Math is hard, let's go shopping

I just completed 40 hours of math training. Its sort of the typical gig. I have the 20% rule. I get about 20% useful information - which in the course of 5 days is one day. Not bad. See, math is easy 1/5th is 20%. Got it.

Friday night I made a chicken salad with dijon (delicious) dressing. I found this champagne shallot mustard at my local grocery store and it makes for really good dressing. I actually did not have enough so I also added some of the dijon with the little mustard seeds in it - I have not idea what they are called. Seeds? Then JP and I watched 300. A bunch of over-muscled men shouting a lot, but not a bad story. I sort of stopped watching movies that are depressing or require too much thinking. After the film, we had a discussion and I said I do not really have an appreciation for good film. I am of the opinion that a lot of film today is easy to make because of the ability to sensationalize with high-tech. I do enjoy movies, but I think I often do not appreciate them the way I appreciate books.

Saturday I looked at an apartment in a downtown area and I really liked it, but again, it was in the price range that would really stretch me and wouldn't allow me to save any money. I live in a really cheap place and its really beautiful here. I can walk everyday to the market - less than 2 blocks from my house. Its pretty ideal. The new place was in a great neighborhood and when I do move in 6 months to a year I know that's the neighborhood where I want to find a place. At least that sort of helps. I can keep looking in just that area and when other really great places do come up, I'll have an idea of the value. There will be more places like this and the time v. money issue will be resolved eventually. But as of now, as I said before, I am committed to trying the commute for four months.

It was a good day. Very productive. For dinner last night, I made a Vietnamese beef noodle salad. I did not add bean sprouts because I can not stand them. It was really good. Although, I think I might use a different type of meat cut. The flank steak needed to be cut more thinly and I do not really have a knife for that, so perhaps a skirt steak. It was about the same price anyway.

Today was sort of lazy. I had every intention of going for my long run, but then decided to postpone it until tomorrow. BT and I ran 6 yesterday and lately I have not been feeling the run everyday thing, every other day is all I can motivate to do. JP and I have a date this afternoon and we are both hoping to sort of forget about all the stuff we have to do and relax for a bit. We both needed to save money and so dinners out and that sort of thing have been non-existent. Its sort of a nerd date because of where we are going, but it works for us.

Crraazzeeee

To the psychopath in the black jag,

First of all, I merely realized I couldn't turn there so continued on my way. It did not entitle you to honk, scream, and then proceed to chase me for about 10 minutes swerving in front of me to get me to stop, then pulling up behind me and swerving in and out. You are certifiably insane. And why, I wonder when we stopped at three different lights, did you not get out and do something? Because you never were. You have a bad case of road rage, I do not really believe that you are a gang-banger despite the image that you and your boy toy with the jewel-stuff in his teeth tried to convey. You are just crazy. Like all the other crazies in this town. Believe me, I have seen my share of them living here. You did your job to scare me, because who the heck in their right mind chases someone on public streets, yelling at them to pull over...because they made a traffic mistake, but I'm not scared anymore. Because you, my love, are an idiot and insane. Next time you're not in your car, we'll see how it goes down. I mean, let's face it, you're driving a jag. That's not even a quality gang banger car, little old ladies like the the ones across the street from me, drive jags. I mean, at least get a Mercedes with some quality rims and tinted windows so I can't see your punk face. Or your BFs punk face with those silly gems in his teeth. So go crazy, rage on someone else, perhaps the complaint to the police I made will do some good and get your drunk/crazy/drugged-out/whatever behind slammed behind some bars for awhile. Or whatever happens to crazy people like you.

Yours,

Girl you chased for the evening...


I swear people in this town are certifiably insane. Really. I have experienced more stuff like this living here than anywhere I have lived in my life. I lived in a remodeled crack house once and used to come home to cops on various corners of my block. Even when the junkies came by at night, they would kindly leave when we told them we didn't have any drugs. I used to ride my bike to and from work. I've lived on the blocks that were the oasis between areas of town you didn't really want to walk alone through. The worst thing that happened was I got hit a couple times on my bike. It was pretty tame. I've crossed to street only to watch some guy pull a gun out of his belt as he went running to the other side. That sort of freaked me out. But most of these people want nothing to do with me. This place (sort of giving good reason to move, now aren't I) has more crazies per square inch that just about anywhere. A Halloween fair downtown produced more than a half dozen "gang-related" stabbings. A homeless guy on a bike tried to open the door to my car because he thought "we were laughing at him." There ismore violence and crime in this town (granted in places where I don't live or go) than many other cities in the U.S. where you would assume it would be way worse. The place I am supposed to move to has actually been rated one of the safest cities in the U.S. to live in terms of violent crime. Other friends in town have been screamed at, chased, and threatened. Even a good friend who lives in NY City hasn't had that many problems. And so today I get chased by some loca in a black jaguar around four city blocks, until I finally pulled into the police station and made a report to two officers. Nut-bags. I rid myself of your negative, hate-creating, fear-mongering energy because I'm Zen b#$@ch, that's right, I'm Zen.

Reactions

Last night I attended a BBQ and sort of floated my thoughts about commuting. It was sort of amazing the reaction that idea created. People either gave me the "Hmm, yeah, I can see your dilemma..." or "Oh my GOD! You do NOT want to do that." Obviously the later have very strong reactions about commuting (probably not totally unlike my own.) Its a quality of life vs. money thing, ultimately. As I was driving home, however, I sort of got annoyed about the later reaction. I am one person looking for a studio or one bedroom. I can not afford to live in a house. Why not a find a roommate? Sure, thought about it. But I am sort of getting too old for that. The roommate could not have pets as I am uncomfortably allergic and the roommate would pretty much have to be okay with overnight guests. If I were to apply to their previously paid for apartment, I do not have those luxuries. I can not afford to put down upwards of $3-4000 for a place and then advertise for a roommate. Many of the BBQ attendees have high paying jobs, own their own homes and well, at this point in their lives do not have to look at places such as I have looked. They have not gone on line to see apartments (1 bd) for which you almost qualify for maximum income restrictions, but not quite. How does that make you feel? So, you really don't understand. And frankly, its not a big deal, but I have to figure it out and y'all with your strong opinions aren't helping. If I stay here and save money, ultimately making some quality of life sacrifices and adding extra pollution to the air (well aware, thanks) I might, just might, get that much closer to owning something, or at least that much closer to possibly having a roomie that could share the expense. (Not that that is my ultimate goal in love. Sort of makes me sound trite, doesn't it?)

On another note, I did see a potentially cute apartment in an old victorian - much more up my alley - in a historic part of town. Its very much in my price range and is actually a one bedroom. It has hardwood floors, which is pretty key for the allergy thing. I will go take a look tomorrow and then be in a better place to make a decision.

Retail Therapy

The last several days have entailed a lot of nothing. After another discouraging house hunt on Monday, I had to reevaluate. Granted, I am not really doing everything I can to find a place to live, because, let's face it, I hate moving. Its always been fairly painless for me. I look at a couple of places, apparently get really lucky, move in a weekend and viola. So, the decision is to commute 40 minutes (on good days) each way and pay almost $400 less in rent each month, or move. Seems obvious, right? Well, let's weigh the options here. The $400 a month savings would go to the increase in gas, which based on the distance to my previous job, is actually exactly twice the distance. I would add and additional 36 miles per day. Plus additional wear and tear on my car (which is four years old.) Its about 13,000 miles for the 180 days of school. I typically get my car serviced every 3-5,000 for oil and stuff and 10,000 for the big ones. So, let's say that 4 oil changes and one and a half service per year. I just got new tires (and we're only talking about commuting for a year here, as a start.) Its approximately 3,700$ per year, providing no major break downs or accidents. Now on the rent side. $400 per month by 12 months. You do the math, $1000 dollars. That's a plane ticket the heck out of here to just about anywhere. Which, technically, isn't entirely correct. I didn't factor the increase of car expenses, just the total. I was paying half that per year, previously. Add five, carry the one, borrow from the tens column, plus or minus...okay, so more like $2800.

Is it worth it?

On the flip side, you know how I feel about exercise, so you can probably guess how I feel about sitting in my car for long periods of time.

Which one will win out? Savings or sanity. Screw it, Hawaii here I come!

So, in trying to come to my decision, I continue to avoid it. Yesterday I needed new make-up (but you're gorgeous, you say, you don't need it...Please, we aren't gettin' any younger here people,) so I went online to see if it was free gift time - indeed! And the Nordstrom anniversary sale! Darn. I did so well these last months trying to save money that I decided to treat myself (right, because I needed it...) Well, there were these really cute wedge pumps (see below) and my black shoes seem to be falling to pieces one by one, and they were on SALE. (My, how we justify.) You gotta love that there is an entire industry just to make us gals happy. I'm not super materialistic, but man do I love my shoes, any kind: running shoes, Keens, my comfy Simple sandals, the gold strappy sandals I wore to my bro's wedding, a few pairs of kooky espadrille wedges, my Franco Sarto knee high black boots...Some girls dye their hair, I like to put on fun shoes. It could be worse.

The CA Landscape

I experienced the diversity of California over the past few days. I had grown tired of long drives and felt wary of my gas consumption this summer, so I took the train up to meet my hiking partner - mom.

I used to take the train a lot when I had no car and needed no car. I walked, took public transit and for long trips took the train or bummed a ride. Its a great way to travel - you can sleep, get work done, read a good book, meet strange people, etc. On one occasion, the train hit something and we were stopped for three hours. Public transit stops running at some point and that was my way home, as I was a college student who did not carry money for cabs. (Lesson learned.) A kindly gentlemen with a 4-year daughter in tow loaned me $20 with a business card, as I was pretty panicked about how I would get home. I mailed a check and a thank you promptly and received a Christmas card with picture of the two the following holiday. It was pretty cool.

On this particular occasion, I was on the train that hit a woman committing suicide. We were stopped for two hours. It must be sort of eerie for any conductor that has hit someone. I noticed there were several accidents with trains during this same week. I can hardly fault the train, however, sort of seems like an unlikely beast to halt.

California is an amazingly diverse state. The train passes through housing, parks, industrial zones filled with trash or miscellaneous things to buy, and open spaces. The drive to our hikes starting point was a much starker and some areas were completely untouched. We drove along highway 395, which traverses the backside of the Sierra Nevada. Heading south, you pass Mono Lake and some of the most barren high desert country. Brown juggernauts of rock surround expanses that alternate treeless flatlands of more coffee-colored rock with green river oases. The town of Bishop lies between these expanses. It seems more or less a single wind torn street lined with the usual hodge-podge of gas, fast-food and lodging. We ate at the famous Schatt's Bakery before heading to South Lake, just outside of Bishop, where we would begin our hike. The hike was really more of a Sherpa trek. We agreed to carry 20 pounds each of food up to the Bishop pass to a couple of thru-hikers on the John Muir Trail. The man was a colleague of my mom's and he was hiking the 270-mile trail from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney portal with his son.

We,unfortunately, could not backcountry camp because of the food situation. It would have been a very heavy haul to take their food, plus our gear, and we lacked bear canisters. And honestly, neither of us was in good enough shape to haul 40 lbs of stuff up to almost 12,000 feet. We did a quick hike to acclimate, up to Treasure Lakes (about 5.5 miles round trip.) The trail from South Lake begins among subalpine trees and splits after about a mile. If you head right, you climb to Treasure Lakes, left, Bishop Pass. Treasure Lakes are radiant turquoise alpine lakes nestled at the foot of the surrounding peaks. It was fairly windy when we arrived, so we soon skirted back to our base camp, Parcher's Resort. Parcher's Resort has hikers cabins you can rent for up to two nights - to help you get acclimated, I suppose.

Early the next morning we started up the same trail, this time veering left to Bishop Pass. The sunlight only barely glistening from behind the mountain peaks, gently brushed the tops of conifers and subalpine deciduous trees. The geology of the area is also quite fantastic. Rocks swirled with reds and gold lined the trail in one section, while glacier pounded granite jutted from other areas. The trail begins at about 9,000+ feet and our eventual destination would be at 11,972 feet, Bishop Pass. The first 5 miles traverses mild switchbacks between the flat sections that pass three alpine lakes. We arrived at the first of the lakes after an hour plus of hiking, Long Lake. Long Lake was spectacular. Approaching Long Lake you are greeted with more glistening turquoise water, green conifers and wildflowers of brilliant orange, purple, and yellow. The peaks beyond appear as gray mounds of rock, like giants had laboriously piled day after day until the jagged points touched the sky. Another switchback passed a second set of lakes and the final switchback passed Bishop and Leavenworth lakes. Heading out of Bishop Lake the trail began to climb the final 700-800 feet to the pass. It staircased up a rocky path, the switchbacks tightening with each subsequent pass. The packs heavy, the air thin and our legs feeling the burn, it was a slow go. At the final stretch, when looking back to where we came revealed each of the lakes traversed and the final taxing climb now behind us, we could see our party anxiously wondering if it was indeed us with their food. Mom decided we should hike in a special lunch as well, as a treat, so at the top we shared apples, homemade brownies and blts with garden fresh tomatoes. Following lunch, we exchanged the food for trash and other various objects they begged to off-load, then said our good-byes and headed down opposite sides of the mountain. Mom and I arrived back to South Lake, in about half the time it took us to complete the 6 miles up. We were both weary, caked in dirt, and sun and wind baked. It was a gorgeous hike and we enjoyed, mostly, every minute of it.

Life's Little Interruptions

Life sort of took over and sitting down to write became increasingly more difficult. Let's see:

(1) I have a new position as a 4th grade teacher in a dual immersion program;
(2) I continue to look for housing that isn't going to break the bank, a harder feat than I originally imagined;
(3) I met that someone that, happily, takes up my "free" time (you're on summer vacation, you say...ha);
(4) I attended a conference and learned some new and valuable stuff;
(5) I try to get a little bit of work in each day to make next year more bearable;
(6) Undergoing allergy treatment has proved to create more problems than treat at the moment;
(7) Visited my brother and new sister-in-law in Oregon (that's me climbing - great fun); and
(8) I have been doing a lot of reading (love summer break for that.)

It is both totally stressful and totally fulfilling to have all sorts of life changes at the moment. It was absolutely overwhelming to find out just how much work I have ahead of me. It was fulfilling to attend a session in the conference that sort of focused that work. It was totally stressful to find out I have a one month pay gap between districts that I didn't plan on. That required a little financial planning and reconfiguring of stuff. It was cathartic. Maybe I should buy a van and live out of it instead. There was a guy who used to come up every summer to teach summer school. He lived in his car for 5 weeks, eventually saving enough money to buy a house where he lives - which is a considerable cheaper area that pays its teachers considerably more. I guess I don't want it badly enough. I am getting there, however.

My new district/school has a lot of opportunity to make extra money through training stipends and extra hours, which I will need to take advantage of as much as possible. When I signed on with the new district, they sent me a packet of about 2 dozen trainings that you could attend - paid/for pay/for a stipend/etc. - something I NEVER saw in the old district. Funny. The district/school also paid for 9 teachers and our principal to attend the 2-way Dual Immersion Conference. We are also being paid for 40 hours of work this summer. I would do the work anyway, but its sort of a nice bonus. All of the professional development opportunities and any extra $$ opportunities make you feel so much more valued as a professional educator. My time is actually worth something. Wow. What a totally different feeling. I am sure, with time, there will be things that are annoying, but I certainly feel like I have found a better place for my ideas and personality. Somewhere I can grow.

I have been enjoying my time this summer. Sometimes I sleep late, laze all day, and get very little work or exercise done. Other days, I am immensely productive. It was nice to have time to visit my brother, even if it was a short visit. Although given the dog, there is no way it could have been any longer as I was struggling with my allergies. We went on a beautiful hike around a lake near a volcano. We got to go climbing at dusk in a gorgeous canyon. We ran a 5K on 4th of July. And just had a really nice visit.

The new person in my life is day by day proving to be a good balance for me and truly wonderful. We have a lot of fun together and just seem to work. It is sort of unfortunate that I am moving about 40 minutes away, which is not a big deal. It has made me rather reluctant to find a new apartment, particularly because I have seen a lot of junk for a lot of money. I could save money staying here, but I don't think I would survive commuting for very long. It is a hard commute and I detest being in the car. I figure things will all fall into place. I just need to put out a little more effort on the housing front. It is pretty exhausting and stressful process, so I have been casually avoiding it. Typical.

I want to post some more about my learnings. I have found a ton of great resources that really match my goals and personal teaching philosophy. I might have found these resources on my own eventually, but I was led there by all the training and new interactions in my new school/district. That is what is just so exceptional. As the months progress, I am sure this will become filled with my successes and frustrations. There are many new challenges ahead.