October is never good for me. I come down from my summer high, realize I won't have time for exercise or healthy eating, and count down the days until winter break. My car situation isn't getting any better. They have been working on it for 2 weeks now. Rental car tab is through the roof. Luckily, I just got paid. Allergies are gradually getting worse. My precious 8th period is declining into an uppity mess. And most of all, I'm still angry. October is never good for me.
One positive is that I have reestablished Monday Night Dinners. We have one helluva host home so we might as well make the most of it. Last Monday, Mel, Thomas, Danielle, and I had Hannah, LC, and Buddy over to eat, drink, and watch Paranormal Activity 2. I prepared linguine with a mushroom cream sauce I learned from Lisa, garlic bread, salad, and wine. For dessert, we had leftover birthday cake...there is still some left...4 weeks old? I enjoy the novelty of doing "white" things to get a laugh out of Thomas, so I lead "grace." We joined hands and I thanked everyone for joining us at our home for this meal. The night ended with LC doing her Wicked victory dance. This week, I prepared beef & broccoli, and the roomies sans Danielle were joined by Maggie, Hannah, LC and Dawson. When Dawson arrived, we performed an a capella on the spot rendition of Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait." After dinner on our amazing screened patio, we watched Bridesmaids...or they watched Bridesmaids, and I passed out because of fatigue and wine, as usual. Still, that is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. We won't be meeting next Monday because Thomas and Mel will be in San Diego, so hopefully, we'll be able to meet Wednesday. I'll have to conjure up a recipe. Somehow, I feel this will eventually evolve into a storytelling gathering like Mel always wanted. As long as there is wine, I don't care what we do.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
phuck
LC and I saw this poet named Lacey Roop a while ago. She was fascinating. I loved her because she said these words, but I hated her for saying them. I wanted those words to be mine. Now they seem to belong to me because I know and feel them. I wish I never knew what she meant.
When a girl says kiss me, be careful. She may not know what she is asking. She may not know what she wants. Some girls never do.
Ask her what she wants. Assure her there are no wrong answers.
If she says she needs time give her all your clocks. If its space she wants construct a rocket—send her there. Mean what you say. Girls do not like to be lied to. Mean what you say.
Kiss her but do not expect anything. Girls disdain expectations.
Do not discard her as just another one or mistake her as a wonder carved from the skin of the moon. Girls are special; not unique. They are hair, hide. Teeth, thumb. Bone, brain. Wondrous vessels composed of hellos, heartbeats. Goodbyes, gums. Their bodies shaped like cellos or pears. As unpredictable and powerful as wind or waves. Listen to me my brother when I say “Welcome her crash with caution”.
Tell her you appreciate her entirety, even the rust. Build her a castle with the dust she’s swept under the rug. Undress her ghosts. Tell her, her ghouls are gorgeous. Palm her phantoms. Do not treat her like a problem to solve. You my friend, are not that advanced. She is not a book to be read then placed back on the shelf; a magazine to thumb through, a letter to be opened or sent out, some 44cent stamp. She is not an equation; so do not treat her like a number. Pull her close. Follow her breath. Study it. Listen.
Kiss her like rain. Kiss her like spark. Kiss her like whisper. Go slow. Let her hips guide you. Feel her meaningful. Thrust gentle. Move like you are giving something back instead of taking something from her. Never make her feel like she is an accident—even if you hate her—do not hate her. Accept her misunderstood.
Understand her uncomfortable. Love her awkward. Adore her whole. Respect her being. Embrace her difficult. Cuddle her complexity. Caress her chaos. Hold her honest. Take her broken; lick it perfect. Let her know she has always been a jawdropper. But do not put her on some pedestal, you may like her too much to hurt herself if she falls.
When a girl says kiss me, be careful.
She may not know what she is asking. And you may not anticipate
The haunting you may have when she doesn’t want you
to anymore.
When a girl says kiss me, be careful. She may not know what she is asking. She may not know what she wants. Some girls never do.
Ask her what she wants. Assure her there are no wrong answers.
If she says she needs time give her all your clocks. If its space she wants construct a rocket—send her there. Mean what you say. Girls do not like to be lied to. Mean what you say.
Kiss her but do not expect anything. Girls disdain expectations.
Do not discard her as just another one or mistake her as a wonder carved from the skin of the moon. Girls are special; not unique. They are hair, hide. Teeth, thumb. Bone, brain. Wondrous vessels composed of hellos, heartbeats. Goodbyes, gums. Their bodies shaped like cellos or pears. As unpredictable and powerful as wind or waves. Listen to me my brother when I say “Welcome her crash with caution”.
Tell her you appreciate her entirety, even the rust. Build her a castle with the dust she’s swept under the rug. Undress her ghosts. Tell her, her ghouls are gorgeous. Palm her phantoms. Do not treat her like a problem to solve. You my friend, are not that advanced. She is not a book to be read then placed back on the shelf; a magazine to thumb through, a letter to be opened or sent out, some 44cent stamp. She is not an equation; so do not treat her like a number. Pull her close. Follow her breath. Study it. Listen.
Kiss her like rain. Kiss her like spark. Kiss her like whisper. Go slow. Let her hips guide you. Feel her meaningful. Thrust gentle. Move like you are giving something back instead of taking something from her. Never make her feel like she is an accident—even if you hate her—do not hate her. Accept her misunderstood.
Understand her uncomfortable. Love her awkward. Adore her whole. Respect her being. Embrace her difficult. Cuddle her complexity. Caress her chaos. Hold her honest. Take her broken; lick it perfect. Let her know she has always been a jawdropper. But do not put her on some pedestal, you may like her too much to hurt herself if she falls.
When a girl says kiss me, be careful.
She may not know what she is asking. And you may not anticipate
The haunting you may have when she doesn’t want you
to anymore.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
This phase is phamiliar.
School is pwning my life. The past couple weeks, I haven't left work until atleast 7PM. I'm adjusting to a new grading policy, and I'm already behind on interventions and such. I'm not saying I hate it, I'm just saying I need more time. Time has always been my achilles. I'm out of sync with my world, the people in my world, and myself.
Last class, I posted this Stephen Crane poem on the board and told the students to write down a reflection:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
My point was to get them to acknowledge the overwhelming generation me attitude in the high school world. Everybody is performing, and no one is listening.
Even at my age, I still feel like I'm performing, like the world is my stage, and I'm the protagonist. I imagine I will eventually save the day. I imagine the players in my story will provide me the challenges and support for my role to grow. My major character flaw is placing too much expectation on my players. That sounds lame. It's kind of like saying your greatest weakness is working too hard. No, my major character flaw is hubris. My arrogance is a defense mechanism for when I feel insecure, which is a lot of the time. I'm out of sync. I'm waiting for everyone else to grow up, while they are waiting for me to do the same. I'm so afraid of being an extra in someone else's story. I don't want to be a lesson learned. I don't want to be a minor set back or the moral of the story. I don't want to be a forgotten phase in a sea of faces.
"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."
Last class, I posted this Stephen Crane poem on the board and told the students to write down a reflection:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
My point was to get them to acknowledge the overwhelming generation me attitude in the high school world. Everybody is performing, and no one is listening.
Even at my age, I still feel like I'm performing, like the world is my stage, and I'm the protagonist. I imagine I will eventually save the day. I imagine the players in my story will provide me the challenges and support for my role to grow. My major character flaw is placing too much expectation on my players. That sounds lame. It's kind of like saying your greatest weakness is working too hard. No, my major character flaw is hubris. My arrogance is a defense mechanism for when I feel insecure, which is a lot of the time. I'm out of sync. I'm waiting for everyone else to grow up, while they are waiting for me to do the same. I'm so afraid of being an extra in someone else's story. I don't want to be a lesson learned. I don't want to be a minor set back or the moral of the story. I don't want to be a forgotten phase in a sea of faces.
"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Phailblog part V
One of my colleagues came into my room today to show me a quiz she got back. The quiz was over dimensional analysis which is a simple way of organizing numbers and units in order to carry out multiplication and division. It's spectacular but gets a terrible wrap from lazy, ungrateful children. Anyways, a question on the quiz read, "convert 5 inches to feet." The response to the question read, "12-5 = -7" NEGATIVE SEVEN!! HAHAHA, I laughed soooooo hard. The negative sign was like the little cherry on top that let me know it would be an awesomely highlarious day.
This morning at 9 AM, I had an online assignment due. You guys remember that UT online homework system we used in physics and in college chemistry? Oh yes, I am using it now to torment my minions. Anyways, I gave them 9 days to complete a 30 question assignment. Three students hadn't even registered with the website yet even though I posted instructions on how to do that on my school blog. Everyday, I reminded them that the assignment was open, and I even added on an extra day. They feel like I am abusing them, but shit! The economy is down and China is kicking our asses in math and science. Someone's gotta break them and their generation ME attitudes. MUAHAHA! Honey badger all day errday. Also, I've been giving out asset to class clementines everyday to instill some competitive edge in them. Let the games for my favoritism begin!
This morning at 9 AM, I had an online assignment due. You guys remember that UT online homework system we used in physics and in college chemistry? Oh yes, I am using it now to torment my minions. Anyways, I gave them 9 days to complete a 30 question assignment. Three students hadn't even registered with the website yet even though I posted instructions on how to do that on my school blog. Everyday, I reminded them that the assignment was open, and I even added on an extra day. They feel like I am abusing them, but shit! The economy is down and China is kicking our asses in math and science. Someone's gotta break them and their generation ME attitudes. MUAHAHA! Honey badger all day errday. Also, I've been giving out asset to class clementines everyday to instill some competitive edge in them. Let the games for my favoritism begin!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Phailblog part IV
I created a teacher facebook separate from my personal facebook account at the end of the previous school year because I kinda missed my annoying students. I don't check it very often but fortunately, I received a notification of a certain event. This year, the school is very aggressive on dress code policy. The students obviously object to this. One of my former students was told on the first day that he could not wear his sleeveless tshirt. I don't care either way, but if this gives me the chance to take some fools down a notch or two, I'm taking it! Anyways, the event I was invited to was titled "Sleeveless/Tank Top Wednesday!" There was about 100 confirmed attendees and the point was to silently rebel against establishment blah blah blah, nothing too impressive in terms of civil rights. My student posted on the wall, "uhh guys, I think I accidently invited Mr. Pham to the event," to which his comrades appropriately responded, "fail," etc.
Instead of snitching on everyone in the group, which I totally would, I would rather them all get in trouble on Wednesday and see how aggressively the faculty and admin would stick my our dress code policy. So I posted on the wall, "I dress like a boss errday, so I never get dress coded. GETONMYLEVEL!" Needless to say, I am very excited to bust some chops on Wednesday.
Instead of snitching on everyone in the group, which I totally would, I would rather them all get in trouble on Wednesday and see how aggressively the faculty and admin would stick my our dress code policy. So I posted on the wall, "I dress like a boss errday, so I never get dress coded. GETONMYLEVEL!" Needless to say, I am very excited to bust some chops on Wednesday.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Phambroiled Whopper!
My flight out of Saigon to Seoul was 5 hours, so I planned on watching about 2.5 movies. They added some newer releases since my last flight so I was a bit excited! FastFive topped the list, and Julia mentioned that action movies were fun for plane rides. Also, I've liked the Rock since my WWF days. IT WAS AWESOME! After that, I watched Hanna, starring Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, and soixiEOOIEFSDkla girl from lucky bones. It was a bit dull for an action movie about a girl trained to be an assassin. I'm sure Colombiana will be better. Next up was Kung Fu Panda. I fell asleep. The plane landed and I had 5 hours to kill before the next flight. I laid down in the unused terminals and watched Korean television while the clean up crew vacuumed. I listened to some more Moth and TAL reruns. Finally, I hopped on another plane. I started this trip watching Battle Los Angeles, which Julia said was good. I remembered that I already watched this a long time ago, but nothing else intrigued me so I kept it on. Next was Arthur, starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, and some girl that might as well have been Zoe Deschanel. I would have glossed over this one had it not been for some article that Russell Brand wrote about the London riots. Anywho, it was a decent comedy. I fell asleep soon after. This plane was super crowded and hot. The old lady next to me kept making noises and elbowed me a couple times. RUDE. The 11 hour flight came to an end. I landed in LAX, spent an hour or two in customs, then ran to the closest Burger King! It was delicious and fatty and greasy and flame-broiled to perfection. AMERICA! 3 hours back to DFW on Thursday at 5 AM, passed out in Arlington, woke up at 3 PM. Jet lag was a b and remained one for the next 5 days.
On Friday, I decided to go back to Austin and surprised Mel and Thomas. When I walked in, Thomas was in his underwear with gloves on and a bottle of blue dye, "this is not as kinky as it looks!" He was dyeing mel's hair again. He told me there was a surprise waiting for me in my room:
That night, we got the group together for some dt fun. Also, Hot Ashlee was in town, and she's totally into me.
The next day, I saw Zilker Summer Musical's Footloose, and it reminded me of how awesome Gia Wright was in MHS's production during her rendition of "Let's hear it for the boy."
The rest of the weekend, I tried to rest, despite my severe jet lag and anxiety about the following work week which meant the end of Summer of Pham...to be continued...
On Friday, I decided to go back to Austin and surprised Mel and Thomas. When I walked in, Thomas was in his underwear with gloves on and a bottle of blue dye, "this is not as kinky as it looks!" He was dyeing mel's hair again. He told me there was a surprise waiting for me in my room:
That night, we got the group together for some dt fun. Also, Hot Ashlee was in town, and she's totally into me.
The next day, I saw Zilker Summer Musical's Footloose, and it reminded me of how awesome Gia Wright was in MHS's production during her rendition of "Let's hear it for the boy."
The rest of the weekend, I tried to rest, despite my severe jet lag and anxiety about the following work week which meant the end of Summer of Pham...to be continued...
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Let me let you go.
I know I was supposed to blog next about the plane ride and my homecoming, but I was just inspired by some bat shit insane neighbors at my bat shit insane apartment complex.
It was 11:15 on a Saturday night. I was watching the 4th installment of The Fast and the Furious marathon. The fourth movie, according to wikipedia, is actually chronologically the 3rd movie, so I watched it after 2Fast2Furious. This marathon was started because I watched the 5th movie on the plane, and to my surprise...I enjoyed it. Hate on me, haters! It's better than Tron. Also, this was the first weekend in a while that I could do absolutely nothing. Mel left for Vegas, and Thomas left for Dallas. Anyways, I was enjoying a nice nap until I was suddenly awakened by knocking and yelling. "Unlock your door!" *knock knock knock* "Unlock your door! I'll keep knocking all night and embarrass you in front of your neighbors." (Oh, please do, crazy lady. I eat this stuff up.) "I'll go around to all the doors and knock until you open your door!!!" (omg, what if she knocks on my door?!) Finally, some guy answered. The guy living upstairs had a couple friends over. I heard a lot of yelling so I shut off the loud air conditioning unit so I could increase my eavesdropping capabilities. Soon the footsteps headed toward the back patio so I hastily followed. I ran into Mel's room for a better vantage point. I could only hear tidbits so my side of the story may not be accurate, but here goes. Apparently, the man living upstairs had been separated from this crazy lady. She was super pissed because she found out that he had been sleeping with some girl named April. The crazy lady was also pissed about 400 dollars he owed her, I believe from a tax return. He had a history of borrowing money from her, and she found out that he used some of that money to pay for dates with this poor April girl. Also, he forgot the crazy lady's bday because according to her, he was "too busy fucking April." I think they have a 13 year old son together.
-OH SHIT I THINK THEY ARE BACK ON THE PATIO, BRB-
Aw man, I think she just left. Her final words, "you wanna fuck with me, I can fuck with you."
OK, so if you think it's amoral to eavesdrop on crazy people arguing, then I am sorry. It's not my fault I live in a shitty apartment with paper thin walls. It's not my fault that crazies like to get loud on balconies. It's not my fault that my life isn't as tumultuous and exciting...well, I guess it is.
Anywho, his car is under her name so she can do whatever she likes! "April doesn't even know we been sleeping together. We've slept together 5 times this month!" Oh poor naive April! He's been hittin up both of them before the divorce is even finalized. SHAME! He tried arguing that she was doing the same thing to him. REBUTTLE!...rebuttle failed. He said that she went on a date with some realtor. She got a text one night while watching TV with her son. It was this guy that her friend introduced her to that was going to show her apartments and houses, but I do believe he wanted to do more than that ;) He said, "when can I meet with you? tonight?" She said, "not tonight" because she thought it was reallllly creepy. Instead she met him the next day to have tea at Starbucks on the patio. She explained to him that she had just gotten out of a "16 year fucked up marriage" and that she had no intention of getting into another relationship. She had only met this man as friends! THIS WAS NOT A DATE! "No one here would say that was a date!" Then she said something about 500 dollar child support, yikes! Then she said, "if I want to drive recklessly and total your car, not my problem." Reminded me of a Mary J. Blige song. Then it got a little Alanis. "YOU FUCKED UP WHEN YOU FUCKED HER!" Finally, it quieted down a little, and I could barely make out any words. "Let me let you go. Stop sucking me back in." Aw! That is such a sweet sentiment. I'm sure that's a song or movie line, but I don't care, it's beautiful. Love makes crazy people do crazy things. I hope they had some crazy breakup/unbreakup sex after that whereby foregoing any intention of letting her let him go. Sad. In closing, I hope I never get divorced because $500 a month in child support for a kid I never get to see is just upsetting.
It was 11:15 on a Saturday night. I was watching the 4th installment of The Fast and the Furious marathon. The fourth movie, according to wikipedia, is actually chronologically the 3rd movie, so I watched it after 2Fast2Furious. This marathon was started because I watched the 5th movie on the plane, and to my surprise...I enjoyed it. Hate on me, haters! It's better than Tron. Also, this was the first weekend in a while that I could do absolutely nothing. Mel left for Vegas, and Thomas left for Dallas. Anyways, I was enjoying a nice nap until I was suddenly awakened by knocking and yelling. "Unlock your door!" *knock knock knock* "Unlock your door! I'll keep knocking all night and embarrass you in front of your neighbors." (Oh, please do, crazy lady. I eat this stuff up.) "I'll go around to all the doors and knock until you open your door!!!" (omg, what if she knocks on my door?!) Finally, some guy answered. The guy living upstairs had a couple friends over. I heard a lot of yelling so I shut off the loud air conditioning unit so I could increase my eavesdropping capabilities. Soon the footsteps headed toward the back patio so I hastily followed. I ran into Mel's room for a better vantage point. I could only hear tidbits so my side of the story may not be accurate, but here goes. Apparently, the man living upstairs had been separated from this crazy lady. She was super pissed because she found out that he had been sleeping with some girl named April. The crazy lady was also pissed about 400 dollars he owed her, I believe from a tax return. He had a history of borrowing money from her, and she found out that he used some of that money to pay for dates with this poor April girl. Also, he forgot the crazy lady's bday because according to her, he was "too busy fucking April." I think they have a 13 year old son together.
-OH SHIT I THINK THEY ARE BACK ON THE PATIO, BRB-
Aw man, I think she just left. Her final words, "you wanna fuck with me, I can fuck with you."
OK, so if you think it's amoral to eavesdrop on crazy people arguing, then I am sorry. It's not my fault I live in a shitty apartment with paper thin walls. It's not my fault that crazies like to get loud on balconies. It's not my fault that my life isn't as tumultuous and exciting...well, I guess it is.
Anywho, his car is under her name so she can do whatever she likes! "April doesn't even know we been sleeping together. We've slept together 5 times this month!" Oh poor naive April! He's been hittin up both of them before the divorce is even finalized. SHAME! He tried arguing that she was doing the same thing to him. REBUTTLE!...rebuttle failed. He said that she went on a date with some realtor. She got a text one night while watching TV with her son. It was this guy that her friend introduced her to that was going to show her apartments and houses, but I do believe he wanted to do more than that ;) He said, "when can I meet with you? tonight?" She said, "not tonight" because she thought it was reallllly creepy. Instead she met him the next day to have tea at Starbucks on the patio. She explained to him that she had just gotten out of a "16 year fucked up marriage" and that she had no intention of getting into another relationship. She had only met this man as friends! THIS WAS NOT A DATE! "No one here would say that was a date!" Then she said something about 500 dollar child support, yikes! Then she said, "if I want to drive recklessly and total your car, not my problem." Reminded me of a Mary J. Blige song. Then it got a little Alanis. "YOU FUCKED UP WHEN YOU FUCKED HER!" Finally, it quieted down a little, and I could barely make out any words. "Let me let you go. Stop sucking me back in." Aw! That is such a sweet sentiment. I'm sure that's a song or movie line, but I don't care, it's beautiful. Love makes crazy people do crazy things. I hope they had some crazy breakup/unbreakup sex after that whereby foregoing any intention of letting her let him go. Sad. In closing, I hope I never get divorced because $500 a month in child support for a kid I never get to see is just upsetting.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Murpham's Law, Everything that can go Pham, WILL go Pham!
I left off last time with my trip to Hanoi. Jeebus, I am so behind. OK, so after Hanoi, I went with Cau Nam (Uncle Nam), who is, as my little sister calls him, "Superman," to Ha Long Bay. This place is like one of those wonders of the world that Andrew Zimmern would visit or probably already has. Let's backtrack, we refer to Uncle Nam as Superman because he is probably won of the most intelligent and versatile beings of our time. He is currently working as the Chief of Technology for Vietnam Airlines. He is trying to get a direct flight from US to Vietnam in order. Oh, also, he is working on a project to remove all the agent orange from the ground water and top soil. NBD. Anyways, he pays for the whole trip, and we get on this old boat thing off the coast to get to these awesome islands.
Here is me out-Corona shot-ing all your asses.
Here are the famous islands. Ha Long means "dragon landing."
These two rocks are said to resemble a cock fight.
We also climbed up Yen Tu Mountain. There is a temple at the peak so many people make pilgrimages up there.
Um, did I mention I went parasailing?
In my next entry, I will conclude my trip with the exciting plane ride and my return to ATX!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Good morning Vietpham!
It's 4 AM. My first day back at work starts in 4 hours and I can't sleep. When I try to sleep at night, my body thinks I'm taking a nap and wakes up 2 hours later with a head ache. I hate jet lag. I'll be crashing during the day because I already have a knack for falling asleep during professional development presentations. On the agenda for today is "formative assessment strategies" ZzZzZz. Hopefully, my colleagues will be able to keep me awake with their snarky comments. I have the best coworkers.
I keep having to go back and delete the "extra space" after sentences because Jack the Lawyer informed me that two spaces after a sentence is a "time-honored mistake."
Well, because I can not sleep, I've decided to finish up my Vietnam posts. Last time, I ended on my first night in Hanoi when I went out with David to the discos.
Hanoi is a very interesting city. It is a much more modern metropolitan area than most of Vietnam. The citizens seem to dress much nicer than other parts. The women are beautiful. They are all slender and tall and keep up with the latest fashion trends. The dialect in the north is very difficult for me, a southerner, to understand. Mel's family speaks this dialect. I jokingly refer to it as bourgeois. The men in Hanoi sound like a mix of Orochimaru, Mario Cantone, and Lil Wayne. It's quite flamboyant. Every word spoken seems to begin with a "Z" sound. For example, if a racist such as Thomas ever visited Hanoi, he would pull back his eyes and say "zing zong zing zong."
Okay, so here is a photo of my sister, mother, uncle, and I as we were leaving the airport. You may notice I am as big as a house due to all the food my relatives keep throwing at me.
Later that day, I went fishing with my uncle, and we caught absolutely nothing.
This night was also the night that I went out on the town with Mel's brother David. You can see those pictures in the previous intoxicated post.
The following morning, we went sightseeing. I saw the corpse of Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum in the middle of Hanoi. Don't tell my dad that I went here. He'll probably beat me. He's still pretty sensitive about the whole war thing. I dunno, something about the whole being forced to reign hell fire down on his own countrymen really ground his gears.
Here is the pagoda built on a single pillar. It's supposed to be some kind of engineering marvel.
In the center of Hanoi, there are two lakes. In Hoan Kiem, or Lake of the Returned Sword, there lives a 100 year old turtle who is currently very sick. The name of the lake refers to a legend of a king who was given a sword by a giant turtle, and after the king defeated his foes, he returned the sword to the giant turtle.
This much like the King Arthur/Lady of the Lake legend, or the much more famous Lion Turtle/Last Airbender legend. ENERGYBENDER!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Completely Phammered
Early morning in Quang Ngai, my mother, sister and I went up to the roof to behold a....DOUBLE RAINBOW
We tried to explain the significance of this event to our mother to no avail.
I believe we next went to the resting place of my grandfather and his brothers and other phamily. We had to walk through some dense vegetation. All along the way, I hummed "Up to the Mountain" which as you know, will be sung by Mel's daughter at my funeral. My logic for this is because Mel will be too old or dead by that time. Also, I won't have my own daughter sing it because I am not allowed to have daughters. Yes, you are confused but here are my reasons. Daughters get pregnant. Daughters will be able to manipulate me into doing absolutely anything for them. Case in point, look at this hurricane of mischief and tell me how I could possibly tell her no.
anyways, it was very humbling to be near the dead and honoring them with flowers and incense.
The next day...I think...we went to Son My, the memorial of the events of the My Lai massacre. Needless to say, it was incredibly depressing. A massacre benefits absolutely no one. When men and women are thrust into war, they are called upon to do unnatural things such as murder. It's something I can't comprehend.
Later that night, we went to the beach at My Khe. I don't have those pics yet but I'll post them to fb laters. It was beautiful. There was a restaurant right on the beach that would serve us food and beer all night long. The weather is such that if it's late at night and you leave the water, it's still nice and warm.
Some time later, we went to My Son. Speaking of which, my second grandfather...brother of my dearly departed gramps...gave me a vietnamese name, Son, pronounced sung, which means mountain. I am MOUNTAIN! Ah yes, where were we, we went to My Son, which is the land that Vietnamese people invaded which was previously occupied by the Cham civilization. Does this seem awkwardly backwards and predestined??! I kid I kid...
OK, so next, we had to drive to Da Nang where my Uncle Nam lives. There is also an airport there which was method of travel to Hanoi. Anywho, Da Nang is an awesome tourist city with mountains AND beaches. It's beautiful. If I could live anywhere in Vietnam, it would be here with my Uncle and his well educated and cultured family. We took a really long thingy tram thing that goes up to the mountains. at the moment I can't think of the word because...well, i'll explain in a little bit. At the top, there is a resort which would be perfect for a honeymoon(hint hint ladies). There were monkies, and some idiot provoked them and the alpha chased him. Hilar.
Also, here is a giant Buddha which is Vietnam's response to the giant sword in Houston.
NEXT! we stayed at Uncle Nam's place, and after dinner, he took us all to a bar called Seventeen Cowboys. This was a cowboy themed bar which featured a filipino cover band consisting of 3 rocker guys, and 3 scantily clad female vocalists who performed such hits as "What's Goin On?" and "Firework." At the end of the night, the more rock voiced female sang an AC/DC song and I thought she was flirting with me but she was actually looking at my sister, GAY!...literally gay. I was so disappointed at myself.
In the morn, we had to go to the airport to head to Hanoi. My Hanoi uncle took me fishing and on our way out, his motor bike took a tumble on a decline and we fell ove. I was fine but he had a little wound on his knee. O Unk Hai. You can spot me a mile away on that motor bike as I am the only person holding on to dear life in stark contrast to the rest of the lackadaisical denizens of Hanoi.
After dinner, I went out with David Nguyen, Mel's older brother who was teaching English in Hanoi. Funny story, he tried to take me to the Hanoi's location of Seventeen Cowboys but was sorely disappointed that I had been there the night before. Here's us at some bars:
apparently, we got out-Texaned by the bar tender featured above on the sequence of a tequila shot. We were very ashamed.
Which leads me to now. It is 4 am. I am hungover/drunk/sleep deprived. Good night boners.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Prisoner of Azkapham
My mom booked us a trained ride from Saigon to Quang Ngai in central Nam. Julia and I thought, "awesome, we've always wanted to ride a train, see the country side, eat chocolate frogs." NOPE. When we arrived to the station, we repeated to ourselves, "This is NOT Hogwarts Express, this is NOT Hogwarts Express." It was more like Azkaban on wheels.
It smelled like urine/feces/oldman/uncieOro. OH also, we had to bunk with 1 strange old man who talked in his sleep. Did I mention there was a squat toilet?! Did you see the cot-like seating? How do you expect me to sleep on the fucking Midnight Meat Train?! Instead, I listened to a little more HP audiobook, but that got me sleepy so I switched over to The Moth and TAL reruns. I LOVE my stories. I especially love the sad stories. There is something beautifully humbling about the quiver in a person's voice as their heart breaks, even moreso when that break has never been healed. It sounds the same in every story regardless of the person, good or bad, strong or weak.
After 14 hours of dank dank, the bad kind, we finally arrived to meet my Uncle Hung, his wife, and Uncle Binh's wife. Depending on whether or not they are on your mom's or dad's side, you have to call them different titles. It gets really confusing so I am going to remain very general. They took us to their nice house in the middle of a large field of vegetation. Uncle Hung is a distributor of Nescafe so there were a bunch of trucks. In many Vietnamese homes, the work place is on the first level along with the kitchen, the second level is the living area, and the third level is the prayer room to honor the dead and a roof to dry clothes.
I'm thinking space for a back yard is limited especially in the city so upward expansion is the way to go. Also, restrooms don't have bath tubs. It's just a toilet, next to a shower head and everything is tile. There's a drain in the ground.
Here is a view of the surroundings:
Uncle Hung and his family, the little girl is also referred to as Boo.
During all my meetings, various family members made it appear that my mother has been telling them that I was planning on going back to school. You see, my mother is a very materialistic person. She likes to exaggerate about everything. If she says that we have a cousin who is a lawyer, he is actually taking his LSAT. If we have an uncle who is the CEO of a multibilllion dollar company, he is actually the owner of a grocery store. She has a skewed sense of success and image problems. I believe this is a combination of coming from a successful family in Vietnam to America where my parents found themselves living the life of luxury, and then falling from these unimaginable heights into their current state. The American value of greed has weighed heavily on her and my sisters and I have been chipping away at this for the last couple years as adults. The Pham children are proud people who find solace in the service of others. This has perplexed her. Anyways, my sister and I have had to get crunk on her multiple times this trip. It's especially hard to explain to her that I don't work to make money, I work to make change. No one else can do what I do. This got me thinking about the value of a person's life. If I can change one person's life, that is worth more than any amount of money. Therefore the value of life is priceless. The US took many lives from Africa during the slave trade. There have been many attempts to repay this with money. Unfortunately, many parts of Africa are still impoverished regardless of many many years of monetary help. Money can't help anyone if love and education are not offered as well. The value of a human life can never be understood if you've never truly helped someone. This is why I do this MOM!!! Well, she'll be fine in the end. My sisters and I will fix her back up before the white light takes her. Anyways, teaching is what I'm supposed to be doing. It's what I was meant to do. That sounds awfully religious of me, but lately, I've been kind of obsessed with faith, the Dalai Lama, Tong Lin, and nature of mind because of the Moth and speaking with mah besties. Go check out Jack Hannibal on the Moth.
OH, one thing that I'll def be taking away from this experience is this awesome bedding!
It's like a yoga mat, but it has larger segments that are polished or something. It's surprisingly comfortable because it remains cool at all times and conforms to your body in a way that doesn't ruin your back. I want it on mah bed!! It's definitely a halfway point between a mattress and THIS:
When I first saw this, I thought it was a low-standing dining room table or a queen-sized bench. One morning, I saw Uncle Huy sleeping on it. CRAZY. I just don't get it. Does he know how awesome a mattress feels?! Also, how does one make love on a slab of wood? Surely, you'd break a patella or two.
Today, I'm headed for shopping and eating in DaNang, some touristy spot in central Nam. A couple days after that, I'm getting on a plane to Hanoi. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet up with Mel's brother David up there. (There's mel's one shout out this post. Why is she my life?)
I will leave you with this last photo of the Pham talkin bout politics and conflict in the South China Sea regarding OIL!! Different country, same problems.
It smelled like urine/feces/oldman/uncieOro. OH also, we had to bunk with 1 strange old man who talked in his sleep. Did I mention there was a squat toilet?! Did you see the cot-like seating? How do you expect me to sleep on the fucking Midnight Meat Train?! Instead, I listened to a little more HP audiobook, but that got me sleepy so I switched over to The Moth and TAL reruns. I LOVE my stories. I especially love the sad stories. There is something beautifully humbling about the quiver in a person's voice as their heart breaks, even moreso when that break has never been healed. It sounds the same in every story regardless of the person, good or bad, strong or weak.
After 14 hours of dank dank, the bad kind, we finally arrived to meet my Uncle Hung, his wife, and Uncle Binh's wife. Depending on whether or not they are on your mom's or dad's side, you have to call them different titles. It gets really confusing so I am going to remain very general. They took us to their nice house in the middle of a large field of vegetation. Uncle Hung is a distributor of Nescafe so there were a bunch of trucks. In many Vietnamese homes, the work place is on the first level along with the kitchen, the second level is the living area, and the third level is the prayer room to honor the dead and a roof to dry clothes.
I'm thinking space for a back yard is limited especially in the city so upward expansion is the way to go. Also, restrooms don't have bath tubs. It's just a toilet, next to a shower head and everything is tile. There's a drain in the ground.
Here is a view of the surroundings:
Uncle Hung and his family, the little girl is also referred to as Boo.
During all my meetings, various family members made it appear that my mother has been telling them that I was planning on going back to school. You see, my mother is a very materialistic person. She likes to exaggerate about everything. If she says that we have a cousin who is a lawyer, he is actually taking his LSAT. If we have an uncle who is the CEO of a multibilllion dollar company, he is actually the owner of a grocery store. She has a skewed sense of success and image problems. I believe this is a combination of coming from a successful family in Vietnam to America where my parents found themselves living the life of luxury, and then falling from these unimaginable heights into their current state. The American value of greed has weighed heavily on her and my sisters and I have been chipping away at this for the last couple years as adults. The Pham children are proud people who find solace in the service of others. This has perplexed her. Anyways, my sister and I have had to get crunk on her multiple times this trip. It's especially hard to explain to her that I don't work to make money, I work to make change. No one else can do what I do. This got me thinking about the value of a person's life. If I can change one person's life, that is worth more than any amount of money. Therefore the value of life is priceless. The US took many lives from Africa during the slave trade. There have been many attempts to repay this with money. Unfortunately, many parts of Africa are still impoverished regardless of many many years of monetary help. Money can't help anyone if love and education are not offered as well. The value of a human life can never be understood if you've never truly helped someone. This is why I do this MOM!!! Well, she'll be fine in the end. My sisters and I will fix her back up before the white light takes her. Anyways, teaching is what I'm supposed to be doing. It's what I was meant to do. That sounds awfully religious of me, but lately, I've been kind of obsessed with faith, the Dalai Lama, Tong Lin, and nature of mind because of the Moth and speaking with mah besties. Go check out Jack Hannibal on the Moth.
OH, one thing that I'll def be taking away from this experience is this awesome bedding!
It's like a yoga mat, but it has larger segments that are polished or something. It's surprisingly comfortable because it remains cool at all times and conforms to your body in a way that doesn't ruin your back. I want it on mah bed!! It's definitely a halfway point between a mattress and THIS:
When I first saw this, I thought it was a low-standing dining room table or a queen-sized bench. One morning, I saw Uncle Huy sleeping on it. CRAZY. I just don't get it. Does he know how awesome a mattress feels?! Also, how does one make love on a slab of wood? Surely, you'd break a patella or two.
Today, I'm headed for shopping and eating in DaNang, some touristy spot in central Nam. A couple days after that, I'm getting on a plane to Hanoi. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet up with Mel's brother David up there. (There's mel's one shout out this post. Why is she my life?)
I will leave you with this last photo of the Pham talkin bout politics and conflict in the South China Sea regarding OIL!! Different country, same problems.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Phamerican Phairlines
No, I didn't not fly American, I flew Korean Air. The plane was quite comfy, and the flight attendants all looked exactly alike. Every sentence ended with "-nida." Adorbz. I wanted to give them all fans and have them giggle behind them in unison at all my jokes. I started the flight by reading the final two Astonishing X-Men graphic novels written by Whedon and penciled by Cassaday. I'll probably read the next two even though they are written by someone else. After that, I commenced a movie marathon.
1. I am Number Four. This was surprisingly captivating, mostly due to Quinn Fabray playing the female lead. I would recommend it if you are flying soon.
2. Blue Valentine. This was a beautifully told story about birth, growth, and death of a relationship between Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. I would definitely recommend this movie except not on a plane with little children running around. There is quite a bit of nudity and sexuality. HOT.
3. Country Strong. Yuck. This was the most convoluted story ever. It was like Inception except with bad acting, writing, directing, etc. Yuck.
4. Rango. I fell asleep. Also, I wish it were A Bug's Life.
5. Tarzan. Phil Collins duh.
After the 1000 hours of flight, I finally landed in Saigon where I was picked up by my mother, her cousin Cuong, and his driver. Apparently her uncle is a big deal in international shipping and they have a fortress in the middle of Saigon. It's pretty nice relative to the rest of the city.
Here is my room:
Look at this cute little girl. We refer to her as Boo.
After this short visit, we went to my dad's uncle's house. We ate balut, one of mel's favorite dishes. AKA boiled duck fetus, yum!
Later that day, we went over to my mom's sister's house where I finally met G-mama Pham. Well, that's not really her name, nor is it gangee, meemaw, or gran gran.
Here she is with some of the kids:
For dinner, we ate chicken, rice porridge, grilled venison, and some ginger pork. All incredibly fresh and delish.
I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with this climbing on my neck...so I killed it. Come at me, bro.
At around 5 AM, a rooster crowed. I'm convinced it was Chanticleer from Rock-a-Doodle-Doo.
I hopped on a motorbike, popularly known in Vietnam as Xe Honda (vehicle Honda) with my Uncle Huy who took me, my sister, and our cousin to a coffee shop to have ca fe. Unfortunately, nobody was there who could translate so I was forced to use Vietnamese. I was pretty amazing. My uncle is a math teacher at the local high school. In his home, there was even a chalk board with some derivatives. He also grows these special flowering trees that are used mostly during Tet time. He sells them for about 1G each or rents them out. My Vietnamese got a little better so watch out Mel, no more English in our home. You're judgmental mother will be so proud the next time I see her. After coffee, he took me to buy some tizight loafers, and then we went to Pho 24. It's supposedly the most popular pho place in Nam. The beef was super fresh, the tripe was exceptional, and the rice noodles were much thicker than in the States. We did some more shopping after that and more coffeeing. When we got back to the house, my aunt already had a meal prepared for us. More of Mel's favorites:
Back to those Xe Hondas, that shizzz is crazy. Traffic laws...seem not to exist. Driving into oncoming traffic happens...a lot...and nobody seems to care. One important thing I noticed was that honking was a sign of safety as opposed to an act of aggression as in America. Which would bring me to a deeper, inciteful observation, but I can't get into that now cuz my sister reallly wants to email her bf.
JP OUT.
1. I am Number Four. This was surprisingly captivating, mostly due to Quinn Fabray playing the female lead. I would recommend it if you are flying soon.
2. Blue Valentine. This was a beautifully told story about birth, growth, and death of a relationship between Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. I would definitely recommend this movie except not on a plane with little children running around. There is quite a bit of nudity and sexuality. HOT.
3. Country Strong. Yuck. This was the most convoluted story ever. It was like Inception except with bad acting, writing, directing, etc. Yuck.
4. Rango. I fell asleep. Also, I wish it were A Bug's Life.
5. Tarzan. Phil Collins duh.
After the 1000 hours of flight, I finally landed in Saigon where I was picked up by my mother, her cousin Cuong, and his driver. Apparently her uncle is a big deal in international shipping and they have a fortress in the middle of Saigon. It's pretty nice relative to the rest of the city.
Here is my room:
Look at this cute little girl. We refer to her as Boo.
After this short visit, we went to my dad's uncle's house. We ate balut, one of mel's favorite dishes. AKA boiled duck fetus, yum!
Later that day, we went over to my mom's sister's house where I finally met G-mama Pham. Well, that's not really her name, nor is it gangee, meemaw, or gran gran.
Here she is with some of the kids:
For dinner, we ate chicken, rice porridge, grilled venison, and some ginger pork. All incredibly fresh and delish.
I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with this climbing on my neck...so I killed it. Come at me, bro.
At around 5 AM, a rooster crowed. I'm convinced it was Chanticleer from Rock-a-Doodle-Doo.
I hopped on a motorbike, popularly known in Vietnam as Xe Honda (vehicle Honda) with my Uncle Huy who took me, my sister, and our cousin to a coffee shop to have ca fe. Unfortunately, nobody was there who could translate so I was forced to use Vietnamese. I was pretty amazing. My uncle is a math teacher at the local high school. In his home, there was even a chalk board with some derivatives. He also grows these special flowering trees that are used mostly during Tet time. He sells them for about 1G each or rents them out. My Vietnamese got a little better so watch out Mel, no more English in our home. You're judgmental mother will be so proud the next time I see her. After coffee, he took me to buy some tizight loafers, and then we went to Pho 24. It's supposedly the most popular pho place in Nam. The beef was super fresh, the tripe was exceptional, and the rice noodles were much thicker than in the States. We did some more shopping after that and more coffeeing. When we got back to the house, my aunt already had a meal prepared for us. More of Mel's favorites:
Back to those Xe Hondas, that shizzz is crazy. Traffic laws...seem not to exist. Driving into oncoming traffic happens...a lot...and nobody seems to care. One important thing I noticed was that honking was a sign of safety as opposed to an act of aggression as in America. Which would bring me to a deeper, inciteful observation, but I can't get into that now cuz my sister reallly wants to email her bf.
JP OUT.
Monday, July 25, 2011
55 Days of Summer (of Pham)
55 days down, and 20 more to go. Summer of Pham is, as many of you know, awesome. Everything is coming up PHAM. I believe that the tipping point of this golden age occurred when I decided to adopt a "say yes" philosophy. Basically, when anything came up, I would just say yes and go for it. Let's recall a few key points and events that have comprised this renaissance period in my life.
Camp CommUNITY 2011. As usual Camp was a-MRAZ-ing. It's so easy for me during the school year to lose sight of why it is I do what I do. Fortunately, every summer, I am reminded of my reason.
25.5 Half B-Day. My friends are awesome. They will still take time out of their day to attend a made up event in my honor just so I can have an excuse to see a pretty girl.
Outdoorsy. This word can describe me now. I do stuff.
Thursday's with Mike and Lisa. They are really good at hosting and cooking. I would like to model my adult life after them. Also, I wish Mel were as tidy as her sister :(
Dubstep parties. Gerardo Contreras opened my eyes to this heart-pumping night life. In Houston, Maria and I went to a Gritsy show that had a wall of bass. I could feel the intense beats through my entire body. It was exhilarating.
4th of July on Lake Conroe. Mel's phamily is really fun to be with except when her mother is judging me.
The single life. Mel went through a single phase and Thomas was absurdly accepting of it. She started hanging out with Rachel and Bobby and went wild. Luckily, I got to partake on this experience. We had a blast.
Prom. Maggie is a really good friend to me. We can go weeks without seeing each other and pick up right where we left off. Also, she's always downtown so I'm never alone.
Health. All of my free time allowed me to give priority to my health. I would wake up early, go to the gym to kill time, go grocery shopping, cook lunch, take a nap, and then have many hours until evening activities commenced. I love summer.
Tony and Sarah Wedding. I had the privilege of singing at this wedding with 5 of my fellow male Singers. Being together again made me really nostalgic. I miss singing in an ensemble with talented vocalists. The whimsical moments where every note is in harmony, and the ends of phrases where there is an excruciatingly loud hush surrounding my body, and just as suddenly as it all happens, these moments evanesce into the aether. Tony is possibly the most reliable and kind-hearted human being I know. I have known Sarah for about 10 years. I have watched her grow up into a beautiful young woman. This union is one of the few marriages I truly believe in. I am honored to have been a part of such a meaningful day.
Pretty girl. I met a pretty girl with a big brain and an even bigger heart. My many attempts to impress her have made me into a better human being. I like making her laugh...a lot.
Vietnam. Tomorrow, I leave for Vietnam. My mother and little sister are already over there. I am incredibly anxious to go on this journey because I have no idea what to expect. I bought a shit ton of pepto. I also purchased a shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof camera so that I may blog about my travels. Please pray for my safe return...My soft skin and nubile figure make me a prime target for the illegal sex trade :(
Farewell friends, I miss you already.
Camp CommUNITY 2011. As usual Camp was a-MRAZ-ing. It's so easy for me during the school year to lose sight of why it is I do what I do. Fortunately, every summer, I am reminded of my reason.
25.5 Half B-Day. My friends are awesome. They will still take time out of their day to attend a made up event in my honor just so I can have an excuse to see a pretty girl.
Outdoorsy. This word can describe me now. I do stuff.
Thursday's with Mike and Lisa. They are really good at hosting and cooking. I would like to model my adult life after them. Also, I wish Mel were as tidy as her sister :(
Dubstep parties. Gerardo Contreras opened my eyes to this heart-pumping night life. In Houston, Maria and I went to a Gritsy show that had a wall of bass. I could feel the intense beats through my entire body. It was exhilarating.
4th of July on Lake Conroe. Mel's phamily is really fun to be with except when her mother is judging me.
The single life. Mel went through a single phase and Thomas was absurdly accepting of it. She started hanging out with Rachel and Bobby and went wild. Luckily, I got to partake on this experience. We had a blast.
Prom. Maggie is a really good friend to me. We can go weeks without seeing each other and pick up right where we left off. Also, she's always downtown so I'm never alone.
Health. All of my free time allowed me to give priority to my health. I would wake up early, go to the gym to kill time, go grocery shopping, cook lunch, take a nap, and then have many hours until evening activities commenced. I love summer.
Tony and Sarah Wedding. I had the privilege of singing at this wedding with 5 of my fellow male Singers. Being together again made me really nostalgic. I miss singing in an ensemble with talented vocalists. The whimsical moments where every note is in harmony, and the ends of phrases where there is an excruciatingly loud hush surrounding my body, and just as suddenly as it all happens, these moments evanesce into the aether. Tony is possibly the most reliable and kind-hearted human being I know. I have known Sarah for about 10 years. I have watched her grow up into a beautiful young woman. This union is one of the few marriages I truly believe in. I am honored to have been a part of such a meaningful day.
Pretty girl. I met a pretty girl with a big brain and an even bigger heart. My many attempts to impress her have made me into a better human being. I like making her laugh...a lot.
Vietnam. Tomorrow, I leave for Vietnam. My mother and little sister are already over there. I am incredibly anxious to go on this journey because I have no idea what to expect. I bought a shit ton of pepto. I also purchased a shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof camera so that I may blog about my travels. Please pray for my safe return...My soft skin and nubile figure make me a prime target for the illegal sex trade :(
Farewell friends, I miss you already.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
This is Living part II
For so long, we have lived this life of privilege, and we have forgotten our brothers and sisters on the other side. "Ain't no reason things are this way." "Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be." They were in pain. They were invisible. But we opened our eyes. We heard their voices. We gave each other hope. What more is there in life? This is living.
The heart of our community is an ocean. Let us absorb the world's pain and allow the healing to begin.
Thank you Camp CommUNITY 2011. You are my reason.
The heart of our community is an ocean. Let us absorb the world's pain and allow the healing to begin.
Thank you Camp CommUNITY 2011. You are my reason.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
see equals phambda eff
Last week, the school district was terrorizing us by holding unemployment over our heads. So far, I've managed to lay low. I told my students to warn me if they saw a principal coming my way to which I would initiate a flight or FLIGHT response. I don't have a fight response due to my tapered joints. (I have skinny ankles and wrists, but they make me an unexpectedly fast sprinter.)
One day after school, one of my struggling pre-ap students came in to finish some work and get some things straight. He had been emailing me about his recent absences and missing assignments. He told me that he transferred to a pre-ap class to prove to his younger siblings that success was an option for them. Apparently, his older siblings were not the best of role models. On top of this, he works more than part time so that he can afford a car. I asked him if work were a necessity. His impetus was two-fold. Firstly, he had to get out of the house. Unfortunately, the environment is quite unbearable due to his slacker older brother who taunts him for trying so hard. Secondly, he wanted to purchase a vehicle so that he could stay at school after hours and get help in his classes. This would also help him get to and from ACC during the summer. He hopes to graduate early and get some college courses out of the way to save money. Mind you, this is the first time I had ever spoken with him so in depth about his life. At the conclusion of our conversation, he thanked me. He thanked me for being his physics teacher. Up to this point, I didn't feel like I ever gave him extra attention or went out of my way for him. Up to this point, the week was a shitty week. The month was a shitty month. The whole damn semester was just an utter shitstorm. But this, this made up for everything. I had forgotten what that was like, genuine, selfless gratitude. When was the last time I said something like that? I don't think I ever have. Maybe only in writing.
The other day, a few students were playing MASH instead of doing their class work. If you aren't familiar with it, it involves pencil, paper, and predicting such things as your future home: Mansion, Apartment, Shack, or House. One of the other more fatalistic students and I concurred that most of the students in that class could only play the game of S. The dreamers could only smh us.
On April 1st, they pelted me with cascarones. Luckily, it was pre-ap, and they throw with their nerd arms.
One day after school, one of my struggling pre-ap students came in to finish some work and get some things straight. He had been emailing me about his recent absences and missing assignments. He told me that he transferred to a pre-ap class to prove to his younger siblings that success was an option for them. Apparently, his older siblings were not the best of role models. On top of this, he works more than part time so that he can afford a car. I asked him if work were a necessity. His impetus was two-fold. Firstly, he had to get out of the house. Unfortunately, the environment is quite unbearable due to his slacker older brother who taunts him for trying so hard. Secondly, he wanted to purchase a vehicle so that he could stay at school after hours and get help in his classes. This would also help him get to and from ACC during the summer. He hopes to graduate early and get some college courses out of the way to save money. Mind you, this is the first time I had ever spoken with him so in depth about his life. At the conclusion of our conversation, he thanked me. He thanked me for being his physics teacher. Up to this point, I didn't feel like I ever gave him extra attention or went out of my way for him. Up to this point, the week was a shitty week. The month was a shitty month. The whole damn semester was just an utter shitstorm. But this, this made up for everything. I had forgotten what that was like, genuine, selfless gratitude. When was the last time I said something like that? I don't think I ever have. Maybe only in writing.
The other day, a few students were playing MASH instead of doing their class work. If you aren't familiar with it, it involves pencil, paper, and predicting such things as your future home: Mansion, Apartment, Shack, or House. One of the other more fatalistic students and I concurred that most of the students in that class could only play the game of S. The dreamers could only smh us.
On April 1st, they pelted me with cascarones. Luckily, it was pre-ap, and they throw with their nerd arms.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Put another nickel in, in the nickelodean, all i want is lovin' you and MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC
Anybody remember that song from miller elementary? It was my jam aside from those awesome 1-3 note recorder songs (remember starburst?) Anyways, I went to New Orleans this weekend, which was the tops, and we spent a while at this place that had a jukebox. One of maria's douchey friends, who she was unawares was douchey until shelby and i pointed it out to her cuz we are judgmental snitches, started hittin' it up. The first song was 3 doors down kryptonite, and we immediately looked at eachother and died laughing. And so it began, a most classic game of, "guess what douchey song is next!!" Here are the results in no particular order:
1. hoobastank
2. pour some sugar on me
3. that terrible buckcherry song
4. the calling
5. any creed song (even tho i lovz it)
6. joan osbourne "what if god was one of us" <-- subjunctive mood much?
7. puddle of mudd (a johnny-buddy favorite)
8. discovery channel
9. bon jovi "it's my life" or "you give love a bad name"
10. rock and roll jesus - kid rock (which undoubtedly did play that night)
11. uncle cracker
12. papa roach, pretty much anyone from that trashy family tree
13. gwen stefani, bananaz
now, if you like any of these songs, that's okay cuz we all have our guilty pleasures. I'll creed out any day. Plz feel free to add to the list.
some other fond memoriez of nola: seeing a cute teenage indian couple walk down bourbon, the girl wore the guys letterman jacket which had a resounding "Reddy" on the back. a drunk guy inadvertently pushed into a wall lamp which shattered on impact. maria and shelby realizing how much they love strip clubs. not pretentiously going to the french quarter to listen to jazz.
1. hoobastank
2. pour some sugar on me
3. that terrible buckcherry song
4. the calling
5. any creed song (even tho i lovz it)
6. joan osbourne "what if god was one of us" <-- subjunctive mood much?
7. puddle of mudd (a johnny-buddy favorite)
8. discovery channel
9. bon jovi "it's my life" or "you give love a bad name"
10. rock and roll jesus - kid rock (which undoubtedly did play that night)
11. uncle cracker
12. papa roach, pretty much anyone from that trashy family tree
13. gwen stefani, bananaz
now, if you like any of these songs, that's okay cuz we all have our guilty pleasures. I'll creed out any day. Plz feel free to add to the list.
some other fond memoriez of nola: seeing a cute teenage indian couple walk down bourbon, the girl wore the guys letterman jacket which had a resounding "Reddy" on the back. a drunk guy inadvertently pushed into a wall lamp which shattered on impact. maria and shelby realizing how much they love strip clubs. not pretentiously going to the french quarter to listen to jazz.
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