Finishing Out January

January 31, 2016

Hello Everyone,
  I am not sure even how or where to start this week's blog.  I can't believe the week is finished before it started and when I go and think back on the last week, I am not sure where it went, just that it was extremely busy!

Monday
Started off busy and stayed that way.  We were in Admin meetings until almost 2:00 with a break for lunch duty.  At the same time we had the RUSD guidance counselors on campus for meetings also, of which I was supposed to be there.  Well, I did not make it because Admin meetings ran over.  At the end of the day we had another occurrence on campus of which took up time and therefore I did not make it to Dan Patterson's goodbye reception on Monday afternoon.

I did make it home on Monday evening by 8:00 pm and worked out on the elliptical for a little bit.  I got to spend some time with the cats and I remember thinking, "I need to leave school every day by 6:30 pm so that I can have some time at home getting things done."  Well, this was a fleeting thought because I am just having a hard time making sure that is going to happen as the week moved on.

Tuesday
The Assistant Principal's of Guidance get together once a month to share information with one another and make sure that we are all understanding what is being asked of us.  This meeting seemed like it would be a short agenda.  We had Pupil Services come and answer questions for us in the morning and then we discussed a variety of other topics that was great because we got information on programs that have changed, adjusted or been modified over the past years.  However, for a meeting that was only supposed to last till 9:30, I did not get back to campus until 11:00 am.  I quickly had my two meetings with students and made it halfway to lunch duty before I got called back in for a guidance problem.

In addition, to the crazy day, we had a program meeting to plan for what we are calling Program Recruitment Day. We are going to model a Greek Rush week to really celebrate and make it special for students who get into the program.  We also had games on campus and therefore I was at school until about 8:30 pm trying to get things accomplished.


Wednesday
So this morning was a meeting with an Assistant Superintendent to talk about the use of technology at school.  We discussed what we need to do to move forward for teachers to have new computers and for North to go to a 1:1 device for students.  We walked around the school a little bit and let her see the different media presentations that we have and discussed how none of them are standardized and that we need to do something for the teachers and classrooms.  Of course, we also got our hands slapped for not using ThinkCERCA of which I did not know she spent money on and was leaving it for another person to take the lead on.  I guess I am taking the lead on this now and I had to set up a meeting for Tuesday with the English Dept head and one of the teachers that was trained.

After the Asst Superintendent left, I spent the rest of the morning running around the school trying to catch 35 teachers and trying to get them to print out their gradebooks for the first semester so they hare on file.  We have to have a hard copy to make it official at this point and time. I literally spent 2 hours trying to chase down these papers.  I don't mind doing this to a certain extent...I know that teachers are busy and with everything being electronic it is ridiculous we need a hard copy. However, if a teacher had to do this, they would provide zeros for all their students.  I would love to provide all zeros to the teachers and put them in the time out box for the time it took me to go and collect the grade sheets.  Especially during such a busy week.

Right after lunch, I had the first non-grad meeting for this year.  I had to meet with a student and his mom to let him know that it did not look like he would be able to complete all the classes here on campus and that he would be better at another location in which he could concentrate more and have less distractions at school.

I then had to run over to the district office for the testing meeting for the year.  That ended and it was back to the high school to deal with other issues.  The problem with today is that I was supposed to be at a WASC meeting while I was at the Testing Meeting.  I hate when I am double booked and then let someone down.  I spent the evening trying to get things caught up proposals written and information out to people.  There is just too much to do and I cannot seem to get ahead or even caught up.


Thursday
This morning started with a meeting about the future remodel of the training room.  The principal from King High School, who is also an athletic trainer came over to look at the training room and make some suggestions and provide really awesome ideas!!!  I truly appreciate the extra help and guidance from him.

During the day we also had the Mid-Winter Assembly with the theme of Star Wars.  We had a RCC application workshop in the library and I had three student appointments.  From there I had a 1:30 conference call, a student teacher interview and a scheduling committee meeting.  This was amid another student who was threatening to attempt suicide and therefore that pulled the guidance team from 1:30 - 4:30 pm to deal with that situation.  This was only to be followed up with a Cash for College Workshop that evening with the guidance counselors that went from 5:30 - 9:00 pm.

Some of the Admin Team at Mid Winter Assembly

Chewy made an appearance as well.

Weeeelllll...the student who I met with yesterday with the guidance counselor who will most likely be a non-grad had a discussion last night and the family decided this young man would not go to an alternative site and would rather stay at John W. North High School.   However......this morning the student skipped Period 0, skipped the first assembly he was supposed to be in.  He was supposed to go back to class but rather decided since he did not get to see the assembly during the first part of the day, he skipped the class to go back to the assembly.  He then skipped 5th period and did not go into his guidance counselor's office for his new schedule.  His guidance counselor called mom to again reiterate this young man most likely will not graduate.  He is not going to the classes he needs to graduate nor has he come to get his new schedule to provide him with the classes he needs to graduate.


Friday
Follow-up on student from the last two days....he skipped class again and I found him in the morning sitting in the discipline office and crying over getting in trouble for skipping class yesterday and talking back to the campus supervisors.  This is the frustrating thing about students, they just think they will graduate and they don't have to do anything.  I don't understand it, no matter how much I try and it bothers me that this student who has the perfect opportunity to be in a better environment refuses to go.  It makes me wonder what ulterior motives he has to stay on campus?  

Friday morning also involved student meetings due to two situations that have happened with students in the last few days.  It has been a crazy week!!  I really have not had a chance to sit and get work done.  I met my mentor for lunch at Panera and we had a really good conversation about things happening at RUSD and the future the district is moving.  I left Panera to go to RCC to pick up materials for North students and then back to school to continue to put out fires and plan.

Ali and I were supposed to leave school at 3:00 pm to go and get materials for Janell's baby shower on Saturday but we had students from another school try to come on campus.  Since they could not get on campus they went to a local store parking lot to fight so of course that starts another issue all together and more work for my co-administrators.   Ali and I finally were able to leave the school at 5:30 pm to run and get the items we needed for the baby shower.  I feel terrible that I will not be around to help more on Saturday and that Ali and Miranda are doing so much for this shower.

After we shopped I had to meet a teacher that night who is out of workers comp leave to give provide her the W2 form and her paycheck since she lives near me and just had surgery.  I finally got home about 9:00 pm only to clean up a little, take a shower and sleep because Saturday is CRAZY!!!


Saturday
OMG!!!  Today was hard.  I got up at 5:30 am to get dressed and get to University Middle School for National History Day.  I was there from 8:00 to 12:30 to judge Junior Websites.  I left there to meet Dee to pick up the cupcakes for the Baby Shower that I was supposed to be hosting at Ali's house. But if we are honest, Ali is hosting.

Ali has really gotten into the decorating, creating and tea theme! Miranda also got involved and I was able to just show up and they had EVERYTHING done.  I feel so bad that I did not contribute as much as I wanted to.  The shower was great and we had a wonderful turnout and it was a lot of fun.

I took a cat nap on Ali's couch for an hour before getting dressed to attend Mid-Winter which went from 8-12 am.  I ran to Starbucks to pick up a latte to try and stay away but I have to say around 10:30 pm, I had to start sitting down.  It was getting crazy for me to stand because I could feel myself starting to get dizzy from lack of sleep.  The kids were great and the dance was fun.  No major occurrences or problems other than near the end when some drunk guys leaving a bar tried to pick up a few of our high school students who were leaving.

I made it home by 1:15 am and just dropped everything on the floor, took off my make up and got into bed to sleep.


Sunday
Today has been a recovery day for me.  I woke up at 6:30 am but more because of the cats than anything.  They were climbing all over me crying.  I got up and fed them and went back to bed and fell asleep (thanks to my blackout curtains) and found myself waking up and looking at the clock to see it was 11:30 am.  OMG!!!!!  I have not slept that long in FOREVER!!!!!!

I will say it was ALMOST a boxer day (thank you Chris Alford)!  Unfortunately I had to go to the store to get items for this week or I would have stayed in my PJ's all day long.  I got up and started laundry, changed the sheets, vacuumed the apartment, ran to the store and came back to make veggie soup, Curry carrots, and cut up lettuce for salad this week for lunch.  I spent the afternoon paying bills, emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry, hanging clothes and getting ready for the week and I still am not done.  Ugh!!!!

I found this quote earlier this week.  I think it is true of my life right now.  I am going to have to pick and choose what I can do and make sure that what I am doing is worth my attention and the most immediate concern right now.

This was the other quote I found and one that I really need to remember when things get crazy!  I have to continue to get better.  I have strengths (discipline, focus, responsibility, significance, and achiever) that are different from others I work with and I must use these to get better and influence others.

January 24, 2016

BEWARE OF TWO KITTY VOMIT PICTURES 

Monday, January 18, 2016

I spent time in LA this past weekend but of course it was for IB - Middle Years Program.  I got home around 1:30 pm and ran a few errands.  The drive was not too awful but it since I don't always come from LA and know the area, it makes traveling a little hectic since I have to watch the GPS.  I have been finding that listening to audiobooks entertaining an therefore if I am not watching what I am doing...I have missed my turn.  LOL!!!  The fun of living in a new place and having to turn around. You find some pretty interesting places and see some new things.

It continued to be a fun and unusual afternoon as I took Squeak to the vet because she has been constantly throwing up.  Sometimes three times a day.  It usually starts with her hacking and convulsing and then it comes up.  Unfortunately since she is always near me, it is usually on the bed or couch.  At least she gives me some warning with the hacking, but it has to be uncomfortable for her.  Now, I know this is kinda gross but I started taking pictures to be able to take her to the vet and accurately what she is throwing up.

The vet said that he is not sure what is wrong with her and that all of her blood and urine tests are fine.  Of course he says that it could be Irritable Bowl Syndrome, Ulcers, Tumors, or a load of other issues.  He suggested that we start with X-Rays and Prednisone.  Then if that does not work he suggested an ultrasound and then we would see what is next if that does not show anything.  Well....I have not really looked at X-Rays other than human and I have not seen that many recently since I am not actively practicing athletic training.  However, when they brought the X-Rays in and hung them up it was obvious to see that something was wrong.   Now...remember, X-Rays only show hard items, not soft tissue and you could see all her pretty bones with no bright white spots.  However, there was a large mass down her back along her spine.  When the vet came back in he asked me when she ate last and I told him about 2:00 pm.  He says that it should not be like that and I was thinking...."Ya Think?"  So he tells me that he thinks she is constipated.   He suggest a change in her diet and prescribes some special food that he thinks will help her and he tells me to hold off on giving her the prednisone until Friday and see how the diet works out.  He thinks she is throwing up because the food cannot go through her intestines.  So I take my poor innocent kitty home and she just decides to lay on the blanket.  I think she is mad at me for taking her on a car ride and to the vet.  She HATES the car.

One upset Kitty - Post Car Ride and Vet

Tuesday, January 19, 2015

Well, Squeak threw up again last night.  I know that it is going to take some time but poor kitty!!! Also, poor Leann....she cannot throw up at a reasonable time, she throws up at 2:00 or 4:00 am so of course she wakes me up and I feel bad for her so I stay up and try to soothe her and make her calm.

The vet called today to tell me the X-Ray tech took a closer look and there does not seem to be tumors or anything else in Squeak's X-Ray.  While that is good news, I worry that constipation is not the only issue and I do worry about the little girl.  I did ask him if there was any way I could just rush up a laxative and put it on her food to make her more comfortable and he suggested getting kitty laxative called Laxotene at PetSmart.  So I planned on stopping by tonight on the way home.

I ended up not being able to make it to PetSmart.  I went to the Valley View basketball game for the North girls that ended up being so close that the last 5 minutes took 45 minutes.  Needless to say I did not leave Valley View until 9:00 pm and by then PetSmart was closed.


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Some days just do not go as planned.  Today was one of those days.  I have already been behind more than usual due to some personal stuff going on and fighting freaking out on a regular basis so when things go WoNkY at work, it really throws me for a loop.  Today, we had a student who had to go to the hospital and since we do not let kids go to the hospital alone, I left to go to the local hospital to be with the student until the parents / guardian arrived.  This is a student that I talk to on a regular basis also so I was worried as well.  As it turns out everything is okay but it is still scary when it happens.

That afternoon we were scheduled to go visit Vocademy but this appointment got changed at the last minute so therefore I ended up with three different places I was supposed to be at the same time on Wednesday.  While Dolly the Sheep was cloned, Dr. Leann Iacuone has not been cloned and therefore cannot be at three places at one time, making life a little difficult.  So this was a day where things were completely rushed and therefore left me out of sorts as the guidance counselors and I rushed to Vocademy at 1:00, to rush back at 2:00 for a meeting with the AEL expert, then had to rush to pick up pizza at 3:15 to meet with the trainers at 4:00 pm to work on the training room plans.  That finished up at 6:30 pm for me to leave school by 7:00 pm with two kittens in a cat carrier to drop off at Friends of the Valley Animal Rescue.  Yes ladies and gentlemen you read that correctly, two more cats were caught at school - little kittens and I did not keep them.  They will be put into foster care and then someone will adopt them.

From there I stopped to get the Laxotene from PetSmart, kitty milk, Puppy Pads and Pill Pockets for the prednisone in case I needed to give that to Squeak on Friday.  Next stop was Target for orange juice and a few supplies for the rest of the week, including a Star Wars shirt for the upcoming Star Wars week.  When I finally got home it was 9:30 pm and I realized I did not get anything on my to do list marked off.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Old School Star Wars for Star Wars Week!

Thursday, January 21, 2016

At 4:00 am, Squeak decided to throw up again.  It began with hacking as I woke up and was able to get her on top of a Puppy Pad in order to prevent her from puking all over the place.  She continue to puke as I moved her into the bathroom so I could turn on the light and see what she was throwing up.

Thursday Morning Puke from Squeak - Looks Better!!!

I finally made it to school only to have another day like Wednesday.  Today, I found one of my favorite students in the health room crying because they were in soooooo much pain due to their teeth.  The school nurse called the district to see what could be done but we were going to have to work on paperwork so two other extremely caring adults at the school called around to try and figure out if anyone would see this young student and sure enough they found a place.  So one of the translators and I spent an hour and a half taking the student home to pick up a family member and then transporting them to the dentist for work to be done.  It was a VERY good trip because we met some very nice people and made some valuable contacts in order to get our students help.  However, again it pulled me away from the school and therefore behind.  Good thing there are no kids on Friday.

In the afternoon we had some students come and show a teacher some texts about another student who was stated they had tried to kill themselves and did not want to face another day.  The teacher brought the students to me and therefore we had another emergency on school grounds because all the guidance counselors were at training.  I was finally able to confirm the student was well and was going to be okay.  Amid all of this was AED training from the district.  Now this is ironic because I have had CPR / AED  training three times in the last 6 months but hey, all AED's are different.  So now, we have to figure out where to place the four AED's.  Obviously one is in the nurse's office, one at basketball, one should be at the pool / football field and then the last one should be with the trainer but the one that is at the football field / pool is the hardest one due to the gates and public access.  On top of that, they are to be placed 3 ft from the ground and have to have a sign posted above or beside them.  I can't say that I ever noticed AED's 3 ft from the ground before, this is something I am going to have to notice.  They are supposed to be placed at that height for individuals in wheelchairs.  Umm.... I will have to look next time I am at the airport.

Friday, January 22, 2016

I played hookie for a bit this morning from work.  I had to pick up dry cleaning and take my car to the VW dealership in order to have the 60,000 mile check and get new tires.  I had to wait for the shuttle to bring me back to the apartment and take the Escape to work so I did not get there until about 10:00 am.  I tried to get a lot done today but it was one of those days where I did not get things done until people left.  I got to go out to eat lunch with the guidance counselors, this was the first time in forever....oops I mean ever!!!! LOL!!!

I also got to have a great conversation with a teacher about Standards Based Grading and I am so proud of the teacher for stepping outside of the box and trying something new.  Sometimes you just have to get off the same old horse and try something new.  I am excited that someone is looking to find something new!!!!

I got home around 8:00 pm and was able to take a bath, clean up and relax.  I knew I was going to have to go into work this weekend to catch up on all the things that did not get done but I just really needed to get home and check on Squeak and Husky.  It was a relaxing evening with the kitties!!!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Well we have now made it a night without Squeak throwing up.  She slept through the night without any incident, which is nice to not have to clean anything up.  LOL!!!  This morning I ate breakfast with a friend who I have not seen in awhile but love spending time with.  I wish that we were not so busy and getting pulled in different directions so there was more time to spend together but such is life!!!  I got my car this morning from the VW dealership also.  Josh Mayne takes such great care of me and my car.  He is so easy to work with and is willing to email and text me about the car and what is going on.

I went to the vet to pick up more food for Squeak since that seems to be working and then got home to pick up my items and leave for work.  Needless to say, I think she wants attention from people. Look at this cute face.

Squeak does not want me to leave.  I think she misses someone????

Can't leave this little cutie out of the mix.
She does not like anyone but me so she hides but she is a cutie!

This week Ali got a new phone as well.  She got an iPhone 6s plus as well.  While my phone did do 15 updates this weekend it seems that everyone is telling me what cool things my phone can do.  Ali has shown me some things that Siri does that I did not know.  I have discovered some new things about Dropbox and my camera on the phone.  On top of that Waze has a bunch more new features that make it really cool.  Including adding friends and allowing you to identify ETA when you are going to meet someone.  So I invited a bunch of people who show up on my contact list who have Waze to be my friend on Waze - hey its like Facebook.  LOL!  But seriously, the voice on it is much better!  If Waze would have updated before I got the new car, I would not have needed the GPS on the car.   Gas Buddy has some new pieces to it as well and FitBit software updated.  I think I should probably spend more time trying to learn about the power of the SmartPhone that I have but to tell you the truth, I just don't have time. So if you have any tips, let me know.

Ali and I worked for a good bit on Saturday to get things done but then she DRAGGED me to Disneyland and yes, I was kicking and screaming to stay at school - Ummm, yeah right!  We went with her niece and great nieces to hang out for a few hours.  

Sunday, January 24, 2016

I was at work today from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm working to get caught up and I am not sure that I am completely caught up.  I got home tonight and made French Onion Soup, finished up some plans for the training room and emailed them to one of the M&O guys and finished the blog.  While doing so, I watched TV with the cats.  Of course, Squeak slept and Husky watched TV.

Husky Watching TV

Hopefully this upcoming week will be calmer as we start the new semester!  I know that Saturday will be CRAZY busy but bring it on!!!!

2016 - 1. The start of the year.

January 2016

New Year's Eve
I arrived back in CA from SC on New Year's Eve.  Ali, my friend from work, and I decided to go to the Temecula Grape Drop.  Yes, it is an extremely small version of the New York Ball Drop but get this......there are no barricades you have to stand in and I did not have to pee in a cup because you cannot leave the area to go to the bathroom.  Temecula is Southern CA wine country, hence the grape, and it was a bunch of grapes.  The city does two drops, one at 9:00 am and one at 12:00 am.  Ali and I decided that we should do the 9:00 grape drop for a few reasons.  1) I was just coming off of east coast time, 2) she is 45 minutes north of Temecula andThe we did not want to drive home late at night with drunks on the road, and finally 3) we both wanted to sleep and not feel bad the next day from being up so late.    The 9:00 pm drop is supposed to enable party goers to celebrate with the east coast but it seems to be more for the little kids.  There were a lot of kids around until 9:00 and when the grapes dropped, the majority of the families left.  As Ali and I were walking to the car, you could see the hard party goers coming in and being obnoxious.  I guess it is sad to say that I was in bed by 10:00 and asleep by 10:30 pm.  LOL!!!  Let's go with I had just gotten back from the east coast - sounds better.

The Grapes that will drop!

They really don't drop that far, only to the balcony area right where the curve is. LOL!
But the idea is there and it was a great evening!

I spent the next two days working at the apartment trying to get my act together to go back to work and of course hanging out with the cute kitties:

Husky

Squeak

While I know that I needed the break, coming back after literally taking 10 days off from doing any work has been very tough for me.  I feel like i have been away too long and I forgot what I am supposed to be doing. LOL!!!  I really have not had a TRUE break since summer of 2009 and it seemed weird to literally be able to sit around and play games on my phone.  In retrospect, there is a 1,000,000 other things that I need to do like update a resume, work on various lists for work, spend some time reflecting to make some decisions, updating a website, and several other items.  Basically I write that to say that the first week back to school has been a challenge!

I did get to go to Tom's Farms.   This is  little place along I-15 that you can stop at for lunch.  They have a small grocery store, a few shops, a wine tasting area, and several restaurants.  It was very interesting and fun for an afternoon.  However, of course I ended up at the outlet malls on the way back for some quick shopping.  Of course, I should have stayed away from there.

I just have a lot to do and no time to get it done.  Everyone needs something and I have been unable to find a concentrated amount of time to sit and get it done, even at night.  The first week back I had decided to try and leave each day by 6:00 pm to try and I made it by 7:00 but of course I was behind all week.  Soooooo.....I know that sounds like I can't get my job done but it really is that I just help a lot of other people before I get to my work which causes me to need to stay late.  A lot of the items I work on need to be done with concentration and therefore are better to do when there are not a lot of people around.  That means leaving at 6:00pm was not really an option so I thought...let me stay till 7:00 pm and come in 15 minutes earlier.  That has not worked well this week because in the mornings we have had teachers who are out, parents who need to be seen, and issues with students from the counselors so the 15 minutes in the morning has not been beneficial.  This past week, staying later was not great either because:

• Monday - Football Coach Interviews - left around 10:00 pm 
• Tuesday - Evening meeting with Teacher, Soccer and Basketball
• Wednesday - IB Parent Meeting till 9:30 pm
• Thursday - IB Parent Meeting till 9:45 pm
• Friday - Stayed till 5:00 pm to get things done and then left to go to a Ducks game 
• Saturday - Monday - IB / MYP Training in LA

The Ducks game was so much fun!!! Jennifer is a season ticket holder so we sat in seats where she knew everyone so there were lively conversations happening about the game as well.  I was a little disappointed there were no blood and guts on the ice.  As an athletic trainer, I am always up for some blood but nope - nothing!  There were broken sticks!!!!!  But not because of fights!

Jennifer, me, and Ali at the Ducks game!

Our photographer was suppose to get the ice in the background.
He did not do such a great job.

We had really good seats and could see the entire rink!   Thanks Jennifer!!!

This weekend I was in Los Angeles for an IB training.  This training started on Saturday and goes until Monday.  While I don't mind going to different types of training, I have to say that right now there are 100 other things that I want and need to be doing right now rather than sitting in the hotel room.  The training for MYP (Middle Years Program) Heads of School started on Saturday morning and went from 8-4:15 pm and then again on Sunday from 8-3:45 pm and will continue on Monday from 8:00 - 11:30 am.  Part of me wonders what I am going to learn tomorrow for 3 hours and 30 minutes that I cannot go home and be with Squeak and Husky.  I know this is probably more for those traveling via plane to give them another day so they can leave in the afternoon rather than earlier on Sunday.  However, I am worried about Squeak who has been throwing up pretty much every day 1 to 3 times a day.  She has a vet appointment on Monday at 4:30 pm but I would still like to be curled up with her in bed.  I have changed her food three times since November, trying to find something that does not bother her tummy but I am not having any luck. I think I might have to do a prescription cat food for her now.

I did make it to Manhattan Beach tonight for a walk on the pier and the boardwalk.  It was a quick trip and I did not do any shopping or go into the sand but here are a few pictures of the scenery.

Aquarium  & Cafe at end of Pier

As I start the year of 2016, I have considered how to handle blogging.  While I hate writing, which is why while I was working on the PhD I did not continue and then afterward I had every intention of picking it up again but just could not get motivated to do so.  So now....one of my New Year's Resolutions is to start blogging again.  So the three New Year Resolutions include:

1. Begin my blog again.
2. Eat more healthy.
3. Do something fun each weekend.
4. Reflect on relationships. 

I considered trying to go back and updating what had happened over the past 6 months but decided that if I did that I probably would continue to not do any writing and I really needed to start this again just to remember the positive things going on and laughing terribly.

I am working on all of these right now.  So here is to #1.  One of the ladies I work with keeps telling me my skin looks better.  I am chalking that up to resolution #2.  As for #3, The Grape Drop, Tom's farm, and Manhattan Beach are my fun things so far,   In addition, I do have a Google Doc list that has a bunch of things I want to do in the California area.  I am continually adding to the list and identifying other things to do in the area.  Other friends also make suggestions on things to add as well and go with me to do different things.  It is a fun list to look at and see what we can mark off at different times and always find something to do.   Let me know if you have suggestions to add to the list.  I think #4 is the hardest for me because I assume that all relationships are good but I know that I need to work on many of my friendships and spend more time with friends and have better conversations with them to strengthen our friendships.