Beautiful California

Church in Etna

Tonight I am in Lodi! What a day, I woke up in 20 degree weather, it was cold, but dry. I killed time till 1 and then worked till 2. Then I drove 6 hours south. When I started to drive it was still cold and there were snow flurries. As I was driving it started to snow harder! I was worried the roads would close it was snowing so hard.

Snowing on the way south

After driving through that for an hour the snow turned to rain. After an hour of that it was dry and beautiful and warm, it was up to 65 degrees again. I started in the mountains and finished in the valley. California has a great diversity that you can see so much in one day!

Trees in bloom in February.

One reason I like my job so much is I get to see so much of Northern California (NORCAL!) and it is always wonderful to see new places and to be surprised and how fantastic this great state is!

Going Home

Old school is now a museum.

I'm staying the night in Etna, California. If you wonder it is then look on the map at the Oregon border! The drive up here was long and beautiful, at times it was literally breathtaking! I left around 9:30am and got here around 4:30pm. There is one place to stay here, the Motel Etna. When I got into town I decided to check into the motel and when I got here there was a sign that said, "closed till 5". I had to laugh a little because I haven't been to a motel that had it's office closed. I had to kill half an hour so I went downtown to take pictures. I decided to stop in at the one bar in town, it was the only place open after 4 except the grocery store. I was able to go into the drug store for a few minutes, even took a picture of the "soda fountain" counter. In the bar I talked to the bartender, since she was the only one in the big room with a big fireplace. She was saying that she had grown up in this little town, population 581, and moved out when she graduated high school. She was gone for 23 years and then decided to move back after her third divorce so she could help her mom take care of her grandmother.

The one bar in town.

 She said many people in this small town have done the same thing, left for more than 20 years and then came back. This town is cute, but nothing is open after 4 except the bar. Movie theater is 30 miles away next to the bowling alley. I can't imagine what it is like being in high school here. I guess they all have enough time to do their homework since there is nothing else to do. Home always is inviting to come back. It will always be home, no matter how many times you get married or how many kids you have or how many different jobs you have. Going home is always in people's minds!!

Soda fountain counter!

Long week ahead!

Driving around for the National Guard.

I just finished packing for my trip this week. I have to work in Etna on Tuesday, since it is a 6 hour drive I thought I should drive on Monday. I will stop often to take pictures so the drive will probably take 7.5 hours. I stop and take pictures so often so it forces me to stretch my legs and I don't feel so worn out after the drive. I just looked at what time on Tuesday I need to be at the school and it isn't until 1:20pm. Now I am wondering if I should wait until Tuesday and leave at 6am, which I do sometimes. I am free to do what I think is best, and the money will be reimbursed any way it goes. After I finish teaching, about 3, I have to drive to Lodi, about 5 hours south, to stay the night so I can work there at 7:30 am on Wednesday. As I write it I realize that is about 11 hours driving if I do it in one day, I don't think that is so wise to do. On Wednesday I will work at Lodi High until 2:30 then drive back home, 1.5 hours so I can watch my daughter's first softball game of the year. That will be the highlight of the week! Then after the game I have an appointment in Milpitas, about 30 minutes away at 7. Thursday I will drive 2 hours away to Modesto and be there at noon to work for an hour and I get to drive home. On Friday I have a meeting in Dublin, CA at 9am then I will go to my office and do all the reports for the week and finish the week at my daughter's second game of the season at 3:30. Then I work Saturday and Sunday from 9 - 6. Wow, when I write it down it really seems like a busy week. The week after is kind of open right now, but I bet it gets filled up by the end of this week. I like staying busy, but sometimes I wish I could have some down time! I hope everyone that reads this has a great week. I look forward to the pictures I will take on my trip.

I enjoy watching Sarah play softball.

What every woman wants to hear!

My car's bumper sticker when I was in high school!

I was surfing around on the internet a little this week and came across an article that listed 72 things women wished men knew about women. Like most lists this one had many mundane and unimportant things, but the one that stood out in my head was that it doesn't matter who compliments them women like to hear the compliment. The article went on to say that a man should not be too shy to tell a compliment to a woman. Many guys think a pretty woman hears it from many people so why should they want to hear it from him! I once tried it, I bought a couple of yellow roses and as I walked down the street and I saw a pretty girl, or even a woman that seemed like she was a little down I just walked up to them and said they looked like they deserved a flower and gave them the rose and walked on. Can you imagine if that happened to you? I felt good about myself for doing that, and I was sure the woman did too. I didn't stay around to find out how the woman reacted, I walked away quickly. I think when we feel good we should share it. I hope someone does that to me sometime, just walk up and say something nice then go away so I know they are not trying to get anything.

Hawaiian Sunset!

My week ...

My parents and siblings, can you guess which is me?

This week was supposed to be kind of dead and boring. I expected to do nothing except go to one school on Friday. Everything fell in place to keep me busy. On Monday I got an email requesting I visit a teacher at a school on Tuesday and help him talk to his boss about the program I work for. That was for Tuesday at 3. In the morning I went into work and there were two important things to research for people that were waiting to join the military, National Guard, that day. I got that done and had to hurry for my meeting. While I was doing that research I got an email that asked me to help in a School in Salinas on Wednesday, so I went home and packed a bag on my way to the 3 o'clock appointment so I could spend the night at my Mom's house that night since it was only 15 minute drive to Salinas the next morning. I worked in that school all day on Wednesday and got home around 6 that evening. On Thursday I had a leisurely day and just stayed around my office all day. Today, Friday, I drove to Tracy and worked in a school for about an hour. I don't like working in a school when none of the staff or faculty is present. For one, it feels like I am not important enough for them to waste their time. The second reason is if there is a problem with any of the kids how am I supposed to handle it? But, the best part of the week was I also visited a high school friend and we talked about life since high school!! I work Saturday and Sunday this week so in the evening I prepared for those classes.

Running Around ...

Turkey Trot

11/11/11

Last June Lindsey asked me if I would run a 5K race with her. I agreed and we planned to run the Turkey Trot at Thanksgiving in San Jose. I saw that there was another race sooner that I wanted to do, the Veteran's Day race, 11/11/11, and Lindsey agreed she would do it with me. We ran that race, and then also ran the Turkey Trot two weeks later. I ran both races all the way and I realized I can do it!! I didn't think I could run that far, 3.1 miles, and found out it was achievable. I looked on line and realized that there were many races throughout the year. I knew that I wouldn't keep exercising unless I had a reason so I made a decision to run two 5K races every month for the year of 2012. I started on Jan 1, 2012 and ran in Palo Alto.

Jan 1, 2012

I then ran on Jan 15 in San Francisco, around the baseball park, ATT Park. I had been to the park before, but never around the outside. I ran those alone. I was happy that I was able to complete all four races without stopping. Sometimes I want to stop before the first mile, but I MUST do it. I know the first time I stop then I will stop often. I don't come in the front of the pack, but I'm not the last one either. I was surprised at how many people ran during these races. The first one we did there were about 350 people, the next was 21,000, the New Years one was 2500 people and the one in SF was 1100.   February was a problem because I worked 3 weekends. I only had one open weekend so I had to do two races in one weekend. I did one on Saturday in
 Campbell, Lindsey came but her ankle hurt and she shouldn't really run. That afternoon we drove to my

Me running around the baseball park.

Mom's house and stayed the night there. In the morning Lindsey decided it was best if she didn't run that day either. I was really excited because they were closing the street that I have driven on many times and I ran with the ocean on one side and the golf course on the other side. I feel proud of myself for doing six races so far. I plan on doing the SF marathon because on the day of the race I only have to run 5K and I keep a record before the race that I must run the other distance. The only problem is I don't know if I have to work that day, July 29. I also read about another race I want to do that is like an obstacle course, the Warrior Dash on October 27 http://www.warriordash.com/?utm_source=active.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WD%2BNational. Next Month is March 10 in Oakland running around the lake and then also in Oakland on March 24 when they are closing the streets to let me run!!

Getting ready to run in Pacific Grove

Finishing the Campbell race.

High School Exit Interviews

 Today I worked in a high school in Salinas. Alisal High has a program, as all Salinas high schools do, to help their seniors learn how to get a job after they graduate. I was there with 20 other people from throughout the community giving the seniors a mock interview. The seniors dress for an interview, the guys wear nice shirts and ties and the girls wear nice clothes as if they were really attending an interview. The students have portfolios with a resume, their high school transcripts, letters of reference, and awards they have received over the four years of high school. I am given a list of suggested questions for the interview and I talk to about 2 students an hour. I went through 2 sessions today and talked to 8 students. Some students were very good and spoke with confidence and others had spelling mistakes in their resumes and were not sure of what to say. I visit many high schools and I wish I could promote this program in all the schools. I wish my daughter's school would do this same thing. As I travel around to different high schools I see a few different programs that I wish I could expand to other schools. Maybe I should write down more things I see so people get different ideas!

What will you do the REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Lighthouse on the golf course!

Today I was at a high school in Concord, California, Mt. Diablo High. I was requested to come talk to some teachers about the program I have for high school students that finds the students' aptitude then finds their interests and introduces them to jobs that they might be interested in. I was very impressed with one of the teachers I talked to because he really cares about the future of his students. This program was done on this campus earlier in the year by the JROTC department and no one else wanted to participate because most teachers think this only has to do with joining the military. They don't look at how their students can benefit from this unique experience. This school has "academies" that students can participate in. The one I talked to was the computer academy. There is also a health academy (for jobs in the health field) and a safety academy (for people that want to go into fire and police fields). The students start these academies when they are Freshmen, they have to make a decision what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they are 14. I know that is the way it is also done in other countries, specifically Poland is one country I know. But, this teacher realizes that a 14 year old doesn't know what is out there if they don't explore other options. What if they get into the computer academy then realize they don't like sitting in front of a key board for 8 hours a day. Or, what if they go into the health academy and realize that a lot of their job is cleaning up and others (and emptying bed pans). What my program does is give them a test to see what their skills are in, one girl that took the test found out she was in the top 5% of the country in automotive skills, and she didn't even realize that others didn't know about cars. She had only helped her dad since she was 5. After finding what they are good at compared to everyone else in the country we give them a survey to find out what kinds of things they like to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Codes this article describes it better than I can. We then identify jobs that meet those interest codes. I wish my kids thought a little more on their futures rather than only worry about what colleges they attend. Their mother comes from the background that the school you go to is more important than the major you take. I am on a crusade to make students realize that is backwards from what they should put their emphasis on and realize they are making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives!!

Lover's Point, Pacific Grove, CA

Quality Time

Lindsey at 3

Many years ago I used to teach Elementary School. One mother of a student stands out in my memory that was an executive in an IT company. She told me that Quality time with her son was more important that the quantity of time. She didn't spend much time at home because of her job, instead she justified it with the fantastic trips she did go on with her son. She took him to the Olympics, she took him to other fantastic international and national places and that was to be better than just having time with him or attending school events. I thought those trips would be fun for kids, but I think the total amount of time a parent spends with their child is more important than what they do when they get together. I think the child needs to spend time with their parent to understand where they "come from". I am divorced and my children live with their mom. I live 10 minutes from the kids because I want them to know I am here when they need me, and when they don't need me, but just want me. I wish I could do more fun things with my kids, I wish I could take them skiing more often, take they to Disneyland, go with them to Europe, stuff like that. I realize if I made much money it would take time away from that which I can could spend with the kids. I don't think it is a good choice.   

Sarah, Lindsey, Jayne, and me DEC 2011

White Socks

Lindsey and I on the train coming home from a 5K.

Do you ever see men that wear white socks with dark suits? I always think it is strange when men do that, and even though I would never do it I can't fault them for making that decision. I asked a man wearing white socks once why he was wearing them, he said they were more comfortable. He always wore a suit and thought he should at least have comfortable feet. Ok, if that is how you feel! Another man told me that no one really noticed, I thought it was great because that way women will have one less guy to be attracted to :). I figure men like that are very confident in themselves that they don't feel it is important to blend in with others, or maybe their mother never told them how to coordinate clothes or that it was important. Sometimes I wish I could wear white socks with a suit, or tennis shoes like I used to when I was 10. I wish I had the strength to do what I wanted to, even if others don't agree with me.

Favorite word

Old house in Hoopa.

Today was a great day. I had the first day of a new class and I had 7 people and they are all wonderful. The two women from Korea have a great attitude and participate well in class. They are level headed and know what they want to get out of class and fit in very well. Two girls are sisters, 20 and 18. I originally thought they would be too young, but they have a high level of maturity and are very good in becoming part of the team and add to the class personality. It is great having both these sisters in the class and I think they will both make it fun! There are also two Stanford University students in the class that are both very very smart and very very nice. I always like having Stanford students in my class because they are always special people. The seventh student is from Columbia and has been in the US for a long time. He is great to have in class and fits in well with the other students. He makes me feel very good to have in class because he was originally registered for the class in San Francisco and after meeting me he changed to my class. He made a choice to come to my class, and it made me feel very good to know that he was impressed with me. I look forward to the classes this month. After class I went to my monthly poker game. It is a yearly tournament that we keep points and see who has the most points by the end of the year. Last Month I came in second and this month I came in second. The person that got first place last month was one of the first ones out this month, and the first and second place from this month came in last place last month, so I am first in the ratings so far and there is a big gap between me and the second place. I wasn't going to play this year because it isn't as much fun as it was originally, but now I am glad I stuck around!! Is this going to be "my year" with poker and running 5Ks going good? I look forward to every day of the year now.

Do you have a favorite word? When I lived in Korea I found the one word in the world that I LOVE! Kunyoung is a GREAT word. That sound weird to say I have a favorite word. Kunyoung means "just because". If someone asks if I like the food I can say "kunyoung" and it means it is ok. If someone asks why I did something I can say "kunyoung" and it means that I did it for no real reason. If don't want to go somewhere and they ask me why not I can say "kunyoung". I love the word because it is really non-commital. I love the word "kunyoung"!

ESL students teaching ESL

Tomorrow I teach a new class for people that want to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in other countries. As I look over the class list tonight I see there are two Korean women that come from Korea that are taking my class. Since my class is 7 people, that means almost thirty percent of my class are ESL students that want to teach ESL. Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn't work so well. The class is next to Stanford University so often that means the wives of Stanford students want to do something so they take my class. Sometimes it works because the women realize their limitations and want to teach their own kids, or teach in a Kindergarten not as a native speaker but as a Korean speaker that speaks very good English. We will see what happens. I have done this before and I think I have helped my students in the past that were from other countries learn how to teach English in some form to others. I am excited to meet my students and see how I can help them. I never sleep well the night before a new class because I want the day to hurry. I know the students have been looking forward to the class to begin for a long time and they just hope they can pass the class.

My students wonder who the teacher will be, they wonder how long the class will be each day, they wonder if the class will be boring and they will just sit and take notes, they wonder if they are wasting their money and if they will actually be able to teach ESL after the class. I always wear a tie to the first day of class. I need my students to see that I look like a professional, and know, just by looking at me, that I am the best and very good at my profession. OK ... now I am excited to start class tomorrow!!!

You're Fired!!

The end is near!!

Today I found out I lost my job, again. I have had this job for 3 years and have changed companies twice, this will be the third time. Last year in April they decided to change from a national contract to a state contract, then in October they decided to go back to the national contract, and now they have decided to go back to a state contract in July. If this sounds confusing to you then you are the same as I am. I do the same thing, I have always and will always do the same thing. The difference is where my pay check comes from. I guess an easy way to explain it is to say each time they change my contract I am out of work for a month! One month with no job and no pay check. People ask why I stay with the same job if this often happens and I guess the answer is that it is a job and I need a job. I have improved many things in this job and I take pride in the work I do. But, if I go without work for a month it is a way to teach me to hate the job. Wish me luck in only being out of work for a month!!

Teaching ESL

Building in Upper Lake, CA

Old house in Upper Lake, CA

Today I drove to Tracy, which is about an hour away, to work in a school for an hour. When I got there I found out the materials I needed hadn't arrived yet and I made arrangements to come back next week. When I was driving home I got a desperate call from a recruiter that needed me to do some paperwork for a person that was at the place where they were going to sign a document, but couldn't until they got my paperwork. Why did they wait until the same day to find out they needed the paperwork? So, I went to the office they were in and prepared and signed the document they needed. I then went to a career fair to talk to people looking for jobs. I had dinner with my youngest daughter, Sarah and then I went to an information seminar to tell people about my weekend job. I teach ESL teachers how to teach in other countries. One of the questions that came up tonight was whether they needed prior teaching experience. My answer was they didn't need teaching experience because teaching ESL is different than teaching other tings. Teaching ESL isn't really teaching anything, it is being a facilitator to encourage students to talk and motivate them to do what they have learned to do over the many years they have been studying English. Think about it, EVERY students in Asia has taken English classes for at least 6 years, 3 in Middle School and 3 High School. If you went to college that is another 2 years. But, if you go to Asia how many people admit they can speak English? NONE! Even the people that speak decent English will not admit they do, they will tell you they can't speak English. How does that happen? Well, to begin with, their teachers are in the same mind set, they don't think they can speak English either! They can pass grammar tests, but they can't write a sentence, let alone speak a sentence. So, teaching ESL is convincing students they know English and finding ways to show them they speak it. Play a game that they must use English, but they don't realize they are speaking English, just think they are playing a game. I always tell people don't think English is work, think of it as play. So, everyone that lives in an English speaking country should be happy, they are playing throughout their daily lives. So, smile!!

One of the last pay phones in California!

Strong Wills

Finishing the 5K in Campbell.

I really don't like people that don't care what others think. I hope people learn that just because they have an idea doesn't mean everyone agrees with them. I can hear my mom saying that I should listen to myself here because I am guilty of this also. But, does it make sense for someone to make decisions for a group without condenses of the group? Today I spent all day at a booth in a conference. There were 6 of us working at the booth. I spent the majority of the day there and one girl would come for 10 minutes and then leave, then come back 2 hours later, stay 5 minutes and leave. She spent a total of an hour of the day there. The first time she came she decided to move the table back so the conference attendees would have to walk into the space and we could talk to them there, rather than have the table on the edge of the space and we come out to talk to them. She made the change and then left, leaving everyone else wondering why she changed it. When she came back I confronted her about it and she started arguing with me. I left to make a presentation and when I came back she wasn't there. I ended up setting up my stuff in an empty booth across from the main one. I don't see a reason to have a confrontation about this, but everyone else agreed with me they just didn't want to have a confrontation about such a minor detail. I was frustrated the whole day and I guess I still am because I am writing about this before I sleep. Oh well, it isn't a big deal and it made the girl happy!! Good night...

Running along the river in Campbell.

Jr Sr Highs

Me in Monterey!

Lindsey in Monterey

Today I worked in Hercules Junior and Senior High School. It is a school that has 6th through 12th grades. As I was there I realized that would have been nice to have gone to the same school for 6 years. You don't get to be the top of the school except once, but you also don't go from the top to the bottom when you go from Junior to Senior High. It is nice in other countries that the schools are all similar, elementary schools are 1 - 5 grades, junior high (middle school) is 7 - 9, and high school is 10 - 12 grades. In the US it can be everything from one school being K - 12, some schools being K - 3, some schools being K - 5, some schools being K - 6, some schools being K - 8, Some schools being 7 - 8, some schools being 6 - 8, and lots of different combinations. It makes it hard to have anything consistent in education. It would be nice to have some consistency.

Run along the ocean

Before the race.

Running down the middle of the road.

Running along the ocean.

Golf course and light house on the other side.

Last night I stayed at my Mom's house and this morning I ran a 5K in Pacific Grove. There were a lot of people running today, yesterday was 1100 and today must have been 3000. This is the kind of race I really enjoy where they close the street and have us run down the middle of the street. I have probably driven down Ocean Avenue 1000 times, and today I ran it! Next time I drive it I will remember this experience clearly. This is the first time I have run two races back to back, and I really regret this decision. I hurt from the race yesterday even before I started, and after a few minutes I wanted to quit. I kept running and finished it without walking at all. I don't ever want to walk during a race because then I will do it again, and it will spoil me forever and I won't ever finish a race again without walking. It was funny, the thing that surprised me the most is, "Running too much hurts my butt!". My daughter is talking about running an 8K next month, but I don't think I will. I decided I will do a 5K on March 3 that starts at 8am, that way I can get back and showered and changed and teach by 9:30. Wish me luck on that one!!    

Next week won't be so hectic at work, Monday I will go to Hercules High, then Tuesday I will go to a conference in Sacramento. Wednesday is a small school in Tracy and then Thursday is back to Sacramento for a large school. Friday I will actually spend time in my office and do reports. I started my reports tonight and found that in January I worked in 61 schools and taught 1783 students. Already in February I have been to 13 schools and worked with 476 students.

Finished!

Race Weekend

Before the Campbell race.

Umbrellas were out.

This morning I did the first race of "Race Weekend". I ran the 5K in Campbell, CA. It rained, so it was the first time I ran in the rain. We ran on a path along a stream, on a bridge across the stream then back and across the bridge again. I haven't been training for 3 weeks, this was the first time I ran in a long time. I am glad I have started again, I guess that is why I have made a pact to run two races every month. It is a little hard to keep my pact since I work three weekends a month, it only gives me one weekend to run two races. Tomorrow I will be running along the coast in Pacific Grove! I have some pictures I will share with you while I write this week.       

Upper Lake "character".

This week I have been driving a lot. From last Friday to this Friday I have driven over 2300 miles and visited 8 high schools. One school was in Upper Lake, CA (yes, that is the name of the city) and the high school's mascot was the cougars. In the office they had a stuffed cougar! I am telling everyone that is why they are called the cougars and the cougar was killed on the campus, but the truth is it was shot many years ago and has been around for long before the school. That school had a total of 350 students, the school the next day had 3500 students and they were the cougars also, but had a stone statue. I will write more after tomorrow's race.   

Upper Lake High Cougars!

Sunnyside High Cougars