one's social structure change so dramatically when one reaches that state?  (well, in her case, most of the people around her, or at her church , ARE married/coupled off already, so this statement is not directed at her. More of a general observation.) If I ever get to this stage, I hope not completely so. I still want to keep my friends - all of them, those of them that are single, and those that are not! =)

-Now my dad is starting to cough too. Sigh. Coughs...are no fun...=(

-Oh yes! I'd love to pick you up on Thursday and check out your cubicle! Hotel Rwanda...! So excited! Oh! Where? When? What time? Email me the details! Yay! =)

-LV Melody, you should come out here, and we can hunt for a ballroom dancing place, ha ha! =) And then go out into some field and catch a horse to ride, hee hee hee...=)

-I suppose I should shower, and think about what to do for tomorrow's for lesson, since I'm thinking it's better to change it...=P

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