| (no subject) |
[Jul. 20th, 2006|01:47 pm] |
so for creative strategies, we had to do an exercise with free word association for 4 different topics. so you can start with apple followed by red, then fire etc. after the exercise you are supposed to connect words that come up more than once. these connections are obviously stonger and you should pay more attention to them since they are somehow nestled in your subconscious:
my strong connections:
-lost
-los angeles
-philadelphia
-water
-madonna
-fists
-french
and we have to do a photo project and look what i found lurking in austin's city hall by the evelvators...
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| i saw a pretty amazing thing today. |
[Jun. 20th, 2006|01:31 pm] |
i saw my kids graduate. my kids from my first year teaching actually walked across the stage and received their diplomas. i couldn't help but get a little catch in my throat. it was so awesome to see them today. as if the past two years of struggle inside my classroom didn't happen. even the kids who had the worst time with me came up, threw their arms around me and said that loved my class the most. and who doesn't like to hear stuff like that.
on a not so happy note, lots of my girls were pregnant or just had babies. that's rough to see. but not foreign to them. i'm doing research this summer over family structure and of course, the topic of young moms comes up. when you were in high school, could you name anyone that was pregnant? in my four years of school, i knew one. brandi whittington, she got pregnant during our senior year, soldier'd it out and had her son right around graduation. but now, a fellow teacher was rattling off , 11 girls who were pregnant and 5 who just had babies, all in senior class. it's almost a right of passage.
back on a happy note. philadelphia is awesome. the weather is great and i miss the little neighborhoods that flow into one another. who knew, philly might make it back into possible places to live... |
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| my friend tamara |
[Jun. 18th, 2006|09:02 am] |
this is fucked up
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/16/naked.teacher.ap/index.html
the email that she sent out:
hello friends,
I am sorry to bulk you all together, i'd much rather
send individual emails.
I have been placed on administrative leave from AISD
The district has sent me a letter informing me that on
June 12
the school board is requesting my termination.
I was escorted out of the building on may 19
For those of you who dont know the story:
on friday may 19 gayle andrews was complaining about
me
in front of her class.
a student said, if you dont like her you should check
out this website.
she told him/her to go pull it up
he/she pulled it up in front of about 15 kids.
she went to mr davis (computer science teacher) and he
went to the Administration:
garcia, compian and barb met with Mr. davis and
during 6th period within 15 minutes barb told me i was
being placed on admin leave
and had me escorted out of the building.
i feel like one, that they are handling this wrong.
two, i never told a student to GO see me at this
website which is what they are claiming.
2. its not my website
3. its not a pornographic website.
4. why couldnt they handle it in house and allow me
to make a change if thats
what they wanted?
they are calling it pornographic.
and now im being told that they are sending the case
to
the DA, im facing possible criminal charges!
im scared to death.
june 12 the board hears the proposal for termination.
then i get a hearing.
because i never felt the need to join a profesional
organization I have to somehow find a way to defend
myself. i have set up a paypal donation account to
help fund
the gathering of evidence for my case.
a link for my profile is here:
http://www.myspace.com/mshoover
the district has not asked to hear my side. i am
going to fight for every teacher out there ......we
have no voice in this district..
they act out of fear and create an atmosphere of
diffidence instead of solidaritry,
i feel like i am and was a good teacher and that i had
a good impact on
my kiddos....why cant i be treated with respect?
i have two attorneys willing to help.
just wanted to spread the word.
thanks for your time.
PEACE.
tamara |
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| as if this day couldn't get any better |
[Jun. 7th, 2006|04:58 pm] |
so i went to go get my eyebrow waxed, and my waxer carla, asked if i was a half-breed (like, gurl, are you a half breed, half n**** and chink?)ok, sure, well, not really, i'm half filipino and half russian, not that carla is listening, because she is inspecting my hair, and then she asked if my hair was in fact, my real hair. yes, i said, and she told me that it wasn't, that i wore a wig. wtf?!?!? and then during my waxing, she mumbles to herself what a hairy little thing i am (gurl, you's a hairy little thing)
what is with today today? |
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| my 22 year old self comes crashing in for a wake up call |
[Jun. 7th, 2006|02:54 pm] |
so there have been a lot of door to door volunteers trying to get people to sign clipboards to save the environment and such. i have such a tumultuous relationship with the environment, when they knock, after like the first 11, i just stopped answering the door.
so today, knock knock knock, ignore ignore ignore, knock knock knock, ignore ignore ignore, knock knock knock, ignore ignore ignore, KEY TURNING IN THE LOCK.
turns out, two dykes are maintainence people for my apartment complex. even more interesting is one of them is an ex girlfriend of an ex girlfriend of my exgirlfriend and SHE'S WEARING MY SHIRT FROM YEARS AND YEARS ago and just assumed that i lost, but now turns out was a victim of the exgirlfriend garage sale. it's a super old TARAL shirt that has CHOICE and then the first in a woman's sign on it, you know what i'm talking about?
it was so surreal, part of me wanted to ask for my shirt back, other part of me wanted to close that door to my past.
and, just for good measure, all over me was on tv. leisha hailey's movie debut before the l word. |
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| i heart austin! |
[Feb. 12th, 2006|11:40 am] |
Native Austinite
You scored 91 Austinism! | | You might as well have been born here, you are in touch with the city's flow. | | |
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: | You scored higher than 76% on Austinism |
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| karma sutra for the wizarding world |
[Feb. 7th, 2006|10:08 am] |
as many of you may know, i am a newly annointed follower of the harry potter series. i finished the six book sunday night, only because i had a dream about harry potter and his love interest. it was like reading the karma sutra for the wizarding world, complete with illustrations. robes, hats and wands everywhere everywhere. i actually woke up and had the thought: did that really happen? so, instead of going back to bed, i decided to stay up and finish the book. so good and no, jason, i didn't cry.
i'm patiently waiting to give blood today. last time i was denied due to low iron. this time, i'm visualizing spinach. hopefully that will work. |
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| i'm wrong, i admit it |
[Dec. 29th, 2005|10:42 pm] |
yes dear friends it's true. all these years of denouncing harry potter has bit me in the ass. i give up. uncle. i love it. it all started on a snow day earlier this month. i watched goblet of fire and was entranced, but i didn't think it would lead to anything. then comes the holidays and my parents' awesome cable which led to a secret viewing of the prisoner of azkaban. after that, i broke down and rented the sorcerer's stone and chamber of secrets. i'm hooked. i'm a fan. and will probably spend the rest of my break reading all the books. to all fans of harry potter: you were right, i was wrong.
just for the record:
Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?
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| incredible |
[Dec. 29th, 2005|11:20 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sad | ] |
i found out today that one of my former students was murdered. i read it in people magazine. i had to reread the article several times to make sure, but there it was: former student of germantown high school. people had written an article on him, naming him an outstanding single father. because of the article, readers from all over offered him money, job opportunities and a reader even sent him a car. he was training to be a carpenter and continued to support his daughter. he was murdered right before thanksgiving by fellow students from his carpenter vo-tech school. unbelievable.
he was an ok student, given the circumstances. in addition to going to school, he held a full time job as a night manager at a restaurant. i remember him copying someone's homework right before it was due and turning it in. it was one of those teaching moments that you just turn your blind eye too. he was nice enough, extremely polite (except for several instances) and he told me about his daughter, his job and how that didn't leave him time to do his homework. of course he didn't, who cares about a measly worksheet that the school makes you do when you have more pressing needs at hand, like providing for your family. for free writes he always wrote about his daughter, he was definitely focused on his daughter. when i asked him about his daughter, his eyes would light up, a vast improvement from the glazed look i was so used to seeing.
as much as i complained about teaching (and i did, i know), i actually didn't mind most of the kids, i just didn't like who they were in the classroom. outside of the classroom they were fine, funny even, people that if i could interact with them without the pretense of being a teacher and them being a student, would have even been enjoyable.
i've attached an article if anyone is interested
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/131136.html |
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| from sanaz's lj |
[Nov. 4th, 2005|07:47 am] |
if you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want, either good or bad.
When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you. |
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| when did i grow up? |
[Oct. 27th, 2005|10:35 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
i despise my upstairs neighbors. last week they had some domestic dispute bullshit going on and at 1 am they decided that someone was moving out...and then proceeded to throw their shit down the stairs. i was singing tracy chapman's behind the wall in my head, i should have opened my window to let the neighbors hear it. now since the girl is all single and loving it, she now has parties every night. EVERY NIGHT. monday night/early tuesday morning, i finally went out, pj's and all and told them they were too loud, that i can hear their every laugh and scream and that they needed to be quiet because i had an early class. now they are, i swear to all things holy and good, doing gymnastics routines upstairs, my ceiling looks like it's going to collapse. i have officially become THAT neighbor. watch out kids, felice is growing up and apparently she likes it quiet.
i watched saving face again tonight. LOVE IT. if you haven't seen rent it, netflix it, whatever. i am now in the market of finding an asian girlfriend...just like the one in the movie. so if you meet any lady gaysians, send them my way. |
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| procrastination takes dedication... |
[Sep. 26th, 2005|10:23 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  mellow | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | kayne west | ] |
ahhhhhhhhh...10:23 and i'm finally settling down to do some work.
austin city limits was this weekend and i now have black lung from the dust, but it was awesome, wonderful, spectacular. i forgot how much i love live music in my life. aqualung and the frames were a nice surprise. bloc party and franz ferdinand made me miss philadelphia and coldplay made me all sappy. i really liked death cab for cutie and i want to see them when they come to austin (dammit. presale tickets are sold out).
so, since i was outside all weekend, i of course did zero work. although, to make myself better, i brought one book to festival and read a total of 9 pages the entire weekend. which meant, last night, post shower and early this morning post cursing at the alarm clock and i tried to bullshit my way through advanced management and rise of social entrepreneur work. boo. i love school, but damn, let a bitch breathe for a second.
and now there is a scary sound coming from within my oven maybe(?) i can't tell and it's too dark and scary for me to go exploring. |
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| are you kidding me??!?!? |
[Sep. 22nd, 2005|04:37 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  aggravated | ] |
so a certain someone who will remain nameless only because i can't speak her name without seething has chosen to remain in houston despite the approaching hurricane. what makes the story even better is that she had a chance to evacuate,but instead she opted to go "disaster drinking" which made her completly immobile at 1 am. so, because of there being no gas in houston and the average drive time to be about 15 hours, she is now filling up her childhood home with ice, water, batteries and dry cereal.
really. really? now you all know that i'm up for drinking just as much as the next person, but c'mon. there have to be some limits. drive first. drink later. am i the only one that drinks responsibly?
and holy shit. i have become completely boring since starting grad school. i do go out. i do not drink. i barely say hello to loved ones. who the hell assigns 700 pages of reading per week. PER WEEK? it's ridiculous and i feel as if i'm just reading words, the same words actually over and over again.
*le sigh* and all my bands are playing on saturday. |
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| hilarious |
[Aug. 14th, 2005|06:53 pm] |
my super quick update:
-back in austin, love it. hate calculus and i'm studying for the lsat.
-super excited to know that in three weeks the school district of philadelphia will begin the 2005-2006 school year and i won't be a part of it
funniest shit i've seen in a long time (especially if you are a family guy fan/a-ha fan)
http://www.milkandcookies.com/links/33634/ |
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| one day more... |
[Jun. 14th, 2005|08:37 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  hot | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | just the sounds of my air king fans blowing hot air around | ] |
if you were ever a les miserables fan, i have been singing that song in my head since i woke up this morning. tomorrow is my last day of school. let me repeat that. tomorrow is my last day of school. my room is packed up, my students' pockets are filled out, now it just me and father time kicking it until tomorrow.
i saw m.i.a. at transit last night. awesome show. hot as shit though. it was like we were in a steam bath the entire night. but the entire crowd was totally into her, much like when we saw her at coachella. i never realized how important that is in a live show.
to keep me company, my friend lydia (who quit germantown last year) has been coming up to my classroom to watch movies. so far, this week and last week combined, we have seen, drop dead gorgeous, the day after tomorrow and a bug's life (with a couple of family guy episodes thrown in for good measure). today's feature is finding nemo. you're all secretly jealous, admit it.
packing is moving along nicely. my big strong man (aka: andrew) is coming in tomorrow to help me with the move. and by help i mean keep me sane, put air in my tires and drive me back to texas.
and no post would be complete without a blogthingeee... which is strangely accurate
| Your Expression Number is 11 | You tend to be associated with idealistic concepts and spiritual issues.
You have high potentials that are somewhat difficult to live up to.
You have very strong intuition and you can be a bit psychic at times.
Highly inspirational, you can lead merely by your own example.
You have an inborn inner strength and awareness that helps you advise others.
Although you have what it takes for a successful career, you belong outside the business world.
Overly sensitive and temperamental, you tend to have a lot of nervous tension.
You dream a lot, so much so that you may be more of a dreamer than a doer.
Fantasy and reality tend to get intermingled for you, and that leads to impracticality. |
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| HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANAZ! |
[Jun. 9th, 2005|10:30 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  happy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | happy birthday! | ] |
i am still in the process of drafting my letter to your liver, but know that both you and your liver are loved! happy birthday starfish! |
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| entertain me! |
[Jun. 7th, 2005|12:42 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | no AC boooooooo | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | m.i.a. | ] |
sweet jesus in heaven.
no kids today. zero. i have been in my classroom alone since 7:46 am. i have cleaned my room, packed up all my teacher shit, and i've finished my attendance. luckily, i anticipated zero kids, so i've been watching season 3 of the family guy since about 11:30. but i needed a break. sheesh.
5 more days of "teaching" and by teaching i mean showing up to germantown to watch tv. i love it. not really, because i could be home and packing, but whatever. i needed to watch shaun of the dead anyway.
hear ye! hear ye! two weeks from today, i will driving into austin, all cracked out wtih andrew in tow. how exciting is that?
so if you want to entertain me email me-please! or send me something to help pass the time... |
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