May 18 - 23

Sunday, May 18, 2014
Today was one of those days where I tried to get some items done and spend time with Squeak.  She was in her lazy mode as I got things done.  Sunbeams were her thing today as evident by the pictures here.

Taking over my computer bag in the sun.

Sunning Squeaky

It is always good to have great friends and after a long weekend and tough Sunday getting organized it was nice to eat dinner with such a special friend and share some insights and thoughts.  Erin, thank you so much for dinner.  I am excited about our plans to re-capture our fitness!!!  Thanks for your support and help in asking me those tough questions and making me talk them out loud.  I truly do appreciate you.

Monday, May 19, 2014
Okay, so it is official there is no way that I can get it all done.  LOL!!!  There are so many hours in the day and there are not enough for me to do it all.  It seems like every time I turn around there is something else that I need to "learn" to do.  I know things will get better and I am in a learning curve but today I really wanted to pull my hair out because I REFUSE TO PULL ANYONE ELSE's HAIR!!!  LOL!!!!    On a good note, the court case that I wrote about a few weeks ago came back and the district does not have to pay out.  I can't really say that anyone won because in all honestly it is a sad situation but I am glad the judge found that we did not do anything wrong and we were correct in our decisions, determinations and process.

This week is also classified employees week and let me just say a HUGE THANK YOU to Jaque Salazar and Mike Linares who are the two people who help me the most at work from a Classified employee standpoint.  I am not sure what I would do without Jaque who helps with so much of the discipline and Mike keeps me sane and helps me a good bit at night getting items taken care of.  Like tonight, I left to get home and get some things for tomorrow and I left Mike to do a few things for me so that I don't have to go in at 4:00 am in the morning.  I know that I can leave the office for a meeting and Jaque will take care of things and I will not have to stress and worry because she will let me know if she needs ANYTHING!!!  She Rocks!!!!  I hope everyone has two people as great as these two to help them at work.

The rest of the week crawled by it seemed.  Between the Summer School trainings, the meeting and discipline that is going on it is hard to get it all done.  On Wednesday morning I had a conference call with my PhD chairman and I have some feedback now to move forward with the dissertation.  She is telling me that it is just working through the material and writing and rewriting but I hate this part.  I don't really like to write and I like to complete the task and move onto something new and revisit but maybe not revisit 258 pages.  UGH!!!!!!!!  So now I have plans for the Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!

Wednesday night was also the choral concert.  The coral teacher is retiring so this was her last concert and it was fabulous.  The kids did a great job and the last two songs were my favorite.  The boys sang, "For the Longest Time," from Billy Joel and then the entire chorus sang a song called "The Argument" and acted it out.  So it ended with the boys and girls signing to one another as if they were having a fight.  It was really cute.    The department head of the Visual and Performing Arts Department set up for some of the choral teachers former students to come back and surprise her.  It was great because at the end of the concert the alumni got up on stage and sang to the teacher with a song they had been practicing.  In addition, they had students who could not make it to the event send video recordings and they made a video for her.

Concert Singers

Packed House at Concert

Frozen Medley

For the Longest Time

The Argument 

Celebrating Ms. Flagg

Thursday came and went with a short workout at the gym.  I have been trying to leave the school by 6:00 peso that I can make it to the gym.  I have not been near as successful as I wanted.  I keep hoping I might have a little time this summer since the school closes at 4:00 pm.  I am hoping this works but we will obviously see who that goes. Sometimes my best laid plans don't work exactly the way that I want them to.  LOL!!!!  I really do try to be flexible, open and spontaneous but that has not gotten me to the gym and therefore some of my absolute favorite clothes are not fitting well right now.   At school, Alison Latimer set up Academic Signing Day which is similar to an Athletic Signing Day.  The guidance department had all the students who are going to college, university or into the armed forces sign banners stating where they are going and make pendants to put on balloons that they wore around during lunch and the rest of the day.  It was nice to celebrate academics like we do athletics as well.

Friday was CrAzY!!!!  Can we say NUTS!!!  The campus was actually really bare.  There were a lot of students who decided to take a four day weekend instead of a three day (we have off Monday).  However, it is like the flood gates opened and all the kids decided to be a little nutty.  We are dealing with the end of an investigation that was started on Tuesday and we ended up having to suspend some of the students.  We had students being sent out of class left and right for little things and then no lie, we had a student get a wedgie in class.  I mean REALLY, in class!!!!!  You have got to be kidding me!!!!  I know this happens on buses and in locker rooms but a regular content area class??????  So are you asking the same thing????  Where was the teacher????  I know I was……..  On top of it, these are 10th graders!!  Sophomores!!!  I MAYBE, MAYBE could understand if it was freshman at the beginning of the year but end of the year and sophomores, you have got to be kidding!!!!  I know we all say that we need to write a book about the crazy things students say and do, and the reactions of parents and teachers but I got to tell you, there is not enough time to do that!  It is amazing the things that are going on.  I can't blog about all of it simply to protect a lot of the students and situations because people could potentially figure out who it is while I am at the school but seriously, I really need to start finding time to write down this stuff; maybe after the PhD is done…..

Friday was the M.E.Ch.A Recognition Dinner.  Gabby does a fabulous job sponsoring this event and I was invited by the group.  The kids are really wonderful and Gabby was able to provide scholarships to many of the students and almost all of them got awards of some kind.  They had a fabulous video from the year as well.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite groups on campus but probably because the group has quite a number of my favorite students who are involved in other groups also.  These are some of the kids that do everything on campus.  They really are great students.

Getting Ready for the Event

Guest Speaker

Awards Night

Two of my favorites

So, I am posting today so that I can work on PhD work this weekend.  I was hoping for a small break on Saturday morning but that does not look like it is going to happen so here I go…. getting into Dissertation mode.  Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Mother's Day and Beyond in CA

Sunday, May 11, 2014
I woke up this morning not feeling well.  It started at 2:30 am this morning and I just did not make it back to sleep and therefore when I finally did get up I felt terrible.  I dragged myself out of bed to take a shower and hope to feel better.  It did not really work so I laid back down with my dearest little (okay, not so little) Squeak.  I texted my friend Jessica and told her that I was not feeling well and would not be joining the SoCal family tonight for dinner - really for fear I would get the kids sick or her and Michael.  The last thing we need is a sick SoCal family coming going into the last month of school, that could be worse that a two-month long jury duty.

So, as I laid there I contemplated the last few weeks and decided I might just be out steam a little so I decided to run to the grocery store and then have a Boxer Day!  For those of you that don't know what Boxer Day is, let me explain this concept that was introduced to me by Chris Alford, USC Football Player (back in the day).  A Boxer Day is when you decide to lay around in your boxers / PJ's all day and do nothing but what YOU want to do.  I have not had a Boxer Day in forever and decided it was time for one.  So here is what my nerdy self did today.

1.  I took pictures of my shoes to print labels for the outside of my boxes.  Some had been done and I have been having difficulty identifying the shoes since they are all in clear Rubbermaid boxes.  So yes, go ahead and laugh - I am OCD and like things to be labeled.  I figure a little work in the front saves time in the end.

2.  I watched TV - nothing really great but I caught up on The Good Wife, The Millers, The Big Bang Theory through On Demand TV.

3.  I read an National Board Entry for a friend and gave feedback.

4.  I cleaned the apartment - bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms!!!

5.  I did laundry that I don't always do.  Bath mats, blankets.

6.  I took a nap.  Granted it was not a long nap because of a nutty dream but I took a nap.

7.  I printed out the feedback from my chairman on my PhD rough draft.

8.  I talked to my mom on the phone.

9.  I cooked a dinner of salad, brussel sprouts and asparagus.  The only things that would have made it better is if I had a grill to cook the brussel sprouts and asparagus.  As it happens I had to use the microwave.

10.  I tried to contemplate and reflect on the decisions I have made both good and bad over the past 6 months.  I decided that this actually may hurt my brain a little bit, as well as make my mood go up and down radically.  Then I decided I needed longer than I had today and this is going to be a driving / hiking reflection.  I need a nice long drive or hike to think about that one.  LOL!!!!

11. Squeak and I got to hang out a good bit and love on one another.  After her trauma this past week, I felt like I owed her that and it made me feel better about being Squeak's momma.  Oh, and I fed an outdoor cat at the apt complex.

So overall, for being a Boxer Day, I got a lot done for me that I don't always get done.  There are a few more things I would like to do but I am going to go to bed early tonight to start the week right.  The end of the school year is always crazy but it is especially crazy in SoCal.  It seems like the last month of school for seniors is celebration month.  There is always something going on and every day this week I am at school late.  Here is to crossing my fingers and hoping I won't be too worn out!

Ummm…Monday came and went and I am not sure where it went.  I got a lot done and then so little at the same time.   Today was a long day.  It started with finishing teacher evils, investigating cell phones being missing, then moved onto a meeting about School Site Plans.  At lunch I had three meetings and then out to lunch duty!  At the end of duty it was off to the Scholars Diploma Meeting.  This meeting is a result of circular issues that we have been dealing with on the High School Task Force.  The goal of this meeting was to get something down on paper so that the traditional high school can offer this diploma to students at the schools.  We finally got something on paper and are able to move forward with a product.  I have to save I am relieved!!!!  Then it was back to school with dinner from Panera for the evening to work on the master schedule, attend the LCAP meeting and then clean up and get ready for tomorrow.  Needless to say, Squeak was happy that I am home and I love to cuddle with her when I get home.  She is fluffy!!!!

So Tuesday was fun.  I am assuming Megan's responsibilities slowly so I attended the registrar's meeting and was able to see a lot of how things work in the district.  It was very interesting and I am glad that I got to be a part of the discussion.  It is interesting to see the chain of command and how circular everything becomes when we have so many people having to make decisions and how union issues work.  It is very different and a slow process, much slower than I am use to.  :)    After that meeting the Assistant Principals went to eat at Anchos Southwest Grill, one of my favorite restaurants!!!  We had a great time together and got to chat about what is happening at our schools.  It was fun to laugh and share stories with one another.   I made it home by 8:00 pm and was able to make it to bed by 11:00 pm.  I know that sounds crazy but it was nice to be able to sit at home and do some work on the PhD as well as sit with Squeak.

Now I have been very lucky.  I have been here since August 13 and I turned off my air the end of Septermber and have not turned on the heat or air since then.  I have made it to May 14th but this morning around 3:00 am I was so hot due to lack of breed and cool air that I was miserable.  At 5:00 am, I got up, got dressed and was about to leave and had another thought at how warm it was and set the air to come on today.  More for Squeak than anything.  It was already warm outside and it did not seem like it would get any cooler today and I just felt awful about letting her be at the apartment without air.  So, I turned it on!!!  When I got home it was not much cooler either and therefore now I am really happy that I turned it on for her….and me.  :)

So now I am in the middle of an office change.  I am moving to a different office for next year and my computer got moved today.  It is odd to work in an office without all of my documents at the click of a mouse.  Since the new AP will be taking over this office, whomever it may be, I don't want to load everything on that computer for only four weeks so I will be working with minimal items but hey - I have access to dropbox so it will be fine!!!  This afternoon I learned more about Google Spreadsheets, how to use a grading program on them and how to embed a survey on Haiku!!!  Can we say I am excited!!!!!!!!!!!!  I ended the night at an Awards Ceremony for Speech students with one of the science teachers and some great students!!!  These are the evenings that I love - working with students.

So it is finally Thursday and tomorrow is Friday.  The last two days I have been having trouble getting up.  I want to get home tonight to get some sleep but I know it will be another long day today due to all the events.  1) Meeting with Parent, 2) Take care of discipline referrals, 3) Master schedule work, 4) lunch duty, 5) meeting with teacher, 6) teach google docs to math dept, 7) staff meeting, 8) School Site Council, 9) PTSA, 10) Seniors vs Staff basketball game.  Okay, I just got a little more tired typing that all out.  Today was pretty fun.  We had Teacher College Day where we wore balloons with pendants of where we attended school today to celebrate academics and get ready for senior signing day next week.

On top of all that, around 10:00 am this morning Jamie started texting me about fires in San Diego County asking me what county I worked in and which one I lived in.  She continues to tell me there are horrible fires in San Diego county and I am thinking they are along the eastern coast of San Diego and more south, only to find out later that evening that it is 25 miles from my apartment.  This of course is the one week that I had not been listening to CNN.  I have been talking with my mom and friends from South Carolina on my way into work and home so I had no idea there was anything like this going on.  I feel so disconnected sometimes.  I guess I need to watch more TV.  LOL!!!    I feel like  the worst friend ever that I did not know there was fires in the town close by where I have some people I know.   I need to be more connected to the world but sometimes I get so determined to stay busy that I  forget to do the simple things that i need to do sometimes like know what is going on in the world.    The game tonight between the staff and seniors was fun to watch.  There was a pretty good showing of students and I think that United Student League made some money.  It was fun to watch the staff members play against the seniors and how much the seniors got into the game as well.

After the game I came home and to be honest the air in Murrieta smells a little smokey but of course that might be my imagination as well.  LOL!!!  I have taken off my makeup and am sitting in bed trying to type this as I want to fall asleep so badly!!!

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!  I can't believe it is finally FRIDAY!!!  It has been a long hard week.  This morning started with me having to deal with a situation of a student printing flyers that say "Free Jane."  The flyer continued to explain she had been disciplined for an altercation with another student and received three days suspension.  The problem is that it as wrong, she only received 2 days of suspension and she was not in jail.  Of course, come to find out, her friend printed the flyer and was handing them out.  Now, like I said, I had to laugh at this.  I thought it was funny.  I am happy they are such good friends and would help each other.  My issues with the entire situation was the young lady who she had an altercation with may see this as "egging" the situation on and therefore would cause another altercation in which someone would get really hurt.   After talking with both students today, they stated they would take the flyers down and stop spreading them around.  I am not sure the problem is completely taken care of but hopefully this has ended so we an move on.  After this, I saw a few more students about their consequences for various behaviors and then it was off to the Admin meeting in the front office.  Needless to say that took the entire morning.  We got a lot done so it was productive but it was long……  Lunch duty took on a life of its own and I had to go and talk with teachers about evaluations, we had a fight happen at lunch and then we had some issues with a few students right before lunch in class.  When it rains it pours!!!!  We had a summer school meeting also and that was even LONGER!!!  I missed the Retirement Reception for Dr. Ermert and I am actually bummed about it.  I wanted to be there!  However, summer school staffing had to be taken care of today!!!!  

I was able to leave work today at 6:15 pm and was on the way to workout until I hit Newport Rd.  At that point the dinginess and haze that was along Freeway 215 became clear.  The wind shifted at some point today and therefore the smoke from San Diego started heading north.  As I got closer to Murrieta it seemed it got thicker and darker so rather than going to work out, I decided to go home and check on Squeak to be sure she was okay and get some things done at the apartment.  I am surprised at how thick the smoke actually is for all the land that is here but it gets trapped between the mountains and has to move along the ridges.  We will have to see what it looks like tomorrow because it was not like this at all on Thursday night.  Squeak and I got some quality time together.  Look how adorable she is!!!

Saturday, May 17, 2014
Well sometimes it stinks when you can't sleep.  I work up at 5:30 am this morning and could not go back to sleep so I got up and went to the gym two hours early than I expected to.  This had made today a day where I feel like I have gotten a lot done.  Of course that was up until I went to school and started putting the Master Schedule in the computer.  Can you say LONG, TEDIOUS PROCESS???  I only have English done!!  I still have Math, Science, SS, World Languages, PE, AVID, CTE classes, SPED and speciality classes to do.  It is going to be a long week.  LOL!!!  While Megan keeps saying she is training me, it does not make the other work go away, so it will be a long couple of months and year as I take another adventure into a new position at the school.  I am SUPER excited about it, it is adding more tools to my toolbox and I am learning something new that will help me grown as an educator and leader.  

After I left work, I decided to go and pamper myself a little.  I got my nails done today and I am now sporting yellow sparkle polish with white dots on my toes!  It is super cute!!  Tony always does a great job on my toes and gives great foot massages.  He is the absolute best!!  I got my car cleaned also today since it had all kinds of dirt, pollen and dust on it.  Then I did some grocery shopping for this week.  After having a full day of activity it is 9:30 pm and while I am not tired, I am relaxing and trying to catch up on a few items and get ahead of a few more items in hopes to get home relatively early this week.  Ummm…..yea…… not going to happen during this time of year but it sure was a nice thought for the 30 seconds I had it.

Learning a New Job

Well guys!  I am going to need love and support starting June 24th!!  My Best Friend at Work (BFAW) is moving to Washington!!!  While I am so excited for her, I know exactly how Colleen felt last year when I was leaving.  I am thrilled with this opportunity because it is what she wants but am so sad that she is leaving since we get along so well together.  Her last day is June 24th so I am going to be depressed and sad for a bit!!! :(    I will be fulfilling Megan's responsibilities at John W. North High School.  I will be putting together Master Schedule.  In preparation for this I have been working with Megan very closely this week.  So much so, that on Monday night we were at school until 11:15 pm and I spent the night at her house.  Then on Tuesday we were there until 9:15 pm working as well.  I did not get home until 10:00 pm due to construction that starts at 9:00 pm on I-215.  So this week I have been learning Megan's duties as I have somewhat ignored mine unless they were emergencies.  On top of that, I went to the LCAP meeting on Wednesday night and then on Thursday we worked again on Master Schedule until about 8:30 pm.  So needless to say, I am a little tired this week.  Today, Saturday, I went to work to catch up on the work that I have not done since I have been working on a new learning curve.  It was great to get so much done today and I feel like I am ready to start Monday fresh and ready to go - if I can catch up on some sleep!!!

This is what Asst Principal's look like at 10:30 pm at school while working on Master Schedule.

Please notice the candy that we got into around 3:00 pm.  Yes, we were there that long.

I was also able to avoid Jury Duty this week.  It was a terrible experience and one that I hope does not happen again soon.  I showed up at the Riverside Court House at 8:00 am ready to go.  I got chosen for the first panel where they sent 80 jurors to the room for juror selection.  Upon entering the room we were informed that the jurors being selected were expected to be available Monday - Thursday from 9:00 am - 11:30 am and then again from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm for TWO MONTHS!!!!!  The trial would be over by July 11th!!!  So needless to say, I went into a panic attack.  WHAT THE HECK!!!!!  How am I going to be able to be on a jury for two months?  That is through graduation!!!  That affects Summer School of which I am the principal of!!!!  I have already taken my non-duty days and it will affect other people schedules.  I mean really, what am I going to possibly do????  Then the judge announced that if anyone had a hardship for the case, that we could wait and explain the hardship.  We were then escorted out of the courtroom and taken in 10 at a time.  I was the third group to plead a hardship and the last in my group.  I told the judge that I had three reasons for pleading a hardship.  1) I am working on my PhD and will have to go back to SC to defend my dissertation.  2) I am an Assistant Principal and we are getting ready to graduate students and 3) I am the Principal for Summer School this year for 1400 students in Riverside.  They asked me to step out into the Antechamber and then called me in about three minutes later and said they excused me from this jury.  I then had to go back downstairs to wait for the next round of jurors to be called.  I feel awful because I do believe that Jury Duty is important and part of our civic duty.  I find the cases interesting, even though the last time I did jury duty I ended up on a murder trial, but two months when I have so many responsibilities is hard right now.  I could have done it if it was the summer and we were not doing Summer School or even in the fall but oh my gosh - two months at this point is HUGE!!!!

We also had two run-aways this week.  This is something that I did not experience much in Laurens District 55 High school and did not hear about in Columbia when I worked for Lex-Rich 5 if it happened.  However, we have a student that seems to run-away at least once every other week.  Some of it is because they are mad at parents or such and others is they think they are just so ready to be grown up and can take care of themselves.  Luckily in both cases this week the girls are okay and neither was kidnapped or abused, which was our biggest concern.

Friday, I stayed at school and got the rest of the printer inventory and Promethean Board catalog done.  I can move onto the next phase and figure out what we need to do to make the Promethean Board more useful for the teachers and students in the classrooms.  I got home at 7:30 pm, which is the earlier all week and let me tell you what I did - yep, I ironed and watched a movie so that I have clothes for next week.  LOL!!!  I also felt like I needed to spend some time with Squeak.  On Saturday the bar in my closet fell and I had to put in a work order.  Well apparently they came and fixed the bar on Monday morning because when I got home on Tuesday there was a note stating they completed the work on Monday at 11:00 am.  This is not a bad thing - I wanted this.  However, they closed the bedroom door and Squeak was locked in the bedroom!!!!!  Now that does not sound too bad, however, remember on Monday night I spend the night with Megan so I did not get home till 10:00 pm on Tuesday - meaning she was in there over 24 hours!!! POOR SQUEAK!!!!  I did a search in the room for poo and pee but did not find any in the closet, bed, under the bed or anywhere else.  The toilet was open and I know she could drink water from there.  I guess I am going to have to wait for it to get hot so that I can smell where she peed because I cannot find it anywhere!!!  Maybe she was good and she held it????  One can hope.  So Squeak and I loved on each other Friday night and all through the night.  Now as I sit here and type she is leaning up against me like I am going to leave her.

The Last Week of Testing

Well, it is Sunday night at 8:50 pm and I am physically and mentally exhausted from the past week.  We had prom last Saturday and I did not get to sleep until 1:30 am and it has been a couple more long nights this past week due to testing issues and getting things done.  I am just tired and am not sure when  I will catch up on sleep.  I just keep plugging away like I normally do and wait for a break in the cycle - it will usually come, you just have to wait for it to come!

I would like to point out that I went to Petco on Sunday to look at reptiles with Jessica and the kids.  Riley wants a lizard for a pet and we went to see what some of her choices were.  I find it funny that one of the reptile cages had this set up in it.  I mean really people!!!

Lizard Cage at Petco

This was the last week of testing!!! Hooray!!  Of course we start IB and AP testing next week but it was the end of the SBAC testing and California State Tests (CSTs).  We are back on regular schedule and I know the teachers are really happy as well as the kids.    I am as well - it will be nice to be back on a regular schedule!  On Monday night I made it home in time to go to the gym.  I know that I need to review my workout time and get to the gym more or I am going to be buying new clothes!!!!  I also need to work on what I am eating, I have not been doing well lately due to the stress and odd time I am working.

Wednesday night was a great evening at school.  We had the M.E.Ch.A festival and it was wonderful.  There was dancing, great food, speakers and fun for the students and parents involved.  The evening started at 6:00 and went on until 9:00 pm that night.  I was able to get the carts moved around and some work done during the last hour of the night.  I got home at 10:30 that evening due to locking up and driving home.  It was another very late night and Thursday morning came really early.

Thursday I left school early to go and pick up my new glasses - yes, you read that correctly - I had to get reading classes for my astigmatism and the computer.  They are cute, kinda brown / black with some bluish tints to it.  Of course I picked out Kate Spade glasses - not sure how that happened but I do like them.  After that I went and got my hair cut and highlighted.  I was there for about 2 and a half hours and got home that evening again late but at least I was trying to relax a little.  However the young lady that gave me a shoulder and neck massage pointed out that i have a lot of knots.  LOL!!!!  What educator does not during testing season???????

This week has been the week of investigations.  I had a sexual misconduct case to investigate and there is no way that you win that one in any situation.  When you start investigating, students start talking and then the rumors begin to fly all around regardless.  Then the "gossip" expands into other things as well. The next case I had to work on was a Twitter Bully case and let me tell you, I hate researching Twitter cases.  It is so hard to get anywhere due to handles and hashtags.  FB issues are so much easier, as well Instagram, but Twitter - those are hard!!!! Ugh!!  Of course, no one is happy - kids, parents, students - no one.  :(  

Friday afternoon was not a "go home" afternoon.  I had a meeting with a parent at 3:00 pm who is completely in denial of her son "cutting" class.  He does not go and wanders around the campus.  We tend to catch him and his mom says he cannot do Saturday schools because he goes to his dads, he can do Thursday schools but he will not stay to do them, and she does not want him in SSR.  Soo…. I think she needs to come and hang out on campus to help get her son to class. I am the third administrator to meet with the mom and the second guidance counselor to attempt to work with mom and she continues to think that her son does not do anything wrong and it is our mistake.  She literally told me that it was the teachers making the mistake in attendance and he was in the room - her son told her so. She also told me it was the schools fault because we had new attendance clerks that were not doing their job.  Really?????   Both the other AP and myself told her that we had caught her son out of class several times over the past two weeks ourselves and it is not a teacher mistake.    Just like everything else, it surprises me what all people tell me and what I am exposed to at different times with my job.  I wonder if I say crazy things to people who think the same thing!!!   Later that afternoon Ali, Megan and I counted tests and packed up items to send back to the state for assessment.  I am so excited the testing is over and the testing room is COMPLETELY CLEANED UP!!!  More cleaned up and organized than it has ever been according to others!!!  Again, a trait of mine - I clean and organize.  That is why the Science Dept in Laurens got so clean over a few years!    Megan went and got yummy Ahola pizza and
the three of us went to the play at the school - The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  It was great and a lot of fun.  The audience got into it at the end even though the beginning was a little slow and hard to understand.  Michelle Grotness, the theater teacher, even had her dog in the show at the end.  Harley was so cute as he walked across the stage!!!  The play lasted a fairly long time and I got home around 11:45 pm that night so that was yet another long night!!!

On Saturday morning I saw ate breakfast with a friend who I always enjoy spending time with.  I wish I got to see them more but with our busy schedules and odd work hours we never seem to have enough time to connect.  After breakfast I rushed up to the school to work on evaluations for the end of the school year.  I got three done and have 14 more to go - yeah me!!!  At 4:15 pm, I left and Ali and I drove to Anaheim to watch the Angels play.  She won tickets the other day and asked me to go with her.  So this will now be my second MLB game.  The atmosphere is different than that of the Padres game.  More family oriented.  Not sure if that is due to location, fans or the fact the Angels are owned by Disney.  I really like the Padres because I love San Diego and Petco park.  The colors are better as well.  The Angels are red and I am not a fan of the color red but I really liked how they had their stadium set up.  Of course, I don't have an allegiance to either team - Michael Roth, who use to play for the Gamecocks is in the Angels minor league to come up that way.  Good thing I don't have to make a decision.  :)

Angel Stadium

Ali and I at the Stadium

This weekend I had a small catastrophe.  My closet at the apartment is in shambles right now, and it was not even an earthquake.  The bar in the closet fell and now all my clothes are on the guest bed and I am waiting for the bar to be hung back up.  One more task to work on to keep me busy.  I am hoping to have a quiet weekend this upcoming weekend and get some work done around the apartment.  We will see how that goes.  Looking forward to a phenomenal week!!!