INTERVENTION

every sunday night, leyla and i watch an A&E show called intervention. essentially, its an hour show documenting the lives of addicts of different sorts. they can be drug addicts, food addicts, whatever....its pretty compelling most of the time. i am not really sure why we watch the show....i guess its because its genuine and real. we like to empathize and deep down, we watch out of fear. we watch to make sure that never happens to the both of us...or any of our friends.

but i might need one myself. i know i may be trivializing the lives of real folks with real problems, but i may have a problem. what do you think?

see that picture of a pair of shoes...well, that's the 30th pair of shoes i have in our closet. i am pretty good at keeping my shoes in my alloted space, but its beginning to sprawl all over our room......neatly of course!

unlike most addicts, they have faced traumatic events in their lives. you know like being molested, parents divorced, a death of a parent or family member, a loss of someone special....and so on. fortunately, i have not had to face those kinds of problems but i can't figure out why i can't stop buying shoes. i mean i'm pretty good at giving myself rules. for instance, i don't buy shoes over 50 dollars....unless they are really special of course. i can even comfortably say that i am petty and cheap when it comes to everything else. many of my friends can attest to my spending habits.

so what is causing me to uncontrollably buy so many shoes? perhaps this is my only creative outlet. perhaps i have adopted this habit from my wife, who likes to shop as well. perhaps in my former life, i lived shoeless trotting through india as a brahmin, and because of my great karma, i was gifted a life of relative comfort, and for some reason, i never forgot to embrace the idea of wearing shoes in my next life....

I Won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay...so i won the no-buying-shoes-and-clothes-for-six-months wager. oh it took about two and a half weeks until leyla buckled...or perhaps crumbled in the thick of merchandise world called union square. she ended up buying cosmetics and she thought she that if she was going to lose, she might as well lose big. so she bought several clothing articles from the notorious marshalls. leyla and marshalls is like a heroine addict in a field of opium poppies in afghanistan!

"but they were in clearance...pookie......they were almost free," guilt and shame written all over her face.

"riiiiiiight"

First Time I Facilitated Professional Development Day

the night before i had to facilitate a professional development day, i could not sleep. in fact, i had two hours worth of sleep and five hours of rolling around thinking of what i was going to say.

i was not sure why i was so nervous, but i just thought that there were going to be a lot of irritated social studies teachers. last year, our PD day was incredible! we had an opportunity to go to alcatraz, to any museum we wanted, to libraries, to any historical sites located in san francisco.

now they were forced to sit in a classroom from 8:30 to 3:30 and have to develop a lesson plan?!?!? all i could think of is how to absorb their frustrations.

instead, the day went really well. most of the teachers present shared their frustrations with the new social studies curriculum but they were kind to me. phew!

My Pookie Has No Idea Who ROY JONES Is!

again....my pookie has no idea who roy jones is! let me say that again please....my pooie has no idea who roy jones is! while we were watching something on tv...we happened to turn it on SPIKE TV...yeah the man channel! not my most favorite but we probably came across an old movie from the past...something like red dawn....

i'm sure she hated it but of course a pros versus joes commercial pops up for probably the twentieth time. she asked me,"how much do those joes get for making an ass out of themselves anyway?"

"well, pookie, anyone will do it for free just to say they have played against a 'pro.' (if you can call greg lalas a pro). but the winner gets 20 thousand dollars!"

"well, damn pookie, here's your opportunity. you've been saying you can whoop anyone's ass all this time?"

humbled...but not reticent, "of course pookie, i can compete with these people in MY HEAD!"

i continue,"i don't think you understand whou you have to go against" i shudder,"i mean do you know who ROY JONES is?....do you know who randy couture is?"

"so what... its 20 thousand pookie," she jabbed.

"that's not enough to cover the medical coverage that i would need after being mortally wounded!"

[conversation stops abruptly]

WARRIOOOOOOOOORS COME OUT N PLAY!

i know most of my blog readers have no freaking clue what the hell i'm talking about...but get a clue people! you all need to watch the new wariors team now!!!!! this team is going to make an impact before the end of the year. we have one of the best coach in the nba and we assembled an incredible team. baron is still baron (davis). and just got al harrington, who is young, explosive, and talented. stephen jackson, young, ugly, and you probably do not want to be near him in a club. he literally is a shooter....if you know what i mean....but no doubt has one of the more higher basketball IQ in the NBA! i would not want any other wingman for baron than stephen jackson. the warriors are also one of the youngest team in the NBA. monte ellis, azubukie, biedrins, matt barnes and even a french man (????), all quick, all intense, it all adds up to an incredble defenive team. its over....they are playing the lakers as we speak....in la la land, and they are giving them a whoop ass!!!!!

who wants to go to a warriors game with me?!?!?!?!!?!

Am I Crazy....Cuz i really think God is Unfair!

have you seen this Iphone?!?!?! it is incredible....wait....it's beyond any comparisons other than it is better than #22 chicken curry. well...maybe not...i mean if your stuck in a deserted island, i prefer the #22 with thai iced tea than the iphone. i figure if you live in darfur, this may not seem so palpable....try water and rice instead. so it has its limitations but boy it sure has an upside like no other....that is if you live in the united states, europe, and parts of asia! over two hundred patents in one phone? .....crazy! $499 to $599....i'd rather save up money for a trip to peru. but boy i wouldn't mind getting it for a gift....HINT..HINT

i guess some of us are just more lucky than other people in this world.....

How Cool Is My Life!

how cool is my life? my wife writes poems to me.....

in a relationship,
the forty-seventh conversation about trust
is an egg cracked over a skillet
a conversation over Sunday breakfast
how important is important
how trustworthy is
your mother's cat? your left pinkie?
the blood in between your gums
after a month of not flossing?
does your ring ever disappear?
your whole hand swallowed
by one long sleeve?
standing alone in a bar
in this haven of drunks
i miss you and wish your weren't here
simultaneously



percolate this through your head......

Morrissey!

i am not sure....maybe i miss understood what i was hearing, but i think morrissey is in a north american tour. so far he has pasadena dates and i am really hoping he comes to northern california. i think he is so unique in not only singing, but telling stories. iconic, original, cerebral, concious.....

PBS-KQED is so interesting!

leyla and i are watching a show about how a muslim woman, who is a karate expert, who has won olympic medals, who is an incredible karate instructor, who is married. this is a tragic film. it chronicles how her life changed dramatically because she has finally married. her life as she knows it is lost. she lives for her husband now. even though she had no idea how to cook, she has to call her mother and ask her how to cook certain dishes. she still continues to compete in karate, but she doesn't train, and she has lost her edge.

leyla cringes in the fact that this woman has to change for him. the man controls everything in the house. he tells her to stop filming, and she has to stop. now she wants her mom and dad back. too late.

now her sister took first place in a karate tournament. she is distraught, but what can she do, she is pregnant now.

trying to annoy leyla, i said,"that's how it should be!" she stares me down with a wry smile.

"actually, i'm a black belt too!" she responds. well she owns a balck belt. probably from ross or marshalls.

so she tells me, "we should go to sleep now."

"no, i tell you when to sleep!" i jabbed jokingly.

she just laughs me off. what does that mean? do i lack authority? does she think i'm a joke? i'm going to have to put the smackdown!

Leyla Knows So Much

so we were watching a movie one afternoon. it was a very compelling movie. it was an independent film about asians living in san francisco. (by the way, a great film. it is one of those films that really moved me to stay in teaching el students.) people need to watch this. it is called spencer nakasako's trilogy. if you have seen it, you have probably come across it from pbs.

so one of the films was about three cambodian youths that traveled back to cambodia to meet their family. (titled: refugee) there were very difficult upheavals in their lives and they went back to really find answers. i guess that's what happens when a war gets in the way. one of the boys is talking to his estranged father that decided to stay in cambodia while his mother and himself escaped. they were talking out in a balcony and leyla said,"wow, he speaks cambodian so well!" heheheheehe

i was laughing so hard i jumped out of the couch. how the hell would she know how well he is speaking cambodian? at first she didn't figured out while i was laughing, but then she realized how assinine her remark was.

David Beckham Hater!

yeah that's right...i'm a david beckham hater! i just don't think this guy is genuinely a good soccer player. all he thinks about is being famous. who cares! play the goddam game right and play hard and stop thinking about your face. this guys favorite greek story is narcissus. all he cares about is his freaking face. he is what is referred to as "pretty boy" folks and i loved it when he moved to real madrid.

real madrid is also another entity that i would like to blow up! i would join a real madrid flag burning anytime. i hate them! this is why i thought david beckham was the best fit for real. i can hate them all in one game...hehehehehehe as much as i like the movie "bend it like beckham", it had nothing to do with him. it was about soccer and the love for soccer. he is the complete antithesis. no child of mine is ever going to speak of this man.....well....unless he turns out gay and he really thinks he is fine.....i guess!??!?!?

Oh God...What Did I Do Wrong? Why Did I Deserve This Week?

this week was atrocious, and it hasn't ended yet! monday was the usual painful monday. the kids didn't listen because they want to catch up with each other. why don't they just call each other during the weekend....for goodness sakes!

tuesday was awfully long. i didn't sleep much and i don't know why. but i had half a day to prepare for my evaluation. i honestly don't care about evaluations. i much rather have admin come in and surprise me and the kiddies. i had popped a few anicker bars and performed wondrfully for mr. duran. i also arrived at the realization that i have a few days left to complete my lalar forms. what is lalar you ask? if you are an eld teacher you would know. if you aspire to be an eld teacher, and someone mentions it to you, do not fear, impress the person by saying," oh they track the growth of every indiviual in english!" it takes hours to do it...and i haven't started! but tuesday is not over yet....we had an after school faculty meeting. then a group of us had to leave for another meeting at another school. fortunately, it was alleviated with the fact that they serve food, but our meeting didn't end til seven o'clock!

wednesday: fortunately, the kids behaved generally well. some annoyed me because the were exhibiting their usual lazy-i-don't-care-attitude-but-since-we-have-three-weeks-left-before-semester-grades-they-do-everything-incorrectly-and-expect-to-pass-the-class. BS! i've already told them to do your best but i know why you're making an effort now and not before. "i ain't stupid!"

meeting: all the social studies teachers are shotrt of books! we have had an influx of new students and we don't have enough social studies books for them. i have to discuss this topic with the principal, but he keeps telling me we have to get the right numbers before we can order books. i might have to call TCI myself and invest our social studies funds to pay for books.

wednesday night: 4:30 to 6:30 social studies initiative meeting. we had to discuss what we have to facilitate for the jan.26 PD day. what is that?!?!! all the teachers have a day off or they can go to a workshop and earn three hundred bucks. last year, they offered up all the museums, attractions, libraries for all the social studies people. it was wonderful! this year, they are giving us the task of analyzing the TCI book. they figured it is the first year of implementing this program, so let's make sure everyone is using it. of course, there are teachers who have spent years building their curriculum and now are told to either throw it away or somehow fuse it with the TCI curriculum. we met for two hours, with pizza but no drinks, to address how we are going to facilitate a tough crowd who are rearing to complain about this new change. let's go....i'm ready for the challenge. i came home that night and slept on the sofa! my wife told me that she tried to wake me up, but i somehow pushed her away during my rem phase. amazing!

thursday: another difficult day. another meeting. our school is in the national geographic geography bee. don't ask me why a low performing school is in this contest? it is wonderful, but it is hard to pit our bright english learners against regular students who have much more background. we have a list of five kids ready for the task....we think!

i also gave my el kids a practice summary writing exercise. they blew it royally!

friday: tomorrow....of course, the geogaphy bee is tomorrow. we had three days to prepare for it. the seventh grade teacher hasn't even made a list yet. i have to remind him tonight. i will have to model summary writing again tomorrow!

to say that this is normal in a single week is crazy! this is a very unique week. so weird that i have not seen a college basketball game all week! i'm pist!

Oral B Professional Toothbrush

this is such a great electric toothbrush! its like getting a real dental cleaning you get twice a year....but twice a day instead! its a great experience every time i brush my teeth. if this keeps up, i may not have to go to the dentist anymore. oh wait....i haven't been to the dentist for over three years now.....oops! anyways, this will really benefit teeth ravaged by coke for years.

Hilda Weeps Outside My Class!

this afternoon, my students were taking a pretty rigorous test. it consist of about forty multiple choice questions, three written response, and a grueling five-paragraph persuasive essay. they had about two days, or four hours to do it. i pretty much let them take it and stayed in front of the class.

however, the students kept on telling me that hilda was listening to her ipod. i really didn't want to do anything and i pretended that i didn't know anything about it. i figured they had a pretty rough couple of days, i would let them have some freedom. i don't know if it was out of jealousy, some students clued me in on what hilda was doing. she had her hood on and i had no choice but to throw the gavel down.

i took her ipod and she came after school to pick it up. i told her that i was not going to give it to her until one of her parents comes in to pick it up. of course, i will probably give it to her tomorrow because i usually do (i have a heart you know). but she was so crushed by it, that she started to whimper. "i have to be strong.....this will benefit her later on in life!" -i really wanted to believe that some time in the future, she will learn that if you do something not condoned in class, there will be consequences.

she continued to weep outside my class. i wanted to console her, but i am going to wait tomorrow. it was hard....i hate playing this role, but it must be done!

Adidas Marathon TCR Lows!

do you like the size twelves?!?! well, this is what i am going to get when my pookie is going to lose! we made a little wager for the next six months. we have decided to extinguish our consumer habits in buying new shoes and new clothes for the next six months. if one of us capitulates, the other is the winner. our prize: we get to chose an item that the loser has to buy! okay...how ironic, the loser buys things for the other. its completely okay because the item will be a complete reminder of who will be the loser!

okay people, put your bets up. i say i get my shoes in a little less than two months. yes, she will put up a fight because she has pride. she is determined and motivated to take on the challenge. when her back is on the nordstrom's rack, she is not going to run away or quit. but i think the materials in the rack will eventually usurp her moral determination. the bi-weekly 20% invitation in the rack, or the whiff of the smell of new fabric, is going to do her in!!!!

i think this is our way to show to ourselves that we can actually do it. it sounds simple but after much thought, we realized that we consume excessive amounts of crap that we don't need. buying is a form of therapy for the both of us. we experience ennui, boredom and anxiety. we alleviate these stresses by shopping.....for anything. new things are great. they symbolize hope and offer a new or different look....subsequently a new and different life....hopefully, an interesting life!

well, we'll have to find other ways of making our life more interesting.

Monday Night Trader Joe's? Is It The End Of The World?

every time i go to trader joe's monday evening, i want to freaking poke my own eye out! i keep forgetting how hellish trader joe's is monday nights. what's worse is that i've been there several times now. who's the dumass?!?!?! wait don't answer that!

anyways, its like the end of the world....its like a bad charleston heston movie from the 70's! "its the end of the world....aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

so what do i buy? roasted/salted peanuts, two half gallon orange juice, eggs, cafe ice cream, olive oil, and two six-packs of hansens. not exactly survival food, but i even more dread being in line for an eternity and just when you're next, the wife calls to request for fresh, organic, unsweetened, unpasturized, dried whatever! you think i'm going to go and get it?!?!?

BAck To School!

crap....i am still trying to forget what is ahead tomorrow. i haven't planned for the week yet....even though i have thought about it all week. its just that i don't want to embrace discipline. i have been at my parents house lounging around. i didn't do anything! i even tried to avoid the crowds at the mall by buying gifts from the internet. if sleeping was a game, i was the best this past couple of weeks. i would take nine, ten hour sleep seesions and still take naps. in fact, blogging is the one distraction that i am still holding on to. i could start lesson planning....but why do that when i still have nine hours till i wake up tomorrow morning.