joe and paul

I came home to this, today. Nice.

I went up to Humboldt last weekend for my Grandma's 90th. It was nice to see everybody. I got back late Monday night. When I got up and started the car on Tuesday, the engine started to shake violently. Luckily, my colleague who lives a block away hadn't left yet, and drove me. I got the car towed to a shop, and have yet to hear what the problem is. I hope it's just a spark plug issue or something.

I was a bit shocked today to disover that November is already more than halfway over. I feel like I've been burning the candle on both ends and right through to the middle.

After the election, I tried to process through an incredible wave of sadness and, ultimately, anger, through writing.. I got some good thoughts down, but I don't yet feel like posting it. I can say the outcome of Prop 8 has changed my perception of many people, especially people I once thought of as friends. Intolerance is intolerance, regardless of the reason behind it. Deny me the right to marry the love of my life, and deny the rest of me. I don't have time for people like that.

Last weekend I went to Phoenix to attend my great-grandmother's service. Then, my mom and I went to a gay marriage rally, protesting the outcomes of Prop 102 (AZ) and Prop 8 (CA). There were a few thousand people there. It was powerful, and energizing. Where was this anger before the election?

Ok. Well, time to let ya'll in on a little secret. Paul and I made sure that our marriage status is (was?) legally valid in California before the election. Let's just say we're really, really, really married now. It will be funny (ha.. ha.. ha..) if we have to keep getting married every couple years, just to keep two steps ahead of misinformed religious bigots. We'll find out tomorrow if the CA supreme court will revisit the issue...

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Back in California, I now face all the holiday madness at work, a not-too-clean house, and a general desire to take a really long vacation. It's a battle between my "savor every moment of life" ideals and the general urge to just get on with it and get the next month out of the way.

I s'pose I should update this.

The school year ended, and I felt so much more confident with myself as a teacher. When I think about it, I realize I've accomplished a lot. I wrote a $10,000 grant to help transition kids into kindergarten, and received two mini-grants to help start some barrel gardens outside my classroom and buy books and book bags for my book-borrowing project. I also managed to maintain a semi-orderly classroom for 10 months. We went to SF Zoo, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a fire station, and a hay/feed store. We made a lot of messes and had a lot of fun. Somehow the kids learned to read amidst all this. I swear, that's the most magical thing to witness.

I've been teaching summer school for the last 2 weeks. I have 1 week left, and then vacation starts. I'm hoping to make it up to Humboldt for a week to hang out at my old house, spend time walking around my old haunts, and be nostalgic. Meanwhile, I'm trying to do my best with this summer school thing, though it's the first time my district has run the program in this particular fashion, and there are a lot of little loose ends that bug me. Oh well, I'm dealing with it, and the kids seem to be enjoying it.

We went to the Monterey Blues Festival to volunteer this weekend. We helped sell shirts/hats/etc. to raise money for my district's Ed Foundation. Amidst all this, we celebrated our 6th anniversary together. Well, sorta. We had to cancel our dinner plans due to exhaustion! Tonight we hope to make it up and go to our favorite local German restaurant.

I guess that's it in a nutshell.

Yay! Sonic Youth, July 19th, ticket secured. They're performing the entire Daydream Nation album. It will be one of only a few performances of that album they're doing this year!

Let's see. The car. This is the story in a nut shell: After shelling out a couple thousand bucks to fix my old car, the day came when it wasn't worth investing any more money into it. I was driving Paul through SF to take a test, and the gears started grinding. So, instead of spending $1500-$2500 to have the transmission overhauled, I shopped around a bit.

My criterion: something fuel efficient (at least 25 MPG, but hopefully 30+), safe (side airbags, ABS, 4-5 star crash ratings side/front), and cheap (under 20,000 tops). Well, that narrowed it down to a popular new class of cars - the mini-SUV-like bubbles that replaced the totally unsafe yet fuel-efficient and cool-looking Honda Civic class. My options were: Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit (first choice), Honda Civic (not in that class, but still cheap and good fuel economy), Chevy Aveo (avoided at first), Scions (they look like coffins on the outside), and others like that.

I started by looking at the Yaris. I went to dealerships in Fresno and San Jose and test-drove a sedan and a hatchback. However, they didn't quite fit my needs (long story). I also drove a Scion, but it was too pricey.

Then, I REALLY wanted a Honda Fit. They have 5-star crash ratings in the US, look cool, and get the best mileage of anything else out there, other than hybrids. So, I test drove a few of those. Unfortunately, they are too popular, and nobody has any! People were paying a standard mark-up of $2,000, and pre-ordering them! The one I wanted wasn't worth more than $17,000, drive away. I was actually offered one for around that price, but due to loan complications, I couldn't get it. I was heartbroken. I mean, really - anybody who knows me really well will understand what anxiety does to me. Paul and I drove to literally 4 or 5 different dealerships all over the Bay Area. One was in Tracy! The whole experience of negotiating prices and dealing with salespeople really pissed me off. At least Paul did much of the work - I'm incredibly lucky to have such a patient husband. I really owe him.

Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and get the Chevy Aveo hatchback. There were only TWO in California with side airbags and ABS. I ended up driving to Davis on a school night to get it! I got back here at 1 a.m. :( My drive-away price was several thousand dollars less than any of my Honda offers. I'm very happy with it thus far - it's not the most comfy vehicle, but I was able to put my own stereo in it (gotta replace the speakers, though), and it's been getting about 30 MPG. With a few oil changes using synthetic oil, it should get 31-33 MPG. Unfortunately, the synthetic is expensive - but hopefully it will pay off. I've gotten a lot of nice comments.

What color is it? White. The big challenge will be to keep it clean.



On another note, I'm not going to be posting much in the coming months due to a severe pain in my right wrist. Yup, that's bad. I had it back in 1999 but cut back on my computer use and did some exercises, and the pain went away. But it's been back since 2005, when I was a TA at UCSC. I had to type 60 2-page single spaced narrative evaluations in about 2 weeks, and that just did me in. At least I'll have an excuse to read more and get out a bit. I really need to reconnect with friends - my social life is nonexistant at this point.

I just got back from a week-long trip to Phoenix to see my great-grandmother who is 99, and my aunt/uncle. I also went to Nagales with my mom. So now I can say that I've been south of the border, I guess. I'll post more later. 13 hour drives are no fun, especially the last 2 hours.

Oh yeah. I got a car, and I've put 3500 miles on it in 2.5 weeks. Maybe I'll write more about THAT ordeal, too.

Maybe. :)

The title of the workshop I attended today: Algebra in Kindergarten. Yup. Sorting, classifying, and patterning are all aspects of logical algebraic thinking.

After the workshop (in Salinas), I drove to SF to a friend's housewarming party. I hadn't seen her in years. We met while doing queer activism at UCSC back in 1998, but lost touch. She was a wonderful host, invited wonderful friends, and has a wonderfully clean house! I was impressed.

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I've expanded my car options to include the Honda Fit. It has excellent crash ratings, ABS, and side airbags -- all standard on each model. It's more expensive than the Yaris, though, but I think safety is worth the money, especially with a commute every day. I'll test drive one tomorrow. Still waiting to hear about the loan.

I was driving Paul to SF yesterday to take test when I shifted up to 2nd gear on one of those killer hills, on Fell Street. CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUNCH. I've crunched gears before, but this was bad. Every time I shifted to 2nd it did that. I went to a cafe and looked on Yelp.com for highly rated auto shops, but none seemed to be open on Saturdays. I drove back to Santa Cruz and took it to Precision Auto Tune and had it looked at. My hunch was right - the synchro for 2nd gear is bad, and could stop working completely at any time. Which means that I can a) spend $2500-$3000 getting a new transmission put in, b) spend $1500 getting one from a junk yard and spend another $1000 having it put in, or c) drive the car until the transmission dies completely. Well, gee. I spent $1300 two months ago getting a new AC and drive belt system put in, then another $600 for a tune up and new brakes a couple weeks ago! The car isn't worth that much, and I can't even afford to spend that much money right now! Time for a new car.

I'm looking at something fuel efficient, easy on the environment, small, and NEW. Hybrids are out of the question due to cost. I looked around and the Toyota Yaris Sedan looks promising. It gets 34 MPG in cities and 40 MPG on the highway. It's the most efficient non-hybrid car. It's a top seller in Europe, and was introduced to the U.S. market last year. It starts at $11,000 minus any options. I can probably get a loan through my bank, and should be OK if I can make the down payment. Really, a new car in that price range would be cheaper to buy overall than continuing to put money into a used car, with all the things that could go wrong and WILL go wrong when its owner drives 80+ miles a day!

Wish me luck.

In other news, Friday was Rosa Parks Day. My kids and I had discussed skin color the day before and I read one of my favorite books to them. We mixed paints to make different skin tones and then painted self-portraits. A couple of the kids retold the whole story about Rosa Parks to their parents after school, and I was amazed at how they really seemed to understand the importance of Rosa Parks' actions, and the actions of others to overturn unfair laws. It's things like that which remind why I'm a teacher.

Misused apostrophes bug me. I had a rant all typed out, but deleted it. It would be oh so unprofessional of me to post it, especially since it was mostly about teachers. :)

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In other news, I have a cold. Paul is cooking Thanksgiving dinner early. My kids made the cutest placemats and turkey hats. That's all.

The show was incredible, and I was blown away by the opener, Under the Influence of Giants. The sound was terrible, but the Warfield has a reputation for that. I figured Paul wouldn't want to be squashed in the pit, so I got loge seats, right at the front of the balcony. The lead singer of the Brazilian Girls, Sabina, customarily wears something to cover her eyes during the concerts, which of course creates a mysterious image of her and also directs attention to the other band members. Imagine watching a show with the singer blindfolded the entire time. Yeah. Did I mention the smoke? It was thick. Especially on stage. Yes, very thick.

I actually got a rental car for the evening since I don't trust mine right now. It just... drags. It's long overdue for a real servicing, so hopefully that will happen next weekend.

We got back at 1 a.m., and so today was a really LONG day at work. Tomorrow: inservice at Monterey Bay Aquarium! Sunday? Work in classroom. Or laundry. Or both.

Oh! I did the doctor-with-real-coat-and-fake-stethoscope thing for Halloween, which was fun. Being kept awake well past midnight by police helicopters flying around downtown was not fun. At least there were only 2 stabbings this year.

I was just listening to the soundtrack to Beautiful Thing when I realized that it was in September, 1996 that I came out. I was a junior in high school, had long hair down to my shoulders, and covered my backpack with rainbow pins.

Ok. Let's get this straight: I'm not a big fan of Hallowe’en.

Now, with that said, I really should dress up for my kids. I was a "college graduate" last year, which is very easy to get together. But this year, I'm at a loss. I could be a "doctor" and track down a lab coat somewhere. I have a stethoscope, and could just carry around some sort of medical kit. What is another easy costume that 5 year-olds would understand? It has to be fairly straightforward.

*edit*

Oh yeah. I got my car back, finally, on Thursday. It was expensive, and I'm not quite sure it's in the best shape. Hopefully I'll get it in for a major tune up next week. I don't need that kind of stress right now.

Well, shoot. I was on my way to Salinas to a big-box retailer that shall remain unnamed, and my car died. Ok. Karama? Haha. Do I have a cell phone? No. How far did I have to walk to a pay phone in Castroville? About 2 miles - not terrible. I could have really been stuck in the middle of nowhere and had to walk 5-10 miles, in summer or some time when you don't want to be in the middle of the Salinas Valley.

Thank goodness for AAA coverage, though I'm not sure what to think of the towing firm that my car is with right now. The problem, from my uneducated observations, seemed to be that the fanbelt was damaged due to some sort of plastic substance that had somehow melted all over it. I had all my fluids and my car didn't seem to be overheating. I just hope that I don't have to replace the entire fan belt assembly. Ugg.

I took an MST bus down to Monterey and got a cab to the airport to get a rental. They didn't have a nice little sedan, so I wound up with a huge monster Chevy SUV thing.

The challenge now is to find a way to a) return the vehicle, b) get to the Salinas, and c) pick up my car when it's ready, all between 2:30 - 5 p.m. on a weekday. Well, assuming my car actually makes it out alive.

On Monday Paul and I got back from spending a week in Toronto. ( Details here )

Tomorrow is my first day back. Same classroom, same grade. New kids. I think I'm ready. I have a fairly good idea about the schedule. I also know that there were be chaos, and I have to be ok with it.

We spent the day tracking down 10 cent pencil boxes, glue, and colored pencils at Office Depot. And of course we went to several, since there's a limit of 5 per customer. Also went to the SJ Public Library, King branch (10 stories of books/CDs/DVDs - woo hoo!) and got a book I've been meaning to pick up. And then to Palo Alto to see a friend I hadn't been in touch with since '98 in high school. It was nice to catch up and introduce Paul.

Off to shower, sleep, and hopefully not dream. Because I'd only dream about tomorrow.

Well, In 7 days my classroom will be full of new kindergarteners, some of whom won't speak much English, some of whom won't remember to tell me when they need to go to the bathroom, and some of whom won't know how to hold a pencil. I'm a little nervous simply because it's like starting all over again - I'm still used to what the kids last year could do at the end.

I've slowly been chipping away at the work in my classroom. I still have stuff strewn about. Today I redid some of my bulletin boards, cleaned some counters, and organized a bit. I'm trying to tell myself that it's okay to store boxes of disorganized... uh... stuff and not worry about going through it. I have this bad habit of obsessing over every little detail. Of course, I am generally the only one who cares about certain details.

I spent so much of the summer in trainings, working on district pacing guides and benchmark tests, etc. that I really only had about half a summer. But Paul and I managed to make it up to Humboldt for a week, which was fabulous. I saw most of the people I wanted to see, though I missed a few. Next time! It was nice to play "tourist" and show Paul around Ferndale, Avenue of the Giants, Eureka and Arcata.

Summer in Santa Cruz is the perfect time to find lots of free things. I found about 10 baskets for my classroom a few weeks ago. Last night someone left a wine rack out for free a few blocks away, which we snagged. Someone in our apartment building dumped an entire apartment's worth of furniture next to one of our dumpsters. We found a perfectly good UPS, among other things. I wonder if the people were evicted. It's always questionable whether or not items are really free, especially if there isn't a sign. It's bizarre to see what good stuff people throw away. Every week we see at least two couches, desks, and office chairs sitting by the dumpster.

We've made it to two Shakespeare Santa Cruz performances, and we're going to our last one tomorrow - King Lear, one of my favorites. Out of 15 (?) performances that we've attented over the last 5 years, only 1 or 2 were even slightly disappointing.

Must... resist... the urge to make... lists. So much to do, but it WILL get done.

I got back from Fresno at 3 this morning, then got up and was at work by 8:30. A 40 minute drive is nothing compared to the 3 hour drive to central California. I'm dead tired.

As cheesy as it sounds, Madonna was amazing. The entire show was brilliant, with only a few "um, ok" moments. I had floor seats near the foot of the catwalk, so I got to see her grand entrance coming out of the disco ball. I also got one of the mylar balloons that drop down at the end. There were two VERY drunk girls in front of me, though, who thought nothing of spilling their beer all over the place. They even left to use the bathroom several times and left their purses and cell phones behind. In a crowd of how many people?

Some animated gifs I made:





It wasn't as far away as it appears - the camera doesn't zoom.

My summer is getting booked up by all these school-related obligations. A committee to serve on here, a Monterey Bay Aquarium institute here, a state-mandated training here, a LOT of classroom cleaning there. I don't know where my summer is going! At least I'm getting paid for it. Well, not the cleaning. Such is life of a teacher who hasn't yet found a good organizational scheme for his classroom. Paul and I may very well start booking up some short trips to go camping or something, otherwise I'm not sure we'll get much time together!

All the children are gone, most of the work was sent home, and I got all choked up while reading one of my favorite books to the class this morning. 180 days later and my first year as an elementary teacher is over. But... I still have 2 days of work next week, another 2 the following week, then 5 days the week after THAT. Then 1 week off, then 1 week on.... And in August it all starts again. But I get paid for all it, and I have nothing else to do.

Oh, and I have a date with Madonna next Tuesday in (ack) Fresno. I won't even elaborate on my adventure trying to get San Jose tickets last Wednesday. Let's just say Paul and I got a road trip out of it. So... The show will be over about 11 p.m. And the drive back to Santa Cruz is 3 hours. Ok, so then I get 6 hours of sleep and then go to work in the morning. This will be interesting.

For some reason, I've been doing a lot of research lately. Researching the past. I've re-read many of my friends' livejournal entries from their first posts to the present, have searched for many old aquaintances on myspace and friendster, googled everybody I know, and paused many moments just to remember random stuff that I've experienced over my (short) lifetime. I am by no means going through any sort of crisis. In fact, perhaps it is because I am pretty stable in every way that I am reconstructing so many memories. I am also the same age that Paul was when we met. Whatever that means.

It is interesting to see how people have evolved over time. My first "blog" started in July, 2001. Each entry in that (and the current) blog got successively less candid, and perhaps more organized. I noticed the same about many other peoples' blogs. Do we become more private as we get older?

And is it just me, or have many of my peers already started having babies and buying tract homes?

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I have 4 more school days left, and then my first year of teaching will be officially over. My students are mostly reaching grade-level benchmarks, and I've generally deemed this year to be a success. I didn't come home and sleep/cry at any point, which a lot of first year teachers seem to do. I didn't have a meltdown. I didn't question my abilities (too much), and I certainly never thought about leaving the profession. Teaching kinder isn't "cute," nor is it what most people think of when they hear "kindergarten." It's standards, a lot of testing, a lot of reading, writing (45 minutes a day, in fact), math, science (which I'm glad I actually taught), social studies, PE, with some singing, dancing, and playing (though not half as much as in the old days). I'm set for another year teaching kinder in the same room, and I'm pretty excited. I have a huge list of things I'll do differently, though I have few regrets.

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I bought the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack (wasn't that an AWFUL movie?) at a sidewalk sale today. Not that it's really GOOD music, but it brings back memories, none of which would seem terribly interesting to anybody else but me. Though perhaps it's a good thing I passed up the Top Gun soundtrack a few weeks ago in Berkeley.

Ok, that's it.