It’s been in the back of my mind for the past few years already, whether or not to go back to school for a grad degree. So finally I’m thinking that I might give it a shot. There are so many options I could take, that it took me quite a while to figure out what I want to do. And even now, after I’ve decided, I sometimes have doubts as to whether it’s the right decision or not.

However, that wasn’t even the hard part. Now, it’s time to mull over my statement of purpose. *sigh* I dug out the statement of purpose that I wrote for San Jose State for my Teaching Credential Program. Honestly, I think it’s pathetic now. Then again, it was written like 6 years ago. This new statement of purpose has been on my mind for the past few days now, and I’ve only come up with like one paragraph. And I don’t even know if I like it or not. I need to just sit down and write something, then let it sit for a while before I come back to edit and revise it.

I know I’ll get it done before the deadline… I just hope that it get something I LIKE done before the deadline…

Note: I am merely venting out my frustrations with this post. I’ve been so strained with the whole negotiations between our district and the association that it’s draining me. Being involved with the association also makes it more tiresome, because not only am I dealing with issues at my school, but also all the other issues at other schools within the district. Therefore, please excuse my bitterness and disgruntlement.

I am so sick and tired of all those ignorant *sorry* people out there who think that teachers have it easy because we only work 7-hour days and have vacation all the time. I don’t blame those who just don’t know any better, but I do blame those who come and complain to us when they don’t even know what we do.

With all the negotiations going on between our association and the school district, there has been much talk about how teachers are complainers, and that what we are asking for is unreasonable. They obviously don’t understand all the time and effort we put into our work.

If you ever knew a teacher well enough, you’d know that we don’t only work the 7-hour day. We are PAID a 7-hour day, but probably work an extra 3-4 hours every day UNPAID. When do you think we have the time to correct papers, plan lessons, do report cards, hold meetings, etc?!?!?! If you are naive enough to believe that we can do all that during the day AND teach the kids while we do that, you must have been from a different planet.

And yes, we have summer and winter and spring recess and holidays off… blah blah blah… But if you don’t teach, you probably didn’t know that we aren’t paid a penny for those. Most people have 10 paid holiday dates a year, e.g. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, and so on. We don’t get paid for those. Most people have 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. We have vacation, just not paid. We are said to be “salaried” when in fact, we are paid daily. If we need to miss a day for any reason, that comes out of our paycheck.

My husband, brother, and even best friend can attest to the fact that I work more hours than what I’m supposed to. I spend SOOOOOOOOOO much time on my school work, my husband tells others that I don’t have a life. I have so much to do ALL the time.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to teach, and I’m not complaining about going the extra mile for my kids. I’d do anything within my ability to ensure that my kids get the best education they can get. I’m not usually one to complain for I try to see things on the positive side for the most part. However, this whole negotiations thing is taking a toll on me. Our contract has been expired since June, the district won’t negotiate, and I’m tired of all the politics involved in this. I just want to get back to what I love to do, and that is to teach. I’m just complaining about the disrespect that people have been showing towards teachers due to their ignorance. *sigh* I just want it to be over……

Happy 2008! Can’t believe another year went by that quickly. And I can’t believe that I’ve gotten to a point where I’m not up for new year’s celebration anymore. Arthur and I just stayed at home. I didn’t even realize that it was already 12 until Arthur said, “Happy new year!” No partying, no watching countdown on TV (Arthur had Law and Order marathon on TNT), nothing. Well, I did dig into to the fridge to find the white zin that we had opened like centuries ago, found my purple crystal toasting flutes from Crate and Barrel, and had a mini celebration by finishing off the remaining wine in the bottle. That’s it. *sigh* So now he’s back to world of warcraft, and I’m here, blogging for no apparent reason.

New year’s resolutions are overrated, and yet I make them every year. And like most, I don’t end up keeping them. I don’t even remember what my resolutions for 2007 were. I’m sure they’re written in my journal somewhere. So again, I’ll have some for this year. Mostly likely what I had resolved to do in 2007 but didn’t get around to. Maybe my #1 resolution should be discipline, so that I can accomplish the rest of the list. Hehehehe… Or not to procrastinate… Hahahahaha. Don’t know how far I’d get with that though.

Well, no matter what, here’s to 2008! Make the most out of the year, enjoy life, and don’t forget to count your blessings along the way! =D Cheers!

Today Arthur and I drove all the way up a mountain (can’t give away the location). It’s amazing how it’s still in San Jose, yet still took us close to an hour to get there! It was a windy road, but the scenery was great. We wouldn’t have made the trip all the way up there if it weren’t for my new-found hobby - letterboxing. It’s basically like a treasure hunt. I look for clues that are provided online, and I go out in search for a “letterbox”. Inside the letterbox will be a rubber stamp, which I stamp into my little book. I then stamp my personal stamp into their log book.

So far, Arthur and I have found 2 letter boxes. It’s been awesome and tons of fun. Hopefully we’ll have time to go out to find more. There’s only like a couple that are relatively near to where we live, but there’s plenty in the south bay. We’re planning to go to Oregon during the Christmas break, and maybe we’ll find some there too! =D

I’ve been going through a spiritual valley lately, and trying to re-align myself with God through getting back to the basics. Growing up in a Christian home is great, but it also means that there are many things that I take for granted. There are also many times where I fall into legalism, and my relationship with God isn’t as close as I think it is.

My problem: Trying to re-understand the meaning of knowing God. It’s not about the Bible studies, or the quiet times and devotions, or knowledge of God’s Word. It isn’t about a check off list that I go through and see which items I’ve done or not done. I’ve been falling into that trap, billions of times. And the thing is, I know all of this in my head. I’ve been taught that all my life. Yet, it still needs to get to me. I need to *know* God, and personally meet Him… again.

Philippians 3:10 (AMP)
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…

So I’ve been struggling to get to that place. A place where I can say that I am getting to know God. A place where I can say that I and walking closer to Him day by day. A place where my head is no longer playing guilt trips on me about my relationship with God. I may never completely get there, but I’m just hoping I’m on the right path.

Just for the heck of it…. (THANKS JOYCEY!!!!!!!!!!!!), I’m going to start my post with something other than “so”. I guess I like that word a lot! Hahahahaha….! =P

All righty…. been sick for the past week and a half… Finally got an appointment to see the doc this morning and got some codeine for my cough. Hopefully a couple of doses will make me aye ok again… It’s getting a little tiring coughing so much. I just want to sleep…. =(

Apart from that, nothing much is going on… Mid-October already… Halloween season is in the air…. Kids are ready to go crazy again…

So my little bro, Jeff, has finally decided to get baptized! Woohoo! Praise the Lord! =D And yes, many of you may be surprised that he hasn’t already done so after all these years. Well, the time has come. His church is actually having their worship and baptism at the Alameda County Fairgrounds this Sunday at 10am. So worship will be at 10am, lunch at around 11:30-12:00, and the baptism at around 1pm. I’m still not quite sure how they’re baptizing people at the fairgrounds, but I’m sure they have a way. Plus, it’s a huge church, so they’ve probably gotten it all figured out anyway. It’ll be a happy, happy day! =D

So I started a Bible reading plan, which was supposed to take me through the whole Bible in 1 year. However, seeing how I am, I don’t think that it would be reasonable to expect myself to be able to successfully complete that. Plus, I’ll probably get discouraged that I missed some readings or didn’t get through it, and may stop altogether. Also, I’m still attending BSF this year, so I’ll have that to do as well. Therefore, I decided to split it in half, and complete it in 2 years. This year (well, October 2007 - October 2008), I’ll be reading the Gospels and the wisdom books, and the rest of the Bible the following year. It seems more attainable that way. I’m looking forward to it! And I just pray that I rely on God’s strength to take me through this and not my own! =D

So my registration sticker got stolen sometime last week. Didn’t realize it until yesterday when Arthur was dropping me off back at church for my AWANA conference after getting a Starbucks break. He was like, “What happened to your sticker?” So I’m guessing it was sometime last week - but I really don’t have any clue when. Apparently, the thief pulled off the current sticker (200 as well as my 2007 and 2006 ones. I guess they were kind of stuck together. When my Honda “H” logo thing was stolen, I decided not to replace it. But it’s not like I can go without my sticker…… So I went online to the DMV site to check it out. And now I have to pay like $17 to replace it. It’s not like it’s a whole lot of money, but I was like “What the heck?! So my sticker’s stolen, and I have to PAY to replace it?!” So I’ve been kind of bummed and bitter about the situation…. And getting an appointment with the DMV isn’t the easiest thing either. It’s not like I can take some time off work to get it done. It has to be after school hours, and they don’t open real late either.

So I’m just a little on edge about our neighborhood lately….. Maybe I should bring the bikes inside the house in case they get stolen next…..

All right, I guess it’s time for me to start blogging again. It’s been quite a while since I’ve really updated anything. I kind of stopped writing on my xanga, and have just been working on my teacher site. Plus, it’s not like I really “blog” on my teacher site. It’s more of providing information, links, and files for my students more than anything else.

I must say that things have been going fairly well lately. Started the new BSF year in a new group in Los Altos, started helping out with AWANA at church, so it’s been a little hectic after school. Plus, I have all the meetings that I need to attend after school for CEA as well as other committees that I’m on at school. Other than that, things are good.