Last Race ... of the year

Smiling before I start

an Francisco near Ocean Beach. San Francisco is a peninsula, the ocean on one side, the bay on one side, and the Golden Gate Bridge on the other side.

The start of the race

We started on a hill overlooking Ocean Beach and ran to a hill overlooking the GGB and then back. Hills, that is what we ran. Sometimes there were not hills, there were stairs! Hills were better than the stairs. This race was 10 Km, not the 5 Km I usually run and I have paid the price for doing it. All day since I completed the race I have been hurting.

The stairs

The first set of stairs I came to I tried to run at first then just walked. As I was walking the small of my back started hurting and it continued to hurt as I ran the rest of the distance.

View of the bridge as I ran

Over 200 people ran today, I was in the last 20 that finished. I really didn't care, I was just happy that I could finish.

Running in neighborhood streets

This was the first time I ran and people I knew ran also. Two people I work with showed up and I didn't know they were going to run today.

SGT Hurtado and SGT Burris ran too

It was nice meeting them before the race and seeing them as I was running. It made it more interesting for me to run.

I finished in the wrong place

When we finished they invited me to come to breakfast with them, but I was hurting so much I just wanted to go home and take a hot shower.

Waves pounding at the shore during the run

I guess this race, like each that I have done this year, is memorable and I will not forget it!

Django

Jousting in Hollister

I went to the movies today, Django. It is a western that stars Jamie Foxx. There is a lot of controversy about having the movie use the background of slavery to have a "western movie". Spike Lee says he doesn't like it and he won't see it because it is disrespectful to the blacks that were slaves, (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/spike-lee-calls-django-unchained-disrespectful-20121227). I don't agree with him ... it is a movie! It doesn't show that slavery was good or glorify it, maybe you could say it is the opposite. It shows the institution of slavery was horrible.

Two sea otters hanging out in Moss Landing

I really enjoyed the movie. It was fun and very entertaining. I liked that the movie was fast moving and really great photography. I don't usually like Quentin Tarantino movies and I often find them a little over-the-top. I don't like watching the blood splatter when someone is shot. I don't like watching people be torn apart by dogs, and the dogs licking the blood off their lips. This movie had all that, but it was used to show how terrible slavery was. I liked having a black cowboy (I don't like saying "African American" ever since people called people who were from Africa that, they asked me why they weren't just called Africans.) that would make the statement, "I like killing white people and getting paid for it!".

Sunset in San Francisco

I liked seeing slavery shown from the perspective of an ex-slave and how the freed blacks were never really free. There are so many things I want to say about the movie, but I would just highly recommend people go see it. Don't be squeamish about Quentin Tarantino type films and realize that everyone will be offended by something. 

To Run or Not to Run

January 2012 Palo Alto

This is December 27 and I haven't run a 5K race this month. I was going to run on the 23rd, but it was raining and I didn't get signed up in time. I am sort of planning to run a 10K this weekend on the 30th across the Golden Gate Bridge. I have been sort of anticipating this, but recently I have lost interest. I don't have cheerleaders any more and I don't see any reason to continue my quest to do two races a month.

February 2012 Campbell

I have been running this year for me, not for anyone else, and I have told everyone what my goal was this year.

March 2012 Dublin

I have beaten the odds by doing this whole thing. I work 3 weekends a month and then had only one weekend to run each month. Sometimes I had to run on Saturday and Sunday the same weekend. Sometimes I had to run on holidays. Sometimes I had to run in other states, I ran in Idaho and Arizona this year.

April 2012 with Lindsey in Cupertino

I started  this running as something to do with my oldest daughter and it was fun for us to run at the same time. I can't say we ran together because she runs faster than I do and is in better shape.

May 2012 San Jose

Most of the races I did by myself. I felt like I really accomplished something by doing this. I also know that if I didn't run the races I would have gained the weight back that I had lost and I wouldn't have exercised.

June 2012 Santa Cruz

I have gone for weeks without going to the gym and running on the treadmill. When I do that then I know I will pay the price when I run a 5K that month.

July 2012 EXTREME 5K Idaho

As I write this I am convincing myself that I should run on the 29th. My heart isn't into it, but it never is in it until I am standing in that line of starters of races. I have a couple more days to make the decision. I have been trying to find someone to run with me, but haven't been successful with that yet. When I run I take pictures and I would love to take pictures while running across the bridge.

August 2012 Pacifica

Some people love running and say they reach a "high" while running. I am not one of those people, I reach a "high" when I finish running.

September 2012 Birlingame

I listen to music as I run and ran an 11k this year and the music ran out, so if I run a 10K on the 30th I guess I need to add a couple of upbeat songs on my MP3 player.

October 2012 San Francisco

I'm not sure exactly what I will do, yet, but I will figure it out tomorrow.

November 2012 Arizona

I locked my door today

My Christmas shirt and tie

I locked my front door today which may not seem like a big deal until you hear that I haven't done that for over 10 years. I didn't even know where the key was to my lock. I have been living in a mobile home since my divorce in 2001 and have been very comfortable living here. I really like my neighbors and the area I live is peaceful. Where I live is a little isolated so it is not often traveled by people that don't live here. About 7 years ago I came home and found a cell phone on my table that I had never seen before. I called the police and when they came they suggested we call some numbers on the phone and see if we could find out who the phone belonged to. After doing that we found out the phone belonged to a friend of my next door neighbor. He had come into my home by mistake and as soon as he realized it he left, and in his rush to leave he left his phone. It seemed like a reasonable explanation to me and I didn't worry about it any more. You would imagine after that episode I would lock my door! Well, I locked my side door, but not my front door.

Sarah and I at Christmas dinner.

I have gone a long time without even knowing where my key was. Today it all changed! The day after Christmas I woke up and found a gold chain I wear, with a gold pendant, was gone. The pendant was there, but not the chain. I had taken off the chain Christmas Eve and put it on my sink. I realize the cats may have played with it and it had gone down the drain. Why would anyone come into my home and only take that gold necklace? Why wouldn't they take one of the computers I have in the living room, or one of the three cell phones I have on the table?

Jayne and Mom at Christmas dinner.

Today I decided to go buy a new lock and start locking my house. Sarah has a key, but I won't leave one under the doormat or something like that. I am gone a lot and I have been leaving my door unlocked even when I am on my trips. Now, my door will remain locked even when I'm home. Maybe I have been trying to invite the world into my life by leaving my home unlocked and now I am barring the world from entering my world. Maybe that is good, maybe that way I am forced to go out into the world and not waiting for the world to come to me.

Lindsey and Jayne bought the same sweater for Christmas (in different continents)

176.2

Sunny day in San Francisco doesn't mean warm.

I have been trying really hard to loose weight this year. I have tried running 2 miles a day for 2 weeks and it hasn't worked, I have tried to only drink water and diet soda for 3 days and it hasn't worked. I want to get down to 175 pounds and I am kind of stuck at 180. I haven't weighed myself for a few weeks, I sort of gave up. This morning I got on the scale and it said 176.2! If I get to 175.9 I'm happy!! Maybe I can give myself a Christmas present. I have 2 more races this year, one this Sunday 12/23 which is a 5K in Pleasanton and then a 10K over the Golden Gate Bridge. I haven't done a 10K yet, but I am thinking of doing that distance next year, once a month.

Candlestick Park home of the SF 49ers

I have already started to work on a strategy for next year, something that is more sustainable than 2 5K races a month. I really want to forget the whole thing and stop running and go back to my old ways, but I have done so good this year. I now fit into 2 pairs of pants that I have literally never been able to wear before. I have found something to do on weekends that I enjoy doing with other people. I have been able to set a goal and accomplish it throughout the year. I have tried dancing, I have tried playing sports, I have tried other things to get involved with people and stay healthy and nothing has worked before. I haven't stuck with it. I really shouldn't give up.

Next to the freeway as I drive through California

I am thinking of trying to get down to 170 pounds. That would be nice if I could do it. At least not go back up to 180 pounds! When I started this running my daughter was going to run with me and she did a few races. Then she got sidetracked and we didn't do many together. I hope I can find someone else to at least go with me, even if they don't run. Oh well, I guess we all have goals, whether they are achievable or not.

On the road again ...

Scared driving

The road the next day!

On Sunday night I drove to Etna, California. I left in the afternoon and was planning to get to Yreka, where I was staying in a motel, by 7. I had been checking the weather for a week, it had been snowing on the road for a couple of days. I left and it was drizzling, so I was worried about snow on the road. I drove up I80 then took I505 to I5. After driving for about 3 hours the drizzle turned into rain. Then the rain turned into snow flurries. After 3.5 hours the snow flurries turned into snow. It was dark and there were big trucks and a few cars. When I passed the big trucks snow slush slammed up on my windshield. I got behind a car and moved on.

Outside my motel the next morning.

I had my bluetooth in my ear and called Sarah. I needed to talk to someone so I didn't feel alone. I was worried that I would spin out. There were 2 inches of snow on the freeway. I pushed on because I knew if I didn't get to where I was going that night I would be snowed in the next morning. I was very scared driving in the snow in the dark. I drive a lot and don't usually worry about it. This was different, it was snowing and very dark and I didn't have chains in the car in case the highway was close to cars without chains. I talked to Sarah for about 20 minutes. I really wanted to tell her I love her! We talked about school and Christmas and just general things.

Small church in small town.

I often worry that I will be talking to someone when I get in a crash. Can you imagine talking to your dad and then hearing a crash and then nothing? I have often thought of that and didn't want that to happen on Sunday. I drove carefully following another car in the same predicament as me. I finished talking to Sarah and kept driving. At the top of the hill the snow stopped and turned into a drizzle. By the time I got to Yreka the roads were dry and the temperature was not as cold.   The next morning there was snow on the hills around the city. Before the trip home I bought tire chains and the roads were completely dry. I have another drive like this next month in the same area. I hope the trip is a little less nerve wracking.

Passed a deer on the way to the school and shot it (wish my camera).

My class this month

December Class

I just finished my December class for Oxford Seminars in San Francisco. This class was similar to many of my classes because of its diversity. I'm always surprised at the class people that take my class. I had two Koreans, one older lady that took my class because she thought it would be a great way to practice her English and a young woman that just finished college and is thinking of going back to Korea to teach English. A 23 year old guy that just graduated English and is looking at ways to start a career and a 55 year old guy that has had a fulfilling career in business and looking at how to give back to the world. A woman that has already decided to go to Taiwan and is looking for a teaching job and a woman that doesn't care where she goes and just wants to have an adventure. This was the first class I had someone that will get a TESL through me and then take a class in January to get CELTA, both are competing certifications that people usually get one or the other. I'm interested in hearing from her in how different the courses are. I often have people miss one class for a variety of reasons, I have even missed a class because my car broke down on the way to one class. This was the first time anyone missed a class because they got into a brawl the night before. I teach another class in January and look forward to finding out who will be in that class!!

JiEun presenting her final lesson

     People ask me why I spend 3 weekends a month, 10 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday, doing this when I have a full time job during the week. It is FUN! I teach my students, "You can't learn if you can't laugh." I teach my classes that way. I want my students to enjoy their time in my class so they see how fast the time can go if they are having fun in class and how much they can learn withouth even knowing they are learning. Before my students start the class they dread what will happen, by the end of the three weekends they can't believe how much fun they had and are sorry it won't continue a little longer. I guess it is good that I like my job!!

School Emergencies

My Kindergarten Class

Yesterday was a tragic day in America. 20 children died in School. They were 6 and 7. Their parents took them to school in the morning and expected to pick them up. Twenty families have empty holes in them now. FOREVER! The news we hear changes all the time. First we heard the shooter was 24 and then we find out it was his 20 year old brother that was the shooter. First we hear he had three guns, two pistols he brought into the school and a rifle in the car and then we hear he had two pistols and a rifle in the school and another rifle in his car. First we hear his mother worked in the school and then we find out she was maybe a volunteer in the school and didn't really officially work with the school. First we hear that ... well, you get the idea, no one really knows exactly what happened except 20 children woke up on Friday morning and were dead before Friday noon. If this doesn't put a tear in your eye then look at the kids in the picture above, and think about those kids will 2 - 3 bullets in each of them, imagine the blood on the ground around them, imagine the other children having to walk past them as they ran out of their school, imagine how it felt to be the person that had to put their bodies in the body bags and take them to the morgue. I don't think there is a word that can express the feeling I have writing this. I hope to God this never happens again.

Scott at age 7

I don't want to hear about gun control, like that could have prevented this from happening. I don't want to hear about banning assault rifles and automatic rifles because those weren't used in this situation. I don't like people distracting from the realities that are facing us right now. 1,960 people live in the town in CT that this happened, and all of them are hurting. The entire population of America is in mourning. Quit pointing fingers. Quit trying to make a political policy right now. Praise the people that got the children out of the school alive. Praise the principal that had the state of mind to turn on the loudspeaker so the whole school could hear what was going on and prepare for the gunman. Praise the teachers that followed their training and took care of the children in their classroom, and wandering the halls, and followed procedures. Pray for the families that lost loved ones.

Sarah age 7

If you have an agenda don't use this time to nail the coffins of the children with insensitive thinking. The mother was killed with her own guns. DAMN IT!!
Today I taught my class of future teachers and I wanted to tell them about drills in schools. When teachers know there is a gunman on campus they are taught to first lock the classroom door, we have to do it from the outside since their isn't a lock on the inside of most classroom doors. Then take the desks and put them on their side and barricade the students in a corner, where they can't be seen from any window. Then wait for either a call on the class phone or a knock on the door. When that happens the person on the phone or at the door will say a number, and the teacher responds with another number that the two numbers add up to 10 (some schools change the number it adds up to). Then the student are escorted out of the school, with their hands up, or in this case on the shoulders of the student in front of them, and walk out of the building. We aren't supposed to let students wear coats in case something is hidden under a coat, like a gun. This school was a model school and people should learn how they did things because their did it good!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 5K 2012

This year I had only one daughter at home for Thanksgiving. For

Me in high school

the past few years we have gone go my sister's in-laws family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Until last year I brought all 3 of my daughters. Last year my middle daughter decided not to come home from San Diego. This year Jayne stayed in San Diego, and Lindsey is teaching ESL in Korea so it was only Sarah and I. I decided it would be fun to drive down to Arizona and have Thanksgiving with my mom. On Monday night Sarah and I stayed in a hotel in Modesto, CA and I taught in a school on Tuesday morning. It was fun to have Sarah come with me, it was like, "Take Your Daughter to Work" day. After one other stop we drove south. Sarah drove a lot and we had a 7 hour drive to Las Vegas.

Thanksgiving 5k 2011

After getting to Vegas around 7 we got settled into a hotel room and walked the strip for 3 hours from 8 - 11. My legs were killing me after walking up and down the stairs and looking at all the hotel casinos. It was fun for both of us to see how much the strip has grown.

We stayed in the Excalibur.

The next morning we got up early and drove to the Grand Canyon. I was hoping to drive over the Hoover Dam, which I had always done in the past, but they changed the route and had us drive over a different bridge. I was a little disheartened, but the drive was fun and we enjoyed the scenery. We got to the Grand Canyon around 3pm and looked for about an hour and then drove to Grandma's house which we got to around 7pm.

In Arizona outside Vegas

The next morning at 6:30 I left for a 5K run, my second of the month. I thought I ran really bad, but when I looked at my time it was my second fastest time this year. I have 2 more races to go this year to reach my goal of 2 a month (with a *). We had a great time during dinner on Thanksgiving and then Sarah got a text message that her science group decided to work on Saturday rather than Sunday like they had planned and she needed to go home on Friday so she could do their group work on making putting together a chicken skeleton. The drive back on Friday started around 1pm and we got home at 10pm. It was a nice drive and I drove half way and Sarah drove the other half. Over all it was a great weekend and Sarah and I enjoyed seeing my mom!

Fountains in Vegas

Vegas Angels

Outside one of the casinos

I'm back ...

At Grand Canyon with Sarah Nov. 2012

I haven't written in almost months. I was going to start after one month, but I got a little busy and didn't have enough passion to write. I can't write if I don't feel like it. I am writing right now because I have all sorts of things to talk about and couldn't wait for 6 days like I was going to. I won't write all I have to say at once or I will run out again. I like things boiling over until I have to write something or I can't stop thinking about it. When I write I never know if I should talk about what has happened most recently or things that happened a while ago. I guess I will start recent and work my way back when I can't think of other things to talk about.

Sarah at Grand Canyon

In October and November I worked in the Central County Occupational Center (CCOC). I talked to over 700 students about jobs and careers and their aptitudes and interests. I had almost 40 sessions with the students. This was like my hiatus before I hit the road again. There were two weeks that I drove over 3000 miles around northern California. Tomorrow I start on the road again. In the next two weeks I will drive to Livermore, Fremont, Lodi, San Luis Obispo, Vallejo, Susanville, Oroville, Clovis, Castro Valley, Brentwood, Sacramento, Modesto, and Etna. After that I get a 2 week rest where I will do paperwork and talk to train people to do what I do (so I don't have to drive so much in the future).

Today Sarah had an orthodontist appointment. I was busy and couldn't make it at the same time she could so I had her drive herself and handle things at the orthodontist. Everything went fine. She is now officially independent. It feels strange that my youngest daughter doesn't need me to take her places. It also feels good that my youngest daughter doesn't need me to take her places. One thing I'm worried about is that the same thing will happen when her older sisters have gotten their independence and stopped seeing me so much. I don't mind her getting independence if she stays in touch and lets me know what is going on in her life.I wonder if my kids know how much I love them!