Sacre Coeur - Sacred Heart of Paris

I was fortunate that my mom was in love with Europe and my dad worked for Japan Air Lines. We did a lot of summer travels all over Europe. My dad's job gave us such great deals that we only had to pay 10% of the airfare anywhere around the world.

I have been to Paris, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Copenhagen, Thailand, Holland, Mexico, Spain...you name it.

I think that what stands out in my mind are all the different people that we met. We never went on tour buses, only in Germany. We usually went by ourselves. My mom would buy those guide books and make up an itinerary. She just loved doing it.

Portuguese people love sardines, they are the bigger sardines, and they can debone it so expertly using a fork and butter knife. Paella was an awesome seafood dish in Spain that the guide of ours greedily ordered when my mom said that she would treat him to lunch. He ordered the most expensive thing on the menu!

In Mexico, we had a guide who had two daughters that my sister and I became pen pals with. I suppose that's why I like Mafalda the Spanish cartoon so much because my pen pal, Lizbeth, used to send me those stickers. I think Mafalda is to Spain as Snoopy is to America.

I put a picture of Mafalda on the top right.

Italy was fun but my grandpa got pickpocketed while riding on the gondola. My grandpa was 77 or so when we traveled there. In Europe, everyone gives tips and when my grandpa gave someone a tip, someone else was watching in the shadows.

Paris is absolutely amazing and breathtaking. You can look out of your hotel window and see everyone dressed to the tee. They all look like models or just people out of magazines. It's not that they spend a lot on clothes, they know how to dress it up by wearing stockings with a little fancy pattern, a scarf, a brooch, etc. They can take one outfit and wear it in so many different ways. They know how to accessorize with shoes, belts, and purses.

One day, I want to go back to Europe. I miss it so much. I know that France is cheapest in April. When you have the opportunity to travel to Europe, you should go! Travel, explore, do everything you can when you are young. When you get married or you have children, you aren't as flexible any more. :) I do know that one day when I save up enough money, I want to take my sons there.

My favorite teacher

I had many favorite teachers in my life. I think I always liked school. In elementary school, I liked Mr. K., he was still a bachelor and he used to play with us at recess. He would throw the red, rubber ball really high into the air and one of us would catch it. I ran into him the other day and I couldn't believe how old he looked. In a way though, he still reminded me of his younger self, especially when he smiled. I was too embarrassed, so I didn't say "Hi." Probably when I have a chance to run into him again, I will summon the courage to say "hi" and hope that he remembers me. I was the one that corrected him in spelling "embarrassed."

I had really good teachers in high school too. One that really stood out for me was another Mr. K. He was my business teacher and he asked me to be his TA in my senior year. I was flattered and willingly obliged. He always looked so professional. He wore a well-starched aloha shirt with the collars that stood up neatly and he wore brylcreem in his hair. He was in his 50's, but he seemed so young at heart. He believed in all of us. He ran our classroom like a well-oiled machinery. He made funny jokes which were sort of dry in humor but still quite entertaining.

I miss him. He and I exchanged Christmas cards every year after I graduated from high school. One Christmas he didn't send me a card. About a year and 4 months later, his wife sent me a card telling me that he passed away. I was so shocked and so sad. I always told myself that I would go back to visit him when I became something. I guess I shouldn't have waited so long. I miss him so much. :(

I hope that he is watching me now from heaven and is proud of me because I chose to follow in his footsteps. Maybe one day, my class will run like a well-oiled machine too.

The picture above isn't his picture. It's just an image that I found to represent Mr. K. because he was always young at heart. I like how the young man in the picture looks wistful and is looking out toward the open water...

On relationships

The average marriage in the United States lasts an average of 7 years (it is not "till death do us part"). One in three first marriages ends in divorce as do two in three second marriages. A University of Minnesota study of 15,000 married couples recently concluded that 50% of married people will never be happy, unless they get unusually good therapy. About 30% of marriages are "empty shells"--little love, little talk, little joy. Only about 25% of couples have "really good marriages."

Effective Communication Skills And Common Interests
A good relationship is virtually impossible without good communication. The most important quality of your relationship is how well you and your mate communicate with and relate to each other. Effective communication is the lifeline of every relationship. Communication means talking, listening, reading body language, understanding, learning each other's sexual behavior and caring about what each other is saying.
Feelings
Research indicates that couples are more content than ever before to be in loveless relationships. Couples are choosing to get together [or to stay together] for reasons that have nothing to do with a personal intimate love for each other. The reasons include money, power, prestige, status, familiarity, or what they deem to be best for the children. Although most couples claim to feel some degree of love for their mate, the actual feeling of being “in love” has almost become a thing of the past. When you are in love, the brain triggers a surplus of endorphins which cause the exact same high that drug addicts experience. This level of excitement bubbles up and permeates your heart, mind, soul and every fiber of your being.
Values And Integrity
It is always beneficial for couples to share similar values. Couples split everyday because they cannot agree on cleaning house, having children, raising children, going to church, or many other decisions that eventually take its toll on a relationship. It is important that you and your mate come to terms with each other's values, attitudes, opinions and beliefs about issues.
Financial Potential
It would be great if we could all just live on love or simply the "fat of the land". But unfortunately, we must have money to survive, and surplus money to thrive. The amount of money it takes for you to be comfortable is your own personal choice. But it is essential for you and your mate to understand each other's financial habits, values about money and his or her financial goals. Spending habits are an indication of one’s character.

-A. Adam, PhD

I always wanted to be a marital counselor and at my crossroads of life, I had to choose from being a teacher or being a marital counselor. Well, guess which one I chose?

Are you left handed?

Being Left Handed

One out of every ten people walking down the street is left-handed. Everywhere they go, left-handed people come across tools that were designed for right handed persons.

Medical researchers have searched long and hard for what causes people to be left handed or right handed. The researchers have concluded that left handed people are left handed for the same reason as brown eyed people have brown eyes. It's just one of those things that shows up in one out of every ten people.

A really interesting question is whether there is any connection between left handed people and creative genius. Some of history's most creative minds have been left-handed.

In the category of art, both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were left handed. In the category of music, Ludwig van Beethoven was left handed. In the field of science and invention, you find Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein. In the field of motion pictures, Charlie Chaplin.

Bobby Fisher, the modern chess genius, is left handed. So too musical geniuses Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Wynton Marsalis.

Each of the these persons had a mind so exceptional as to be head and shoulders above anyone else in their field. So even though it may be more difficult for a left handed person to live in a right handed world, lefties can know that they are in good company. Beethoven and Einstein had it tough, too.

-P. Shapiro

Are you left handed? My five-year-old son is...and he seems to be slower at learning in writing and reading than my other two sons. He is very good creatively and artistically.

My mom and sister are both ambidexterous. They can use both the right and left hand. My mom, however, says she can only draw with her left hand because she was born a leftie. They forced her in school to be right handed because in Japanese, it is very hard to write in sumi, the Japanese characters, with your left hand.

In high school...

Hmm... since people ask, "What were you like in high school?"

Well, let's just say that my boyfriend said, "I saved you from your geekdom."

I think I followed in my sister's footsteps and I tried to be in all the clubs that she was in. My sis graduated high school in three years. I think she regrets it. I had long straight hair all the way down my back, I had a part in the middle, and usually I wore my hair back behind my ears. One day when I was in 9th or 10th grade, my mom bought me a thin, yellow, metal hairband that I liked to wear. I wore it so often that I started to get a bald spat where it rubbed. A girl in my biology class, Dawn, she liked to yank my hairband down and laugh about it. She was mean. Whenever someone from our table was absent, she would talk about them. She used to tease a girl named Jill, she said that people called her the "Breast within" not the beast within... and she said you know why. She had this annoying habit of trying to embarrass people.

I was in the math club, Spanish club, Leo Club, and NHS. I always felt like I had to be better than my sister. But in my eyes, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't.

I had a lot of fun in high school. I still keep in touch with my friends. In college, unless you dorm, I don't think you will make many close friends. My mom was really strict so she said no shorts, no short skirts. Therefore, I normally wore jeans, a t-shirt, and my New Balance. I had 53 different t-shirts and I prided myself on it. :) (snort, snort). I think ignorance is bliss...

My favorite story that I shared with my first periods about this subject on what I looked like in high school is the following: One day, I was walking home from school alone. There were two girls that were sitting on the wall giggling and watching me. I felt really self-conscious. I was wearing a little Holly Hobby looking dress which was red with long, puffy sleeves and it had a little pinafore, apron thing in the front which had a picture of a doll or something on the front. One of the giggling girls talked to me a few steps after I walked away. She said, "Scuse me... what are you being initiated for?" I was taken off guard. I didn't know what she was talking about, initiation for clubs was already over last week. "I'm not," I replied, "Initiation finished last week." After I walked away, the two girls were howling with laughter.

This is my hero...

I once read about Abraham Lincoln, the greatest president and man ever to walk this earth. He faced many challenges and setbacks, yet he pressed on and never gave up.

He was thought to have a disease called Marfan syndrome which is a connective tissue disorder. It makes the limbs limp and the people with this disorder are taller than normal. (Lincoln was 6 foot 4 when he was 19).

He lost eight elections, failed in business many times, and suffered a nervous breakdown. He could have quit many times, but he didn't. Alas, if he had stopped pursuing his dream to become president... how would that have changed the United States?

(With the steadfast belief that all men are created equal, Lincoln fought for and issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 which abolished slavery in the United States.)

Here are some quotes by Abraham Lincoln:

On Democracy:
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent."

Who is your hero?

Online Classrooms

You do know that in the future, there will be more and more online classes. I know that in some states, especially for high school, some students choose to do their classes online rather than go to school.

I can tell you that it is a very different environment. There are pros and cons to it though. I went to U.H. when I majored in English and it was a great learning environment. It was wonderful interacting with all ages, some younger, some older than me. Depending on the classes you took, some were 300 to a class with one professor and 4 assistants while others were smaller classes similar to the ones in high school.

I then went on in my later years to take my Masters in Education via online with the University of Phoenix. It was a pretty awesome and mind-boggling experience. I think that I am pretty shy and therefore in face-to-face classroom situations, I had a lot of problems expressing myself. However, in the online situation, I was the most active member in the class. What is difficult with online classes is the amount of work involved. We had individual threads to discussion questions to answer every week and we had to respond to our peers' comments too. Then we had to do individual projects or papers while we did group projects simultaneously. What was sad was that we, as individuals, were penalized when the rest of our group members did not hold up their end of the deal and our project was deducted points due to their shortcomings. :(

(I know this sounds so geeky but... I ended up in one class with an "A-" rather than the "A" that I deserved and... I could not be valedictorian.)

Also in the online environment, because you weren't physically there, the teacher only knew you were there when you checked in and participated in discussion. In a regular classroom, all you had to do was sit there and show your face and the teacher knew you were there.

But I enjoyed both situations. Of course, when you are younger and you want to socialize rather than just trying to get a degree as soon as possible, avoiding traffic, working a job, then you should go to the regular college. However, if in the future you decide that you want to earn a degree while working, or you decide to change jobs altogether, you might consider getting a degree online. :)

Riddles...

What's greater than God, more evil than Satan, what do poor people have, and rich people don't?

The second one is courtesy of Shiloh and Rory in period 1:

I can't remember how it goes so here is my version:

A man died and he went somewhere between heaven and hell where he met two identical twin brothers. One brother always lied and the other brother always told the truth. There are two unmarked doors, one leads to heaven and the other door leads to hell. You are allowed to ask one question to find out which door leads to heaven. What question do you ask?

Just like Rafaela at the window...here is my poem

Windows

There are many windows to my soul

some that are clear

full of beauty, hope, and love

others that are of smoked glass

with tethers and bars

If I were a butterfly, I would be free

nothing would hold me

I could do what I wished

go where I wanted

although life would be short

I would be happy

Instead I am encased in a body

that cannot escape these confines

I thought I did

but I am still a prisoner

of his manipulations

he is evil

a mastermind

a puppeteer

I seek counseling

so that I can remain solid

so I can soon face the biggest battle

of my life

they say to stand up and face your fears

so I am

I see the hurt he is causing

no longer towards me

just at my child

nothing but lies

manipulations

unfair tactics

he calls me names,

ones that I can't repeat

he spreads rumors

I am constantly in court

what is a window?

sometimes it is a pain

because through this pane

I can only see the beauty on the other side

and I long to breathe

my window is latticed

it is fettered

it is barred

my life should be free

so please God set me free

What do you see? Inkblot personality test.

What do you see? I won't give you a list of answers to choose from otherwise it will influence your thoughts. Remember, an inkblot test is similar to tarot cards, both of them work under the subconscious mind.

In the tarot card, similar to Elenita witch woman in Mango Street, the other person that has some psychic power can "read" into your future.

I have gone to three psychics, just for fun. Some of them will ask if you know of someone whose name starts with a certain letter such as "L," then they let you talk it out and figure it out. This works with your mind and subconscious. Everything is an interaction between the psychic and yourself. So, remember, this is all in fun. :)

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes...

I know... I know... you might not think it's funny, but I thought it was hilarious. My best friend from high school who also became a teacher sent it to me via email last year.

1. That is not right... Sum Ting Wong

2. Are you harboring a fugitive?.. Hu Yu Hai Ding

3. Small Horse ....Tai Ni Po Ni

4. I bumped into a coffee table.... Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni

5. It is very dark in here.... Wao So Dim

6. I thought you were on a diet ....Wai Yu Mun Ching

7. Did you go to the beach?.... Wai Yu So Tan

8. Our meeting is scheduled for next week ....Wai Yu Kum Nao

Suggestions for using my blog

Hello...

What do you suggest would be a great way to use blogs in teaching? I used to have a blackboard.com site during my student teaching. It was a temporary site which allowed you to post homework and what we did in class for one year for free. It was pretty interesting and easy to use. All the posts I made were like post it notes on a bulletin board.

I don't really think that the blackboard site had too many hits, only a handful of students logged on to it and made use of it.

It no longer exists though because it was a temporary site and they were just hoping to get more subscribers that way. Very expensive...many of the more high tech universities use it. I don't know of any Hawaii high school that utilizes it.

What would be something that you would like to see on my blog that you think would help you in class?

Let me know... I am all ears. :)

On your 4th qtr final

Hello

Just a little hint. When you take your 4th qtr final, there will be a political cartoon which you will need to analyze. Here is an example. This isn't the one that is on the test, but it is a political editorial nevertheless.

So just take a practice. Ask yourself the following questions:

What is it making fun of? What statement is it trying to make? What makes it humorous?

What is the best book title you have ever heard of?

Here is my favorite book title. It is written by J. D. Salinger, the author of Catcher in the Rye.

It is called: This sandwich has no mayonnaise.

If you were to write a book in the future, what would you call your book? Shhh... it's a secret but, in the future I might be writing a book, sort of like Esperanza who wants to save her female friends stuck in Mango Street. My book will be called Living in Control and it will be published under my pseudonym to protect friends and family and others who find themselves in the book.

If I were to write a children's book in the future, I would probably call it something fun and animated and cartoonish like Jellybean Jean.

You can use a screen name...

If you wish to be incognito, you may use your screen name. Just remember to identify yourself by emailing me at caryn_fukuda@notes.k12.hi.us. Otherwise, you can use your first name and put the period number after it, for example, Sammie from period 5.

Catcher in the Rye quotes

"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life." -- H.C.

For some reason, I enjoyed reading The Catcher in the Rye immensely. I read it some time during my college years for a class. Strange as Holden was, I could relate to his character and his way of thinking.

I think that after high school you enter college and it expands your mind. You start to realize things that you never even had time to think of. In high school, it is all about doing your homework and studying for your tests and getting good grades. In college, we don't have a lot of homework for English class. You just have papers to write and really good discussions. You sit in a circle and your teacher is part of the circle. You can call the professor by his or her first name. College is a great institution.

The above-mentioned quote reminded me of someone that I worked with during my college part-time jobs. He designed shirts for HIC, his aunt was one of the owners. He had large ears and was very quiet. He did airbrushing in the store. People had to point out what designs they wanted or to write out their requests because he was deaf. When he spoke, he reminded me of a fish. He made these strange popping sounds with his mouth, sort of like what a fish might sound like out of the water.

My favorite quotes from Atticus Finch

What is your favorite quote from any of the novels that we have read this year?

Here are some of my favorite quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird:

(I believe that Atticus Finch represents one of the most humane attorneys left in this world.)

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

"It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what."

"But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal -- there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court."

I have worked for a short period of time in the legal system as a legal secretary. The attorney now works as a federal judge in Hawaii. Ironically, the knowledge that I gained from that job is what is keeping me afloat in my fight in the legal system today. There are so many crooked attorneys out there and it is a pity. Where are all the Atticus Finchs in the world? Most of the more powerful and well-known attorneys only care about their reputation and money.

The strange thing is my grandfather in Japan, whom I never had the chance to meet, was one of the best known criminal attorneys in Japan. He had many friends and acquaintances which ranged from the yakuzas to the foreign diplomats. My grandpa wanted my uncle, his son, to be an attorney, however, my uncle had other plans.

Some clean jokes...

Hmm... my last postings have been quite depressing. So, here are some things to brighten your day. Do you know any good jokes?

How about...what's brown and sticky?
A stick.

Mango Street's females

Do you know females that are imprisoned by the men in their lives or vice versa? Do you know males that are imprisoned by the women in their lives?

I know for some of you the stories of the unhappy females in Mango Street come as a surprise and it's hard for you to relate to it. I just wanted to share some stories of females that Iknow in my life that went through what these women such as Sally, Minerva and Rafaela are going through.

It all started in a little house in Japan. When I was 2 or 3, I still remember the night I woke up because I heard something. I pattered out into the cold kitchen in my pajamas. My older sister was still sleeping. My former father had my mom by her hair and he was ramming her head into the refrigerator. He was drunk and he was angry about something. They stopped momentarily when they realized I was standing there watching. I was so shocked, I couldn't move or do or say anything. I was really small and yet that image has stuck in my mind to this day. All I remember is my mom smiling through her tears and telling me to go to sleep because everything was okay.

I don't know my natural father. All I remember about him was that he was thin, tall, abusive, and that he saved me once when Japan had an earthquake. I was taking a bath when it started. All the dishes started falling off of the shelves. He came, wrapped me in a red blanket, and took me to safety.

When I saw the movie "Enough" with Jennifer Lopez, it reminded me of the many women in my life that I know who experienced something similar.

Here is one of my poems... just like Minerva who writes poems

tomorrow and tomorrow

I hear words
songs
voices in my head
I don't ever wish to be mislead

sometimes I wonder why
but then slowly it dawns on me
slowly like rain
softly like the wind
it blows down on me
wake up
look up
open your eyes
it's right in front of you
just embrace it
the love of your life will never happen

you had it once and it was perfect
but then when you looked too close
it started falling apart at the seams
I miss you
I miss us
but there is nothing else to do

every day I wonder
if I made a mistake
every day I wonder if I could take it all back
but I took the other path
the one most don't take
went down that winding road
and as Frost says 'way led to way'
and I am never to see my way back again
for better or for worse

I dreamt of you
the other night
you were so incredibly far away
so far away
not a stone's throw
and I missed us
but I couldn't cry
my voice melted in the wind

sometimes I wonder what I am doing with my life
my time
nothing really makes sense
I look too hard
it's like Monet
I look too hard and nothing is special
nothing is beautiful
like my life
all the colors bleed together

I wish that I could be beautiful again
have that self-confidence
and be whomever I want to be
turning into that pretty one across the street
imitating her smile
her sway
her confidence

or just be the happy one in someone's embrace
I just want to be
don't you understand?
I don't want to be another pretty face
I want to be yours
your doll face
yours
forever
to love and to hold

but it can never be
I miss you
I wish sometimes that we never met
then you would have just been a splash of paint
inconspicuous
part of a backdrop
washed away
hidden away with other crazy colors
blue
hues of gray

but then I know that my life wouldn't be what it is now
I miss you
don't you forget that...
and please don't wash me away
out of your life

My favorite American actress

I think that I like Julia Stiles because she is someone I want to be like. She is very independent, or at least the roles that she chooses for herself is. She is smart and yet vulnerable. She is very real and she isn't afraid to make mistakes.

I like people that show who they are and aren't afraid to let others know that they aren't perfect because who is perfect?

What did you want to be when you were small?

I think that when I was pretty small, I wanted to be someone like my doctor. He saved my mom's life when she had a really bad case of food poisoning. Her husband, my former father did not take her to the hospital because he was busy golfing with his co-workers. She made it to the doctor by herself just in time.

He was actually my sister's and my doctor. Now he is my children's doctor. At that time when my mom needed help, he was there for her. My mom didn't know much English then and my doctor was a bilingual doctor from Japan. He is very smart and graduated from an American college in medicine.

:)

One of my favorite song lyrics

I don't know why but I like the lyrics to this song. My favorite line is "Eleanor Rigby, keeps her face in the jar by the door."

What are some of your favorite lyrics?

Eleanor Rigby
by
Lennon/McCartney

Lyrics: Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door Who is it for
All the lonely people Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people Where do they all belong?

Eleanor Rigby, died in the church and was buried along with her name Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave No one was saved All the lonely people Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people Where do they all belong?

How I became a teacher

Is it all in a name? In my previous post, I shared with you that I chose my own name of Caryn which means "one of the seven stars in the constellation Orion." I thought it was pretty. Therefore when I used to take Spanish in high school, I called myself Estrella which means "Star."

In my dream one night, some years ago, I dreamt of seven young girls holding up a sign that said the words "PLEIADES." The sign had stars all around and it was very shiny and bright. It was as if someone was trying hard to get my attention, probably the person who tries to talk to you at night through your dreams, the man from upstairs. :)

The girls looked sad, finally one of them spoke, she said, " Why don't you want to teach us any more?"

The girls were referring to my teaching stint of teaching Spanish culture and language to 3rd - 6th graders out in Ewa Beach. I quit teaching after a bad experience with a long term sub job I had at Ilima Intermediate in Ewa Beach.

There were seven girls because coincidentally, there were 7 girls in the Pleaides myth. In the pleaides myth, it relates to how there are 7 stars or a cluster of stars in the night sky near the constellation Orion. One of the stars, the 7th star, married a mortal and she hides from view from shame. She is the lost star. In my interpretation of my dream, I was the lost star, the lost soul.

After I quit teaching or subbing anyway, I felt a great hole in my soul that could not be replaced.
But I never knew what that hole was. I ignored it and someone finally told me that they thought I could be a good teacher some day. I said no, absolutely not. And he warned me saying that unless I do what it was intended for me to do in this lifetime, I would not make that strange emptiness go away.

He was right. :) So I went back to school to get a masters in education and here I am. :)

My favorite Japanese actress

Here is a picture of my favorite Japanese actress, Tokiwa Takako. She made it big in Japan and in Hawaii because of all the J-dramas. Sort of like how the K-dramas are now popular here. She then went on to make pictures in China because her following was growing.

I think I like her because I am formerly from Japan. If you were paying attention during the first week of school or so, I mentioned that I was born there and when my mom divorced and remarried I moved to Hawaii and became an American citizen in 4th grade where I chose my own first name "Caryn."

Check out this tripod site that I just started

http://carynyayoi.tripod.com/index.html

This site was what I originally wanted to do for my pderi project. Pderi is a program that teachers go through to earn credits for a higher pay scale. As teachers, we take classes just like you do and study and write out portfolios. When the portfolio passes, then we earn the credit and slowly earn our way up to a higher pay scale. Every 15 pd credits equals an increase in pay.

So just because we teach doesn't mean that we just give you folks things to work on and get graded on, we still continue to learn too.

I do enjoy it though.

I am a professional student. :) Meaning, I will always be a student.

On this tripod site, there is another link to a former website that I did during my student teaching three years ago.

I hope you look at it and like it.

You can make comments about either of the sites, although the link above it still under construction.

A view from my window

Here is what I see outside my window...

How to analyze your dreams.

Here is a way to analyze your dream. If you read my previous post, it talks about my dream of seals and an ocean or sea.

Here is what the dream dictionary said:

They say that dreams are the connection closest to the man upstairs. In your dreams at night, your unconscious is trying to get to your conscious brain. Trying to send you messages. You need to know whether you dream in color or black and white. They say that dogs never dream in color.

Tell me what some of your more interesting or unusal dreams have been and maybe I can help you analyze it. Of course, the dreamer can analyze it best.

So my dream:

Seal
To see a seal in your dream, indicates your playfulness and your ability to use and incorporate differing ideas and thoughts into a situation. Seals are a symbol of good luck, success, and spiritual understanding. It also signifies prosperity, faithful friends, and security in love. The dream symbol may also be a pun and indicate you need to put closure on some situation.

Right now, I am trying to put a closure to a relationship. The relationship ended in 2004 and finalized in 2005, yet the other party wants to drag things out and not let go. So the pun they are saying is to "seal" it off. Put an end to it. :)

I like the prosperity and faithful friends part also the security in love.
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/-
Check out this site.

Sea
To see the sea in your dream, represents your unconscious and your transition between your unconscious and conscious. It also often represents your emotions. The dream may also be a pun on your understanding and perception of a situation. "I see" or perhaps there is something you need to "see" more clearly. Alternatively, the dream may indicate a need to reassure yourself or offer reassurance to someone.

I always need to reassure myself. I do not as a lot of friends say "believe" in myself. And I have always had the wool pulled over my eyes so I definitely need to "see" a lot better now. Though friends have always tried to tell me things, I never wanted to "see" or believe them until it was too late.

Analyzing Dreams

Have you ever analyzed your dreams? If you type in Dream Dictionary, you will come up with a whole slew of interesting sites. Some of my favorite sites are Dream Central, Dream Mood, and Dream Lover. Click on Dream Dictionary and when you click on one of the alphabet letters, depending on what your dream was about, it will take you to it. For example, "F" for "feet."

I will tell you a strange one that I had last night. It could be because I am still sick. I dreamt that I was a baby seal and there was a larger seal that was protecting me like an uncle or daddy seal. We were both stuck on an island made of sand and there was one huge palm tree. All around us there was dark water everywhere. It was growing dark, night was approaching. We were both really hungry. I said no, but the daddy or male, uncle seal felt responsible and said he had to go into the Arctic ocean and find food for us. There were many scary creatures in there that we knew of and I didn't want to be left alone. I was scared. I kept making sad seal noises and doing 360 degree spins crying out for him, telling him to come back.

But he had gone and the strange thing was that all of this was not real, it was a simulation. It was sort of like how they have the criminal being interviewed and there is a one-way window where the other policemen can see the criminal? I was being watched. I was somehow brainwashed by magic or something into thinking that I was really a seal on an island. So in reality what the people on the other side was watching was me, in the shape of a seal making sad seal noises.

And the psychologists and other analysts were saying "Hmm... in the survival of the fittest world, she would never make it." Then they flashed the night light on me. And I panicked because I am afraid of the vast ocean because I can't swim and because of sharks and other scary inhabitants. But what was worse, I am also afraid of the dark and night. All the weirdos come out at night, so my mom always said.

So they kept doing the night simulation and flashing that dark light and I just kept panicking and wondering what to do. I thought "Oh, this is even scarier than the dark sea that surrounds me. Maybe I will lie down to sleep and hope for the best and then it will be morning and the male uncle seal will return." But I was too afraid to relax or fall asleep. And I kept making these pathetic seal sounds and being sad and forlorn.

My favorite books

Hello

My favorite author is Haruki Murakami. Some of his titles are "Wild Sheep Chase" and "Kafka on the Shore." I have read all of his books. For poets, I used to like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. I still like her writing, they are called confessional poetry, some might even call it a "spill."

A really good site to view poems from amateurs and teens and people of all ages are at a site called Starlite Cafe. They have been around for about 10 years now.

Here is an excerpt from Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.

A dark, omnipresent pool of water.

It was probably always there, hidden away somewhere. But when the time comes it silently rushes out, chilling every cell in your body. You drown in that cruel flood, gasping for breath. You cling to a vent near the ceiling, struggling, but the air you manage to breathe is dry and burns your throat. Water and thirst, cold and heat--these supposedly opposite elements combine to assault you.

The world is a huge space, but the space that will take you in--and it doesn't have to be very big--is nowhere to be found. You seek a voice, but what do you get? Silence. You look for silence, but guess what? All you hear over and over and over is the voice of this omen. And sometimes this prophetic voice pushes a secret switch hidden deep inside your brain.

Your heart is like a great river after a long spell of rain, full to the banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That's it. That's my heart.

So tell me, what is an excerpt from one of your favorite books?

Matt and Me in Waikiki

Hi all!

OMG! I finally figured out how to upload the images. This is my son, Matthew, and I when we went to Waikiki last summer with my other two sons. We just stayed one night in an Outrigger Hotel. This picture was taken at the Waikiki Shopping Plaza right across from the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

How to leave me a comment

Hi again!

I had almost forgotten how to do this blogging thing. I took a class last summer and boy, time sure flies and the mind does forget.

So, when you are ready to make a comment on any of my posts, click the comment button under that particular post and a window will pop up.

Make sure that you hit publish comment and then it will be a little while before it appears. I usually go out of the page and then come back.

For Starters, here is my poem

Darkness
it fills me
from time to time
Most of the time I am happy
liquid sunshine
happier than most

Then it happened
one day my teacher said
You are always smiling
but I believe that underneath that exterior
you mask some sadness

It was a curse
now it has become an open wound
a sore reminder
I long for the days of yore
when I was happy
sweeter than sunshine
fluffier than a cloud
my eyes, my mouth
all filled only with happiness
lemon drop dreams

Now sometimes, it is not so
I despair, I fear
especially the unknown
I know I have to keep pressing forward
but once in a while
I get away from it all

I love poetry
especially Neruda, Lorca, Rumi
I wish I could open up all the books
and just read
all alone
in a beautiful open library
sit for hours in comfy chairs
oblivious to others
without a care in the world

but soon I must return
descending quickly
all the words then become
nothing
like dust in the wind
whipping past me
all my words are taken
straight out of my mouth
from the depths of my soul
unreachable, unfathomable

and I fall
just as Emily Dickinson
I descend
lower and lower
until I am
no more...

Hello everyone!

Hi!

This is your last opportunity for extra credit. Somehow this year and especially this quarter has flown by rather quickly.

Many of you have experience with MySpace, therefore, I figured that this would be a cinch for you.

This will be an evaluation for me. Tell me honestly, what you enjoyed about my class, what you did learn, what assignment you liked the most, and what you think would have made class more enjoyable.

One last thing, what book do you think I should teach in the future for junior English? Full title and author's name please. Also include a quick comment on why you like that particular book so much. :)

Another option for you, post your favorite poem here. Include the title and the full name of the author. If you would like to post your own poem, that is good too.