A few years ago I had very bad insomnia, and my friends on the SCC boards posted boring movies I should watch to help me sleep. Well, pirates (et al.), it is time to drag that list out again. *sigh*

I've been going through the old photo albums lately. I've been looking for pictures to use at my parents' anniversary party. I went through the old family albums, and today I moved on to the more recent vacation albums. For some reason, mixed in with those were some of my scrapbooks from when I was teaching at Alemany. Looking at some of those pictures made me really nostalgic for those days. I know there were a lot of reasons to get out of the traditional classroom, and those are still valid. But seeing all of those pictures reminded me of what I loved about teaching high school--my students.

I miss the relationships I developed with my students, something that I can't do now. I mean, it's amazing how close I can get to some of them even now, but, really, they are gone after 8, or maybe even 4, weeks.

I miss the exhuberance of youth that so many of my students had. Some of them still have it, and some of my currents students do, too. But so many people I encounter now have lost that and are stuck in the rat race of their lives. When I am the most lively person in the room, something is seriously wrong in the world.

As I said, I know I'm in the right place for now, but some days I really miss what I had before. It's especially difficult this time of year, when I want to get ready for the new school year.

I'm a bit melancholy today. Ah well. This, too, shall pass. *sigh*

One of the things that each of one my GMAT students is worried about is the degree of strictness at the Pearson Center where he or she will take the GMAT. I've heard stories of proctors that won't let test-takers remove their sweaters mid-test, won't allow students with colds to have wrapped cough drops, and need to escort students to and from the bathroom. The fingerprinting, cameras, and, soon, palm-vein scans, are enough to rattle even the best test-takers. I tell my students that all of the rules are to deter cheaters. If people didn't cheat, GMAC wouldn't have so many crazy rules.

So when I read this story, I was not surprised but very disappointed. Seriously, does anyone wonder why the news is filled with stories of illegal activities by CEOs and other executives? These people apparently can't even take an exam without cheating! So sad.

Well, I've been spending my days scanning pictures, making phone calls, and scanning more pictures. That is, when I'm not working. It seems as if the photo albums will never end.

Oh yeah, I didn't explain why. My parents' 50th anniversary is next month, and we are planning a dinner party for them. It is not going to be a huge party that everyone they know is invited to. Instead, we opted for a smaller dinner with close and old friends. The invitations have been sent, and half of the people have responded. Most of those who have responded are coming. Including us, we have 49 people so far. That's a really good size, and we won't have more than 70 if all of the others say yes.

So right now I'm scanning old photo albums, trying to find pictures that we can use for the decorations. I have about six more albums to go through here, but I still have some upstairs to look at. I think I will have enough pictures to do what I want, but we'll see.

Also, I need to buy a dress. I found kind-of a cute one online, but I haven't gotten around to ordering yet. I'll go to the mall eventually and look around, but right now I need to get this picture thing done.

So that's my life . . . work, scan, call, lather, rinse, repeat.

Found these cool shirts via the American Diabetes Association group on Facebook. I'm going to buy one . . . if I ever get the money . . .

I've been working a lot lately, which is both good and bad. It is good because it means that my paychecks are bigger. It is bad because my evenings are tied up, I'm tired a lot, and I have this weird reverse schedule from everyone else's.

I really miss Birthday Guild a lot. I think I will be able to make party prep next month, but I don't know when I'll be able to attend another party. I was hoping to help out with Project Home and/or the gala, but people never really got back to me about that.

I'm particularly frustrated because even though I'm working A LOT, I'm not technically full time. I really do need the work, and I'm worried that I'm going to have to give up my job at Kaplan in order to make some money. I love working at Kaplan, but the small paychecks are getting really annoying.

Oddly, just as I was writing this, I read my Chinese horoscope on Facebook, and it said this . . .

You'll get a promotion if you work, or a good job if you're unemployed. Don't count on others to get your job done; buckle down to your task. The lunar influxes will help you achieve a personal project which will give you all satisfaction. Adopt a more leisurely and more regular life tempo. Your material situation might take a happy turn.
Horoscopes ©AsiaFlash Provided Courtesy of Master Rao.

I've just been finding such interesting things lately!

I read this article about Texas schools that are creating ninth-grade only campuses. It's a really fascinating concept--sort-of like when we (at Alemany) decided to keep the freshmen out of the regular geometry classes because of the negative influence from the older students. (No, we didn't keep them from taking geometry; we just gave them their own class.)

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting idea. I'm not entirely sold on it, but I can definitely see the advantages. I wonder how they handle staffing, though.

Any thoughts?

I've been on a serious education kick lately. Beware if you see me in person! I may just tell you how I really feel about the educational system.

Stephen sent me this story from the Discovery Channel. Seriously, I think GMAC must either have a lot of cheaters on the GMAT or they must just be completely paranoid about cheaters. Anyway, I think it's pretty weird. Any comments? (Especially from my students?)

The annual Beloit College Mindset List came out the other day. If you don't feel old already, this may just do it for you . . .

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
There have always been gay rabbis.
Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
IBM has never made typewriters.
Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
There has always been Pearl Jam.
The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
Personal privacy has always been threatened.
Caller ID has always been available on phones.
Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
Soft drink refills have always been free.
They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
There have always been charter schools.
Students always had Goosebumps.

I found this fascinating article recently. It says that teenagers who attend church have a higher average GPA than teenagers who don't attend church. The article lists several factors that may contribute to this, including socialization with adults, participation in extracurricular activities, and strong friendships. Interestingly, the author doesn't give much value to the "God factor," and even states that any organization that offers the above-mentioned factors would do just as well as church. Despite my previous life as "church girl," I tend to agree with the author's assertions. Let me know what you think.

So . . . I changed my template. I didn't write the code; I'm not that talented. I got it from a website. Anyway, I managed to lose my blogroll while I was at it. I tried to recreate it, but I know I left some people out. So if you happen to notice who is missing, feel free to let me know. :)

For all of you nature lovers out there, check out National Geographic's WildCam Africa. It's pretty cool. :)

I keep getting these ads from Ferragamo, so I thought I'd share some of the things I've liked. First, this bag that costs ONLY $1990. :)



I totally can't wear slingbacks, but this shoe is so cute. And is ONLY $510. Haha.



Here are some cool men's shoes for only $590.



Here's a really pretty shoe. It costs $430.



This cool bag is $1750. YIKES!!!

OK, enough of that . . . :)

Here's a cute shoe I got in an email ad this morning. I didn't think I was into animal prints, but it is so cute. But is it worth $398? Hmmm . . .

A note to the nice man that sat next to me on the train: I made it home . . . JUST IN TIME FOR THE EARTHQUAKE! It was actually one of the scariest earthquakes I've been through in a long time. It felt really strong when it started, and it went on for quite a while. After the initial shock, I realized that meant the epicenter wasn't close. Nothing even moved in our house. Of course, the funniest thing was that my dog didn't even react. Animals warn you when there's going to be an earthquake, my ass.

[Sorry it took me so long to finish this; I've been away from the computer for a while . . . ]


So there I was in New York City, stuck with no way to get home and no more money. A little while after I arrived in my room, I checked my email to find that the Monday morning flight I'd been put on stand-by for had been cancelled. Now I had to figure out what to do for the next day and a half. By the time I learned about the second cancelled flight, my sister had arrived back at her home in Maryland. We spent a lot of time talking back and forth and with her on the internet. She helped me calm down and stop worrying so much.

The first thing I did was call the credit card company and get an emergency credit limit raise for two days only. That done, I called my sister again, and she was looking at the websites for both Amtrak and Jet Blue. Then I called Jet Blue to see if I could get on a flight from DC to Burbank or Long Beach on Monday afternoon. I was able to get the last ticket on a flight from DC to Long Beach. Then I called my sister back, and she was still on the Amtrak site. She found a train from Penn Station to DC on Monday morning. All I had to do was figure out how to get to Penn Station. She bought me my ticket online (thanks, Sis!), and we hung up the phone at around 2am.

So now I had a plan, but I was still so traumatized that I had a hard time sleeping. I was also scared that I would oversleep and miss my train. I managed to sleep for a couple of hours, but I wasn't really sure how long it would take me to get to Penn Station. So I got up and checked out of my room and took the hotel shuttle back to the airport. Oh yeah. Did I mention that the hotel had a shuttle that no one told me about? Yeah. That entire taxi nightmare could have been avoided. *sigh* Funny thing. While I was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for the shuttle, a pilot from another airline checked his airline's website on his iPhone and found that HIS flight had been cancelled but no one had bothered to tell him!

Back at JFK, I found another taxi stand, but it was nice and closed up. A traffic/security guard saw me and took pity on me. I must have looked pretty pitiful. He motioned for me to follow him and led me to the famous phone bank. He dialed a number and said, "Just tell them your last name and where you are. They'll take care of you." It was a car service that charged exactly the same as a taxi, AND they'd take my credit card. Soon the driver arrived, after I'd had to wave off the errant taxi that tried to get my business. "Just ignore them," the guard told me. So I did.

Driving through New York in the very early morning sure is different than driving through New York at rush hour. Still, the traffic doesn't ever seem to end. It took a while, but we finally made it to Penn Station. The driver felt sorry for me when I explained that I really was catching a train. It turns out that I arrived with two hours to spare before my train left. I got a snack and some drinks and sat down in the waiting area to read my book. Turns out that Amtrak has a nice waiting area for its customers. Everyone else has to sit on the floor.

My train arrived right on time, and I boarded the train with no problem. The train is a lot more comfortable than a plane, though of course it takes a lot longer. It also costs about the same or maybe even more than a plane ticket. The train made some stops, but not so many to make the trip annoying. I was even able to sleep for about an hour and a half, something I really needed. About halfway through the trip, a man boarded the train and sat next to me. He didn't say much to me until he heard me talking to my sister on the phone. Then he had to hear the whole sordid story, which I didn't mind telling. He told me something that Steph had said--that this was happening for some reason. He also added that maybe I would be missing a big earthquake by getting home late.

After about 3 hours, I arrived at Union Station in Washington, DC. My brother-in-law Ed was even there to meet me. We took the Metro to Silver Spring. Wow! Their Metro sure is a lot cleaner than the subway in New York! The trip didn't last all that long, which was good. We got to the Metro stop and went outside. Almost immediately my sister drove up! The day was getting better. We dropped off Ed at work and then headed back to get some food. We went to a local Chinese restaurant and ordered some food, then headed to CVS to kill some time while we waited. Our food was soon ready, and we went back to the house for lunch. I sat in the easy chair, ate good food, and rested. Thank God for big sisters. I felt so much better. I watched TV, printed out my boarding pass, and looked at pictures of Annie.

Soon it was time to head to Dulles Airport. I was actually scared. But we got to the airport with no problems, and soon I was headed toward a very long security line. Oddly, however, when I approached the end of the line, a security officer waved me through to a station that had no waiting, and I was through in a matter of seconds. I had to take a shuttle to my gate, but I was soon sitting at the gate and actually had quite a bit of time to kill. I checked my email on my phone. I would have read, but I had already finished my book while in the train station. I wrote in my museum journal and then went to get some food. I found a place that had customized salads, but I bought a sandwich from them instead.

Finally, after a day of waiting, I boarded my plane to Long Beach. Since I had gotten the last ticket available (at least that's what the Jet Blue agent had told me), I had a middle seat, but even that wasn't too bad. The first thing that I noticed when I finally got settled was that none of the TVs in our row was working. All we had was static. The guy sitting in the aisle seat asked the flight attendant about it, but she gave us some vague answer and was really no help at all. He asked her again once we were in the air, and she was again no help but offered us cocktails to make up for it. I had no interest in a cocktail, but the man next to me sure thought it was a great idea. Over the course of the flight, he indulged in 5 cans of Heineken, though he did have to pay for most of them. I didn't really mind,except that by the time the plane landed, it smelled like I was in a brewery.

The reason that I didn't make a big deal about the TV was that I had planned to sleep for most of the trip home. Unfortunately, the baby across the aisle from us didn't think that was a very good idea. He decided to scream at the top of his lungs for most of the trip--loud enough to wake me out of a sound sleep every half hour or so. I think that's one of the reasons the man next to me kept drinking so much. After about 3 hours of trying to sleep, I gave up and worked on my advanced math workshop for the rest of the time--even though my advanced math workshop was going on in Pasadena without me!

The plane finally landed without incident at Long Beach. Then we taxied for a reeaaallllllllllyyyyyy llllllloooooooonnnnnnnnngggggggggg time. And once we got to the gate, it took even longer for them to open up the doors and let us out. People were getting really hostile, but I was just SOOO happy to be on the west coast! Pop was there to meet me when I got off of the plane, and soon I was home and sleeping in my own bed!

Sunday morning came soon, and I was eager to fit as much into the day as possible. I woke up a little later than I wanted to and got dressed and packed. I checked out of my hotel and walked down 52nd Street toward Madison Avenue. The street was being set up for a huge street fair thingy with lots of booths selling food and other things. If I had known that my time wasn't as limited as I thought, I might have stopped to enjoy the atmosphere. But I had another destination in mind. I found my way to a bus stop on Madison, where I caught the M1 bus uptown. I had to stand for a good part of the time, but I got to sit after a lot of the people got off of the bus at the Met. But I had another destination in mind.

I got off of the bus at 86th and had to walk just a little way to the Guggenheim Museum. I'd heard so much about the Guggenheim--from "It's wonderful" to "The building is cool, but the art is mediocre"--so I was eager to see it for myself. I found it quite amazing. And, yes, the building itself is the most impressive part. As usual, the front of the building had scaffolding in front of it. (I say "as usual," because this seems to be a thing whenever I go on vacation.) I stood in line and got my ticket and then checked my bag at the coatroom.

As I mentioned earlier, the Guggenheim is impressive. It's a big spiral, both inside and out, and to get to the galleries, one just walks up the huge spiral ramp. The ramp area is called The Rotunda, and it houses the less permanent exhibits. When I was there, that exhibit happened to be the works of Louise Bourgeous. I didn't really like her art. I found it weird and depressing, and it seemed to get more depressing as she got older. I did, however, like a lot of the other art, including the Kandinsky gallery and an exhibit called "Toward Abstraction." I did not, however,like the gallery that housed the completely black canvasses with some person on video explaining the depth of the art. There was also some spectroscope analysis to explain how the black was different in different parts of the canvas. Modern art can be so weird.

I had seen nearly everything when my phone started buzzing, telling me that my sister and family had arrived. I headed downstairs, because I wasn't allowed to use my phone in the museum. (By the way, cameras are also forbidden in the museum, which is really sad.) I called my sister from downstairs, telling her that I was going to the cafe, since I was really hungry. I had a delicious salad with grilled peaches, dried cranberries, and candied pecans. Cha, Annie, and Ed met me in the cafe, and we soon set out to explore the museum. I didn't mind going through the museum at a slower pace, and it was nice seeing it with company. The museum store is a little small, but I bought a stack of postcards, some gifts, and a coloring book for myself. We bought some hot dogs from a vendor on the street corner and headed to JFK so I could meet my airplane.

I arrived in plenty of time to get my boarding pass and go through security. I knew something was wrong as soon as I got into the main part of the terminal. The food court and the area around the gates were both packed with people. People were gathered around the status board, looking worried. I soon discovered that a large storm front had interrupted air traffic around New York, forcing incoming flights to be rerouted and preventing departing flights from leaving. My flight read "on time," however, so I decided to wait. I got something to eat, checked my email, and sat on the floor to read my book. As I sat there, announcements about other delayed flights were made every few minutes.

Everyone on our flight got up and stood in a very long line to see what could be done. On a side note, while I was standing in line, I recognized someone a few places in front of me. Turns out that Cathy K from the church I used to work at was in New York for a wedding as well, and we were on the same flight home. We stood in line forever. People were getting very agitated, especially a woman in line (not directly) behind me. When I finally got to the front of the line, I was informed that I could not get onto another flight for about 48 hours. By this point I was frustrated but not really upset. After all, everyone else was in the same boat. At least I wasn't a part of this story!

I was fully prepared to spend the next two nights in the airport, but my dad told me to get a hotel. The people at the Jet Blue counter had told us that the best way to find a hotel would be to go downstairs to baggage claim and use the phones there to call hotels. I headed there and called several hotels, while I watched the lady next to me calling pretty much every number on the list. No luck. All of the hotels were full. I was willing to spend the night in the airport and to check again the next day, so I headed back to the gates. It was at this point that everything hit the fan. You see, when Jet Blue changed my flight, they also took my boarding pass. This meant that I could not get back into where the gates were until I got a new boarding pass, which I could not do for at least another day.

Though I had been very patient earlier, it was when this happened that I began to get somewhat hysterical. I sat on the cold, hard floor to figure things out. Then I remembered that the Palm homepage on my phone has a travel section. I was able to find the toll-free number for Orbitz and reserve a hotel room less than 15 minutes away. I headed for the taxi stand to get a ride to the hotel. By now it was after 8pm, and it had just gotten dark.

The taxi situation at JFK is surprisingly organized and relatively fast-moving. I got a cab after a while in the line and was on my way to the hotel. At least that's what I thought. The cab driver asked me if I was going into Manhattan, and when I said no and gave him the address, he seemed puzzled. Yet he took the address and got into the car and began to drive. He got on the phone with him home base and presumably asked for directions. When dispatch couldn't figure it out, he looked at the number, which was on the same page as the directions, and started yelling at me about how this place was in Long Island and he was not going to go there. He then pulled over to the side of the road and tried to call the number. When no one answered, he again started yelling about how this was a Long Island number. Oh, and did I mention that he left the meter running during this entire ordeal? While this was going on, I pulled out my handy-dandy Palm (did I mention how much I love my Palm Centro?) and found the exact directions to the hotel. When I told him I'd found the directions, he got even more upset with me. Instead of listening to me, he just insisted that the number was for Long Island and that I was wrong. "Look," I said, "you are charging me to yell at me instead of driving." He tried to B.S. me and tell me that the meter wasn't running. "I can read numbers," I answered. "And I am going to turn you in." That was when he decided to take me back to the airport where I could get another cab.

When I got back to the airport,I made it back to the cab stand, but I was determined NOT to stand in the line again. I had to make a bit of a fuss, but I managed to get to the front of the line without having to wait, and I was on my way again. The driver wasn't sure where the hotel was either, but I gave him the highway name, and he soon got me there. Finally . . . not quite!

When I tried to check in, there was a problem with my credit card. Turns out that I was too close to my limit to charge the hotel room on my card. I ended up having to give the man what was left of my cash to pay for the room. So now I had a hotel room, but I wasn't just stuck in New York--I was stuck in New York without any money!

NOW WHAT?!???