I am a transplant, too

Hello all, here's a quick update on life lately...

First off, Merry Christmas! Tisa and I spent Christmas with the Shumakers this year, and I really enjoyed spending some quality time playing "crash the cars" with Cavin, then later charades, fictionary, and pictionary with the rest of the family. One of the highlights for me was watching my wife try to act out Too Fast, Too Furious; for the word fast, Tisa did a stop motion action of someone running and made a phenomenal "ffshhh" sound that was unmistakably fast.

Another highlight is the cast-iron dutch oven, which was a gift from Mom and Dad Shumaker... I get to finally try out the no knead bread that Bahman posted on his blog a while back... right now dough is rising in the cold oven. You should really check out the Bittman video on how to make bread, hopefully all goes as planned (we are trying to use 2/3 white flour and 1/3 wheat to substitute for a slightly healthier recipe). Here's the original youtube video, if you're so inclined. Or, you could see the modified recipe update for a speedier version a year or two later (where Bittman looks a little hurt that his bread has no crust).

Tisa and I just finished a mini-tour of the northern bay area... here's a quick list of the highlights in chronological order (not by order of importance)...

1. Arrived in SF, staying at Parc 55, very ritzy, very cheap through hotwire.com . But, wait, charging for internet in the room? Lame. Also, parking = nightmare. We parked at a meter a block away from the hotel, then searched fruitlessly for overnight parking, only to return to a parking meter three spots ahead of the original an hour later. Had to get up at 5:30 am to find daily parking.

2. Sweet Crepe's near union square. So good. Savory. (Goal for the upcoming year: try to make a savory crepe).

3. Sweet art at the MOMA.

4. Dinner with Jeff K. at a sweet italian diner, a block from his place--very good food, fun mission district restaurant.

5. Up to Petaluma that night, slept in, checked out the downtown in P-town, then talked with a realtor about what neighborhoods would suit us in the future.

6. Drove through picturesque vineyards and rural countryside about 10 blocks from Petaluma's downtown. The countryside is littered with little bike trails, totally separate from the roads that traverse the county alongside the farms and wineries.

7. Wine tasting @ russian river winery.

8. Met cool people everywhere--from business owners to teachers at restaurants, everyone was friendly and enjoyed striking up casual conversations with us. Such a great change from the pervasive indifference one gets accustomed to in Lala land.

9. Russian River Brewing company. Amazing brews.

10. Iron Horse Winery before leaving town (pictured above). Really great wine, friendly owners, and a great view of the vineyards. Wine tasting is outside, and there we met a wine-maker who was buying a bottle of champagne to celebrate the birth of his daughter. He was a cool dude.

Well, that's ten, and that should be enough. But, my overall impression is that I definitely want to move to this area. Tisa feels the same. We plan on heading up here in 1.5 years... too long, but a necessary time frame to really be ready to buy a house. I can't wait.

Sad story

Had parent conferences last night and the night before. Here's typically what I'm thinking:

"Man, that kid took forever to turn in his friggin' essay. Jeez, he's got to get his act together; this is ridiculous. Let's look up his other grades--5 F's! Let's definitely have a parent conference."

Then, the parent shows up, and occasionally I find out that my students are dealing with so many difficult situations in life, it's no wonder when students don't complete a stupid essay.

Ie: Found out a student like above has a 10-years-left-in-life prognosis (and some other things I won't go into). Shit. Every time I think about it, my eyes are welling up.

I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now

Alright, I know I've told most of the dudes about this (except Clearwater... so this is news to you). Christmas Gift Challenge, should you choose to accept it:
Create a mix-cd for an as-yet unmade film to be directed by Wes Anderson. Title of the mix-cd will be title of the film. If desired, create liner notes/synopsis of the plot.
We'll get together to exchange said CD's with a good amount of holiday bev's, and listen to our mix-cds/party on down Apt. 108 style. You in?
Oh, and then, we'll send the whole set to Wes Anderson.

Dirty Projectors

I feel like there's a ton going on that I want to blog about. Then I put it off a few days, and I'm at the point where I have about 10 posts simmering on the back burner. I'm going to post one every couple of days just to get them out there.

1) Dirty Projectors = Awesome.
Went and saw the Dirty Projectors with Hippy Steve and Meredith last saturday (Halloween). We walked through echo park, stopped for some street tacos at the place down the block (hands down, best street tacos in Echo park), and went to the early show at the Jensen Rec center. Little Wings opened, and it was my first time seeing them. The band played great, and even though I don't own any little wings albums, I still recognized a few songs (scooby's gone away, something like that).

The Dirty Projectors came on by 8:20 for an hour long set, mostly off Bitte Orca. It was incredible. Each member of the band has so much musical talent. The drummer was particularly impressive; he played like he was going to destroy the heads on his drums while keeping perfect time and tempo changes every other minute. The lead guitarist also really impressed me, reminded me of the guitarist from YES with some of his finger picking. One last note, one of the female vocalists suprised me by all of a sudden belting out a song like a soul singer from the seventies.

If you want to hear one of their songs, see the Iguana in the Sun mix below.

Back to School...

I'm back in Lunch Lady Land... about midway through week three.

So far, I have to say that I've been very impressed with the current class. Things are off to a good start, my classroom feels pretty well managed -- at points I feel wildly successful -- of course, those highs last only so long, and the honeymoon may be slowly getting over.

Just a quick update...

Awesome things in life right now:

• Free Opera Tickets given to Tisa and I by our landlady... pretty good seats, Elixir of Love, really good stuff.
• Had a great time at the Bon Iver show celebrating Tisa's birth. They rocked alot harder than expected. Megafaun opened... I had never heard of them before, but having seen them, I really enjoyed they're banjo accompanied crooning.
• Great students that have been polite and respectful, really great year so far.

Crappy things in life right now:

• Bed bugs. Not fun. Check out this video if you have any doubts...

Back in lala land

Tisa and I are back in LA after a great vacation in Yosemite with Tisa's family, and a couple days in Merced as a layover before heading home.

Tons of highlights throughout the trip, had a really nice time with everyone there, and was happy to have Brian meet us in Yosemite for a week.

Tops on the trip was a hike up to Cloud's Rest in the northern yosemite wilderness. 14.4 miles round-trip, pretty decent day hike. At the end, there's this awesome part with all these Granite slabs that ascend to the top, at one part, we walked along a five foot path next to the drop off (which probably descends about 4,000 feet to the valley). Pretty exhilerating. Phenomenal view of halfdome. I'll post some pictures as soon as they're uploaded.

Hometown

Wrapping up a week in Sacto this evening, heading back to lala land tomorrow.
The week in review, a top ten list:

1. Tapas, then Mildly Mannered Millie, or some such musical, at Music Circus... really good actually, felt like I was back in the roaring twenties when Gatsby was bootlegging.
2. Rode bikes to Natomas Lake, jumped off a giant stump into the lake. Good times.
3. Merlino's Orange Freeze... changed its name, but the recipe remains the same: tons of sugar.
4. Rode bikes to Natomas Lake again. Rented stand-up paddle boards. Pretended to be Hawaiian for an hour.
5. Rafted down the Sacramento river today, those class I rapids were actually pretty fun. Felt like I was traveling down the Mississippi.
6. Mexican food with Mariachi's.
7. Lots of Ping Pong, a bit of tennis, and a bit of chess.
8. Stayed up until 5 a.m. reading American Shaolin, and learned alot about kung fu and chinese culture following the fall of Mao.
9. Breakfast with Clearwater and Bonnie in Davis... vegans eat less cheese.
10. Lots of quality time with Tisa, my parents, my brother, Grandma Lea, and Ruby.

All in all, had a pretty good-feeling time in Sac, hit up most of the nostalgia I remember from growing up near the river, and really enjoyed the time here. Next week, off to Yosemite to see Tisa's folks and a hike to Cloud's Rest.

CD of the New Financial Quarter

Now available.

Album Artwork to your left... print out... try to fold along lines. If that fails, make a paper boat and hold a race down by the river.

CD Title: an iguana in the sun
by: Various artists of the new financial quarter

You can download the tracks in one giant file by following this link (an Iguana in the Sun), filling in the text box, clicking download, waiting 25 seconds, then clicking download again. Or, you're welcome to listen below. Here's to iguana's, natures natural nurturer.

An Iguana in the Sun

Happy 4th of July!

Tisa and I went to the Hollywood Forever cemetery for a screening of Jaws this fourth of July. There were probably about 500 people or so there; we spread out our blanket, and had a nice picnic with some sangria. They have a DJ spinning tunes until it gets dark enough to show the movie, and this was probably the best remembrance of MJ's life that I've seen. Right before the movie came on, the DJ played a three song MJ set... starting with Jackson Five - ABC, moving onto Bus Stop, then ending with Thriller. As soon as Bus Stop started, at least 400 people just jumped up and started grooving and dancing in the cemetery. It was surreal and amazing (I've never seen anything like it in LA). Tisa and I jumped up and started dancing on our blanket, and I couldn't help but just look around in awe. People continued moving through Thriller... very fitting in the cemetery after dusk. As the fireworks went off in neighborhoods surrounding the area, people sat back and enjoyed the film. I actually felt a little sad that MJ passed, and really enjoyed sharing that moment with the other random people there.

Upcoming... other movies on saturdays and sundays at the cemetery... best time in LA by far.

Tip: Ride a bike there, they let you in pretty much first.

Soon: A sweet mix tape/CD for the summer that you can download... working on it now.

Ignorance

I can't help but feel utterly frustrated by this city. Last night, as though to celebrate the NBA finals victory, hundreds of fans converged on the Staples center and essentially started a minor riot. On the news, videos showed people hurling rocks at the police, and throwing lit fireworks into the groups of officers.

I am embarrassed by the lack of dignity in L.A. While, hopefully, this is just a minor portion of the population who were engaged in this minor riot, I can't help but think that this behavior is indicative of the general mindset of this town. Obviously, many feel a certain enmity toward the police, but what gives anyone the excuse to attack police officers? In Los Angeles, the social consciousness dictates that what is right is defined by being self-centered. And, people seem to believe that as a celebration of superiority in sports, we can express our superiority over all those around us. Which means that we can defy even the police who are, for the most part, here to serve and protect us. Sadly, we need more police to be here to protect us from ourselves.

This self-centered philosophy is apparent throughout the city--in people's driving, in their loud music and disregard for their neighbors, and even in the general courtesies in the check-out line. God, this town is ignorant, and unashamed of showing it to the world. I can't wait to leave.

More pictures if you're interested...

The Tick!

Ticks are pretty awesome, and not just because of the show on comedy central. And, in part homage and part elegy to one such creature, I have this story to tell:

Tisa and I took an 11 or 12 mile hike to wrap up spring break... this was four weeks ago, so I'm playing catchup on my blog. We left a car at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, then drove up to the Switzer picnic area to begin the hike. We figured, 11 miles or so, mostly downhill, meh! Not bad at all, right?

Well, 11 miles can take its toll... Tisa and I both ended up very sore (despite the 130 miles we had travelled by bike the week before). We passed through some really incredible areas, and only ran into one other hiker the the first 8 miles or so. Several ducks swarmed us as we crossed the stream, flying back and forth overhead, making the crossing quite difficult but memorable.

And, the last 4 miles or so, I began to feel like I had scraped my knee. Weird though, since I was wearing jeans, and had only leaned against one rock while taking a picture.

At home, we discovered the tick. Carefully embedded in my knee cap. After consulting numerous guides on what to do, I poured some vaseline on it, hoping it would crawl out for air. No luck. Then, I twisted and pulled, twisted and pulled, and eventually, I think I got him loose. Though, there still might be tick teeth in me. Which is always a nice souvenir.

Bike Trip: San Luis Obispo to Carpinteria

So, I'm going to post each of my daily journals, alongside pictures of the trip.

Day 1: San Luis Obispo to Oceano (15 miles), Sat 3/28

Beautiful train ride, one of the most in my opinion. Tisa and I stayed up till almost 3 am the night before the trip getting our gear ready. The BOB was a ton of work - had to saw off part of the quick-release (necessitating a trip to Home Depotat 7 a.m. Saturday morning). On the train, there's a beautiful piece of countryside with houses on it between Gaviota and Lompoc (possible future home here?)

(my bike with the BOB attached)

(Tisa in Shell Beach)

The ride went well, and the BOB is getting more comfortable. At this point my lower back is very sore. The ride to Lompoc will be very challenging. Going uphill is NOT fun, but I'm getting used to it.(The campsite in Oceano)

Weird campsite in Oceano, but I like it. Probably only 15 sites, about 10 with trailers and no one outside. Huge lagoon / nature area right next door--bullfrogs all night. In the morning, Tisa saw a strange spider on the BOB bag, and flicked it off. I didn't think much of it at the time (found out otherwise later). Well, got to get ready for the ride to Lompoc! -K

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Day 2 - Oceano to Lompoc, 47 miles


We're taking it a little bit easier than we originally intended (had initially planned on a 60 mile day today, all the way to Gaviota). Woke up with high spirits--the neighbors in their camper brought over coffee! While the camp ranger was round, I opened my big mouth and subsequently found out that we hadn't stayed in the right campground. This cost us a trip back on the PCH to settle our accounts (which could have meant that we would have to pay for the night twice, once for our reserved campsite, once for the one we ended up in). Luckily someone had already paid for our site!

(Tisa drinking coffee in the campground)

Getting started was pretty rough, not used to the hills and the BOB. By Guadalupe, gusts of wind were crossing the farmland, making it tough to control the bike.

(Lunch in Guadalupe)

After leaving Guadalupe, the PCH headed inland, making the wind push us forward, and we had a smooth 15 miles through farms lined with green hills. Having a tail wind is awesome, it made the long ride seem much more manageable.

(farmland between Guadalupe and Lompoc)

(The Harris Grade)

Around 3:30 pm we turned onto the Harris Grade, a "600 ft. climb over 3.5 miles" (according to our Biking the Pacific Coast guidebook). This was intense, and clearly the toughest riding we've done since moving to LA. Windy streets all the way up the hill, with a minimal shoulder, and many blind corners. The hill was so steep that I spent the entire run of it in my highest gear. Tisa and I took several breaks on our way up.

(Tisa parked at the top of the Harris Grade)

On our way downhill, Tisa's back tire went flat--my first on the road tire changing. It took at least an hour, and while it was frustrating at the time (trying to pull the stiff rubber over the rim is tricky!), I felt pretty good after fixing it. There seems to be something romantic about fixing a flat on the side of the road (or so I imagined it prior to the trip). In reality it's about half romantic, half sheer frustration and cursing.

(Dinner in Lompoc)

We cruised into Lompoc very sore, tired, and cold. Set up camp and met another hiker biker named Roy (more about the colorful people we met later), then went to dinner at the Jalama Beach Cafe for a warm meal before bed. I love my wife for putting up with this adventure.

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Day 3 - Lompoc to Gaviota, 25 miles

Went pretty slow, taking it easy this day. While waking up in the tent, I saw some motion... SPIDER IN THE TENT! I jumped away and grabbed some tissue to kill it. Disaster averted... for now.

T and I packed up after sleeping in and went into Lompoc for groceries and a cup of coffee. Then, by about 2:30 pm, hit the road, turning onto the PCH for a 13.5 mile climb gaining 900 feet in elevation, our highest climb yet. The traffic was light, and frequently we could actually hear what each other were saying. This hill was exactly what I imagined for this trip... a steady bug gradual climb, huge shoulder, and beautiful green hills, semi-forested, broken only by the rare ranch on both sides of the road, as far as was visible. Cows along the road kept a close watch on us... they didn't bat an eye at the passing traffic, but they would all turn and watch as we slowly crept by up the hill. A few of the cows were quite amorous, making for a humorous day all around.

(Tisa next to the hills)

(The cows on the farms next to the PCH)

Surprisingly, despite our overwhelming ride the day before, my legs and back felt fine (until the last mile uphill. At the top we paused for a picture, then began the 2.5 mile, 7% grade down to the 101.

(A pause for a picture, right before our descent)

(The hill we rode down, pictured from below)

I white knuckled it, clutching my brakes desperately down the hill. Especially when the shoulder turned to gravel. I could hear my brakes change pitch as they heated up, but I didn't dare let go of them because of the control over the trailer. My frame is obviously not constructed for touring with weight, and due to that, I felt like the front tire had minimal traction on the road. This did make going down hill a bit tricky, because if I got off balance, or my front wheel hit gravel, I could easily end up over the handlebars.

We paused across the freeway to try and find the Gaviota hot springs. We started to hike up to the springs, then turned back because it was already close to 5:30 and we had a few more miles to make it to our campsite before dark.

We followed the 101 for about 3 miles to Gaviota at one point passing a roadside spedometer that clocked us at 13 or 14 miles an hour. It looked awesome, seeing our small speed posted on the busy freeway. Rode right past the bridge from The Graduate, then pulled into Gaviota state beach. Although the campsite was closed till April (two days away), the host let us camp there. The place was completely empty and at first this seemed like our own private camping vacation.

(T and I on the beach at Gaviota before dinner)

(The train tacks going over the beach in Gaviota)

But, that was by far the windiest night of the trip. By the time we ate dinner, we could hardly sit outside, and so moved into the tent. An eerie evening with shadows and weird sounds. Otherwise slept well and enjoyed waking up in our own private campground.

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Day 4 - Gaviota to Carpinteria - 45 miles


Well, this was our last day of touring, about 45 miles, so we woke up early to get a jump start on the day. Despite our ambitions, it still took until 11:00 am before we hit the road.

As Tisa was packing, five or six of the same spiders were all over the saddlebags. This was the last of our spider adventures. It was weird, freaked us both out. Were there eggs in our stuff? Why are they following us?

The first 20 miles or so were gruelling; hills that are hardly noticeable by car are challenges by bike along the 101. Traffic was relatively heavy, and despite the serene view of the ocean, we could hardly hear ourselves over the clamor of semis and trucks passing us just a few feet away.

(The coastline along the 101)

At refugio beach, we took the off-ramp to see if the bike path to El Capitan beach was open, down the hill to the ranger station just to read the sign saying the bike path was closed. Bummer. So, continued on to Goleta (Hollister Exit), the rest of our travel would be on streets and bike paths making a much more pleasant ride.

(Baja Fresh sounded too good for lunch... guess we aren't really purists).

Once we got towards Santa Barbara, we passed a beautiful area--half suburban, half rural--houses intermixed with farms, all within the city of Goleta. Some streets had equestrian trails alongside the shaded bike lanes, very enjoyable ride. However, almost as though the stretch of the 101 drained us, we were very tired and had difficulty pushing the last 20 miles. Through Santa barbara and onto a bike path along the ocean with stunning wildflowers and views of the waves.

(Part of the bike path along the ocean in Santa Barbara)

The guidebook listed one short steep hill, which we had been dreading all day (after having severely underestimated the 600 foot climb two days before). Luckily, since the guidebook had been written, a new bike path had been built, totally circumventing the ascent, and taking us right into the small town of Summerland, a quaint, upscale community with antique shops, restaurants, and wine tasting. The last of these being closed for the day, we pushed on to Carpinteria, following a bike path with a huge biking culture. We probably saw more bikers thank cars, all wearing the latest gaudy gear. We passed some giant Polo fields, then coasted into the campsite. The hiker-biker sites were tucked behind a fence, making T and I look like hippy squatters. After setting up camp, we went back into town for pizza, beer, and wine, a reward for the end of our 125 mile adventure.

(Our campsite in Carpinteria, clearly the nicest of the campsites we stayed in)

(Sitting on the beach the next day, taking it easy before our train back to LA).

Diaz's Dominican Republic

I quite enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; not only did I learn a ton about the DR (or Dominican Republic for all of you who haven't read Yunior's narrative), but I also found the writing refreshing--this is clearly literature, and it's uplifting that actual literature has been a best-seller.

The story covers Oscar Wao's family curse. Wao's maternal grandfather had insulted Trujillo, dictator for some thirty plus years in the DR responsible for genocide of the Haitians as well as a curtain of ignorance cutting off the island from the rest of the world. The story begins with the story of Wao, then works backwards through Wao's sister's history, his mother's childhood, then his maternal grandparents lives several generations before, then returns to Wao's college life and post-college career. This curse has become most focused in the character of Oscar, who is a severely overweight, sci-fi/fantasy uber nerd who is the accidental hero of the story. His grail (or as he would put it, his one ring)? Finding a woman who would love him back.

All I knew about the book prior to reading it was that it could be compared to The Great Gatsby; and I didn't really understand why till I had almost finished. The narrator, much like Nick Carroway, is more of an observer than a part of the conflict, one who is chronicaling something far more important than his own pitiful existence. I say pitiful because Nick Carroway is reprehensible. Similarly, Yunior (the narrator of Diaz's novel) is a contemptible creation: a cocky womanizer with minimal vision outside of his own sphere of existence. I wondered then, and continue to wonder now, if Yunior is actually named "Junior" but due to Oscar's DR accent, Yunior has no choice but to appropriate Oscar's pronunciation in the dialogue. Interesting, but more of a side note than actual thought about the novel.

At first, I was very turned off by Yunior's voice. I was reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with my English class at the same time, and while I consider the use of the "n word" absolutely essential to the time period of Finn, I thought Diaz was using it excessively. That, mixed with heavy DR slang and historical footnotes made the book very difficult to understand at first. I truly enjoyed reading it once I had grappled enough with the language and had covered enough of the plot to understand the dynamic of the story.

I enjoyed the chronology of the story... by going back through the family's past, I felt very connected to Oscar, and also understood the reverence placed on the curse that Yunior describes. But, as the story progressed, I began to really enjoy the similarities with One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez. The two definitely have the magical realism elements, and it seems to me that Diaz clearly evokes the same style of story-telling by going on long side tangents and footnotes that seem to deviate from the plot, but provide extensive backstory and character motivation that enrich and enliven the story.

Enough of the literary critique. As a read, I found the book enjoyable and informative. I had no understanding of the history of the DR prior to the read... afterwards, I was surprised to find that such horrible travesties had been committed so close to our country. The book has some intense scenes that truly show the cruelty of Trujillo's regime (and even typing this now makes me wonder if I'm bringing the curse on myself).

I also really liked the story of Oscar's search for love. But, to some extent, Yunior's voice clouded the more noble search for fulfilling love with the less noble search for sex. This made me a little sad because it seemed like turning a positive goal into a more base hormonal craze, but is realistic. To some extent, most American males are obsessed with sex. So, while I thought this took away from Oscar's character, I guess it also is just another way that Yunior is affecting the story he chronicals.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. I would definitely recommend it to many (namely my brother), and thanks Mike for passing it my way. I think I'll need to re-read it at some point to understand more of the inner-workings of the novel.

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The next few posts are going to be the journals I wrote on Tisa's and my bike adventure. We made it 125-130 miles, and it was MUCH more difficult than I anticipated. Not sure if we actually enjoyed ourselves, but it was an awesome trip.

Also, I'm reading a Nicolas Sparks book, and I'm quite embarrassed about it right now (plus, it's actually pretty good).

Top of the Mornin' To You!

Just thought I'd share an old favorite of mine off the Onion. Happy St. Patrick's Day (note: I hope that I have at least one message on my phone today from someone singing "Danny Boy" at any cadence or pitch of the singer's preference).

Upcoming Bike Tour

This is the tentative route that Tisa and I will be taking in the first week of April. We're planning about 200-230 mile bike tour of the coast from San Luis Obispo to L.A. Buying the bike trailer tomorrow so that we can tow our stuff. We're pretty damn excited. It's going to be awesome, camping along the way, probably biking around 50-60 miles a day. This weekend, we started upping our training. took a nice 25 mile ride up to Pasadena and back, really great ride. I'm pretty sure we can handle about 40-50 miles in a day, but we're going to be very tired! We rode to church today (about 5-7 miles), and I had my first experience really riding the day after a longish ride. Phew... Tisa and I both felt it... serious pains in the rear... saddle-soreness, and a bit of tight muscles. Man, we're going to need some more training before this trip! But, here's what's really cool, at some point today, about 3/4 of the way to church, I stopped noticing how sore I was. Tisa noticed the same thing. Hopefully it's similar on the trip. ANd also, hoping we aren't trying to go in way above our heads.

Started reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Diaz. Pretty interesting beginning, will post more about it later. (Still finishing The Boat by Nam Le, which has been pretty good overall). Thanks Mike for the book, Merry X-Mass.

uber productivity

I had an uber productive day.

First off, a little pat on the back... I seriously motivate kids to write. Today, this was my lesson plan--"EAP Diagnostic Essay." All I did was put an essay prompt on table at the back of the room. By the time class began, I was already telling them how important this essay was. That's all it took. 35-40 minutes of solid writing from everyone in the class. It's at moments like these that I realize how awesome my students are. They trust me when I say, "Yes, I know writing is tough, and isn't always the most fun thing to do, but we need to do it to get better, and we've only got one month before the big test." Total buy in on their part. It's awesome.

So, while they were testing, I made a huge list of things I had to do... and all but one are now crossed off and it's midway through my last class of the day. Which gives me enough time to blog.
See, the problem has been a current obsession with online chess. It's totally turning into an addiction. I try to justify it because chess seems like a pretty good thing to be addicted to. But, I'm seriously daydreaming about awesome moves I had two days ago. And, in my classroom, I have access to Yahoo's online chess player. SHIT! It's become increasingly difficult to get work done at work, and totally taking up personal time. Even now, talking about it, I get minor shots of adrenaline thinking about how great it feels to win or how it feels to make an utterly demolishing move.

While I'm on this thought, I should probably also mention that writing a blog about being uber production and uber obsessed with chess clearly qualifies me as an uber nerd. Just watch. By my next blog, I'm going to be wearing suspenders. I'll be the Stephen Urkel of the blogging world. Of course, he was so nerdy that he built a machine to change him into the super cool Stephan Urrkell (pronounced much cooler, obviously). I'm pretty much the opposite... drifting into further and further nerdiness. That's assuming I was cool to begin with.

Did I do that?

Been a long time, here's an update...

So, I haven't blogged at all for a while... thought I'd just throw up a few thoughts to talk about what I've been up to and what I'm looking forward to...

Music I'm listening to... I'm pretty stoked about this, ask Tisa how much I actually talk about it. On Slacker media player and purchased one about a month and a half ago. For a while I was pretty frustrated with it, but they recently added a software update and it fixed all the glitches. Basically, the thing is like Pandora, on the go. It connects wirelessly, and downloads around two hours of all of my customized stations. It's awesome, and I've found a bunch of new music that I didn't know about beforehand. I didn't know I like Kings of Leon. Turns out I do. I also didn't know I like Blonde Redhead so much. Turns out I do. I'm going to post a mix cd pretty soon of the sweet stuff I've been listening to. Stay tuned.

Life with the wife... is pretty sweet. Taught Tisa how to play chess last night... I'm trying to curb my online chess addiction by playing chess with Tisa, it's working pretty well. Tisa's still at Cal state LA, but looks like her student teaching will be at my high school, really awesome. We saw Volver the other night; I thought it was hilarious.

At school, the students are ok. I felt alot more connected with last year's class, but this year's crop is growing on me. We're starting Huck Finn next week, which is a little stressful because it didn't sell as well last year. This year should be really good though, the kids are very bright (they're just a little unmotivated).

Looking forward to:
Valentine's day... camping with the wife somewhere along the coast...
Reading Speed of Dark with my modest faculty book club... full of medical ethics... if they cure autism, should the cure be forced on a person with autism?
Drinking... various cocktails that I'm creating using a book Tisa gave me for christmas. Making a pretty darn tasty Cosmopolitan and Manhattan at this point.
Really distant future? Tisa and I keep talking about trying to apply for a teaching job with the Department of Defense... ideally at the same high school in italy or germany.

Well, hope everyone out there is doing well, give me a ring and I'll tell you all about my slacker player.