Snapshot

Posting to the blog has been irregular of late because I've been as busy as I've ever been with work, with looking for work, with side work and, last but certainly not least, my family. Oh yeah, and getting some hours at the pre-school co-op as the school photographer which has been an interesting and occasionally aggravating experience.

Amid it all I am trying to get my bike rides in to keep the tenuous grip on what passes for my sanity these days. I can't complain too much though. Weather reports had us ready for a wet and indoors weekend but we didn't get so much as a drop and today ended up being quite nice out. I got a ride in first thing yesterday morning, nothing special, just a couple of loops on the slough paths. But it felt good to get spinning again nonetheless. Today was more of a surprise ride. I came home from a couple of photography appointments, that went very well, to find an empty house. Rather than ask where everyone was, I loaded up my bike into the car and headed up to Santa Cruz. I parked outside my old house in Seabright and enjoyed a slower paced warm up pedal to the base of Delaveaga where the real riding began!

It wasn't a super long ride, maybe ten miles total, but it really felt good to get back on dirt and mud and enjoy some of the nature that's been hiding behind sheets of rain for weeks.

This next week promises to be busy too. Two schools tomorrow, the second going into the early evening. One school or department each day the rest of the week with the photography make up day at the pre-school towards the end of the week. Also in the mix is an evening of computer work at one of my office manager's house and an open house at Grady's new kindergarten school.

One of the few benefits of my semi-employment in the school district is that I can basically choose whatever school I want my son to attend. The school we are assigned to is an under-performing crap hole, to be indelicate. The school he is going to is one of the best performing and most highly regarded schools in the area. The only other school regarded higher is one of the other schools I work at. Yes, I do take some measure of pride in working at two of the best schools in this district.

The downside is that the school is in downtown Watsonville. I don't particularly like this town very much, I don't care for the mentality, the gangs and the general fuck-you-gringo attitude I get alot of places. But to make the best of a pretty crappy situation, this school is it.

I guess I'm rambling now. I'm writing this while running tests and anti-spyware on an XP laptop I've been working on off and of for the last week. It does some stuff no problem and then totally freezes up and crashes with other stuff and not necessarily the same things each time. One thing the recent work I've been doing on Win machines has taught me is how much I hate the XP operating system. It is utter crap, like it was designed by a drunk monkey or something.

Give me my Macs and don't go yapping at me about fan boi shit. My Macs just work and work well. These Win XP machines freeze up, slow down or just plain lag ass all the day long.

Anyway, I need to get this party wrapped up so I can get to bed at a reasonably decent hour so I can hit the ground running tomorrow. So much to do, not enough time. Always.

I think I might try to plan an IP universe update post. I've been writing to several of my other blogs lately and think it might not be a bad idea to toot my own horn, as it were.

For now though, time to feed the dog, get the coffee machine ready and call it a day.

What is the Deal with Today?

It started off normally enough but today has pretty quickly developed into one of the oddest days I can recall.

- First off, the district's offices were put on lockdown when people with guns were sighted in the parking lot. I'm not working at the offices today so it was more of a WTF then any danger to me personally.

- Next up, while I was talking to the school principal she got a call on her radio that two kids had collided and one of the kids wasn't getting up and was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

- Then a baby (no lie) somehow pulled the school fire alarm during lunch which caused minor pandemonium complicated by some teachers forgetting that two classes were off-campus on field trips.

- Also, I heard about a 6th grade student that was drinking in class. When her desk was searched, they found condoms and birth control. This is a 12 year old girl! Holy shite!

One good thing that happened super early this morning is that the school board voted to not cut the entire Adult Education department. Sure, its budget has been cut in half in the last two years but it still exists, for now. Not sure how many more rounds of budget cuts it will last. There is simply starting to be no more places to cut from. And it looks like my department has been spared this round as well, which is also good. Its a skeleton crew now, I can't imagine what would happen if they cut more positions.

Here's hoping today starts to normal out and that maybe the rain stays away for a few more hours so I can get a bike ride in. I need the exercise!

Hold Back or Push Ahead?

We, my wife and I, are currently making the decision on whether or not Grady will start kindergarten in the fall. There are several factors in play that are affecting our thoughts.

Intellectually he's very ready. He's started reading now and knows his numbers quite well. He has made some rather poignant observations about things around us, can comprehend abstract concepts and loves making up jokes. He also has a really fun scientific curiosity streak (he's taken it upon himself to see how freezing things work, he checks his little pots with plants in them every morning, etc.). He is, as every parent will tell you, smart as a whip.

Emotionally though, he may not be ready for the structure. He's a bit wild still, has a hard time staying focused on tasks at hand, has a difficult time listening to and following instructions and sometimes just wants to be contrary for being contrary's sake.

Physically, he's a very high energy little guy who will have no problems keeping up with anyone. He's fast, he's got very good eye hand coordination and he's got a pretty good arm for throwing balls.

His birthday is in July and he'll be turning five so he'd be about the right age. Our thinking is that we will hold him back a year, let him mature a little more while we keep teaching him at home and he can start kindergarten next year. I'd rather he have every opportunity to excel and feel good about himself than push him into school before he's really ready to go.

I'd be interested to hear from other parents or educators about their thoughts on when to start a child in school and how you knew it was the right or wrong time.

A Day of Firsts

Today is the first day of the rest of the week, that's an easy one. Its also my first day of a full week of kids being back in school.

But the really big first that happens today is that Graydon begins his first day of school today. And Sullivan becomes the big dog at the day care without his big brother to overshadow him.

Sully has been fighting a goopy eye thing, he's getting drops now to help clear it up but we're not sure if he'll be able to go to the preschool opening day which means that I may not be able to go to Grady's first day.

I think things will work out in the end.

Oh, did I mention that Graydon specifically asked to have his hair spiked for school? Yeah. He was working on his hair in the mirror the other evening and decided the spikes are a good look. He is an unfathomably cute kid and, yes, I will try to get a pic of his spike-iness.

Happy first day of the week to you and yours.

The News? She is Good

I had a meeting with the district HR department this afternoon. I figured I was either going to get in trouble for something or I was going to get good news about my job for the fall.

I got good news about my job for the fall. Due to some sites finding extra funds for my position, the layoffs in my department were being, effectively, rescinded. Not in so many words but that's the end result. I'm not sure about the other guy in my department yet but he may also escape the chop.

The funny thing is, earlier this week my buddy at one of my schools cornered the superintendent for our zone, he used to be the principal at the school and my pal has a good relationship with him. Well, he bent the supe's ear for a while and talked me up but good.

And then, a few days later, this news hits and I'm rehired into the district. Coincidence? Maybe but I kind of doubt it.

As of right now, my contract stands at 50% time but that'll increase as other schools re-up their site tech positions and more time becomes available. I can guarantee that I'll get one more school since that's the one where my buddy works and they won't fund the position unless they get me back. Which is a pretty strong endorsement if there ever were one.

I'm really pretty happy to be able to stay despite the financial concerns. I'll get a pay bump in July and will be eligible for another on in February. More so, my benefits aren't going to change and that's really good news for my whole family as they are excellent. Some of the other perks are also pretty darned nice too. Like the fact that I can choose which school in the district I want to send my children to. Oh yeah, and they don't get to take my delicious MacBook Pro back either!

Plus, I'll be back at my main school from the start of the school year which means I'll be able to get some student projects going early.

Like a Yard Sale Only Freer

It is the first day of summer break and some teachers are back on campus clearing out their classrooms. The giveaways are waaaay too numerous to even estimate much less count.

I've been able to score some pretty good stuff for my boys including a box of Big Legos, some excellent books, a stuffed dinosaur, a pop up sun shade, a beat box for drumming and a neat little crocodile guy.

I tells ya, if I didn't have a totally stuffed full garage, I'd probably load up the trunk of my car. Or not as I know my wife would be rather annoyed at a trunkload of stuff we don't need.

But we're going to have a yard sale in a few weeks and anything we decide not to keep can be parceled out there.

I've also gotten some ice cream cake, pizza, snack packs and a SpongeBob yogurt tube. This could be a really fun week if this keeps up!

A Monday Without Students

I'm sitting in the computer lab at one of my schools on the Monday after school has let out for the summer. There are, by my count, four people on campus this morning. The calmness and quiet is pretty damned lovely.

And I'll be able to tear into the broken eMacs in the lab without distraction.

One of my teachers just stopped by, check that, one of my favorite teachers at this site just stopped by. She's finally getting a chance to catch up on all the stuff she can't do with a class full of wiggly kids.

Now I'm jamming some music (how's about a little Frankie Goes to Hollywood?), finishing up some breakfast and digging the new dawn. Soon it'll be time to dig into some broken computers, listen to some KNBR (when's the Giants' game on? dang, not 'til 4).

Oh well, plenty of fun to be had and I've got a couple of other posts to work on as well as keeping an eye on the job boards. But it sure is peaceful here now!

I Rock

My school is letting out for the year and I thought it would be cool to send them off with a little Alice Cooper singing, what else, "School's Out" over the PA system.

It should have been louder but it did work with me holding my laptop up to the speaker and holding down the "All play" button on the PA system.

That and I got to play in the teachers vs 6th graders softball game. Went 1-2 with two hard hit balls. The hit was an RBI double that could have caused damage as it was a smoking line drive into a gaggle of kids.

But no harm done and I didn't annihilate any kids on the base paths, though one student did his best to get annihilated and then tried to call me out for not staying in the base path.

The last day of school is as much fun for the teachers and staff as it is for the students and that's exactly as it should be!

I will miss these people, I'll miss the teachers, the support staff and the students. This is a great environment to work in and I just wish it paid more and I wasn't being laid off. Maybe once I've sold my inventions for millions of dollars I'll be able to volunteer my time.

The Last Day of School

Today is a big day in the school district. Every kid and every teacher has been looking forward to it for weeks now.

It is, of course, the last day of school. This whole last week has been more like a party than a school with trips, games, events, plays and lots and lots of cleanup.

And pranks. I haven't heard about too many of them but there is one good one that took place at my school I'm at today. The students all showed up early and relocated the classroom from inside the room to the asphalt playground outside the room. Every desk, every chair including the teacher's desk which was adorned with an archway of blue and white (the school's colors) balloons.

And the kids? The kids are pretty darned proud of themselves for stirring up some fun, as they should be! The teacher thinks its really funny but is now at a loss as to what to do with her class today. And its going to be a hot, hot day here!

Kind of reminds me of the pranks that were pulled when I was in high school. One very famous one at my prep school was incredibly funny, hard to pull and just as difficult to undo. A bunch of seniors carried a teacher's VW Bug up a couple of sets of stairs and placed it on the stage in the assembly room where the entire school was going to meet up later that morning. Sadly though, I think they got some kind of disciplinary action because of it but my memory may be failing me a bit.

What are some pranks you've heard of, pulled or had pulled on you?

A Peek into the Future

I'd like to be able to show a kid where he or she is going to be in 20 or 30 years given their current state and direction. Sort of a scared straight kind of thing.

I look at some of the kids I see everyday and can tell you where they are headed. Some are born into gang culture and have little chance, hope or even desire, to escape. Some are already being pulled in, even in elementary school. Which is pretty messed up.

Then there are the other kids who are on the fence between descent and ascent. A couple of students I have gotten to know pretty well are extremely bright but come from difficult circumstances and may never be able to achieve their full potential (though my inclination is to say that very, very few of us ever achieve full potential). Those kids could use a nudge upward, which I try to provide them when I can. I encourage, cajole and challenge those students I know aren't coming close to what they are capable of.

Some of these kids are really pretty freaking brilliant and it would be a huge disservice to not try and pull them upward as much as I possibly can during the little time I can. I will miss interacting with the kids everyday, the vast majority of them are sweet, good natured and curious. They are one of the main reasons I am pretty sad about this short chapter of my life coming to a, presumed, close.

Though there are still some possibilities that we're exploring. I should have a better handle on those things towards the end of the week, maybe.

Oh, and another school party on Friday! Woot! This time at a rather nice lunch place which means drinks and NO KIDS!

Winding Down and Out

There are three full days of school left in the school year here in my district. And then three and a half weeks of project work on-site before I become unemployed, again.

Each of my schools is a constant flurry of activity, cleaning desks, classrooms, events, graduation ceremonies, retirement parties, thank you parties and the frenzied attempts to wrap up projects before they fall apart until the fall.

From my own perspective, I can see how broken the system is, how badly the patches are holding to keep the entire school district from descending into chaos. It does not make me look forward to my own children entering this incredibly flawed and stumbling bureaucratic clusterfuck.

Don't misunderstand me, the people I've worked with, by and large, have been outstanding individuals toiling under difficult circumstances to deliver as much education to the children in the system as possible. It isn't the teachers, staff or support staff. Its the bureaucratic swamp they all have to toil in with ever shrinking budgets and ever growing classes.

I am of several minds in regards to my pending layoff. I'm seeing it as the closing of this chapter of my life, my short stint working in education and getting a close up look at how it works (or doesn't). I'm seeing it as an opportunity to go back into the private sector and make real money again with merit bonuses, raises and no ridiculous union rules keeping shitty workers on the books and forcing better but less senior workers out the door.

This week has been bittersweet and I expect it will continue until school lets out and everyone moves on to their summer schedule.

Honored

As the end of the school year approaches at breakneck speed, there's a mixture of anticipation, fear, uncertainty and good ol' excitement at each of my schools. There are also alot of events to commemorate and mark the ending of this school year.

Today we had an event put on by the grateful and happy parents at one of my schools. They are grateful and happy because the school is one of the top elementary schools in the whole state. Which means that their kids are among the top students in the state. Oh yeah, it also means the property values in the surrounding area get a bump too.

But that really isn't why the event was put on as its been going for years and is a traditional way for the community to say thanks to all of the people who make the school run. From the teachers to the office staff to the yard duty supervisors to the teaching interns to the computer guy.

The theme was the far east and the decor was awesome, unique and really cool. I sat at the Koi Pond table which turned out to be a coincidental choice. But let me rewind for just a minute. Yesterday the boys got a close up look at a tabletop zen garden, the kind with a miniature rake, tiny little pagodas and wee boulders. And they loved it. They were both absolutely fascinated by it.

And the Koi Pond table's special little thank you was a mini-mini zen garden. Which made my day after already having an awesome meal (though the lack of sake with sushi is troubling, understandable since the lunch was at school but troubling nonetheless).

There's another school party coming up and then maybe one more party at my other school. Not sure about that one right now. But today's party was a really nice time made all the better by a neat little thank you gift.

An Unexpected Day Off

Here are a few additional shots from yesterday:

My Memorial Day weekend has gotten off to an early start. Actually it started yesterday afternoon when I left school for lunch and, when I called in to check, was told to take the rest of the day off.

This morning I should have checked my email before leaving for work. But, in retrospect its a good thing I didn't. If I had then I would have known that the entire district was closed down due to air quality concerns.

But since I didn't, I drove up the highway into work at the school. Only to find it almost completely deserted. Almost, except for one of the school's "grandmas" was standing on the curb with a distressed student.

What had happened, I think, was that her father had dropped her off at the bus stop out on the street and didn't drive down to the school. There was a sign at the steps leading down into the school announcing the closure but nothing out on the road at all.

Anyway, it took a little doing but we got her mom's company name out of her and I, using my superior iPhone technology, looked up the number and called it. She asked for her mom and let her know what had happened and could she come and pick her up? Did I mention she was in shorts and short sleeves and it was a heavy fog morning?

I called the school principal to let him know what was happening and took her into the library to get her out of the cold. She's either quiet as a mouse or was pretty upset by the whole thing. She got a book and sat to wait.

I checked my email and, sure enough, there were several emails about the district-wide school closure. And news that at least one district employee's house had burned down.

I'm home now, told to stay indoors due to air quality issues again. Trying to keep the boys from killing each other, trying to work on resume stuff and keeping an eye on job boards.

I am glad that I went into work today and was able to help the student get picked up. Her day had already been pretty unfun. And I got to do a good deed.

The good thing about the cold fog today is that its apparently helping the fight the fires and the news reported 20% containment as of 8 this morning. A good start and I hope nobody else has to lose their home.

And that a sensible undergrowth clearing plan is put into place. The fire spokesman said there is a hundred years of undergrowth up there and the dry spring basically makes it one huge tinderbox.

The New Dawning

This might come off as a pie in the sky post so either bear with me or go read about Roger Clemens and his exploding career below instead.

Yesterday ended up being a pretty good day all the way around. I started working at my third school, was very impressed by the teacher's setup, went to a multi-hour tech meeting, filled out lots more paperwork, got some signatures, signed some other papers and then went back to the new school. With a delicious new MacBook Pro in tow.

Not one of the newest of the new, it is still a way smoking little machine and absolutely crushes my old G4 Aluminum (even if it weren't slowly dying) in terms of speed and cool stuff its got. And, even though I hate Windows, it is pretty slick to be able to reboot my computer into Windows XP. I'm still configuring it and getting it up to speed for my use both professionally and personally.

I didn't get my district cellphone yet but that's because I need to go on a signature drive first. I need my three principals to agree to the unusual contract. And then I get a new phone to go with my other new gear.

It will take some getting used to this new schedule but I do think it'll be kind of nice to be moving around so much and dealing with so many different kids, teachers, campuses and computers. There will be difficulties, to be sure, but overall its a really good situation.

And I am looking forward to improving the tech capabilities of my schools to produce a more savvy student as well as educating teachers in making better use of technology.

There were alot of good things yesterday and I don't want to forget them. Let's see: new laptop, new school, fully completed HR paperwork, a raise (which was unexpected and rather awesome), new info about my benefits package (which kicks the butt, for sure), a new cellphone on the way, mileage reimbursement, and more hours. Oh yeah, I also picked a useful and inexpensive tool kit to be able to pull machines apart more easily. Woot all the way around!

Back to the Grind, Sort Of

I'm heading back to work today after a long holiday break. The kids don't actually start back to school until tomorrow but tomorrow is my trip to MacWorld so I'm going to go put in some time today.

I've got a bunch of ideas I want to see about putting into practice to make the lab more usable, more fun and more educational.

I'd also like to complete the hiring process so I'm a full-time worker rather than a temp for the security reasons, the benefits and the ability to get pay raises and promotions. As it is, I'm barely scratching the surface of the good stuff in working for the district.

It will be nice to get back to work though. I hope my lab isn't as icey as it was leading into the break but the weather's changed so it should be better.

And I'm actually pretty jazzed about going to MacWorld tomorrow even if the surprise closet is mostly empty (i.e. Apple won't be introducing the next category killer tomorrow). Any trip up to the city is fun and this time its all about Macs which is just cool by me and, who knows, I could win myself a new iPhone, that'd be fine!