Monday Update

Family and Home
Tina, Isaac, and I spent the weekend mall hopping. We had a few gift cards that we wanted to use up and took advantage of the sunny weather to do so. We started off at Valley Fair and Santana Row on Friday. We had a Container Store gift card and walked the aisles to decide what to get. The Container Store is a bit over-priced, but if you're a gadget person, you'll enjoy all the different gadgets. There were a few things that we liked, but we didn't have the necessary measurements. So, we decided to come back on Saturday after getting the measurements at home.

On Saturday, we once again hit up the Container Store at Santana Row and ended up buying a few different items, including a few slide-out baskets for our cabinets. We have deep cabinets in the kitchen, and it can be a pain to pull out pots and pans just to get to a something in the back. The slide-out basket gives us a nice drawer-type system in the cabinets.

The house itself is coming along. We're still living in the Bonus Room, waiting for ur carpet to come in. We should pick that out this week cuz I'm itchin to move into the master bedroom.

LIKHA
On Sunday, we trekked out to SF State to audition for the Ethnic Dance Festival. We've been fortunate to have been chosen the past few years. Hopefully the trend sticks! This was the very first year that we tried out using string pieces. We performed Paseo and Jota Manilena. All prior auditions were percussion pieces. I think we have a good shot at getting it.

At the end of rehearsal yesterday, Kuya Rudi announced some of our upcoming gigs. It's going to be a busy busy year!

Major Shows
Contra Costa College in April
Canada in June
Brazil in August
Winter show in December

Side gigs
There are always pending side gigs, including a PCN in the works.

It doesn't look like too much, but given that we only rehearse dance on Sundays, it's going to be a tight season. Add to that all of the music rehearsals that musicians committ too and we get a busy busy season.

Work
Work is going great. I still enjoy and look forward to working with the students at Contra Costa College. The diversity of students here makes teaching each class a unique experience. Last semester, one of my intermediate algebra students was highly visually impaired. Imagine trying to learn math when you can't see the board! I put in extra effort to make sure that my statements were clear and concise, without using too many pronouns. I repeated everything that I wrote on the board, twice. I preprinted my lecture examples in large type (48pt) for her to refer to. Having her in my class really made me a better teacher. How exciting too that she consistently kept the highest grade in the class all semester! The human spirit can be so strong.

I found out today that she wrote a letter to the college president commending me on my teaching and requesting that I be recognized as an exemplary teacher. She also gave me a $20 gift certificate to the movies for Tina and I (after I submitted grades of course!) But of course, the real gift for me is seeing her enjoy and excel at what I was teaching.