Ahhh......Chooo!

The unthinkable has happened, I am sick. Actually I was surprised that I was able to last this long without catching a cold. (I guess knocking on wood be a little too late already) Its a big improvement from last year since I was perpetually sick from about November all the way to March. It didn't help that we had air conditioning last year too. But here I am, coughing into my elbow and constantly trying to blow out some "bad stuff." It doesn't help that the weather lately has been really chilly at a whopping 60 degrees. Brrrrrrrr....

Through some acts of nature, a historic figure, and DOE school calendar I was some how able to receive a 5 day weekend. "Lucky," you say? YES and NO. The weekend had an unexpected start with a high wind warning canceling all public schools from Kauai to Lanai. Then with Martin Luther King Jr. day on the other end of the weekend it was extended to a 4 day. And it just so happens that a school waiver day fell on that following Tuesday, making it a grand total of 5 days of no school. Most of my friends had the same days off, (Sorry Joel) so we made sure we didn't waste it.

One highlight of the weekend was the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire." And awesome story about a street urchin kid who grows up to go on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" and is able to make it all the way to the top. But soon after is accused of cheating because there would be no possible way that an orphaned child, with no schooling, could possibly have enough trivial knowledge to answer all the questions correct. Well he does and the movie is pretty much based on the flashbacks of this guy trying to justify how he knew the answer. Some crazy images of Mumbai and other areas in India with mental etchings of the man's experiences. It is definitely worth seeing, with a little treat at the end. : P

Highlight moment number 2, my Tenure Party! Well not full a blown party but just a get together with friends and our favorite inexpensive past time, board games! Its been a couple of years now but for some reason, rather than going out to the clubs or the bars, a group of us would rather have wine and cheese with a game of Cranium or something. Could it be that we're getting old? If old means that its harder to sit down/stand up, getting tired before 10 pm, being concerned about one's health, getting irritable listening to loud music, hot tea tastes so good, or listening to the oldies station to reminisce... then YES I am getting old.

What happened to those days where you work at your part time job at a fast food restaurant, come home to take a shower, see a movie, play pool, make a run to Jack-in the-box, hang out watching MTV at a friend's house only to stumble home at 4 in the morning to do it all over again? To be young again... or a bum. *sigh

Say hello to a reformed Yes-Man

I am a reformed Yes-Man. What does that mean? I can now, with some truth behind my words, say... I'll think about it. BECAUSE this boy is no probie anymore. I got my tenure! I don't have to say yes to everything anymore! Well actually its still hard to say "No." I tried saying it but all that came out was, "I could." Which was followed by laughter and a comment that "I could" is the most politically correct way to say, "No."

I need to work on different ways to say no.....

advice from a teacher on my tenure, "Chris now you got your tenure, you should look for a new job. Use this valuable time to look for a better job, one that you could be happy doing. They can't really fire you anymore."

Hmmm... does the world really work this way?

Start of a New Year

This winter break went by way too fast. Just yesterday I was ushering my kids out of my classroom and getting belligerent at Dave & Busters. And here I am now back at desk wondering which mountain of work I should start on first.

Winter Break '08 had some interesting moments such as; reuniting with 3 cousins from the mainland, having Christmas come and go without even a flinch of Christmas spirit, and a New Year's Eve party that is barely remember-able. Can you believe that the '09 has been here for 12 days? Talk about a fast start.

We got started on wedding day planning such as getting ideas for save-the-date cards, bridesmaid dresses, and hunting down a telephone book worth of addresses. Actually I was surprised that the wedding planning process is moving along on a steady pace. I shouldn't get too comfortable though huh?

Christopher M. Lee, tenured teacher. I finally made it to my tenure! It felt like I was the last person on the island to get their tenure but now I have it and I feel... exactly the same. I still can't say "no" to the principal when she asked if I wanted to attend an after school podcast training session. What will it take so I can get rid of this "Yes-man" persona off me? Nevertheless I will look forward to the awesome party that I plan to have sometime this weekend! Yay for me!

Re-Cap of 2008

A quick rundown of the significant events and happenings in 2008:

1. Got engaged on 7/18/08 at Turtle Bay Hilton
2. Transferred from my dream school A to KU
3. Started teaching a new grade level: Hellions/Angles of 4th grade.
4. Developed atopic egzma due to stress.
5. Completed my first PDERI credit porfolio.
6. Renewed my driver's license... another 8 years to go.
7. Sister graduated from high school.
8. Went to all the home games for the University of Hawaii Warrior Football season '08.
9. Got a new credit card.
10. Started on wedding plans. 7/11/09 BABY!

I have a feeling that 2009 is going to be one crazy year!

Starting anew in 2009!

I guess to begin... go to rurrounikurisu.blogspot.com to read about the old me. Timeline is basically from 2004 - 2007 with a few holes here and there. Lots of posts about my experiences in Japan, including a humongous supply of typos.