My Day Was Worse Than Yours

First of all, a mileage update:

Tandem Mileage on Wednesday night: Approximately 21 miles. Our light interferes with our computer.

Yesterday, one of the teachers at our site went to have a conference with our principal. In the course of the conference, said teacher quit. As in, she went home and isn't planning to come back. Shock. Didn't sleep last night.

The other teacher and I decided not to tell the kids until Monday, by which time we hope to know what's going to happen to their class, etc. Plan derailed. The teacher who quit called one of her students and told the student she was fired. Not true. The teacher thought she was going to be fired, so she quit on the spot.

Our wonderful Assistant Principal talked to the class, but they are in complete denial. They don't believe she would, in their words, "abandon" them like that. They are convinced everyone else is lying to them. When I told my own class, their first question was "Is it because of us, Nicole?" Ouch. I didn't cry, but I came close.

These kids already have abandonment issues, and this is the third teacher to leave the site this year. Of course, the other two gave notice and made leaving as positive experience as they could.

I feel like I'm in mourning. I don't know if I believe in the five stages of grief, but if they exist, I'm still in the anger phase. Her students deserved better.

Mileage Update

I rode alongside Michael as he ran today. I don't know if the mileage really counts, since I was going pretty slowly, but I did put it in my lowest gear and spun as much as possible.

Felt Mileage: 10 mi

Total bike miles this week: 30.1 miles

Yet Another Way to be Injured on a Bike

Last night, Michael and I went for a spin with Jessica, who just bought a new bike. At first, we were going really slow into the wind... about 6 mph... so as not to lose Jessica. On the way back, with a tailwind, we started moving at a more respectable speed... 16 to 20 mph.

Suddenly, I feel a rock hit my cheeckbone! Jessica screamed behind me, and I thought she was hit, too! It turned out she saw me hit by some kind of rubber ball, probably from a group who were hitting balls with bats nearby on the beach. My eye is still swollen, but not bruised, which is good. Explaining a black eye to the juvenille delinquents is not easy. (Don't ask me how I know.)

On the way back, we were taunted by a couple on beach cruisers, who were very fast. The chick was probably going 20 on her cruiser. So Mike and I had to kick it up, leaving Jessica in our dust. She didn't see a corner on the beach path, and drove into the sand. Her knee was very bloody, and she's now worried abou scars and future marriage prospects. Crazy, huh? Everyone knows guys dig girls with nice... umm... figures. Bicycling = Fit = Jessica. :)

Anyway, Michael told me for the first time to "just relax, don't pedal." It's hard not to pedal, so that didn't last long. But my eyes were teary all the way home.

Sunday tandem mileage: 20.1 mi

My hair is real!

On Saturday, a lady in Jamba Juice asked me if my hair was "all mine, or if they weaved stuff into it." I was wearing it in braids... can you braid a weave? Who knows. Then she kept pointing it out to people while we were waiting for our smoothies.

Yesterday: Performance Bike in Aliso Viejo via Irvine. Home via Laguna.

Tandem mileage: 45 miles.

Ten Years?!?

Can you believe we've been married ten years?
Happy Anniversary Dr. Lasko.

French and Swiss Food Delights!

By fan demand, I must publish something about my recent food adventures.

Over the weekend, I attempted tart flambe for the first time. This was the best food in France! It came out pretty well. This is basically pizza with a very thin crust and pricy French cheese. I burnt it around the edges a little... used to making regular pizzas. Thanks to Bristol Farms for actually carrying both fromage blanc and creme.... oh, yeah, creme fraiche. That, of course, is fake bacon.



On Tuesday, our fondue pot arrived in the mail. Immediately, I rushed out to buy the proper cheeses, and invited Tricia and Jessica over for the evening. This recipe's pretty close to what I made, and was almost as good as the fondue in Switzerland. I didn't use mustard, though. Sorry, no pics... I forgot to take them during all the fondue excitement. I finished the "meal" with peaches flambe over ice cream. Lighting things on fire is never a bad thing. :)

We played poker. Tricia won. It took a long time.

Spontaneous food and drink is fun. I should get more friends.

Mileage Log

Tandem mileage today: 53.43 miles

Went with the Bike Club of Irvine this morning. We biked there and did the medium ride. We're a little fast for the medium group, but the long rides are usually all hills. Decided today, though, that flat is sort of boring. Lots of pedaling with no reward. Maybe next week we'll try the long.

Overcommitted?

Assuming I don't blow the interview, I'm going to be my area's Character Based Literacy Fellow this coming year. This involves a lot of hand-holding and keeping track of books. I have Chandi to blame for leaving me.

And then my AP calls yesterday to ask if I can be the math person for my site. More hand-holding and being all positive and happy about teaching math instead of telling kids to learn it on their own.
Between the two, I'll make an extra $2350 next year. Woo hoo!

I'm waiting for a job I'm actually qualified for... perhaps something in history?

As Promised... a Picture of my Dragon

One of my favorite people in the whole world, my fellow teacher Chandi, is leaving our school and moving up to Santa Cruz. As happy as I am for her, I'm as devastated as our students, and will miss her greatly.

One of the things Chandi has done for me is taken many pictures of the gorgeous stuff I do in my room. My kids say it looks like an elementary school room, but secretly they like my "artwork." Since Chandi's leaving, I have to start taking pictures myself. My word wall, which is simply a giant wall of vocabulary words, is my favorite ongoing project. We're about to start the book Dragonwings, so this month's word wall will be a giant Chinese dragon. Each word is a scale, so by the end of the book, he will be very large. Here's his beginning, with the theme of the novel "Integrity Requires Wholeness" as the first three words.

"Dragon" in butcher paper and oil pastel

I did ride to work today. Headwinds both ways, due to the typical OC windshift. It made the ride back about 1/3 slower than the ride there. And if you ride the Santa Ana River Bike Trail, you should know that it's blocked by construction at Warner... you have to take a street detour.

Today's mileage: 29.437

July's: 69.437 in Orange County
About 250? in Germany and France (At some point, I'll add up the routesheets.

My Felt's odometer: 138.41.. how sad is that?