DribblingTeacher

Saturday Morning Bball at Dolores Park

2007-10-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

our team lost and we have to wait. i hate waiting. waiting sucks cuz all you could think about is how you lost to a bunch of dipshits. and then you realize, if theyre dipshits and they won, then what the hell are you? finally we get to play and there are four of us. we normally play with this one guy....he is good but he has already played. we were suppose to pick up the next player waiting. but we didn't...we didn't want to lose and so we shrugged off court rules and choose this guy.

so the guys that wanted to play ended up having to wait another turn. it sucks and it wasn't fair. some other dude said....."man this is a republican court".....everyone chuckled. but to be fair...we lost...and we deserved it. the basketball gods have spoken....

Time for Some Bluegrass!

2007-10-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

oh goodness....its that time of the year again....Hardly Bluegrass in the park (or something like that). every six grader is invited to bluegrass in the park every year. i have no idea who sponsors this event every year but it is an incredible undertaking. i imagine it is costly as well. whoever it is, they must have a lot of dough or influence to keep this up on a yearly bases. i love bluegrass for what it is....dance music and pure joy. its a part of a tradition that celebrates joy....how can anyone not like having fun?!?!?!

anyways, the 6th grade crew sometimes dread it. field trips can sometimes be a chore, especially the ones that you don't really plan as a department or the ones that pop up in less than two weeks. with so many standards to cover, field trips can really put a strain on planning.

but having opportunities to connect with your kiddies is priceless......so take advantage of it.

anyways, here's another thing that was priceless......one of the bands invited kids to go up there and dance with them. so a little brave boy from one of the middle schools went up there to represent his school. he said he came up there to break dance...what? so the band did their best to fuse bluegrass as close to b-boy music as they can. and the boy thought he was turbo from beat street! of course, the teachers were laughing their heads off with the contrast and the kids were cheering him.....that made my day.

Top Chef Champ 2007: Hung

2007-10-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

okay top chef just ended and hung is the winner. of course, leyla thought casey would win because she is a girl and no girl has won before. i thought that hung would win because he has been consistently in the top of most competition throughout the year. i based my findings on what they have done throughout the year whereas leyla likes to think the producers control the outcome of the the show.

"this is not a contest, its a tv show!" -leyla. i like to think there is some degree of integrity in the world of television and leyla thinks the winner is determined by Bravo. she says my innocence is cute and i think she is cynical. she just laughs at me.

2007-09-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

so we decided to visit the cu chi tunnels. one of the regulars that play at dolores park is an incredibly experienced sixty five years old who has a ton of amazing stories. when i told him that i was going to vietnam, he confided in me that he was a vietnam veteran. he told me some stories that seemed to incredibly weighed him down. now i know why he is such a tough basketball player!

he told me that if i was going to go to the cu chi tunnels, i could buy him some kind of trinket from there. i promised him i would go there because i always wanted to go there. his compelling stories only made me more interested.

it turns out that the cu chi tunnels were just as intrueging to me as for leyla and tri. our guide was an old vietnamese that made you think he was actually there. but you only need half a brain to realize he is too young. but his broken english was precious. it was very educational even though we only understood a little more than half of the things he was saying.

leyla was so excited that she decided to make this as authentic as possible. she bought several bullets and decided to shoot an ak-47. she quipped, "if jane fonda can do it, i can do it."

and she also wanted to say, "well you know.....back in nam....i shot a chinese made ak-47." i guess she wants that one moment where she comes across a vietnam veteran and be able to say it.

but check this picture out....she has rounds around her neck, about to cradle the ak-47....and she still has her purse on her arm! incredible!

Halong Bay

2007-09-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

raise your hand if you have ever seen that french classic "indochine" starring catherine denueve. well it is probably my favorite foreign film and i think catherine denueve is one hot senior citizen. anyways, the story is incredible. it is a romantic depiction on how the french lost their hold of their colony and a triumphant depiction of how the vietnamese commence their revolt against their french masters. the scenes are epic and landscape is beautiful. if you haven't seen it, i hope these pictures convinced you to at least netflix it.

anyways, this movie was the one reason why i have always wanted to go to vietnam. well....i guess graham greene and kaiko also had influenced me. but i have always wanted to see halong bay. they are these tiny islands grouped together in one area. there are like huge marbles, thousands of them, roled in one corner of a room that is flooded... except these marbles have vegetation carpeting them. it seemed endless and the room had the sky for walls.

it was an awesome sight. its so unique and breathless. the vastness of it all made it quite romantic.

tri's mom bought a vat of these strange looking shellfish for about a dollar from women lurking around one of these islands selling what they have caught, and she had the crew of our boat to cook it for us. we swore not to eat seafood for our stomach sake but we had to try these. they were rubbery but delicious. our stomach held on and we were quite content with the culinary surprise.

I'm Back!!!!

2007-09-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Wow...it has been a spell since i have blogged. but a trip to vietnam for a couple of weeks, a move to another apartment, a beginning of a new school year, a lack of internet connection, a wonderful wedding, and plain ole laziness can cause a month long sabbatical from blogging. so for those two or three people that do read my blog.....i'm back!

first entry: vietnam was amazing. i guess everywhere i travel, i tend to say its amazing. i have never really been to place where i have never been before that was not interesting nor intriguing. besides, if i am going to spend that much money, i tend to make the best of it.

however, this travel was quite unique. leyla and i went with one of my friend, tri and his mother. tri is of vietnamese descent born in the usa but has never been to vietnam. of course, the mom, who is incredibly tireless and excited to experience this moment with son, made sure we had a great time. his experience of making that connection with his parent's family and the past was poignant.

third world countries are exciting to travel to because they offer something different from the comforts we tend to take for granted at home. one can really see that life is incredibly more unique and different and hard and simple in third world countries. i guess that's why i tend to like to travel to these countries. it is a challenge!

the black boogers coming out of your nose, the mass of scooters, cars, busses, trucks from all direction all converging into one intersection at the same time...yet every single one happens to avoid an accident and move on to its merry way. imagine critical mass of bicycles in a friday in san francisco, but traffic in a third world country makes "critical mass" look like a stroll in a quiet street because this occurs everyday, at every hour, at every intersection! where are all these people going? the horns are a nuisance, and the smog is intolerable. crossing the street was "frogger" like and the heat was unbearable.

but i revel in all these challenges that travel offers. it makes me grounded and humble. i like to throw the comfort of life out just so i don't take things for granted at home. however, i have to admit that this trip was quite different. we actually stayed in 3star to 5 star hotels. we lavished in some of the more posh hotels and resorts of saigon, hanoi, and nah tran. we had our own bus, boat, entourage even! but having locals show you around sure made it more amazing. we went to places where most tourists may not have gone. we ate at restaurants that only locals frequent. details later.........

Really Cool TV Show: The Company

2007-08-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

here's a really interesting and exhilirating tv show on TNT.....The Company. its a take on how the running of the CIA during the cold war. its an intelligent espionage flick completely unlike 007, and makes you think if that really happened.

My Friend's Son Marcos' Birthday

2007-08-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

isn't he just the cutest thing!?!?!?! can't say much for his father though....hehehehehehe

Summer of Scandals!!!

2007-07-26T23:12:00.001-07:00

wow....just when you think television is boring, scandals arise around you. i have never seen this much scandal in a span of a month for a long time. Scandals:

1. barry bonds: this is getting old! this scandal has been run through the ground, dug up, and restored. i guess he deserves it all...he is kind of a jerk! oh....and when your head and body dramatically grows and you have to get a bigger sized helmet......and you are connected to conte and balco....you are in steroid muck for the rest fo your career.

2. Tour de France: i know a lot of people do not know what the hell tour de france is but even lance armstrong tried to make it as palatable to the american conciousness. i don't think it worked! hehehehehe anyways, blood doping and steroids are the causes for scandal. everyone wants to win so bad that bicyclist are doping their blood and/or using steroids to get an advantage. it is a little bizarre sometimes when a bicyclist suddenly puts on a charge for one stage that is inhuman like. even lance armstrong has been connected to steroids. personally, i think he used it! uh oh...another scandal!

3. Referee in NBA: WHAT??!!?!?!? the nba?!??! no way?!??!?! some jerk referee bet on the games that he worked on. what the f*** is this dipshit doing. he sure gave stern a headache...heheheheehe

4. Michael Vick and allegedly dogfighting: this is just sick! how the hell do you claim that you love your dogs and then actively participate them to their inevitable death. have you ever seen a pit bull puppy? c'mon they are so beautiful! i think his cousin is going to take the rap. he will probably play again.

5. the worst of all is albert gonzalez!!!!! this guy is a total dipshit!!! he claimed that he didn't "recollect" any convesation about the firing of judicial officers. the problem is that two people, credible people, in judicial committees, contradicted him. so now the judicial department has lost its credibility. everything around bush is crumbling by the way side. i love the fact that george bush just DOESN"T care! hehehehe i don't think alberto gonzalez is george bush stupid but i really think he has no integrity whatsoever.

6. of course, the continuing scandal of george bush and how stupid he is. the question is "is he really that stupid or he just doesn't care at all?" frankly, he has a whole slew of people taking the rap for him that he can afford to be stupid and inarticualte. he is so stupid! and i don't really like saying that about my president....but GODDAMN....let's just say he doesn't split atoms in his spare time. i wonder if he has recently read a book?!?!?!?!? hmmmmmm

Transformers

2007-07-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

i grew up with this show all throughout my childhood and i have found the first couple of episodes...check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ16d-qpBEE

What's the Difference Between Dog Fighting From Cock Fighting...or from Hunting?

2007-07-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

do you know that dog fighting has been around for hundreds of years all over the world? do you know that cock fighting has been around as much as dog fighting? why is it that we allow cock fighting in some states but we don't allow dog fighting at all? who decides which is more cruel?

i actually saw a cock fight when i was a small child in the philippines! it was brutal and exciting at the same time. it conveyed strength and power. it was a guy thing and believe it or not, i have heard of dog fights all over the central valley of california. it is very common! i don't condone what he did but i do not have the same appalled expression toward michael vick as most of the people in united states. practically everyone hates him! animal fighting is in my state of mind. what if michael vick has expereinced this when he was a child. the same repugnance you have for him is based on the completely different expereince you may have when you were a child. if you were raised with a caring dog, you may have a repugnant feeling toward animals fighting, but as for me, to no fault of my own, i just don't like it. but i don't feel he deserves this kind of treatment.

now, if our society is making a stand here, then i think someone famous or infamous would help us determine where we are morally with this issue. but let's be consistent. what do we all think about cock fights? what do we think about hunting? hell....we allow someone to shoot a deer from hundreds of yards away and yet we don't allow dogs fighting with each other. bottom line is that we control the atmosphere and an animal is dead. which animal is more important? why is one more brutal than the other?

Guns, Germs, and Steel

2007-07-17T02:45:00.000-07:00

this is the last email i sent to one of my colleagues who i am in discussion with the book we are reading called Guns, Germs, and Steel.

rosenberg,

just finished the book....a really good read and i am very satisfied with it.

well....i really think that this book takes away the argument that certain people are smarter than others. based on this book, it is certain enviromental factors that caused the rise of certain civilizations before others. it gives credit to biogeographical causes more than human ingenuity. thus undermines many racist groups claim of supremacy over others.

i think its a great book, particularly for someone like me. as an immigrant, living in the usa, i grew up insecure and with a chip on my shoulder because of the color of my skin. it may not be in my conciousness but certainly in my subconcious. i guess that is what you inherit living in the us school system. i know that others have pride in their cultures for the inventions and advances that they have made, and i have always acknowledged it. but being a pessimist at times, i would always accept it with a grain of salt.

now...what do i mean....my friends would embolden their excistence and shoot things like..."oh yeah man....my ancestors have discovered this and that....way before anybody".....i would agree....more to avoid conflict than anything. but underneath it all...i would always think "why the hell do europeans own the majority of capital all over the world?" "why can't your country, or my country pull itself from the third world status?"

i feel like this book really shed light to this question and i feel better about myself for reading it. don't get me wrong, i have dealt with my insecurities many times over. but this book still made profound and positive effects in my life.

i guess the more relevant question is: "how is this relevant to our students next year? i have my ideas....and it would be really neat if we discuss it.

alex

Making the Band

2007-07-15T23:39:00.000-07:00

okay.....i have to admit....leyla watches mtv! what????? right....that's exactly my response....so sophisticated yet so cheesy. anyways, if any of you like westside story......and you like boyz to men, then you might actually like Making of the Band. its so funny how guys are so pumped up with so much testosterone, ready to compete....and what do they do? SING.....yeah its bizarre but if you have nothing else to do...you might as well check this out.

Good Movies to Watch!

2007-07-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

i decided not to teach summer school this summer. actually, i haven't taught summer school at all. however, i have always traveled right after the last bell. this is the main reason why i haven't been to the dentist for years. i just don't like to call in sick for my teeth....hmmmmmmmm....i think i need to reevaluate my priorities.

anyways, now that we are not going to travel until august, we are struggling to figure out what the hell to do everyday! we read, we watch tv, we sleep some more, we go shopping and regretting it knowing we are not earning didly-squat, we make a mess and clean it, i play ball and we walk. sometimes we go watch a movie...here are my reviews of them:

1. sicko.....good movie. it is worth watching. not that it is difficult but certain moments were so emotional that i cried a few times. michael moore puts you in an emotional ride of being secure, then taking the blanket off your feet, helplessness, anger, blend in with a lot of humor. he reminds you that what is good is what you do outside of yourself.

2. happy feet...a good movie....a happy movie....! if you like to sing along to all the top pop songs in the last three decades, this is your movie. of course, they never considered hall and oates....

3. live free or die hard....uhhhhhh...i think i've seen this one already two decades ago. i have to admit, bruce willis is holding up pretty well. it was fun if you don't try think about the realities of life and just accept it for what it is....action film!

by the way, my friends and i saw this movie at the amc in van ness....a great building that looks restored from the depths of the ebb and flow of capitalism. and what is even more wonderful is the hole in the wall meat lovers restaurant right across the street. its called "tommies!" check it out and you'll know wht i mean.......

anyways, that's all the movies i got to watch this summer?!?!!??!

JMT: sixth day: touloumne meadows/ half dome

2007-07-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

i can't say i have never hitched a ride in california ever again. we had to hitch a couple of miles today because we took the wrong trail and we culdn't find the general store in touloume meadows. we are getting closer to the end and we are seeing more people. its kind of sad to see this part of the sierras inundated with endless cars and giant motor homes. i tend to think you lose the connection with nature when you lug your amenities in the woods.

we got a hitch from a hiker about to start his epic hike as well. he dropped us off the general store around noon and we ordered up several welfare sandwiches for more calorie intake. we met really cool hikers called cabana boy and hitch (a couple from minnesota) in the store. we also met up with barefoot again. after we ate, noodles planned on hiking a ridiculous 14 more miles so we can get to the foot of half dome. my feet will never forgive me after this!!!

when we got to our destination, we camped and planned on waking up at 3 in the morning and hike half dome so we can catch the sun rising! again, all i could think of was my feet.

before we went to bed, we had a little surprise: two young bears tried to force themselves in our camp until we scared them off. of course, i slept in the middle of the other guys after that incident.

this is barefoot, noodles, and myself, cityfoot, up at half dome as the sun rose. it was beautiful....majestic....awesome....phew!

JMT: fifth day: I Love Rolling Meadows!

2007-07-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

i love rolling meadows! the quiet serenity it offers is a relief from the towering robustness and unforgiving rocks the mountains offer. every time i walk through a valley, i take a deep sigh. i want to just plop down on the grassy knoll and sleep the day away but i know better. in that solemness the mosquitos await. apparently, its their heaven on earth as well adn they are not about to share it with you unless you are willing to pay the price......YOUR BLOOD! i wish i could just sling a vat of blood for them to prey on and leave me alone.

anyways, the walk is easy and i am learning to go at my own pace. the blister count has increased. they are know prevalent in both my feet but i am also used to the pain. noodles and i stopped at a stream in the valley. the night was beautiful and we decided to eat next to the stream. i can hardly walk now. i am really uncomfortable at this point because every time i take a step, pain shoots up my leg. but it hasn't kept me down at all. this is too special.

JMT: fourth day: Donohue Pass

2007-07-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

by the way, the first picture shows noodles....he's my crazy colleague that made this all possible. he has an incredible spirit and i have never seen him without a happy disposition. i am really not sure whether that is healthy but it seems to work for him. i am really thankful for allowing me to hike with him.

the second picture is me looking over the rocks to see whether i really want to go over the pass. we are about a mile away and we have been hiking uphill on those dreaded switchbacks for an hour. my feet are killing me and my quads are about to give up on me. donuhue pass is around 11,000 feet. the tallest pass i am going to cross in my trip. the incline itself isn't so bothersome as i am realizing i have to also come down. going down the hill is what makes hiking really difficult because of all the weight you are putting on your feet, knees, and legs.

by the way, walking poles are incredible! they help defer some of the weight off you knees and they also help with your balance, especially when you are tired. highly recommended!

JMT: third day: Battle of Little Big Mosquitos

2007-07-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the more picturesque sight i have ever camped in! Noodles is taking pictures while i am quickly trying to get my bed up. this has been a very trying day for me. we have been walking continuously for 8 hours trying to reach this emmaculate place called thousand islands lake. i have been fighting off mosquitos all day while tolerating blister pains on my left foot. every time i step, i have to grimace. i have not been treating my feet very well today. i wonder what they are saying to each other.

left foot: "ouch...ouch...ouch...ouch"
right foot: "sorry bro' i feel for you. if it makes you feel any better, i have a few hot spots on my heel and the ball."
LF: "damn...i bet you he's taking something to keep the pain down cuz i'm sendin' the pain up as fast as he's steppin'"
RF: "does the terrain get any easier?" sand creeps in the shoes and grinds at us. rocks are uneven. that goddamn bag is killin' us!"
LF: "whooooopie...cold water...as much as brother penis hates the cold water and shrinks to a pea....i love cold water....cool down in the lake is my kind of backpacking!"
RF: "dyu hear?" they met another hiker and his nickname is 'barefoot.' i heard he hiked three days on his bare feet!
LF: "i hate him already".... ouch...ouch...ouch...why doesn't he stop to rest? he is so stubborn....."
RF: "this is not a race!"

anyways, we rushed up to thousand islands lake because we planned on meeting noodles' buddies there. unfortunately, they never showed up.

the war with the mosquitos are more extreme near the lakes and streams. this place is relentless. they are coming in swarms and i have about killed thousands. i try to leave the dead mosquitos on my arm to warn the others of their fate but it did't seem to work. i am tempted to lather myself with deet but i can't stand the idea that i am putting a potentially cancerous product on my body. so my hat is the weapon of choice. i can kill off three or four at a time with it! ahhhhhhh.....wind.....our savior. it sweeps them away for a while. then the night comes and we cover ourselves up and they hide off somewhere warm....i guess.

The JMT: Day Two: Blister Day

2007-07-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

As we established ourselves atop of a rolling river, i thought to myself: blisters can make any man whimper. i'm not daniel boone but i'm not a pushover either, but i sure was whimpering. we knocked off 15 miles again and we were joined by a really interesting, humble spanish bloke from God knows where. he says he's from cadiz, but he's got an american and british passport, and his english is pretentiously perfect. it was interesting to listen to his story but i'd have to write a small novvela if i try to blog it.

again the views are spectacular and my legs are getting used to the grind. unfortunately, Day Two was a downhill excursion. i lost two of my best friends today. real stalworths in my life. i don't know if they'll ever forgive me, but Right foot and Left foot have been in anguish since this morning. I have one huge blisternext to the ball of my left foot and two blisters on the heel and small toe of my right foot. blisters are the worst thing to have during backpacking. they are incredibly painful and inevitable. you can only hope to minimize the blisters. most backpackers spend their time thinking about how the hell they got them. every backpacker has a blister experience and they have their own unique solution to them. they even like to tell you why you got them: "your shoes are new," "the sole is too thick," "its the sand, you need gaiters," "you need to find your pace." these are just a few i can remember.

anyways, the blisters i incurred wouldn't let me stand up during rests without lingering burning sensations shot through my body. i knew i was in deep doodoo for at least a couple of days. and as much as i hate to admit it, i am praying for another uphill grind, hopefuly a gradual one, just to minimize the pain these blisters are giving me.

my goal is to gain my feet's allegiance before the end of this trip. they determine whether i get to play basketball. hell...they determine whether i can do anything period. its these moments when you wish you have a case of beers to consume so the pain would stop. of course, capt. nodles would have to lug it!!!

so far i have killed over a thousand mosquitos....they are relentless!

John Muir Trail (JMT): Day One: Day of Initiation

2007-07-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I know i was already briefed where i was going to start and i knew it wasn't going to be easy but kind words like, "don't worry... you're fit..you can handle it."propelled me on. as the days slowly crept on, i began to get apprehensive realizing my backpack weighed as much as a small boy! how the hell am i going to hike with this crap on my back?!?!? don't get me wrong, i've been hiking before but let's get something straight right now: day hikes are day hikes, and backpacking with a house on your back, is a whole new experience.

the hike up to silver pass reached almost 11,000 feet. somewhere stored in my synapses i knew there was going to be a great climb because Chase already briefed me with his maps. but i had no idea we were going to start thousands of miles below and what it really meant until the day of initiation. the hike started out fine. praises were thrown my way consideringthis was really my first time ever. but the incline started to burn my quads. i wonder if chase was going to continue the torrid pace, and after a few hours of climbing i soon realized this man was crazy! he kept saying the pass was right around the corner..."it won't be long."
response in my mind: "it goddamn better not be!"
to my credit i never thought about bailing out, especially after meeting hikers twice my age having already hiked hundreds of miles. i have to admit, they are a unique group of people. just doing the first pass, i'm realizing that this is a unique experience and half the fun is trying to figure out why people are doing it. they even have monickers for each other. Chase is captain noodles. mine is yet to be determined.

they say it takes to days to get acquainted to the elevation, the sun, the terrain, the mosquitos, so i have another day of endless anguish. at the moment, i feel like a masochist who apparently loves nature. Can i just go to golden gate park instead?

by the way, the views are incredible! every where i turn, i think of framing it. equally, you must pay for such a treat. you have to lug a 40 pound bag on your back. the air is thin. your legs will burn. and you must wage war with the ever present mosquitos. and after all of that, i still think it is worth it.

Just Got Back Doing Only 90 Miles of the John Muir Trail

2007-06-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

so i challenged myself this past week trying to do 90 miles of the John Muir Trail in the Sierras for 6 days! guess what hapened? yup...there it is! i completed my goal but my feet took the brunt of the punishment. there were many reasons why this gruesome sight occurred. one...i had relatively new shoes. two...my feet aren't used to a 45 pound weight on my back. three...this is my first time ever backpacking and i burst off the trail doing a 15 mile first day hike over one of the more difficult pass in the sierras. four...the terrain is unforgiving with an array of loose rocks, sand, uneven boulders, inclines, and declines. five...finally, i'm just a big wuss! i can't believe i allowed my feet to get in such a sickening and painfl predicament. there were times when i was trying to pace myself with my partner, rosenburg, ie. captain noodles. but i soon realized he is the grizzly adams of the sierras and i'm a first timer! consequently, i was given the monicker: "cityfoot."

anyways, i incurred the first of many of these badboys on the second day of a grueling downhill hike. i should have stopped quickly and taped myself off. unfortunately, we ran out of duct tape. i dragged on knowing there are hot spots slowly sending pain up my leg. but i kept on going because everyone kept on going. and this is the result. this is just one of a lot of interesting stories i have being out in the sierras for six days. pictures and wonderful vistas and people and everything else to come.

Yosemite Field Trip

2007-06-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

I was invited to go to a yosemite field trip this past week because a group of sixth graders in my last year in pala middle school are now 8th graders and they are attending the trip. i thought it was an amazing trip! twelve students got to experience the beautiful outdoors....and not just the outdoors but yosemite. they volunteered to cook and clean. they worked as a team. they had the courage to always allow everyone to be part of the activities. they didn't complain at all and they wanted to experience everything. it was as if they have never really been out camping before. and more importantly, they appreciated the natural outdoors. they were amazed by the immensity of the natural features that yosemite offered.

personally, it was nice to catch up with some of the students i have had contact with a couple of years past. it felt good to see that they are doing so well. one of them was a student in my newcomer two years ago. it was very difficult for him to find friends because he is from vietnam and there weren't many students from vietnam. i couldn't translate things for him but, with the help of a dictionary, he was driven to learn english.

now he speaks academic english fluently. the students still make fun of his accent but he is comfortable with himself. as most newcomers know, trying to fit in is most paramount, and i am so proud of everyone trying to include him in all the activities. kudos to a special teacher joe bieleki, who made this all happen.

Ode To Ocala

2007-06-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

when my wife asked me to come to the ocala end of the year dinner...i didn't hesitate. ocala is so important to our lives. heck....that is where we met and that is where we are always welcome. there are just so many good people there! in more ways than one...that is our home.

we arrived late at the graduation but a student of mine four years ago still recognized me. he was one of my problem children but what are you going to do....he was a 12 year old?!?!? now he is 18 and much taller than me. well...he came up to greet me. he told me that he still has pictures of me wearing my britney spears outfit! and i told him that i still use his Never-Eat-Soggy-Waffles to help my students remember north-east-south-west. he also told me that he still has my little trinket that i gave to everyone after my trip to thailand. i had my sunglasses on and i was glad because i was choked up. we talked about all the students in that class. most are all going to graduate on time from mt. pleasant. he is not going to graduate this year but he is staying for another year. and i wasn't surprised but he has a good heart. when we had to leave, i gave him a hug just like i gave him many years past.

2007-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

uhhhhh....i really don't like to see people suffer but i really like this picture! i don't know how long she will be in county this time around but its all worth it after seeing this pic.

5 Reasons Why I Can't Stand Paris Hilton!!!

2007-06-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

1. She is freaking stupid......i mean incredibly dense!

2. She has no originality. everything about her are cheesy imitations of cheap replicas from a crappy santa monica store.

3. cosmetic surgery, botox, pop music....fake fake and if its not kelly clarkson, justin t., hillary d. then its really fake!

4. She is a pretentious BRAT! in her tv show, she plays a rich brat.....she is good at it! but if that is the only thing redeeming about you....do you really deserve the credit?

5. She is out of jail in five days even though she is supposed to serve 45 days. drving with a suspended license, caught for drunk driving for the second time, endangering innocent lives on the streets of los angeles should not be allowed to leave incarceration after five days. its just not fair! ooooh she had a medical condition but its mental.....who doesn't have a condition when you are in prison!

i get it....most stars get special treatment! but she doesn't deserve "star" status. can someone please tell me why she is a "star"? what did she do? she sings? no she doesn't...she crawled around a beach and lip synched her way to noteriety! i hope she hasn't been punked yet.....cuz that is one of the stages in the development of a star. imagine if paris hilton disappears in the face of the earth. i don't think there would be any genuine and compelling response because no one really cares...because she hasn't inspired anyone to care! i can't stand this!!! ok wait....maybe there would be ribbons with her face on it in all her parents hotel rooms......but i think that's as far as it well get......really!

Man Weekend!!!!

2007-05-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

formula: memorial day weekend + boys + wilderness + lake + pine cones + dead wood + crazy/unexplainable competitive games + food + robust and intellectual conversation on a variety of topics + shit talking + -girls = Man Weekend!

what a wonderful weekend it was for the fortunate ones that were able to partake in this annual event. i really think its healthy for couples to escape from each other for a weekend and, in this case, recalibrate their manliness for the goodness of their relationships!?!?!? it was a weekend full of unexplainable-activities-in-the-real-world-sense and fun! for instance, fishing when the only one fish in the reservoir does not want to be caught is something in the vein of man weekend. its manly to fish....don't ya'll remember that old milwaukee beer commercial, "you know guys, it don't get any better than this!" well...imagine that without the cowboy get up, without the fish, without a hunkering 4x4 truck, and instead of a slab of steak cut off from a cow they just killed, you have turkeytofu hot dogs slightly covered in carcinogenic flame....and you have man weekend!

making a raft with dead wood and getting sunburn and an aching back as youre making it is man weekend. raft race from one end of the shore to the other is a must. more incredibly incomprehensible is going down rapids with the raft! don't hate...just appreciate! playing baseball with pine cones is strange, sliding at an immovable stone feet first while a pine cone whizzes by your head, potentially shredding your face, is whimsically pointless, but incredibly fun! this is a normal occurence during man weekend.

playing poker using pine cone chips, rocks, and of course, lichen is unexplainable but goddamn irresistable! making nachos using aluminum foil to collect the heat from the sun is completely asinine....but its man weekend and its okay! throwing rocks at inanimate objects is silly but a classic in man weekend. and talk talk talk talk talk talk talk....then more talk talk talk....and this is just ben c!

what more can a man want?!?!?!?! anyways, this all happened this past weekend and i am just happy to be a part of it all. i am very lucky to be a apart of this tradition and i hope we keep it up! so how do we end man weekend you say?

cutting our hands with a sharp knife and shaking each other's hand as we make a compact to do this every year like Enjuns that you see in those old movies......? hmmmm not quite. riding off individually on horses in our separate ways?....hmmm too dramatic.....how about four guys sardined in a suburu uniformly singing along to kelly clarkson tunes and the theme songs to MTV's "the hills" and "laguna beach"....and saying things like...."i dont care what anyone says about pop music, but she's good." or " i really would like to see her in concert if it was all acoustic!".....ahem..ahem...NEVER!

i guess no one but us will ever really know what man weekend is like!

Bay to Breakers

2007-05-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

i love bay to breakers! its basically drunken revelry with other friends that like to drink. well....its not always about drinking. there's a lot of dressing up....or even dressing down....or even no dressing. whatever the case, there really isnt much running involve. there are just a lot of drinking, ooing 'n awing, pulling floats, urinating on innocent trees and foliage, and sunburning.
like always, i get hurt all the time. not counting burnt skin from the sun, i also got blisters!

this year's theme were party animals. i was a giraffe, others were zebras, cows, a lion, a toucan, even greek togas. not so animalistic but who cares...they had costumes on. whatever the case, i always look to have fun and i usually do.

I'm Not the Only Tough Guy Around That Likes The Sound of Music

2007-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

you see this guy...if you are not familiar with Ultimate Fighting Championship, it is basically the modern version of the colliseum with two gladiators. it is brutal and there are very little rules. its all about power, toughness, ruggedness, blood, guts, a little bit of masochism and a whole lot of sadism. well....this guy is the best in his weight class! i mean he is the best! he kicks everyone's ass!

well guess what? one of his favorite movies is Sound of Music....i'm not the only tough guy who likes the Sound of Music....anyone wanna mess with me....you mess with chuck...heheheheehehe

Clean Foul By Jason Richardson

2007-05-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is image doesn't really express the brutality and toughness this foul exhibited, but it was one of the cleanest fouls i have ever seen in my lifetime watching NBA playoffs. "lifetime" sounds really long but i am not exactly that old....let's just say 20 years.

if you didn't see the game, the player in the blue landed on his back! yes, it looked pretty painful and i sound very callous. but the man DESERVED it! they were ahead and they were going to close out the game. they were up so high that they didnt have to score at all. he decides to try to dunk it in the opposing team's court. now if you have an inkling of pride in yourself, you wouldn't care if you are a utah jazz fan or a warriors fan, you would think that he is showboating the crowd. thus the home team had every right to SLAM him on the ground! in fact, if he was hurt, i would have not lamented over that fact. he deserves every bit of it because his actions were one of conceit and selfishness.

deep down i know that even his coach, who was reknowned for his toughness and his old school ways, knew that there was nothing wrong with that foul.

if the commissioner of the nba punishes jason richardson for his hard foul, i will start a petition to ban watching the NBA forever! you cannot tell a player to show no pride for his team, his fans, his home, his community, his family, and his general welfare. its a very simple principle of life, you do not let anyone dunk in your house.....hell this could be out in the street and they don't let this shit happen there either!

Nasty Dunk: Baron Davis on Kirilenko

2007-05-13T13:59:00.001-07:00

the golden state warriors and utah jazz series is one of the best in a long time. imagine an 8th seed, the last team to barely make the playoffs on the last day of the regular season beat the best team in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks. imagine seven to eight really talented players asked to play like you play out in the park or the local indoor gym. now they are playing the Jazz in the second round. the warriors are incredble. and i really think they have one of the best point guard in the NBA. check this youtube clip on baron davis dunking....wait posterizing on kirilenko! NASTY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY5c5U92-08&NR=1

Warriors Almost Closed It Off In Big D!

2007-05-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Watching the Warriors lately has been an emotional affair! this is how i looked during the warrior comeback throughout the whole game.

at the end of the game, this is how i felt. they should have won that game! and my head is about to burst once a series of events occured: nowitzky hit a three, doubled baron davis and forced a bad shot, another three by nowitzky, another forced shot and miss, next thing you know, dallas is ahead. then dallas wins. craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

Who Needs Terrorists?!?!?!

2007-04-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Why should we fear terrorists when we have dumasses to wreak havoc on our infrastructure with the license to drive gasoline tankers?

I Done Told Everybody...B Dizzle is the Man!

2007-04-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

i told all of you....b dizzle is the man! once the warriors traded for baron davis, i told everyone he is going to be the man. i've seen this guy school eveyone when he played in ucla and i just can't believe a body lik this can move with this swiftness and this ferocity combined. i'm a guard and i would hate to have a burst of speed that carry 215 pounds in his shorts drive on me at any tme he wants. a coach would tell you to just stand there and take the charge but baron is so quick he'll go around you! ahhhhhhhhh

in fact, he is an amazing dribbler. this fool can school anyone and i can't believe people didn't see that from him. his crossovers are incredible. you can see it in opponent's eyes all last year. you just don't want to see a truck that has the agility of a formula 1 coming at you at full speed!

before he tore his acl (knee) at ucla he was the man....i'm talking the Man! no one could stop him! and now he is the man again! i just hope his knee holds up......

The FLU Sucks!

2007-04-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

man....i got the worst flu ever! its testing time this week and right when it started, i get the flu! i hear that the stomach flu is floating around the mission and i got it good. usually it takes a few days for me to get over a flu but it sthe fourth day now and i am still feeling the effects.

i have never had it this bad. i mean i have the uncontrollable cough that makes me want to rip my stomach through my scrotum. i have soreness in my joints and muscle. its like all the injuries i have had this past couple months just resurfaced. what the hell...?!?!?!

my stomach has had a hard time holding things in and i've been rushing home to do the deed....if you know what i mean. then when i get home.....nothing! what tops it all off is that i have the fever. i can't walk four steps without feeling overheated and wet my back. you'd think i've been playing ball all day.

if i don't get any better by tomorrow, i am going to the clinic! actually, i have a confession: i haven't used my free medical benefits this whole year. i'm too lazy to get myself a yearly physical.

anyways, my mom told me that my whole family is sick as well. so it isn't just leyla and i.....if that makes me feel any better!

My Pookie Thinks She's Gonna Die!

2007-04-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

okay....she claims she doesn't invent anything...fine. she claims she doesn't exaggerate...fine. but she has agreed that she thinks the worst when it comes to medical conditions. her anxiety level rises every time she notices an ache or droning pain in her head. i tell her its a haedache, and she thinks she has a disease that will take her life the next day. so how does she deal with it?

"let's cuddle pookie," she pleads.

i tell her she's fine and that the majority of the people in this world has experienced pain she is experiencing and they haven't died yet. of course, she has silos of antibiotic, vitamin extracts, achanacia (whatever this shit is), and even gatorade!

i too am sick but i haven't gone to the emergency room yet. i figure a few days of rest will help me get through it.

"god i hate western medicine," she blurts. now she's blaming the western world for the pain and anguish she is experiencing. i can tolerate this....its not a big deal. but then she said," you just can't keep watching espn...basketball! " AS IF THIS IS ONE OF THE REASON WHY SHE IS SICK!

hey! wait a minute.....what the hell does this have to do with basketball....the goddamn warriors is on tomorrow at the oakland coliseum.....basketball has nothing to do with your "DISEASE!"

Vomit Aroma

2007-04-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

vomit just smells bad! so bad that it makes you want to vomit as well. of course, this is nothing profound at all. well....yesterday leyla went to St. Mary's emrgency room because she felt awful. after a few hours, she went home just as sick. so sick that she end up puking up on the bathroom floor. ooops....she just missed the toilet! heheheeh

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! its really not that funny! i had to clean that crap! i darn used up half a role of lysol wipes to clean up the whole bathroom. i was just lucky i was sick because my stuff nose allowed me to tolerate the stench. ohhhhhhhhhhh.....it was nasty!

Another Reason Why I Am Gettin' Really Old

2007-04-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

sunday afternoon, i thought i'd treat myself to an afternoon of basketball at the park because it was such a wonderfully sunny day. of course, we have similar bunch of characters at dolores park. you have ones that look like they can play with their baggy shorts, head bands, bball shoes. but they really can't! then you have those ones that decided to play just cuz there's a basketball court. they usually play in their jeans. you can't tell whether they are good or whether they are bad....you just pray you are playing with someone decent. then you have the majority of the guys that have some skills and knowledge of basketball as a team sport. the more o f them, the more i feel my time at dolores is worthwhile.

of course you have the ball hogs! i can't stand them. i don't care how athletic they are, i can't stand them because they refuse to accept the fact that basketball is a team sports. there are also the overly aggressive players that run off their mouth. they ruin games but you really have to tolerate them. one of them is called "lyle." he is pathetic. he cherry picks. he complains about fouls called against him even though he even knows he fouls the guy. i think it is his way of mentally getting in your head. give him a couple of shoves and he will get off your back. then he calls fouls when there isn't even a foul! but i digressed for two paragraphs.......

anyways, sunday is no better. you get a whole plethora of players and they generally are willing to play. i recognized some regulars but they are playing in the other team. my team were a bunch of newcomers....hehehhehehhe who would have thought that a bunch of white guys could be refered to as "newcomers." anyways, they are not regulars.

so i play and i am having fun. i go home in about an hour after i play and rest for my sunday night adult league. so what happens? my legs started to sore up! this rarely ever happens to me! extra strength tylenol might have to be a regular intake.

Bizarre Sunday Night

2007-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

okay....you wanna know how to win against an overwhelmingly better team against you?!?! Ironically, tonight, the warriors won tonight as well! talking about a long shot beating a perrenial playoff final four! anyways, our sunday night adult league also won tonight. i'm not claiming that we are the warriors. in fact, we would never have made the playoffs. it was the last night of adult league and we were just trying to get a workout.

so how did we win? we started out pretty positively getting the jump ball and we even scored a bucket! i was anticipating a twenty to zero run for those guys against us. fortunately for us, we were able to compete against them for the first five minutes.

suddenly, one of the guys decided to physically guard me. they even installed man full court press! "this guy" was on me like glue. its pretty clear that he didn't want me to get the ball. we were able to manuever our way up the court and bricked a shot up.

the next time up, they were able to hit a shot. bad news for us: it means that they can put on a press. so "this guy" stuck himself on my face. i tried to get separation but he was on me. i stuck my elbow out and move quickly in another direction to get myself open. suddenly, the referee stops the both of us. he thought we were too physical with each other! i thought i didn't do anything and i'm pretty sure the guy thought he ddin't do anything either.

i shrugged....he shrugged and we kept on playing. the referee stopped us again. he told "the guy" to stop it and he responded, "what i can't play defense?" well....he's got a point.

the referee gave the ball to the our man taking it out and we both kept on pushing each other. the referee probably felt demeaned because we were still pushing for position. so he blew the whistle and warned us to stop it. okay fine. but if he put his weight on me, i was going to stick my elbow out to balance myself.

the referee stopped us again. ooops. i wonder what we did now?!?!!? he calls a technical on "the guy"?!?!!? uhhhhh okay....i'm not going to complain, that's two free throws for us. now "the guy" probably thought he was being picked on so he cussed the referee out. what are you going to do?

now he was out of the game with two technicals and he figured if he was out of the game, he might as well make it worth his time. so he spat on the court. now he was told to leave the premises. he spat on it again. in fact, he spat on it three times. of course, his teammates looked out for him and tried to calm him down. at this point, he was pist! now all his teammates are holding him down and even i was trying to help them. he told us to keep our hands off him and i was not about to get in the way with him.

the referee quickly grabbed his belongings and shuffled himself out as quickly as he can. the referee knew that he just got himself on a pickle. any way he can get him back in the game??????

"the guy" chases after the referee. his teammates held him down. i tried to stop him as well. now he turned around and looked for the other referee. this was getting really bizarre. he even punched the ref....and he wasn't even in the play. oh well....a ref is a ref....i guess!

and you know what is even more bizarre! some guy came in and told everyone that the warriors won!!!!! whooooopeeeeeee!!!!

i wasn't really sure what set him off....but i was just really glad he didn't have any animosity towards me. or else i might have been in the way of those punches. phew.....

My 35th Birthday Experience

2007-04-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

alright....i hve to get over this....i am 35 years old! damn that's old! so what did i do? i had to travel back to the usa from spain. that's what i get for stretching out my time in spain. but this time, air france really corraled me in a sneaky deal. i bought my tickets really cheap but i had not realized why it was so cheap! well....it was cheap because on the way back, air france boots you off to one of their smaller airlines that flies to one of the smaller airports in paris.

and to make this even more dishonest, i fly in orly at night and fly out in the morning at charles de gualle. so that means that i had to stay in paris late at night. do they offer a room at a hotel for cheap? NO! what is even more deceiving is the fact that they stop bus services to charles de gaulle right after we land. so that means that you can't even go to charles de guelle for the night. so one has no choice but to stay at a hotel for the night. my response: hell no!

i'm not going to stay in no goddman hotel for the night! i figure i can rush to paris montparnasse and take the train to charles de gaulle. so i took the only bus to the middle of paris and it headed to montparnasse. i thought perhaps i will be able to ctach the last train but right when i arrived, the last train had already left twenty minutes ago.....hmmmmm how coincidental....

at this point i was pissed off...but no matter, i've stayed at train stations before for the night and its not that big of a deal. so i wrap my bag around the bench and layered myself for the night and started to sleep. around one oclock, several police men approached me and told me i had to leave the goddamn train station. what!? it turns out that they close the station. so what do i do?

i styed outside the train station. i was a bum for the night. yes, it was my birthday, i was very tired, i was relatively cold, i was alone.....but i ain't gonna pay no hotel for 80 euros just to feel like i have a ceiling over my head. my stubborness and pride took over and i wanted to see how long it would take for my inequities or idiosyncracies last through the paris night.

actually, as i was walking around montparnasse, i had every opportunity to hang out at bars, billiards, hukka joints and even restaurants. but i felt like it was me against air france...against paris...every money used is every money lost....well actually, i was alone and everyone one of those bars and restaurants were full of people having friends. i felt a little out of place and i really wasn't in the mood to hang out by myself.

so i stayed out of the station and huddled in a lighted bus stop. the wind made the night less bearable and the drunks outside made me a little more cautious. i couldn't believe there were so many people out and about on a monday night. anyways, i thought of walking around again to see if there was a hostel around. but i was firm on just waiting it out.

at this point my neck was killing me. after three and a half hours on bus, another three hours in a plane from madrid to paris, and a couple hours outside in the middle of the night....my neck was not feeling well. all i could thnk of is that no goddamn man on his 35th birthday deserves this! but what am i going to do? slap myself!

a bum was lurking thirty feet from me. he looked drunk and he was smoking. i really am not sure what he was doing. he looked clean cut, his clothes weret haggard, and he was just lying there. other bums had passed by and blurted off something in french. i take it it they were begging for money but i responded in spanish so to make sure they would have no clue what the hell i'm saying. my general impression of parisians is that they genrally know english very well. at least well enough to understand those that need directions. but they are so proudful that they will never admit that they know how to speak english. whatever....i would just start out a conversation with the only phrase i know, "par le vouz anglais?"

if they know english, which is almost all the people i have come up to, i would continue speaking in english. but when the bums ask for something, i would just respond in spanish....hehehehehe i figure i have a better chance of them leaving me alone. but this bum just sat there and i thought he was waiting for me to sleep and have his way with my bag. so when i started to get cold, i decided to walk the night away. i literally walked for an hour in one long rua. i had no idea which rua it was, but it was goddamn long! i walked back just in time for the train station to open again. i had an hour wait before the first train leaves for charles de gaulle. at this point, i have passed through a couple of bakeries and the sweet delicious smell of newly baked bread made me feel hungry. but i stood firm! air france has swindled me and i am going to buckle down and not pay for anything.

after six hours of sleeplessness, i finally took my last train out of paris central and off to charles de gaulle airport. of course, i had another 12 hours of a plane ride back to san francisco. i don't know if i learned anything from the experience but being out in the streets for the night was awful. bums don't have it easy but i guess its just like getting used to everything else. i am sure if i got used to it, i would not be as uncomfortable and insecure. but i am not about to try it. this better not be an omen to what my 35th year of my life will be like!

This Is How I Have Been Feeling All Week!

2007-04-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

you wanna see how i have been feeling all week? here it is:
i have been sick for the past week and i have just improved slightly. i pushed back my travel for tomorrow and is still feel under the weather. i hope i will get better tonight because i hate to travel sick. my head has been thumping all week, my throat has been scratchy and i've been nauseated all week as well.

I'm Back!

2007-04-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

man....it feels like it has been years since i have blogged! actually, it has only been a couple of weeks but nonetheless, it has been quite a while. honestly, i really don't care blogging at this time of the year due to march madness. the only thing i keep watch these days are my brackets. but there has been a lot of things that has happened since i last blogged:

1. groin pull! goodness...this sucks. i've never had a groin pull in my whole life. now i have to put ice to the muscle next to my right huevo almost everyday. believe me...it hasn't been pleasant!

2. I just acquired the flu! aaaahhhhhhhhh....a couple of days before i travel to spain. so what do i do? i push it back a few more days so i can rest. result: i am still sick and i have two more days to rest. by the way, i am going to land in madrid thunderstorms. it is even colder there than here. great.....

3. the reason why i am able to blog is because i just got a new laptop...wooohooo! its an apple and the transition is slow! if i stop blogging again, it means that one of my kids stole my laptop.

4. kansas and north carolina lost in the elite 8. my friend was crushed and he actually is hoping that john wooden croaks! i'm happy just watching him suffer.....i actually like both teams but i only go for underdogs. well...actually, i can't rout against my wife's school, ucla.

5. i cannot watch 300! my wife does not want me to watch it because the iranian commnity has been critical toward the movie. she thinks that it is giving her culture a bad name. its one of the greatest underdog story ever....and she still won't let me watch it......

Classic Learning Moment 2006-2007

2007-02-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

i have been teaching my students hinduism and buddhism all week, and my kids really think its two of the more interesting religions they have ever learned. its even more interesting analyzing and comparing the two religions. they seemed to have an easy time learning the concepts of reincarnation, dharma, karma, and samsara. i think it is easy for them because i try to make a connection with their lives.

for instance, i told them that dharma is your "duty." my duty as a teacher is to help you learn. your dharma is to do your homework. very easy....they got it like tiger gets golf.

so one of my diminutive six graders mouths off,"oh yeah...well my duty is nothing cuz my momma does everything for me!" for someone that can't even look over my door window, he sure has a big mouth.

another of my students, "you right....yo dharma is to do nothing but grow!" [class: oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

another student chimes in,"he must have had bad karma in his past life!" [class: ooooooohhhhhhhhh] i should have intervened at this point. but they sure got it!

he really is small! i almost laughed but composed myself and deflected the attention to me.

Stop that Squeeking Noise!

2007-02-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

this past week leyla finally got really irritated with my incessant watching of college basketball.....well, any basketball game. but what am i going to do? its bracket week! every game is crucial and every team are fighting for their tournament lives. every game is exciting! imagine....kansas versus kansas state in manhattan, kansas!?!?!?! kansas has dominated this rivalry. in fact, kansas has beaten kansas state....in manhattan...since the reagan era...and now ks finally has a team that can compete with ku! the crowd were raucous and overtly commited to help their team beat a quarter century of drubbing from ku! there's no way i'm missing it.

anyways, she came in one afternoon. i was lying on the sofa watching college basketball and leyla comments,"i can't stand the squeeking anymore! let it stop!"

Spy Games

2007-02-12T01:01:00.000-08:00

there is this great show in public television about spy school. it is basically a reality tv show from england. there were 5000 nominees and 8 are left. you get to see how they train spies. anyways, leyla thinks she would be a great spy. of course, she based her argument on the fact that she has snuck in to a few concerts! you gotta do better than that......i don't think she realizes that most of the people that work in these concerts don't give a bird doo doo. but she insist that she can compete against these guys.

Parties are Interesting

2007-02-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

i went to a party with my friends at a bar kitty corner from northstar. when we got up there, BelBevDevoe's Poison was on. you know: miss her, kiss her, love her....that girl is poisooooooon! what struck us was that everyone was lip synching EVERY word to this song. already...i was getting the shakes as i imagined a woman with robust legs in the video. maybe its not the legs but the ugly 80's grey mini skirt. okay....it may be one of those songs you expect at every party. we figured maybe one time. its cheesy....but i have to admit, i know the song as well. in fact, i will also admit, i saw them in an amusement park concert. ....perhaps that is why i really don't like them.

its just one of those songs that you really would like to forget....you know like...bust the move by young mc.....cheeeeeeesy! fortunately, the people in this party weren't wearing clothes like the ones BBD are wearing.

anyways, as i was eating cup cake for the fifth time (i like cupcakes!), they played the goddamn song again! and what's worse is that they cut a tupac song for poison!?!?! i almost barfed! and it wasn't because i was stuffing my face with cupcakes and sierra nevadas. what....one time isn't enough! and you know what?...they all sang to it again!

i was mildly sickened by it.....but friends and the cupcakes made the time worthwhile....oh yeah, we also stayed for a little bit of drama....

can't share the story; but why is it that some women like the most bonafide jerks in the world?

I Hate Having Substitutes

2007-02-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

after my btsa meeting at another school, i came back to my school confronted by counselors telling me that my kids were horrible! gosh....i hate being absent! its embarassing to hear that my kids can't control themselves when i am out! i feel like every time i am out, they feel like the warden just opened up the gate to a russian gulag. they are probably so happy and relieved to exhale, that they can't control themselves. am i that mean?

well.....anyways, i really laid it to them this afternoon. right when they came in, i ripped them a new conscience! i told them how embarassing it was for me to hear that my students are acting like animals! i told them that i rarely ever sleep before twelve o'clock because i am correcting their papers, making lesson plans and fun activities.

"....and this is how you treat me?" of course lying, "i was absent because i was tired, and i needed to rest from all the work i have done for you...i was on the verge of a breakdown!" my voice rung loudly with a tinge of anger and desperation. i wanted them to feel guilt. so i rubbed it in.
"raise your hand if you learned a lot this semester? " [almost everyone raised their hand]

"raise your hand if you think i'm a good teacher" [without hesitation, they raised their hand]

"and this is how you treat me?" "the counselors think i am useless! they laughed at me!" "is that how you want mr. algones to be treated?" guilt is such a great tool!!!! consequently, i had a great learning day today.

there was a new student from korea that arrived yesterday. he spoke no english whatsoever, and i can't imagine what he was thinking. first, he experienced a crazy day yesterday. and today, he experienced a very angry teacher shouting what he probably thought was jibberish.

i hope i don't scare him away!

Former Basketball Player Announces He Is Gay

2007-02-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

okay former Jazz, Knicks, Rockets player John Amaechi announced he is gay. espn preface their brief interview with him as someone who is different.

paraphrase: He is truly different because he is English, an academic scholar, and comes from a generally football school (penn state). so one of them said, "....and while everyone is drinking gatorade, he is drinking earl grey tea!"

what?! just because you are drinking earl grey tea, you are considered gay?!?!?!? hell, i drink earl grey tea. of course, i don't drink earl grey during timeouts in an adult league game, but i don't think he drank earl grey during timeouts either. and i'm for sure i'm not gay! so why does earl grey tea have a bum rap? yes, its mostly old women in the afternoon in an overcast country that's sipping it....but everybody drinks earl grey!

so he is asked, "why didn't you announced your preference during your professional career?"

he answered, "it is difficult because professional sport in general is the pinnacle of the greek tradition of man." hell, i thought the greeks were very comfortable with men being gay or even having tendencies with young males.

i was a little disappointed with espn news tonight! i've had high hopes for them for a long time, their generalizations are usually quite believable.....hehehehe

INTERVENTION

2007-01-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-17T01:17:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-17T00:55:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-01-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-09T00:15:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-01-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

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.

Justin is Hilarious!

2006-12-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

you guys want to see something very boy band-ish harking the late 80's, and most of the 90's....and incredibly funny? check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4yq9PHf_xE

Saddam Hussein Has Been Executed!??!??

2006-12-29T19:38:00.001-08:00

okay saddam is executed....first, he was supported and implanted to supremacy by the United States government. he attacked iran and incited an arab on arab war in the middle east. I'm sure the united states didn't mind it. then, he invaded kuwait and fought against, not only united states, but a huge international coalition. and lastly, the united states decided to take him out because we wrongly blamed him of supporting terrorism, and on the aegis of democracy. finally, he is executed by the new iraqi government supported by the united states.

say whatever you want to say about this guy: he admired stalin. he killed thousands of his own people....and even his family. he fought three wars that decimated the iraqi people and resources. but it all sounds like he was no more than a puppet for the us government.

Correction: my wife just told me that iranians are not arabs! sorry...its when he invaded he kuwait that arabs fought against arabs......

GIAAAANNNNTTTSSS!

2006-12-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

yeah booooy! we just got the man.....we got the right barry this time around! hell...it damn near cost us the whole team but we got'em. now prepare to pay a crap load to watch the giants win! well....at least when zito is pitching. anyways, its the right fit for zito. that fool hangs out in the marina serving beers in one of the bars every time he gets a chance. do you think the a's still got our number?!?!?!

My Freaking Wife Is Crazy!

2006-12-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

what the hell did she take?!?!?!?! i spent the whole afternooon playing basketball. i went home tired....and soar. i just wanted to rest and hopefully recover for the basketball games tonight. to my surprise, leyla is still at home cleaning up! it has been taking her several hours to clean up her clothes off the floor. she wants to donate a ton of her clothes and she has been screaming all morning complaining why she has so much stuff!

i told her perhaps..."you should stop buying things from ross. just because you see something nice, doesn't mean its the end of the world you don't buy it." she felt sullied by that remark and continued to take out all the coins from her old bags that she is going to donate. at this point, she has a pile of clothes, old bags, shoes, and whatever in the middle of the living room.

i leave knowing that when i get back, all of this crap would have been cleared and donated. to my surprise, its still there!

so i come in, and she says to me magnaminously, "but...but ...but...don't you see how much i have done so far?!?!?!!?!?"

so i go back in the living room and cooked the both of us eggs. why? because she wanted eggs before she goes off to donate all her crap. i made the eggs as fast as i can. i really wanted her to clean the mess. we ate while we watched "casino". and we ate.

all of the sudden, she roused up enough energy to annoy the hell out of me. she knew that she was annoying me. she was home all alone all afternoon and she feels like she has the right to sing "baby got back" in front of me. contorting her body and limbs to irritate my senses. i think she was dancing but it was crunk!

of course, she is reading this entry as i am writing it. now she is angry! she has closed the door to the other room and she has not left. the crap is still in a pile in the middle of the living room!

The Good Sheppard is a Little Boring!

2006-12-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

oh boy....three hours! warning to you all....not a date movie and angie jolie is horrible in the film. there was this one scene where she was given pictues of her husband cheating. she stormed in to a party and confronts him. i think she was supposed to be angry and distraught at the same time, instead she looked pathetic and disingenious. and what the hell is pesci doing in this film....window dressing?!?!?!!?

it was a long drawn story about the CIA and why we are still paying thirty bucks for a cuban cigar, and why elian had to return to cuba, and why americans have to put up paying ten times the amount for a quality nose job instead of traveling to cuba, soak up some sun, embibe in a few mojitos, while they surgically enhance a part of your body for cheap!

Why does anyone bring kids to a 49ers game?

2006-12-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

as i come of age, i begin to realize how incredible my parents are in raising me. i have always made my dad feel guilty for not taking me to a 49ers game. he would say, "you don't really want to...and shut your mouth." okay!

well today was my first time ever going to candlestick park for a football. i have been there for giants game. i have seen a college football game as well. but i have never been to a NFL game. now i know why my dad didn't bother to take us to a game. it sucks. its just a bunch of low class people amassing to become proud of their low class status. f-bombs are thrown freely amongst the crowd. yes, its fun that we got to tailgate but its clearly not for kids. i've been in a raiders parking lot before and i thought this barbaric behavior was only an oakland raider thing....but unfortunately, it was present in the 49er parking lot as well. my friends say it is exponentially worse in a raiders game, and i guess i'll never go there with kids.

yes, leave your kids home to watch it on television. besides, i always like watching football on television anyways. there are highlights, quality analysis, and food for cheap! i spent a whole quarter either lined up to take a pist or lined up to get another beer. its pathetic!

clearly, a good college football game is more wholesome, and much cheaper. of course, 9ers lost. how many times is seattle going to give them a chance to compete and how many times is the 9ers going to cower and fall to the wayside. its so frustrating!

WHOA! Rocky Whatever # is Good!

2006-12-24T00:16:00.000-08:00

i couldn't believe it! i actually liked the movie...and i hope to goodness this is the last rocky movie. after the fourth movie, i promised myself i wouldn't watch another rocky movie for the rest of my life. or if i had to watch it, i better be hog tied. its one of those sticking points that i have been holding up for along time. i mean if i was still single, and i was on a date with an intelligent woman that is equally hot, and she said she wants to watch rocky five.....as painful as it would be for me to do, i would reverse the love machine and spray the repellent...because that's how stupid those sequals were. of course, not so convincingly where i wouldn't be able to hang out with her that night......ahem!

anyways, the first rocky was great. just like the first rambo (first blood) was great. well....at least for a growing eight year old. i don't mind watching those films when there is absolutely nothing in television because they were good. what do i mean by good? well, i can still relate to them. sylvester stallone has an incredble way of becoming this individual who is down and out and would never give up. all the odds are against him, and he fights, like the ultimate underdog, and wins in the end. add a few poignant moments and you got an elixir for a good movie.

well, that has always been why stallone is good with a few of his films. believe you me, only a few of his films. victory, rocky I, II, IV, first blood, and even copland. all his other films are pretty much what's keeping him from the respect he deserves as a human being.

anyways, rocky (whatever), i want to say "six"...is really good. this time it wasn't so much about the fight, but about rocky and his life. just like the first one, it was about the poignant and genuine moments with the people he loves that made it interesting. the man is still the ultimate underdog, but this was much more realistic. i applaud the man for keeping it more genuine and humble and kept his pride in his pocket. i can see how this movie could have been so bad, but instead i am willing to recommend it...........on netflix. not in the movies, unless someone is taking you out to the theaters and you're not paying.....heheheheheheehhe

Movies I've Watched THis Winter Break

2006-12-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

Happiness: not so happy...more like sinister and heinous. but i actually liked it because in some way it was disturbingly funny. imagine american beauty without the cinematography but with a lot more domestic problems.

Babel: great desert scenes and brad pitt wasn't too bad either. a little confusing but all you need ot understand is that everything revolved around a stupid rifle. the contrast between city life in japan, a wedding in mexico, and desert life in morocco made it palpable but the tentative connection made it less worthwhile. it wouldn't be a good movie in bed, but sure was neat in the theaters....that is if you can shelve nine bucks for some great scenery.

Children in Paradise: i stumble onto this movie in the independent film channel. it is a persian movie and the story revolved around kids. for some reason, persian films hae become increasingly more interesting now than before. oh yeah...i'm married ot a persian.....maybe that has something to do with it. but its a cute film because it revolves around two kids that are great. funny thing about persian endings: they never take you for the whole ride. movies always end leaving you hanging. but i like it because it forces the viewers to guess what they think happened. its a great conversation starter.

Kingdom of Heaven: i don't know why i sat through this again. i figure i might like it the next time. nope! it was pretty much braveheart but in the middle east. no mel but there was an orlando....didn't help. the fight scene was unepic like and the only thing interesting was "ice." i'll let you figure that out on your own.

The Wire: again, i stumbled onto this one as well. it isn't a movie but a HBO series. great stories about life in the baltimore city.....hood! i think i was a watching a marathon of the fourth year and it concentrated on the school system. interesting but i don't think i'd want to teach in that hood!

It's Coooooooooold!

2006-12-21T01:13:00.000-08:00

oh my goodness....these past couple of nights have been unbearably cold in the bay area. okay....some of you from the east coast or the midwest are probably blowing me off. i mean we don't have snow storms or the like in this area and believe me....we like it just the way it is. however, these past couple of days, a cold front from alaska decided to move along the west coast and sit here until we freeze our asses off!

i know it isn't like other parts of the world, where i had to bundle up with a scarf, a hat, a heavy jacket, and boots. and i know it doesn't remotely resemble what the people in the midwest have to do to brave during the winter....but its sitting in the 20's these past couple of nights......and i don't like it! its so uncalifornia.....!

i rarely ever break out the heavy jacket and the scarf until mid january. hell...some people still have shorts on while they are outside. cali is a little different and i hope this doesn't last long.

Nike is a Monster!

2006-12-20T01:25:00.000-08:00

oh my goodness...i heard this story in espn! so this lady sprinter, who happens to be muslim, is tearing up the competition in the asian games. the first two days, she wore a regular simple hijab. some of you are probably thinking, what the heck is a hijab. its this head garb that muslim women wear to signify modest living. in some countries, its pretty simple, it covers the head. in some extreme cases, women cover their whole body! to each their own.....or more like to each there's a man telling them what to wear.

anyways, this sprinter wore a hijab with a big fat nike symbol on it. so much for modesty...they can be consumers too. phil knight is going to the bank with this one. i thought at first, it was pretty low for nike to make a "nike hijab" but it was actually the woman that embroidered it herself. she felt that woman, sports, competition, and islam can become a reality. not a bad idea!!!

i can just see amish hats with nike symbols, the jewish yarmulka with a fat nike symbol on top, what's next?

again, i will ask you.....do we really want globalization? doesn't it seem like everyone looks like everyone else?

The Flinstones Creator is Dead!

2006-12-20T00:37:00.000-08:00

i actually thought he was dead a long time ago.... just as i thought my childhood was dead a long time ago. i get that feeling during christmas every time i go home and stay with my parents.

when i am home, i get to see old friends. i get to see my old coach still coaching and some of our old players coming back to see him still coach. they would ask me what i do, or they would ask me why i am still here. some think i am still in spain. was i there that long?

anyways, all i hear are my friends having kids of their own, and my former players being married and have their own kids! gosh....that really makes me feel old. i even hear my formers having incredible jobs. i'd like to think that i was a part in shaping their character, intelligence, capabilities, and integrity.

anyways, i kind of feel joe barbera was like that for me! just think all those lessons i got from watching the flinstones everyday while sucking my thumb. in some ways, i learned that not everyone is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and life is all about twenty minutes of fred flinstone trying to fix those mistakes before wilma finds out.

i also learned not to put my foot in my mouth. basically, i learned not to be like fred and my life is better for it. when it came down to it, i some how realized that humility is just one of those things people should have.

when we have kids, are there going to be cartoons that have the same moral values and integrity you learn from the flinstones, scooby-doo, yogi?!?!!? oh my god, i'm going to have to teach them myself.

and you know what else i like about that cartoon, bam bam! now that's a freak if i ever saw one. but if you're going to have a freak, it might as well be superman, or the one that can beat the living daylights out of everyone. but everyone thinks he is as normal as corn and apple pie. ain't that just the coolest thing?!?!?!?!

People Just Can't Stand This

2006-12-12T00:29:00.000-08:00

i haven't been going to 24 hours fitness these past two weeks. i think that is one reason why i have been irritable toward my kids. actually, my kids have shut down and are ready to go on a vacation a couple of weeks early. my 8th graders have been the most annoying bunch of incorrigibles and they revel in it. i want to have a white elephant gift giving game but i am too annoyed to have any fun with them. i think i will have to reach in the depth of my kindness, which is shoved in the deepest part of my heart at the moment.

although i am royaly irritated with them, i have to stick to one of my golden rule, that is to always leave with the kids in a positive light. no matter how bad they are, you have to find a way to keep it positive in the end. this is especially important for me because i can be vindictive at times.

anyways, sorry to get off on a tangent. the real point to this blog entry is that i haven't been exercising for the past two weeks. i haven't even played basketball! i can't stand it because there is no way i can relieve my stress. hopefully, during this vacation i can go back to my old high school team and play with. honestly, i haven't competed with anyone. i need to take someone to school or be taken to school.
wifey thinks its not such a bad idea to live a life without competition. i think she is crazy!

but what really annoys my wife is that i haven't gained weight! not working out isn't so bad after all....i mean i'm losing weight! i know i am not really competing with my wife, but she hates the fact that i am losing weight and when she infrequently goes, she barely keeps the weight off. in some weigh, she is competing with me and i like the fact that i don't have to do anything....eheheheheheh

I Gave Up.....

2006-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

today was especially special day. my 8th graders did not want to learn anything at all, or maybe i was too tired to care. i couldn't figure it out today! i had no idea why my kids were so distant. they did't care about anything i had to say. some even decided to walk around and talk to their friends instead of passing notes. they were callous to any consequences and i really didn't care.

i can't believe my favorite activity and their favorite activity, vocabulary bingo, was kicked to the side like day old garbage. whatever man....i'm tired and i felt like quitting. i felt like walking out. i wasn't even angry at the ones that misbehave and don't care about school. i figured they get this way once a year.

so i just sat there for about ten minutes while they were yapping along until they figured out that mr. algones isn't doing anything. i told them i don't care what happens at all today because you don't care. so i told them to do anything they want, and guess what they did?!?!?!? nothing.....so for thirty minutes, we learned and did nothing! i should have wrote that down as an objective: students will not learn anything today!

by the way, this is only 2nd and 3rd period. i'm going to eat a vat of snickers and hopefully, i can get myself going in the afternoon because this sucks.

I Have a Student That Smells Awful

2006-12-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

what am i going to do? first of all, we have had three sst's on this student. he rarely ever comes to class, and every time he comes to class he finds a way to ruin it. he has skillfully intimidated and taunt students, ruin lessons, and made students hate him. anyways, the counseling office has already addressed this issue with his mother, but he has yet to remedy this incredibly awful smell.

but everyone knows he smells! he smells like feces. he has made students get headaches because he reeks so badly. today was no different. he arrived late to class and fortunately, there was a table open just for him. most of my students are pretty understanding. they know not to make fun of anyone that smells because they know that at one time, they have smelled before and they wouldn't want to be on his shoes ever. it was like they don't want to confront him because they don't want to ever acquire the "smelly karma."

but this student makes that even more difficult. his stench is so overwhelming that students lose their sense of empathy. so they say the most truthful comments and i have to try keep a straight face. and what is even more worse is that he taunts some of the students in class.

student #1: "holy crap, that hurts my nose!"
students in his group giggles. i tell him to be "more understanding," used the Noah Salzman hand gesture, and "stop it." of course, my stomach is about to burst trying to hold myself from laughing.

student #2: "why are the windows closed?"
more giggling, i felt like he knows everyone is talking about him and he is feeling insecure.

student #3: "i've never cut class before...but" (this student was one of my perfect little darlings)
at this point, i was ready to burst lauging but it was completely tempered knowing that he knew everyone was talking about him. i felt sorry for him and i beamed my eyes at those that were still giggling.

student #4: "Mr. Algoneeeeeees....." -i ignored her. i knew what she wanted. she wanted me to soak him with a vat of febreeze. i felt bad for her. her table was next to his and i wanted her to know that it wouldn't matter where she could move. the smell was overwhelming.

by the way, i was amazed how much my students were on task! so get this, his friend comes in to tell me that he was sent by a counselor and that they wanted to see the student. i know that no counselor has ever done this, but i took his word for it to save the other students. if he had tried to work, or maybe just not taunt anyone, i would have called the counseling office. i think my students were so glad i didn't pursue it.

MTV is the BOMB!

2006-12-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

most people that read my blog probably have no idea what the acc, the sec, the big 10, the big 12, the pac 10, all the mid-majors are. to me they are tons of competitive college basketball games this coming year. i can't wait for an exciting year, and i can't wait for NBA action as well! but before i set my watch and my schedule, i have to think about sharing my time with my baby. but a close second right now is MTV's beauty and the geek!!!! (everyone knows this acronym) only mtv can get away with this. they essentially bought socially maladjusted people and partnered them up with good looking chics. what's the catch? they learn about each other and partners compete with each other. the winner ends up with 250,000 mulas.

i think its one of the more genuine shows around. everyone of them some how learns some degree of humility and the idea of stepping out of their comfort level is possible...wow...i think that's neat...okay....i also think its freaking funny! where do they find these ditses? one time, a woman said, "I am an idiot!" no one really disagreed nor empathized with her....heheheh

things like "fractions get me all the time" or "i am not academically uninclined...or whatever that means!" lots and lots of funny things you catch these "beauties" say. my pookie calls the "sweet idiots."

and what's really neat is they use pet shop boy's "you got the brains, i got the brauns, let's make lots of money"

Oh My Goodness...We Prepared the Turkey This Thanksgiving!!!!

2006-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

oh my god, we prepared the turkey and the food this thanksgiving. we went to the oc this christmas to spend time with leyla's family. unfortunately, leyla's mom had to travel to washington dc to attend a wedding. so we end up having to cook the traditional din din for everyone. i have always relied on my mom to cook everything. i figure she is incredible at everything why mess it up by helping her. well, leyla feels the same why as i do. in fact, it think my borthers and sister and her sister all feel the same way. so what does that all sum up: a generation of completely unable to pass the traditon to their kids!

there is still time so we are no so worried but we sure were sweating bullets serving the crap we bought from Ralphs. we didn't even try to make the mash potatoes, yam, stuffing, cranberries, but leyla can proudly claim the only genuine dish on the table was the sald she prepared. hell....i had no idea we were suppose to have a temperature gauge up the turkey's gazoo while its baking! of course, i pretended i had experience and blew off the temp guage saying,"if you have enough experience, you really don't need the guage at all."

of course, the two sisters agreed, not so much because they knew i had a lot of experience and they can trust me, but they really didn't have a choice and nor do they want to take any responsibility fucking up the turkey. they were all going to hand the whole kaboodle to me. the whole time i was praying it turns out well.

turkey din din was even more complicated when leyla invited her uncle and his family. of course, a very common thing to do, but damn, they have to eat the food as well. i ust hope they are still fobs from iran and turkey is so alien to them that they wont know what's good or what's bad.....actually, leyla, myself, and hey sister were probably all thinking that way.....hehehehehehe

it turned out just fine and they all complemented me even though i had no idea how to cut the turkey. supposedly, there is a certain way of cutting the turkey and i don't think i wan't doing it correctly. this would have been a great "what no to do during Thanksgiving" episode on the tlc channel or something......

Oh My Goodness...How Long Has It Been...

2006-11-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

oh my goodness...how long has it been since i last blogged? too long if you asked me. actually, i had been thinking about blogging for a while but its just that i haven't really thought of anything to write about.

so...what compelled me to write now? well...nothing really interesting but that it is basketball season!!!!!!! i don't think leyla has any idea how incredibly occupied i am going to be during this time of the year. we have one television and she watches tv also. what's particularly worrisome is that this year is even much more exciting college basketball year. almost every team this year are incredibly talented. oh the excitement...! i don't think she realizes how incredibly time consuming this is. she may have to go to my-husband-is-college-bball-fanatic anonymous. of course, the other option is to actually watch the games with me, but i have a feeling she will hate vitale's annoying commentary.

can some one give me props here?!?!?! i don't play video games. i'm not messy. i cook. i have a job. i'm punctual. and i'm really sensitive and caring. (okay...the last one is a stretch and maybe i should mention i am a little stubborn and crotchity) but with my track record, i deserve college basketball!!!!!

Men are from Mars, Women are from wherever!

2006-10-11T02:13:00.000-07:00

at times, my wife is very strange to me. tonight, it was one of those tests! i mean she would ask me the weirdest questions. and before she allows me to answer the questions, she would tell me, "don't be so puritanical about honesty."

the question: did you miss me? this question was asked after we have not seen each other for a distant 8 hours.

corollary: this reminded me of what my friend told me a couple of weeks ago. he said that his father has rarely ever been an influence on him. but he wasn't hesitant in admitting that his father really cared in teaching him anything. but the one thing that his father did, was to put him aside...."shoved him to the corner of the room" and told him that he needed to understand one thing about your wife (if he ever gets married)....learn to say "yes dear", " you're right dear", and "i'm sorry dear"

i answered: yes pooks, i missed you! the whole event took no more than a minute. but the question...rather the answer felt expectedly profound and seemed like the clue to unraveling the questions of the universe. my feelings for her at that moment was inconsequential, its what she wanted to hear was important. i was able to anticipate this time around and i know...i just saved myself a night of silence, a bittered looking face and a temporary unrequited love. phew!

Love Thy Crazy Incorrigible Students

2006-10-09T03:09:00.000-07:00

its been six weeks in the school year and we have a couple of teachers that are really on the verge of quitting. i'm glad that one of them rely on me for some guidance and just an ear to vent out his frustrations. he tells me his kids are out of control. they can't sit still and they just will not listen. they don't really care about school and he doesn't understand why they come to school at all.

i can relate to how he is feeling. our school serves the low income and low performing students in san fran. a lot of our students have serious domestic problems and problems at school is of little consequence. they come to school to have fun with their friends because they don't have that luxury at home or their neighborhood. some just act out because they don't want everyone else to know that they can't read! some just act out because that is the only behavior they learned that will give them attention. the same attention that they may be lacking at home. the point is life for our students isn't easy and maybe, they are exhibiting these negative behaviors just to subconciously show their peers that if their life isn't easy, then they are not going to make it easy for others either. but i think they are not that conniving, and i prefer to think they are making life hell for teachers because they truly believe that to be cool, one needs to agonize the teacher, or any authrity figure as much as one can. its like cool points for them when they are out on the yard!

so what? how does this summation help the teachers that are about to bail? maybe it won't help them at all. but i always remind them that they have to find a way to find something good in each and everyone of them. they have to look deep inside, and swipe all the anger, vindictiveness, and find something truly genuine about each student. don't be afraid to get angry with them, just so you know that after the tirade, you will give them a chance to make it up to you. be angry because you have high expectations for them and they are not meeting it. and not because they are ruining your plans.

i'm afraid to say it....but i want to say to them that if they do say the most horrible things to you in your face, in front of the students, don't get all flushed. find a reason to hug those dipshits! believe me....do it...hug them...or maybe just put your arms around their shoulders....and don't worry if they try to shove you off....do it and you will feel the most profound and genuine feeling you will have toward that student....and it won't be malicious. your touch, if genuine, will shudder them to their senses. i'm telling you...humility pays off in the end!

so remember love thy incorrigibles

Michael!

2006-10-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

all of you project runway viewers...i'm calling it...michael is going to win! yes, i like uli(za german dam zat livz in miami!) but i really really like michael. he seems more modern and exciting with a great understanding of the woman's form. sheik...sheek...or shiek....i don't know how to spell it but i think "sheek" is good in fashion. i also like the old pregnant lady but it would be kind of hard to present a line in the posh gramercy park during fashion week if she is in labor.

and what the hell happened last week? everyone gets to go?!?!?! can we get rid of the pompous dude with the tatoos on his neck!?? he annoys me and his work isn't that exciting unless you live in west hollywood.

anyways, its fun watching the show....and to all of you who think its unmanly to watch this show...please....get a life! wait till you invite a friend or friends over to watch this phenomenon and youre the only dude there......that's freakin emasculating! but that's when you bust out the beer!

oh...a friend just told me that its "chique"....

Word Sort, Word Sort, Word Sort!

2006-10-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

wow....i learned a lot of strategies over my SDAIE teaching career but there was one strategy that i was hesistant on doing....the word sort. ahhhhhhhhh....its too hard, too time consuming, too much paper, too long before i realize how neat and effective this damn strategy really is.

first of all, its a great way of starting the kids out into group work. i use word sort to review lessons my kids learn the day before. i use it to help my kids identify sentence structures. i even have a student that can't read! well, hell he can put words together and create sentences and can easily identify words once he gets help putting a sentence together. for my social studies kids, they fill out graphic organizers with words by sorting. it helps them to identify key concepts. i even use sorting to help my kids identify parts of a paragraph. imagine, i will use it to help them sequence stories together.

why the hell it took me this long to convince myself how neat this strategy can be. it isn't even that time consuming to make. since i have them in groups, i just have to make eight copies, and cut it up. its so easy...its so easy! my kids say that all the time. they have no idea how much they are learning!

so here are my jewel strategies: sure fires cuz kids love it.

1. vocabulary bingo
2. sentence/paragraph makeover
3. word sorting
4. word puzzle
5. cloze activity
6. posters of words, concepts, grammar rules, their visualizations, todos man!
7. round robins
8. sentence starters
9. think aloud/ read aloud
10. tpr stuff
11. think-pair-share
12. reciprocal strategies (this should actually be in fourth place!)

as you can see, word sort has become my top three! and if you have ell's, please don't afraid to try any of these because they really really work for me.

And One is Incredibly Pathetic!

2006-09-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

alright....i go to dolores park to play basketball! i start warming up by hitting all the shots imaginable. this guy, who was about to leave, decided to stay and clearly wanted some competition. cool...i figure this guy is tall, lean, and seem pretty athletic. what more do you want? we picked up two other guys and made it two on two. cool....it was very competitive, physical, smart, and experienced. they won and clearly we were ecstatic about the level of competition.

after the game ended, two other guys decided they wanted to play with us. they looked like ballers! long shorts...pulled down, shaved heads, extra extra large shirts. when i see guys like these....i think they either are ballers or dipshits! well, after playing with them, they were both dipshits at the exponential level!

they not only know how to play basketball but they tried to play like those guys in And One. They were making violations before the ball was ever dribbled. i wasn't sure if they realized that they were playing against pretty experienced players, not to mention that we were ahead by ten points going to twelve and they haven't even scored a point. they decided to keep on dribbling for half an hour without even shootin a basket. one time, one of them, tried to pass the ball, but it was such a bad pass, that he literally threw the ball almost over the fence. you would think that one awfully, horrible and embarassing mistake woulod humble him and compel him start to play with a sprinkle of fundamentals. NO...he didn't.

after giving them a whoopin'...12-0...they wanted to play again! one of them started to dribble for over two minutes...it seemed like an hour! the only reason why he stopped dribbling was because he ended up hitting the ball off his knees and out of bounds. his friend trying to support his efforts of clown ball, decided to show off his skills. of course, he made multiple violations before he even dribbled the ball!
what was worse is that he tried doing it against this athletic dude who was mightily annoyed. without fail, the guy loses the ball off his knees, and bounced to the athletic dudes hands. he turns around and emphatically dunks it!!!! told the two dipshits to, "take that shit out of here....you can do that at home!"

it wasn't addressed in a confronting manner, its just that he was expressing his frustrations. it really is hard to play ball against clowns!

so you think that was the only pathetic thing ever....their friend, who was just sitting on the sideline, decided to ask them. "should i take it out?"

i'm thinking maybe they got offended and they were going to pull out a gun or something. but i figure they were high school kids. there would be no reason for them to make anymore rifraf. so he ends up taking out a camera!!!! a video camera!!!! i wonder to myself, i had no idea they wanted to film their own version of mediocrity. i was mildly offended with the fact that they were going to film us.

there needs to be an understanding amongst players. if you are going to do that crap...if you are going to violate the game...do it at home! do it in front of your parents, your friends even. but don't do it in a common area where everyone expects to play competetively. it just makes no sense. keep that and one crap at home!

okay...post 9/13 8th period classroom

2006-09-15T02:10:00.000-07:00

wow....wow...different day today! 9/14 was a celebration! my kids today were relatively wonderful.

i told them firmly and in a threat like manner,"i will not tolerate you guys from ruining your future by not taking this class seriously. i will kick you out, i will call your parents, and i will remind you that i care about you, but you better behave because algones is no joke in your town."

actually, the last part was just a public enemy reference. i can't keep flava flav out of my head. subsequently, i've been watching his show because leyla has been watching it as well. i figure leyla doesn't like football either. and since we have one television, we are watching flava flav.

anyone want to help me here!??!!? i know football isn't so quality....but freaking flava flav?!?!?! by the way, this will not be tolerated during basketball season.

ohhhh...sorry! back to my classes. my kids have that twinkle in their eyes again. they see me as someone who will inspire them again. phew! tomorrow we will see how much they know about early hominids.

however, the reality is that two of the retainees were not present today. one is doing one-on-one work with my para (aide). by the way, she is my savior. one of my students is illiterate. it really isn't his fault, and he really wants to learn. you can see that in his behavior. i really think he will be the project of the year for myself and my aide...and i want to make it work!

but don't get me wrong, i will not allow that child or any of my difficult children to occupy my whole existence and discount my other kids, who have been the majority respectful, understanding, and supportive of me.

george clooney wants to stop the genocide in sudan and all i want is equity in my 8th period class!!!!!that's all.....

Oh My God! 9/13 Is Etched In My Mind As the Day of Algones Infamy

2006-09-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

the worst teaching day of my career occured yesterday. holy crap! i know that i have over thirty kids in my 8th period class. i also know that i have four retainees mixed in that group of impressionable six graders. and the retainees have been notorious for ruining lives last year and this year. i don't mean just other former six graders last year, but teachers! oh my god, they are all in one class. now you are probably saying to yourself: "what the hell are they doing in one class? what the hell are they doing back in the same school?!"

answer: to make life hell for Mr. Algones on 9/13/ 06!

the period started fairly healthy. most of the students arrived on time in class. staying after school for being tardy is becoming cumbersome for a lot of them. of course, the retainees have yet to arrived.

we start the afternoon with the Do Now, disrupted half way through by the stragglers. (ie. retainees) they come in ignoring me. they look for their buddies, and realize they all came in together.

i started to model pair work activity when all hell brokee loose. one of them decide to throw an eraser to a friend across the room! of course, the friend retaliates. but before he retaliates, he screamed out loud, "what the hell was that!" i saw the whole thing and did the noah salzman hand gesture thingamajig. i wanted to kick the throwee out but the day before, we have decided to ease up on the referrals. it turned out too many of the same boys have been out of class. duhhhh!

so i tell the throwee to stop it. he didn't acknowledge me. i went over there and touched him in the shoulder and told him to stop and he still didn't look at me. finally, he said okay because i would not continue the modeling until he acknowledged me. as i was about to continue, the toher boy retaliates by throwing an eraser back at him. did the hand gesture thingamajig and told him to stop. another one throws an eraser and to top it off, the ffourth decides to walk toward their area to pretend to talk to me but only really to give himself a good angle for an eraser throw.

i am pissed at this point but calm on the outside. i looked at my other six graders and they wanted me to ring them up. i could tell they really want me to give to them. but again, i was reminded of what was considered severe and what wasn't. so i just took a deep breath and allow them to work in pairs even though i have yet to fully model it.

quickly hands go up for clarification! other hands go up to protect themselves from the erasers being hurled up in the air. i was still calm. i didn't want to be the aggressive-uncontrolled-teacher-who-strikes-fear-in-the-minds-of-their-students and instead showed calm. i stared them down and they setteld down for about thrity seconds then all hell broke loose. one of them had a hissyfit and stormed out of the classroom. he did me a favor.

the others continued to make a raucous and slowly but surely, the negative energy spread. another stern look, silience, stare kept them at bay. but one of the retainees decided to run around the classroom. still, not that big of a deal. clearly, grounds for a referral, but decided to to talk to him.

the time that i spent talking to him, took several minutes. there were lots of them that wanted clarification but i couldn' get to them. of couse, they had no recourse other than to talk. so now half the class aren't even on task. the other half are looking at me, and i'm sure, wanted me to do something about the chaos.

i was still calm, but i can tell my students are loosing cconfidence in me. the retainees are still screwing around and i was amazed by the fact that there were still groups that wanted to do their work. at this point, i knew they didnot learn a lick of the early humans. i knew a lot of my students lost confidence in me today. that hurts!

i think that is an inequity! to not be able to service the majority of the class because i have to continuously give the misbehaves my constant attention, is preposterous! i want to help the retainees just as much as anyone, but their needs are beyond a classroom of freaking over thirty students. they need special attention and i can't service that. what does admin expects?

come next tuesday, during back-to-school-night, there will be a lot of angry parents wanting an explanation why their child is not learning anything about the early hominids! tht's it...i'm going back to my old self.

My Government Thinks I Am Stupid!

2006-09-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

holy crap....have you heard this one?!?!?!? the IAEA (that would be the international atomic energy agency) have protested against our government (the bush administration) and the congressional committee against their findings of iran's nuclear aspirations. the IAEA noted that their findings were "dishonest and outrageous."

bear with me here, i believe it was a few years back when the same administration found the IAEA to be inaccurate. Nooooooo, iaea, there are weapons of mass destruction in iraq! of course, we know there were very little evidence of that. but the administration belittled the IAEA and undermined their committe findings so they could attack iraq! did we end up finding anything? nope!

hmmmmm, are they doing it again??!?!?!?! are we going to put up with this crap?!??! i hope my government understands that not all of the people in our country are that stupid. we still remember iraq, and we are reminded everyday on the cnn news reel. are we going to attack iran this time? let's make it a package deal and take out syria as well....

and i love the way that when we make enemies, they come together to band themselves against us....what do you expect? hehehehehehehe

It Ain't Easy but I Like my 8th Period Class.

2006-09-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

"oh my god...what am i getting myself into."- i have been saying this five minutes before 8th period starts since the second day of school. not that everyday is a mess...in fact, there have been more days that the class have done well than have been chaotic. my true 6th graders have constantly turned in their work! its just that a few students that do not care can really make an impression on the younger 6th graders. and i have a few of them in my class.

however, it has been almost two weeks now and i am getting used to the class i dread. clearly, when you have two spectacular classes, one mediocre behaved class at the end of the day can rally ruin your pleasant disposition. its like your confidence is built up during the day and suddenly, in a span of 55 minutes, you are humbled by the youngest group.

but now i am getting used to the group. and they are getting used to me. most of my true 6th graders do their work and turn in their homework. we will see how much they learned after the test. but even my retainees have made an effort to volunteer or raise their hands to answer questions. on tuesday, everyone followed direction and almost everyone unexpectedly completed their assignment. so thy didn't have any homework.

but today is a different story! i had a hard time getting a few jokers in line. they fooled around for most of the period and they ruined the activity for their partners. once i got them to calm down, it took all of five minutes a couple to act out again. but they listen to me when i do give out directions. they do try as long as their short attention span will allow them....heheheh

anyways, i'm beginning to understand them! they're getting to me, they're rubbing me the right way, and i am starting to like the class....that sounds so strange but its a lot better than hating them! now if i can just get them to arrive in class on time!

Six Suspensions and One Arrest!

2006-09-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

yes....that's right, it has been only a week and we already have chaos! i have kicked out students already! actually, my two two-hour sections of eld are incredibly well behaved. they all want to learn and they all want to impress their parnts and their teachers. they all believe that they can havve a better future if they learn another language. i feel very lucky to have two groups all wanting to improve themselves. don't get me wrong, there are stragglers, one in each class that i may have problems later on the year but that is a godsend.

so here's my problem, i have a crappy last period. 6th grade ancient history is slow disintegrating to a bad experience for my real 6th graders. i actually have an amazing 6th grade group. they consist the brunt of my class. unfortunately, i also have five students that were retained last year in that same class. they are disrespectful, unmotivated, emotionallly unbalance, and oh yeah, academically low performers.

they need so much attention! i reckon it will only be a few weeks until my 6th graders will resent me for not giving them attention. they are also intimidated by this group. and its so draining. i mean i have these great classes, then i am pushed to the limit for the last 55 minutes! and it tires the heck out of me. so what do i do? i shot baskets with one of the incorrigible 6th graders. one of the flunkies would have played as well but dinghead got kicked out of my class right before the bell rung. i would have given him a break but he decided to make a raucaus outside. now he is referred to in-house suspension...heheheeheh i don't care...i just want to play and i hope i can get this guy to calm down.

i dare anyone to give advice!

First Day of School 2006-2007!

2006-08-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

wow! i have the coolest kids! but i think almost every teacher says that about their kids on the first day of school. the kids this year seem to really want to learn english. i am still feeling out the staff and the students so i can't really say anything more than this. so far nothing interesting have come up. i do love the fact that my kids from last year came by to say hi to me. for some reason, i feel like i get points from my students now when they see my old students sneak a peek in my room and flash their waved hands. of course, feeling a little sense of pride, i automatically think i humble myself, "kids from last year, don't mind them, i taught them better manners than that!"

i have the usual cast of characters from different parts of the world, but this time i have a student that's from brazil! now this is the reason why i love my job! i just love for them to share their experiences with the rest of the class. of course, i wouldn't mind if their parents work at a restaurant, and they give me a discount....hehehehehehehe

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus?!?!

2006-08-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

what? try men are normal and women are abnormal. by the way, this is just a man waisting time before the usa basketball team commences an ass whooping 3:30 in the morning western time. i'm probably going to get an ass whoopin...or better yet, a withholding of sex for a while...determined by the abnormal half of this relationship.

1. normal: peanut butter abnormal: almond butter. cost five times more than the garden variety and seven times more if you buy it at whole foods. yes, it is better but almost everyone in the western world grew up with peanut butter.

2. normal: trader joes abnormal: whole foods. who said organic shit have to be expensive? abnormal people think the more expensive, the more organic it is. or the more explanation on the wrapper, the more healthy it is. they are still using the same amount of plastic to package them.

3. normal: basketball shoes abnormal: masai barefoot technology. they are ugly. and if my wife joins a MBT exercise group, i'm going to laugh my head off.

4. normal: ice cream abnormal: soy cream? not as creamy!

5. normal: reasonable and sensible abnormal: if you think you are more reasonable and sensible. just help me wash the dishes....that's all....a reasonable request.

The Magic Bullet?!?!

2006-08-22T02:43:00.000-07:00

alright...this is no joke. we actually bought an infomercial product thanks to all the gift certificates we received from our wedding. we've had it for a few days now and i still have yet to take it out of the box. but the possibilities are endless with this one. i can see myself make a variety of hummus, different kinds salsa, various kinds of pasta sauce, other kinds of appetizers or dips. more importantly, i can see leyla making something out of all the fruit she has in our fridge...yes, even leyla can make something out of the different kinds of mango she has in the fridge: fresh mango, dried mango, frozen mango, unsweetened mango. maybe she can make mango butter!?!?! hell, they make almond butter, pumpkin butter, why not mango butter?

we can even make lethal fruit coctails for all the guests we have yet to invite to our place! i wonder if you can do cake or brownie mix with this instrument? if it can, this might be the next great invention just below the discovery of fire, the wheel and plastic! i hear you can make ice cream also!

if i step back for a moment, and read this entry, i probably sound like my mother trying to convince my father to buy this thing.

Bleak Star Test Results

2006-08-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

another year of bleak star test results! for the most part, we have had continued improvements in most of the sections. but it really sucks that i look at the failures. i mean there are a couple of sections that we showed no improvements. then you think to yourself, "am i responsible for these numbers?"

what really sucks is that we are still one of the lowest in san francisco. i guess there isn't much to expect from our school considering a fourth of our school are newcomers. but even our english only students performed under the average! having to go back and deal with these numbers will be a humbling experience. teachers will have to look at each other knowing we have made very little difference. this sucks!

My First Ride In A Limo

2006-08-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

i don't think i have ever ridden in a limo until this past weekend. it was completely unexpected! leyla and i flew down south to orange county for the weekend to celebrate her sister and her birthday. it took their whole family a while to pick us up. we thought perhaps there was traffic (a common excuse).

as we were looking out for her father's car, a big huge limo rolled in front of us. jokingly, leyla told me to open up the door. we both laughed. i mean who the hell would pick anyone up in a limo. then next thing you know, her sister pops her little head out the front window and told us to get in. What?!?!!?!

we got picked up in a limo! i guess her father decided to celebrate her sister's birthday by getting her a limo for that night. i don't think most of us were very familiar to limo rides because we felt like being in a boat on rough seas. i mean we were swaying back in forh every time the driver broke. maybe the driver sucked! not a smooth ride at all. i guess leyla's dad's point was: this is how you roll with the momenys.

Marriage Life Isn't So Easy!

2006-08-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well...at least the first month felt that way. six months ago, i heard how great it will be. we will be together, sharing everything. i don't recall anyone ever telling me how it can be difficult. i guess its one of those things people do. why bring up the hardships? you are only admitting to the difficulties of your relationship. no one likes to do that...

well...we are together and we are sharing everything and it isn't easy! our problems stem on the fact that we are very proud individuals. i am the oldest in my family and i get what i usually want. i'm the trailblazer, and i lead the way. for leyla, she is an independent woman who takes pride in making decisions....career or otherwise. we are both realtively succesful...or at least our parents are veryproud of us. we never really have experienced taking compromises in our personal lives. we have never lived with anyone else and we never imagined how difficult it feels compromising. i have yet to understand that our decisions are ours....so i end up delegating them. if it doesn't work, i sure didn't do it. if it does work, i don't mind taking part of the credit. it annoys the hell out of leyla....ooops! and also, we both feel like we can accept mistakes well, but deep inside we both aren't good at it yet.

by the way, these annoyances have caused fights between us! clearly a manifestation of how hard headed, obstinate, proud dipshits we are.

but here are other things that bothers leyla about me:
1. i keep saying "what" even though i have heard it already. in my defense, i just want to make sure what she is trying to say. sometimes, i am thinking of something else and i didn't hear her. she finds it disrespectful! i want to just say "yes" to everything, but she will bring it up later on and will ask me what we have decided, and i will be at a lost. "i'm sorry" is usually a common response on my part.

2. she hates it when i am too critical. she thinks i am too judgemental. i think i am critical, and i am like that with my basketball team, students and family. but i don't expect it from my friends. i guess it's because they don't have to be. with this one, she will have to accept. i will have to be very careful and not make her feel like she is walking on eggshells. hopefully, like my family, she will get used to it or she'll just have to sometimes humble me and tell me to "shut the f*** up." we are more than friends now.

okay...my turn...what really bother me about leyla:
1. hasty, whimsical decisions! "oh i like this in our living room" -so we would buy it. usually there would be travel time, loading, and assembly involve, and usually i am the one. but several hours later, "oh this one is better!" we'll just have to sell this one and buy this one" ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! more loading, more travel time, more assembly...all this are running in my head.

2. misunderstandings. sometimes we will say things that are misunderstood. it bothers one of us...but we choose the difficult path and implement the silent treatment assuming that the other should already know why one is very bothered or offended. this is both our fault. again we both failed in allowing for communication to resolve the issue until we sulk for several hours.

anyways, all of these issues have put a strain in our relationship but in the end, we decide to keep on making this work. i like it when we make up....its fun! if you know what i mean......hehehehehe more importantly, fights aren't so bad. they tend to make the relationship stronger in the end. granted its a little unnerving...but things are going well. fighting is part of loving....hmmmmm who would have thought.....

hope this helps any of you out there who are thinking of marrying..................and get yourself a good set of boxing glvoes instead!

Hey...what do you think of what's going on in israel?

2006-07-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

well...i have been in three separate emotional conversation....discussion....debate with my wife, my sister, my sister's boyfriend, and finally with friends. i am not sure why i get so easily frustrated when we talk about this subject. i guess its because i totally believe that israel should make every effort to get their soldiers back!

imagine if you are israel, and a terrorist organization decides to kidnap two soldiers. the group decides to give back the soldiers if they trade them for hundreds of prisoners. do you really think israel would allow this to happen? if they capitulate, anyone can kidnap soldiers and trade them in with prisoners from now on. what kind of precedent does that set? in israel, everyone is obligated to the military. so israel have no choice but to react because if they don't, they are telling their people that we are not going to do anything for you if you are part of the military.

i say hamas or hezbollah really forced israel's hand in this situation and israel is not going to back down. its a bunker mentality, and you have to understand the history and their struggle to maintain their existence. you have to really delve into middle east history to understand it...but to put it simply, land and the ownership of land in the middle east means existence! the land is what makes them jewish...complete. and they are not about to give that up!

even though our conversations have been heated, we all agreed that israel have every right to pursue those solders. but they have been incredibly violent and excessive. i agree....but what do you expect them to do. they are not going to back down because it would mean defeat. defeat in that region is tantamount suicide. again bunker mentality.

i think that is why everyone is waiting for the international community to step in. this way everyone is saving face. so who's screwing this whole process? that's right....united states. bush decides to verbally support israel's right to defend themselves. yes...but why doesn't bush criticize israel for their use of excessive force? why don't they step in earlierand request for the cessation of military force? maybe bush needs a course in contemporary middle east history? or maybe he really wants hezbollah to be destroyed even at the expense of innocent lebanese lives.

my wife thinks united states and the majority of the west are suffering from orientalism. hard to explain but what it really means is that we have a prejudice toward olive-skinned people. israel is a westernize, white, sovereign nation, that is democratic. much like all the countries in the west. most of the other countries are islamic fundamentalist and monarchical. its hard for us to relate to them, so why bother helping them? if they're not willing to change...hell...why help them? let's just get rid of them.

okay...a lot on the table...what do you think?

Sprained Right Ankle Sucks!

2006-07-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it....the first time i go out to play basketball in my neighborhood park (Delores Park)and i get a sprained ankle. i had no idea my ankle sprained either. i mean i don't recall ever landing the wrong way nor stepping on someone's foot. i just remember playing really hard and next thing you know, i am limping home. my right ankle isn't even swollen! nick, a friend, thinks it may just be old age. i really want to give him a whupping right now! he also thought i might be lacking nutrients. so i started chewing my wife's calcium chews....

but it is sort of a blessing in disguise. i mean it unwillingly allowed me to anchor down at home, more like cover up with a comforter, and start my annual summer reading session. its very difficult for me to start reading because there are so many things i rather do. you know, spend time with the wifey, play basketball, watch television, take a walk, shop, clean the house, shit even.... whatever....anything but reading. i like reading but starting is so difficult.

i love the intrigueing stories, the colorful writing, the humor, the drama, the hope, the despair, the pain, and the anger that you share with the author......but goddamit....i'm lazy! i want them to make movies of the books i read, but when i have read them, i feel betrayed when authors allow some schmuck who thinks they can really share the same story on film. so let's make this clear, i really don't want the books i read made to movies. it would be "distressful" for me and i will not be able to "repose" with comfort.

so far, i have read Everything is illuminated (jonathan safran foer), the sand child(ben jelloun), and me talk pretty one day (david sedaris). all are wonderful books. the writing is superb and you can't keep the books down. i read all three books in the span of two and a half days. i told you....when i read a book, i read it without putting it down until i'm finished.

but you guys probably already know that they are great books. i have a way of reading books that people suggest i read but it takes me a year or so to get to it....hehehehehe

Are SIX pairs of jeans enough?

2006-07-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

moving sucks! you can never really know what you compiled over the years after you have to move them. and i am realizing that i have a ton of clothes. i don't buy a lot of things primarily because i don't like to spend money. so while my friends may have the newest technolgical cell phone, ipod, laptop, television, car, house, whatever...i don't really care. however, i feel i am not different from them. i may not buy those things because i don't want to but i do like to buy things. i guess, like everyone else, i like to attain something new and fresh. its like change, and i like change. it makes life interesting. now you can have new imaginations. buy a new car, you can imagine going on a roadtrip, or show off a car to a really stupid girl who will fall for it. buy a phone, you can imagine endless possibilities.

well, i buy things too. more particularly, i buy clothes. i like to buy clothes because its not as expensive as other things. its a way to be creative. i can wear things that can really enhance other clothes. boredom never sets in when you have many different clothes to choose from. but how much is enough?

i have six pairs of jeans. two are exactly the same! now that my wife and i have to consolidate both our apartments, which are bigger than what we are moving in to, we are trying to figure out what the hell we can give away. can i give away clothes that were gifts? can i give away practical clothes? can i give away impracticals but really interestng clothes? so much to think about.