How cool is this?

I'm moving to Davis, CA on Monday to like expand my horizons and stuff. LOL... No really... Being accepted to the graduate program in Civil Engineering at UC Davis is a super big deal to me, it just hasn't sunk in yet that my whole life is going to change.

So what do I do when I don't want to face reality? I make a video of my crab.

Moving is a bitch. Just put most of stuff in storage yesterday. Today I'm cleaning up my apartment. Last day in Hollywood for me.

Achieve the Honorable
- Hollywood High's Motto

Today was not only the last day of school at Hollywood High, but my last day as a teacher. I've been accepted to graduate school at University of California, Davis for the Masters-Civil Engineering program. This weekend I move out of my apartment, put my stuff in storage and temporarily move in with my mom for the summer while I look for a place to live in Davis.

I've had mixed emotions about the whole change. I am excited and nervous about going back to school. I'm relieved to be moving out of my noisy apartment. I'm also relieved I won't have to put up with the craziness anymore. Even though I only taught for two years, I feel like I've aged ten.

I'm also sad. Seeing my few seniors that I had the pleasure of knowing graduate yesterday made me realize how much I'll miss teaching. It's funny how all the things I hated about the place, all the students that made my day a living hell, all the bad feelings, frustrations, and annoyances all melted away with the few students that came up to me and gave me a hug and thanked me for being a good teacher. I had one student last year come up to me and wanted a picture. I had another student tell me she would have dropped out if it wasn't for my guidance. And that just tugged at my heart.

I am so glad I've had this opportunity to be a part of Hollywood High, the land of the Sheiks. I will miss my students, miss my co-workers, and I will miss walking the halls of World Famous Hollywood High. I will also miss Hollywood. It's a fun, quirky little part of LA.

Now some pictures of my new friend I adopted today from a lonely life in a science room. Look how little he is. Maybe I should call him Mr. Itt Y Bitty.

I know people laughed a little when I said I had a hermit crab as a pet. I sure did the first time I said it aloud. Yet, over the past year Sebastian became more than a joke. He became my little friend that I said hello to every day. He crawled and he got lost. He ate peanut butter and climbed the Lego fort I built him. He was my little friend. I'm going to miss him.

This is the last shot of him alive.


All I have now is his empty shell...

Got back from a Korean day spa. Super relaxed now after a very exhausting week. The first week back is super hard especially when I have to pick up where we left off, ignoring the fact that there's been 2 months in between lessons. The disadvantages of year round...

Bought Madonna's new Album, Hard Candy. Initially I was disappointed, but after multiple listenings, it's grown on me. Though, there are still two tracks I don't like. The first track and the 10th one.

Been super good and been going to the gym everyday running on the treadmill. Got an ionic ceramic professional hair straightener. I love it!

Life's been alright.

But it is fucking hot! Oh and...the students come back tomorrow.

I am nervous as fuck. At least time this anxiety hasn't hit until a few days before session starts back up. A year ago I can remember stressing out by mid April. So I think I've made some big improvements. No matter what, tomorrow is going to hurt.

I'm excited a little bit to be back. It'll be good to see some of my students and remind myself I actually have job.

I've been banished to the bungalows, but at least I have my own classroom. NO traveling. yay. These next 8 weeks are going to go by super fast. And then that's it for Hollywood High. It was sad and weird to see my fellow c-trackers on friday, their last day of the school year. To know that is the last time I'll ever see them. Hollywood High is breaking up and a lot of people are in this confused state just like me. By September hopefully things will work out.

The clubs just got out. So anyone with a freaking sound system in their car feels that it's their duty to continue the club in the parking lot. Obviously this makes sleeping not a feasible option. I wish I can say I got woken up by this ruckus, but unfortunately my lovely neighbor below me felt it was necessary to practice his bass guitar at 12:30 am. Apparently he believes that club noise is an invitation to chime in.

On other news fronts around the world. I finally re-joined 24 hour fitness, so I can get my fitness groove on at random times like now if I wanted to. I also finally got my lazy ass over to the Encino Velodrome for some single speed lovin... Only to have to call mommy to come pick me up and take me home when on my way somewhere in the dark in the middle of some random part of the Valley I got a flat on my bike and could not proceed further.

To top it off, my hair is on the fritz.

( I took this picture to scare the ghosts away )

And what a grand day it is for a bike ride.

California is overly gorgeous right now due to all the rain we've had. Flowers are in bloom and the air has been so clear and refreshing.

Here's a shot of the marina near LAX. In the background you can see the mountains still have snow on them.

What an amazing movie. Way ahead of its time and still relevant and cool looking even for today.

My school (and many schools in LA) is on year round because there is not enough space for all students in the area to attend at once. Hence, the students are split up into three groups called tracks-A, B, C. Each track gets a certain time they can use the school facilities. Two tracks at a time are on, and one track is off. Each track stays on for 4 months at a time, and stays off 2 months at a time. So the school year is basically 4 months on, 2 months off, 4 months on, 2 months off. This results in 8 months of school instead of the traditional 9 months. To make up the missing month, our days are longer (7:30am-3:25pm).

A track is July-Aug off, Sept-Dec on, Jan-Feb off, March-Jun on. C track is Jul-Oct on, Nov-Dec off, Jan-April on, May-Jun off. Now my track (B) goes from May-August on, September-October off, November-February on, March-April off. So I work basically during the summer and winter and have the spring and autumn off.

My track is also the most messed up because the school year ends in June. So my "summer break" last year was a weekend. We ended the school year on June 30 and started the new school year on July 2. This break that I have now is our midterm break, just a really long break. When I come back I still have two months left of the school year. The other two tracks don't have this problem since their 2 months breaks happen between semesters/school years. B track is the most disadvantageous track to be on for a student (and a teacher). It is very frustrating and extremely stressful.

I do love the time of my breaks, I'd rather have the spring and fall off rather than the summer. But, the disadvantages of B track still outweigh the advantages.

Now all of this is changing next school year. A new high school has been built in Hollywood and it will open up in the fall. When this happens, Hollywood High will go off year round and go back to traditional schedule of summers off and a 9 month school calendar. However, because of this I will be losing my job come June because Hollywood high will loose close to half of its students. So half of the staff are no longer needed and it is based on seniority with the district of who gets to stay. I am a new teacher, so therefore, I am at the bottom of the seniority pile. Thus, my chances of staying at Hollywood High are very slim. However, I do have top priority of going to the new school.

No matter what happens next year, though, my schedule will be 2 months off now, May-june on, July-August off. Not bad, right?

Now to end with a little humor...

Now that the marathon has passed and I'm semi-recovering it's finally hit that I don't have to work for two months. Yay! Don't ya just love year round school?

This week has been utterly hectic. It started off last weekend with a big bang with the Tour of California coming into town and celebrating my birthday. Then, with managing anxious teenagers, trying to grades in, and fucking annoying neighbors with playing their electric guitars at all hours of the night, resulted in not getting much sleep this week. Even now that grades are all in, because on Sunday I'm running the LA Marathon (I just went to the Expo for it today (what an unusual field trip with the students that was)), I just haven't had time to think about what I am going to do for 2 months before coming back to finish the school year. I know I want to travel. The question is where...

Valentine's Day = Single Awareness Day

My sister is the greatest.

And so is Lio. Give it up Lio, love is not worth it.

Today is the first day my legs have felt like normal since doing SRLA Friendship 18 mile Run on Sunday in the pouring rain. Another month to go until the LA Marathon and my 2 month vacation break!