Here We Go Again
And here I go again: another month passed without blogging. Guiltily, I admit that I haven't thought much about blogging in the past several weeks. But as usual, it isn't even because I have been that busy. As usual, I have just been lazy. But unlike usual, I will not go through the self-admonishment episode today.
When I got back to my apartment from the gym yesterday, I started feeling strangely unwell. So I just relaxed, ate dinner, then napped. I felt so unwell that I already began to consider calling in sick for work this morning. But after a short driving adventure--during which we did absolutely nothing but drive and talk as I requested--I felt better. I even woke up with only one snooze of the alarm earlier! And made breakfast and got onto the first shuttle to campus. And I made it to work almost 10 minutes early. Thus far, despite my undoubted physical exhaustion and shortage of sleep, today is a beautiful day.
Lately, there have been so many beautiful days--warm, sunny, breezy. Even though I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life, only recently have I begun to truly notice and appreciate the LA weather. Often, as I walk around campus to and from class and work, I think of all the things I could be doing instead of staying indoors all day: hiking in the Arcadia mountains (which I haven't done in far too long), reading novels and writing poetry outside of Royce, visiting gardens and taking photos of nature... Again, today is one of those days. Good thing I get off work at noon and can enjoy the rest of my day afterward.
I think I haven't woken up past 8:30 a.m. for the past four weeks and 10 a.m. since July. But I've still been going to bed between 1 and 2 a.m. Although the shortage of sleep is terrible and can get overwhelmingly exhausting, I don't mind having to wake up early every day. I actually am quite fond of it, since it only makes me feel that I get to have a longer, more productive day.
Speaking of longer days, it's almost daylight savings time! I don't like when it gets dark so early and am not looking forward to taking the shuttle or walking back to the apartment at "night" (i.e. 5 or 6 p.m.). I already can't wait until the next daylight savings round that indicates summer is near.
One of the most important things I learned in class this week--and probably the only thing I remember--came from Tuesday's education lecture. My professor told us about IDEAS, a law which mandates equal access across public schools' K-12 curriculum. If a parent wants his/ her child to switch from ESL to AP English or vice versa, the school has to allow it. Even if the student has not passed a "proficiency test" (which the professor suggested is simply a formality), he/ she can go to whichever class desired. Most people don't know this, and tracking--process whereby students are distinguished into academic groups based on their standardized test scores--often puts students where they don't academically belong. Subsequently, the students in the "slower," less advanced groups are left behind with a sense of inferiority looming over the rest of their lives. What in the world?! Anyway, the point is: equal access to public K-12 curriculum.
This education class has nothing whatsoever to do with my English degree or my interest in the accounting minor (which is dimishing by the day, by the way). But it's the class I'm most engaged in and care for most. I've actually been trying to do the readings for this class more than for English. I haven't done anything at all for accounting. I just love this class. I'm glad I stayed in it even though it isn't taught by the original professor.
Tonight, I am attending the Tim Be Told concert at church. I'm excited. But for now, I have to work! Peace out, all.
When I got back to my apartment from the gym yesterday, I started feeling strangely unwell. So I just relaxed, ate dinner, then napped. I felt so unwell that I already began to consider calling in sick for work this morning. But after a short driving adventure--during which we did absolutely nothing but drive and talk as I requested--I felt better. I even woke up with only one snooze of the alarm earlier! And made breakfast and got onto the first shuttle to campus. And I made it to work almost 10 minutes early. Thus far, despite my undoubted physical exhaustion and shortage of sleep, today is a beautiful day.
Lately, there have been so many beautiful days--warm, sunny, breezy. Even though I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life, only recently have I begun to truly notice and appreciate the LA weather. Often, as I walk around campus to and from class and work, I think of all the things I could be doing instead of staying indoors all day: hiking in the Arcadia mountains (which I haven't done in far too long), reading novels and writing poetry outside of Royce, visiting gardens and taking photos of nature... Again, today is one of those days. Good thing I get off work at noon and can enjoy the rest of my day afterward.
I think I haven't woken up past 8:30 a.m. for the past four weeks and 10 a.m. since July. But I've still been going to bed between 1 and 2 a.m. Although the shortage of sleep is terrible and can get overwhelmingly exhausting, I don't mind having to wake up early every day. I actually am quite fond of it, since it only makes me feel that I get to have a longer, more productive day.
Speaking of longer days, it's almost daylight savings time! I don't like when it gets dark so early and am not looking forward to taking the shuttle or walking back to the apartment at "night" (i.e. 5 or 6 p.m.). I already can't wait until the next daylight savings round that indicates summer is near.
One of the most important things I learned in class this week--and probably the only thing I remember--came from Tuesday's education lecture. My professor told us about IDEAS, a law which mandates equal access across public schools' K-12 curriculum. If a parent wants his/ her child to switch from ESL to AP English or vice versa, the school has to allow it. Even if the student has not passed a "proficiency test" (which the professor suggested is simply a formality), he/ she can go to whichever class desired. Most people don't know this, and tracking--process whereby students are distinguished into academic groups based on their standardized test scores--often puts students where they don't academically belong. Subsequently, the students in the "slower," less advanced groups are left behind with a sense of inferiority looming over the rest of their lives. What in the world?! Anyway, the point is: equal access to public K-12 curriculum.
This education class has nothing whatsoever to do with my English degree or my interest in the accounting minor (which is dimishing by the day, by the way). But it's the class I'm most engaged in and care for most. I've actually been trying to do the readings for this class more than for English. I haven't done anything at all for accounting. I just love this class. I'm glad I stayed in it even though it isn't taught by the original professor.
Tonight, I am attending the Tim Be Told concert at church. I'm excited. But for now, I have to work! Peace out, all.
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