Food Phan

I spent some of the Christmas holidays with my friends Chrissa & Johnny Phan. Now I curse you Johnny for getting me hooked onto Bizarre Foods/Andrew Zimmern... my frickin DVR is filled with episodes that I have barely anytime to watch... but late at night when I'm trying to grade I put on an episode to discover my newest guilty pleasure... just another reason to procrastinate...

Other good news:

El Camino received a check for $500 in the Tanforan contest. Thanks for shopping at the mall. Please continue to shop there and put your receipts into the locker by Sears or BJ's/Barnes & Noble. We are still in 5th place and need your help to win the $10,000 grand prize.

I know it may be an inconvenience to shop there, but I'm slowly changing my habits by eating at BJ's way too often or going to that food court or Target instead of other places.

Inspiration at its worse

I'm still struggling to breathe each day figuratively and literally, positively and negatively, day and night.

I've been sleeping with my test sleep apnea machine for the past 5 days and that thing irritates the hell out of me. Thankfully I was able to order one that's a heated humidifier, but until that arrives I suck in the cold bursts of air until my lungs as it dries out my throat and freezes my teeth each night. The first night I couldn't even keep it on me beyond an hour. I felt like I was choking rather than being able to breathe better. Each successive night I've been able to last a bit longer with the mask on me. The contraption looks like a mix of a sports mask a basketball player would wear during a game due to a broken nose and an oxygen mask you would see on any hospital patient.

Exacerbating the sleeping issue, my sleeping pattern continues to be poor as I spend each night at work supervising/directing the talent show that will be held Friday night. I try to adapt my lessons each night to the adjustments I had to make earlier during the school day. Unfortunately, my time for grading just continues to be pushed further and further back. This weekend I hope to catch up on sleep and reading papers. And to add to the fun--grammar workbooks get cracked open this week.

However, many parts of the past week have been exciting. I spent some time over the last weekend with an old friend whom I haven't seen in way too long. Went out to eat too much and saw the film Atonement. I thought it was a pretty good adaptation of the book considering how most adaptations go. The first half of the film in particular captures the stillness and points-of-view. Act 2 of the film had some particularly gorgeous long shots. The scene at Dunkirk had a tracking shot that ranked up there with the opening scene of The Player and added to the oppression that war has on its soldiers.

Monday night to honor the great Martin Luther King, Jr. I attended Youth Speaks' Bringing the Noise Poetry Slam at Herbst Theater. The voices of those youth poets thrilled my literary sensibilities and reinvigorated my writer's block head. The vocal expressions and emotions exhilarated my passions and my dreams lately demonstrate images of a me that has long since been missing. More importantly, about a dozen students attended and they saw a true live slam which will hopefully inspire our own to be held March 7, 2008. You should all come. Check out Youthspeaks.org


Tonight I had a special surprise when I had the opportunity to catch up a little with the person who was activities director before me. It definitely has been years since we traded stories; unfortunately, I informed her about Veronica Ruiz, whom she had in class.

Incidentally, the school newspaper's next issue has two articles in which I was interviewed regarding two deaths with connections to our school. Ever since Christina a few years ago, a current or former student of mine has passed away. Halley was last year. I wish I could just continue to be jealous of former students getting married and having children rather than attending funeral services.

Hopefully, the year is as good as I need and want it to be. I know it's selfish of me to want some good karma my way, but I could certainly use some as I witness my physical nature atrophy towards the dark side and Darth Vader--now you know what that breathing machine sounds like in my head--because of sleep apnea, tearing tendons with night splints/casts, tennis elbow velcro wrap, and $200 worth of new black stockings. Is it any wonder that I'm still single?

Babes in Toyland

Congratulations are in order!

My best friend just birthed her first child, a boy.
And another dear friend just announced that her belly is starting to grow.
woo hoo!

Happy Birthday to E. who has two babies of her own.

and because I always need a negative point... I lost my fantasy football playoff game by one point... damn you Marion Barber getting me only 3 points... I always hated the Dallas Cowboys.

surprise note:
I finished two sets of essays in one day. I spent all Sunday grading in my class. Nearly 12 hours.
Next week I'll be able to breathe again.

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!

Medical Update

thanks to all for your concerns... it was great to see your faces all again...

as for the update from Kaiser

I have slight tears in both my Achilles' tendons.

I have to sleep with night splints made from fiberglass.

I was forced to sleep with some computer on my arm to

measure my heartrate and analyze my REM/sleeping patterns.

My new doctor is really aggressive about treating things.

She wants me to consider bariatric surgery,

but I don't think I need it. Also, if I want my veins stripped

again from my right leg, she's willing to do that to,

but I just don't want to close up all the veins I have left down there.

My energy levels are extremely down ever since the shot

in the foot from the softball. Even Hawaii didn't spark me up

as much as I thought it would, although the rest

from just not being near work benefited my psyche greatly.

See... below... no energy... great psyche

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

Too much to take in

I've been needing to type for days, but as usual, there is just too much going on for
me to soak in as the next thing happens directly afterwards.

Two days ago I found out my mentor teacher Mr. Maldonado
passed away. He was the activities director at EC when I
was in his leadership class. I found out several weeks
ago that he hadn't been doing well and I had no idea it
was to this degree. My first couple of years, I modeled myself
after him until I learned to make the job fit more of my personality.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/28/MNMALDONAD21.DTL

so much of the traditions of El Camino High School
began or improved with him: the huge courtyard
homecomings the high school dances with n
early a thousand students in the 80s the
lip sync rally; hell, all rallies were rooted
with his vision and amazing announcer voice...
much of what i do is to keep the spirit alive of
all the events he introduced to me.
former colleagues and students of his
have been sending money to the school and
I want to establish a scholarship in his name;
please inquireof me if you'd like to
assist or contribute

i can't even comprehend anymore at this point in time

because I just found out today that
there is a woman hiker
missing on Mt. Tam and that woman is
one of my former leadership
students and sister of one of my classmates.

http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_7633382
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/06/BAGI5TP9IJ.DTL

just look at the difference between the
two articles... i think
that's why i get annoyed with the chronicle so much

oh yeah,
last Monday I went to Kaiser to see my new doctor...
that was depressing

ever since i was hit by a softball over a
month ago, my tendinitis in my heels
it won't go away it hurts me to just walk

i'm actually being sent to a podiatrist
specialist next monday

my varicose veins are spreading

i now have tennis elbow and it hurts
to lift objects with my left hand

i feel like i'm falling apart...

i am supposed to get tested for sleep apnea
after i see the podiatrist...

and if anybody has an exercise bike they are
getting rid of, i will take it and
put into my office at work...
it's the only physical activity i can do outside
of a pool that isn't counter-effective.
so my softball career may be over

earlier this year my family lost 2 of our 3 cats
to diseases and now the oldest
Robbie, who is 16 years old,
now has kidney disease...


somehow with even other things more pressing
on my mind along with the above ones
i have had to play santa all week at lunch
with teenagers sitting on my lap
and i have to host a winter rally (
which Maldo really specialized in) tomorrow...

i wish it was my birthday week in hawaii again...