my best friend is engaged...! O_O what happened to high school? she can't get married yet... =(

tha'ts probably the most exciting news i've heard yet. yesterday i went down to san diego for the first time in ages. it was a halloween costume/ farewell party. the house was huge and at least 300 people rolled through that place last nite. the house got so trashed. i hate it when people don't party responsibly and are disrespectful and act just plain stupid. there were so many random people that came through, friends of friends of friends... that's probably what did it. but i must say, it was so nice to have the old SD crew back together again, minus a few folks who couldn't make it out. but for the most part, we were there together. i miss those guys. =/ and now with davy moving out to new york, living with tei out there, and a bunch of folks up north in the bay area, and people all over LA.. there's only very few of us left in SD. such is life.... it's hard to handle. we can't just get together whenever we want. and those infamous road trips... i wonder if we'll have one of those again.

so depressing!

on a random note, i don't think i'll ever be a cowgirl again. in my search for a cost-efficient and little maintenance costume, i just bought a cowboy hat and a bandana, then went to home depot to buy rope to hang off the side of my jeans. it actually put together pretty well! but the reason why i wouldn't do it again is because these random guys dressed as cowboys come up to you with interesting comments. i'ma be something that doesn't have an obvious counterpart.

another SD trip is just around the corner. going down to do workshops for APSA's high school conference, and benji is going to be the keynote speaker! aww~ so nice to know that we are not forgotten, despite our age. ok so maybe i'm not as old, but it's been at least 5 years since benji's graduated from sd. man, all these reminders of how old we're getting and how time is flying by...

parents are the most important to me. and here's what one of my parents had to say last week! "Mrs. Valencia told me very wonderful things about you, she said you were the best 1st grade teacher 99th street has, and I feel very fortunate that my daughter is in your class... Thanks again for your great work.... we really appreciate you."
*sniff* =)
i love my new All-Stars and their families. i feel very connected already to a handful of families. they had their first sub last friday. i don't want him back again. he wasn't terrible, but just noticed a lot of things that i didn't like about him. =/ *sigh* finding good subs is always an ordeal. now i'm doubly worried for this friday, when i'm going to be out for the second part of this conference.

oh a much happier note: happy happy birthday to my bestest buddy Hayley!!! she has now caught up to me in numerical age, and we are so overjoyed that the next one coming up will be the landmark quarter century birthday. whee.

i'm glad i've been keeping up with my blogs still. i'm glad i'm doing them for myself and not for ... uh, i guess some other reason? i do wonder who reads them anymore, though. at any rate, things are interesting with my class. their personalities are really starting to come out finally! =) they are people! they make me laugh a lot. i make them laugh too. there's one student in particular that i have this love/hate relationship thing goin on. he is.. well. he has a lot of stuff to deal with, and HAD a lot to deal with in just 5 years of his life. that would be his whole life. the last thing any teacher should expect of him is to "act normal" whatever that means. i have a lot more to say, but it would take a great deal of time. i know what i'm thinking, so i jsut need to figure out stuff and find out the best way to be his support...

it's been exactly a month now since school has begun. i love my kids. but it's so hard to let go of my old kids still! they're always passing by my classroom, they come in to help and stay in my classroom at recess, they always give me hugs when they pass by, they ask me if i can come over to their houses after school, if they can stay with me afterwards... i want them back! and their personalities are also shining in their respective 2nd grade classrooms. i'm hearing a lot of the same things from their teachers now. *shake* i have to talk to them all the time. and one student, he cries hysterically everyday every morning. he used to cry a little in the beginning of 1st grade, and every time there was a sub, but in general he was so happy. now i don't know wha'ts going on with him. all he can say is he wants to be with me. he cried for a month's worth of school already! but he's seen a psychologist as of yesterday, so they're gonna try to find out what the deal is. then, two of my more defiant students are with a first-year teacher, also going through the ucla program. last week she sent both of them to the office for their behaviors. the assistant principal asked the teacher if she had spoken with me, because i had both of them last year. =/ i've BEEN talking to that teacher and asking her about them constantly. man... i don't know why they're doin what they're doin in 2nd grade...

less intense thoughts! yesterday benji and i celebrated our 1.5 anniversary! that's a first for me. i never thought about celebrating that kind of benchmark. =) but i'm happy. ate good sushi, got a simple but very meaningful gift, and a simple but powerful letter. awww~ my partner is becoming such a softie! yay us!