Secret Shopping

Store in San Francisco

A few times a month I do a strange job, I am a secret shopping (sshhhhh, it's a secret!). What I do is go to a company and have them do their job and I observe them and then I write a report and send it into the company that I work for, who is hired by the company that owns the store. Today I worked at a school from 8 - 10 then went to a Midas dealer and had them check my breaks (for free) from 10:30 to 12 (I got paid $22 for that) then went back to teach at the same school again from 1- 3 then went to an electronics store and did an inventory (I got paid $25 for that) from 3 - 5 and then did the reports from 5:30 - 6:30 then went to my youngest daughter's sports banquet where she got MVP for JV volleyball. I was very tired when I got home and I just realized I forgot to eat tonight. At Midas I just had my brakes checked, as I was there I checked to see if the bathroom was clean (it wasn't) and if there was fresh coffee (there was). I  got a report that said my breaks need to be changed, but I wasn't allowed to have any service done while I was working for the company. The inventory I did was something I don't like doing. I don't like telling people I am there working for their company looking over their shoulder. I don't like spending 2 hours counting items and taking pictures. But, they needed me and I like to be needed. My daughter getting the MVP award was wonderful. I wonder if she knows how much I am proud of her, and I wonder if she has any idea how much I love her!! I try to be there when she needs me and then let her know I am always there is she needs me. I think part of my job as a father is to allow her to make mistakes, then be there to help her figure out a way to get out of trouble. My youngest daughter is also becoming very beautiful, I don't realize it because it is happening right before my eyes. Sarah, I love you! Lindsey, I love you! Jayne, I love you!

Sarah and I on Golden Gate Bridge November 2011

Feels good to be WANTED

Tree lined drive.

Today I went to Lower Lake High School. It is near Clear Lake, south of Upper Lake High School. I had to leave home today at 7am, drive 3 hours and teach at 10:30. I was finished by 11:30 and thought I had to drive to another school, but they cancelled and I just turned around and drove back. The drive back took 5 hours because I often stopped and took pictures! This drive took me through Napa Valley wine country. It is the beginning of winter so the leaves are changing color and many of the grapes have been picked, but a few are still on the vine. I loved the colors that I passed and took many pictures. This school is very special to me and I had to rearrange my schedule to be able to go to this school. The counselor at this school wrote the test coordinator a year ago requesting that I come to their school rather than anyone else. I have been to that school three times over the past two years and I have evolved to "just another" to "the one". I am proud of the way I do my job and it is nice to be recognized as the preferred presenter.   There are a few schools in the area that want me, by name, rather than just anyone that is available. I really care about what I do and I have a passion to help others. I drove for 6 hours round trip (other than the time

Vineyards in the mountains.

I stopped to take pictures). So, six hours of driving and one hour of working in a classroom. Yesterday I was driving with my daughter and she asked me how I could enjoy my job since I drove so much. I told her I like to drive and it gives me the opportunity to be my own boss and take pictures and listen to audio books. The REAL truth is I don't really like my job. I would love to have a job where I had consistent hours and worked with people. I would love to work with the same people all the time and have close friendships with the people that work with me. But, what I should have told her was you need to accept the job you have and make the best of it. You can't complain about things, instead you need to find a reason to enjoy what you do and embrace the good things. No job is perfect and they all have problems. Find the thing you enjoy about your job and dwell on it. Don't complain. If you can't find anything good about your job then find a new one. 

Grapes ready to pick!

Even More Pictures for the 2012 Calendar

Purple carpet

Mom's front yard

I'm going to try to conclude this string of pictures with this posting. I take pictures every where, even my mom's front yard. She tries to have her yard low maintenance so she can travel and have it evolve. I don't think anyone has ever sat on this bench, but it is very alluring. The purple carpet is next to the ocean in Pacific Grove. It is inviting to walk on, but I found that if you do people get upset! I like colors in pictures and this always gives me color.

A restaurant in Carmel-By-the- Sea

 Carmel-By-The-Sea is a small artistic village near my mom's house. And the reason they call it by

-

From the beach looking at the golf course

the Sea is because it has a beautiful beach next to the village. I don't like these pictures so much because there wasn't a blue sky, but that makes it more realistic because there is gray sky more than blue sky.

Fall in Sutter

Trading post in Angels Camp

I think every calendar should include fall leaves changing color. What about a trading post in Calavaras County. Do you know they really have jumping frog contests? In fact they have frogs in the sidewalk for the most famous frogs, sort of like the stars in Hollywood.

At the Inferion Raceway

Airshow Heart

I like this races picture because the colors and you can really see the speed. The heart made by jets. If the picture is larger you can see the jets crossing at the bottom of the heart and the other one making the arrow. The last picture are two buzzards in a tree waiting for someone to walk by and look weak. But then again, is that a picture you want on a calendar? What month would you put it on? OK, now you have seen all the pictures, which do you vote for?

Buzzards!

Still More 2012 Calendar Pictures

Golden Gate Bridge

 San Francisco is about a 45 minute drive from my house. I work there on weekends and visit there whenever I can. Sometimes I am envious of people that live there, but then I remember that then it would be hard to get out of the crowds. I will always love to visit there, and will always take pictures when I go. I can take the pictures of the same thing every time I go, but they will always look a little different. What can you say about Golden Gate Bridge pictures? How many pictures do I have of the bridge? I like it when the sky is blue and the water is bluer ... it is best where there are a few white caps on the water. I like this picture because it shows Fort Mason in the bottom left corner, so few people know it is even there.

San Francisco cable car

Coit Tower

Cable cars, isn't that really San Francisco? In 5th grade I saw a movie of how it works, and I love that many people don't notice the third "track" in where the cable continuously moves at a constant speed and that is what pulls the cable car (why do you think they call it that!) at a constant speed. It is cool that the cable car has no engine and only has a clamp that goes into the road, clamps the cable to move, then releases the cable to slow down or stop. This picture really shows the steep hills in San Francisco and the traffic moving up and down. The only negative about this picture are the people sitting in the cars. Who wants to see people in a picture staring back at them.    Many people take pictures of Coit Tower when they come to San Francisco. They usually take pictures of it from far away, or with its base. It is really a pretty landmark, but this one time I took a picture of it looking up, and I like the angle of the picture, what do you think? 

from the bridge to the fort below

 We always take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge of the whole thing, I like taking pictures of things that are unexpected. Like from the bridge to the fort below it. I also take lots of pictures of American flags. I take pictures of them whenever I see them. I also like geometric shapes in my pictures.

The north side of the bridge

We always take pictures of things in a certain direction. I like to turn around and take pictures of the back of the where we stand. Not facing the bridge, but facing where people are standing taking the pictures. Can you see the people standing at the base of the bridge taking the pictures? I like pictures of people taking pictures! So, if I can include only two pictures of San Francisco, which two do I include?

More 2012 Calendar Pictures

Whale in Monterey Bay

 When I did the calendar last year some people said I should follow a theme in my calendar.I thought about it then realized my theme was places I have been this year. That isn't pertinent to anyone but me, but that is my theme. Here are another six pictures. I guess I can use the them of ocean for them. I went whale watching this year and I included a picture of a whale tail. I thought it was weird that we go out in the ocean for an hour or two to see the tail of whales. I don't know what else I figured I would see. We did see a whale jumping out of the water, but you know I didn't have my camera ready. I didn't think I should include pictures on my calendar of people puking, so I didn't include those, my mother would be proud. The second picture is the marina where they park the boats. I love the color of the ocean and the water was fairly calm.

 

 

 

Monterey Marina

Surfer in Pacifica

  

 I think you have to have a surfer picture if you have pictures of the ocean. I went to Pacifica one afternoon and I thought it was so stereotypical to take a picture of a surfter walking towards the ocean. I think they are crazy myself. That water is COLD. The surfboard is also not light. I like the picture because it really shows how dedicated some surfers are, even at 2 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. The contrasting colors are also nice.

view from Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Sometimes I just take long drives on the weekend. I like to drive the Coast Highway (CA 1) and stop sometimes and take pictures. About 30 miles north of Santa Cruz is an old light house. I like taking pictures there, and last year included a picture of the lighthouse in the calendar. This year I like this picture that shows the highway. I like having the log in front to show the distance and the contrast. What do you think?

When I was back at my Mom's house in Monterey this year I went to the ocean just to be there. I saw a group of people at a fence looking a beach. I had driven past that place hundreds of times and didn't have any idea what they were looking at so I stopped and brought my camera. There was a sign that said the seals were having babies and not to disturb them. I watched two babies being born and watched two adult seals teaching another how to swim. It was amazing. I wish I could share that with everyone. If only one picture, which do I include in the calendar? More to come in the next posting.

Mom and dad seal teaching baby to swim

this baby is 5 minutes old, I watched it being born

2012 Calendar

Treasure Island statue

Treasure Island GGB

I take thousands of pictures every year for my job then at the beginning of the year I try to figure out the best 12 for a calendar for my mom, this year I may even send one to my sisters. I never know exactly which one to choose, so I decide to have people on line help me. I have chosen 28 pictures this year that I have taken over the year. The first one is from Treasure Island, near SF, and it shows a man taking a picture of a statue with SF in the background. I really like the color, and having SF in the background. The second picture was taken on the same day in the same place but it is to the right a little and shows the Golden Gate Bridge in the background and I love the color of the ocean. The third picture is one I took when I had to go to Lake Tahoe. It isn't the lake but it is a small pond on the other side of the road. In fact the lake is right behind me. I like this picture because of the reflection of the snow covered mountains on the pond. I also LOVE the colors.

Pond at Lake Tahoe

Blue Belly Lizard

Fourth for this writing is a picture I took on my way back from Tahoe and I stopped at a little lake. I like taking picture of nature, and this lizard was on a log. I like the picture because it really looks 3D and the lizard really shows up. I finally realized why they call this type of lizard a blue belly.  On the way up to Lake Tahoe I always passed this pretty yellow city courthouse and I always wanted to stop and take a picture of it, and this year I did. The colors are great and I really like the angle I got. I also like the tree in the foreground.  The sixth picture was taken when I took a trip in the "gold country" in California. I went to a small State Park near Sonora and liked took this picture of the old Hotel. I think it was a wonderful time of day to take the picture and it really looks like it could be open. Which picture do you like? If I can only use three of these pictures, which should I use? I will show a total of 28 pictures and these are the first six.

Auburn Courthouse

A Part of the Machine!

I went to the movies tonight with my 15 year old daughter, we saw Hugo. The movie had great reviews and we wanted to see something so we saw Hugo. This was definitely a "chick flick" that I wouldn't see without a chick encouraging me to go. The movie deserved great reviews. It was definitely not a stereotypical American film. There were no car chases, no explosions, no cussing, and no sex. There was a strong story with twists that were unexpected and made you feel when you finished. After watching it we realized that this was a film, not just a movie. I really expect it to be an award winner. (best chick flick of the year!!)

In this movie it had a guy that fixed machines. He said when he looks at the city it looks like a machine, and machines don't come with any extra parts. Think of it, you don't find extra parts for machines, until you take one apart and try to put it back together again and you find a couple of parts left over. I remember the first time I heard the same sort of thing when I was at church camp, they said God doesn't make "crap" so we are all important. When I was 17 I worked at a Young Life camp for a few weeks. It was interesting the way I got to work there, the week before I arrived I was told there was an opening even though most people that work there had to apply 6 months in advanced. I had a lot of fun working in the camp. I worked in the dining room and we got close to each other. That was the year that the men's style was to wear cut off shorts with boxer shorts showing and inch longer than the shorts. It was really weird, but not as weird as the style now when the guys wear their so low that their butt is exposed. I remember that summer was when I really tried to find the reason I was here. What made me so I wasn't an extra part in this world? I thought about the time I was supposed to die. I was hit by a car and was in a coma for a week. A week later I was out of the hospital. I thought about the reasons I was kept alive. I thought about the lives I affected over the years, maybe I was a fix-it guy like the one in the movie. Maybe I am here to help fix problems with lives and emotions. I think we will all find our reason to be here. It isn't really important that you find the reason, just to know there is a reason. Well, I gotta get up soon so I can run the Turkey Trot (even though it is supposed to rain!). 

Resolutions

I had a great day today. I spent most of my work day at the County Central Occupational Center which is a training center for all the high school students in the county. This is a great place for students to learn a skill. Yesterday I taught in the same place. Yesterday I taught the truck and automotive mechanics and today I taught the medical and nursing students. These students are great, but some get very low scores in their tests because they don't care about the test and they don't need a high score. I helped over 200 students this week, and I have another 300 students next week. I really enjoy working with this school and the students are good and so is the staff and faculty.

It is coming to the end of the year. I have never made New Years resolutions before. I just decide to go in a certain direction. Usually it is because that is what I do, not because I have made any definite decisions. People that know me know my life philosophy that I feel like God controls what happens to me more than I do by my choices. So, I don't try to think of what direction I want to go in the next year. This year I had a dramatic weight loss/ body change. I didn't plan that, I just got upset one day so I did it. A few months ago my oldest daughter suggested that we run races together. We did a 5K on Veterans Day and will do another 5K on Thanksgiving. I will run again in January, probably try to do the 10K and then I have a goal. I would really like to say I have run the San Francisco Marathon. They have something interesting where you can run 23.1 miles before the day of the race, then on the day of the race you run 5K and they give you the medal and the shirt for a marathon!! Check it out at: http://www.thesfmarathon.com/the-race/5k-progressive-marathon/ . I would love to have someone that wanted to do this with me. I WILL do this. I have never enjoyed running in my LIFE. I have always avoided it, but I see the benefits to it and I enjoy the camaraderie of the runners and everyone really helping each other. The people that come in first cheer on the people that come in last (usually me). It reminds me of when I was on the swim team in high school. I was literally the slowest swimmer in the league. I proved it once when I had a "race" with the second slowest swimmer and he beat me. I swam long distances because no one else wanted to and that helped my team always get one point. In my Junior year I was in the last relay race in the day, the 100 freestyle relay. The team knew we would loose the relay, but no one else could swim in the relay except me. We just hoped we didn't need the points to win. If we won that meet we would win the championship of the league. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE!! I was the last one to swim for the team, the rest of the team needed to swim fast enough so the slowest swimmer in the league (me) would have a chance. On the day of the meet we did great! It turned out that it all came down to the last relay, if we won we would win the league championship. We were a close team, and I felt bad, but everyone told me that it was better that I was on the team than not because otherwise they wouldn't be able to swim their best events because somebody would have to swim the events I did. I did my best. The race was close, until I started. I had to swim 4 laps, down and back 4 times. The guy on the other team was good, and he even lapped me. He swam so fast that before I swam my third lap he was on his way to the finish. I just kept going, think "the tortoise and the hare". After the other swimmer finished his race their team started to celebrate. I was still swimming, the last lap, swimming towards the finish. It was the last meet of the season and they celebrated their win by throwing their coach in the water. They didn't know I was still swimming. All I know is as I was approaching the finish their coach was in the water in front of me. You guessed it, because they celebrated with their coach in MY LANE they were disqualified and our team won the race and the meet and the championship. My team congratulated me because if I was faster I probably still would have lost the race and we wouldn't have won the championship!! YEA!!!

Past students ...

Her

So, if you are wondering about the girl I had the date with ... oh, you have to understand I didn't know it was a date until the end of the evening when she said she was glad she got to date me! During class the next day I didn't see her, only her friend that told me the girl I had gone out with decided not to come to class so she was in the hotel hot tub. You know I couldn't concentrate on my teaching, and I ended up taking a long break to go check her out in the hot tub. She was ... wow. Not a sexy swim suit, but she looked adorable (to use her friend's description). I ended up driving her back to Oakland, about an hour away just because I enjoy talking to her. I still didn't get her phone number or email address, so I won't see her again.

On the drive with her I got a call from an student that was in my class 3 years ago. He has lived and taught in Vietnam since then and I have periodically heard from him. He called because he needs a favor, he and a friend are starting a University and need me to keep an eye out for teachers for him. Yeah, you read that right, starting a University. For the past couple of years he has been telling me his dream of opening a school that teaches nursing, and English so they can start exporting nurses to the USA like the Philippines does. So they need very good teachers for their ESL classes. He is supposed to meet me the day after tomorrow for lunch, and I expect him to ask me to develop their curriculum. I don't know what I will tell him. He is the same guy that owns a couple of clothing factories in Vietnam and told me that China is stating to subcontract to Vietnam because the labor is cheaper and better educated. Many things that say Made in China are in fact made in Vietnam.

Danielle in Uganda

Heather in Kenya

I think I have mentioned Danielle who is working in Uganda, but today I got an email from Heather who is in Kenya ... literally living in the "bush" without electricity or running water. I also have a student in Rwanda as well as the normal places of Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, France, Spain, and Germany. They are all teaching English, but their reasons are very different. Some of my past students are trying to make some money while living in other countries. Some want to make a difference in the world and aren't so interested in making money. Some just want to go places there are pretty girls so they can ... well, you got the idea. I just care that they are safe and present a good image of America.

I had a date last night ...

On Saturday one of my students, the one that wants to save the world, had her friend visit while she was staying in a hotel. She was in a situation where her best friend was visiting, and she had a date so she couldn't stay and entertain her friend. I wasn't doing anything so I suggested I take the friend out to dinner. My student said it was a good idea so we picked up the friend from the train station together. I was happily surprised that the friend looked terrific. I had agreed to going to dinner with the friend without knowing what she looked like then we met her and I realized if I had seen her first I wouldn't have asked her out because she was so pretty that I would figure she wouldn't go out with me. Maybe that is why I don't date often. We went out for Indian food is a restaurant I had never been to. The food was good and the company was amazing. I talked about teaching, since she had taken the same class I teach at a different location and I figured she was interested in it. She talked about living in Oakland and some of the problems she had encountered. She had a great smile and talked very easily about a variety of things. I really enjoyed talking to her an was very interested in the things she had to say. After dinner I had figured she would want to go home, but she suggested we go out for a drink and asked me where I usually went. I don't often, go out for a drink so I didn't really have a place to go so we went to a place I had heard was usually busy. It was an okay place with a live band, but I didn't really like it. We had drinks and the girl that is my student called and said she was at a place where Santana was playing. We were surprised and wanted to go there, really we both agreed that we wanted to go anywhere other than the place we were and ended up in an area I didn't even know existed. It turned out to be the drummer and singer for the group Santana and it was nice. I really liked the girl I was with and I didn't care where we were or what we were doing. We met up with the other couple and  the guy seemed nice, but didn't show any courtesy to the girl he was with. She seemed to like him and that was fine with me because then I could keep talking to the girl I was with. I kept looking at her, rather than the band, because every time I looked at her I could see things that were more attractive about her. Lots of people were dancing to the music, so the two girls and I got up and danced. The other couple left first, then we decided it was late, and I had to work the next morning so we left. As we were driving she suggested we go check out Winchester Mystery House. We drove over there and walked around. I was so happy to be with her!! I drove her back to the hotel she was staying at with her friend and drove home. I thought about her all night and she was in my dreams. She is someone special and I am happy to have met her. Will I see her again, probably not since I didn't get her phone number. But, I will think of her a lot in the future, she was one of those girls that isn't easy to forget!!

November 2011 Oxford Seminars class

November 2010 class

December 2010 class

Me teaching class

This month I am teaching in Santa Clara again. I like teaching here because it only takes me a few minutes to get to class versus 45 if I teach in San Francisco or Santa Cruz. I am often late (which means I get there on time, but I am not set up and ready to go when the class is supposed to start at 9am) even when I teach locally. It is strange because most of my life I pride myself at being early. My class this month is 8 students, and like usual they are very diverse. We have an older man that is looking at changing his life, he said he wanted to teach here in the USA, but today he talked about going to Taiwan. There is a Vietnamese guy that is in his 40s and wants to go back to teach in Vietnam, he came here when he was 9. The other guy is married to a woman from Morocco and they have been married for three years but she has never gotten permission to live in the USA, so he is looking to go someplace they can go together, I suggested he go to Turkey. One girl wants to go to Hungary to teach and be a sort of missionary, she has visited there before and really likes the country. She has friends there so she will have someplace to start. There is a girl in the class that has teachers in her family so she will attempt teaching overseas to see if she likes it. She will probably end up in Korea, and I would be surprised if she lasted a year because it is tough to live in another country any way it goes. There is a very pretty girl in the class that was a business major, with a concentration in Asia, so she will go to Korea or Taiwan, she wants someplace she can make money and make business contacts. She also wants to go with a friend that doesn't have a BA, so she will probably end up in Taiwan. There is one woman in her 30s that wants to go to South or Central America. She is one of the students I classify as, "Save the World" type, that wants to make a difference in the world and will use the teaching aspect to get into the community and then find areas she can help, like ways to get clean water, set up an orphanage, or help with a woman's shelter. I have had a few of this type of student and I really admire them. They really put a priority on their passion to help others, and I vow to help in any way I can. I have one woman that went to a small village in Africa that doesn't have running water (in fact they have to walk 3 miles to get water) nor electricity. Another old student of mine is in Cambodia and one is working with an NGO in Uganda. I suggested the student that is in my class this month seriously look into going to Guatemala or Brazil. The other student in my class this month wants to go to South America, she wants Chile or Argentina. I told her what previous students that have gone to Chile and Argentina have said about it being affordable and jobs paying for living there if they use money from their savings, and she agrees maybe she will rethink her destination. It is fun keeping in touch with my old students to see what ends up happening to them. Some stay for a few years and some come back before a year is over, and some come back before a month is over.

I did it ... Again!

Lindsey and I finished!

Before the Veteran's Day 5K

Finish Line

I just finished running a 5K race. I know that many people don't think this is a big deal, but I think it is a big deal for me. 2 months ago I couldn't run half a K. I was doing my weight loss thing and didn't ever want to go on a treadmill. I lost the beginning weight by going on the elliptical. I was in a meeting and my boss encouraged everyone to run and do the best we could. He was an army officer and encouraging the sergeants to exercise more. At that time I started using the treadmill, and everyone knows how much I hate that. I ran and walked a mile, then two miles. I even did 3 miles until someone told me two miles was good enough. About that time my oldest daughter, Lindsey, told me she wanted to start running 5Ks and then 10Ks and asked if I would do it with her. I don't like to run, but wanted to do something with my daughter, so I told her I would try. We had planned on doing the Turkey Trot in San Jose on Thanksgiving. I researched it on the internet and came across a Veteran's Day run that was 11K or one mile walk. Neither of us wanted to do 11K, so we signed up for the mile walk. We weren't happy about the shorter distance, but 11K is a little much. Last night when I started researching location and parking the website said there was a 5K also. So, we decided to do it! Neither of us could sleep last night, and we got there early. There was a short line to sign in, but within 15 minutes of us getting there the line was very very long. We got out numbers and there was a little ceremony for the veterans. The guy who sang the National Anthem even forgot the words!! But all was good and we started. I started in the middle of the pack, but everyone was passing me, and I was passing no one. I ran at a steady pace and then my shoelace came untied. Then everyone that passed me started telling me my shoe was untied. Did they really think I didn't know? I figured I would tie it when I turned around for the 5K route. Lindsey passed me running back and then I saw the turn around point. I stopped at the half way mark and tied my shoe and then started back. I was alone now. I passed one girl, and one or two passed me. The majority of the runners were doing the 11K. As I got close to the finish line I saw Lindsey was only a 20 meters in front of me. I didn't speed up, but I kept a steady pace. She finished about a minute before me and I finished at 35 minutes and 17 seconds. I felt good and we picked up our shirts and I got a medal because I was a veteran. We will do it again on Thanksgiving and I will finish in 33 minutes. Lindsey and I had talked and wanted to finish by 44 minutes before we started. I am sort of hooked and want to do this stuff again and again!! I DID IT, and will keep doing it!! Thanks everyone for helping.

Alternative High Schools

Continuation High school small city

Regular high school small city

Inside regular school

Regular High School Small town

Charter High School Small town

I visit many different kinds of high schools. I have been to charter high schools, regular high schools, magnet high schools, high tech high schools, continuation high schools, and other alternative high schools. There are high school classes in adult schools and even high school classes in colleges. There is a big difference between high schools. When I look at test scores in some high schools in smaller cities the scores average 31, today I was in Sacramento and the scores averaged 65. In alternative schools the scores are lower, but the students are eager to be successful. Some of the regular high schools the scores are much higher, but the students have no idea what they will do in their future (that is what I do, give them ways to look at different opportunities). I like helping in all types of schools and I enjoy different types of students and their growth and when they really open their eyes to the world and future possibilities in their lives it makes me happy to be me. The reason there are so many different types of high schools is we all have different needs. I hope other countries see the advantages to allowing students find a way to reach their potential and realize that if a student drops out, then they stop learning and it is like a bird that never learns to fly so they have to walk every where.

Touching lives squared

Farmhouse on the side of the road.

What makes you happy? What makes you feel like you are living the life that you really want to live while you are here? I think when you feel down it helps when you ask those questions. It really does make me happy when I know I have made others happy. I think that is why many of my relationships have failed, I found that there was nothing I could do to make them happy, so I knew it wasn't going to work ... because I wouldn't be happy. My latest relationship was great, but I realized that I would not be able to keep her happy in the future so I called it off. I am still looking for a woman that is happy because I make her happy, then she wants to make me happy. It should be a relationship that feeds off of itself, I know I will find it sometime!

Ione, California city hall

How many people's lives have I touched and improved? That question came up in my mind this afternoon. I am teaching in San Jose on the weekends this month and I was talking to a student that really wants to make a difference in the world. I had a student like that before and she is now in Uganda and working for a NGO, her blog is: http://dinkampala.blogspot.com/ ... I hope it is ok that I give that link. I thought about all the students that I have had over the years, the ones in Korea that I helped learn English and then they could improve their lives with better jobs, the kids I taught that helped them get further in school and in their lives, the adults I taught at the adult school that were able to improve their lives here in the States and were able to live better and their families that depended on them, but also the TESL students I have taught that have gone off and taught others in many different countries. If I have directly affected over 5000 students of my own, and then my students have directly affected over 1000 students, and I have had over 400 students in the past 5 years that have gone off and become teachers ... then that is 405,000 students that I have had something to do with improving their lives. I have made a difference in this world, and I am very pleased with myself. Sometimes I have to just realize that and be happy that I have made others happy. Tonight I will sleep with a big smile on my face because I have thought of this stuff. I hope that whatever reason you have for you being on the earth and what makes you happy you can think of directly and smile when you sleep! GOOD NIGHT!!