Teacher Lip Sync Performance 2012 Part 2

Et tu, AIG? & more rally cam

Happy Belated Ides of March

Who would have realized another great nation feels a sense of betrayal after yesterday's news that the taxpayers are footing the bill for AIG execs getting millions of dollars in bonuses. Screw the bailout... let all these companies file for bankruptcy. Save the small businesses and the middle class!

Well, we know that won't happen...

So here's more video to keep you laughing and distracted from the economic crisis.

FLOOR CAM


SENIOR P.O.V.



IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR NEXT YEAR'S THEME, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Oh yeah... there was an actual class competition... here are the winners... the sophomores!

More America's Best Dance Crew

SoReal Cru TV posted a video of their visit to the Bay Area and El Camino makes an appearance... and not just our school, but also our hoodie... The school shows up at about 3:02 in the video. The hoodie much sooner...



December 4, at lunch, Joesar of the Boogie Bots will be visiting our campus to sign autographs and take pictures. Apparently, El Camino has an excellent reputation for supporting and teaching dance. Now, this is no surprise to me, but the fact that this is know beyond our city amazes me, especially since people are hearing about us in Los Angeles. Thankfully, we have a few alumni involved in the dance world. One teaches at Millennium and a couple others tour and perform in music videos. Congrats to them and thanks for representing your alma mater.

New EC Leadership Design

One of my students has been working hard on a new design for our Leadership sweatshirt/T-shirt. Please share an opinion. The left top design is the front and right top design is taken from the yearbook to be used on the sleeve. It's to go along with the Inspired campaign.

Vote for Alicia Vosberg & Help EC Win $10,000

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jay dela Cruz

415-296-8900, jdelacruz@comcastsportsnet.com

COMCAST SPORTSNET BAY AREA ANNOUNCES FINALISTS

FOR 2008 ALL-STAR TEACHER AWARD

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area to Donate $10,000 to the Winning Teacher’s School; 2008 All-Star Teacher Announced Sunday, July 20

During Giants Pregame Live show

Online Voting for All-Star Teacher Begins May 23 on ComcastSportsNet.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 21, 2008) – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area announced today the five finalists for the 2008 ALL-STAR TEACHER Award. This award was established to acknowledge middle and high school teachers in Northern and Central California for their dedication to go above and beyond to guide their students in school and in the community. The finalists were chosen by a panel of community leaders for their hard work and dedication to helping their students stay in school.

The five finalists are Clyde Carpino of Fairfield High School (Fairfield, CA); Tommie Lindsey of James Logan High School (Union City, CA); Alan Nakamura of Alameda High School (Alameda, CA); Alicia Vosberg of El Camino High School (South San Francisco, CA); and Chris Wardlaw of Anzar High School (San Juan Bautista, CA).

The five finalists’ biographies, along with videos, and photo galleries will be featured online at www.comcastsportsnet.com starting Friday, May 23. Video vignettes featuring the five finalists will air on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area from June 1 – July 11 during select Giants and A’s pregame shows.

Members of the public can help select the 2008 ALL-STAR TEACHER by voting from May 23 through July 15 either online at www.comcastsportsnet.com or by filling out an official ballot form in the San Francisco Chronicle. The winner will be announced at AT&T Park during a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area telecast of Giants Pregame Live on July 20. The 2008 ALL-STAR TEACHER will be presented with a check for $10,000 for his/her school.

The ALL-STAR TEACHER finalists were selected based on their accomplishments in four areas: Overall Commitment, Excellence in Teaching, Rapport with Students, and Level of Distinction. The elite panel of community leaders that selected the finalists consisted of Doug Bartlett, Senior Marketing Director, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and former Bay Area teacher; Rob Jaynes, Director of Fan Development/The Sharks Foundation, San Jose Sharks; Detra Paige, Director of Community Relations, Oakland Athletics; and Sue Petersen, Executive Director of Giants Community Fund, San Francisco Giants.

Last February, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area sent ALL-STAR TEACHER nomination forms to over 200 middle and high schools. Nominations for the 2008 ALL-STAR TEACHER Award were received from students, parents, principals, and teachers throughout the Central Coast and Northern California regions.

“Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and our partners for the ALL-STAR TEACHER Award are grateful to all the finalists for their dedication to their students," said Ted Griggs, Vice President and General Manager, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. “Each of them exemplifies the commitment, loyalty, and service that make a difference in their schools and communities, and especially in the lives of their students, who have learned so much from them. We applaud their efforts and wish them all the best.”

The ALL-STAR TEACHER Award is sponsored by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast Cable, KNBR 680 AM, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The ALL-STAR TEACHER Award is a component of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s annual Stay in School Challenge. The Stay in School Challenge is a community outreach program that rewards middle and high school students for perfect attendance over an eight-week period. Students in grades 6-12 in the Northern California/Northern Nevada region who maintain perfect attendance (no unexcused absences) can win tickets to a 2008 Oakland Athletics or San Francisco Giants home game. Since 1996, over 215,000 tickets to an Oakland or San Francisco baseball game have been awarded to students.

Showcase Poem

Last Saturday, EC had its second poetry slam of the year. The poem you are about to read is my reaction to 20 students reading their stanza about what writing is to them. The last student talks about how creative writing is what she'll be missing and then I recite thereafter....

I wrote it a couple of hours before the showcase... it's not polished, but it's emotion... enjoy



I miss vowels
A, e, I , o, u
Words now lacking essential sound

We need creative writing
In a world
in which
Creativity is replaced for efficiency
In which
phrases are truncated
Into alphabetic text
Eliminating emotion
(excuse me, to prevent
us from being “emo”)
Our basic human responses
Transforming into people
Incapable of laughter

I miss laughter
It’s been stolen by
The LOL’s of the world
Imagine a world where laughing
No longer erupts from our mouths
And a child never learns
The significance of their smile

Society wants info fast and quick
It profiles and assumes answers
We learn to judge books by their cover
Because reading takes too long, but
Sadly people are too lazy to enter
A bookstore or even afraid too…
Then never even bother to see the cover
So now we judge a book by its movie
We wait to be told what to do
We don’t need dictators to conquer us
We have already subjugated ourselves
Apathy now dictates us
And we lose the art of diction

And all the arts are fading to the wayside
Economy trimming what classes can be taught
So this could be my last
Creative writing class

This is the class I’ll be missing
Because these young minds
Feed into my mind so I can find
The time and energy to be me for EC

Teachers ask me everyday
To define how I can work this way—
Meaning the bombs of stress
and no moments of rest—
trying to keep my head as I face
the daily pace of the school year race—
and I usually say I just need to forget

The reality is I never forget
I internalize and let tension build
Hoping to be filled
With tomorrow’s promise
Rather than my mind’s darkness

I really have no significant other
To share a job no one understands
I don’t go home to unload on a spouse, hell
It’s a victory if I even get home

And that is what EC is…
People say I have a wife
And I’ve spent the past 20 years making EC look good.
From when I first took step on the football field
To maybe grace her stage tonight for the last time

I wonder what she has ever done fro me…
Cuz sometimes I feel she only takes
And takes and never gives, but the truth is
She gave me the most wonderful kids

Each one unique in personality and character

My English kids so young
Still looking to find their voice to make the right choice
The kids who’ll get in trouble every so often
But will make you proud in the end

My leadership kids
Who I wouldn’t hesitate to die for,
Who sacrifice everything to make
Their mom happy
Who use their voices to build
Our family

But I admit sometimes
I play favorites,
And the creative writing kids
Have a different spirit
That remind me of my younger days,
But yet they seem so much stronger
Today than I could ever have been…
I need to write
Writing is my tool
My medicine
My lens to the world

I write to massage
Away every kid who lacks the will to write
And failure is easier than living,
To massage away my anger
When I see a student
Hang a penis from the ceiling
Among the names of all my children,
To massage away these rare moments of doubt
When I wonder if I’d be happier
If I didn’t become a teacher,
To massage away the hundreds of voices
Who all need in their own way

I write to remind myself
There is still something of me
Behind the different masks I wear
In each period I teach

Creative writing is the place
Where I can let my guard down
And feel human and breath
For the sake of breathing

Creative writing saved my life
My freshman year of high school
And in that first sonnet I wrote
All the rumors, pains, and fake
Friends of middle school faded away.

Creative writing discovered my soul
reminds me to nourish it.
Though creative writing class
May begin fragmented
every quick write prompts
A connection.
Every poem strengthens the bonds
Every Friday a chance to be heard
In a society in which almost
No one listens anymore

So thank you
All of you
Especially those who bought a ticket
To hear our voices…
Thank you for listening…

As you’ve heard tonight
These voices here
Will continue to profess
Learn from them as I do each day

Let us memorialize the past this weekend
But remember we are never powerless
With the freedom of speech.

Surreality

I know that I've been working a bit much, for the month of May is probably the craziest month of the year for me. Homecoming week might be my hardest week of work, but there are just so many deadlines in May. I have to wrap up the school year and plot out all of next year in the span of a month... and this month has the added stress of preparing for WASC next year. The world around me seems to not be making much sense.

A couple of things of note:

1. My co-worker Alicia Vosberg is one of the finalists for the Comcast Teacher of the Year award. You will hear more about this later from me because you will all be expected to vote for her online when the time comes.

2. My best friends on staff is leaving El Camino for much more lucrative waters. Although I'm excited for her, the cycle continues and I watch another friend leave. This may also explain why I get so crazy in May. Thankfully I have other great friends on staff, but this ranks up there with a couple of others who have left in the past.

3. Last Friday I left the Giants game and saw the man who later died because of the fight on the ground with all the medical personnel surrounding him. I will go more into this and copy the article from the SF Chronicle at the end of this entry.

4. Senior Ball was Saturday night and it was a pleasant evening. It was a little strange remembering that I missed last year's ball. I took a couple of interesting poses and I will post those when the pics come in from the company.

5. I made my long arduous return to competitive softball this Sunday night. It had been almost a year since I last played a true game and not just practiced. To make things even more interesting, my brother just left for his honeymoon (at least what I call his true honeymoon) so I had to pitch in the first game of the playoffs. This was one of the most exciting games I had played in in a long time. My team lost in extra innings 12-10 unfortunately. My tendons are inflamed and the thought of surgery is starting to sound appealing (and I would truly become part beast when the doctors replace my achilles' tendons with animal ones). My team didn't hit well; I was horribly rusty and even struck out looking. On the positive side, I think I pitched 5 scoreless innings out of 8. The game was a tight pitching duel the entire game. We even came back in the 7th inning to tie, but my legs (quad muscles in particular) felt like they were going to detach and I gave up 6 runs in the top of the 8th inning. My team picked me back up when somehow I got on base as the second batter of the inning and Will hit a 3 run homer. We were able to get the winning run to the plate to hit but we fell short. I really wanted to play in two more games next week for a championship, but my play encouraged me that I should be good for the summer softball season.

So let me go back to last Friday night...
the night was just surreal... you know, one of those nights when you think it's a full moon out...

Johnny came with me to the game and for a change of pace we decided to save a little money and take the train to the ballpark. Immediately, I thought how odd it is i'm there because one of our students sadly lost his life in a train accident just a couple of weeks ago at that same station in San Bruno. We just missed the train and realized it would be 20 minutes until the next scheduled train. Then a marquee sign flashed that the train would be 10 minutes late... then 15 then 20. I grew agitated, especially because it was cold.

We noticed the people around us and many of them were in their early 20s and looking like they had no common sense whatsoever. You could just sense there was going to be trouble... many of the guys were yelling and obnoxiously hitting on some of the women. Three idiots jumped the barrier and were almost hit by an express train. And after what I just knew about one of our students, I couldn't help but think why aren't some people more careful.

After getting off the train and missing the first 2 innings of the game, we walked to the ballpark and 2 of the idiots on our train immediately began yelling loudly and getting into it with other fans around us. For the length of two blocks, these idiots were fighting a few other guys and let it spread into the other hundred fans walking along King Street. One of the idiots was a short guy about 5'2" & 90 lbs. and was wearing a football jersey that could probably fit me. He tried to punch every person who came near him or that he would run into. He was sucker punching people who were not even involved. He would be running down the block accidentally run into somebody and punch them. At one point he ran into a 6'3" dude about 180 lbs and punched him right in the chin. The dude seriously looked down on him and yelled "Are you f**** serious?!?" He grabbed him and tossed him aside, but he immediately got up and started trying to hit others again. He almost ran into me once and all I could think of was that if he attacked me I was going to step on him.

Finally, we made it to the ballpark and 138 was in odd form. The bleachers were filled with all kinds of strange people. Your occasional Friday night fight happens, but the stupidity of behavior all around me was disgusting. One fool (drunk male, very small) kept trying to fight a woman. One of the Giants regulars who sits a bit further away came over to us in 138 and said that he read an article in Sports Illustrated that reviewed all the ballparks. Its comments about AT&T were you don't want to be sitting in the bleachers on a Friday night especially if the Giants are playing the Dodgers. If anyone can get me a copy of this article, I would appreciate it.

Upon leaving the ballpark I saw the consequences of yet another fight... a fight that proved fatal. Click here if you want to read the article.

While walking back to my friend's car after the game, some other idiot was walking alongside the buildings making a scene. He ran up to the window of Amici's and hit the windows yelling at a party eating inside. He kicked the glass windows and doors the entire length of the block and continued to spit at each wall panel. He wanted to fight anyone who would approach him.

For the first time, I thought to myself that I was getting to old to be around this kind of crap. But why should I let idiots ruin my fun at a Giants game. I was kind of reminded of opening day when two guys kept trying to attack one of my buddies... they even followed us into a bar and circled around us. Thankfully nothing happened.

Well, this Tuesday in our school district fundraising night at the ballpark and I hope it's a safe night all weeklong for the Asian Heritage Nights during the homestand.

To end on a happy note... here are pics from sr. ball

D & D (teachers doing spoken word... sorta)

I just can't say no to anything this year. I had to support our first ever E.Y.E. hip hop/spoken word showcase. If you read my earlier blogs, you'll know that I was too busy to try and write a piece just for this evening. However, my teacher buddy neighbor had an idea. Let's do a piece in which we poke fun of the students and comment on their comments to us. Say our little poem is called "Do You Have Any Questions?"

Teacher Lip Sync (Center Cam-best view)

Here's a copy of the video from the judges' point-of-view.

I am so off. I couldn't hear anything with all those students yelling. Ha! Ha!
But it was fun. I was so pumped up afterwards.

Drumline Battle Answer #3 meets Lip Sync Rally - Joyful, Joyful

So some of my students asked for suggestions as to what performance they should do for the lip sync rally. Well, the seniors took what of my suggestions to heart and I know many of the teachers loved it, because my young staff grew up with this movie, while most of the students in it were just starting kindergarten.

This scene also happens to be another one of those films my siblings will stop to watch, especially when it gets close to the finale as you will see here.

here's the students version first




and now the scene from the movie




i swear the students should have performed this last. It was my favorite lip sync routine of the whole rally, although the Freshmen composed themselves quite well.

Teacher Lip Sync 2008

Teachers keeping the lip sync tradition alive...

Surviving Pi Day & The Ides of March

I can't believe how hard it has been to avoid eating pie this weekend. All last Friday, students were bringing in pie for extra credit to their math and science classes. I finally broke down after the rally clean up to eat a slice of chocolate silk. I was doing so well.

Anyways, Pi Day proved to be eventful thanks in large part to the fact that Milpitas High School came by to do some workshop sharing and watch our lip sync rally. I hope they enjoyed themselves. Once lunchtime came around, I didn't get to focus on them as much as I would like, but I know some of their students ended up performing in the junior skit--learning it in two hours.
Thanks to Ms. Lee and all her leadership students for giving us some new energy and allowing us to share some of our traditions.

Finally the lip sync rally is over. I just need to get through these next four work days and then spring break arrives and I can finish grading in more detail. But I know what you really want to see... you want some evidence of the teacher lip sync routine... there are 3 different videos that I've found on youtube so far

this is the sophomore view but it's kind of blocked and it's only part one... here's part 2

here's the freshman view point from near the floor where my half of the staff entered

I think this is the best angle so far. It comes from halfway up on the junior side. You get a particular good shot of the flips with which BR shocks the gym.

I tried to post my own judges' viewpoint but my computer is having difficulty trying to locate my camcorder. Oh well. One day you'll get it.

some other parts of the rally worth seeing

seniors (really good view)

juniors (didn't find one yet)

sophomores (another good view)

the angles are from the bleachers
freshmen 1
freshmen 2

Enjoy everyone!
I need to go back to reading term papers.

March Madness

It's been another hectic time in the psychoverse. This past Saturday was the first time I've had a chance to catch up on sleep in the past month.

For an idea just how crazy school has been, I believe 75% of the last school days for the past month have been spirit dress up days, including 12 of the last 14. Tomorrow is epic movie day, as we count down film genres heading into the movie soundtrack themed Lip Sync Rally this Friday.

So here are some of the good things that have been happening as of late...

El Camino hosted its first fashion show. Believe it or not... I wasn't even there because I was at a conference for CADA for four days. However, from what all the students say, the show was a tremendous success for the most part. The only real harsh criticism I've heard is that it was too short. There were 8 different stores and designers who donated clothes, you can only make the show last so long. I swear it felt like the two weeks leading up to that event felt like my whole life. Yet the person who put the most work into it was my co-worker Elaine. She did an excellent job securing all the clothes, setting up the program, working with the lighting company and DJ's, and inspiring the officers into making this event possible. More huge thanks to Feliciana for working with the models, to Robyn and Mike for spending the week prior co-scripting and memorizing the program in order to do M.C. duties, to Faye and Nikki for lending helping hands along with other alumni (I can't say for sure who was all there... I haven't yet seen the video), and to everyone else involved.

The following Saturday night was our school's first formal fundraising dinner. I flew back into SFO from my conference and still managed to get there at 8pm as the silent auction was going on. I felt like I was walking into a room of El Camino history and South San Francisco local dignitaries. There was a particularly nice moment when Carlos Roman was honored for his
service to the school as its baseball coach for about 25 years. The event is definitely one that I'd like to see grow and include more alumni and raise the tens of thousands that is potentially out
there (many other schools that have a similar event raise that much and it is the biggest fundraising night of the year). I was surprised that the gift basket of El Camino items went for the most money of all the silent auction baskets at $350. I wish the school made that much money after every sweatshirt/ beanie/ attache bag/ lanyard sale. I personally wanted some of the Warriors and Giants tickets that the teams donated. The 49ers donated an autographed Joe Montana ball that went for $550 in the live auction. The 4-digit items were all travel packages that were donated. Overall, a fun evening, even though I had slept a total of 7 hours in the 3 nights prior.

I spent that time networking at my conference in Reno. I don't gamble so that really isn't an appeal to me, but I did have the opportunity to be surrounded by 1500 other activity directors and class advisors. We get together annually to discuss the current state affairs: things like how are we supposed to raise money for our programs if we can't sell candy, chips and soda anymore. Also, in the midst of all this working, I did the foundation component of the new activity director certification program (since the growing trend is that everything needs to be certified, but it also will protect many of the newly hired people who were forced to take the job on and not realize what they were getting into when they agreed). The best part of the whole conference was getting to know the people at schools in the bay area. I rarely ever get a chance to talk to the directors down the peninsula and a few of them attended this year. Hopefully we will be able to coordinate something in the future. In addition, Milpitas High is coming to EC to watch our lip sync rally... I really wish I had time to practice the teacher routine... this could get embarrassing. I appreciated T and C letting me hang out with them Saturday as we swapped stories about our schools and how they are run.

Things didn't slow down once the weekend ended. I had my first prospective parents meeting. I usually meet with the parents of the leadership students after they have been chosen for the
class. However, I thought it would behoove me to meet with them prior to them running for office so that the parents would not be surprised by the amount of money summer leadership camps and the time commitment involved. The biggest point for me was to emphasize to the parents how much of their time that would be needed to create a successful program. Things like how needed it is for them to attend the Elegant Evening or buy tickets for the district sponsored Giants game. The scariest part of the night was the fact over a 100 parents were in attendance--and many parents couldn't make it. Admittedly, many parents had to really sit down and talk with their son/daughter to make sure this commitment suited them. Another fun moment is that one of the parents in attendance was my cousin R. I may actually have her daughter T in my class next year. I know it won't be like when my sister attended EC, but it still must be odd knowing that your teacher is your uncle. What if I end up her English teacher?

So while all the above was happening... I've also been trying to coach track, rehearse for the lip sync rally, and write a poem for last Friday's amazing 1st annual hip hop spoken word showcase. I didn't think I would end up performing because the hours were ticking but Martens and I pulled together at 5pm, 2 hours before the show, to make his plan come to fruition. I forget what a rush it can be to perform on stage. We did a found poem stating all the questions we get everyday from students. I think we were the only piece of the night that really tried to be funny. I am so proud of all my creative writing students who conquered their stage fright to express their words in ways that many of their peers never expected. The night was an empowering moment that they should never forget. Here are the links to the ones I could find on youtube so far. The students are all in my creative writing class. I'm pretty sure mine will end up on there eventually.

The group piece from my creative writing class called "Respect Women"
another view of "Respect Women" (this version I think has the whole thing)
Deanna
Travis


Another great moment from the showcase was hanging out at BJ's after the show with Martens, Vosberg, and our featured poet/artist Randomabiladeze. I loved his political themes. I know the students may not have understood a lot, but I loved the social conscience take he had. You should check him out here:

music can be heard @ www.myspace.com/randomabiladeze
www.cdbaby.com/randomabiladeze

And in another surprise for today...
a former student came by to visit on his was to the airport...
i'm glad he's been pursuing his dance career...
he's in the newest Janet Jackson video
and was flying back down to southern California to begin a 3 month tour...

and dinner got even better when I was able to hang out with 3 co-workers and my sister and the Red Robin Fundraiser Dinner for our Track Team....
and didn't realize we were there for 2 hours just sharing stories...

now I need to stop procrastinating and get back to grading papers...

National Grammar Day

Happy National Grammar Day to all!

Now are you shocked, ashamed, pleased to know that this day even exists or did those same thoughts now apply to your feelings towards me.

Why today?

March 4 is the only date that makes a complete sentence--
a command to "march forth."

In other wayward news...

El Camino High School is one of 30 high schools chosen out of 800 eligible schools to be awarded an Outstanding Activity Program designation in the state of California.

What does this mean?

This is an affirmation of all the hard work my former and current leadership students have put into making our high school one of the more recognized programs in the state. I hope that the students of our school realize that for all the whining about how high school can suck El Camino is still one of the better/safer places one could attend high school. All you alumni should be proud.

Now--can you find all the grammar mistakes above?

Season's Greetings

I hope you all are having a happy holidays.
Cheers to a better new year. Season's Greetings
from Santa and his elves!

Scavenger Hunt Weekend

I'm currently in the midst of another Leadership Final scavenger hunt. Only one day in and it appears the final is doing its job of forcing the students to study clues and become more organized while working together to solve problems.

This year's theme is Disney. Thanks to all of you who helped out, especially my family at their candle sale today. I hope you all had a chance to attend it.

I'm getting too old for scavenger hunt though, or maybe, it's because we had a winter rally and winter ball last night. I'm falling asleep as I'm distributing clues.

zs;ldkf'fa'''djzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Midnight Madness

I always here sports talk radio hosts comment that "only bad things can happen when you're out after midnight."

So late last night I left work after watching an amazing production of City of Angels (a musical noir). After cleaning up and gathering my papers, I went to exchange some dvd's at Blockbuster which closes at midnight. I got there just in time. I was exiting their door right at midnight when this guy slammed up against the other side of the door. He started screaming and I didn't know what he was saying. Then our eyes met and recognition was made. He happened to be a former student of mine that graduated about three years ago. He was the kind of kid who was smart but always in trouble and barely graduated. His senior year in creative writing he was working hard on a hip hop cd and was hoping to crack the business somehow. Apparently, his life has taken many twists and turns since I saw him cross the stage.

I get outside and scream his name and he just grabs me in a huge bear hug. Now, I'm not easy to grab. He starts talking but I can't make out what he's saying because he starts crying. This is your stereotypical guy who you'd think would never let a former teacher see him cry. Evidently, he's had no one to turn to lately in life. He proceeds to remark how he tried to leave his bad friends behind and began hanging out with people he thought would be a better influence. He was trying to join the sheet metal worker's union and live a regular life. Yet, somehow, these new friends let him down and caused trouble for him with the police for something he allegedly had nothing to do with. He was passing Blockbuster having come from Orange Park just a bit too drunk.

I offered to bring him to Starbucks and get him some coffee to sober up and talk out his problems. But he refused, and just thanked me for always giving him a chance and not just failing him when he acted like a bum in my class.

When we parted, it looked like he wasn't ready to go, but I did end up bringing him to a friend's house, where hopefully he wouldn't be getting into trouble. He said he was going to visit me at school and I can only hope that he does find his way in life.

It was truly a surreal moment.

Nostalgia

Last Thursday, I happened to have to cover another teacher's class and it was in my former classroom. Although the room is drastically different (the office has been taken out of the room), I felt this nostalgia overwhelm me. Looking at the same trees out the window and going off on one of my mini-digressions to express my thoughts on students who say they're bored by reading, I remembered what it was like to be a new teacher again. Those early years seems far away now, especially since I've been attending the weddings of those former students. But as I eased into this nostalgic attitude, I recalled how much harder I was then and how my standards were more often met than they are now. The curriculum that I gave my first junior CP class when I student taught was handled more easily then the same curriculum now with the junior honors students. It makes me wonder about the state of education and all the various points a breakdown could occur in one's own learning process.

El Camino Staff Softball Team Game 1

psychoverse: bay area sports edition april 2007

the past week has been a godsend for bay area sports fanatics like myself...

golden state went on a magnificent run to make the playoffs and played an amazing game 1 against the Mavericks in Dallas last Sunday

the Sharks finished off Nashville and are off to Titletown Hockey USA in Detroit...

and the Giants, whom many wrote off after the first week of the season, have righted the ship and are now 9-7 after starting the season 1-6... i went to the first 7 home games until game 8 was a day game and my job interfered... though I was sorely tempted with BART across the street and an afternoon prep period...

last saturday night was prom and that felt a little like a sport as i spent the waning hours hunting for college frat guys who kept trying to sneak in and seduce our young female students... thankfully, no major problems of which I'm aware...

but now for the most important sporting news:
April 24, 2007 began a new era in El Camino High history. The staff softball team, GOT WHAT?, played and should have won our first game.

We were the home team so the opposing team got to bat first and it started a little rocky as i think there were some nerves in a few of us, including me. I pitched a few wide and what apparently is considered deep to the umpire we had (more on that later). They managed to score two runs, but our defense played well for the most part. Strategy #1 in my pitching, get them to hit it to Will at shortstop.

Bottom of the 1st: I have to admit that I really didn't know what to expect from our offense. After all, this was our first game together. Truly, I believe having two practices in the past month with at least half the team there helped because we all enjoy getting sweaty and eating BBQ afterwards. Particularly, last Sunday... due to the muddy field all we really were able to do was work on hitting, which we had yet to do... So, of course, I believe we scored three runs in the bottom of the first. I even had to sub in for Vinski. Unfortunately, our team's first home run turned into a triple because Vinski pulled his quad and he had to sit the rest of the game, but that didn't mean he wasn't part of the team as he coached from the first base box.

The middle of the game went rather smoothly. I think it was the third & fourth innings when I helped make 4 of the 6 outs. The first inning a ball was hit just beyond my reach. The middle innings, our team defense held solid (and remember, we're a rookie team). Two balls were hit directly back at me and I caught them on the fly. Scared the hell out of me. I had flashbacks to when I took a shot to my leg two batters into our championship game over a year ago. That hit to the leg led to my vein bursting 3 months ago. A slow bunt like hit dribbled in front of the plate and I missed it at first but bare handed a throw to first just in time... love my first basemen, especially when they make me look good. The best part about all this for me is that I was worried about my leg at the beginning of the game. The first hit right back at me helped me to focus on the game and clear my head of anything else.

Their clean-up hitter happened to be a former ASB vice-president of mine back in 1999. He was able to get on base in his first at-bat, but while running to second, Vinski tried to throw it to Will covering and the ball hit Phil square in the back of the head. Their team even claimed we tried to take out their best player (although I give that to what of their other guys who realized I was trying to get him to hit it to short and he still managed to knock over it to Sanguinetti at second base--I took the challenge personally and I didn't get my pitch inside enough). Anyways, the odd part of the night is I struck out my former student twice... I think he was being nice by letting me look good... it helps also that i've played with him and know his style a little (he played on my Sunday night team two or three years ago). The second strike out was the first out of the sixth and that was huge.

Unfortunately, I think it was the 5th inning in which I lost some control. Here's the scouting report on me... after running the bases, the tendonitis and arthritis in both my feels and ankles flares up so much that I can barely walk. Tomorrow at work trying to teach will be painful. But you know, after having survived a kidney stone in January and a vein bursting in February, I'm OK with the pain. The batter I walked that led to them tying the game at 6 really pissed me off. The pitches were barely deep and I'm not really sure how the batter laid off them.

Now a word about my team. for the most part, we kicked butt. Considering it was our first game all together and not knowing how each other plays and scrambling to put a lineup in just before game time, the game was great. All I really imagined last August when Lipman and I (with an assist to Jusiak) said we were going to put this together was the opportunity to hang out. So maybe we didn't go to Molloy's after tonight's game, but we had fun. I think we all benefited from this, especially with the unknown status of our contract negotiations and a volatile English department meeting earlier in the day. A lot of played great. Marciano holding onto a ball at second to end an inning was key. Macapinlac, my battery mate (catcher) bats like she's a professional and I don't worry about her making a play to catch a relay in from the outfield to home plate. What can I say? Everyone is just awesome. Jusiak and Will fortifying the left side of the infield. I even made sure after getting two balls hit straight at me to get it hit to Bellar playing short. My outfielders get much action, but were sure-handed when they needed to be with only one ball getting hit hard enough by any of them. Team Momager Lipman got kept the lineup in order. The fans in the stands were loud and hilarious. There were alumni, students, parents, and co-workers all there to support. I just wonder what the video tape is going to look like when we watch it back. Maybe we'll even get some highlights into the DVD yearbook... wow... something to stand up to the greatness of our lip sync routines...

I look forward to Tuesday nights. And the season ends after graduation, and I love the idea that when school ends that it won't be the last time I spend with these friends. In the 10 years I've taught at El Camino, I have made wonderful friends and many have left over the years and I miss them all, but I am lucky enough that the people who've replaced them are just as amazing and now we all have something new to share together. I think I'm even going to be sad in two weeks when I'm sitting on the beach in Waikiki knowing that I won't be playing by their sides and instead have to stress over what to say in my best man's speech for my brother's wedding on May 11...

We may have lost game 1 and I did walk back into the dugout pissed giving up those final runs. But we played with fight and determination in the last inning and scored one run back. We don't give up and that's what makes us teachers.

taking a moment to reflect

so Saddam is convicted and it's announced just prior to our elections
as soon as the republicans lost... gas prices beginning to soar back up

SNL: Weekend Update:
in an ironic turn of fate, Iraq has caused a regime change in the United States

i've been blessed of late having friends near me... actually going out nearly every weekend to rediscover what makes life so worthwhile

and here's why it should be appreciated

i just found out a former student of mine who graduated in 2002 just passed away...
22 years old from a heart attack...
his funeral is tomorrow
it seems like a student at school or one i've taught has passed away each year for the past few years...

in a moment of respect & prayer
here's a bit about him



Peter Justin Manubay

MANUBAY, Peter Justin, born June 28, 1984 in San Francisco, to Dorothy Jeanne de Castro of Sacramento and Numeriano B. Manubay of Quezon City, Philippines. Peter passed away peacefully in his sleep in Berkeley on November 7, 2006 of a heart attack.

Beloved brother of Michael (Rian) Manubay. Devoted grandson of Meneleo (Nel) and Fe de Castro of San Francisco and Rosario B. Manubay and the late Pedro Manubay of Utah. Loving nephew of Imelda de Castro, Eymard de Castro, Rafael de Castro and Susan Anderson, Jocelyn and Alex Quintana of the Bay Area, Jeremias and Susan Manubay of San Diego, Generoso and Jenny Manubay of Las Vegas, Ponciano and Marieta Manubay, Ignacio and Julie Manubay, Pablo Manubay and Victoria Manubay of Utah, Ruben and Luningning Manubay of Idaho.

Peter is also survived by his adoring cousins, Isabella de Castro, Alexi Quintana, Kim Manubay, Ever Manubay, Arra Manubay, Julius Manubay, Samantha Manubay, Jasmine Manubay, Jeanine Manubay, Genson Manubay, Troy Manubay, and Tara Manubay.

A graduate of El Camino High School in S. San Francisco, he earned a coveted Gates Millenium Scholarship and was a senior at U.C. Berkeley. Peter was devoted to his family, cherished friends and fellow members of the UCB Asian American Association. A creative soul, talented writer and poet, he also played the saxophone and flute. Peter loved gaming, anime, and monkeys.

Loved ones are invited to join the family at a Viewing and Vigil Service on Monday, November 13th from 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm at DUGGAN'S SERRA MORTUARY, 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City (650-756-4500). Please plan to briefly share a happy, memorable moment about Peter. A Rosary Service will be held at Duggan's at 7:00 pm on Monday. Duggan's is a few blocks from the Daly City Bart station.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 14th at 11:00 am at MATER DOLOROSA, 307 Willow Ave., S. San Francisco, (650-583-4131) followed by a Committal Service at HOLY CROSS CEMETERY, 1500 Mission Road, Colma. Please contact the family for donations in lieu of flowers.