jackstorm

Why, yes...I have fallen off the face of the planet.  o_O!!

Time to clean up that mess.

I should be doing some research on Miller's Theater of the Absurd, but for the last hour or so, I've been playing with features on LJ. Friends list has been tidied. "Sony" has been eliminated from my list of interests. Maybe, when my Viao is fixed, I'll like Sony more. Maybe.

And I struggle...is Home Improvement an interest of mine or just a necessary evil, one that constantly tugs for my attention? Either way, I plopped a PS2's $$ for new shutters and paint. ...it's a learning experience, which is good. Builds confidence and eliminates potential mistakes.  It does make my life, however, somewhat dull. Between painting and grading papers, that'll be my next weekend. Oh well.  I'll report on LJ the next crazy thing that happens, which might, you know, take a while.  Take care :)

Heh, it's aleady tomorrow. Pasted from my real blog, because life just sucks that much today. But a warning. If you think that teachers are sugar and spice and never curse, and thus never really people, here's a reality check.

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5 days before school starts

I came in today at around 12:30 pm. It's a good thing I did, because if I had left matters til the weekend, there would be no one to report to.

Between today and last Friday, 12 pm, the middle office area of the Journalism wing was cleaned. Nice. Clean is good. I don't use the office area for much other than storage. My students don't use the office area much because they have little to no need to. The Newpaper crew lives there, and for that reason (and perhaps because they were having their training days on Wednesday and Thursday), the janitorial staff decided to dump NEWSPAPER'S left over fundraising stash, God-know-whose binders, and actual NEWSPAPERS in the YEARBOOK room. The yearbooks in my room and the newspapers stapled ALL OVER THE WALLS OF THE OTHER ROOM would have been a clue as to which room was whose. Thanks, coworker and newspaper adviser, thanks for being a good and ONLY neighbor. But that wasn't the best part. No...

I turned around and noticed something missing from the opposing wall. Hmm..that's funny, there was a computer there. Was. The fastest computer we HAD. I call up Computer Tech guy at the school. Luckily, the phone was placed in an odd location, hard to spot, so I FOUND that bit of equipment. I thought, well, there are a lot of new teachers on campus. Maybe they really needed a computer. I'll just ask where it is and ask for it back. But this is frustrating...I think I'll turn on some music. And that's when I find out that the DVD player is gone, along with the DVD inside it.

At this point, things are NOT good. I search for the department head, former yearbook adviser, who closes her eyes for a bit, in a cringe, and carries me through the process of filing for theft. She empathizes, because something similar happened to her, except, well, my equipment can be replaced through insurance.

Within 30 minutes, all the VPs and most of the administrative staff knows. The popo have been called (but never actually came over from across the street). They need to assess whether it was forced entry or an inside job. Important for insurance purposes. The process was all very educational. If anyone else steals about $2000 worth of equipment, I'll know how to calmly, cooly go through the motions of stolen school property. But today, without music to calm me down, I am fucking pissed. I could not take a joke from a VP, and I KNEW it was a joke. My brain registered it as being funny, but instead of making me laugh, he got me to cry. In front of the principal.

As I sat there, writing up the theft report, I could not escape the irony. In front of me was the report, in all its carbon copy goodness, and to my right was a letter of recommendation needed for a former student of mine. I needed to write down that I had been robbed, and then immediately recover emotionally enough to give back to the community.

That, in a nutshell, is really what people outside of education do not and cannot understand

It becomes blatantly clear in conversations with them. "I'm sorry"..."uhhhh, oooh"..."Well, there's nothing you can do now, right?" Well, that conversation was just about as cathartic as me standing in the bathroom, staring at the mirror, with clean razor blades in the medicine cabinet.

But I do feel better now. The cry, reassurance and understanding from the administrative staff, talks with fellow teachers and good food have calmed me down. Before I try going to sleep, I need to let this thought rest. I was going to leave a message to worthless, soul-less thieves who had so obviously made the job a clearly inside job. But since the police had not come by yet, I refrained from writing it. It would have gone something like this:

Dear thieves,

I assume there were more than one of you because only a brothel of geniuses could have pulled this job. You stole the fastest computer in the room, a password protected, 4 year-old and thus tempermental Mac. You stole the DVD player, well, most of it. You left a cable, and the DVD case of the DVD that was in machine. You actually went INTO my desk and stole the highly abused yearbook cameras. Well, now you too can take 2 shots, like my students do, and have it give you a fatal error.
It was not stealing the fucked equipment that I am fucking angry about. Shit is stolen every day. But the fact that you had the gall to steal from a broken program and from a school. You exist on the same level of hell as those who graffiti on churches and beat children in a drunken fit of rage. Thus,  I curse you. May the computer blow up and burn down your home, the cameras hold the incriminating evidence needed to send you to prison, and your complete lack of moral fiber disgust your own children so that they disown you and leave you to die by yourself, alone, and hated.

From Phil, 100 Best Movies (bold the ones you've seen)

    1. The Godfather (1972)
    2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
    3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
    4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
    5. Shichinin no samurai [aka Seven Samurai] (1954)
    6. Schindler's List (1993)
    7. Casablanca (1942)
    8. Star Wars (1977)
    9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
  10. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  11. "Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il" [aka The Good, the Bad and the Ugly] (1966)
  12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
  13. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  14. Rear Window (1954)
  15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  16. The Usual Suspects (1995)
  17. Cidade de Deus [aka City of God] (2002)
  18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
  19. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  20. 12 Angry Men (1957)
  21. Citizen Kane (1941)
  22. Memento (2000)
  23. C'era una volta il West [aka Once Upon a Time in the West] (1968)
  24. Psycho (1960)
  25. Goodfellas (1990)
  26. North by Northwest (1959)
  27. "Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le" [aka Amélie] (2001)
  28. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  29. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  30. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
  31. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
  32. American Beauty (1999)
  33. Fight Club (1999)
  34. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
  35. The Matrix (1999)
  36. Vertigo (1958)
  37. Apocalypse Now (1979)
  38. Paths of Glory (1957)
  39. Taxi Driver (1976)
  40. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
  41. The Pianist (2002)
  42. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi [aka Spirited Away] (2001)
  43. Seven (1995)
  44. The Third Man (1949)
  45. Léon [aka The Professional] (1994)
  46. "Boot, Das" (1981)
  47. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  48. Chinatown (1974)
  49. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
  50. "Untergang, Der" [aka Downfall] (2004)
  51. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
  52. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
  53. American History X (1998)
  54. M (1931)
  55. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  56. Rashômon (1950)
  57. L.A. Confidential (1997)
  58. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
  59. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
  60. Modern Times (1936)
  61. All About Eve (1950)
  62. Alien (1979)
  63. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
  64. Crash (2004)
  65. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
  66. Some Like It Hot (1959)
  67. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  68. Double Indemnity (1944)
  69. Raging Bull (1980)
  70. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
  71. "Vita è bella, La" [aka Life Is Beautiful] (1997)
  72. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
  73. The Incredibles (2004)
  74. Metropolis (1927)
  75. Sin City (2005)
  76. The Shining (1980)
  77. City Lights (1931)
  78. Amadeus (1984)
  79. The Sting (1973)
  80. The Great Escape (1963)
  81. On the Waterfront (1954)
  82. Aliens (1986)
  83. Touch of Evil (1958)
  84. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
  85. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
  86. Rebecca (1940)
  87. "Sjunde inseglet, Det" [aka The Seventh Seal] (1957)
  88. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  89. The Apartment (1960)
  90. Ran (1985)
  91. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  92. The Great Dictator (1940)
  93. Jaws (1975)
  94. Strangers on a Train (1951)
  95. Nuovo cinema Paradiso [aka Cinema Paradiso] (1989)
  96. Donnie Darko (2001)
  97. Braveheart (1995)
  98. Finding Nemo (2003)
  99. Fargo (1996)
100. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

hmmm...summer movies...

eeeeeeeee...heh...it's only 8:14 pm at the moment. It feels like midnigt. Burn-out? Yes'm. Although the speed at which I read has increased exponentially, I still have very, very large piles of work. I'm tempted to use the supplementary geometry credential I already possess, to lighten my paper load. But then I would be teaching Geometry, which is now a requirement for the UCs and Cal States.

Anyway, what brings me here is Michael's comment. No, I don't work for TCUSD. Even though Plutko returned, and my class was the class he entered and left with, the hiring office didn't bat an eyelid at my credentials or my alumni status. I was hired by another school district I spent the first few years of my education. It's not my first choice, but I'm glad to be working. I just don't want to be working this much because it's turning my head into mush. Ironically, Arcadia called me and offered me an interview to be a SUBSTITUTE TEACHER. Gee...thanks. Unless they offer me a classroom where I can be thoroughly acquainted with the rats that inhabit the foundation of their buildings, I think I'll stay where I am. The roaches here are more humble.

From Kyubikitsy. Waiting for carpool person for Cal game...

1. What is your occupation?
English Teacher/yearbook advisor
2. What color do you wear most?
Black, blue, brown
3. What are you listening to right now?
Katamari Damashi soundtrack
4. What was the last thing you ate?
Vietnamese sandwich
5. Do you wish on stars?
Stars in Los Angeles? Nope...
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
"Storm" blue
7. How is the weather right now?
Sunny.
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Gary...giving him directions to get here.
9. Do you like the person that sent this to you?
Sure :) She's a nice person.
10. How old are you today?
26 years...about 3 months?
11. Favorite drink?
Peach soda, root beer float
12 Favorite sport to watch?
Basketball, football
13. Have you ever dyed your hair?
My friends tried to
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Sometimes glasses
15. Pets?
BILL!! kitty
16. Favorite month?
August
17. Favorite food?\
Things that include bread or rice
18. Favorite day of the year?
The day after final grades are turned in.
20. What do you do to vent anger?
write in blog, play RO, talk to friends, sleep
21. Fall or spring?
Fall.
22. Hugs or kisses?
no, thank you?
23. Cherry or Blueberry?
two slices of pie, please!
24. Do you want your friends to email you back?
if they have time, either way
25. Who is most likely to respond?
no one!!
26. Living arrangements?
With parents, no rent in exchange for fixing house
27. When was the last time you cried?
probably when I was watching a movie...
28. What is on the floor of your closet?
too much stuff...suitcase, shoes, art box...
29. Who is the friend you have had the longest?
Linda, Jerylin
30. What did you do last night?
Watched the high school fall play, had a very long and theraputic talk with a coworker/friend about students, ate pizza, got a hug from her kids, drove home and went to sleep
31. Favorite smell?
laundry, the smell of dinners being made on my walks home
32. What inspires you?
life?
33. What are you afraid of?
large insects, blood, failure
34. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers?
spicy cheesy burgers!
35. Favorite car?
I like mine, Accord '05.
35a. Car u drive?
uh...see above
36. Favorite dog breed?
none...but if I must, husky :)
37. Number of keys on your key ring?
Too many...thank you YEARBOOK!
38. How many years at your current job?
nearing 3rd month, round abouts
39. Favorite day of the week?
Saturdays are good
40. How many states have you lived in?
1 in the US.
41. How many cities have you lived in/name the cities?
later...time to go watch Cal game

...because I thought it looked amusing on Phil's LJ.

the Prankster (43% dark, 39% spontaneous, 38% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | LIGHT Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but you're not into what some would call 'low humor' either. You'll laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist. You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it's highly likely you've tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor because it's smart without being mean-spirited. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Conan O'Brian - Ashton Kutcher

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 18% on dark You scored higher than 56% on spontaneous You scored higher than 68% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

I have an incredibly high vulgar rating. I don't know why, though. It might have been that I chose Rushmore for one of the "funny movie" choices. I hadn't seen any of those movies, so I just chose Rushmore, since I had heard it...somewhere. Bad choice? Maybe...>_o

I'm someone who believes in "justice from heaven." If you're an ass and you make life hell for other people, then you'd better watch out for lightening. Lightening would be good, but I think that they guy should get his car totalled. That would be much more fitting.

Today was my roommate's sister's graduation. It's a day of celebration, so there had to be a bastard in the scene. We came out of the restaurant and the car in back of me is parked, touching my back bumper. I moved my forward, to see if there was any damage, and lo, another gouge into the paint. The bolts from his liscense plate had dug into the paint.

Now, how did I know it was a "he"? Well, the bastard and his friends were lounging in front of the restaurants, like a bunch of teenage thugs...only he was a short, late-20s to 30-something Korean guy, dressed like your typically single nerd. I asked the bunch if they knew who the owner of the white civic was. His buddies, true friends that they were, replied with a "it's not mine." Real gutsy. He finally spoke up. I told him the situation and his response was that his car wasn't parked touching mine, that in fact I had BACKED INTO his car, and that all of this was my word against his. I had moved the car, so there was no proof, save that the gouge marks match exactly where his screws were. But the shithead didn't even stand up to take a look or be considerate.

Of course, it wasn't just my word against his. There was the graduation crowd. In the end, I walked away, pissed. Although I know it can be faked, next time, I'm taking a picture.

Next time you see a white civic, 2000 build, 4 door, with a fast track on the upper portion of the passenger side, a front liscense plate holder saying that he bought his car from Anaheim, and a lame striped bedsheet draped on the backseat, give him hell.