Schmandee

08:26 pm: weird
Weird weather...first freezing cold last week and now it's raining???

07:46 pm: Vegas was AWESOME! I am sad to be home...to the freakin' cold!!!

I went to the dance club RAIN in the PALMS! We knew one of the door people who we went to HS with who hooked us up by giving us a line pass!!! SO COOL!! It was SO crazy and crowded! This was the night I decided to wear my tall heels...I didn't last very long...we left a little over an hour...it was a cool experience, but I think I enjoy the dance club THE BEACH better...more spacious to dance and stuff...fun contests where everyone wins free drinks...I dunno, it just made me sick watching people pay the people working there to cut lines and stuff...The guy we knew told us some of the guys make $400,000 just from these types of people....man...the guy we knew was doing this on the weekends to make some extra cash...he actually is a middle school teacher!

Man...it wasn't all fun and games...getting there was SO stressful!

09:57 pm: Man...I can't believe I'm going to have to be an ADULT soon with a REAL job...kinda scary....I will be responsible for 20 kindergartners...teaching them how to read and do math...I really hope I don't mess them up!!! I will have those kids to myself for a WHOLE MONTH...under my supervision...and no pay, sigh...it's all part of becoming a teacher, I guess.

It makes me wonder what I should do this summer...back to summer camps? Serve?? I have to do something...I will have ONE last class left - my Master's Portfolio, which I hear is a doosey...sounds easy you know, putting crap together, but I guess it's hard, according to a teacher at the school I am student teaching at. She took it a few semesters ago.

Well tomorrow is another APO service project day...right now one crapped out...caught the sick bug...probably the same bug I caught on Tuesday. Darn...that sucks. One less person now...darn.

I think I'll do community service in the morning, lunch fellowship, shopping, and if I have enough energy, the gym...which I should since I ate a WHOLE cinnimon roll...plus chinese sweet buns that my parents brought back from HK...so much for looking fit for Vegas!!!

10:21 pm: I'm DONE with classes! Yeah! Winter break! 2 wks to enjoy myself! So I cleaned the house today since my parents are coming home and my sister from college...I vacuumed... :-) While watching the Apprentice, of course!

Trump picked the right one...Randall has been awesome, although mean, I couldn't help laughing when he told Trump not to also hire Rebecca...hahahaa...sorry...I would have been nice and said yes...

Anyway, when I get back from Vegas, I go straight to student teaching...

03:28 pm: Since I didn't get to watch RENT on my birthday, I went out last night on a triple date - it wasn't as good as everyone made it out to be (KYLE - yes you!)...it was interesting to see how they made the musical into a movie...of course I love the music so I had a good time, but I prefer the stage over the movie version...sorry...I've seen it twice on stage, I dunno if that makes me baised..."1,000 kisses...be my lover...I'll cover you..."

18 days until VEGAS!!! Yeah!

11:03 pm: I had a nice birthday despite the crappy sleep the night before and the kicking and screaming kid behind me which kept me from napping on the plane...it was quite mellow - I did laundry, went to the GYM since I haven't been going on a reg. basis in weeks! my 5 days a wk went down to 1 or 2 days a week..sad...school gets in the way of my workout!

Anyway, I had nice b-day phone calls from family and friends - it was cheery! Dan came over pick me up for dinner and brought me flowers (PINK OF COURSE)...the present was to be opened at dinner...and it was exactly what I wanted...a portable cd player with cassette! Okay, okay, dorky I know, but it's PERFECT for when I get my own classroom...thinking ahead, you know me! All those books on tape - perfect! Anyway, I haven't had a stereo system since my house was broken into in HS and it was stolen...I felt very violated and never had the urge to get another stereo.

Dinner was delicious! I enjoy ORSO - I had the duck with risotto - it was SO creamy! For dessert - tiramusu w/o the chocolate shavings! YUM!

06:49 pm: I taught kindergarten today....funny day...
This Greek kid said to me, "I know how to speak Chinese."

Here I am all SHOCKED...I'm Chinese and I don't even know how to speak it that well and this little 5 yr. old boy speaks Chinese? He demonstrated his ability to speak the language:

"Chhilleee..."

"What?"

"Chhilleee...that means your cold," he said smartly...I kept thinking in my head in Cantonese and Manderine thinking about how to say cold and it wasn't even close.

"Um...that's not how you say cold." Apparently his favorite food is Chinese food so whenever he goes to the restaurant, the Chinese lady is speaking in ENGLISH with a Chinese accent...so she was trying to say it was "chilly." Pretty funny...poor kid, that shut him up...

08:55 pm: So for my SS education class, I am doing my hw on San Jose using the 5 themes of geography...interesting stuff that I wish I knew when I was actually living there! I learned a little bit about its history, checked out earthquake stuff, demographics, etc.

Not too much going on...same school stuff...I am helping layout the middle school newspaper...sometimes I want to kick myself when I see kids forgetting to end a sentence with a period and then capitalize the first letter of a sentence...HONESTLY...8th grade, COME ON!!! How did this kid make it so far? He's writing an OPINION piece yet he says, "The kids in my gym class PE (yes, that is what he called it...WTF?) think....teachers think..." HELLO? Where is YOUR OPINION? Drives me INSANE!!! That's why I want to be a primary teacher, catch these kids early, make sure they know this crap before moving them on...sigh...Dan told me one of his HS kids spelled "does" wrong...through his WHOLE movie critique he put "dose"...gak!!!

05:00 pm: BACK FROM REGIONS!!!

quite a story coming home...so one of the Brothers dropped me off and I was chillin at the gate at the Fairbanks Airport...people were walking away pissed off and I was confused so I went up to the counter and they told me my flight was delayed until 1am...I was sick as a dog at this point...I started losing my voice and getting dizzy - it SUCKED!
So I waited around, tried to nap, read my boring book, finally we boarded...apparently it was having mechanical problems in Barrow...that already freaked me out. The plane was crap...trashy, chipped walls...totally didn't feel safe. I did fall asleep but was awakened by the VIOLENT turbulance...I honest thought I was going to PUKE and DIE...it was the worst turbulance I have ever been through...I was gripping so tight to the arm rests...of course I knew it wouldn't make a difference how tight I hold on, if we plunged into the ground or ocean (too dark to see what we were flying over), I would die anyway....Honestly, I was saying my prayers in my head - it was scary!
Thankfully, we landed safely...the stewardist got on her little mic and said,

"WHEW! WE MADE IT!

WTF?? Why would you say that? Was she expecting to crash? Yeah, that didn't call my nerves!! I felt SO sick when I got off the plane!

09:52 pm: I'm even more daring - I subbed HIGH SCHOOL today - it sucked. 1 class was great, the other couldn't follow simple directions like shut your trap while I'm taking attendance or that only 1 person can leave the room at a time WITH A HALL PASS...yet these teens would come up to me in groups and ask if they ALL can go back to their lockers, or bathrooms, or whatever...I totally gave up on these kids and I usually don't do that. Not going to listen? Fine. You'll pay when your teacher comes back on Monday...especially since it's my BOYFRIEND I WAS SUBBING FOR!!! :-P That's the funny part - they didn't know who I was...just a sub...heh heh...I wish I could be there on Monday to see the action!!!

i hate to say this, but I think the education system we have today is "dumming down" the curriculum and standards...It's VERY sad when you are in HS and you spell "does" as "dose" or "having" as "haveing"...is there no SPELL CHECK? I am also irked at teachers who do not give out hw because they "plan" on their students not doing it. This irks me more - kids who go to resource who are excused from doing the same work as everyone else...not even ATTEMPT to do it...instead sit there and draw and color or read comic books...so then his classmates view him as stupid. See, I didn't know this kid was in resource when I subbed yesterday so I handed him a math worksheet. This girl comes up to me and says, "Oh so and so doesn't do that. He's in resource, he can't do that math." WE ARE JUST LETTING THIS KID STAY DUMB!!! Doesn't this place a stigma on this poor child? He can't do this math because he is more dumb...more stupid...it's just SAD...

I realized I don't like subbing HS - many love it because it's easy, it's babysitting for reals. I guess the real reason is that I don't like that - I am hella bored not teaching. I actually like working with students, teaching them something new, and just seeing them excited about learning...I don't see that when I babysit. It could be because I am working towards my teaching credential - I want to teach, not babysit. Babysitting teenagers SUCK!

12:14 am: REGIONS next weekend in Fairbanks, AK - I REALLY WANT TO GO but tickets are hella expensive for 2 nights, 3 days in freakin' freezing cold weather...My sister will be there with her pledges (she's president!!)...I'm so proud of her, hehehe!!! She's rechartering the chapter at Willamette in OR. I really want to go because they are having their recharting INDUCTION ceremony that I'd love to go to...I feel so INACTIVE now that I am alumni...so uninvolved! It would be sooooo cool.........if only it was CHEAPER!! Like $100, then I'd go...but it's like $228... :-P

03:41 pm: Subbing 5th grade today was great - these kids were wonderful. It was quite fun! I have to admit, I do look young and for the rest of my teaching life, people will wonder where the teacher is because I am so small and blend in. In fact, some of the kids I subbed today were taller than me! I have accepted the fact that I am short, yes. Of course, with every smart remark I get from a student about how young I look, esp. when they say I look like a teenager - I thank them. I remind them that I don't mind looking young because when I am 50, I will look like I'm still in my 30s. The kids got a kick out of that. Am I right, or am I right? When I am 50, I don't want to look 50 - I want to look 30! So looking younger is good. At least no one cards me at the movies when I go see a rated R one...I'll worry then...

06:42 pm: WHEW! Went out last night with my old roomie from sophomore year - it was FUN! We went to HUMPY's to listen to Nervis Rex, the ska band Danny is in. The bad thing is, now that Danny is in the band, I don't get to dance ("skank") to the songs with him...Anyway, it was pretty fun having my ol' roomie around - now that she's single and no longer connected at the hip with her previous bf - it's nice! She's become more independent - yeah! She had hot guys hit on her and buy her drinks, hehehe, something new to her. She hasn't really been out much since she usually stayed home with the bf. She kissed 2 guys, danced with 4 different guys, and gave her phone # out, hahahaaa...funny....stuff she's NEVER done before...hehehe!!!

10:10 pm: Besides the crabby lady irritating me, subbing went well today.

During journal time, this girl wrote about me - "I like the substitute teacher. I wish she could be here everyday. She is nice to me while I'm at school." IT WAS SO FREAKIN' SWEET! I sorta feel bad when her real teacher reads it!! All her letters were bunched together though - hard to read, but SO sweet when she read it to me...aww....

So I had door duty today, one of the first graders that I knew as a kindergartner gave me a big hug - so adorable, this short little boy wraps his arms around my legs.........so adorable...if only kids stayed so sweet, innocent, and small...It really makes a difference when the kids know who you are...I love being a teacher.

10:59 pm: Not looking forward to tomorrow...I have to wake up early to take my mom to the airport for a business trip and then I have to get ready and deal with middle school kids...a nice skinny white choco mocha sounds pretty good...

10:08 pm: Totally freakin' out right now...I think I might have sent my finger prints and $66 application fee to the WRONG place for my student teaching...aw, crap...deadline is today too so it's not like I can redo it...freakin' out......ugh....1 thing tells me to send it to this place, another thing tells me to send it to another...ugh.....I really hate the unorganization...which place is it? UGH! STRESS!! I don't want to fork over more $$!! Irritating!! Ya know, I like the professors and all, but who ever is running the office is screwing up - some of my classmates don't even have the DVDs or even their books yet! We started class a month ago!! I know the person in the office quit so things got screwed up when she left and now they just hired someone new...great....really ticking me off....losing paperwork...etc...

04:24 pm: I'm kinda excited about the new intial cert they district came up with...I have to get my teaching cert within 3 yrs but I will have it by the end of spring. I think this is their way of solving the lack of teachers here...but honestly, who would want to work in this district where they cut TERS? I may teach here for a year and move....we will see....kinda sucks for incoming new teachers...

02:10 pm: I am pooped from working and school. I love teaching and all, but near the end of the day, my throat is SCREAMING in pain! It's not like I'm constantly yelling as misbehaving children, but I am always talking, reading aloud, singing, and getting super duper hyper while I'm teaching to get the kids all riled up and interested in learning. I don't know how I would last if I had to do this every day! Should I be drinking tea? I am drinking lots of water throughout the day...I have to watch when I have pullouts so I can actually use the bathroom...One time I had to go SO bad I went to the little kid toilet we had in the classroom...I thought I was going to pee in my pants...good thing the kids didn't notice I was gone....technically, I was still IN the room...

Might as well share the good news...I QUALIFY to teach in AK with the Initial Teaching Certificate! YEAH!!!!!!!! So I could be hired NOW if I applied but I'm not sure what to do about my classes....

08:45 pm: Middle school - kids are SO NOISY and GIGANTIC...but some are small like me...must be 7th graders. Man - I am glad I don't teach middle school FT - they aren't as loving as elementary kids - no 8th grader drew me pictures like the 4th graders did....figures...but they are nice to me and respectful in listening (most of the time).

No one asked me for a hall pass, but get this: a staff member thought I was bringing my kid in to stop by their locker - HAHAHAAA....me? have a kid in middle school? Why i must have had a kid when I was 11!!! EEWW!!! I don't know what's worse - old enough to look like I have a kid in middle school or looking like a middle school student....

11:29 pm: wish me luck...i am teaching middle school kids tomorrow...I HOPE I DON'T BLEND IN....that would be EMBARASSING if someone stops to ask me for a hall pass...sigh...