Tim and Matt

My good friend Tim is now dating a new guy named Matt. Matt had his birthday earlier this week so Tim surprised him by flying the two of them out from New Jersey for a long weekend. I met up with the two of them in front of the Hotel Monaco on Geary Avenue. It was a whirlwind trip up and down the many hills of San Francisco. First stop, Russian Hill, then we trekked over to Telegraph Hill. We went to Crissy Field and walked along the path to Fort Point. Along the way, the conversation turned to Las Vegas and craps. I taught Matt the basics of craps. We then walked across a portion of the Golden Gate Bridge. As you can see, the weather was beautiful and picture perfect. It's days like today that make living in San Francisco so grand.

Tim A. and Matt S.

Following the Golden Gate Bridge, we had lunch at a dive Mexican place in the Richmond. The fact that it looked like it was formerly a Chinese Food restaurant should have been my first clue that we should have gone to the Mission for Mexican. Overall, the food was alright, but man we could have gotten better in the Mission.

After a driveby of the Calfornia of the Legion of Honor and then to Fort Miley in Lincoln Park. Fort Miley is as close to the end of the world as one can get even in San Francisco. It is located in the very NW corner of the city of San Francisco. The views back towards the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the Marin Highlands are such deep and stunning example of the amazing enviroment we had and still have in California.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Marin Headlands, preserved for antiquity by the foresight of our ancestors and their leaders.

David Sedaris

Sedaris' latest

I spent this evening being entertained by the one and ONLY David Sedaris. Yes, he does sound exactly like he does on the radio. His impression of his brother are too funny to convey in any form on this medium. Thanks Kristin Dwelley for a great evening.

Humble Pie

9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. 9th graders are 13/14/15 year olds. I, at 34, am the adult.


You get the point, but sometimes I forget that the students I teach are in that middle area between childhood and adulthood. They are doing their best to hold it together and act like adults, but the impulse to be children and act before thinking is always bubbling beneath the surface.

So what is this post all about? My "meltdown" occurred in my Honors Geometry class which meets Monday G Block (last period 2:30PM-3:20PM). It was the end of a long day for all parties, myself most certainly included. In class, we were working on proving different properties of isosceles triangles. It is tedious and at the same time confusing to keep track of what are the pieces of information that we know and what are the things we are trying to prove.

As is always the case, there are a good majority of students who understand the material on the first go around and those who don't. I make a case of going over new material at least twice. The class in general was rowdy, there were questions being asked from all parts of the room, the protocol of hand-raising was completely out the window. I will admit that as the teacher, I shouldn't ever let classroom decorum degenerate to this level. In addition, freshman boys being the 14 year old "dorks" that they are, were goofing off in the back of the room. The chaos of the room was growing as the minutes passed. I gave what I thought was a pretty stern warning to all members of the class that we needed to restore a hospitable learning environment. That lasted less than a minute but I kept trying to teach through the craziness. All of a sudden two of the boys are falling out of their seats trying to grab something. I turn around and immediately say "OUT" and point towards the door. The two boys, Troy C and Greg W, were totally stunned. The rest of the class was as well. They had never seen me lose my cool, although if you ask some of the older students who have had me in the past they will tell you I have a pretty solid track record of losing it.

So, today, I wore a tie to school. It was my reminder to myself that I am the adult and that I need to be the one to handle situations in a mature and professional manner. The students are kids and sometimes it's just who they are. Before class, I apologized to Greg and Troy individually in the hall. In class today, I apologized to the entire class for my behavior and admitted that I was wrong. What was kind of interesting to me was the look of complete wonder the students had on their faces when I gave my apology. Perhaps they had never seen a teacher be contrite.

The bonus of all this? Whenever I throw a "tantrum" the kids in that class are on their best behavior for about three days before things return to their normal equilibrium. I'm going to take advantage of my temporary upper hand!!

Cameo by sister

It sounds like a painting, doesn't it? Well, it's actually what happened tonight. My sister flew into town tonight so she could attend a seminar here in San Francisco tomorrow. We had dinner with her college roommate, Melody, at Eliza's on California Street. It was truly and drop-in and drop-out hour and a half, but it's always great to see my sister, Marlene. Funny stories about Mom and Dad? Yes, they were shared. That's all you get to know.

Marlene and Melody