one word: MAMMOTH

i'm outtie.

thanx to everyone who is helping me to figure out how to fix my stereo. =) it seems like everyone and their mothers know how to do it except me. =P i'll start first by checking out the fuse, then referring to my manual. maybe if i go to kragen or auto zone and act all girlie and helpless, someone might help me out. =) i really hope it's just the fuse and nothing more complicated than that.

a week without student teaching makes me feel like a lazy bum. i start next week again with 2nd graders!

and the rain has returned. this is good news for my friends and me. =) heading up to mammoth friday nite and boarding saturday, maybe sunday. i'm thinking maybe it's not such a great idea, but i haven't gone in two months. and what with all this rain, i'd be passing up good snow. and i ain't gettin any younger. something to look forward to...

norah jones kicks ass (not in reference to the grammys). her music, her voice... moving, soothing and beautiful.

i am without a stereo in my car. was driving on the freeway, plugged in my travel charger into the lighter socket, and my stereo just cut out. i am told by many that it's a fuse thing. easy to fix. ah, but who can fix it? i'm not willing to pay ridiculous amounts of $ for something simple to be fixed.

i forgot to mention about friday nite. went to a benefit at a club in downtown where several underground hip hop artists showcased their talents. headliner wrappin up the nite blew me away. if any of u ever get the chance to, u MUST check out kick ass emcee MEDUSA, considered the queen of underground hip hop (and no question about why). she rocks the joint like none other.

rain... =)

MAMMOTH THIS WEEKEND!!! it's been 2 months since i last went boarding....
doRkYjaNeT: what time can u get off work on fri?
[my boarding buddy jason]: not too sure... i usually get off at 6
doRkYjaNeT: ooh ouch, so u guys wouldn't be in LA until about 9
doRkYjaNeT: get to mammoth around 4am
[jason]: hmm... it takes that long from LA?
[jason]: i thought it's like 4-5 hrs...
doRkYjaNeT: yeah 9 + 5
doRkYjaNeT: oh shit
doRkYjaNeT: HAHHAHAHAHAHA
doRkYjaNeT: jason i can't be a teacher!!!!
[jason]: hahaha
[jason]: dont u hate it when that happens?
doRkYjaNeT: when i can't do simple math??
[jason]: and then when someone asks... you go, yeah stupid, this plus this equals... oh... yeah... baahhh
[jason]: have any of those little kids ever corrected you??
doRkYjaNeT: no not yet.... but it's bound ot happen sometime
[jason]: haha... that'll be funny =)
doRkYjaNeT: yeah. "sorry class, your teacher is dumb. i don't know how she has two degrees"

... oh man. =P i'm here in SD at my friends' freakin party house. it was dave's (my last year's roomie) bday bash, and we all had plenty to drink and eat. for dinner we ordered the biggest pizza ever... 28". that thing was huge, and we were ravaging it like animals. quite a sight. we decorated the house somewhat, and the drinks were stocked up. i didn't get as faded as i had at their halloween party (the first and only time i ever forgot things) but i was pretty gone. i passed out too early!! i didn't even plan on it... just came upstairs, made a fone call, passed out, got woken up later, yakked into a sink and... um, clogged it (clear now). i do not enjoy being a drunkard. but what fun we had! =) i think at least 50 people in rotation must have come to the party last nite. HAPPY BIRTDHDAY, DAVE! =) hi anton.

friday: student teaching was something else. it was so emotional because - in a nutshell - the sub was beyond disrespectful and horrible, but i was the designated teacher for the day. a real sub has to be there for legal reasons. at any rate, the day started really bad right from the beginning. he would curse at the students, and some students were already crying. many of them were writing down the things that the sub was saying, and they would constantly call me to come over. it was sooo hectic. and while i knew they wanted to be cool for me on my last day in their classroom, they were also trying to rebel against the sub. at recess i felt so helpless and lost. i ran into laurence and will, and just told them i was NOT having a good day. i felt incompetent. after recess, when practically half the class had already complained to other teachers and administrators about the sub, i had them take out a piece of paper and write a few sentences in response to these two questions on the board: 1) What makes a good teacher, and 2) Why Ms. Lee is not a good teacher. as soon as they read it, they said, "but you is a good teacher, ms. lee!" when i read all their responses at lunch, i wanted to cry. they all said i was a good teacher, and that the only thing that is not good is that i'm too nice, not strict enough. =P at the end of the day i read the class my goodbye letter, and they were all so sweet. they vandalized the whiteboard with very sweet farewell messages, like "don't leave us, we love you ms. lee, i love you (as a teacher), i love you (as a friend)" haha. =) sooo funny. but yes, after school several students hung around and helped clean up the room. they were so calm and sweet! i asked them why they couldn't be like that during school. =P oh yes, the sub got fired mid-day. but he had to finish the rest of the day. he's not coming back to this school. i can't believe he's allowed to be in the classroom. well, i will miss my class dearly, but at least i'll see them around. my next student teaching placement is still at 99th St., 2nd grade. what a difference from 5th grade... what a day. made me question a lot of things.

i have been MIA for quite some time, but all for good reasons! been productive and taking things easy. tonite, i must lesson plan and prep myself for a surely exciting day. i'm subbing the entire day tomorrow!... on my last day of student teaching. let's see if i can go the mile. a whole day of being the teacher. =) janet lee. teacher. has a beautiful ring to it. =)

time to go rock climbing for the first time in ages... with a new climbing partner. steve, u will be dearly missed, but u know.. the distance thing. so hurry up and move up to LA!

and so the smack-talking ensues between the ucsd apsa undergrads and alums as talent show/ sports day weekend approaches in a few weeks' time...

saw daredevil this weekend. it was actually good! i enjoyed it.. =) ben affleck ain't too bad to look at, either. i'ma go ahead and recommend it. =) this weekend was nice and chill. got to relax, spent some quality time with peeps, and talked to my dad for a while on the fone. i have yet to see him in person. i miss him.. it's been over a month since i've seen him last, i think.
so yay for joe millionaire, he gets a girl and a million bucks. what's become of this world?
have to allot an entirely new budget to accomodate the freakin ungodly gas prices.
this is my last week student teaching with my 5th grade class. they're going to miss me! they're so awesome.

has the 3-day weekend already gone by??!?!
what have i gotten done?? ah well. such is life. =) i am a happy person. =)
gosh i'm random.

sometimes i wish i could just numb my feelings. i hate it when i become all girlie girlie. i kept telling myself i would be ok with the fact that on vday i would give myself me time. so i planned for an evening of whatever comes up will come up. had a few possible fone calls i would get from friends to go eat or hang out. instead, i had instant ramen and a date with a movie, accompanied by watching old apsa tapes and reminiscing. the truth of the matter? i was feelin the valentine's day blues. yeah, pretty pathetic. but really, i'm just a girl. and knowing that even though it's a stoopid marketed capitalistic holiday, i still feel it. my roomie is down in SD with her boo, and i was just chillin on my couch all nite. well, it was kinda nice cuz i haven't been able to just veg like that in a while. but yes, staying in on a friday nite is not something i'm terribly unfamiliar with. i feel your pain, reggie! i think if i were in SD i would have easily forgotten about my singledom. i miss my buddies.

i got plenty of love from my students =) happy vday, all! i love my mommy. and i like it when my brother takes care of me. i miss my dad.
it's funny to see who's on AIM on a nite like this. teehee! oh wait. that includes me... =/

hey friends~ i'm still alive. =) i don't know who noticed i was MIA or not.. my roomie sure did! she loves me! =) anyhow... yes i have been quite busy, yet not really busy this past week. kinda weird. i haven't slept much at all, and i've been running around everywhere, yet workload-wise it hasn't been insane...yet.

i'm going to be random now (yeah i know what you're thinking... "NOW??") this is funny haha: http://sinfest.net/d/20021021.html (thanx, steve) =)

issues with TEP resume, but changes are happening. and my spirit and faith will carry me on. i have amazing support.

rain is good!! er, here in LA we call this a "storm." i hadn't washed my car in months. it was caked with nasty ish. now it's so much cleaner. yay for nature! and i LOVE the way the sky looks just after it rains. sooooo beautiful!!! and with all this rain comes the snow in them mountains. perfect for two weeks from now! i haven't boarded in months... it should be interesting.

my students rock! tomorrow i teach them graphing of fractions and decimals. of course, with that comes converting mixed numbers to improper !fractions and vice versa, simplifying, finding the GCF and LCD, making it relevant to their lives... and my field supervisor is coming in to watch me for the first time, so let's see if i choke.

and so tomorrow comes in all its marketed glory.... time to make pink and red cards!

a change is gonna come...

usually i sit down at my computer and i know what i want to say when i log in to blogger.com. but as of late, i just find myself forcing to type something halfway interesting. maybe my life has sort of evened out. maybe i'm just good at venting through writing, and then i feel that much better. or maybe i've just found that place... because lately i've found a source of calm and complacence, which makes me smile inside and out. maybe i've begun to find a balance. i think i truly know what it means to work hard and play hard. well, latey i've been playin around too much, but i think i have a good excuse (still sick).

yesterday my good buddy steve came up to visit! =) headed to Q's and while looking for parking in old town pasadena, i got pulled over by a motorcycle cop. i knew i hadn't done anything wrong, so i was really confused. the dood walks up to me and asks for my DL and registration, telling me i hadn't done anything wrong, but that he'd tell me why he pulled me over in a minute. ok. so he comes back and says my lights aren't supposed to be blue. ok. well that was the first time i've ever gotten pulled over for that. even in irvine i got away with it. so wtf? anyway, now i have more money to give to this wonderful city we call LA. i just paid for my stupid parking ticket from santa monica. that's the one where i ran back to my car and i had to stand there and wait for the bitch to finish typing in stuff. she could have stopped. i know she saw me. and when she was done, she had the nerve to ask me, "want to take it or u want me to leave it on your windshield?" she dares to mock me. i hate ppl who are mean for no f@%&$ing reason.

my students are so awesome! =) everytime i go up to do a lesson they clap for me. =) so cute! and then mr. russell goes, "you never clap for me when i teach!" all in good humor. =) i taught them how to write their names in korean today. tomorrow i'm going to teach them how to use chopsticks and read them a story about being open to different cultures. oh yeah, and i'm bringing them korean rickcakes to practice their newfound chopstick skills. we'll see how it fares. i'm turning my watts students into asians! ok, just edumacating them. next week i'ma teach them something academic, like math. yeah...

to go down to SD this weekend or not? that is the question...

i'm at home and i'm sick. =( didn't go to student teaching, didn't go to classes. my body is going on strike and i think i should give it a break. staying home all day can get kinda lonely... but it makes room for a lot reflection time.

sorting out my life...

well, my lesson went well today! =) time to lesson plan for tomorrow... indoctrinating my students on social justice issues. wheee~
oh, and i broke my sunglasses today. my most favorite pair that i've had for the longest time. i sat on them and broke em. =( i don't think i'll find another pair that i'll like as much... plus i'm sick. =(

i guess i'm slowly converting into a morning person. i never thought i'd ever say that. saturday nite a few friends and i went to chinatown Grand Star club for a KIWA benefit. lotsa awesome artists, spoken wordists, u name it. also saw john cho there, which was cool. =) don't think he'd remember me from SDAFF. (i wonder if i will remember what all these acronyms mean years down the line?) at any rate, got some dancing in that nite as well. all for a good cause! didn't get home til about 3. woke up the next morning at 6:15 to get ready for the 5k Firecracker Run. sooooo cold! i ran about 1.5 miles, then got severe cramps. had to sit and rock back and forth, tried to get up and walk a bit more, couldn't make it and sat down on the curb again. a police officer came over and asked if i needed someone to be sent over. i was in a lot of pain (for u men out there, u would never understand!). after sitting for at least 15 min, i continued walking the rest of the way. the first aid ppl finally came, asked if i wanted to ride back, but i wanted to finish it even if it meant walking. so as ngay and i neared the finish line, they announced "and here come the walkers!" so sad!! not only that, but the only wheelchair participant was beating us. it's ok, i made the 5k in less than an hour. go janet!!! ooh, and the best part? we had gooood dim sum... =) afterwards, i came home, napped, and got up to head back to chinatown again. that would make it 3 trips out there in a matter of less than 24 hours. =P cleaned up the former general lee's restaurant (apparently very historic) for a political art collective group. =) then i mingled with friends. and now i'm home and ready to edumacate my students on lunar new year.

happy lunar new year! =)
finally done with saturday health classes!!! just one more cpr class left to go. i'm so exhausted. i can't even count the number of hours of sleep i got last nite. maybe totaled about.. 3? perhaps 4? it's still been over 2 weeks since i've slept any more than 5 hours. i really am wondering how i'm functioning. and tonite goin out for a benefit event. ha! the best way to do it.. clubbing. then get to wake up yet again at an ungodly hour to run the 5k in chinatown. this is definitely be a first. janet is running for a long time.

on a very disheartening note, my thoughts are with the crew of space shuttle Columbia. woke up at 7:30 this morning to discover what had happened. and what's disgusting about some americans? there are already ebay auctions for parts of the shuttle. that disgusts me. it's sick. capitalizing on a severe tragedy?? people are SICK.