Sep 12 2010

Camp-Out 2010… Best One Yet!

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Thursday, 9/9/2010 – My Camp-Out weekend started with a great dinner with some of my fellow Crumbs: April, Melanie, Hans & Teresa. My friend Josef joined us as well. We ate at Masa in Echo Park, the restaurant where Melanie works. Amazing food! I’m going back here for sure!

Kyle and Melanie’s boyfriend, Anthony, met up with us to walk to the Echoplex to see Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven play locally. What a great venue!!! It is probably my favorite LA club venue now! Great sound, great lighting, great vibe! The show was amazing! I loved the Cracker Van Beethoven ending to the show too! Some of the other Crumb family were at this show. It was so great to see them!

Friday, 9/10/2010 – Headed out to Pioneertown, but got stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours! I didn’t get to Yucca Valley until 6pm. I got dressed into my Indian costume, and headed to Pappy & Harriett’s for the show. I met up with Missy for dinner. We were sitting with Denny, Matt & friends. I got my favorite P & H meal: delicious cheese fries! I have been craving these for months!

After dinner, we put my hair in braids and went outside to watch Gram Rabbit’s set. They have a newer song, “Off With Her Head” that is pretty awesome!!! After their set was Camper Van Beethoven. Sooooo much fun! I got a few pix, but didn’t feel pressured to take flash pix or get different angles as Brad Jones was on it. 🙂 I just got to enjoy the show – singing and dancing along with the music!

After CVB, we went inside to watch Johnny Hickman and the Mighty Grasshoppers sets. Completely amazing! Chris & Johnny bring the greatest vibe with them! So much energy, happiness, and passion! I spent some time chatting with David “Immy” about LA, restaurants, clubs, music, etc. He’s a very genuine and talented man! After a bit, the show ended and we all said our good-nights and dispersed back to our hotels. Lee crashed with Missy & I at the Best Western.

Saturday, 9/11/2010 – Woke up, got breakfast at John’s Diner. I was one of 5 UF grads in the tiny diner, and most of them were checking their phones for scores on the UF / USF game.

After breakfast, we went swimming at the pool with some of our fellow Crumbs. The pool was cold, but I got into it for a bit. People were laughing at me for bringing my hot coffee into the pool with me. 🙂 After a bit, I got out and sat around drinking Horchata Liquor and eating cheddar cheese gold fish. That was lunch. Haha

Took a nap, then got dressed into my cowgirl garb. We headed up to P & H for the Meet / Greet. I took some photos, hung out with some great people, and then we had dinner, which took almost 2 hours! They were slammed! I took a short nap after dinner, than headed to the outdoor stage to watch the Bellrays. Wow!!!! Tina Turner has serious competition!

Cracker was next, and it was an incredible show. Again, I didn’t worry about photos as much since Brad was covering. He got some great shots! As for me, I danced around with the Crumbs around me: closest were Julie, Judy, Donna, another Donna, Lora, and Phil. Melanie, April, Hans & Teresa were close – RSR. Missy got her awesome space on the edge of the stage too! 🙂

After Cracker, I hung out with Soraya & Shay for a bit. We had a great chat, and I really enjoyed spending time with them! I, then, walked around for a bit saying hi to people and chatting about the night. I caught the Macabre set inside, then headed outside for Porchstock 6. Wow… I have to say that this was a truly HUGE PS! I loved it. It seemed “very slightly” formal, but anyone with an instrument was still invited to play along, which is the whole love and greatness that is Porchstock. I almost requested a song (which I never do), and within a few seconds, Johnny started playing it (without me saying a word)! Haha… “Hold of Myself”

Phil played an awesome slide guitar thingy, and his dad, Gary, sang sooooo beautifully during Johnny & Frank’s soup break. I didn’t get to try the soup 🙁 It looked good, but I got to it too late. Oh well. I had peanuts in front of me to snack on. Dave D & I filled up on those!

After PS, Lee & I said our good-byes to those we wouldn’t see at Fi-Stock. It was very sad, but it was also so wonderful to see so many amazing people – my extended family! I felt the love all around!

Sunday, 9/12/2010 – Woke up at 10:30am and got checked-out of the BW. Lee & I went to the Wheel Inn (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) for me to get a bite to eat on the way to Lo-Fi Stock at Chris Leroy’s studios. Once we got to Lo-Fi, I settled into the back to work on lesson planning and catch up on emails from my school. I got some great pix of the bands playing too. Got to hear some new Danger’s songs! I loved the Gigglejuice set too! Actually, all the bands / performers were amazing! I really love how chill Lo-Fi is. It’s a good way to wind down the weekend. After saying our good-byes, I took Lee to John Wayne airport and then came home.

I start teaching tomorrow… I really need to get some sleep, but I am super excited and anxious! I’ll post a first day recap tomorrow! 🙂 Night all!

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Sep 03 2010

Adjustments & Expectations

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I started working at New Village this week! I am soooo happy! My colleagues are really amazing people, and I just love our Principal. He’s a really good person, and it’s so clear that he is not only great at his job, but loves it! This week was staff development week. We had 5 busy days of discussions, games, brainstorms, readings, planning, and getting-to-know you sessions. I feel a great amount of support and care from my fellow teachers, and I am looking forward to getting to know them even more over time.

So, here’s what I took out of this week that I need to focus on a bit:
1. My students will probably not trust me or even like me until they see me return next year. They have had many people in their lives abandon them, and until they see me come back, they will not be so sure they can trust me.

2. My students will test me – test my patience, test my willingness to share information, test my ability to teach them, etc. I have to be ready to handle all their questions with calm, dignified, caring, appropriate responses.

3. I will be teaching Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Algebra. Many of my girls (students – all girls’ school) will need review of basic math functions, but some will be at Algebra II level. I have a lot of lesson planning to do!

4. We are teaching in block scheduling and I will also have an Advisory class. My advisory will likely be 9th or 10th graders, and I will be preparing them for internships and projects for their portfolio. This is a big-picture transitional school. I will have a lot of opportunity to motivate and influence them in positive ways – about life and the working world.

5. My classroom doesn’t have any windows and only one door. It’s a smaller classroom, but I am not sharing it with anyone else; so, I will get to decorate it with math and fun projects my students create! I am very excited about having a dedicated space to create a comfortable learning environment!

6. I expect my students to be very withdrawn at first, but I hope they get more involved as they see that I truly mean to help them learn and care about them. I am concerned about looking so young and so “out of place;” however, I hope they will be able to relate to me in some ways. Just like them, once I was 16, I was responsible for my own education without anyone pushing me to get good grades. It was all up to me!

7. I need to break up the blocks with small pick-me-up games. The girls are competitive, so games will help raise their energy level and make math seem less overbearing.

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Next week: lesson planning, studying for my CSET II (Geometry), then going to see Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven at the Echoplex in Echo Park (right by my work). They play on Thursday. On Friday, I leave for Pioneertown for the Camp-Out! I can’t wait to see my fellow Crumbs! I am soooo excited. What a great way to start the school year – hanging out with my extended family and enjoying great music, great scenery, and great vibes together!

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Aug 26 2010

Employed, Happy, Hopeful, and Still Overwhelmed

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So, I have a job!!! I will be teaching at New Village Charter HS in Echo Park. I am the ONLY math teacher in the school; so, I will be teaching all grades, all math subjects, and all students. NVC is an all girl’s school with many of the students coming from very difficult life situations. They will need extra care and support to get their diploma and develop life-skills for a bright and successful future. I am looking forward to meeting them and teaching them math!

I know a lot of people are scared of math, but math is really something EVERYONE can learn with the right instruction, practice, patience, and a solid foundation. Math is exercise for your brain’s problem solving mechanism in the same way working out or running is exercise for your body’s muscles and circulatory system. Some people may never love math, but hopefully I can teach my students to appreciate the use math has in cooking, banking, investing, credit (car buying and loans), and in determining distance / rate / time for travel (which will come in handy when buying cars with various mpg ratings) and their distance from home to work. I want to teach my students how to budget, write checks, balance a check-book, and how to determine a good “buy” in a store!

So, I am very happy I have a job, and very hopeful to make a difference in my students’ lives!

I am still somewhat overwhelmed though. I have a Geometry CSET in early November, 5 classes at UCLA Ext this Fall, wedding photos to edit for my awesome couples, albums to create, weddings to photograph, weddings to officiate, and now students to educate. This is going to be a very busy Autumn! I hope it’s not too stressful. I hope I can still make it to Trivia once in a while and I hope to spend some quality time with Kyle, Lyse and friends too!

Wish me luck!

Also, if anyone has any textbooks or school supplies to donate, we could really use them!!!

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Jul 31 2010

33, Overwhelmed and Hopeful

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After Comic-Con, I had a hard time adjusting to my every day life again. It was so much fun and so surreal that I really didn’t want it to end.

During the week, I worked hard on school; but, I still can’t keep up with the reading. I’m 5 chapters behind now. I hate this. The more I fall behind, the more overwhelmed I get. Still, I can’t seem to keep up.

I did have a wedding (officiating gig) on Thursday afternoon. The couple was incredibly in love. I rarely see couples THAT happy. It makes me jealous, but it also makes me happy that so much love really does exist in the world!

After the wedding, which was in beautiful Topanga Park in Pacific Palisades, I drove home to pack for a night away. Kyle picked me up around 8:15pm and brought me beautiful flowers! I love flowers!!! 🙂 I couldn’t stop smiling!

We drove down to Oceanside to pick up the key to the marina, then headed to San Diego to spend the night on his parents’ sailboat. It was a very unique experience, and I hope to do it again someday! We had music, but were far away from everyone and everything else. It was nice!

In the morning, we got breakfast at Point Break (coconut pineapple pancakes – yum), then we hung out on the boat for a bit, took a walk along the water, then headed to dinner at Tao (Vietnamese / Japanese restaurant). It had a whole vegetarian menu and the food was PHO-nomenal!!! Haha!

On the way home, we stopped back in Oceanside to drop off the key. Great timing too! We ran into Kurt, Kyle’s brother, who was just finishing up packing the car. He is moving to Chicago to be with the love of his life. 🙂 We got to see him off!

Once home, my sister, Jay, and Nick came over to Kyle’s with ice cream cake and my favorite movies. We watched Moullin Rouge. It should have made me very happy, but it actually depressed me. I have passion that deep, but it goes so unused and unappreciated. I have such an ordinary life – void of that kind of beautiful magic, music, truth and love.

After the movie, I felt so alone… even though I were surrounded by my sister, boyfriend, and good friends. I felt so lost and so distant. I wanted to melt into the movie, become part of that world, and leave my own life behind.

Today, I woke up, took Kyle to the train station and came home. I fed the cats and passed out til noon. I kept hitting snooze on my alarm, and finally got out of bed at 12:40pm. I spend the day editing photos, which I am so glad I finished!

After that, my depression set back in. I tried to drown it out by watching Friends, but eventually ended up just going back to bed for a long nap.

I am not sure what to do next. I have more classes next quarter, still no teaching position, money is very tight right now, and I’m feeling dissatisfied by everything. I may go back on my Lexapro for a bit to see if that gives me the boost I need and focus for school. I also can’t waste valuable study time feeling depressed. I just don’t have any time to waste. In fact, I could really use more hours every day!

So, tonight, I’m going to catch a ride to Hollywood with Josef. He’s having dinner with Ryan and Heather and offered to get me some grub. I really want to go to the Gemini Syndrome show, but don’t have enough gas in my car to get there and back (only one bar). I also don’t have enough for parking and a ticket. It’s just money I can’t justify spending right now. My unemployment checks have NOT yet resumed, and it’s very stressful. I did spend way too much on myself this birthday (at Comic-Con… eating), and I shouldn’t have. I don’t regret the fun I had, but I do wish I had budgeted better. I also realized I had an extra vet bill this month due to Dagan’s condition earlier this month. That set me back an extra $400. Well, I’ll survive. I always do. I just have to be careful and enjoy only the freebies in life for a while. Thankfully, I am really good at living for cheap and having fun for free and for under $5.

I hope this year turns out to be as great as my birthday wishes told me it would. I hope I feel passion returned to me, not just escape from me. I hope my kitties have good health, and I hope I can make it through school without too much stress.

At this age, I do want more than the little things. I want something grand and intense. I guess we’ll see!

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Jul 25 2010

Comic-Con Whirlwind 2010

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Wow! What a weekend! Here’s what I remember…

Wednesday, 7/21
* Drove to Erik & Ricki’s
* Drove to the Hilton Bayfront, stopped at Denny’s on the way for lunch
* Checked in (hotel and Con)
* John & I took a shot of Vodka and went to the Clash of the Titans field of fun (rock wall, body painting, photo faces, jumpy thing, and gladiator bounce)
* Went to Preview Night (Con floor was packed)
* John & I went looking for food. We ended up at Buca di Beppo. Ricki, Erik, and their friends Jimmy & Aubrey joined us.
* Enjoyed time in the pool & hot tub

Thursday, 7/22
* Starbucks: Bagel / Cream Cheese & Soy Latte with Hazelnut
* Panels: 6CFE – Danny Elfman, then Ballroom 20 – Burn Notice, White Collar, and Psych
– LOVED the panels, esp Psych. Oh, and Matt Bomer… hot!!!!!
* Fulfillment Room to pick up Swag
* Panel: Hall H – with Ricki, Erik, Shock, John & Leetal to see Scott Pilgrim
* Dinner: Fox Sports Grille (service sooooo slow)
* Stayed in to work on homework

Friday, 7/23
* Starbucks: Bagel / Cream Cheese & Soy Latte with Hazelnut
* Con Floor (from start to finish, and around and around and around again)
* Fury of Solace filming
– I was a Mason International employee
* Wandered around the Con floor some more.
– Pikachu!!!!!!
* Dinner at Kemo Sabe
– w/Josh, Jul, Ryan, Heather, Ricki, Erik, Matt, Emmett, John, and Violet
– Amazing martini shakers and food!
* Went to bed, quite buzzed

Saturday, 7/24
* Starbucks: Bagel / Cream Cheese & Soy Latte with Hazelnut
* Panels: Chuck, Family Guy, the Cleveland Show, Futurama & the Simpsons
– Futurama panel was AMAZING!!! Simpsons was boring, so I left before it ended. So sad 🙁
* Fulfillment Room with Ricki for swag
* Celebrate the Web at the Bristol
* Tried to get into Mythbusters (failed)
* Met up with Laurel Vail at Art Gallery
– Lost my bid for a steampunk kitty art piece
– phone died
* Walked Con floor with Laurel and her nephew
– Pikachu!!!!!!
* Dinner with Laurel and her friends at the Rock Bottom Pub (yum)
– Off the grid for a while, no phone
– Wandered around alone for a bit and took pix of Gaslamp District
* Bayfront for some rest
* Packed for check-out
* Dick’s Last Resort to meet up with Ricki, Erik, Violet, Ryan, Heather, and their friend James
* Tried to get into Noble Experiment (failed)
* Hennessey’s for drinks
– John and his friends joined us
* Took a pic with Matthew Lillard, who we ran into at 2am

Sunday, July 25
* Slept in a bit
* Packed up room
* Starbucks: Bagel / Cream Cheese
* Loaded car
* HUB (Marriott)
* Con floor
– Pikachu!!!
* Sails Pavilion – rested & waited for the others to finish up
* Drove home after a long and awesome Comic Con!

Check for more pix on Facebook!

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Jul 22 2010

Comic-Con Begins

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Wednesday, July 21st
John & I met up with Erik & Ricki on Wednesday at 11:15am to drive down to San Diego. We stopped at Denny’s for breakfast and hit some traffic once in downtown.

Arrived at the hotel around 2:45pm and checked-in. We are staying at the beautiful Bayfront Hilton on the water! It’s adjacent to the Convention Center. After check-in and settling in a bit, we got our Con passes. Ricki & Erik hit up the Con floor and John & I took shots of vodka then went to the Clash of the Titans outdoor fun zone. We got body painting (turned our arms to stone), a photo in a standee of some of the characters, climbed a rock wall, battled on a bounce-floor gladiator thing, and then jumped on the trampoline rope thingy (and did back flips). No, we did not vomit!

After that, John & I went to the Con floor for a bit, but left to help Emmett, Matt, and Shock unload stuff into the hotel. Then, John & I headed for dinner and wound up at Buca di Beppo after a long search for cheap food. Erik, Ricki, and their friends Aubrey & Jimmy joined us. It was a great night! We came back after dinner and got into the hot tub / pool. Soooo nice! We crashed pretty soon after that.

Thursday, July 22nd
Woke up at 7:50am and got a shower. Erik, Shock & Ricki went to get in line for Tron. I went down to Starbucks to get a soy latte with hazelnut and a bagel & cream cheese. I then walked to Hall 6BCE, but saw Pauly Shore on the way!!! Got right into the Danny Elfman panel and became friends with some great people in line: Kristin (Lady Bacon at Ren Faire) and Daniel Kaufman (also a Rennie). The panel was amazing!!!! I was so happy to have been in there!

After Elfman, I booked it over to Ballroom 20 for Psych. I got in early enough to see Burn Notice (with Bruce Campbell), White Collar (with Matt Boner) and then Psych!!! What a great set of panels. I asked a question at Psych: “If you were going to wonder the Con floor incognito, what character would you go as?” See their panel (somewhere online probably) to hear their answers.

When Psych was done, I followed a new friend over to Marriott 3’s Fulfillment Room to pick up our swag. I got a Psych shirt for me (and for Megan Small), as well as Burn Notice and White Collar shirts. There was a really cool Fraggle Rock thing going on over there. I will be heading back over there tomorrow if possible!

Immediately after collecting swag, I met up with Shock, Ricki, and John in line for Scott Pilgrim at Hall H. I had been snacking on trail mix ALL day! I wanted real food, but I wanted to go to the panel even more. We got in just in time! It was a fantastic panel with tons of scenes from the movie. Michael Cera was dressed as Captain America. The cast is pretty incredible! You have to go see this movie!!!

Came back to the room to charge phones, then went to dinner at the Fox Sports Grille downstairs. Service was soooooo slow, but the food was good. John’s friend Leetal joined us. After dinner, I worked on school stuff and John, Erik & Ricki went out to get drunk in town. Wish I could have joined, but I am happy I got a lot of school stuff done.

It’s 12:12am now, and I’m ready for bed. Tomorrow… Con floor!!!

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Jul 01 2010

I Can See Clearly, Now, How Broke I Am…

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What a day! I had an eye exam and learned I have .75 prescript in my right eye and 1.0 in my left and astygmatism in one eye… so, 1st time ever… glasses and contacts (~ $500).

Also, my last unemployment check arrived with the note (found on the EDD site online):

Based on the laws governing this program, California does not qualify for this extension in the absence of further Congressional action. That means the last payable week of FED-ED benefits is the week ending June 12, 2010. EDD cannot issue any more FED-ED benefit checks even if someone may have a balance left on their full FED-ED claim.

Crap, no more income at all… nothing. I have one wedding in August, but it’s a smaller one. No clue what to do now.

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Jun 15 2010

Return to the Near East

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I flew to FL last Thursday to shoot a wedding in West Palm Beach, FL; and, I had a blast! It’s been a crazy, busy week!

Saturday, June 5th – Photographed a wedding at the Athaneaum in Pasadena. Beautiful couple and location! I had so much fun working with my awesome 2nd shooter and Assistant / 3rd shooter! Unfortunately, the girls didn’t finish getting ready until very close to ceremony start time, so there are few photos of them all together, dressed and ready. The rest of the wedding was perfect though!

Saturday Night, June 5th – Josef & I went to karaoke at Koji’s. Were were pretty much the only ones there, so we took over the mic and floor until Nick got tired of hosting and shut us down. My drunk ass went with Josef to Mel’s for some food before we headed back to Glendale.

Sunday, June 6th – Slept in, then hung out with Kyle (yay, he’s back!). We went to dinner at Goodfella’s in Melrose, then he played a kick-ass final show with 10 Years at the Roxy. After the show, we hung out at the Rainbow Room next door with the rest of the 10 Years guys and some friends of ours. Super fun night!

Monday, June 7th – Slept in, then went to breakfast at the Coral Cafe with Kyle. I then went home to get some stuff done before heading back to Kyle’s for dinner. He made an awesome garlic pasta dinner and salad for us!

Monday Night, June 7th – We went to back to the Roxy for the Gemini Syndrome show. It was fantastic! After, we hung out for a bit out front, then went home. I stubbed and cut my toe open on my way to the car. That sucked much!

Tuesday, June 8th – Picked up Joe at the Van Nuys FlyAway then came back to my place for naps. We then went to the Americana for crepes and watched the water show. At night, we made cupcakes then went to the Springbok for Trivia.

Wednesday, June 9th – Went to downtown LA (Chinatown, Olivera Street, and the Fashion District). We had a super fun time!! At night, we went to dinner at my sister and KC’s for Ilana’s birthday, then headed to Koji’s for the drinking party! Then, back to my sister’s for the after party. We stayed out til almost 3am!! Soooo much fun!

Thursday, June 10th – Woke up WAAAAY too early and John L took us to the FlyAway. Joe & I flew to FL on separate flights to separate cities. I flew to Orlando and Nikki picked me up. We got some food and went back to her place. It was so great meeting Sonja and hanging out with the Konicki’s! I love them so much!

Friday, June 11th – Drove down to West Palm for Katrina & Tim’s wedding rehearsal and dinner. We checked into the Hilton (beautiful hotel, Thank you DeRosa family!). Joe & I shared a room and each had a super comfy queen sized fluffy bed with down comforters!

Friday evening, June 11th – Nikki, the girls and I went to rehearsal. I got a feel for the venue and realized that the summer Sun in FL was my true enemy in life! The rehearsal went well, and dinner afterward at the Fish Market was excellent. Teryn & I got vegetarian meals (pasta with veggies) and it was soooooo yummy! I loved dessert too! After dinner, the guys started partying, but I didn’t stay out late. I needed my rest for wedding day! Ridiculous neighbors kept me up though… they were calling each other names and yelling and cursing at each other til after 1:00am! The loudest thing the woman said was, “What?! Do I have a fat ass?!”

Saturday, June 12th – Woke up for a 9am breakfast, and Joe & I ended up sitting at the table next to our ridiculous neighbors. I could tell it was them by the way they talked and argued with one another. Also, she did have a HUGE ass!

After breakfast, I went with Katrina, Mel, and Didi to the salon to start photographing them getting ready. I hung out with them most of the day as they got hair and make-up done, but took a nap before dress time. Erica met me at the hotel to help me photograph the wedding! Thank you so much, Erica!!!!

We took a limo to the ceremony site, and the weather gods heard my prayer… they made it overcast and cooler!! Thank you, mother nature!!! The ceremony was beautiful and flew by (as always). I then photographed the group photos and joined Erica to photograph the reception. What a fun reception! I love the Duarte and DeRosa families!!! They know how to party! Great dancing and celebrating!

Saturday night, June 12th – After the wedding, I met up with Gary, Teryn, Joe, Nick, and Jason by the pool. Tons of the wedding party was there and many guests. Swam around til almost 2:30am and enjoyed some hot-tub time too! It was a great way to end the night! I ended up staying up til 4:30am transferring and backing up photos!

Sunday, June 13th – Joe & I got up early to meet up with Nikki and the girls for Elena’s 2nd birthday party breakfast! Elena got some super cute gifts, and had fun eating her cupcake! I, then, packed up and met up with the Konicki’s to head back to Melbourne.

Once back, I napped, then Nik & I started going through photos. I took soooo many! We narrowed down the selection and started editing. Nik made a great grilled cheese and fresh tomato soup for dinner.

Monday, June 14th – Edited photos, then met up with Keri and the kids at the library. All the kids played for a bit, then we went to the mall and the kids played some more. I had Nathan’s cheese fries – yum!!!

Once back at Nik’s, we edited some more. We had pizza for dinner, and edited some more. We had a relaxing night! I had trouble sleeping though. I was woken up by my phone telling me that SoCal was experiencing earthquakes. I had very strange dreams after that.

Tuesday, June 15th – woke up and edited more photos, packed my things, edited some more, had an awesome pasta and salad lunch (thank you, Nikki), then edited some more. Getting Ready photos done and uploaded for Kat & Tim to review. WooHoo!

Now, I am at MCO (Orlando Airport) and my flight will begin boarding very soon. I can’t wait to be home to my dry and temperate Los Angeles. I will really really miss Nik, Jason, and the kids though! I love them so much! I don’t even know when I will get to see them again before December 2011.

For now, back home to my kitties, wonderful boyfriend, awesome friends, and happy climate! 🙂

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Jun 04 2010

Geometric Breakdown

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It’s been a long time since I’ve last posted on my blog (http://www.mirdonamy.com)!

I’ve been studying Algebra and Geometry for weeks, and I am doing pretty well with Algebra, but I am having so much trouble wrapping my head around Geometry. I am seriously considering a back up plan. If I don’t pass both exams, I can’t apply to become a teacher this Fall. If I cannot become a teacher this Fall, I will have to retake the exam and apply for any random openings (which are rare). So, it won’t likely be until Fall 2011 that I start teaching and working on my credential. It makes me sad to put this on hold for a year, but I can’t make the impossible possible. Even if I do pass, it’s not a guarantee that I’ll get a job teaching this Fall or even get into school for Fall semester.

It’s pretty depressing having my life so up in the air for so long. I am starting to get used to it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t (or won’t) break down from time to time. So, here’s my plan…

If I don’t pass the exam, I will resume a massive job hunt for an office job. I still have some weekend weddings, so I do need a weekday job. I will also retake the exam in November and / or January. I will then apply to LAUSD’s District Intern program next summer. Hopefully, I will have enough in savings to get me through the unpaid summer coursework (since I won’t have unemployment then). That scares me a lot since I have a bit of debt right now from not working and making very very little on unemployment. Anyhow, once I go through the District Intern program, I will be able to go to school and get my credential while teaching. I just hope they will need math teachers next year.

Either way, I am taking the exam on July 10th. I hope I pass both Algebra & Geometry, but I will be happy if I pass Algebra. It’s soooo hard!

On to other subjects… I am sooooo super excited about the wedding I am shooting tomorrow at the Cal Tech Athenaeum! It’s a 250 person wedding, and the location and couple are awesome! It’s going to be so much fun!

On Sunday, Kyle comes home!!! I am going to see him play with 10 Years at the Roxy. I am really looking forward to the show. I’ve seen 10 Years twice now, and both shows have been truly amazing!

On Monday, I’m going to see Aaron’s band play at the Roxy, then Joe comes into town on Tuesday. We’ll hang out for a few days, then head to Florida for Katrina’s wedding at the Morikami Museum. That’s going to be such a beautiful wedding! 🙂

The next few weeks will likely fly by. I have a lot to look forward to, but this exam is looming. I do spend a lot of time studying (again, mostly Algebra since I don’t understand any of the Geometry), but I am hopeful. Wish me luck!!!

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May 10 2010

Anticipation & Elation: A Passionate Whirlwind

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This past week was spent with great anticipation for my trip to Vegas to see Kyle and 10 Years. It was a fantastic weekend! Here’s how the week went…

Mon, May 3rd – Went to San Pedro to visit my dad, sat it traffic for quite a bit, then edited Bats Day photos

Tues, May 4th – Went to JM Middle to observe math classes. It was a really good day. I love watching teachers get through to kids! I can’t wait to become a great math teacher too! After, I got some food with Adrienne. Once home, I got a letter in the mail with a denial for my divorce. Ugh. Burbank Courthouse, you suck! Bobby & I now have to go to court and prove we have nothing to dispute. Bah! How annoying!

After calling We the People, I started updating iTunes (fail), then I edited some pix and moved some files to my storage drive. A little later, I went to Bar Trivia at the Bok. The Lakers game was still on when we all got there, but we eventually got to start the night. It was fun, but we lost miserably… all of our teams did. Oh well, still had fun.

Wed, May 5th – Had a crappy night’s sleep, but got my day started with an oil change and a car wash. After, I did some laundry and started packing for the trip to Vegas. It was a relaxing day.

Thurs, May 6th – Slept in, packed some more, and waited for Sandy to get home from work. We left for Vegas around rush hour, but still got there in about 4.5 hours. Once there, we checked into Terrible’s and then went to the UA on the strip to see Iron Man 2 (which was amazing)! After the movie, we walked around the Aria for a bit before turning in.

Fri, May 7th – Got up at 9am to go downstairs to the buffet. After breakfast, we all took a nap for a few hours. Once John & Sandy left to meet with Sandy’s parents, I got a shower and waited for Kyle to arrive in Vegas.

He got in around 2pm and came right over to Terrible’s to hang out with me. We enjoyed some quality time together, then got a cab to the Venetian for lunch. The meal was freakin’ fantastic!!! The restaurant had a wonderful vegetarian soup, and my ravioli was soooo yummy! We enjoyed our lunch so much, then wandered around the Strip for a bit before Kyle had to get back to the Hard Rock to prep for the show.

At 6:30pm, John, Sandy & I walked over to the Hard Rock to get our tickets and backstage passes. We got pretty close to the stage, which was nice. We missed 1/2 of Fair to Midland, but what we heard was pretty damn awesome! 10 Years was up next… amazing!!! They rocked so hard! Truly brilliant show!

After, John, Sandy & I went up to the VIP area over the stage and watched a bit of Flyleaf from above. Once Kyle was cleaned up, we walked around the Hard Rock. Unfortunately, the hotel bars all sucked… full of plastic women and pretentiousness. We went back to the tour bus and had some drinks there instead. A bit later, we caught up with John’s friend, Jim, and went to the Double Downs bar nearby. It was great fun! See pix on my FB!

I got pretty trashed at the DD, keeping up with Kyle shot for shot of Jager. It was great though! After we left there, we went to the Luxor to get some grub at the restaurant where Sandy’s sister works. I needed that! It helped sober me up a bit. Once we finished eating, Kyle & I grabbed a cab back to Terrible’s for some more quality time, then we passed out sometime after 2am.

Sat, May 8th – At 5am, the alarm went off, and we got our butts out of bed. I drove Kyle back to the Hard Rock to catch the tour bus and then came back to pass out for a bit. At 7:15am, we all got up (John, Sandy & I) to get ready to head out. We met up with Sandy’s mom at 8:15am at Dunkin’ Donuts!

After breakfast, I started the drive back to LA. I made it about 2 hours, then turned over driving to John so I could get a nap. Once home in LA, I got a shower and headed down to Anaheim. Traffic sucked! It took me almost 2 hours to get there!

Once there, Kyle & I wandered around Downtown Disney a bit, then headed over to the tour bus. We played some Baggo (and he kicked my ass twice)! Then, we went to get some food. We found this great little place behind the Downtown Disney hotel where we each got some yummy veggie burgers!

Back at the tour bus, he got ready for the show, and I watched the guys play Wii Sports Resort. I joined in for Archery for a bit. Just before show time, I went out front to get my ticket and meet up with Kyle’s parents. We got a good spot on the side of the bar to watch the show, but it was hard to see Kyle. We were a bit off to the left. The sound was great, and we did have TV screens near us. We were able to see him a little though (see pix on FB).

After the show, we went to a nice little bar to hang out with his parents for a bit. It was great! I love his parents! 🙂

Once they left, I went back to the bus for a bit, and we had a great chat in the lounge. Before I left, I tried out his bunk… damn that thing is small! We still enjoyed ourselves though 🙂

It was really hard to say good-bye, but I am so proud of him and happy for him, that I couldn’t help smile! I got on my tram and went back to my car in the Mickey & Friends parking structure.

Sun, May 9 – I started the day with an engagement shoot with a great couple at 12pm at the Griffith Park Observatory. After, I took a nap, then met up with Gavin & Heather for their engagement shoot around 5:30pm. After that, I went to Koji’s to have some drinks and have dinner with Bobby. After dinner, KC, Bobby, & I went to Harper’s to visit Lyse.

Once home, I started editing pix, but couldn’t stay awake. I went to sleep and didn’t set my alarm… which was sooooo nice! I slept til almost 1pm! 🙂

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May 04 2010

Bats & Basic Education

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This past week was a whirlwind of emotion. I was happy, stressed, depressed, excited, relaxed, bored, busy, lonely, silly, drunk, energetic, frumpy, annoyed, optimistic and tired. Here’s what I did:

Mon, April 26th – Exercised, watched Eps 1 – 5 of United States of Tara, studied for the CBEST, took the pre-exams for the CBEST, went to sleep early.

Tues, April 27th – Took the CBEST, had a hypoglycemic attack, but still passed the English & Math sections (waiting on the writing section to be reviewed), signed up for the CSET and looked online for classes, and went to trivia at the Bok.

Wed, April 28th – Slept in, exercised, played with the kitties, had dinner with Heather & Gavin at “There’s No Place Like Home,” did wedding research with Heather & Gavin for their venue in FL.

Thurs, April 29th – Slept awful, looked for work, found out that I can’t get into the District Intern program this Fall, spent the day depressed and tired, felt a bit sick with a sore throat and headache, met up with Ankur at Yogurtiers to talk about CSET prep, went to sleep early.

Fri, April 30th – Went to James Madison middle to observe math classes, clipped Penemue’s nails, had lunch with John & Adrienne at Taco Bell, got my hair dyed and cut, then went to karaoke at Koji’s with Josef, Megg, Sandy, and John.

Sat, May 1st – Wedding in Santa Monica at 1pm, wedding in Downtown LA at 5pm, dinner with Scharff and Dorwart at Phillipe’s, wandered around Chinatown, came home to get ready for Bats Day, went to bed early.

Sun, May 2nd – Woke up early, Adrienne & I drove down to Disneyland and met up with Ricki, Erik, Ryan, Heather, Josef, Mike B, Bobby, Lacey, Ashley, Mike W, Megg, Violet, Ricki’s friends and their kids, and many others throughout the day.

We started off getting a fastpass for Space Mountain, then went to the Castle Meetup, then I had lunch with Sarah, Casey & Emily.

After, met up with everyone at the Pizza Port and we went to Captain EO, followed by the Matterhorn. Then, off to California Adventure to go to Tower of Terror, the Maliboomer, the Carousel, Screamin’, Soarin’, the wine festival, and dinner at the Sourdough Breadbowl place.

Once back in Disneyland, we went to the Haunted Mansion for the 8pm meet-up, followed by Pirates, then Space Mountain. After, Adrienne & I went on Buzz’s Astroblasters and got a hot chocolate on the way out. It was a super fun Bats Day!!!

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Apr 30 2010

Kyle’s Adventures…

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This is only PART of the 10 Years tour… Google Maps wouldn’t let me add any more cities. Haha! I miss him so much, and can’t wait to see him in Vegas and Anaheim!!!


View Larger Map

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Apr 25 2010

What a Week!

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Mon, 4/19
* Took Dagan to the groomers for a Lion’s Cut
* Got my TB test for school
* Studied a bit
* Met up with Kyle at Koji’s, had a drink with him after work; then, we went on a date to Miceli’s for some great Italian food!
* Watched Ravenous back at Kyle’s place
* Stayed up talking, listening to music, and having fun til late

Tues, 4/20
* Sat in on math classes at Adrienne’s school
* Went to lunch at the Grilled Cheese Truck with Adrienne
* Had dinner with Gavin and friends for Gavin’s 30th Birthday
* Played Apples to Apples at Gavin & Heather’s house with Ankur, Gav, Heather, Ron, Allie, Mike, Brooke, Angela, my sister, and KC

Wed, 4/21
* Studied
* Fractured or broke my toe (still not sure)
* Picked up my TB test results
* Went to CSUN for an Orientation meeting
* Hung out with the kitties
* Went to the Air Conditioned Supper Club to see The Changing
* Hung out with Kyle & Branden back at their place

Thurs, 4/22
* Had breakfast with Kyle and Branden at this great little diner in Burbank
* Studied
* Got a bit depressed and went to sleep early

Fri, 4/23
* Headed to Kyle’s to have lunch with him and his mom
* Watched him pack for his tour with 10 Years
* Spent some quality time together
* We went to Subway on the way to LAX
* Dropped him off at LAX – he’ll be gone for about 6 weeks. Make sure you check dates and see 10 Years when they come to your town!
* Went to Koji’s for karaoke, meeting up with my sister, John, and the Koji’s regulars

Sat, 4/24
* Performed a wedding in Santa Monica at 11am
* Took a nap, sleeping through my alarm (missed seeing Kick-Ass with friends)
* Carpooled with Josef to Koji’s for karaoke with Adrienne, Emmett, Bobby and the Koji’s regulars
* Got silly drunk and Josef had to drive us home, after a stop at Mel’s Diner for grilled cheese!

Sun, 4/25
* Slept in
* Edited & uploaded pix to FB
* Walked 20 minutes on the elliptical and watched the first 3 episodes of United States of Tara (season 2)
* Studied, napped, studied some more
* Edited photos

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Apr 16 2010

Karaoke!

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All new songs tonight (Thurs, 4/15):

Oasis – Live Forever
Puddle of Mudd – Blurry
The Ceasars – Jerk it Out
Duran Duran – Come Undone (girl part, backing Josef)
Candlebox – You

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Apr 12 2010

Where Am I?

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Recaps

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So, I’ve spent a lot of time “doing” more than “planning” lately, and that’s getting me nowhere. I miss out on very important tasks that NEED to be done, and miss lots of deadlines (especially when having to make calls or get to the post office). I think I need to start getting up earlier. 🙁

On Easter weekend, I filed for unemployment, spent some time by John’s pool, went hiking with Greg to the Griffith Park Observatory, enjoyed a pillow fight with over 3000 Los Angelinos, saw Clash of the Titans, went to a Tiki bar, met Kyle’s brothers, enjoyed Easter dinner with Kyle’s family, and experienced a pretty large earthquake.

During the week, I slept a lot more than I should have, went bowling, sat in on a few math classes at a middle school (which was awesome), signed up for a meeting to learn how to teach math in LA, dealt with serious legal and grandmother issues, entered a photo contest, bar trivia trumped by a sports game, went to karaoke with friends, stayed at Kyle’s, trimmed a plant’s leaves, had lunch with Josef at Foxy’s, hung out at home and edited photos.

This past weekend, I had a wedding on Saturday, then went to Shakey’s Pizza with Bobby, then picked Carol up to head to Koji’s for karaoke (super fun night), woke up REALLY early on Sunday and got our cage at the Old LA Zoo Picnic Area for the 2010 Creepy Cages BBQ, had food and fun with friends at the BBQ, edited photos, watched the Prestige with Kyle, slept at his place, and came home this morning after taking him to the train. I love sleeping to the sound of rain, but waking up to it being over and seeing blue skies!

This week, who knows… I need to make a plan! I do have a few meetings to go to and a lot of job hunting to do.

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