Day 1

Although it is for the next several weeks, for the time-being I can for that time say that I have my own classroom! Woo! The thought is exciting! I love the power that I have! Great first day after muddling through the lesson the first period, but after first period it became a breeze. The rest of the week will get better pending I survive graphic and explaining endothermic and exothermic reactions, then explaining how to determine each one a graph! I think my classes overall will be pretty good. I already see 6th period will be a challenge, but I think I scared them a little bit today. I'm excited to see where this journey goes...

A most excellent birthday

Mike and I hung out yesterday since I didn't have to work. I texted him about 10:30 after I ran errands. I washed my car, detailed it, then went to the grocery store for a few birthday cards, and then home to write them. We were texting each other back and forth. He wanted to know when my birthday dinner with friends was, and I told him. It was at 6:30, so because of traffic I needed to leave at 5:30. I said I didn't mind driving over to hang out. He had someone coming to give an estimate on what it would cost to design and landscape his backyard.

I get over to his place at 12 and the landscape designer is late. We sit and watch that addiction show on TLC. That was pretty crazy- one gal was addicted to tanning and the other was addicted to Comet, the household cleaner. Both were pretty... Um... Interesting. I sat on the couch watching that while the designer, a cookey old guy, talked to himself in the backyard and the 2 of us just laughed. The guy was really amusing. He brought up some of Mike's plants in his yard and grass to show what he did wrong. Mike isn't using a sharp enough blade to cut his grass making it look dead.

After this guy left about 1:30 we head over to Victoria Gardens for lunch. We go to the Italian place next to the movie theater. I think it is called Paisano. We have a vegetarian calzone. It really lacked flavor, which was disappointing. The vegetables had the potential to be flavorful. Mike insisted on paying since it is my birthday. It wasn't, but he insisted. We talk about lots- gay cruises, his vegetarian eating, favorite and fine restaurants, vacations and family vacations, and our best friends. His best friend is coming out at the end of the month and he wants me to be sure to meet her.

We stopped at Fresh and Easy, and drove by a place called Corkys that boasted being open 24 hours and having great breakfasts. I checked it out on Yelp, and the reviews were either very high, or very low. We talked a little about breakfast food places. As we drove back in the car he kept poking me and making me giggle as he tickled me. He's cute.

We get back to his place and hang around for a few minutes before I take off to my birthday with friends. I'd invited him along, but he wasn't comfortable with a crowd of people. He's very much introverted and shy. I am, but in a group of people I know I am fine. We watch an episode of Oprah's 25 and finish up The Talk from that day on CBS. I had never seen either. He is all over daytime TV since he is at home able to watch all of it all day.

I decided on Olive Garden with friends. Gonzo, Eddy, Marci, her boyfriend, Darla, and her cousin all showed up. It was fun. A lot of talk about Gonzo's upcoming wedding- Marci is planning her bachelorette party. Edwin wants to go, and as a gay guy, I can get by going according to Gonzo. LOL. So yeah. We also caught up in each other's lives. This is the first time we've really been split up. We all went to the same college for undergrad together. We went to high school together for the mostpart. We are now at 5 different colleges.

After, we head to Eddy's apartment about 9. I had every plan to not stay long because Mike invited me back over. I was also not in the mood for Eddy's drunkenness. He did 8 shots in the course of about 2 minutes just to prove himself- as if we haven't seen this 100 times already. Anyways, we hung out watching the video "Like a G6" and Enrique Iglesias videos like "I Like It" and "I Want to Fuck You Tonight" song. I texted Mike around 10 as it went downhill. Eddy was drunk, horny, and about to go out on the roof or something crazy. I made the excuse that I was tired to leave.



I get back to Mike's about 11 and he is watching "Reba" on TV. We watch an episode of that, then "How I Met Your Mother." After, we head to bed. It is about 12:30. He wants to suck me off and does, which was hot. I get him off too. All during this I'm thinking about how hot it was, especially because we were both hibernating under the covers because he keeps his house so cold. The song "Birthday Sex" is playing in my head... lol. We then fall asleep in each others arms. We woke up about 9 to the cat who was kneading, which is something I'd never heard of. He was purring and alternating between front legs. He was getting very loud. He was looking for attention, so I gave him some.



We took turns showering, then went to breakfast at that Corky's place. It was on the expensive side. The omelets were alright according to Mike. My French toast was pretty good. We just thought it was overpriced and for a few dollars at home we could make better.

We stop at Wal-Mart for cat litter and pick up Scrabble while we are at it. We talk about random stuff like cars, my family who lives right by him (all of my aunts and cousins). He talks about how great his life is that he can work 25 hours a week... I'm jealous.

It is nearly 11:30 by the time we are back and my aunt and uncle were over in the area today, so we met up with them. We all went to dinner at the restaurant of my choice. I was thinking a churrascaría, but the closest was in Irvine. I was thinking the Spanish restaurant, but since Mike took me the other night I was wanting something different. I knew my aunt and uncle had mentioned wanting to try a certain restaurant before, and I had too, as Mike had mentioned it, and several other friends like Mrs. C, and Keith. It is an upscale northern Italian restaurant. Everything on the menu ranged between $18 and $37. I had a delicious ox tail pasta with huge shreds of parmesan cheese on top. YUM. Before we went, though, my parents were curious how much it cost since I do tend to have elaborate tastes that come at high prices. They didn't find an issue with that since it is just a little bit more than we'd typically spend elsewhere, and that it was a special occasion.

My sister, of course, was talking about how guilty I should feel. Her birthday was $10 a person because she saved the family money by going to TGI Fridays and they had a special of 2 entrees, appetizers, and a dessert for $20. I reminded her you have to factor in a drink for that as well as tip making it close to $16-17 (of course I know tax and tip weren't taken into account in my argument, but my sister didn't think of that). That quieted her down for a moment. Then she was talking about how ridiculously expensive $30 was for pasta. I informed her most of the pasta dishes were about $20. She told me how that's so expensive and we can't afford that. She told me that she could make pasta for $0.50. She said she would be thankful for just Spaghetti-o's from a can... um... sure she would... she likes those, but on her birthday she'd throw a fit. She told me under her breath how "that's f-in ridiculous." I informed her she may go to "h-e double hockey sticks l" for saying that, especially being the good Christian she is. She told me how she would never bankrupt my parents like that and how Cocos is more up her alley. I told her I understood completely- she plays the old woman part well- she has completely let herself go. She didn't have a comeback for that other than to say she is not old and that I was so insulting.

In the restaurant my sister was making faces at me to express her displeasure. There was nothing she would eat since they didn't have regular spaghetti. Ox tail is nasty she said. She didn't want goat cheese because it wasn't Velveeta and pasta with cheese is icky. My aunt and uncle basically told her she should order a pizza if she was having an issue. She did. She didn't like it. She also pulled out her cell phone and started texting. My uncle informed her that this was probably not the restaurant to be doing that in. She said that she could because she had an important text about work. My mom said it could wait- she needs to spend time with the family once in a while. My mom remarked that she doesn't allow her to text in the first place in restaurants and was apaulled that she pulled it out in such a nice restaurant.

My sister may sound like she was the complete topic of our conversation, but really, she was minor. It was truly my night- not my sister's. I had a great time. We talked with my aunt and uncle about school, the weather, work, and going somewhere together soon like Disneyland or Knotts.

We walk around downtown before coming back to my house for my white cake with pineapple filling and cream cheese that my mom made. It was sooooooooooooo good!!!

All of the gifts from friends, texts, calls, and facebook messages have also helped make this special.

Birthday Celebration #1

Mike texted me yesterday asking if I was free for dinner last night for my birthday. My birthday came up very casually in conversation while he was home with his parents. He didn't know the exact date. I thought I was free last night, but texted him when I got home that we were getting my mom an iPhone, and going to surprise her with it that night, so why not tonight. He agreed. I texted him about 2 as I was leaving work. He texted me about 3:40 as I was walking in the door to my house. He said that we should meet at 5:30. Over the next several minutes we debated. I asked what he was tasting. He named the Spanish restaurant in my city and I melted. It is on the expensive side at roughly $40-50 a person. Regardless of price, and the fact I am pretty much out of money since I didn't earn much during student teaching, I wasn't saying no.

I get to the restaurant about 5:20 and park next to him. We head on inside. We go up to the bar to eat and for the better part of 2 hours talk a lot about family, school, work, food, and I tell him some random stuff about my city. We talk a lot about restaurants and all of the Top Chef chef's restaurants he has visited in Vegas. He is not a fan of chain restaurants. I order una sangría roja que es muy deliciosa, una paella, y we talk a lot more. I wasn't wanting anything more as I was content, but he insisted that I try his favorite concoction, a drink that tastes like an orange creamsicle. He had one there the last time, as well as some restaurant in Vegas. It was so tasty with a kick of alcohol. It was equal parts of orange juice, cream, orange liquer, and vodka. Then we needed dessert. After deliberating between what I liked- the apple tart, the bread pudding, the cream brulee, we settled on the dessert sampler with 5 different desserts. We both pretty much finished that up. We pay, then head out. We say goodbye and hug. He wants to hang out tomorrow or Saturday if I'm free. I told him I'd text him in the morning if I'm not subbing. He will be gone all next week on a business trip.

Stories from student teaching at the high school

I was pretty mum about it, but it was a blast. Here's a few stories:

- Every Thursday a teacher in the English department brings lunch for the entire department. I was well fed. One week we had grinders, another ceviche, ortra semana we had carnitas, y beef stew.

- My first 2 classes seemed to really like me and were cool. They brought me food all the time like candy. They were constantly eating in class, which drove me crazy. They would pass around Oreos and other snacks to the entire class on a daily basis. We managed to get work done in spite of the laxed atmosphere. We ate so much food in that class - everyday it was like a party.

- One student, JC, gave me great feedback as we went through each lesson. She told me her opinion of what I taught. She liked that I gave the kids a record sheet with assignments that were due and points values. She told me she liked how her 8th grade language arts teacher gave everything to them in packets and it was due in a few weeks. The students worked at their own pace. I liked that- gives me ideas about my planning.

- I will miss Cyndi who was always trying to flirt with me and always asked how I was doing. Her friends always told her to stop.

- The period right after I made my videotape I had a pretty big faux pas while presenting that lesson to another class. I broke out into random Spanish. The lesson was on background for the novel The Pearl. I had a slide on the main characters that included Kino, Juana, Coyotito, and Juan Tomás. I was describing Kino and Juana, then I saw Coyotito and whatever it was in my brain triggered Spanish. I started describiendo Coyotito en Espanol. I said that Coyotito es un infante, el hijo de Juana y Kino. Describí el doctor y Juan Tomás en Espanol también. My kids just let me go talking in Spanish all smiles and then I caught myself. The kids just laughed. I laughed too. They didn't even question me about how I knew Spanish- it was more like this is an everyday occurrance that their teacher speaks in Spanish.

- My first period students were very high, but they were slow as molasses when it came to projects. My second period was also an honors class, but they were lower as far as test scores and grades, and worked much better in group settings. My third period kids were atrocious.

- I will not forget the fight in my 3rd period my second week. It was my first day taking over the class. RS and Chuck were sitting next to each other arguing. The rest of the class was silent. Chuck got mad and RS did too. They both stood up in front of their desks, and Chuck, the taller kid had his arms around RS. RS and him knocked over a desk, then both fell onto the floor. My master teacher and I ran over. I pulled RS off of chuck, who was short, and getting the brunt of everything. She held Chuck. Someone ran to get security. I felt like a failure for a moment. The class was unphased by the fight and many kept working. That was still talked about 8 weeks later on my last day. LOL.

- I won't forget having 2 master teachers. I am so thankful Mr. W chose to carry me through all of this since he thought the idea of me having 2 master teachers was stupid.

- I enjoyed not doing anything in Mr. W's class for 4-5 weeks while he taught Monte Cristo, which I'd never read, and they were already too far into the book.

- I won't forget Mr. P coming in during my first day of teaching in Mr. W's class. He was smiling at me and doing anything he could to distract me, and he did.

NYE 2010

I went over to Mike's house about 12. He was already to go. The car was packed. We run to the restroom and head out. We stop in Agoura Hills at the Chipotle for some burrito bowls. He pays for both of us. The navigation system he has doesn't lead us directly up the 101, rather the 126 through Fillmore. It was a nice detour- lots of agriculture fields. He calls his cousin and confirms everything.

So here's the spiel I found out: his cousin is about 50, stereotypical California girl with an artsy side, and loves animals. We meet her at the house she is house sitting for. Apparently she doesn't have money (by Santa Barbara standards), but has friends that do, and they were out of town, so she was throwing a small get together with her best friends. The house was a $4 million Santa Barbara house that was built in the early 1900s. It was nice on the outside and the inside was a mix of old and new. It had its points. Anyways, we meet, she is very sweet, she shows us the house, then we head to Trader Joes for ingredients for the appetizers and Ralphs. There was no parking at Ralphs. Mike and I get out, then go in for the beets and limes.

We get back to the house and start cooking. First Mike has to clean the counters as he criticizes how for a multimillion dollar house you think they would have a maid who would actually clean and not keep a cluttered house with dirty countertops. He was hilarious. We make the Tyler Florence Winter Panzanella salad. I had never had such tasty beets. Seriously, it was delicious. We also make pomegranate cosmos that were alright. While making all of this we sipped on some various white wines that Mike had chosen. We each go through about 3 glasses. While cooking all of this Mike joked his cousin was making me a slave, and we watched Real Housewives of Atlanta. I am now all caught up. We watched 6-7 episodes total this weekend.

The guests start arriving at 7:30- one was a food blogger whose blog I had actually stumbled across before. What are the chances? I tell her that I had read it, and she thought it was hilarious. She was the cutest little thing. A lesbian friend of his cousin came, then a couple in their mid 40s probably, and their daughters. All of these people have money- just not money by SB standards. We all make our way into the living room where we chat, introduce each other, and talk about random stuff. They were all very accepting and interested in getting to know Mike and I. We go back and forth between the living room and family room to watch the wig drop on Bravo with Andy. At about 11:30 Mike and I go to the family room and switch channels. He has a thing against my boy, AC, so we flipped between Fox for Bruno Mars, ABC, and even Univision seeing what was going on for the New Years. Everyone laughed at him and got tired of him for being a channel surfer. Some drama occurred about 12:15, then some went to the hot tub. Mike and I cleaned up the house. We did the dishes and everything.

Everyone leaves about 1:30, so we put our airbed up and go to bed. We sleep in until 11:30. Well, there was some stuff going on in between probably 8 and 11:30. I didn't sleep really at all. He kept insisting on me holding him, the bed seemed to crunch anytime we turned, and stuff like that. We talked. We aren't sure we want to be bf's, but good friends would work. We get up and eat some french toast that his cousin made, then we watch more Housewives. We do this until about 2:30.

About 2:30 we leave and say goodbye. We go to the hotel room that Mike rented for the night, then go to a restaurant in SB that he saw on Food Network. We walk through Downtown, stop at a kitchen store, the Borders that was closing, then go to Wine Bistro to have their 4 Santa Barbara wines for $10 samplers with pretty generous helpings. We talk about a lot of things like family, my schooling, and public education. We have differing opinions, but we were respectful of each other. We go back to the hotel to get the car, then go to the Goleta Drive In to see "Meet the Fockers." Awful show. We both didn't like it. We didn't laugh. We thought it was stupid. We didn't stay for "Tron." He didn't like the old one. I still want to see the old one.

We go back to the hotel and watch TV. We watch some AFV and I fall asleep in his arms. It was the first time he held me. I woke up once when the fire truck went by blaring its siren about 5a.m. We then played around and got up around 8:30 to shower. We each shower, open the windows to watch the pouring rain, then head out.

We stop at McDonalds where we talk about things we did when we were young like the 20 chicken nuggets at McDonalds. He talks about how he can only eat them for breakfast. I told him about my adventures at McDonalds with Linda- basically she goes for the cute happy meal toys, so we had happy meals a few times when I was student teaching.

I bought all of the food when we ate out-minus Chipotle- because he was paying for the hotel and some of the stuff from TJs and Ralphs for the party. I wanted it to be equal even if we are just friends.

We drive back in the pouring rain. The rain stops once we leave Ventura. We stop for gas. We sing to a lot of the songs on the radio- he's not into country as much as I am- he likes Sugarland - his dad does too - we like Katie Perry to an extent - Pink is awesome - he's more into rap than me- he is into Bruno Mars. I can't tell you how many times we heard this song.

We talked about his like for expensive cars, cars in general, his car buying, his cousin's new car, and more...





We get back to his house and watch more Real Housewives of Atlanta to make me officially caught up. Then we watch some Aarti's Party on Food Network. It is about 3:30 and so it had been 2 1/2 hours. I say that I'm going to head out to give him some time to relax. We hug and I pull my car out of his garage, then head home.

Huskies vs. Huskers

I went to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego last Thursday night with Keith. The game was fun- college football, hanging out with Keith, and the stadium/experience.

I was invited by Keith because a friend of his was sick and couldn't go at the last minute. I had no clue who was going, but he told me it was going to be a fun time.

I met him at the time he suggested near his office. We were at his friend's house by the time she suggested. We get to his friend's house and this lady was just downright cold. She scolds Keith for calling her on her cell phone and not on the house phone. She hugged Keith, then didn't shake my hand and just kind of ignored the fact that I was there. She just turned around and walked back to her cooler in the kitchen where she was putting drinks for us.

Her friend was a chatty little Filipino lady. She introduced herself, said she was driving, and was more hospitable. We get in her car and she drives us. It starts out we are all having a conversation about the weather, then everyone breaks off into their own conversation. Keith and I talk about San Diego and other things. Keith brings up Hillcrest and where it is in relation to an area I had just mentioned called Normal Heights. I start to tell, then the cold lady interjects that there was nothing normal about Normal Heights. I laugh and agreed with her. Then the conversation seemed to go sour once she said where it was in relation to Hillcrest. She said except for her favorite area, and she didn't say where that was. We drive down to the stadium and this lady just seems to be ignoring me and at times giving me stares in the mirror.

At the stadium I thank the lady for having me come along. She says "your welcome" and we say a few words toward each other about the crowds. In the stadium her friend offers me a water, pretzels, and popcorn. Keith and I break off from them to go meet a really sweet friend/client of his, a charming girl, who is an attorney. She was so homely. Before the start of the game we go back and the woman seems put off that she has to make room for me to get to my seat. She was even distant toward Keith who did his whole lovey dovey thing he does, and gave her a hug. Her friend was even asking how we met, how I was such a gentleman, and this lady was off in her own world. I felt really uncomfortable as most people, even when you're not friends, but are introduced to people, try to be somewhat warm, introduce themselves, even what kind of job you do, but not this time. It just felt really cold. We had to wait for 45 minutes in the cold to get the trolley back to the car and this woman was having a conversation with her friend, then a few times she said things to Keith, but excluded me. It was so weird! This lady drove the entire way home. Keith fell asleep and I played on my phone. I thanked her again too for allowing me to come, for driving, and she just smiled and said it was nice to meet me, then retreated into her house once we got home, and Keith and I took off. I was really bothered by this at the end of the night... I guess that's why I wanted to share and get that off my chest. I don't feel like I did anything wrong. I know I wasn't the first choice to probably fill the seat, but I try to be hospitable, especially in situations like that. Was it because I was the youngest? Was it just this woman? LOL... I don't know... I am still somewhat bothered. Keith described her as "amazing" and "fragile." But what was up with this woman?





The game was a lot of fun in general- like the whole college band, the performance aspect, the passion that surrounds the college games, wearing 3 heavy layers and spending 4-5 hours in 39 degree weather. The final score was 19 Huskies and 7 Huskers.

Goals for 2011

I'm not really into making resolutions, but I am feeling strong going into 2011, and here is what I'm hoping to accomplish:

- Get an English teaching position at a school that I am happy to be at
- Complete my masters in June
- Focus on the test to be able to teach Spanish
- Continua mejorar mi Espanol
- Save money for a trip to Mexico in 2012 - I really want to go to Chichen Itza in the Yucatán, or a site to see the Mayan ruins in Chiapas like Palenque. I would also love to go somewhere donde puedo usar mi Espanol pero in a touristy area like that I'm not sure how possible it would be.
- Save money to move out
- Travel- cheap weekend getaway to Vegas or Texas? A trip to see my best friend probably too.
- Take a cooking class- even if it is just a 2 hour one
- Visit more food trucks... lol!
- Continue my relationship with Mike and see where it takes us
- Continue to go to the gym 2-3 times a week
- Go to a few concerts (Stagecoach? U2? Lady Gaga?)