Mohammad_01112732 is my friend

i was working on my dell laptop today, and i noticed that it sat unevenly on my desk during class. it was driving me nuts. after close examination, i came to the conclusion that it was not the rubber grips that were uneven, but the actual bottom casing of the laptop was a little crooked. i got on a chat with dell.com customer support and they're sending a dude out to replace the casing and to check the fan, since overheating may have caused some warping. i had a lovely chat session with Mohammad_01112732 on dell.com just now. seriously, he is so my friend.

has anyone else ever had this happen to their laptop? or is it just me?

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i taught a math lesson today and it went really well. i was teaching the 2nd graders about perimeter and how to find it. i showed them an example of what is meant by perimeter and then we went outside and in groups, they walked the perimeters of various play areas, like the kickball diamond, the four square square, tetherball circle, etc and recorded the number of footsteps it took (our unit of measurement). it was a really fun interactive and kinesthetic activity for them to physically and visually grasp the idea of perimeter being the measurement around the outside lengths/sides of an object. it felt really good to debrief with my guiding teacher and to hear that my line of questioning was a good balance of getting kids to think about what they already know and then scaffolding their thinking to get to where i wanted to get them. have i mentioned how great 2nd grade is? :)

entertainment

last night, i had the opportunity to go to a poetry/spoken word even in j-town. it was through projekt newspeak and it was a competition between various spoken word artists. i'd never been to hear anything like it before and i have to say that i wasn't sure what to expect. i'm so glad i went! it was great listening to different people express their thoughts and ideas through poetry. i totally felt inspired. am i going to write poetry now? probably not. instead, maybe i'll get more consistent with my own journaling.

today, i went and saw lucky number slevin. initially, i started to wonder if i was going to like it, but once the movie got going, i found it really enjoyable.

and finally, my IKEA bookshelf was put together by some awesome and helpful people. in exchange, i washed some dishes. all worth it. i think it would've taken me too long to put the thing together by myself since it didn't even come with a diagram or instructions. now i can organize and store stuff! SO EXCITING! this is me...offically dorking out over a bookshelf. love it.

lost and found

i was running around on campus today between classes to work on a project with one of the girls from my team. we went to powell library to print out some color maps for the project and while i was setting up my print account, i pulled out my wallet and left it on the counter. i left the library and was about to buy a soda from the vending machine when i realized that my wallet was no longer in my purse. i freaked out...internally. i was getting all sorts of paranoid thoughts about how my credit cards were going to be abused and the hassle of calling, canceling, and replacing - ALL BAD THINGS. i last time i remembered pulling out my wallet for sure was during lecture, to get to my phone.

i went back to the library, thinking that i might have pulled it out to get my student ID for registration, and hoping that it would still be at the computer i used. it wasn't there. i walked up to the staff desk to ask if anyone had turned it in, and there it was. sitting...waiting for me to come back. HURRAH! the girl said that she knew it was mine, because i had asked her a couple of questions earlier, but that she didn't know where i was. i couldn't have been more effusive with my thanks. i think she thought i was a little crazy.

seriously...losing your wallet is one of the worst feelings in the world.

lowlight: losing my wallet
highlight: finding it 10 minutes later totally safe

happy EASTER!

easter is always this really significant time of the year. for obvious reasons, we remember Jesus's sacrifice of life on the cross for all people and his resurrection. this is salvation for all. and for reasons less obvious to the world at large, it's the time of year that i was saved...some...12 years ago. and it's also the time of year that i was baptized...7 years ago. i suppose i find spring an appropriate season of the year to celebrate with it's symbolism of new life and all.

may Jesus be on your hearts and minds today.

home improvement?

i finally decided that it's time to invest in a big bookshelf. i have so much junk in my room that is starting to pile up and i have nowhere to hide it. so all my new books and old textbooks need a place to hang out. hence, i'm going to IKEA in the morning and buying this shelving unit. the website says it needs two people to assemble it and also that it might need to be anchored to the wall. since i don't have any tools, i'm taking volunteers to help me put it together and to bring some tools. there may be lunch (or some meal) for your trouble :) seriously...who wants to help me out?

and the corner of my room can finally be rid of all the stuff i keep tossing into a big and growing pile. hooray! floor space here i come!

photo update

i've become lazy about updating my photos...but at the request of one mrs. li, i'm posting up some pictures from our day at magic mountain.





we started the day with BATMAN, christine's favorite ride.











next, we spotted portions of the justice league - meet the flash, the green lantern, batman and robin...and christine, kelvin, and me. i forced them to take a photo. how could i pass up the chance to photographed with half of the justice league? we decided that they either really like their job or really hate it. we don't believe there's a middle ground.







sometime during the day, we went on SUPERMAN too. apparently, we were all about hitting up all the DC superhero rides. we're at superman's fortress of solitude.












christine and kelvin - kelvin is drinking frozen lemonade out of the kiddie cup.









me and christine while we were waiting in line for something...possibly X. i think we waited a little over an hour for this ride, but it was a great way to end the day. i've never been on a rollercoaster like it before. i think that it might be my new favorite.







and because i love pictures with cartoon mascots, i forced christine to take a picture with me and the looney tunes gang. i just find the characters running around in costume all day super amusing. so this is just for you christine! :) i'll see y'all in june!

a week of highlights

today was crazy hair day at school. a bunch of the students came with funky hairstyles and sprayed hair a rainbow of colors. all the students with school spirit had the chance to show off their flair. even the principal joined in by mohawking her short hair. awesome.

i started this student teaching in the 2nd grade this last monday. monday was a super fantastic day. seriously...super! i was placed at an elementary school in east LA again, only this time, on the northend, near my friend may's house. i was originally supposed assigned to a Ms. Duff, but last saturday, i got a phone call from my advisor letting me know that the principal had called him for a switch because of my bilingual credential (BCLAD). i was placed in another 2nd grade class with ELLs (english language learners). for most of the last two quarters, the BCLAD option has been more of a curse - one more class than everyone else, later evenings on tuesdays, more work, etc. but, the BCLAD has proven to be my salvation, so to speak. my new guiding teacher is fantabulous. she's so relaxed with her students and she's done an amazing job of teaching them to be independent and responsible. these 2nd graders are phenomenol and so darn CUTE! they have these cute little voices...soooo CUTE!

anyway, yesterday and today, my teacher was gone so while we had a sub today, we did not yesterday and were therefore dispersed into other 2nd grade classrooms. i got to have a little medley of 2nd grade teaching styles by visiting the other classrooms. the teacher i would've been with, not so great. she kind of barks out orders at the kids and really values quiet. uh...they're kids...they make some noise. i've decided that i'm ok with noise and ordered chaos. sadly, the switch came at the expense of my friend rebecca, who would've had my teacher, but instead, got the scary one. so, i owe her...big time.

on tuesday, i had my latest class, which is scheduled to end at 8pm. my team advisor also happens to be the instructor for this course (BCLAD culture). i was a little worried about how it might turn out, but it was pretty great. we had some good readings and discussions and the overview of the class made it seem like it will be pretty darn interesting. hooray! this class also gives me the opportunity to continue with my two-year goal of being best friends with my advisor. ok, i don't really mean best friends, but i do have a goal of breaking down the invisible barrier he sort of keeps with us and to get him to relax and share stuff about himself so we can get to know him better. i'm actually making a lot of progress with my goal. it's become a team inside joke. anyway, he let us out of class an hour early...bonus! when i got home, i met a new person in my roommates small group who went to UO for law school. he raved about portland. he too became my new best friend. apparently, it doesn't take much. rave about portland and you're pretty much cool. :D

wednesday was my evening to relax after class. it was also fabulous.

thursday my class was dispersed due to the sub not showing up. i got to sort of be in charge, in that i administered the district math assessment to the students that had been absent and also collected and checked homework and distributed new homework, along with visiting my kids in their dispersed classrooms. after school, my carpool and i went grocery shopping at 99 ranch in monterey park since it was 10 minutes from our school. i think we're planning on making this our weekly ritual. it's so convenient...close to costco and target too. triple hooray. and even more cool, there was a prayer meeting for church too.

there's a birthday party tonight and magic mountain tomorrow. totally a week of fun and educational highlights.

yay football! yay teaching!

i've been playing flag football with friends from church, etc for several weeks now, before church. today, i finally caught some passes! and scored 2 touchdowns! hooray! now i need to go to sleep so i can wake up early for my first day of full-day student teaching in 2nd grade!