I totally had blocked this from my memory until Sarah sent this to me. Apparently my parents liked this photo enough that it made the "slideshow" cut. Not sure what they were thinking.

The dresses were made by a streamstress that we knew and my mom picked out the fabric...

...will post something of substance soon, I promise!

Betcha didn't know Matt played soccer too. Be still my heart. :P

Thank you for your registration.

Sorry, we regret to inform you that your registration to attend the Public Memorial Service for Michael Jackson was not selected.

Hundreds of thousands registered, but only a few can be in attendance.

SAD!!! Guess I'll be watching the memorial service like everyone else. It was worth a try :)

Some facts:

• over 50% of the teachers at my school might get laid off come June
• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) just got a bunch of stimulus $$ -- half of it will be spent on saving teachers' jobs, but not all of it (which means a couple of thousand teachers might still lose their job in LAUSD)
• LAUSD could choose to spend ALL the stimulus $$ on saving jobs, but the board members are choosing to save some of the money to use for the year after (to save teachers' jobs and not further exacerbate the financial situation)

Anyway, the REAL point of this post was to tell you that MY SCHOOL WAS ON NATIONAL TV! AND MY COWORKERS! AND SOME OF THE STUDENTS AT JOHN LIECHTY MIDDLE SCHOOL! Though I fully participated in the march, I didn't make it on TV.

I've embedded the CBS Nightly News from today (April 29th) and if you scroll to minute 9:45, you'll see some footage from the protest and from some classrooms in our school. (You'll have to get through the commercial at the beginning first).

Watch CBS Videos Online

i.e. Kutcher Wins Twitter Battle

Oprah announces on Facebook that she joined Twitter

and even Obama has his own Twitter

Who cares what you're doing every ten minutes? I certainly don't want people to know what I'm doing or thinking all the time...which is why I never cared for Facebook status updates.

To me, Twitter is just a glorified AIM away message. Someone please explain to me what the big deal is.

The only good use I've seen from Twitter so far is from kogibbq, this Korean BBQ taco truck that goes to all these different locations around Southern California every couple of hours and tweets their new location so customers can come find them. I have yet to chase this truck down!

about 1 hour ago from text

(i kid i kid)

Secondly, Anoop Desai is still on American Idol! Go Noop Dog!! I secretly vote for him every week :) but sadly, I think his time is coming to an end. However, I'm prepared to move on once Anoop gets the boot.

I like Adam Lambert (and think he'll probably win), but I really really like Kris Allen. I'm gonna buy his CD when it comes out. Here's him singing "Falling Slowly" from the movie Once. SO AWESOME.

Though I had to wait for what seemed forever to talk to the recruiters, I think the job fair was well worth my time. I networked with other teachers while passing the time and got my name out to some charter schools I am v. interested in working at. And I also learned just how good it is to have a math or science credential or be a special ed teacher b/c those are really the only openings that exist at a time like this.

Anyway, I thought I made an impression on two schools in particular at this job fair and was hoping to hear back from them soon. Like by yesterday. But I haven't. No worries though, yet -- both schools are on Spring Break this week. But this whole job fair experience reminded me of something I heard on NPR that made me chuckle...(i was gonna cut and paste just a part of it here...but couldn't decide what part to keep and what part to not...so here's the whole thing). Listen to it if you get a chance. It's from npr.org

Potential Employer Is Just Not That Into You

by Tania Khadder

 

Why won't he call? iStockphoto.com

 

Courtesy of Tania Khadder

Commentator Tania Khadder's long wait by the phone paid off — she did get the job in the end. But she still blogs at Unemploymentality.com.

 

Morning Edition, March 16, 2009 · My heart skips a beat every time I hear that trusty Nokia ring tone. I'm just a little disappointed when I see that it's only mom or dad. Or my best friend.

When the phone doesn't ring, I keep checking to make sure it's working, that it's not out of batteries, that nothing could stop someone from getting through.

Yes, I am waiting for a guy to call. But not just any guy — a potential employer.

And while this would-be professional relationship bears no resemblance to a romantic one — I'm not that desperate yet — the agony of waiting for him to call is the same.

The interview went so well. The conversation flowed nicely. We talked, not just about my professional qualifications, but about our shared love of indie rock, weekend aways, and the perfect mixed drink. He even introduced me to some of his colleagues.

The meeting offered a glimmer of hope amid my days of obsessively checking e-mail, blogging, searching the meager job boards and watching mind-numbing daytime television.

But now, as I wait impatiently for that phone call, I find myself reliving our encounter over and over again in my mind, searching for any sign of weakness or lack of chemistry.

Maybe I didn't know enough about widgets, plugins or other Web 2.0 jargon. Or maybe things just got too familiar, too fast.

I can't help wondering if there's someone else. Someone who speaks C++ or JavaScript. Someone younger or more confident. Someone better than me.

And I wonder if, instead of waiting for him to call, I should call him again. It's important to show interest, right? But I don't want to seem desperate or annoying.

I keep making excuses for him. Maybe work's really busy. Maybe there's been a family emergency. Maybe he just needs more time.

But I can only fool myself for so long. As people lose their jobs daily, I know he has his pick of talent. I need to get back out there and keep my options open. Because, of course, a more likely explanation for his silence is he's just not that into me.

Commentator Tania Khadder's long wait by the phone paid off — she did get the job in the end. But she still blogs at Unemploymentality.com.

Matt didn't like it very much. He thought it was stupid.

[Vince Carter, Julius Peppers, Makhtar N’diaye, and Antwan Jamison at the National Championship Game! Go HEELS!] 

Chesebro Half Marathon
This is a mostly trail race. The first three miles are on road, the next 7.5 miles are on trail and the last 2.5 miles are on road. This is the 6th year for this race.

Ok so, I ran almost the whole thing. I only walked up two steep parts. The elevation around mile 7 and mile 8 was too tiring to run up, so I walked up part of it.

I just looked up the results! I placed #523! hahah. :) I finished the race in about 2 hrs and 5 minutes, with a pace of a bout 9.32/mile. I think I can get under 2 hrs next time on a non-trail half.

before the race. i'm freezing cold. (lindsey, me, wayne, dave, paul)

after we finished! yay!

This week, my schedule was going to look like this:

Monday: run 4 miles

Tuesday/Wednesday: soccer

Thursday: 6 miles

Saturday: soccer

Sunday: 10 miles

But after a bout with food poisoning and cold weather and rain (and really, a lack of motivation), I have not run at all. Like college, when I crammed the night before a midterm, I feel screwed.

I have 6 more days to go...let's see if I can get my butt out there to run....