jumpinlilmonkey's Xanga

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Tue, 05 May 2009 04:34:09 GMT

i'm so tired all the time...

Friday, March 13, 2009

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:59:42 GMT

When headlines read:

"State Educators Protest 'Pink Slip Friday'

As Many As 26,000 Teachers To Be Laid Off"

I can't help but think "WTH?!" How does the nation expect to create leaders to "improve" the next generation of growing adults, if they refuse to put the money where the children are? In any case, I've decided to dedicate a bit of time to introduce you to the teachers that were in my life:

Pre-School:
Mrs. Rumbo- I always thought her name was Mrs. Dumbo, until I grew up a bit. Always cheerful, always sweet.

K-5:
Mrs Hardwick- Taught kindergartners the strength in sharing, and other life's tidbits. Not particularly fond of her, but she was nice enough. Somehow ended up with two "big buddies" that resulted in a bit quarrel between the two buddies. Ultimately, I had to choose which one I wanted as a "big sis." Was unhappy about that entire ordeal.
Mrs. Jordan- Couldn't teach, looked like a Barbie doll (have you seen the new ones that come with the Ken tramp stamps?), but the kids (minus mayu) loved her. Blond hair, blue eyes... you get the pic.
Mrs. I-forgot-her-name- One of the harder elementary school teachers. She yelled a lot, and was scary. That's really all that I remember.
Mrs. Williams- Taught Mr. Poppers Penguins. She was cheerful, made lots of jokes, and was a good discipliner of the tough kids. I liked her class, cause I made lots of friends in her class.
Mrs. Ruddick- EXCELLENT teacher. She had us thoroughly research the Gold Rush Era of Cali, and then put us through a one week "live by experience" simulation of how it was back then. Was creative in her projects, and was very witty, intelligent, and fun.
Mr. Welch- Loved by almost the entire school, came back from retirement to teach a few years. We had a lollipop tree that grew lollipops right outside the door, gardened together in a sweet pea field, played the ukelele, wrote lots of plays/stories, and had numerous presentations. He was one of the best story-tellers that I had ever met. His favorite starter: "Woe begotten on those who..." Couldn't remember my name for the life of him- I think I settled with the name "Kaori." Took care of most of the Japanese students in the class because the assistant only showed up once a week. Was paired with a "lil sis" from hell.
Mr. Rain- Substitute teacher- nobody (minus mayu) liked him. Ended up filling a 2 month gap for one of the teachers.
Mrs. Yard duty- Was always on my side, and really grew to like me for being the "sweet little asian girl."

Middle School:
Mr. Hendrickson- Math teacher. Got sick one time in class and threw up outside. He was overall really nice, and kept talking about "army dudes," and used them as a weak strategy to teach math....
Mr. Lawson- Science teacher. Fun, strict, fun.
Mr. Stack- PE teacher. Gave me stickers, and exempted me from a lot of classes, cause he knew I was in ballet, and was given a hard time with the paperwork in the office. Was in the army for a long time- was nice to me, a hardass to all the boys.
Mrs. Helms- Science teacher. Crazy. If it weren't for my friends in the class, I wouldave thought the woman was legitimately insane.
Ms. Davidowitts- Lang arts. Smart lady. young, but could command a class
Ms. Armadillo?- I'm sure that's wrong, but whatever. Young, opposite of davidowitts- could NOT command a class. Ran out crying a lot of times because of one hell of a kid. Was glad for students like me, and ended up with like a 150% in the class.
Mr. Richie- Or Mr. Cup ramen- cause that's all that he would eat. Would get on my case about not smiling- until he tripped and fell in class. (I laughed, and he was genuinely happy that I had "emotions") Also couldn't command a class- ended up with a 150%+ in the class.
Mr. Albanese-Orchestra teacher from the break of dawn. Sometimes, he would sleep while playing the piano. Would also conduct while playing the piano. Seriously nice. Cried when I tried to quit orchestra- thereby successfully guilt-tripping me into staying.
Mr. King- Was fired for embezzlement of something. Worst teacher ever. Orchestra teacher that took over after Mr. Albanese retired. Nobody would listen to him because he was the biggest ass on earth.
Mrs. Rice- Lang arts teacher- used my poems as a good example in front of the class, so I liked her a lot.
Mrs. other lang arts- Read War of the Worlds and did a projects after I read Matilda and did a project, because some kid told me that Matilda was for kids. In the meanwhile, another kid tried to defend me, and got into an aggressive fight- leading to two "suspensions." I was unharmed.
Mrs. Olde- With an "e." Was crabby all the time, and didn't teach anything. Nobody knew why she was there.
Mr. Thompson- PE teacher. Had scary eyes. There were lots of stories of how he would terrorize kids.

High School:
Mrs. Lee-English: first intro. to Shakespeare- Romeo and Juliet. Wasn't particularly fond of class or subject.
Mrs. Phillips- Hands down, one of the best History teachers EVER. EHAP and World History came to life.
Mrs. Something- English. Paired with EHAP, taught Utopia well... She had mood swings, and I didn't like her all that much.
Mr. Jagd- English. Solid class, lots of humor, not so challenging.
Mr. Colin- English AP. Good class. Hamlet, Dostoevsky, among others.
Mrs. Stamper- Chem AP. ...
Mr. Starodub- Chem H. Excellent teacher.
Mr. Physics- Physics AP- fun, young, lively.
Mr. Calabrese- Biology AP- Solid teacher. Lots of wisdom.
Mrs. Maxwell- Latin. She taught us how to succeed in Latin, and almost forced us into Latin club, which took up a good portion of my time in HS.
Mrs. Risdon- Geometry: smiled a lot, and drew perfect shapes on the overhead projector.
Mr. Caulkins- Best overall teacher ever. taught life and math at the same time. Didn't mind being hated as long as we knew that he cared.
Mr. Smith- Ceramics. fun.
Mr. Bradbury- Ceramics. more fun.
Ms. Tran- Calculus AP teacher. She couldn't teach, or hold down a class. I disliked this class.

Univ: I'll just list some of my favorites from school
Prof. Mellor
Prof. Allen
Prof. Dickey
Prof. Cunningham
Prof. Omatsu
Prof. Bartchy

Others:
Uta- Ballet, life.
Marat- Ballet, life.
Sizova- Ballet, life. (kirov)
Lola- Ballet (sf)
Pascal- Ballet (sf)
Gloria- Ballet (sf)
Parrish- Ballet (sf)
Ellie- Ballet (joff)

Save the teachers.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:04:34 GMT

[it was the day my friend committed suicide. i...was..devastated. i had no idea. i mean..the day before, we were laughing together. we were inseparable. a huge part of me died. and i couldn't... didn't want to... move. and it was that day... lights turned off and hunched in the corner of my room, hoping for death to beckon me to my friend's side...i stopped feeling. ]

silence.

more silence.

[i was just crouched there. and... N walked in... i didn't care. in fact i didn't notice. but then... he sat down next to me, slung an arm across my shoulders, and wept. he... didn't even know anything... he...just knew something was up... and he taught me how to mourn... he showed me how to feel again. and we wept...together...]

silence.

[N...i would have died back then without you. i know this for a fact. and this is how i know too for a fact- that i'd die for you. any day. i will walk through hell with you and back.]

a friend that'll die for you. or perhaps more importantly- a friend that you would die for. do you have these? and do i?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:45:47 GMT

i miss the idea of "me."

that's not to say that i feel like the current "i" is a disaster...

it's just that the "me" i used to know was different.. there were ideals, dreams, aspirations, passion, love.
and sometimes, in comparison, "i" feels a bit too proper, practical, -and dare i say- unreal.

and it's perhaps what great writers have pointed out- jonathan franzen, james joyce, salinger, dostoevsky, hoffman, fitzgerald.. and all other great writers, really. the sense of loss. thrown into an abyssmal state where you truly are unknown.
somewhere along the line, i suppose that the cautions that had branded an imprint in my forehead disappeared. the ones that i thought would be irrevocable. but things that have a shape, regardless of its reality,

break.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:17:05 GMT

[concerning a party]

me: are any of [your friends'] friends coming?
Eugene: not really haha

although a few significant others

by a few, i mean 1 or 2

me: oh ok. yours?

Eugene: yeah i'm deciding whether or not to bring 1 or 2

eugene's been busy.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:22:27 GMT

the yearnings of yesteryear
and the prolongings of tomorrow.

saith the poppy seed muffin: "Thou hast no ears to listen to mine sorrow. Tis indeed the works of sparrows that hath devoured thine brethren."
but hidden within wast his dagger.
"Methinks thou hast deceived me!"
I pulled the dagger and plunged at his face.

crumbs ensue.
exeunt, pursued by poppy seeds.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:11:32 GMT

For him, love didn't come in the typical chocolate boxes. As a matter of fact, it didn't even come in moonlit dinners or sunbaked tomatoes. It came in a book. A book that outlined ways of falling in love. So when the girl walked by with the rhinestone earrings, he knew that he needed to fall in love with her. She was the one.

He studied the book to perfection, and went by all its rules. "Remind her of something fond from her past." "Send mixed messages." "Tell a personal story, and cry."

and. it worked.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:42:01 GMT

everything seems so out of reach.

and i'm left paralyzed. two perfectly good legs, a healthy body, and the love and support of family and friends. mobility is perhaps not about everything. rather. it's about the mind.

i hate this.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:15:02 GMT

Going from the mega metropolis hub to this quiet town that i've known all my life has been one of the biggest transitions of my life. i'm not quite city, and i'm not quite recluse- so in the midst of figuring out a happy balance between interactions and "alone time" over the past few years, i've found that i've reverted back to my most normal state- recluse with a little bit of city once in awhile. In tokyo, seeing people was not a difficult task- in fact, not seeing people became quite a difficulty. With a crowding population and public transportation everywhere, i'd say, that on average, i saw 2000 people that I do not know (on trains, walking, on buses, on campus), and about 80 that I do know, every single day. Now, I see about 15 people that I do not know (by just peering outside my window), and about 2 people that I do know (my parents), everyday. This just goes to show the amount of cripplage that california's culture of non-public transportation has on everyday life, and also on the amount of cripplage that tokyo's culture of everyone in everyone's face all the time has on everyday life.

so i wonder.

where is the happy medium, and can we ever find it?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:29:21 GMT

Pirate? or Ninja?

which would you rather be? This has been a dilemma on my mind for awhile now, and I have come to no complete conclusion. So, here are some of my pros and cons to each. Let me know what you think

Pirate:

Pro: Johnny Depp
    Privateering
    Cool pigeon English
    Disney
    Ocean

Con: No showers
    No land
    Weird curses
    drunkenness

Ninja:

Pro: Kakashi
    ninja moves
    cool costume
    spy-ish
    Japanese
    women ninjas (kunoichi)

Con: super dangerous
    weird assassins
    ninja school = more school
    super serious, allll the time

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