yay, testing season for public schools. joy~

UCLA TEP needs a big ass slap in the face.

time to cool down and be happy again with good company. =) then off to SD i go for yet another surely adventurous weekend!

my stomach is hurting a lot. and i have a swollen, blue finger. i'm broken. =(

tomorrow is the long-awaited TEP Curriculum meeting where I will come face-to-face, yet again, with the Director of TEP who hates my guts. whatever. i'm going to speak my mind again. not like i'm going to get kicked out for it. she can hate me some more. if only she could just freakin get it through her thick skull that i'm only voicing my concerns because i give a damn about the program and its mission.

tomorrow nite i'm also headed down to SD... again. SIORC All People's Leadership Conference (their first annual!!! yayyy!!!) on Saturday, April 26 all day. so if anyone can make it, just show up bright and early at the UCSD Price Center! any and all help is always appreciated. they really put me to work, and i'm only a lowly alumna. facilitating all day, then during workshops i'm also facilitating, and then i perform in the evening. =p ahh~ the good ol' days of running around doing everything at once. =) how i do fondly miss them...

for your enjoyment: WATCH ME

student teaching today wasn't too eventful. i need to do some serious creative action here... my students were kinda spaced out today.
on a good note, i got a second interview with the principal this time around at MacArthur Park Primary Center, the school with a social justice agenda and practices full inclusion of students with special needs. =) monday at 11:30am. keep your fingers crossed for me!

one dollar (tha'ts $1.00!!) BOBA at lollicup =)
click to print coupon! ---> http://www.lollicup.com/bobame/

u'r looking at (or reading about) one of the newest hires of LAUSD teachers. =) friday morning i signed the district contract. now all i gotta do is find a school to teach at... and that wants me. doodoo doo... i really wonder where i'll end up teaching. how exciting! i hope i choose a school that is supportive. that's what's most important. in terms of grade level, i'm pretty flexible. i think, though, that i still prefer upper elementary. gosh, the anticipation...! any wagers on what grade i'll have? and what area i'll be in? hmm...

man this weekend was quite relaxing, yet i feel like i did a lot. friday morning i had my district interview. i sat down and talked for probably not even 10 minutes and they already put the contract in front of me. the power of having the UCLA label. =/ kinda sad. then benji picked me up straight from campus and we headed to SD. on the way down, we stopped over in san onofre and went to the beach (yes, right next to the nuclear power plant). as i've been spoiled by the warm waters of florida, i could not go in the ocean cuz it was freezing. instead, i just tanned. after roasting in the sun, we paid a visit to UCSD, our alma mater. ran into a bunch of familiar faces, but were also greeted by unfamiliar ones in the SAAC lounge. times are a'changin... then, we drove down to mission valley, got snacks at target and i got cheap shoes at sport chalet. =) met up with reggie, mayrin, and steph for dinner at outback steakhouse. i never really made the connection that it was australian, until i saw the menu. duh, "outback." after dinner, we said our hellos to apsa-ers as they rushed into amc theatres to catch better luck tomorrow. i would have watched it with them, only, if i did that would be my 3rd time watching it. i wanna support and all, but i also wanna hang onto sanity. we made plans to meet up with the apsa heads after the movie, but they all bailed!! =( young'uns aren't supposed to get tired! but it's all good. benji and i found ways to have our own fun (no, don't think dirty). hit up dave & buster's and ran amuck like kids in an amusement park... except kids probably wouldn't have a pear cider in their hands.

saturday morning we met up with alex monty for breakfast at IHOP. alex, you're such a considerate person. =) and congrats on graduating!!! after the filling breakfast, we rolled over to CSL dj store to pick up mixers. then drove down to national city to drop off a mixer to benji's friend. his mom made really good arroz con leche. =) finally headed back up to LA, where we rested a bit then got ready for the asian hip hop summit. this post is not terribly exciting but i wanna remember this, so bear with me! the event was good, and a handful of my friends came out to support dj ultraman. unfortunately, the event wasn't too well-coordinated -- major sound problems, and schedule was pushed back. benji only ended up spinning for the mc battles. ran into friends i hadn't seen in a while! =) that was nice.

this morning we played bball with some friends, and i jammed my freakin right index finger. it's very hard to type. ouch. ouch. alright, now it's time to get some work done and land myself a career position. bustin out the cover letters...

if u guys ever get a fix-it ticket, take it to CHP. they check it off for free. they didn't even inspect my car. they just asked, "so did u change the blue headlights?" and i said "yes" and he signed it. ookk. so that was wednesday. i have no idea what i did all day. it was just yesterday, too. my memory is shot. today i got up hella early to drive out to pasadena to pay my fix-it ticket. i was not happy. to make a long story short, i got an extension cuz janet is a lagger like that and today was the day the payment was due. i'm going to contest it. i hope the judge thinks i'm cute.

as i was driving all over LA county freaking out about my district interview i had later on that day at 11:30am, i decided to try to call and reschedule my apppointment in my desperation. i didn't have any of the paperwork they would be needing from me. the office of student services was NO HELP!!! and i looked EVERYWHERE in my apartment for these very important papers. but yes, i called and was able to change my interview time. that meant.. go to parents' home and look in boxes in garage for those papers. well, i looked through all my boxes, and of course i found it in the last box i checked. thank goodness though. i would have been entirely screwed. so now i got all the necessary paperwork and some temporary letters of rec to use in the meantime, and i made photocopies. woohoo! i'm ready for this interview tomorrow.

hey SD peeps, i'ma be in town! for one day tomorrow (friday). gimme a call, or i'll have my ppl call your ppl and we'll do... something. =)

mmm.. yesterday was such a nice day. =) spent all day just relaxing and chillin. ooh, except for in the morning. i had my first career interview! it went alright. in retrospect, i could have done better in that i should have asserted myself more (lots of stiff ucla competition. they all wanna hop on board at this school, and for obvious reasons), and i should not have rambled on and on about the things they asked me about. oh well, i'll consider it practice for future interviews. i have one this thursday with LAUSD (have to be hired by the district and the school).

two teachers taking full advantage of LAUSD Spring Break (traditional calendar): ate a good lunch in k-town at Olympic Noodle (in korean "kal-gook-soo"). i haven't eaten there in so long. apparently the owners know me, but i don' t think they recognized me. lots of ppl who knew me when i was younger only recognize me when i'm with my mom. i think they forget how much i've actually grown. later, benji and i went to fry's and then to my hometown. got my ego crushed in all the video games i was losing in. half the games in the arcade we went to were broken. actually, there was something wrong with almost all the games we played. grrr... then we both got facials from my mommy! =) i didn't realize how much of a child i revert to when i'm with my mom... hehe. for dinner we ate some good cuban food, but it wasn't as good as cuban food in florida. still good stuff! and i did not order sangria this time around.

this morning i watched teletubbies. i must admit at first i was horribly frightened by them. but i watched one full episode for the first time, and they're not all bad. actually, they crack me up. they do the FUNNIEST dances. and they're really random. and u know me. i'm all about funny and random. ;)

something not so funny is taxes. how i hate them. next year i'll have to hire someone to help me, cuz i'll have a real income and write-offs and i have no idea what else. i'm glad i got them over with. time to read a bit and then off to my 3 hr long special ed class. and then spoken word! =) jen, do u perform at tuesday nite?

ever think u'r doin the right thing, and u just think that maybe u should stop doing that right thing? i don't keep empty promises, so when a friend says to only call for one reason and never to call for any other reason, i held to it. that one reason has never come up, so i'm not allowed to call. but when that friend calls u to tell u that someone has possibly died, and never gives u a follow-up fone call, it's not cool. does that mean i'm allowed to call, that i won't be breaking that intial promise? because i find out through other ways that that someone has not passed away, which is a major major deal. and this whole time i'm thinkin... i'm waiting for this follow-up fone call cuz i worry. with the passing of this person, will my friend be ok? and u think this friend's life is torn apart because of such an event, but u hear that this friend is doin just fine, and that their friend is alive and well. that's not cool. so what is a girl to do?

alright.. what did i do friday? oh yes, i took the day off from teaching. i wrote my working Philosophy of Education in the morning, which i'm content with because it summarizes many of my pedagogical beliefs. then i napped, though i should have been studying for the RICA (Reading Instruction Competency Assessment, have to pass it in order to get my credential). then went to UCLA career center for the LAUSD recruitment fair of some sort. representatives from our local partnership districts came and basically showcased and glorified their respective districts, trying to convince us to work with them. man, they just look at us as these magnificent UCLA, professional clear CLAD credentialed teachers to be had. they really want us bad. kinda scary. anyhoo, friday nite i went somewhere. where'd i go? dinner.. oh yes dinner with benji. where did we eat? oh yes, KIWA (korean immigrant workers advocates) anniversary dinner. so nice to finally see politically active koreans up in here! when we got back to my place i figured, since it was nearly 11 i owed it to myself to at least BEGIN studying for the freakin RICA. so i studied for about an hour and was sleepy in no time. (need i remind u, i need to pass this test for my credential. let me also remind u, i am still quite the procrastinator).

saturday morning.. got up a little later than expected. i studied for the RICA for almost 4 hours. my eyeballs were going to fall out i was reading so much. then liz picked me up and we went to take our 4-hour long test at LA High School. hehe.. all those teachers. crazy... i probably looked like one of the high school kids. that would have been interesting if someone stopped me and said something like "this isn't the SAT." yes, i have random thoughts. so i'm sitting there taking this reading test, and each question is like 10 sentences long and each answer choice is freakin long too, and there are 70 multiple choice questions and 5 essays. about 4 pages into the test, my brain goes on strike. i'm reading the same damn thing over and over and none of the information was processing. i gave myself little refreshers by napping and drawing, but i really needed like an hour break from reading. i had been reading non-stop since that morning. that's why u DO NOT cram from reading tests the morning of. it took me soooo much longer to take that test than it would have had i not overloaded myself that morning. my brain just didn't want to read and decode the hundreds and hundreds of words i was reading. would have been nice to have a math section as a refresher. too bad it was a 4 hour reading test!!!! i better have passed. i'm not taking that again.

finished at 6pm, after my brain was completely fried, benji and i went to have dinner with some ooolllddd schhhoooll ucsd apsa heads. ppl from 3, 4 generations ago, hitting 30 years of age... mid-late 20s... and then there was me. the youngest generation in her early 20s. that's a decade of apsa history right there. made me think a lot. had a very cultural experience eating Ethiopian food for the first time, also. sitting there, we realized what a bunch of educated folk were sitting there at the table. everyone of us has (or is getting) our post-bachelors degree. that's pretty dope. =) and we're all passionate about what we're doing. being around such good ppl was nice. =) being respected is nice. being taken care of is nice. being happy is up there too. =)

my buddy is up here from SD. =) time to go out.

i definitely think my sickness was the 24-hr flu. never got it before, but it only lasted a day and hit me real hard. i'm only recovering from it now (just some congestion). in other news, i taught all day again yesterday. my students were great the first half of the day, but the second part was certainly harder. i always wrap up how the day went at the end, and so they could tell u "before lunch it was a good day, after lunch it was a bad day." i didn't even use the term "bad," but maybe it's just easier for them to remember. i want them to be able to reflect on the things they did, the work that they got done (or didn't get done), how they treated one another, and so forth. i think they know. and no matter how frustrating it can sometimes get, i know my students love me, even the ones that are most unruly and i have to talk very seriously with. =) they're always giving me stickers, and at the end of the day they'll give me letters and pictures that say "to the good teacher," "to ms. lee, the coolest in our neighborhood" (making use of their vocab words!) and "to ms. lee, the best teacher." although, to them, everyone is the best teacher, it still shows how much they do appreciate my being there. and they know i am there because i want them to learn. and no matter how frustrating it does get, i find that at the end of the day, i still have a huge smile on my face.

today i'm taking the day off, not only from exhaustion, but i need time for myself. i've given myself zero hours to study for the RICA, which is a test i must pass TOMORROW in order to get my credential. yes, janet and procrastination go hand in hand. not only that but i've got my Philosophy of Education paper to write by today as well. and i only have half the day to do it, because at 3 i have to go to an LAUSD District Orientation where we'll be meeting and greeting administrators for job placements. then afterwards, KIWA dinner. yesterday afternoon was also a very interesting time. LAUSD Local District I had a reception, but it turned out to be a freakin recruitment fair. i felt like a slab of UCLA meat. they just wanted us because of our UCLA label. we'll all be coming out of there with our Professional Clear Credential and a social justice agenda (how untrue the latter part is). they brought out stacks of early contracts for us to sign. they didn't even care to really get to know us. they just wanted to hire us right then and there, so they could get first dibs on us. man i sure felt reduced. i've heard a lot of talk about how much LAUSD wanted us, but wow... i really felt it yesterday. needless to say i didn't sign a contract, nor did many others. i have yet to discover where my calling is, and i owe it to myself to give myself the time and space to figure it out.

doRkYjaNeT: hey buddy i'm about to shower and stuff
[aldrin]: k we can talk in there
doRkYjaNeT: hahahhahaaa

[phil]: you haven't showered yet
doRkYjaNeT: no i've been sittign ehre
[phil]: no wonder this conversation stinks
doRkYjaNeT: O_O
doRkYjaNeT: :'(
[phil]: yeah, that was bad

i never realized such a simple comment about showering could warrant such interesting IM conversations.

taught all day today after being horribly sick yesterday. must have been a 24-hr flu type thing. sickness has never hit me that hard so quickly before. today wasn't that great of a day. my students are feeling the spring break fever, i think. talked to my guiding teacher tonite and found out she'll be out tomorrow as well. another full day of teaching ahead of me... and i get to lesson plan for the entire day. mmm... tomorrow will definitely be something to write about. oh yeah, for the first time ever one of my students called me "mean" today. i'm mean!! and why? it's sooo funny. i'm mean cuz i didn't call on her when she had her hand raised. she wanted to give the answer. and she was crying because of it. man, second graders. so i had a talk to them about how i try to call on everyone, and that i try to be fair. so sometimes when they have their hands raised, they might not get called on. honestly. ok time to prep for tomorrow...

as an asian-american in the struggle, i need to promote this film Better Luck Tomorrow, a film my Justin Lin. it's the first asian-american movie with an all asian-american cast to make the kind of waves it has been making, which includes being picked up by MTV film. i watched it in october at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and i've been pleased to hear the kind of progress it's been making in the industry. so, for those of you who want to catch history in the making (and help history along), catch the movie. it'll be worth your time. it's playing here and there at certain AMC theatres, so just look it up. DO IT DO IT!

why is it so important to go this weekend? in the words of my friend steve:
[steve]: based on the first 3 weekends, this will determine if this movie goes national
[steve]: or, at least, if it expands, to eventually hit national
[steve]: can you... just link it to my site? (go to his site, he has lotsa reasons why u should watch it, including rave reviews)

the school i'm interviewing for on monday...
MacArthur Park Primary Center
MacArthur is a full inclusion school serving children in the Pico-Union area, west of downtown Los Angeles. The school focus is student-centered, with collaboration as the key to success. We are seeking individuals who embody a social justice agenda and strongly believe all students with disabilities can be successfully integrated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent possible, in an urban school setting.

i just mailed in a letter of interest (aka cover letter, i suppose) and my resume several weeks ago. i figured they wouldn't call me because i didn't really make the piece of mail presentable. i printed both the letter and the resume on plain white printer paper, and the only envelope i had was plain white business size that was crinkled. it looked pretty bad, but whatever. obviously it didn't matter =) i got myself into the interview. now i just gotta work my magic there. ooh, but first i need to put together a portfolio...

so busy... haven't been home long enough to just sit down and chill. let's see... last week was definitely a frustrating week so far as teaching is concerned. my students fight and tattle and cry so often!! it's extremely trying to teach them content when we can't work through their emotions and self-control first. something that i knew, but something that i realize is even more important than i had thought previously. on friday afternoon and saturday morning, a few fellow student teachers and i went to the AEMP Conference (Academic English Mastery Program). we got to go free as pretend-real teachers (shh). my school is cool like that. i got to know the teachers at 99th a little better, and i learned some valuable information that i can take with me into teaching. a very well-organized conference with good food at the LAX Marriott. good stuff. =)

saturday i went down to san diego to accompany a certain someone who had to pick up several G's worth of DJ equipment. so if i didn't ring u up even though i was in town, it wasn't a personal thing! i didn't drive and it wasn't my agenda, and i didn't want to be chauffeured around. we took care of business and made rounds to make some visits. planned to go out that nite but we sorta passed out. i was exhausted cuz i didn't do much that day, mentally nor physically.

sunday, however, was a beautiful day in san diego! we decided to go kayaking at mission bay. haven't been there in so long, and i do miss kayaking. we had fun outside, yay! i love exercise that's not repetitive or restrictive. i never really realized it until my friends pointed out to me that i like outdoor sports. hmm... snowboarding, rock climbing (well, i do indoor), kayaking, rowing, hiking, haven't body boarded in a while... these sports don't have man-made lines to restrict the boundaries of the game. maybe that's why i feel so free when i'm doing these activities. i can make up any path, i can go in whichever direction i choose (granted that i don't fall off cliffs and whatnot). while i do enjoy the other popular televised sports, my preferences are the aforementioned. maybe that says something about me. i can't feel restricted...
my mom is funny. =) i love my family.

yesterday i had a sub that was very cooperative about giving me my space. in previous experiences, subs would have a power trip and have a "who the hell are u?" type of attitude towards me just cuz i'm the student teacher. even though it was planned out that i would teach the whole day, they would try to take over. but this sub was awesome. basically, she got paid to watch me (i heard subs make a good chunk of money in a day). so maybe i'm exaggerating just a little. but she really just stepped back and helped students one-on-one when they needed it. she never got up in front of the class to say things to them. i did the teaching, the regulating, the deciding... i truly felt like i was THE teacher that day, and she was my TA. i felt i handled situations well as they arose, and i felt that i actually taught them many things. =) i wasn't counting down to 2:30 like i had on thursday. yes.. thursday. when my teacher ok'd it with the principal and vice principal to leave me completely alone the last hour and half of school. that day was madness. broke up fights, didn't know where students were, i was counting down to 2:30, and felt relieved when they left for home. i don't like that feeling. i shouldn't feel that way. on friday, neighboring teacher mr. kingsbury thought it would be a good idea to leave me alone with no lesson plan or anything for about half an hour. he convinced my guiding teacher to leave me be, and i had to wing everything. i must say, i felt i was able to stand my ground. but when they returned, i gave the two of them this knowing smile and a face that told them "ooh, u guys are messed up..." at any rate, yesterday was a great day in teaching. =)

but i guess it drained my body, or something. i started feeling a sore throat come on towards the latter part of the day yesterday. then in the evening, it really hit me hard. i feel horrible now, and so i'm taking the day off. i don't know what happened, but usually i don't get so sick so quickly. i have lots of work to get done, so i guess that's what i'll do while i'm home. ooh!! and for the first time ever, my brother is going to have lunch with me up here in LA! =) i'm so happy. =) i love my brother. i came home this morning to find a message on my answering machine. i got asked for an interview at a one-of-a-kind school i'm very interested in. that will be this monday! i'm starting to feel nervous about it. my first interview for a career position! how trippy is that? i'm getting older... what do i need to bring with me? what do i say, what do i wear? time to do some serious researching. and this saturday i have the RICA, a major test that i MUST pass for my credential. i should perhaps begin studying for it. umm, after i turn in my Philosophy of Education paper this thursday. i have a busy week. =p i cetainly can't afford to be this sick...

[my ECE nerd friend]: i went to my first class yesterday..
[my ECE nerd friend]: i walked in, and saw the normal people
[my ECE nerd friend]: except, there were a couple of good looking girls
[my ECE nerd friend]: i was wondering, "wtf?"
[my ECE nerd friend]: so i sit down, the TA hands out the homework assignment
[my ECE nerd friend]: i see a lot of confused looks around the class
[my ECE nerd friend]: the girl in front of me turns around and asks, "is this biology?"
[my ECE nerd friend]: wah :-(
[my ECE nerd friend]: all the pretty girls left meh

i'm incredibly exhausted, but i had a good day teaching today. had an awesome subsitute (for a change) today! she was right there to back me up and she really was just like my right hand man. she didn't try to take over, she let me do my thing all day. she helped manage the class and was really helpful. i had my game face on today, just doin my thing. i felt i handled situations well as they arose, and i felt i was also able to get in a good amount of quality teaching in. progress... with struggle. definitely a challenging day, a great learning experience. and it helps to hear positive feedback. =) ok, think i need a nap... or almond jello. mmm...

i start applying for teaching placement jobs this month. i wonder where i'll find myself in a few months from now... i wonder what grade i'll have, what school i'll be at, if my colleagues will be down or not (they'd better be otherwise i probably won't be at that school)... i wonder lotsa things. the future is always exciting. oh yes. and i had the WEIRDEST, trippiest rush of deja vu today while teaching. i spaced out momentarily i was so tripped out. i hate that feeling of deja vu when it's so strong. *shiver*

ASIAN HIP HOP SUMMIT 2003
featuring Asian-American hip hop artists, DJ's, spoken word artists, mc battles, etc.

Fri., April 18 & Sat., April 19
7:30pm - 1:00am
$5 per night all ages
Boba Delight in K-town (corner of Western and 7th St.)

tomorrow will be yet another test of endurance... teaching all day (substitute).