Today was the last inservice day of the year/ the last day of work before summer for staff. For me and some others that were leaving Dimond, was the last day to step foot into Dimond. Every one was scrambling about getting their rooms organized or cleaned up. Teachers were getting their last grades in.
It took little time for me to get all of my stuff in a box, considering I do not have a classroom. Although I did help a couple teachers pack up after I was done with my chores. I gave away a handful of Thank You cards that I wrote sincerely in to some special staff members. To be honest, I have never felt so emotional about leaving a job.
At the staff get together/BBQ, department chairs came up and recognized people who are leaving their department or Dimond. This year there were a lot of staff leaving due to retirement, a change of career, or a change of life plans. My boss, Jim Aronow, went up to talk about who was leaving our special education department. When he spoke, he had me come up and sit next to him while he talked about me. He said nicest things ANYONE has ever said about me. My spirits were uplifted listening to his speech. I could not stop smiling. He then handed the mic over to me and for the first time ever, I wasn't super nervous to speak in front of a big group. Maybe because I was so comfortable with the staff, who knows. I think I did a great job being up there. Usually, I am a nervous wreck speaking publicly. Anyways, I was so proud of myself. I could not thank Dimond enough. I was showered with a batch of flowers(Thanks Dimond), a Kaladi Bros gift card(Thanks Jim), and a Nordstrom gift card(Thanks Nicolette).
Working at Dimond as a resource TA, has been such a blessing. I spent a lot of my time assisting students and eased some teachers work loads. I felt like a very important person in the classrooms. I have seen many different teaching styles and now have a toolbox full of ideas that work and do not work in a classroom. This job has definitely helped me figure out who I am and what I am good at, which is teaching. I enjoyed this job very much and will never forget my experience. Although, one day, when I have my own classroom, it will be a different ball game. At least, I will have more knowledge of what goes about behind the scenes in the school system. Teaching is a great profession and it makes me so happy to see how many people are passionate about it. It is also so encouraging to hear teachers tell me that I will make a great teacher. What a motiv! Plus, it felt great hearing them say that I better be back to teach. I know I will have a spot when I get my teaching certification.
I am set! Thanks for the gifts!
I have met new teachers and rejoiced with former ones. It has been great to have all of those people in my life. Dimond is very special. The camaraderie within the staff and students is so unique and give a positive feel in the environment. I am hoping that I can come back as a teacher at Dimond High when I get all of my schooling done. Right now I am projected to obtain my mathematics bachelor's fall of 2012, which is next fall. So close! After that, I plan on taking the Masters in Teaching program, which should take less than a year to finish. I am so excited for this new journey in life, but then so sad to leave. I have never felt so attached to a job. I would see so many of the wonderful staff every weekday and now that is going to change. I will surely miss my time giving back to Dimond :-( At least I will still be coaching volleyball there. Not totally detached :-)
Oh it is a nice Saturday here in town. Today, Cory and I were invited to play volleyball on base. When we got there, we got games going. We played 3 games to 25 points and it was a lot of fun. In the end, it got tiring for us. I got to catch up with old friends and met new ones =] Looks like we will all be seeing each other for sand league this summer. My former coach, Jim Dooley, organizes the Alaska Outdoor Volleyball Association every summer. Games are held on weeknights at Springer Park, where there are 4 sand courts. It is a blast! I will be playing in the women's 4 v 4 on Tuesday nights starting at the end of the month. Can't wait! Other than that, we are waiting for the truck to be done. We took it in to get fluids switched out, like the oil, transmission, and differential fluids. The truck was due for such services. I will now recap what has been going on in order by date:
Cory suited up for jiu jitsu
Tuesday May 3, 2011:
Cory passed his personal training exam. His certificate should come in the mail soon. He is officially a qualified personal trainer. I am so happy he passed. I knew he would. I believe he plans on applying to be a personal trainer later. Probably in the fall, but we will see. At least, he has it and it can open up a sweet job opportunity that is fun and interesting to him. I am also proud that Cory found a hobby he likes to do on his own, which is brazilian jiu-jitsu. His buddy, Caleb, introduced him to the gym. He went to a couple sessions at the ABJJ gym before his hernia surgery. He plans on getting a membership in a couple weeks when he is fully healed. We did buy him a gi(jiu-jitsu fighting robe) and got a really good deal on it at Dooley's Athletic. Maybe one day, he will enter a tournament and I can cheer him on :)
Friday May 6, 2011:
Me, Cory and Caleb
After work, Cory and I decided to go bike riding at Eklutna Lake. Eklutna, which means "mountain surrounding", is about 40 miles north of Anchorage. It is the prettiest blue you will ever see, thanks to the glacier water feeding the lake. Most of the lake was still frozen. We were invited by Caleb. He is quite the extremist when it comes to bike riding. Our plan was to bike as far around the lake, which is 26 miles around. I didn't expect us to bike all the way around, hence how far that is. We weren't prepared for such a distance. The trail was definitely rough with gravel and hills. It was such a work out. We got to mile 6 and had to turn around due to snow taking over the trail. BUT, our buddy Caleb left his glasses back at mile 6 where we took a break for some apples. He realized he didn't have his glasses at mile 5 after we got over a huge hill. So yes, we all turned around to find his sun glasses then went over the huge hill again. So technically, we biked for 13 miles of ruggedness. I was so energy depleted at the end, but it was so worth it.
Saturday May 7, 2011:
Pacquiao vs Mosley boxing was on this night. We were pumped to watch this 8 time filipino boxing champion kick some butt! We ordered the fights on PPV and invited some family over in our little apartment. My aunt, parents, brothers, and cousin came over. It is so awesome getting to hang out with family. It is so difficult to get together because everyone is so busy. Yes, Pacquiao won in 12 rounds. He almost had a knock out in round 3, but it looked like Pac-Man didn't want the fight to end either. He sure gave Mosley a good run of beatings. Thanks to him for making the filipino-community proud, once again. After the fights, my family left and we decided to invite other friends over to hang with for the rest of night.
Wayne, Tes, Adrien, Julie, Cory and I
That has to be first time I ever hung out with my cousin in a long time. Julie and I grew up together. She's pretty much my little sister. She is a hard working mother, student, and airline employee. I still feel sorry about her father passing away, but she seems to be doing very well. It was also good to see Tes again, and her boyfriend. Tes and I played volleyball and basketball in high school together. I love it. We are all so happy with our significant others in our lives. We had a good time sharing laughs and drinks.
Sunday May 8, 2011:
Mother's Day. We went to Sourdough Mining Company for brunch as a family. Happy Mother's Day Mom. You are the best mother ever. I applaud your hard work and perseverance in life. Your actions of kindness, love, and optimism inspire me. Thank you for being so wonderful <3
Monday May 9, 2011: This was such an exciting day for my little brother because, this is the day he had his graduation ceremony. At work, it was only a half day, so it was pretty easy. I went to the Sullivan Arena to finish up my work hours and helped around setting up the staff lounge. I could have participated at graduation, but instead, I wanted to sit with my parents. I saved them all pretty good seats, since I was there early. Some people were taping seats to save them, and I thought that was a great idea. I decided to do the same. So I saved 6 seats for Mom, Dad, Cory, Justin, Rovic, and I. Cory and I bought leis for Nor to put on him. It is a great tradition from the Samoan culture to put leis(can be made with candy, flowers, money, etc) on graduating students. Sometimes graduates have so many leis around their neck, they can barely see. Graduation went really great, probably the best between the 8 high schools here. It is just so smooth and fast paced. Our graduation coordinator does such an amazing job every year. All in all, I am super proud of my little brother. He has turned into a wonderful man. The staff at Dimond can only say positive things about him. He just amazes me and I am very excited for his future. He plans on going to UAA majoring in Physical Education. Right now, he is set on being an elementary PE teacher. Which I think he would rock at! I am so glad we both think education is important in life.
Friday May 13, 2011:
Heather Golde, our boat and I
Not only was this payday, but it was also my last FULL day at Dimond. This day was spectacular because, it was the day we had the cardboard boat races. There were three teachers that were participating in this lab, so the boat races went all day in the pool. I bet these science teachers live for this day, I know I would. All week the students were building cardboard boats in their classes for the races. The boats were made of corrugated cardboard and they can only use clear packaging tape with a 2-ply rule. The boats could also be at max 3.5 x 7 feet. The students did really well on the races. Most sank in the beginning of their rowing, while few made it all the way across and back.
Mr. Russell (the science teacher I work with), suggested Mrs. Golde and I make a boat together. We were so for the idea! So yes, we made our own boat in one day. Let me tell you, it rocked! The deal was, if our boat sank, Mrs. Golde had to dye her hair pink. No way was I going to let that happen. I decided to design the boat carefully.
Conclusion: It floated to the max! Our boat had two crossbars, 2-ply all the way around, and was 3.5x6 feet. Awesome! We were able to paddle the whole length of the pool and back, then decided that Mr. Russell should jump in. He sure did, and it held him! We paddled about until Mr. Russell jumped out and wrecked our boat. Oh well, we had to give the crowd something to cheer for. What an awesome experience. I am so proud of our boat! I have done a cardboard race before at the Goose Lake races. I made a canoe and that def sank. It failed because it only had 1 ply and it wasn't wide enough. Either way, us teachers were so pumped! Here is the video to follow:
After work, Cory and I went to the AK Rock Gym. It was our first time going together. I haven't been there in 5 years. We got certified to belay through their class and then climbed about. I plan on going more often now that we are official at belaying. We did a couple climbs and then bouldered about. Here are some pictures to share. The first photo is of me belaying Cory as he descends down the wall. I am way lighter than him, so I lifted off the ground a little and headed straight towards the wall. I was trained to plant my feet on the wall to stabilize. Although, the floor straps help to keep me down and give my climber confidence they won't have a fast fall.
Well that concludes my long blog entry. Summer classes start Monday. This will be my last week of work. I will be at UAA in the morning and at Dimond(work) in the afternoon. Oh I can't believe it is almost over.
