Learning should be FUN!

Today I went to a MeetUp meeting I like to go to where I teach an ESL class to random people that come for a lesson. It is really strange since each week there are 10 - 20 people and a large percentage have never been there before. So I could really do the same thing every month and just rotate over 4 weeks. I enjoy it and I feel I am contributing to to others' lives. It is interesting to see the diversity of people that attend. Today there were a few people from Mexico, some from India, a couple of Asians, and even a girl from Peru

 We started with an introduction of everyone and waiting for the people that came late. Then we talked a little about ways to practice listening. The usual problem with listening is people that speak another language can't tell where one word ends and the next word begins. Say, "What time is it?" Say each word separately, doesn't it should strange, like a robot? Now say, "Wha time i sit?". Isn't that really how we say it? We blend the 2 t's together and we take the "s" on is and put it on "it". That is why many people can read and write and not hear when native speakers speak. The problem is people stress about it too much.

It is important that non-native speakers understand what their problems are so they can understand how to correct them. One way to help with the way we blend words is Tongue Twisters. So then we paired everyone up and practiced tongue twisters. I told them not to worry about the meaning of the words, like how big is a peck, but worry about pushing yourself to say them faster. If I don't make it fun then their heart isn't into the work and they don't really learn anything. The tongue twisters we used are:

1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
   A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
   If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
   Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
2. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
   
3. She sells seashells by the seashore
4. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
5. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
6. I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop
7. Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines
8. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
   
9. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
10. I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late!    
    

Shootings in movies

Sarah in Homecoming Court

These days there are many mass killings. Is this a new phenomenon or is it just being reported more? The latest one was a 59 year old man was watching a movie and then stood up and just shot the other movie goers. Last week was a man that shot at a recruiter's office then went into a building and shot military people in uniform. The first one of these I can remember was Columbine where some high school students went to their school and shot other students and teachers. But, when I heard about that I also heard that it often happened in other schools it just wasn't reported because it wasn't so rare.

Homecoming Float

That is the problem, I don't know if this is a new thing or if it is just getting more press now. I don't know anyone that changes their habits or daily activity because of these shootings. We always think it will happen to someone else and somewhere else. I think a few years ago it happened around here, but I still don't ever think about it. You wonder what you would do if you were in such a situation. I was never around a shooting, but when I was in college I got into a situation where some people attacked the people I was with and I had to decide what to do. If I was around a shooting I don't know what I would do either.

High school football game

I went into a gas station to pay for the gas and when I turned around the two people in the car I was riding in were on the ground being kicked. The other people in the store had called the police and told me I shouldn't go out. I was thinking of going out, but I knew I couldn't have done anything to help except also gotten kicked. The police came quickly, within 1 minute so I didn't have long to contemplate. I was so upset, still upset, and they just got beat up. What if there was shooting? The people got killed are not the only one's hurt in this situation. Everyone in the area will always wonder if they did the right thing!

Movie review - Pixels

Bird in Oakland

Every Friday I go to the movies. I get paid to go to each different version of first run movies and make a list of what trailers are being shown. I usually will sit through the last movie I must see to watch the movie. Last year I made $900 doing this and watched lots of movies. So, each Friday I will review the movie I saw. This week I saw Pixels. Bottom line is go see it if you want to see a movie, versus you must see it or don't see it unless you want to sleep. Also remember the pictures I use on my blog have nothing to do with what I write.

Girl and her dog on the beach

I don't usually like Adam Sandler because he is like an adult that behaves like a child. I don't find him funny and I don't know if he is acting or just being himself on a stage. I have always liked Kevin James and he is always funny to me. Peter Dinklage is good in everything he does ... I'm glad he doesn't do comedy. There was a female, but I don't know her name and she was not good in this film. Adam Sandler never knows how to be romantic, still. I judge movies on the story more than anything else, and I didn't think I would like the story, but I did.

Para-surfing

The story line is a little stupid and silly, but I grew up with video games and it was fun to relive my past. I enjoyed the movie and I had to leave after an hour to go check out another showing to list the trailers. I didn't think it would be a problem since I thought I wouldn't like the movie. But, I liked the movie and almost was late for the other movie because I wanted to see what happened. The beginning of the movie has a bunch of kids in an arcade contest, that was a little boring. Then it goes to the main part of the movie with the aliens attacking and that was ok.

Being pulled by a parachute

The end has the nerds saving the world and the action was fun to watch. You know how it will end and there isn't really a twist so it won't get very good reviews. Rotten Tomato review.  I liked this movie and I liked the story. They tried to put romance in the movie and that didn't work. I would suggest people see this movie if they want to go to a movie and there is nothing they really want to see. The problem is there is lots to see right now. First see Jurassic World, then see Inside Out, then see Minions, then Ant-man; Those are all must sees.

Berkeley Marina

Then see Trainwreck and Pixels if you need more movies to see and don't want to sleep. Lots of good films this year. I suggest everyone see Max and McFarland USA to feel good.

Soldiers don't need to carry guns

Shark!!

I work with California National Guard recruiters. A few days ago recruiters were shot at during work and other military members were shot at their duty station. The National Guard can do things other services can't because it is decided by the state what to do. Some states had their recruiters start to carry guns. This isn't really smart because then you have nervous people walking around with guns. It is also hard to get schools to accept the recruiters that might be carrying guns. It would feel uncomfortable to talk to a recruiter about a job when they are carrying guns.

Can you imagine sitting with a recruiter and talking about future jobs and he puts his gun on the table and says, "You DO want to join the military, don't you?" HAHA it makes me laugh just to write that. Yesterday I was at the headquarters for the recruiters and asked them if California was planning on changing anything for recruiters. We already have all the buildings locked and we have been worrying about safety. Today I went to a recruiter office and they were not in uniform. The were wearing civilian clothes, one was wearing blue jeans.

artist adding paint to a Thomas Kinkade painting

Instead of arming themselves the California recruiters are camouflaging themselves. They are blending in with their surroundings. They still get their job done, they just aren't moving targets or radical people. When the units get together they wear uniforms, when there is a meeting they wear uniforms, but, when an individual recruiter is walking out on the street they don't wave the red flag in front of the enemy and invite trouble. The only place I predict we will have trouble is San Francisco. The San Francisco Unified School District doesn't allow recruiters on high school campus unless their wear a uniform.

Sitting around Carmel

 In the next few days I will go get permission for an exception to policy. We never know what San Francisco will do so we will not try to predict.

boots for all occasions

Emotions

some pictures bring out emotions

When I watch that audition I tear up. Most people that know me know how true that is. I get emotional about many things. Sometimes it is laughter, sometimes it is tears, sometimes it is anger, and sometimes it is love and admiration. You have heard the expression of people wearing their emotions on their sleeves, I wear it on my face and in my eyes. I wish I could control my emotions, but I often lose control. When I taught in Korea every Christmas time I would play the movie, It's a Wonderful Life. I think it is a good way to understand American culture.

Giants in 2015

If you have ever seen the movie you probably know the end where the bells are ringing on the Christmas tree. I always tear up at that part. I don't care how many times I see the movie I lose my emotions at the same point. When I show the movie during class I always turn my back to my class at that point. My tears are running down my face and then I wipe them off and then turn around and face the class. I have mentioned before how I have gone to the movies with my youngest daughter and during the movie she will tell me to quit crying. The theater is dark so I ask how she knows I am crying.

49ers 2015

She says she knows I am crying because she is also. I don't like being so emotional and I hope my daughter doesn't inherit this weakness from me. I don't think it is good for a man or a woman to be so emotional. I know it has hurt me in my life. When I was an Army officer it was really bad when I would be yelled at and I would start to tear up. It was terrible! I would not be that upset, but tears would be in my eyes. Or when I had to punish someone and I would have water in my eyes as I tell them what their punishment was.

Seeing the flag always brings out my emotions.

When I was young I would sometimes laugh so much that I couldn't stop. I had to hit my head on the wall to try to stop laughing. I have become so angry that I couldn't think rationally and had to just leave the situation so I could think of what to do. I don't get scared so easily and I don't avoid many situations because of my emotions. When I like/ love things immensely sometimes I can't control myself. Today I drove past UC Davis and thought about the first time I took my oldest daughter there to go to college and I started to tear up! AHHHHH!!

Run, Scottie, Run!

12K across the Golden Gate Bridge

In 2011 I decided to lose weight because I saw a picture of myself. I was embarrassed and didn't want to look like that fat slob any more. I lost the weight, 20 pounds, in 3 months and didn't want to put it back on. So, I started running 5K races, "fun runs". I ran my first 5K on 11/11/2011. I ran it with my oldest daughter Lindsey.

Crossing the bridge and taking pictures.

I did one more that year and then I decided I would do 2 a month the following year. So in 2012 I did 24 5K or more races. I did 10Ks, mud races, and a 12K. I ran in California, Idaho, and Arizona. The following January I even did a 5K on international waters (on a cruise ship). The following year I decided to try one 10K a month.

Running downtown San Jose

That didn't work so well. I don't like doing 10Ks and I started regretting trying. The following year I didn't run so often, I just did the runs I enjoyed doing.

San Jose Japantown

People ask me why I pay to run when I can do it for free by myself. Last year I found out that if I don't pay then I don't feel a need to run. If I don't run 5Ks then I don't run to prepare for them. When I do a 5K I am motivated to run every day to prepare for it.

4th of July on the Parade route

I always try to find people to run with me. I can't get others interested in running with me, or in the same races.

Audience watching us run!

This year I will try a 5K a month. I have it all covered until December. This also encourages me to keep running every day. I am successful in doing that 4 days a week, but I want to do it 7 days a week. My next run is the SF Giants run which runs along the tourist area. There will be over 9,000 people running. Then in September I will do a "black light run" where they throw neon paint on you as you run then you run under black lights at night!

going underneath the bridge

I hope I never get old

Caissons go rolling along in Ft. Ord

One of the hardest things about a blog is consistency, writing every day gets difficult. Today I spent the day with my mom. In the morning I applied for a Fictitious Business Name, Philfril Mercantile, and then drove to Carmel where my mom lives. We just hung out in the afternoon, ate dinner out, then mellowed out at home after dinner. One thing I did today was set up a music system for my mom. I noticed when I have been here before, she just moved to a new house, I noticed she had an old boom box for her background music. I brought an old computer and put iHeart radio on it.

Field Artillery in Ft. Ord

I set it up so she can choose what genre music she wants to listen to by using the touch screen and then the music will play until she stops it. I also put old pictures of family trips, the Monterey area, and the trips I take around California. So, tonight we are listening to classical music and watching pictures of trips I have taken. I will change the pictures sometimes during the year and on the other side of the living room she has pictures from the on-line digital frame my sisters provide the pictures for. I think one of the hardest things as you get older these days is keeping up with the technology.

Remember when we would buy big radios? Remember when we had huge stereos as furniture in our house? Remember when we had reel to reel tape machines to replace the phonographs? Remember when we would ... you get the idea. Now we try to get smaller and less conspicuous. I hope my kids keep me up to date when I get old. I remember how long it took us to convince my mom that texting was not rude and just because we can pick up a phone and call doesn't mean we need to.

Seal balancing on a rock to stay dry while his buddy waits for his turn!

I've been gone for SIX Months!

Carmel beach at sunset

I haven't written in this blog for six months. I plan on writing again. When I originally started writing this blog I was trying to write a letter to my future grandchildren. I wanted them to know the things that happened to me and thoughts I had so they would have an idea who I was. I know my children never read this, and that is ok because it isn't written for them. Then it got to be a way for me to share my thinking with people I know, and don't know. I don't often share my thoughts with people these days.

Carmel beach kelp

On the 20th of January I met someone that I could share things with and I enjoyed her company. I had no need nor desire to continue writing in this blog because I spent the time I would be doing that talking to her and it made more sense to do that. When I wrote this blog before I would think during the day what I could write about that evening. Sometimes my writing was interesting and sometimes it was just rambling. When I had new events in my life I enjoyed contemplating things through writing about them. Just thinking about the writing helped me make decisions. Sometimes the decisions were good and sometimes bad, but writing here forced me to think about them more. I will be making some big moves in the next year or so, so I want to start writing and thinking about things  I am doing. I live in Sunnyvale, California which is in the South Bay Area of San Francisco Bay. This has got to be one of the most expensive areas in the country. The average price of houses in this area is $900,000 and everything else is comparatively as expensive. When the radio talks about the highest gas prices in the country it is usually a city near me. Food is expensive in this area... everything is. I can move an hour away and the average house value is $250,000.

Monterey Aquarium sea anemone

I was thinking of moving to Pennsylvania last year to make the same money I make now, but costs were much lower. Instead of moving across the country while don't I move a hundred miles? I have friends in the area I am thinking of moving to, but will leave many friends I have in this area. I will only be an hour away and will still work in this area so that shouldn't stop me. I will be moving further from my mother and sister, but I will still work in those two areas, so that shouldn't stop me. I hate moving. I have moved a lot in my life, but that doesn't outweigh the benefits.

Monterey aquarium jelly fish

I have someone that will buy my house and now I can't put off moving any more. I don't have anyplace to move to as of right now, but I will actively look in the next couple of weeks. This should also help me get out of all my debt and help me start on a bright future!

Monterey Aquarium sea otter

I will write more about it in the future, I just wanted to be sure to start this today, since it is my 6 month anniversary. Please remember that when I post pictures on here they are just pictures I have taken recently and don't necessarily have anything to do with what I'm writing about.

Monterey Aquarium Penguins