costco is great! (albeit a lil evil)

a weekend well spent with my best buddy who was in town. she also got to meet someone very special to me! =) a good weekend indeed. although, i was caught in a dilemma. i have to apologize to a good friend of mine whom i feel like i've turned around on, but certainly not intentionally. trying to keep it vague, but i hope i can somehow make it up to u.

tomorrow marks the first day of my full days of student teaching. the real test begins... being at school all day, everyday. wishing everyone who begins their first day of the quarter tomorrow a good one! =)

Wave to children on the bus.
Leave everything in better condition than you found it.
Do more than is expected.
Be a good loser.
Be a good winner.
Be someone's hero.
Slow dance.
Call your mother.

wow, i must say i'm quite flattered. a random person who doesn't even know me had so many nice things to say. =) through my words alone, he sees me as a trailblazer. i am definitely not the typical girl, nor the typical teacher, nor the typical.. anything. i'm janet, damnit. but i have to share these nice things, because nice things are always nice to hear: =)

"well, i was doing some web research on ucla's teaching program, and ran across one of the teaching education program student's blog. the blog was unique in several ways. one...it's rare to find someone who's consistently blogged for over two years, two years of blogs, that is like an epic, a modern odyssey, a present day war in peace in Internet terms... well you get the message. two... the blog was witty, without trying to be so.
deary me.... reading about TEP, i felt like i was raked through hot coals and then made to run a marathon. it was scary, tiring, and still... exciting! i didn't choose to teach because it was going to be easy. yet, that blog sure was a wake up call."

hehe! i'm witty! luckily this person doesn't know me in real life, otherwise he'd probably choose the term "smart ass" as many of my other friends do... in an endearing way i guess. =p thanx, random person. =)

alrighty, back home and time to recount my florida break...

MONDAY
woke up fairly late and drove out to eat a late breakfast, early lunch. found some random place that had expensive not-so-good food. anton and i shared a "bucket of gulf shrimp"... uh. first of all it wasn't a bucket. secondly, it didn't taste that great. we left about half of it and anton asked if we could somehow return it and pay for just half of it. =) and tha'ts just what we did. so freakin expensive, and we were getting kinda tired of the shrimp too. their tartar sauce was just mayo with little relish pieces or something, and their "side" of potato salad came in one of the puny plastic tubs that usually hold salsa. freakin hilarious. ah well...
we walked around souvenir shopping, and of course i had to have some of florida's famous key lime pie. mmm... quite different from the key lime pies here (which are green). then we went to Smathers Beach, where all the young college folks romp. we rented this huge air-filled raft thing and lounged out in the waters. such a strange beach! no waves, and the bottom of the ocean was covered with sea grass and coral. it felt nasty walking on it. we were much better off on the raft or swimming. the beach was so chill, all these tanned hot bodies roaming around (inspiring me to work out when i return home), people wandering around with alcohol in their hands... anton and i were cleaning the ocean floor of alcoholic beveage containers. such good samaritans we are. o=) as i was scoping out the ocean floor with goggles on, i discovered a school of black sea urchins. that quickly scared the shit out of all my friends. hahahaa... unfortunately, pam had stepped on something sharp early on, but didn't know what it was. we later concluded that it was probably a sea urchin. when we poked and prodded her heel with a needles and tweezers, evidence revealed that it was indeed the point of a sea urchin. poor girl.. but she was alright. with all the girls getting hurt by freakish little animals, i figured i was next in line. but alas, i had avoided any such misfortunes.
after the beach we came back to our hotel and swam in the pool. we did some crazy things with the seat cushions. tried to keep them afloat while i attempted to run across them. makoto tried to explain to us a technique that ninjas use, "that's how ninjas do it!!" hahahaa!!! i will never forget that. makoto says the funniest things!!! =) i love that guy. even though he always somehow manages to physically hurt me in the strangest of ways...
after bumming around, in the evening we tried to make it out to the southernmmost point of the US to catch the sunset. oops. we got there just after it set past the horizon. the sky was still beautiful, and we captured a few photos. that was about it.
that nite, back out to duval street. half of us ate at a seafood buffet with all the stone crab claws one could eat, while the others went to burger king's. we roamed around and bought souvenirs. i couldn't manage to find anything that great, save for a key west shot glass. having eaten to our hearts' content, we resumed to hit up the bars. found an all-you-can-drink for $10 (guys, $5 for girls) and we drank up and got our boogie on. i kind of got.. very inebriated. =/ i don't know how or why. i didn't drink on an empty stomach, and i hardly drank that much. but for some reason that was the most drunk i've ever gotten in public. maybe it was just something in the air, it was spring break, and i was with my buddies. =) anyway, they took care of me cuz i was all woozy. at least i didn't vomit, unlike someone else (anton). =) many of us felt like crap the next morning. i felt bad cuz we didn't stay out as long that nite cuz of me, methinks. but it was also a good thing, cuz we had to wake up at 7 or so to leave for fort lauderdale, as lily had to catch her flight out to new york that afternoon.

TUESDAY
uh. yeah got up real early in the morning. i slept the whole way to fort lauderdale as i had a terribly hangover. when we got back to anton's house, everyone just crashed. while they were passed out, i spent my time on the computer. then i got tired of that and wanted to go out. afterall, it was our last day in florida! but when i went from room to room and saw how peacefully everyone was sleeping, i didn't have the heart to wake em up. so i made my way to an empty couch and dozed off...
when we finally got up, it was nearly dinnertime. anton took us to this italian deli again, where i had another cuban sandwich. =) after some good food we went back to anton's house and.. wait that's not right. ok this is really hard to remember. basically we didn't do much that day. for dinner we ate tuna patty sandwiches that anton's mom's made for us. around 10pm we went to Boomers!, and it happened to be 10 buck tuesday! for 5 extra bux we added on the nascar ride. we played so many video games until 2 am... then came home and crashed. we were pooped.

WEDNESDAY
got up at NOON!!! noon i say!!! all we had time for was packing and eating quickly before we had to make our way to the airport. i was planning on waking up around 8:30 to go to the beach one last time. but that fell through. i did get up, but the sky was overcast and gloomy, so i just went back to sleep. we bid our farewells to one another, and several hours later we saw each other again in LA. our trip was over. =( i'd like to go back again sometime. and i definitely am going to pick up snorkeling as one of my sports. =) florida was truly beautiful.

everyone here is passed out. we just got back from the keys, which i'm sad to have left.

SUNDAY
ok it's really hard to remember. what did we do in the day time? i just know we ate at a reallyyyy good cuban restaurant called Padrino's. i can't believe how good their bread and especially their sangria were. truly. then i think we headed to key largo from there... i know we did more than that, i just can't remember. i'll fill in the gaps later. whatever, i feel like skipping over to key largo anyway. about a 2 hr drive south of anton's home, we arrived in key largo (mile marker 102). we kayaked for an hour at john pennekamp park or something or another. my roomie lily got stung by a baby scorpion that fell out of a mangrove tree which she hit with her kayak. she's ok though. after kayaking, we took a motorboat out about 25 min (8 mi) to the reef. the water was amazingly shallow for being so far out. i had no idea what reefs were like. this was the first time i'd ever got snorkeling, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. seemed like i was watching the discovery channel, only, i was really there. i was so close to touching some of the ocean life. when i first got in the ocean i was panicking, as i was not used to fins nor breathing through my mouth using a strange apparatus. but i quickly got the hang of it and snorkeled all over the reef. =) captured some nice photos, too! can't wait to go again...
after key largo, we made our way out to key west and got comfy in our mildew-reeking hotel room. we walked around Duval St. where all the nightlife is at. went bar-hopping, scoping out the places to hit up the following nite. i got a lil tipsy, but nothing like the following nite...

ok i'm tired and i can't think. i'm going to wake up everyone else so we can actually do something on our last full day in florida.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY
we left for LAX on thursday nite at 9pm. our flight was at 10pm. smart. the traffic was... well, use your imagination. with the heightened security and whatnot, LAX was one of the last places anyone would want to be. luckily, makoto's dad drove us there in his van, and since he works there everyday, he knew the fasted route to get there. but DAYAM, checking in luggage took years, then at the metal detectors davy got searched forever. they pulled him aside and everything on him was setting off the trigger. his hat, his belt area, his armpits, his shoes... =/ curious. they finally let him go and we ran to the boarding gate. we just barely made it on...
our red-eye flight brought us to philly (yes, huge detour but that's what we got for the price we paid, no complaints here!) at about 6:30am ET. desperately wanted a philly cheesesteak, but we were only at the terminal for about 15 min. we found ourselves in fort lauderdale at about 9:30am with anton and makoto there to greet us. =) we were all together in florida...
hopped in our minivan rental and headed to anton's house in boca raton, where i have discovered is heavilyyyy populated with retired old white people who drive very very slowly. once we all arrived, we ate and napped, except anton, makoto, and myself. the 3 of us went east to the local beach and played! =) of course, i love hearing things like, "be careful guys, that blue balloon looking thing there is a portuguese man-o-war." uh. yay. i'm already scared of seaweed, let alone stinging sea animals. painfully alert the entire time, makoto and i were humoring ourselves and had a mini-game where we would try to search for the largest shell by swimming underwater. the water is sooo clean here in florida. so while playing this little game of ours, without warning i hear makoto yell "ahhhh!!!!" as he frantically began swimming towards the shore. my instinctive reaction? don't ask what, just swim the hell away. when we finally made some distance and had time to breathe, i ask makoto if he's alright and what had happened. he shouts, "i saw something bright orange! i think it was an orange turtle!!" "...." ¬_¬ an orange turtle. and this whole time i was thinking he got stung by a jellyfish or a sting ray was attacking him. but understandably, he associated bright colors with poisonous animals. we all made it back in one piece.
for lunch we ate at a superb italian deli where i had a cuban sandwich. mmmm =) then, with everyone finally awake, we browsed the local mall. had dinner at a place called Boston's which had some goooood food by Delray beach. some old dood was providing live entertainment. he sang the star-spangled banner and everyone in the restaurant was singing with him. =/ again, lotsa old white ppl. afterwards, to coconut grove in miami. THAT is nightlife. we went from club to club drinking, but didn't really dance. i got interrogated because of my license. the bouncer asked me at least 10 questions before he finally let me in. i swear i look exactly like my picture. i was even wearing the same black tank top i think. at any rate, probably the asian thing. we're just a little bit noticeable as the only group of asians around. some dood asked me if i was chinese. then if i was japanese. then where i came from. and that he has a chinese friend who was supposed to come out with him that nite. ok. good for him? *roll eyes* we came home at 4am and i passed out real quick. had quite a bit to drink that day.

SATURDAY
i was the first one up cuz i guess i'm used to not sleeping much. talked with anton's mom for a bit, ate breakfast, makoto got up not long afterwards. then ppl slowly began getting up. actually, it was just makoto, anton, and me again. the 3 of us went to the fish market and bought ourselves stone crab claws and oysters. i've been eating way too much here. cuz then i ate more of anton's mom's porridge. and i'm in the habit of eating others' leftovers, or just mooching off of them entirely. =P we went to the Everglades where we took an airboat tour for $25. saw lotsa wildlife and about 3 crocodiles. we took plenty of pictures and camera footage, so i hope they came out good! for dinner we ate at a cuban restaurant where i seriously could not get enough of their sangria. i've never had such good sangria in my life. ever. i mean, it was seriously good. i can't say that for too many alcoholic drinks. oh, and skyy blue, i've discovered, is also reallyyyy good. i'm not turning into an alchie. but alas... we're hittin up south beach tonite, where the parties and ppl our age are at. i feel pretty skanked out in what i'm wearing, but it's damn hot and humid here....

i have a classmate whose mother sent him a gas mask which he carries around with him now. i thought that was hilarious. he said he thought it was funny at first, but that if we thought about it, it's a really good investment. it's the most searched item on the internet, he informs me. so he's not the only paranoid one. right. his mother also sent him some sort of sealant for windows and the such, so that he can gas-proof his home in case of a chemical warfare. good for him! so when all of us are dead from inhaling all sortsa fatal chemicals, he and his family will be alive and well.

soooo... FLORIDA~! i leave tonite at 10pm tonite!!! i'm soooo excited. =) how could i not be? get to spend time with my buddies whom i always always miss since they're in SD. and this will be one of the last opportunities that we'll be able to go on a trip such as this, what with us going to grad schools, into the work force, moving away... it'll be hard to coordinate in terms of time and timing. i can't wait!!! =) in the words of my friend anton, who will be playing host/guide to us as he is a native floridian:

"I won't tell you any more about the planned itinerary because I want to save it for a later post. Just know that you will be insanely jealous, to the point where random passersby will ask you if you have jaundice because you are so green with envy."

wishing everyone else who has spring break a wonderful and safe one!

why don't we worry about the shit that goes on in our own country before we try to police the world??
yesterday morning when i arrived at my school, one of my 5th graders came up to me and hugged me. she seemed bothered, definitely not herself. i asked her if she was alright, and the whole time she was avoiding eye contact with me and just talking to me while staring off elsewhere. she wasn't being rude, she just seemed preoccupied with other thoughts. i had to make photocopies, so i told her i'd see her later. she kinda looked like she had been crying too.
i found out today that one of my former 5th grade student's brother had been shot yesterday. THAT was what was wrong. classloads of students were crying yesterday, but my 2nd graders didn't know, so they were not acting any differently. i don't know how he is handling it, and the 5th graders are strong. but at the same time they're kids. how do kids deal with something like this?? on a regular basis??

it's for certain, we'll be going to war this week. my students are afraid. they say they want to move to another country. why is this stupid greedy war happening?!?! why is our president a chronic liar?? on monday nite, 3 of my teammates and i went to a candlelight peace vigil on the busy corner of wilshire and federal, in front of the federal building. it was amazing to see how many ppl came out for it. the entire street was just lined with hundreds of people. countless cars in support of us honked and gave us encouraging gestures... while there were those few who boo'ed and whatnot. i think someone shouted "commies!" once. anyway, stupid war bs.

so many insightful things occur during student teaching. i have much more interaction and teaching time with this placement than i did my first. tomorrow i'll be taking over the entire first half of the day, with the official sub helpin out. my student trip me out everyday. =) went back to torrance to see my family in the afternoon and evening. ran a billion errands and got a lot done, at least! now have to focus on lesson plans and getting ready for my spring break trip to FLORIDA! helloOooOOo~ miami, south beach, key west...

ahhh!!!! nothing else like hearing one of your students say something like this...

[vivi]: hey janet.....its vivi.....guess waht??
[vivi]: me n nijhal got accepted to UCLA!!!!!!
[vivi]: haha....just wanted to let u know!

[nijhal]: hey Janet! i know you're not in your desk right now..i just wanted to let you know that i got accepted to UCLA..i really appreciate all your help, especially in my personal statement..thank you so much...i'm very happy i got in the school of my dreams :-), i'll see you there soon!! thanks again!!

students i've known for 2 1/2 years who come from the imperial valley, where a very low percentage of students go on to post-secondary education. they're both exceptional individuals, and i truly had no doubt in my mind that they would make it. =) congrats to my upward bound students...

been a bit MIA again...

well.. i'm done with classes. no finals during finals week because we finished them all during 9th and 10th weeks. eat your hearts out, undergrads. =) this quarter was such a disappointment, academically. i have so much i could say about this...

at any rate, i shall recap some of the highlights of the latter part of this week (aside from student teaching, which is always exciting!). wednesday was the last day of classes, had lunch with a friend i hadn't seen a while on thursday, then went out to chinatown to help benji with his classroom, and friday afternoon was the bullshit TEP Curriculum meeting during which a personal attack was made against me by the director of the program. for sure i'm on her shit list now. after that extremely frustrating meeting, ngay and i drove to benji's last lecture but we only made it to the last half hour (took well over an hour to get there). gotta love LA traffic. =p then we teacher folks, including ernest and laurence, all ate at sam woo cafe in chinatown. afterwards, they two of them wanted to watch The Ring, but benji and i bounced. i don't know if i can watch it again. =P

the next day, got up late! it was sooooo nice. =) what did i eat for lunch? i've been eating really well the past two weeks. so much for trying to get in shape for florida. that plan went completely out the window. for lunch.. oh yes! lotsa free food at the Chinese American Museum opening, and then real, fresh taquitos con guacamole. mmmm.... olvera street is the place to go. =) benji and i picked up his students in front of castelar and caravanned to olvera street. they had their moment of glory, and they were excited to see their work as well as themselves up in the gallery. =) oh, and they certainly got their fill of free food.. namely the cake. O_O like they needed more sugar. then to a bday house party, where the main entertainment was karaoke. a very heterogenous mix of ppl, which is always nice to see.

lately i've been so fatigued, and i don't know why. it's not like i'm sleepy or tired, but just fatigued. i've never just passed out on the ride back from student teaching before, but i've already done it twice. it's not like it's that long of a drive. i wonder what's up. =/

i haven't had much time to blog about the weekend. but now is my time. let's see... i drove down to SD on my own on friday nite. sort of uneconomical considering so many apsa heads were rollin down to SD that weekend from LA. but alas, schedules are not always so easy to work out. and with these gas prices... =P at any rate, crashed at my old roomies' house, but not without drinking some (house of sin!!!) and playing foosball and cards. i actually ended up staying up for a while, past 3 for sure. maybe past 4, i can't recall. but on sunday i got up at 8:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. finished my laundry and bummed around and eventually got ready. had a big feast with my friends at Pat and Oscar's in mission valley for FREE~!!!! our friend jenelle works there and comped our meal. it was a huge lunch. =P baby back ribs, lemon chicken, ceasar salad, breadsticks galore, potato wedges, drinks... i ate well. and eating well makes me happy damnit. afterwards, i went to UTC and returned a shirt from hollister. pam was gonna buy all these clothes, and a friend of mine, jeremy, ran into me.. who worked there. so he hooked me up with my two items, and hooked her up with her 5 gazillion pairs of shorts and tops. i shoulda maybe have bought more. =/ oh well. =) maybe next time.

i also finally got to visit my former tutees!! i hadn't seen them since i started school at ucla!!! it's been soooo long. and lil dale is NOT so little anymore. the little 3rd grader i used to know is a 4'11'' 6th grader. and his 11th gr. brother is now licensed to drive and has a spiffy jeep. they grow up so fast!!! =*( after visiting them for all of 30 min, i battled my way through good ol' la jolla traffic to meet up with benji for dinner. it was so weird being in SD with him, what with our LA lives and all. but it was cool at the same time, for lack of a better word. =) ate szechuan food and arrived at talent show a good 30 min past 7. only missed one or two acts. good ol apsa time. we got nice VIP seats up by the front. close enough to see the signs that undergrads flashed during the skit!!! "bring it on, alumni! you're goin down!" smack talkin while they had the stage. how cheap was that?? it was pretty funny though.. i had a great time. kinda disappointed that a huge ass dance troupe placed AGAIN this year. the bhangra team should have placed instead. originality, anyone? shoot, lemme be a judge next year!! ya hear me, apsa?? after the show, we got our bootie on. and then to keith's to pig out. more smack talkin. david tran ate some of my omelette after i left. teehee!! i know about it!

sunday: alumni/undergrad sports day. a day that will live in infamy.
round 1: soccer. of course when the game starts, it's all girls (and mikekim) standing on the alum sidelines. =/ *shakes head* but i guess i didn't have to wait too long to get in. after running back and forth and tiring myself out, the game ended in a tie. down to shootouts. benji definitely put up a good fight as goalie. but damn that undergrad goalie rejected those kicks! he's a ringer. it's a term i just learned. it's someone who is not part of an org but just comes out to put the smack down in sports. damn ringers! round 2: b-ball. i'm definitely better at D. i didn't score a single basket. we lost, but not by much. it was a good game and good fun! the boys' game, however, was a different story. seriously, TOO MUCH TESTOSTERONE on that court! all no-playin-around game faces. geesh. alumni lost that too, but not by much. round 3: football. i was so pissed off. as D, i tagged at least 4 ppl the whole game, doin my thing. but when we were offense... completely different story. freakin boys!!! makin plays withouth girls, just throwin it among themselves. telling us "good job ladies, good job ladies" "ladies stay short." um. yeah. the whole game they threw it to 2 girls, who didn't complete the passes. i'm sure that helped reinforced the steretypes they already had. and me? i just kept running the same play they told me to do, always open. but alas, i was invisible to the boys. cuz i'ma lady. and i did a good job. i was sooo angry!! even undergrads noticed the gender dynamics goin on on our side. undergrads, gotta hand it to ya. u guys played respectfully, and i liked the way u treated one another. =) props to u. overall though, i had a wonderful day of sun and sports. it was sooo nice to see so many ppl that i missed. =)

after talent show, a bunch of undergrads went to an all-u-can-eat brazilian rib place, rei do gado's. 25 bux a pop! had to pass. instead, many of us alums hit up sam woo and ate to our hearts' content. then back to LA we went. i must say, i've been forewarned not to underestimate the power of apsa gossip spread, but dang. word gets around quick. apsa, man... can't live with it, can't live without it. it's all love... =)

student teaching is going really great. i love speaking spanish with the students, and my guiding teacher really has a lot of trust in me. she's very open to my ideas and is so welcoming. =) makes it very easy for me to do my thing. i've got a few ideas i'd like to throw her way. yesterday i played hooky with another teacher. hehe, we teachers ditch too! but we got a lot done, including teacher-like things. so it wasn't all fun and games. yesterday was nice. today was cool too. last day of classes for the quarter!! still a few more little assignments left, but that about it. *yawn* i sleepy....

teeheehee!! want a great laugh? brace yourself: CLICK ME

a great day of student teaching =)

and now, on my way down to SD! get to see my buddies, esp. those i haven't seen in a long while, gonna check out and support APSA Talent Show, and then do some serious schoolin' at APSA Alumni vs. Undergrad sports day on sunday. =) this will be a wonderful weekend, no doubt.... i miss y'all. =*)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and a safe trip, TO MY BUDDY STEVE! who turned a young twenty.... i'll refrain. =) he's still young.
student teaching is going really really great. all my students are low-level ELL and spanish-speakers. i get to utilize my spanish, which is really good for me. plus the students always trip out when they find out i can speak in spanish. many of them are extraordinarily intrigued with my being korean too. they want to hear me speak it, they want to learn some words, they want me to write their names in korean, one girl asked me to write down her phone number... i'm like..?!?! so u can just call me?? kids are strange. i taught for maybe a total of and hour and a half today, taught yesterday a bit, and the day before that. it's going well! need to be more strict and put my foot down. but i'm really glad that my guiding teacher is so willing to just throw me in there, starting with just the 2nd day i was there. it's awesome. =)

and the smack talking ensues....
doRkYjaNeT: is there a dance afterwards?
[ian]: haha.. YES!
doRkYjaNeT: ok i coudn't remember
[ian]: haha... memory problems arleady?
[ian]: do old people still dance?
[ian]: :-P
doRkYjaNeT: oooohh.... that's it. NO MERCY whatsoever on sunday....
[ian]: muahahahahahaha
[ian]: you can send that to all your alumni buddies :-D

come this sunday, it's ON... alums will reign on apsa alumni vs. undergrad sports day!!!

the silence is broken. finally fixed my stereo. it was the fuse. checked 3 other fuses before my brother and i finally found the one that was out. my friends were right. SOOO easy to fix/replace, and sooo cheap. i bought an assortment of 5 different amps of fuses for 3 bux. they don't sell 'em individually. anyway, thanx to my sooper bro for helping me. =) i really need to take an auto mechanic class of some sort. i hate not knowing about seemingly simple things. when i hear "fuse" i think of a bunch of wires. i thought i'd be having to do some serious wire cutting action and whatnot. clueless janet.

i learned something in school today: there is this species of mosquitos that lay their eggs inside a certain type of caterpillar. and the larvae hatch inside, and these little white cacoons sprout out all over the caterpillar's body. and the larvae eat up the insides of the caterpillar. when the larve hatch and leave, the caterpillar is just.. an empty shell pretty much and dies soon afterward. =)

something that made me laugh today: while reading with a student about popcorn, she read, "puffy fluffies" instead of "puffy fluffs." this may not be funny to u but as soon as she said it i cracked up. i felt bad cuz i think she thought i was laughing AT her reading, cuz she just looked at me like "?" then i said, "no no, it was just cute. read it carefully, it's not 'puffies' but..." teehee. and later while at my mom's store i just busted out laughing out of nowhere cuz i thought of that. i can't help but laugh at all the funny stuff that kids do and say. =) i'ma love my job for the rest of my life, for sure.

i'm sore everywhere. that's what 2 full days of boarding will do to ya. davy, jason gan, mike yee and i rolled up to mammoth on friday nite to mike's uncle's cabin. (thanx, mike! it's a very nice cabin. i'm jealous...) it snowed pretty much the whole day on saturday, and visibility wasn't too great on the slopes, kinda hard to read the terrain. still, the snow conditions were pretty good (still somewhat hard-packed). i got away with a 2-day teen price lift ticket, saved myself at least $30. and no, i don't feel bad about "ripping off" a huge capitalistic corporation. at the end of the day they gave away free hot chocolate and new balance bars. davy got, what, 4 cups? we just all camped out next to the stand and kept drinking hot chocolate =) after boarding we relaxed in the hot tub and sauna, and went out to mammoth bar & grill and had our fill of food and drinks. good times. i ate a lot of sugar.

and sunday... sunday was a most beautiful day. =) not a cloud in the sky, barely any wind... the entire mountain was our playground. saturday was more of a freeriding day, but sunday was all about parks. took a few hard spills, but it was all worth it. went off my first cliff/rock type deal. freakin scary. seems suicidal as u approach the edge.. definitely a rush. i had so much fun at mammoth!!! i'm glad i went. =) i miss kickin it with the boys, and we all push each other. that was the first time we went with just the 4 of us, and we're all about the same level, so no waiting around (i'm impatient in that sense, i'll admit it). wonder if i'll get in any more boarding this season...?

and today was my first day of student teaching with my new 2nd grade class. i'm still at the same school, so i'll be able to see my old students. yay~ =) my group for my african-american language/culture class kicked ass on our final presentation today. today was a good day. this weekend was a good weekend. how was yours?