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I am an artist & teacher with a ❤ for visual expression, educational methodology, homesteading, & Jesus. My geek-love is The Joshua and we have three peanut-butters: Caleb, Jack, & Louritta.

Accidental Overdose

04/19/2005

I went to the doctor today and learned that people with allergies and asthma are very prone to getting various kinds of skin rashes. Grrrrrreat. So, I was given a topical cream to put on should such flare-ups occur. (It has steroids…I wonder if that will help with my spiking ability…) I was reading the informational pamphlet that came with the cream, when I came across something quite interesting, “In case of overdose, call the US national poison hotline at 1-800-222-1222.”
HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU OVERDOSE ON A TOPICAL CREAM??? Like, you just take sixty bottles of the stuff and repeatedly rub layers and layers on your skin? Sit in a bathtub full of it?
Heh heh. For you visual types, this thought creates many interesting pictures. Hope you get a chuckle out of it like I did! I got two claps and a knee slap out of Josh with it! 😉

Feelin Good.

04/17/2005

I’ve been a surfin volleyball weight-lifting machine lately. I’ve been so hooked on outdoor sports and my new membership to Apple Fitness that I’ve pretty much collapsed every night for the past week because I’ve just been completely physically exhausted. It’s so nice.
Today was awesome playing volleyball because I’ve been doing exercises & lifting weights & surf paddling & other stuff to strengthen my arms. Today when I was spiking, I actually had some good smack-down on the ball and it felt really good to be able to do that! Usually my spikes are a bit lofty, but today they were pretty hard. Woo hoo! I think that surfing has strengthened my arms more than anything though because of all that paddling. Nothing like a good case of noodle-arm after battling those waves for a couple of hours. Whew!
I love exercise that is sport oriented and I’m really glad that I have fun outlets for that out here. I’ve got surfing buddies and volleyball-addict friends so it is a good social time too. Oh, and I’ve discovered that there is a Dairy Queen in the ghetto part of Santa Cruz (the closest one to us), so now I can surf then get cheap ice cream afterwards. Mmmmmmm… Now, if only I could find a Taco John’s out here in California, then Josh and I could both be completely satisfied.

Internet, How I Love Thee

04/14/2005

I didn’t have Internet for the last two days at home. Well, very sporadically. Anyhoo, I didn’t realize how much I relied on the Internet. I kept going back to my laptop to try again and again to connect. Turned out there were some issues with the base station or whatever.
Add to that the fact that my school has been locking up all kinds of stuff on the network. Turns out that pretty much everything on the Net is not appropriate for children. Including teacher websites that post homework and grades, the New York Times…that kind of stuff. But, it’s mostly sorted out now. I think. And, they blocked all outgoing mail servers except their crappy Microsoft Exchange dealy. That complicates e-mail a bit.
I’m pumped to hear that some cities are working to offer free city-wide wi-fi. That’d be so sweet. I wonder if schools would leach on to those systems and crappy Microsoft programs would either improve to standard or die (the latter might be nice). Then life would be so smooth. Or smoothish. Cool anyway.
I love the Internet. It is my friend. It tells me things. It makes me feel special.

Teachery Awards

04/09/2005

My school is currently going through their voting process for teacher of the year. Some of the older teachers have boycotted the voting process because they say, “I haven’t seen all of the candidates teach.” Which got me thinking. How does someone get teacher of the year? Do we just vote in any old baffoon? Is it a popularity contest like jr. high student council elections?
Even if we did “see every teacher teach,” wouldn’t we see them teaching an on-purpose good lesson instead of the generally every day lesson? It seems kind of pointless. And, will I become disillusioned with all systems as I get older so that I don’t participate or acknowledge anything that gives awards? Or do I just get wiser somehow and have like special glasses that allow me to see what is and is not a sham. Dunno.
I guess that I see teacher of the year as just a way to say to someone on our staff, “Hey…good work. We respect you and what you do.” *pat on back* It’s not the “Ultimate Superemo Best Super Happy Fun Teacher Award.” (Although that would be cool to win.) So, I voted for a buddy of mine who has a lot of vision, maintains a positive attitude, and has an exquisite understanding of the middle school aged child. That’s my pat on the back to say that I respect him.
The only thing is that if he does win, the award is tainted by this bitter crowd who wouldn’t participate and wouldn’t vote and was just kind of angry. That doesn’t seem like much of an award or a reward for all of the hard work he has shown. And every year we recognize a new teacher so it’s not like my dad winning “Employee of the Month” every month. It cycles through people more.
I don’t know. I guess I just hope I don’t get bitter. If that happens, I’ll just have to retire early and spend the rest of my life surfing and painting. Hmmmm…I feel the bitterness creeping in already.

The X-Files

04/07/2005

So, my drama students will be perfoming in a one-act titled The XYZ Files, which is a spoof on the television series The X-Files. Can anyone recommend some good episodes or a good season to watch? I’d like to watch a few episodes to get a good feel for the show and I’d like to show one to my class. But, since I’m not a big fan of the show, I’d appreciate any thoughts from those of you who’ve seen it!
Thanks!

Groundhog Day

04/04/2005

Well, I’m forcing myself to write a bit since I’ve been in a hole for far too long. So, I finished the portfolio part of my national board stuff and I just have six tests left. Then, I’m finished assuming I pass everything. Most teachers take two years to finish since less that 10% pass the first time. I’m hoping to be in that 10%, but not expecting it.
I think people expected me to finish the portfolio then throw a big super social party or something. But, that’s not what happened. I actually feel more introverted that I have in a long time. I relate it to a sort of groundhog day. Like, I’ve been in this hole for so long working on the portfolio. Then, I finish and go outside and I’m like, “Whoa! It’s bright out here!!!” So, then I go back in the hole so I can adapt more slowly to the light.
Actually, the day after I finished my portfolio I came home after work and sat on the couch. I sat there for a good half hour before I figured out what I usually do when I don’t have a portfolio to work on. It seemed odd that I was sitting there thinking, “What did I used to do with my time?”
But, I planted all my seeds for spring in new terracotta pots (that I got on sale for 0.99-3.99!!!). I’m excited to see them bloom. I have the herb garden as usual and also put in some poppies, marigolds, daisies, honeysuckle, and a heaven’s breath (cool plant). I also planted two creeping ivy plants that will grow up the wall. They are in the hummingbird corner because their flowers attract hummingbirds, along with the hanging plant I put by the hummingbird feeder on the porch. We get lots of hummingbirds, so I’m hoping we’ll get to see even more!
Oh, and the studio is up an rolling. I’ve worked in it only one night so far because I spent so much time getting it functional. It’s really cool and it’s the first time I’ve really had a big workspace that was mine. I’m pretty pumped about it and like it a lot.
When I woke up Sunday morning my eyes were swollen shut. This hasn’t happened since freshman year when I was losing my vision from that freaky Filipino bacteria. My eyes were really sensitive to the light all day and I got worried a bit. Today, however, they seem to be doing better. I had some of my meds from my last eye problems and used them. I’ll still go in to get them checked out though, hopefully over spring break.
Actually, I was thinking about my eyes and thinking about how life would completely change without them. I mean, I’m a teacher and an artist. It’s like, eyes and hands are the most important thing here. Crazy.
I also was thinking about small things that would totally suck to not have. I mean, imagine losing your keys and not having a spare set. You couldn’t really do much without those babies. I feel that way about my laptop too. Wouldn’t want to be without that.
Okay, so this was the random entry, mostly just to catch people up. I’m emerging from my hole, slowly, but emerging nonetheless.

I’ve Got the Board Blues

03/22/2005

Well, I’m at that yucky part. The part where everthing is mostly done and I’m just tying up loose strings. Lots of loose strings everywhere. I’m editing all of my piles of writing, reading through the binder again to make sure I didn’t forget anything, scanning through my matierials, getting people to edit my work… ugh.
And I’m so tired. I just feel like I could curl up and sleep for like a year. I am so sick of sitting in front of a computer I don’t think I’ll be able to look at it after this. To all of you who sit in front of computers all day…you’re all nuts. Granted, you pay the bills much better than I do (probably). Regardless, I feel my face growing paler even now.
Must…keep…moving…forward. It’s like finals week only without having to memorize 100 works of art for the art history test. Thank goodness I don’t have to do that.

I Hate Writing

03/19/2005

Well, I’m at the point in my National Board thingy where all I have left is a buttload of writing. This is where I get the chance to explain every little decision I make in a good 50+ pages.
I hate writing.
Okay, I like blogging. I like writing silly poems and even sillier songs. I don’t even mind the occasional script. But, see, that’s fun writing. This is technical writing that explains what I do. And there are page limits that I just can’t seem to cram myself into. So maybe it’s editing that I dislike.
For one of my entries, I’m currently a page over and I can’t see what to cut anymore. It’s like, the writing just flows out of me as I answer questions and give explanations. Then, I spend like four hours cutting it down to the required page limit while still giving thorough explanations. I realize that tight writing is better writing. But, it’s also torture.
Can’t I just make a painting about why I teach the way I do? Seriously, at least that would be fun.
I have, however, developed my top five favorite albums to listen to while writing tedious essays. They are as follows:
5. The soundtrack for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
4. John Reuben – Hindsight
3. The Red West – The Red West
2. Nick Drake – Pink Moon
1. Anything by Jack Johnson – I have In Between Dreams, On and On, and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing…

Inspired

03/11/2005

I’m so looking forward to finishing this National Board stuff. Everything is falling in place just great. A couple more weeks of focus and discipline and I’ll be done with my portfolio. I feel pretty good about it. I’m mostly proud of how I’ve been able to manage my time and stress levels through this. I’ve had to be a bit anti-social, but I never got overly stressed. I think this is the first big project I’ve taken on where I’ve been able to balance out work and manage my schedule without biting off more than I could chew.
Anyway, I am just chomping at the bit at all of the possibilities that are out there as creative outlets for me when this baby is done. My studio space (we’re re-doing the garage) is underway and I am hoping it will be workable soon.
I went to a teacher’s workshop today at Montalvo. There was a dance class that I took that was so fun and inspiring. I realized that, thought I’ve danced a ton in musicals I’ve been in, no one has ever really taught me how to dance. Plus, there was this hip-hop class that was totally sweet. The community college down the street is offering hip-hop classes for their spring quarter and I’m thinking of signing up. That would be in addition to my volleyball class.
The think I love the best about sports & dance is that it’s exercise that isn’t completely focused on the exercise part. It’s focused on the competition and the expression. I love that. Be expressive and get exercise at the same time. That’s the way it should be.
Anyone else feeling inspired lately?

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