We all know them. We love them individually, but in a group, they are a true terror. When they are together they can create a storm, almost hurricane-like, of noise and outlandish, boorish behavior. Who is this? The 9th grade boy, of course. This year's 9th grade class has, like every class, a group of these boys. It's just my luck that I teach every single one of them, but compound that, I have them all in the same section. There are eight of these boys along with seven girls in one of my sections of Geometry.
The second week into class, there was a day in which the boys were all clustered on one side of the room, being themselves and I was having difficulty getting them to pay attention, let alone learn anything. At some moment, I announced that as of the next day, I would have a class seating chart. I was in charge, not them. And the next day, as they walked into class, I had post-it notes on each seat showing the students where to sit. The goal was to divide and conquer the boys. I succeeded, whether it was the separation of the boys by the seating chart or simply the fact that the students got a clear picture that I was in charge, classroom chatter and noise has been reduced.
A couple days later, the Upper School held its Parents night, in which parents go to all of their childrens classes to meet the teachers. When the parents of this infamous section entered the room, they looked around at the other parents. There was an immediate sense of doom and one of the parents said that I was in for a long year. In response, I told parents of the boys about the seating chart and how classroom decorum had been greatly improved from the first week of school.
I then looked at the parents of the girls in the class and told them that, unfortunately, their daughters were collateral damage in the strategy to divide and conquer the boys. The girls had merely become buffers between the boys. I am glad that there was laughter from the parents.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
Set Your VCR's (ok TIVO's here in the 21st century)!!!
Hey all!!! My friend Dave F.'s Acorn Theater will be featured on HGTV's Building Character. It will be shown four times at different times on October 13th, 14th, 17th and 18th. It's a great place and story about the reuse and transformation of older buildings for new purposes. Plus, you get to see my friend Dave.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
How Alan Greenspan influences my life!
Well, I will admit that the catchy title is a bit exaggerated, but not by much. This posting will deal with the world of home mortgages and the crazy games that are played to save money. When I purchased my share of 121-123 Cortland, I inherited the 30-year fixed mortgage that the Streiffer's (121) had purchased with the Shimetz's (123). We had a 30-year fixed rate of 6.625%, which back in 1999 when the mortgage was intitiated, a pretty good rate.
Mortgage rates have been low for the past year and a half or so, but I was always a bit overwhelmed by the idea of refinancing the mortgage, that I just avoided it. That was until, in February 2004, my colleague and friend Shahana referred me to her broker Mark B. of Wymac Capital. He helped me through the process and just like everything in life, was much more managable once I understood the why's and how's of what Brian, Meredith and I were doing. There were lots of papers to submit, documents to photocopy, papers to sign and an apprasial of the building done.
In the end, Mark, locked us in at a 6% 30-year fixed mortgage, saving us $300 a month. We decided to continue to pay at the previous amount, thereby paying down the principal $300 a month, which meant that we would pay off the mortgage in 21.75 years instead of 30. In addition, the entire process cost us NOTHING. We did not pay a cent to save $300 a month. Great!!
This past Friday, Mark left me a message on my school voicemail telling me that on Thursday the 23rd of September, there was a three hour window in which 30-year fixed mortgages rates dipped to 5.75% and Mark locked us in at that rate. The process this time would be the same, except even easier. Most of the documents that we submitted back in February are still valid and the only things we need to submit are paystubs and bank statements.
Mark had the documents delivered by courier service on Saturday morning and after looking at them, it looks like the quarter point drop in the rate will save us a grand total of $54 a month. Not that much in the grand scheme of monthly life, but it will mean we pay off the mortgage even quicker than at the 6% rate. Saving money:very cool.
ONE FINAL NOTE: I have only ever spoken to Mark B. on the phone. Hopefully, someday I will get to meet the man.
Mortgage rates have been low for the past year and a half or so, but I was always a bit overwhelmed by the idea of refinancing the mortgage, that I just avoided it. That was until, in February 2004, my colleague and friend Shahana referred me to her broker Mark B. of Wymac Capital. He helped me through the process and just like everything in life, was much more managable once I understood the why's and how's of what Brian, Meredith and I were doing. There were lots of papers to submit, documents to photocopy, papers to sign and an apprasial of the building done.
In the end, Mark, locked us in at a 6% 30-year fixed mortgage, saving us $300 a month. We decided to continue to pay at the previous amount, thereby paying down the principal $300 a month, which meant that we would pay off the mortgage in 21.75 years instead of 30. In addition, the entire process cost us NOTHING. We did not pay a cent to save $300 a month. Great!!
This past Friday, Mark left me a message on my school voicemail telling me that on Thursday the 23rd of September, there was a three hour window in which 30-year fixed mortgages rates dipped to 5.75% and Mark locked us in at that rate. The process this time would be the same, except even easier. Most of the documents that we submitted back in February are still valid and the only things we need to submit are paystubs and bank statements.
Mark had the documents delivered by courier service on Saturday morning and after looking at them, it looks like the quarter point drop in the rate will save us a grand total of $54 a month. Not that much in the grand scheme of monthly life, but it will mean we pay off the mortgage even quicker than at the 6% rate. Saving money:very cool.
ONE FINAL NOTE: I have only ever spoken to Mark B. on the phone. Hopefully, someday I will get to meet the man.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
I am an Idiot Savant
This morning, as I was rushing to get myself packed and ready to go to school, I tripped over the wire that plugged my cell phone charger into the power strip on the floor. I pulled the charger and the phone in the charger onto the floor and it went SPLAT.
A photo of my LG VX4500 phone
Now, I have dropped my phone before and everything has been fine. But for some reason, this morning, things did not go my way. I picked up the phone to see the color flip screen to be on but only have streaks of colored lines. It looked like, as I described it to the customer service person on the phone, one of the color tests you see on television.
So, I called Verizon to see what I could do. The Verizon representative pulled up my account and told me that I had been purchasing insurance for $4.99 a month since I purchased the phone in April and that I was insured for a replacement phone with only a $50 deductable. I was floored at the forsight that I must have had back in April. Typical me would have been WAY too cheap to buy insurance. But I have it and I'm going to use it.
The next call was to the insurance company and with just a minimal amount of effort and absolutely no questioning of the validity of my claim, the nice woman informed me that my new replacement phone would arrive by Federal Express tomorrow around noontime.
Never has anything like this been so easy. To boot, my hot surface ignition element arrived yesterday by DHL from it's little side trip to Missouri. Things are going way to well at the moment.....
Now, I have dropped my phone before and everything has been fine. But for some reason, this morning, things did not go my way. I picked up the phone to see the color flip screen to be on but only have streaks of colored lines. It looked like, as I described it to the customer service person on the phone, one of the color tests you see on television.
So, I called Verizon to see what I could do. The Verizon representative pulled up my account and told me that I had been purchasing insurance for $4.99 a month since I purchased the phone in April and that I was insured for a replacement phone with only a $50 deductable. I was floored at the forsight that I must have had back in April. Typical me would have been WAY too cheap to buy insurance. But I have it and I'm going to use it.
The next call was to the insurance company and with just a minimal amount of effort and absolutely no questioning of the validity of my claim, the nice woman informed me that my new replacement phone would arrive by Federal Express tomorrow around noontime.
Never has anything like this been so easy. To boot, my hot surface ignition element arrived yesterday by DHL from it's little side trip to Missouri. Things are going way to well at the moment.....
Monday, September 20, 2004
Hot Surface Ignition Delivery Update
I called DHL today at noon and my package got misrouted to.....MISSOURI. All I can do is laugh and thank my lucky stars that this package was not anything life and death.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
The Nabers at Casa Chen
Sunday morning in Seattle had my grandparents for breakfast as well as Jennifer N. and her son Darius.
Chen, Nabers and Darius (15 months)
A funny moment came when my grandmother, who doesn't speak English, asked me in Chinese as to whether or not Darius' father was white, which he isn't. I knew my grandmother was going to say ask, and she did. To watch my Mom and Dad take to Darius (as well as all of my friends children) so well and willingly really speaks to their desire for grandkids. I'm working on it Mom!! :)
A funny moment came when my grandmother, who doesn't speak English, asked me in Chinese as to whether or not Darius' father was white, which he isn't. I knew my grandmother was going to say ask, and she did. To watch my Mom and Dad take to Darius (as well as all of my friends children) so well and willingly really speaks to their desire for grandkids. I'm working on it Mom!! :)
Gay Marriage Now, Tomorrow and Forever
This past weekend I took a quick jaunt to Seattle. Living on the West Coast makes trips like these easy. It's always a direct flight and if there is no fog in the Bay Area, flights are on time and under two hours between the Bay Area and Seattle. The primary reason for the visit was to attend the Seattle Chapter of the Human Rights Campaign's Auction/Gala/Fundraiser. My friend Dean is the political co-chair of the chapter and was presenting an award. Plus, it was a chance to hang with the gays of Seattle. Read about the HRC here.
The evening started with me picking up my "date".
Ernie and Vickie
Vickie, Dean and I are all classmates from high school. Vickie is an immigration lawyer (trying to get people into the US, although she at one point was a lawyer for the INS working to deport people) in Seattle and has just purchased her first home. Congratulations to Vickie for that! Anyway, my Dad has this fantasy the I will someday come to my sense, return to being straight and marry Vic. So when I was scrolling through pictures on the camera and he saw this one, he wanted me to go back and he wanted to look at it. Sorry, Dad. Anyway, Vic was lamenting the fact that she was going to spend the evening amongst the company of well-dressed, well-groomed men and the majority of them being inaccessable to her. Oh well.
Vic and I arrived just in time for the silent auction. In traditional Ernie Chen fashion, I made one silent auction bid and subsequently outbid. It's exactly what I wanted to happen. I feel like I have participated in good faith, but not didn't actually have to shell out any money.
The main dinner and program started at 8PM. But remember, we were on what I call "Gay People Time" where everything has to be at least a half hour late. With this late start and the fact that things always take longer than expected, the evening dragged on until 11:45PM when it was supposed to end at 10:30PM. Ahh, who cared, it was Saturday night.
One of the first speakers was the HRC president, Cheryl Jacques. She spoke of how one of the main actions of the HRC this past year was to lobby against the Senate's passing of the Federal Marriage Amendment. You might have heard something about that this past summer. Bush and his administration is trying to amend the constitution to limit marriage to only between and man and a woman. In essence, Bush wants to institutionalize and write discrimination into the constitution. This is something that I cannot forgive about Bush and his policies. I am perhaps a heretic, especially here in the Bay Area, in which I can disagree with Bush but also try to see the point of view he is making. I don't necessarily assume that he is bad. But on this issue, I can't in any way give him the benefit of the doubt. It is simply a hateful move and for this alone, he needs to be defeated in November.
Cheryl spoke passionately about the issues but one thing stood out in my mind and here is a quote that I had to write down.
"It is time for us (gays) to talk to the people who love us to stand with us in not allowing discrimination to be written into the United States Constitution and to allow our society to continue to treat us unequally"
Something about that resonated with me. I must say that I have been guilty of resting on the laurels of the hard work and struggle of those gays that have come before me who have worked so hard to get us this far. It is certainly time for me to start talking to my parents and friends to realize the serious of these issues and to help us. In fact, at breakfast this morning, I actually openly talked about gay marriage (just a passing remark) in front of Mom and Dad. I'm starting.
After Cheryl Jacques, one of the things that impressed me was the fact that BOTH United States Senators from Washington State were in attendence. Dean, being the political co-chair, was instrumental in getting them there.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash)
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash)
For those of you Washington State residents, I encourage you to re-elect Patty Murray to the US Senate this November. She is running against Rep. George Nethercutt the person who defeated Speaker of the House Tom Foley back in 1994. Patty Murray will be serving in her 3rd term as Senator from Washington and with each year, moves up in seniority, which is gold in the US Senate. In point of reference, after nearly 12 years in the Senate, she is still only 9th in seniority out of 12 on the very powerful Appropriations Committee. Vote for Patty Murray. One last thing that I found interesting in Patty Murray's remarks is that there is a pretty high probability that as of this Fall, Washington State will be the first state in history to ever have the top three political offices to be held by women, this is assuming that Murray herself is re-elected and that Christine Gregoire will be elected governor. Pretty cool.
Dinner break.
A picture of the many A-List Seattle gays
After the dinner break, Dean presented an award to to Multifaith for its great work in the community and the live auction. There were 11 high priced items on the docket, each given a dollar value. The game at our table was to predict whether the final purchase price was over or under the stated value. I went 8 for 11.
Dean on stage, he's DA MAN
The evening ended with......LILY TOMLIN
Lily Tomlin onstage at the Seattle HRC gala.
Did you know that Lily Tomlin is a lesbian? I didn't, but glad she plays in our sandbox. Her political leanings, well let's just say this should reveal all....
"President Bush may be the only person in the world not suffering from information overload." -- Lily Tomlin (9/18/04)
She did a couple bits using some of her most famous characters. One was Ernestine and the other was the little six year old girl writing a letter. Great!! Lily Tomlin is awesome. Overall, a fantastic evening. Great friends, great entertainment, and most importantly, a wake-up call for me to not be so complacent about how good I have it, but what can I do to make it better.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEFEAT OF THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT
Go here to see how each senator voted. The actual vote wasn't on whether or not to accept the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), but actually a vote on whether or not to continue discussing whether or not to proceed. If you remember any of your civics lessons, many votes in government are simply procedural. The senate needed to vote on whether to even bring the FMA to the floor to discuss. The vote that went in the favor of those against the FMA was a cloture vote, a vote to end discussion. The cloture vote that failed on July 14th, 2004 was to close the discussion on whether or not to discuss the bill and move to considering the bill on the floor. A cloture vote needs 60 votes to actually stop discussion. Cloture is a way for the senate to overcome the filibuster. The fact that those for the FMA didn't get 60 votes was key, but the fact that they didn't even get a majority, getting only 48 was a grand slam for the HRC and all of us who oppose the FMA. Only one Democratic Senator, Zell Miller of Georgia, voted with the Republicans. He's not seeking re-election this year anyway, but will be replaced by a Republican.
However, there are Republicans (those moderates that are fairly liberal on social issues) who voted against cloture and thereby stalled the discussion of the FMA. These are Republicans that I have always accepted and been willing to support. They are:
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) He is not running for re-election this year and there is a dogfight to replace him. There is a good chance that the people of the state of Colorado will send a Democrat to replace Senator Campbell.
Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island) Chaffee is, in many respects, a Democrat. Of all Republicans, he votes with the Democrats most often. He comes from a prominant Rhode Island family and the Chaffee name carries a great deal of weight in that state. He was one of the senators the Democrats courted highly to switch parties, they eventually got Jeffords of Vermont.
Susan Collins (R-Maine) A leading moderate Republican and now the Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. This post is crucial in the discussion of the restructuring of the US Intelligence community.
John McCain (R-Arizona) A maverick in many respects. This vote is right in line with who he is.
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) Like her counterpart Collins, a leading moderate voice. Plus, I've always kind of had a crush on her.
John Sununu (R-New Hampshire) This was a SURPRISE. Sununu has always been viewed as one of those extreme conservatives, especially on social issues. His vote here came, from my perspective, out of nowhere. However, he does represent New Hampshire, where being liberal on social issues is not a death sentence.
The evening started with me picking up my "date".
Vickie, Dean and I are all classmates from high school. Vickie is an immigration lawyer (trying to get people into the US, although she at one point was a lawyer for the INS working to deport people) in Seattle and has just purchased her first home. Congratulations to Vickie for that! Anyway, my Dad has this fantasy the I will someday come to my sense, return to being straight and marry Vic. So when I was scrolling through pictures on the camera and he saw this one, he wanted me to go back and he wanted to look at it. Sorry, Dad. Anyway, Vic was lamenting the fact that she was going to spend the evening amongst the company of well-dressed, well-groomed men and the majority of them being inaccessable to her. Oh well.
Vic and I arrived just in time for the silent auction. In traditional Ernie Chen fashion, I made one silent auction bid and subsequently outbid. It's exactly what I wanted to happen. I feel like I have participated in good faith, but not didn't actually have to shell out any money.
The main dinner and program started at 8PM. But remember, we were on what I call "Gay People Time" where everything has to be at least a half hour late. With this late start and the fact that things always take longer than expected, the evening dragged on until 11:45PM when it was supposed to end at 10:30PM. Ahh, who cared, it was Saturday night.
One of the first speakers was the HRC president, Cheryl Jacques. She spoke of how one of the main actions of the HRC this past year was to lobby against the Senate's passing of the Federal Marriage Amendment. You might have heard something about that this past summer. Bush and his administration is trying to amend the constitution to limit marriage to only between and man and a woman. In essence, Bush wants to institutionalize and write discrimination into the constitution. This is something that I cannot forgive about Bush and his policies. I am perhaps a heretic, especially here in the Bay Area, in which I can disagree with Bush but also try to see the point of view he is making. I don't necessarily assume that he is bad. But on this issue, I can't in any way give him the benefit of the doubt. It is simply a hateful move and for this alone, he needs to be defeated in November.
Cheryl spoke passionately about the issues but one thing stood out in my mind and here is a quote that I had to write down.
Something about that resonated with me. I must say that I have been guilty of resting on the laurels of the hard work and struggle of those gays that have come before me who have worked so hard to get us this far. It is certainly time for me to start talking to my parents and friends to realize the serious of these issues and to help us. In fact, at breakfast this morning, I actually openly talked about gay marriage (just a passing remark) in front of Mom and Dad. I'm starting.
After Cheryl Jacques, one of the things that impressed me was the fact that BOTH United States Senators from Washington State were in attendence. Dean, being the political co-chair, was instrumental in getting them there.
For those of you Washington State residents, I encourage you to re-elect Patty Murray to the US Senate this November. She is running against Rep. George Nethercutt the person who defeated Speaker of the House Tom Foley back in 1994. Patty Murray will be serving in her 3rd term as Senator from Washington and with each year, moves up in seniority, which is gold in the US Senate. In point of reference, after nearly 12 years in the Senate, she is still only 9th in seniority out of 12 on the very powerful Appropriations Committee. Vote for Patty Murray. One last thing that I found interesting in Patty Murray's remarks is that there is a pretty high probability that as of this Fall, Washington State will be the first state in history to ever have the top three political offices to be held by women, this is assuming that Murray herself is re-elected and that Christine Gregoire will be elected governor. Pretty cool.
Dinner break.
After the dinner break, Dean presented an award to to Multifaith for its great work in the community and the live auction. There were 11 high priced items on the docket, each given a dollar value. The game at our table was to predict whether the final purchase price was over or under the stated value. I went 8 for 11.
The evening ended with......LILY TOMLIN
Did you know that Lily Tomlin is a lesbian? I didn't, but glad she plays in our sandbox. Her political leanings, well let's just say this should reveal all....
She did a couple bits using some of her most famous characters. One was Ernestine and the other was the little six year old girl writing a letter. Great!! Lily Tomlin is awesome. Overall, a fantastic evening. Great friends, great entertainment, and most importantly, a wake-up call for me to not be so complacent about how good I have it, but what can I do to make it better.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEFEAT OF THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT
Go here to see how each senator voted. The actual vote wasn't on whether or not to accept the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), but actually a vote on whether or not to continue discussing whether or not to proceed. If you remember any of your civics lessons, many votes in government are simply procedural. The senate needed to vote on whether to even bring the FMA to the floor to discuss. The vote that went in the favor of those against the FMA was a cloture vote, a vote to end discussion. The cloture vote that failed on July 14th, 2004 was to close the discussion on whether or not to discuss the bill and move to considering the bill on the floor. A cloture vote needs 60 votes to actually stop discussion. Cloture is a way for the senate to overcome the filibuster. The fact that those for the FMA didn't get 60 votes was key, but the fact that they didn't even get a majority, getting only 48 was a grand slam for the HRC and all of us who oppose the FMA. Only one Democratic Senator, Zell Miller of Georgia, voted with the Republicans. He's not seeking re-election this year anyway, but will be replaced by a Republican.
However, there are Republicans (those moderates that are fairly liberal on social issues) who voted against cloture and thereby stalled the discussion of the FMA. These are Republicans that I have always accepted and been willing to support. They are:
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) He is not running for re-election this year and there is a dogfight to replace him. There is a good chance that the people of the state of Colorado will send a Democrat to replace Senator Campbell.
Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island) Chaffee is, in many respects, a Democrat. Of all Republicans, he votes with the Democrats most often. He comes from a prominant Rhode Island family and the Chaffee name carries a great deal of weight in that state. He was one of the senators the Democrats courted highly to switch parties, they eventually got Jeffords of Vermont.
Susan Collins (R-Maine) A leading moderate Republican and now the Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. This post is crucial in the discussion of the restructuring of the US Intelligence community.
John McCain (R-Arizona) A maverick in many respects. This vote is right in line with who he is.
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) Like her counterpart Collins, a leading moderate voice. Plus, I've always kind of had a crush on her.
John Sununu (R-New Hampshire) This was a SURPRISE. Sununu has always been viewed as one of those extreme conservatives, especially on social issues. His vote here came, from my perspective, out of nowhere. However, he does represent New Hampshire, where being liberal on social issues is not a death sentence.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Sometimes businesses do ASININE things
All of you are briefed on the oven saga. My part, ordered from Sears sight unseen (let's hope it is the right part), was to arrive LAST Friday, the 10th. I got a call on this past Tuesday morning from DHL, the delivery company, asking to confirm the delivery address since I have all packages sent to work in Oakland. After confirming the fact that I wanted it shipped to Oakland, they told me that they would have it to me the next day. At the end of Wednesday, I still didn't have the package. I called the number I called Tuesday and they told me that it had been shipped over to the Oakland/East Bay sorting center from the South San Francisco center (where it was sent due to my billing address) and it was out of their hands. They were nice enough to give me the Oakland center number. I called the Oakland center and they looked into the matter and confirmed the package had left South San Francisco and had not arrived yet in Oakland. They she rolls out the kicker. "Your package is probably in Fresno." I went "WHAT???" The woman then tells me that any package in the state of California that moves from one sorting center to another sorting center is sent to Fresno, where DHL's statewide sorting center is. I'm still waiting for my part and my range is still sitting in the middle of kitchen waiting to have the hot surface ignition replaced. Argh.
One a happier note. I am flying up to Seattle this weekend to attend the Seattle Chapter of the Human Rights Campaign's auction/gala. My friend Dean is one of the leaders of the chapter and so I am going to support him. It will be cool and interesting to hang with the A-List gays of Seattle.
One a happier note. I am flying up to Seattle this weekend to attend the Seattle Chapter of the Human Rights Campaign's auction/gala. My friend Dean is one of the leaders of the chapter and so I am going to support him. It will be cool and interesting to hang with the A-List gays of Seattle.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Yalie, Ashley and Anya
One of the great things about being a teacher is when your former students come back and hang with you. Yalie K., Ashley J. and Anya B. came over to San Francisco tonight and we all hung out and talked about their new college lives, gossip about the Head-Royce school and most prominantly, the lack of good men (notice we didn't even try to talk about great men) and ate papusas at El Zocolo, my neighboorhood El Salvadorean restaurant.
Ashley, Yalie and Anya
This girl KICKS ASS
The Head-Royce school walked its talk this past Spring when it admitted a new ninth grade girl named Alva G. Head-Royce purports itself to be a school that is all inclusive and welcoming of every person. Alva G., you see, is a girl with cerebral palsy and gets around in a motorized wheelchair. She chose Head-Royce because, even though it is on a major hill, it was the most wheelchair accessible campus in the East Bay. Here is a picture of me and Alva.
Alva Gardner and her Geometry teacher
Alva has no control of her right hand, but she does have command of her left hand. So she writes, drives, does everything with her left hand. These first couple weeks as her Geometry teacher have been a learning experience, but since Alva is SUCH a great advocate for herself, she has told me what she needs and with what she doesn't. For example, if I know our class is going to be working on diagrams or with lots of lists, I make sure to photocopy my notes for her, as her writing, is as she fully admits, atrocious and it is also difficult for her to write. I have learned that on short quizzes, she needs no special treatment, but when it comes to whole-period tests, she will need extra time. It is now habit for me to clear out the chairs around the table she sits and I also am the person to put things back into her three-ring binder and then put her Geometry binder in her backpack and get out her English/History binder and put it in the sidebag she has. Alva and I are becoming a well-oiled machine. I am so amazed that this young woman has such spark and determination to live a full life. If her first couple weeks here at Head-Royce are an indicator, she is going to kick some major booty during her lifetime.
Alva has no control of her right hand, but she does have command of her left hand. So she writes, drives, does everything with her left hand. These first couple weeks as her Geometry teacher have been a learning experience, but since Alva is SUCH a great advocate for herself, she has told me what she needs and with what she doesn't. For example, if I know our class is going to be working on diagrams or with lots of lists, I make sure to photocopy my notes for her, as her writing, is as she fully admits, atrocious and it is also difficult for her to write. I have learned that on short quizzes, she needs no special treatment, but when it comes to whole-period tests, she will need extra time. It is now habit for me to clear out the chairs around the table she sits and I also am the person to put things back into her three-ring binder and then put her Geometry binder in her backpack and get out her English/History binder and put it in the sidebag she has. Alva and I are becoming a well-oiled machine. I am so amazed that this young woman has such spark and determination to live a full life. If her first couple weeks here at Head-Royce are an indicator, she is going to kick some major booty during her lifetime.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Friends in the News
My dear friend Tim (who I dated while I lived in New Jersey) is an incredibly talented and successful person. Here's an article about the company he works for that was printed recently in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The article featured Tim quite a bit. I wanted to say prominantly at the end of the last sentence, but I'm not sure if could spell it right, but now you can see if I actually can spell it. But, I digress.
Here's a picture of Tim, it was the one printed in the newspaper.
Tim A. in action on the left
Oh, you'll notice that I've changed the look of the page here. The key new thing is the comments section at the end of every post. Please feel free to comment on things I write. I enjoy hearing feedback.
Here's a picture of Tim, it was the one printed in the newspaper.
Oh, you'll notice that I've changed the look of the page here. The key new thing is the comments section at the end of every post. Please feel free to comment on things I write. I enjoy hearing feedback.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Swimming in San Francisco Bay?
All San Franciscans know that our true summer is during the months of September and October. It has something to do with the lack of both morning and afternoon fogs that leaves the days clear and gives the sun an opportunity to heat up the air and raise the temperatures around the Bay. True to form, the first week of September 2004 will be remembered for its heatwave temperatures. Yes, we are lucky here in California not to have the compounded issue of humidity, but man, it was HOT.
The long prologue about the heatwave culminates in my conversation with my friend Matt. He mentioned that he had been going down to Aquatic Park (right by Ghiradelli Square) everyday to go swimming in the Bay. In the same moment, I was both horrified and throughly jazzed at the idea of swimming at such a lovely spot.....in the Bay. So I took Matt up on his offer and met him down at Aquatic Park and took a dip into the Bay.
A birdseye view of Aquatic Park and the Fisherman's Wharf Area of San Francisco. I swam in the tidal basin enclosed by the circular jetty.
I have to admit that it was pretty warm. Matt and I were quite adept at finding those areas in the water that were almost bathwater temperature. Apparently the sun heats up the upper layer of water and because it has been so warm of late, the water has had to retain the heat, thereby making it pleasant swimming. The only downside to the experience is that I forgot that the Bay is NOT a body of freshwater and I unfortunately took in my share of seawater.
This past weekend I also hung out with my friends Michael and Darren. We gorged on pizza and watched a COMPLETELY DISTURBING movie. It was called Elephant. It's a movie by Gus Van Sant. All I can say is that it was definately not a mainstream film.
The long prologue about the heatwave culminates in my conversation with my friend Matt. He mentioned that he had been going down to Aquatic Park (right by Ghiradelli Square) everyday to go swimming in the Bay. In the same moment, I was both horrified and throughly jazzed at the idea of swimming at such a lovely spot.....in the Bay. So I took Matt up on his offer and met him down at Aquatic Park and took a dip into the Bay.
I have to admit that it was pretty warm. Matt and I were quite adept at finding those areas in the water that were almost bathwater temperature. Apparently the sun heats up the upper layer of water and because it has been so warm of late, the water has had to retain the heat, thereby making it pleasant swimming. The only downside to the experience is that I forgot that the Bay is NOT a body of freshwater and I unfortunately took in my share of seawater.
This past weekend I also hung out with my friends Michael and Darren. We gorged on pizza and watched a COMPLETELY DISTURBING movie. It was called Elephant. It's a movie by Gus Van Sant. All I can say is that it was definately not a mainstream film.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Hitting the Jackpot
There are times when I love reading and when I an less interested in it. The reason I am into it right now is that I've hit the jackpot with books that I haven't been able to put down. Rarely, do I hit it five in a row!! Most of the time, when I read a book that I am uninterested in, I hit the wall and stop reading all together. But here are the books that I've loved this summer...
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
THIS is FUNNY
Nothing much of great interest is happening in my life these first couple days of school. I wish I had interesting things to report, but, alas, I don't. It's hot and it seems like the days take forever. But then you read something like this and all you can do it laugh.
Click here
Click here
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Hot Surface Ignition
This summer when I on my big journey, my colleague and housesitter, Warren called me and asked me how to turn on my oven. After going through it step by step, we concluded that Warren was not an idiot and was actually doing everything correctly. My oven was not working and there was something the matter with it.
This morning I had PG&E come out and see if they could fix it. As Randy the serviceman entered, I told him what was going on and he immediately knew that there was a part that had gone kaput. Apparently what happened to my oven is a common. The "HOT SURFACE IGNITION" had died. That part is the element that heats up and glows and heats the oven to the temperature you set it to.
After taking out a couple pieces of the inside of the oven as well as the racks, we located the hot surface ignition and with loosened it with a few screws. However, we still have to disconnect that element from the power source and that took a bit more work. This entailed us moving the appliance away from the wall and unplugging it from the socket. After looking at the back, we determined that the disconnect of the ignition was not on the back, so we had to remove the bottom drawer and go way back underneath the range and unscrew a protective shield and there it was. We unclipped the ignition from the power source and this is what I need to replace.
The kitchen is an obstacle course at the moment.
The hot surface ignition element is found beneath the two pieces on the bottom of the oven and sticks out from the rear of the oven.
The hot surface ignition.
Randy was kind enough to stay by me as I disassembled each part of the range and told me exactly what to do when I install the new ignition and put everything back together. He told me that there was an appliance part store near my home, but I went and it was closed. Seeing is that I won't be able to get to an appliance store during the school day, I have had to resort to purchasing the replacement part from Sears online. The element will be delivered next Friday. That part, if you were wondering, costs $65.06 with taxes and shipping.
A blog posting will be in order when I actually successfully complete this task!
This morning I had PG&E come out and see if they could fix it. As Randy the serviceman entered, I told him what was going on and he immediately knew that there was a part that had gone kaput. Apparently what happened to my oven is a common. The "HOT SURFACE IGNITION" had died. That part is the element that heats up and glows and heats the oven to the temperature you set it to.
After taking out a couple pieces of the inside of the oven as well as the racks, we located the hot surface ignition and with loosened it with a few screws. However, we still have to disconnect that element from the power source and that took a bit more work. This entailed us moving the appliance away from the wall and unplugging it from the socket. After looking at the back, we determined that the disconnect of the ignition was not on the back, so we had to remove the bottom drawer and go way back underneath the range and unscrew a protective shield and there it was. We unclipped the ignition from the power source and this is what I need to replace.
Randy was kind enough to stay by me as I disassembled each part of the range and told me exactly what to do when I install the new ignition and put everything back together. He told me that there was an appliance part store near my home, but I went and it was closed. Seeing is that I won't be able to get to an appliance store during the school day, I have had to resort to purchasing the replacement part from Sears online. The element will be delivered next Friday. That part, if you were wondering, costs $65.06 with taxes and shipping.
A blog posting will be in order when I actually successfully complete this task!
Friday, September 03, 2004
Come and check out Ernie's new glasses
I spent this evening dining with my friend Mary, her husband and their nearly one-year old daughter, Katie. As you can see below, Katie is just starting to walk (with help from Mom and Dad) and in a surprise, I found out that Mary is pregnant again, due in March.
Mary, Katie and Peter D. on a walk to dinner
We were celebrating a special birthday for Mary. Happy Birthday, Mary!!
So here's what you've all been waiting for. Here's me with Kate and my new glasses.
So, I went with a more modern look.
So, let me know what you think. I decided it was time to take a chance and go with something a bit more "on the edge". Hopefully, this choice doesn't have me going over the cliff!
We were celebrating a special birthday for Mary. Happy Birthday, Mary!!
So here's what you've all been waiting for. Here's me with Kate and my new glasses.
So, let me know what you think. I decided it was time to take a chance and go with something a bit more "on the edge". Hopefully, this choice doesn't have me going over the cliff!
Fallout 2004
A great Head-Royce School tradition is to send each class out on a trip at the beginning of the year. Each class, from 7th grade to 12th grade, goes out for two days to do things like kayaking, ropes course or if you're a 12th grader, whitewater rafting. It is a costly, and potentially high liability proposition to send out upwards of 500 students on these trips and I commend the school to it's continued committment to these trips.
This year the seniors, as well as their fellow faculty rafters, boarded the buses at school at 6AM. By 10AM, we arrived at the put-in point on the Middle Fork of the American River. I must note that for the last 8 miles of the drive I got what I term "Chapmaned". Let me explain. Our Head of School is named Paul Chapman, and he is a great, if not one of the best heads in all of America. He has been at Head-Royce for 20 years. He, like me, is an adviser to seniors, and he drove up to the river in his own car, but rode the last 8 miles on the buses with the rest of us. Lucky for me, he rode those last miles next to me. Paul likes to chat with his faculty. He remembered that I was a Geology major and kept asking me questions about the topography we were driving past. I did my best to tell him what I knew, but my petrology was always weak and I could never tell him what kind of rock we were looking at. In addition, Paul told me that he had heard from various parties that this particular trip along the Middle Fork of the American River was perhaps TOO wild for our students, and he was therefore doing some personal fact-finding. Lucky for me, the drive ended before he could begin to ask me things about curriculum or other school issues.
The Head-Royce seniors and faculty were divided into thirteen rafts. The trip was a total of 18 miles. In the first five miles there were class III and IV rapids one right after the other. The most stunning of them all was one of the first, called Tunnel Chute. Here is a visual...
A view of a raft entering the rapid from the rear (top)
The rapid itself is no wider than the width of a raft necessitating that we all get down and make sure we hold our paddles up so nothing sticks out. The rapid is about 200 feet long.
The raft bounces hard at the bottom. Make sure to be centered low in the boat.
Right after the rapid, you go into a tunnel to recover and celebrate. Here is a raft coming out successfully on the other side.
You get the idea that the day is full of great excitement. Along the way, there were opportunities to swim and enjoy the sun and river. I will say that before lunch, I dove into the water voluntarily once, was pushed in by one of my boatmates (still unknown who that was to me) and then when our boat was doing a cool trick, I fell in unexpectedly.
After lunch there were more rapids, the most dramatic being RUCK-A-CHUCKY, a class VI. Yes, you read that right, class 6. We are not allowed to run that rapid, so much walk around. It is a rapid with a 35 foot drop. Unbelievable.
That night, we camped along the South Fork. Here is a view of the river from our campsite.
South Fork American River at twilight
After dinner, we had a slide show and then a great senior class talent show. It is amazing how talented these students are. We had singing and music. WOW. Afterwards, senior class president Nick Dantzker (my advisee!!) asked the students to recognize and thank people and classmates that they would never publically thank as a way to appreciate the class and to start of their senior year with a positive note. It was awesome, and there were tears. Some students said some pretty amazing things.
One thing that came out was the great bond that the lifers of the school have. These are the students who started way back in the fall of 1992 as kindergarteners. At that time, there were 36 and 25 are still classmates. Here's a picture of them.
Class of 2005 lifers
Congratulations to the lifers and all the class of 2005. Have a great senior year. It was a great fallout and do yourselves proud this year.
This year the seniors, as well as their fellow faculty rafters, boarded the buses at school at 6AM. By 10AM, we arrived at the put-in point on the Middle Fork of the American River. I must note that for the last 8 miles of the drive I got what I term "Chapmaned". Let me explain. Our Head of School is named Paul Chapman, and he is a great, if not one of the best heads in all of America. He has been at Head-Royce for 20 years. He, like me, is an adviser to seniors, and he drove up to the river in his own car, but rode the last 8 miles on the buses with the rest of us. Lucky for me, he rode those last miles next to me. Paul likes to chat with his faculty. He remembered that I was a Geology major and kept asking me questions about the topography we were driving past. I did my best to tell him what I knew, but my petrology was always weak and I could never tell him what kind of rock we were looking at. In addition, Paul told me that he had heard from various parties that this particular trip along the Middle Fork of the American River was perhaps TOO wild for our students, and he was therefore doing some personal fact-finding. Lucky for me, the drive ended before he could begin to ask me things about curriculum or other school issues.
The Head-Royce seniors and faculty were divided into thirteen rafts. The trip was a total of 18 miles. In the first five miles there were class III and IV rapids one right after the other. The most stunning of them all was one of the first, called Tunnel Chute. Here is a visual...
You get the idea that the day is full of great excitement. Along the way, there were opportunities to swim and enjoy the sun and river. I will say that before lunch, I dove into the water voluntarily once, was pushed in by one of my boatmates (still unknown who that was to me) and then when our boat was doing a cool trick, I fell in unexpectedly.
After lunch there were more rapids, the most dramatic being RUCK-A-CHUCKY, a class VI. Yes, you read that right, class 6. We are not allowed to run that rapid, so much walk around. It is a rapid with a 35 foot drop. Unbelievable.
That night, we camped along the South Fork. Here is a view of the river from our campsite.
After dinner, we had a slide show and then a great senior class talent show. It is amazing how talented these students are. We had singing and music. WOW. Afterwards, senior class president Nick Dantzker (my advisee!!) asked the students to recognize and thank people and classmates that they would never publically thank as a way to appreciate the class and to start of their senior year with a positive note. It was awesome, and there were tears. Some students said some pretty amazing things.
One thing that came out was the great bond that the lifers of the school have. These are the students who started way back in the fall of 1992 as kindergarteners. At that time, there were 36 and 25 are still classmates. Here's a picture of them.
Congratulations to the lifers and all the class of 2005. Have a great senior year. It was a great fallout and do yourselves proud this year.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
The first day of school
It's the first day of September, 2004 and it is also the first official day of classes for the 2004-05 academic school year. Because the 9th grade class trip left at 1PM, the entire Upper School's class day was shortened with each period meeting for 30 minutes instead of the usual 45. This year I teach three sections of Geometry, one section of Honors Geometry and one section of a new Math elective that will focus on Statistics in the Fall and Economics in the Spring. All the Geometry classes are for the ninth grade, so if you do the math, most of my days are spent with ninth graders, whom I love. The Stat/Econ class is for seniors and currently has an enrollment of five. I'm ok with the small number as it gives me much more freedom to experiment with how I will teach this class.
But one of the highlights of the day was advising, where the ninth graders I met back in the fall of 2001 have now become seniors and are looking out onto their futures. Here they are...
(Back row) Charlie L., Ryan P., Marshall M., Jeff D., Meghan B., Max S.
(Front row) Gretchen S., Becca F., Joanna L., Danny W., Nick D., Chen
(Not pictured) Matt P.
Tomorrow, the senior class embarks on the senior class trip, which will be raft the Middle Fork of the American River. This is the granddaddy of rafting trips in Northern California and I have been waiting to take this trip for seven years. You see, back in the fall of 2000, when my first group of advisees were seniors they were scheduled to raft the Middle Fork, but that year the hydrologists did not release enough water so we were not able to raft. I have heard no grumblings of a potential canceling of this years trip. I am so excited!!
On a totally different subject, because I had an afternoon free from teaching, I hauled the pieces of my chair to the upholsterer that came recommended to me and Linda (of Cortland Upholstery on Mission Street) came up with a plan to attach certain pieces to the chair and footrest themselves and others will be pillows. I have to admit, thought, that instead of going with leather, I decided to go with vinyl. I hope I don't regret that decision. The big surprise came, again, when she quoted me a price. $168. I was floored, as I was bracing myself to pay over $400. OOOPS, there was a mistake, Linda forgot to include something in the price and it came back the second time at $225. Still, far below what I was planning on and willing to pay. I should have my complete chair in a week and a half!!
But one of the highlights of the day was advising, where the ninth graders I met back in the fall of 2001 have now become seniors and are looking out onto their futures. Here they are...
Tomorrow, the senior class embarks on the senior class trip, which will be raft the Middle Fork of the American River. This is the granddaddy of rafting trips in Northern California and I have been waiting to take this trip for seven years. You see, back in the fall of 2000, when my first group of advisees were seniors they were scheduled to raft the Middle Fork, but that year the hydrologists did not release enough water so we were not able to raft. I have heard no grumblings of a potential canceling of this years trip. I am so excited!!
On a totally different subject, because I had an afternoon free from teaching, I hauled the pieces of my chair to the upholsterer that came recommended to me and Linda (of Cortland Upholstery on Mission Street) came up with a plan to attach certain pieces to the chair and footrest themselves and others will be pillows. I have to admit, thought, that instead of going with leather, I decided to go with vinyl. I hope I don't regret that decision. The big surprise came, again, when she quoted me a price. $168. I was floored, as I was bracing myself to pay over $400. OOOPS, there was a mistake, Linda forgot to include something in the price and it came back the second time at $225. Still, far below what I was planning on and willing to pay. I should have my complete chair in a week and a half!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
A momentous day
This last day of August is not yet over, but it has already been a day of great discovery. Since I didn't have to be at school until noon (as a senior advisor, my advisees register after lunch) I played a quick nine holes with my friend Dave H. (Mom, Dave is the guy who had the 4th of July BBQ you and I went to last year, he has the really nice backyard.) Anyway, after our round, Dave tells me to pull into this sketchy looking grocery store called Pacific Super for dim sum. The store backs up directly onto I-280 and looked really run down. We walked in and immediately I was hit with that one-of-a-kind Chinese grocery store smell. If you've experienced it, you know what I mean. We pulled right up the glass cases with all the BBQ pork buns and such. I wandered around the display case and there it was, what I have been looking for here in SF for the past couple of years......THE VIETNAMESE SANDWICH. I have been looking for an equivalent to these sandwichs which I devoured in Seattle. As I sit here and I type, I am eating the one that I purchased. It is good since it was made perhaps less than twenty minutes ago. To pile good upon good, Pacific Super offers the buy four for $5 and get one free. How can my day get any better?
Sunday, August 29, 2004
The REI Labor Day Sale
I spent this afternoon finally dragging myself to Costco to buy those bulk things that I need every six months. 36 rolls of toilet paper, the quantity one must buy of Costco's Kirkland brand, will last me an entire year. The most important purchase I make at Costco are the 10 pound bags of frozen fruit that I use for my smoothies. Along the way, I did pick up cantaloupe, honeydew, lemons, and grapes, all of which are of surprisingly high quality.
I bought most everything I wanted at Costco, but there are two items at Trader Joe's that I must buy at TJ's and no where else. I really like TJ's Rice Dream Soy Milk. It isn't flavored vanilla, which is what Costco only sells, unless I didn't see the plain soy milk at Costco. The second Trader Joe's only item is their low fat cottage cheese. Last year, after eating this particular cottage cheese, I then bought a Safeway brand and I simply couldn't eat it. I was and still am completely familiar with the taste of Trader Joe's low fat cottage cheese.
Costco and Trader Joe's are a hop, skip and jump from San Francisco's own REI store. I had received a flyer in the mail, perhaps one of the few times an advertising piece actually worked on me, about REI's Labor Day Clearance Sale. So I went over to see if there was something I might want.
I found not one, but TWO.
The first was something that I had been needing and didn't buy earlier because of its steep price.
My new REI Ultra Lite Waterproof (not water resistant mind you) Jacket
The original price was $125 and the sale price was $89.99. But for all of you who know that I am the KING of the fleece vest, an actual rainjacket is a breakthrough fashion move for me.
I then went to the shoe section and saw what I thought to be really cool looking running shoes, and they were on the clearance rack, AND they had my small foot size.
My new Vasque Lightweight Running Shoe
You'll note that I am on an orange kick.
So I went to the cashier to make my purchase. The rainjacket rings up as $89.99, just as I thought it would. Then the cashier scans the shoes. The tag on the shoe showed that the original full price of the shoes was $85 and the sale price was $49.83. But the price screen flashed $24.91. I told the cashier I thought that the $24.91 was a mistake. He then said that every price that ends in .83 is given an additional 50% off the lowest price. BONUS. I was so happy that I almost did the Snoopy dance.
I bought most everything I wanted at Costco, but there are two items at Trader Joe's that I must buy at TJ's and no where else. I really like TJ's Rice Dream Soy Milk. It isn't flavored vanilla, which is what Costco only sells, unless I didn't see the plain soy milk at Costco. The second Trader Joe's only item is their low fat cottage cheese. Last year, after eating this particular cottage cheese, I then bought a Safeway brand and I simply couldn't eat it. I was and still am completely familiar with the taste of Trader Joe's low fat cottage cheese.
Costco and Trader Joe's are a hop, skip and jump from San Francisco's own REI store. I had received a flyer in the mail, perhaps one of the few times an advertising piece actually worked on me, about REI's Labor Day Clearance Sale. So I went over to see if there was something I might want.
I found not one, but TWO.
The first was something that I had been needing and didn't buy earlier because of its steep price.
The original price was $125 and the sale price was $89.99. But for all of you who know that I am the KING of the fleece vest, an actual rainjacket is a breakthrough fashion move for me.
I then went to the shoe section and saw what I thought to be really cool looking running shoes, and they were on the clearance rack, AND they had my small foot size.
You'll note that I am on an orange kick.
So I went to the cashier to make my purchase. The rainjacket rings up as $89.99, just as I thought it would. Then the cashier scans the shoes. The tag on the shoe showed that the original full price of the shoes was $85 and the sale price was $49.83. But the price screen flashed $24.91. I told the cashier I thought that the $24.91 was a mistake. He then said that every price that ends in .83 is given an additional 50% off the lowest price. BONUS. I was so happy that I almost did the Snoopy dance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)