I'm FINALLY back on my meds. Today....just this afternoon. Yes, it took that long. For teachers in Hawaii...well, first of all, Hawaii has only one school district - for the entire state. This actually doesn't sound like a bad idea, but in the real world it's horrible. The state DOE is incompetent and it seems, petty and corrupt. So, one district, one teacher's union. Which is just as incompetent, petty and corrupt. Charter school teachers are forced to be in this union, which is ironic because they take our dues and lobby against charter schools. Pretty cool, huh?
But wait, that's not all. A few years ago, the union figured it wasn't ripping off enough money, so they somehow got the DOE (or whomever) to let it take over providing health insurance for teachers. The union provides the health care. For progressives, this sounds like a dream come true. But for the actual teachers, it's a nightmare. The union keeps telling me I have health insurance (and charging me for it) but I don't come up on the HMO's records. So after a couple of weeks of phone merry-go-round, I finally got in to see a doctor today. The doctor had never heard of one of the meds I'm on and Kaiser (my HMO) doesn't carry it. So they have me on another one that is similar with the same side effects. That's a...relief?
I now have this dilemma. I just happened to get this one doctor, that's who was available and I needed to get in immediately. I didn't want to tell anyone about this, but it was getting pretty bad. I was having constant headaches and I cut myself on the back of the neck and I started bleeding as if I was just stabbed. I never bled so much in my life. Anyway, I really needed to get my blood pressure down.
So I got this doctor, now and the problem is that she's really cute. I'm mature enough to handle it, I guess... And I could switch to one of the other two at the clinic if I wanted to, but...I just don't want to end up pulling a Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack: "Ooh, my arm...it's broken..."
OK, three hours until I'm on the air at Mana'o.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Stop Trying to Make Me Feel Better
There's a lot I could bitch about right now, but everything here that's messed up is giving me a headache (more car issues, my alleged healthcare, my alleged health, my alleged job and still having no money...for starters) but I figure, why give all you that headache as well. But of course my co-workers have tried to help. After telling them about the fantabulous little nuggets I got in the mail yesterday (don't ask) this is what they said:
P: Why is it EVERYONE I know who comes to Maui, including me has 5 months of hell? Everyone! (Note: I've only been here 5 weeks)
D: I know. I hated Maui the first year-and-a-half I was here.
Dave: You guys aren't helping. Stop trying to make me feel better.
I should go back to Hana for the weekend (see The Road to Hana) but I'm still scratching the mosquito bites from that day I went there.
************************************************************
OK, let's go onto a different topic. There's something I've noticed about Maui. I have no hard data on this, only anecdotal evidence, but I'm fairly certain that per capita Maui has the most guys with ZZ Top beards. Oh sure, Georgia or Arkansas may have more in number, but there's not that many residents on Maui. It's freakin 85 degrees every day. Who the hell would want a big ass chin slinky? And I'm not talking about homeless dudes (there's a lot of them, too). These are semi-regular dudes with big as beards. I'm at a loss. I mean, if you made me pick what kind of physical feature most guys would have around here I would have picked peg legs or melanoma before big-ass beards.
It's just another Mauian (sic?) mystery.
P: Why is it EVERYONE I know who comes to Maui, including me has 5 months of hell? Everyone! (Note: I've only been here 5 weeks)
D: I know. I hated Maui the first year-and-a-half I was here.
Dave: You guys aren't helping. Stop trying to make me feel better.
I should go back to Hana for the weekend (see The Road to Hana) but I'm still scratching the mosquito bites from that day I went there.
************************************************************
OK, let's go onto a different topic. There's something I've noticed about Maui. I have no hard data on this, only anecdotal evidence, but I'm fairly certain that per capita Maui has the most guys with ZZ Top beards. Oh sure, Georgia or Arkansas may have more in number, but there's not that many residents on Maui. It's freakin 85 degrees every day. Who the hell would want a big ass chin slinky? And I'm not talking about homeless dudes (there's a lot of them, too). These are semi-regular dudes with big as beards. I'm at a loss. I mean, if you made me pick what kind of physical feature most guys would have around here I would have picked peg legs or melanoma before big-ass beards.
It's just another Mauian (sic?) mystery.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Where the Hell's My Diploma?
There are three programs in the charter school I work for. The "virtual" school - which is a glorified homeschool program, the high school, and now the STEM Program. That's the one I'm in. To transport our kids around, the high school has two, seriously ghetto vans and we have two newer, but getting ghettoier by the minute, vans. Today, there was an African Drumming assembly at the high school. To get all the kids from our program over to the high school, someone had to bring a ghetto van over because two weren't enough. So someone drove it over and came into the building to let us know she was here.
So we start leaving the building to get into the vans. I'm one of the last to get there and I see all my kids standing outside our (ghetto) van. "What's going on? Get in the van," I said with all the authority of a Dad getting ready for a family trip.
"We can't. There's a chicken in the van!" came the reply.
Yep. An f-ing chicken. Perched on one of the seats and pissed off. Seems that the person who brought the van left a window open. So we opened all the doors and scared the thing out. The problem is we scared the shit out of it. Literally. This chicken crapped everywhere. It's a 15 person van, it shit on 3 seats and the dashboard. The dashboard! How the hell did it get on the dashboard?
We're already late for the assembly so I had my kids sit as around the dukee as possible and when they were in the school, I got cleaning supplies and spent my afternoon cleaning chicken shit for the ride back to our school.
I did not go to college for this.
So we start leaving the building to get into the vans. I'm one of the last to get there and I see all my kids standing outside our (ghetto) van. "What's going on? Get in the van," I said with all the authority of a Dad getting ready for a family trip.
"We can't. There's a chicken in the van!" came the reply.
Yep. An f-ing chicken. Perched on one of the seats and pissed off. Seems that the person who brought the van left a window open. So we opened all the doors and scared the thing out. The problem is we scared the shit out of it. Literally. This chicken crapped everywhere. It's a 15 person van, it shit on 3 seats and the dashboard. The dashboard! How the hell did it get on the dashboard?
We're already late for the assembly so I had my kids sit as around the dukee as possible and when they were in the school, I got cleaning supplies and spent my afternoon cleaning chicken shit for the ride back to our school.
I did not go to college for this.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Test 'em, Rest 'em Then Do Something That Ends in est
My fellow teachers will sympathize...
Take every scrap of paperwork you have to do in your school, add in phone calls to parents and state standards. Digitize the lot and put it in a web-based computer program that takes all the fun out of using a computer. What do you have? PowerSchool - the new bane of my existence. Some sick bastard designed this piece of garbage.
I spent most of my weekend dealing with this digital monstrosity only to find out I was doing it all wrong and was at school an extra 3 hours to fix it today (plus the hour at home).
I'm really trying not to bitch so much, but this program will drag this program down, it's so difficult to use.
Anyway, so that's why I didn't get to post the pictures I took last Friday. So here are a few. You can look at all of them here.
Every morning, before we go into school we do our Oli. It's a Hawaiian chant to ask the gods for wisdom. (they haven't come through yet)
After the Oli on Friday, we tested the tykes. We're in middle school and they can't multiply.
Then we took half the kids to the beach...to clean!
Go to the link above to see the rest. I'm sleepy.
Take every scrap of paperwork you have to do in your school, add in phone calls to parents and state standards. Digitize the lot and put it in a web-based computer program that takes all the fun out of using a computer. What do you have? PowerSchool - the new bane of my existence. Some sick bastard designed this piece of garbage.
I spent most of my weekend dealing with this digital monstrosity only to find out I was doing it all wrong and was at school an extra 3 hours to fix it today (plus the hour at home).
I'm really trying not to bitch so much, but this program will drag this program down, it's so difficult to use.
Anyway, so that's why I didn't get to post the pictures I took last Friday. So here are a few. You can look at all of them here.
Every morning, before we go into school we do our Oli. It's a Hawaiian chant to ask the gods for wisdom. (they haven't come through yet)
After the Oli on Friday, we tested the tykes. We're in middle school and they can't multiply.
Then we took half the kids to the beach...to clean!
Go to the link above to see the rest. I'm sleepy.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Well, That Was Fast!
I have a fill-in shift at Manao Radio already. This Friday, August 31st, I'll be on from 8pm to midnight. (Yes, on the East Coast that's 2am - 6am, sorry) It's going to be a blast.
I spent some time there today, getting to know the control board, look at the music library (wow!) and asking a few questions.
So if you're up ridiculously late, you can listen to the show at www.manaoradio.com.
And, yes, I take requests.
I spent some time there today, getting to know the control board, look at the music library (wow!) and asking a few questions.
So if you're up ridiculously late, you can listen to the show at www.manaoradio.com.
And, yes, I take requests.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Mean Streets of Maui
A few weeks ago I went out with some co-workers for Pau Hana (basically, Friday happy hour). And there's this guy who's been here a year or so who really reminds me of an uncle I don't really interact with any more. In some ways, it's kinda creepy. But anyway he's telling me how Maui will "spit some people out." Like it's the Mean Streets of Maui. Look, it's pretty simple. This is a great place for a vacation (I assume), but the only way you can live here and not go nuts is if you don't really care about what's happening around you. For the most part there is no sense of community here. Sure, there is within ethnic & racial groups, but even that is waning (like everywhere in the world). So if you just care about your personal satisfaction: when you can go surfing, etc, this is a wonderful place.
When you talk to all the non-locals they bitch about everyone. And they have no sense of irony either. And when you talk to the locals, they bitch about the non-locals and tourists (with good reason).
I totally understand why people leave Hawaii, which they do at an incredible rate. This place is ridiculous....again, to live in. This place doesn't "spit people out". People with some freakin common sense get the hell out. Having said that, I'm here...I'm staying. I have a job where - even though it's not going the way I want to yet - they want me here. They like how I do things and they want me here. You're going to have to shang-hi my ass to get me out of here because I don't know of another school that would put up with me.
So...if this place is so ridiculous, I'm just going to have to try to change it. (Have an ego much?)
I started looking into the Green Party here. Uhhhhh, there isn't one. Especially on Maui. If I was called "Greenman" before I'm really gonna earn it this time. I'm literally going to be starting this from scratch. But it'll keep me on the streets. So I'll fill you in on that...but first I'm being extorted for ten bucks for the "pathetic" list of Greens on the island. Don't ask.
I'm going to be posting some pictures of our beach clean-up activity this weekend. So check those out. But to further illustrate how weird this place is, I want to tell you about my trip to the library today.
When I become King of Maui, you would think I'd have on the top of my agenda things like water usage, landfills, affordable housing. Nope. The first thing I'm going to do is clean house at the f-ing library. It has the most arbitrary hours...I think it's run by ex-barbers because it's closed on Sundays & Mondays. The web page says one thing and the sign on the door says another. And I'm told they don't even go by that, they just close up when they want. And the Kihei library is freakin creepy. There's a lot of stuff there, but there's also empty shelves - enough to make it look like there was some kind of "incident" and they lost a lot of books.
I went there today to check it out because we want to take our students there to use as a resource. Being in a Research and Technology Park, we don't have room for our own library. So I looked around and noticed something really weird. They have the biggest Jew section of any library I've ever seen. I mean, it was huge for any library outside of Israel, but in Kihei, Hawaii...it was just bizarre. It didn't make sense...and there were a ton of empty shelves around it as if they were expecting more! [I guess here is where I have to make a disclaimer for those back home who didn't know this...my father's side is Jewish so I don't have a problem throwing around the "J" word...it's the closest to an ethnicity a pasty white boy like me has. I mean, I can go to all the Puerto Rican Festivals in the world, but let's be honest...5 seconds of me trying to dance and you'd know I ain't no Puerto Rican. And it doesn't matter how many brothers on Genesee Street call me Brother Dave. But I digress.]
Then, I talked to one of the people who worked there about bringing my kids to the library next week. You would have thought I had just asked her where the Anal Sex section of the library is. I realize that's pretty graphic (sorry, Mom), but if you had seen her reaction you'd agree with my description.
To summarize...this place is just odd.
When you talk to all the non-locals they bitch about everyone. And they have no sense of irony either. And when you talk to the locals, they bitch about the non-locals and tourists (with good reason).
I totally understand why people leave Hawaii, which they do at an incredible rate. This place is ridiculous....again, to live in. This place doesn't "spit people out". People with some freakin common sense get the hell out. Having said that, I'm here...I'm staying. I have a job where - even though it's not going the way I want to yet - they want me here. They like how I do things and they want me here. You're going to have to shang-hi my ass to get me out of here because I don't know of another school that would put up with me.
So...if this place is so ridiculous, I'm just going to have to try to change it. (Have an ego much?)
I started looking into the Green Party here. Uhhhhh, there isn't one. Especially on Maui. If I was called "Greenman" before I'm really gonna earn it this time. I'm literally going to be starting this from scratch. But it'll keep me on the streets. So I'll fill you in on that...but first I'm being extorted for ten bucks for the "pathetic" list of Greens on the island. Don't ask.
I'm going to be posting some pictures of our beach clean-up activity this weekend. So check those out. But to further illustrate how weird this place is, I want to tell you about my trip to the library today.
When I become King of Maui, you would think I'd have on the top of my agenda things like water usage, landfills, affordable housing. Nope. The first thing I'm going to do is clean house at the f-ing library. It has the most arbitrary hours...I think it's run by ex-barbers because it's closed on Sundays & Mondays. The web page says one thing and the sign on the door says another. And I'm told they don't even go by that, they just close up when they want. And the Kihei library is freakin creepy. There's a lot of stuff there, but there's also empty shelves - enough to make it look like there was some kind of "incident" and they lost a lot of books.
I went there today to check it out because we want to take our students there to use as a resource. Being in a Research and Technology Park, we don't have room for our own library. So I looked around and noticed something really weird. They have the biggest Jew section of any library I've ever seen. I mean, it was huge for any library outside of Israel, but in Kihei, Hawaii...it was just bizarre. It didn't make sense...and there were a ton of empty shelves around it as if they were expecting more! [I guess here is where I have to make a disclaimer for those back home who didn't know this...my father's side is Jewish so I don't have a problem throwing around the "J" word...it's the closest to an ethnicity a pasty white boy like me has. I mean, I can go to all the Puerto Rican Festivals in the world, but let's be honest...5 seconds of me trying to dance and you'd know I ain't no Puerto Rican. And it doesn't matter how many brothers on Genesee Street call me Brother Dave. But I digress.]
Then, I talked to one of the people who worked there about bringing my kids to the library next week. You would have thought I had just asked her where the Anal Sex section of the library is. I realize that's pretty graphic (sorry, Mom), but if you had seen her reaction you'd agree with my description.
To summarize...this place is just odd.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Hello, Fellow Babies...
The Man thought he could keep me down forever. I knew that if I was just patient that eventually I would be back. That's right radio fans, I'm back on the air. There's a station in Maui that is non-profit, all-volunteer. I just got on as fill-in. When a spot opens up I should get put in. Most do one show a week and what's open now doesn't fit in with my school schedule (unless I want midnight to 6am). SO...check out Mana'o Radio. The station is streamed on the internet. I should have ample time to find out when I'll be filling in so I'll post here when I'm on the air.
And dig this...I get to play whatever I want (within FCC guidelines). Sinatra followed by Fishbone, then Coltrane, then Wild Geese. They have a cool library of music, but they encourage us to bring our own.
OTHER UPDATES: I killed a new insect in my house yesterday. I swear it was a baby scorpion. I tried to take a picture of it, but I couldn't get it to show up.
If you read the comment on my last post, my Mother threatened to kick my ass if I didn't get back on my blood pressure meds. Hey, Old Woman! I'm mandated by the State of Hawaii to report any child abuse I know of. I may be 41, but I'm still your child, so don't start making threats unless you're ready to be penitentiary-bound. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.- Sammy Davis Jr.
Actually, Hawaii's bureaucracy makes NY look like a trip through a field of daisies. My health insurance actually goes through the teacher's union. And if you know anything about teacher's unions you can imagine what a clusterf@ck this is. So I'm supposed to be covered but the insurance carrier has never heard of me, blah, blah, blah. So I'm working on it.
And dig this...I get to play whatever I want (within FCC guidelines). Sinatra followed by Fishbone, then Coltrane, then Wild Geese. They have a cool library of music, but they encourage us to bring our own.
OTHER UPDATES: I killed a new insect in my house yesterday. I swear it was a baby scorpion. I tried to take a picture of it, but I couldn't get it to show up.
If you read the comment on my last post, my Mother threatened to kick my ass if I didn't get back on my blood pressure meds. Hey, Old Woman! I'm mandated by the State of Hawaii to report any child abuse I know of. I may be 41, but I'm still your child, so don't start making threats unless you're ready to be penitentiary-bound. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.- Sammy Davis Jr.
Actually, Hawaii's bureaucracy makes NY look like a trip through a field of daisies. My health insurance actually goes through the teacher's union. And if you know anything about teacher's unions you can imagine what a clusterf@ck this is. So I'm supposed to be covered but the insurance carrier has never heard of me, blah, blah, blah. So I'm working on it.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
I'm Not a Doctor...
...and I guess I couldn't even play one on TV.
So, the weekend's over and school's back in session. Everything's back to the same old chaos.
When I knew I was coming here I decided to try a little experiment - I won't be working nights any more, I'll have weekends off, only one job, doing what I want to do. I won't need a shovel full of caffine everyday. I'm eating pretty well...not perfect, but way better than I used to. So, let's see if I can get away with not being on my blood pressure meds any more.
Uh...yeah...that experiment failed. In school, we did a lab with the kids on blood pressure. So we checked mine...
158 / 101
High-strung, much?
No e-mails or calls, please. I know. I'm getting to the doctor ASAP and getting back on my meds. And I'll figure out a way to get back to the gym as soon as I can.
Just another day in paradise.
So, the weekend's over and school's back in session. Everything's back to the same old chaos.
When I knew I was coming here I decided to try a little experiment - I won't be working nights any more, I'll have weekends off, only one job, doing what I want to do. I won't need a shovel full of caffine everyday. I'm eating pretty well...not perfect, but way better than I used to. So, let's see if I can get away with not being on my blood pressure meds any more.
Uh...yeah...that experiment failed. In school, we did a lab with the kids on blood pressure. So we checked mine...
158 / 101
High-strung, much?
No e-mails or calls, please. I know. I'm getting to the doctor ASAP and getting back on my meds. And I'll figure out a way to get back to the gym as soon as I can.
Just another day in paradise.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Road to Hana
[This is ridiculously long, but I don't know how I could shorten it and give it justice. Pack a lunch.]
Everyone I know who has already been to Maui has told me, "you have to go on the road to Hana." Hey, I don't have to do anything...OK, I went.
So a friend from home came down on Tuesday to hang for a week. I had to work (a lot) so he did stuff on his own. Friday, he was gone most of the day and into the evening. He did the road to Hana. But that's not all. On the road past Hana, right before the state park, is this fruit stand. Robert pulled over and didn't see anything he was interested in, but sitting on a hill behind the stand were two women, one around my age, the other in her 60's. They had 4 teeth between them. Their names are Nani & "Auntie". Robert quickly made friends with them and the next thing he knew he was being given a tour all over the countryside.
They owned 144 acres of land that has been in the family for generations.
So Robert got the tour of a lifetime - which he told me all about when he got back. The next morning he insisted I go with him, back to Hana. Not really for the tour, but to check out the drive, maybe stop by to meet them and go back. The drive itself is supposed to be the attraction. I reluctantly agreed...harumphing (sic?) all the way to the (rented) jeep.
I ended up driving the way there. It was a trip. Sure, I saw what there was to see, but I couldn't pay much attention to it. Once you get on this road, it's 55 miles of 1-and-a-half lanes. And sometimes not even that. It winds, climbs and drops. I know my Ford Focus isn't taking that trip any time soon.
At this point, I'd like to say that I did take some pictures - not when I was driving - but to be honest, I tend to lose interest in taking pictures and pay more attention as to the moment. So I have some, but not nearly enough to give you the real picture of what this drive is like. There is a lot of coast land, but you're usually above it with the most diverse vegetation all around. And it's not diverse all in one spot, it changes as you go. And you're driving on that cliff road which is pretty...uh...focusing.
So, we get to Nani's and there she is...with her boyfriend, Joey. Who looks kind of like a Polynesian Danny DeVito.
Oh...I left out something....
[Tangent Alert]
I told you about the Governor's visit to the school last week. Well, a picture of it made the front page of the Maui News. The main focus was on one of the students, but I'm pretty much in the picture. Or so I'm told, I haven't really seen it yet.
When Robert was there by himself he told him that he was staying with me for the week, that I work at the Charter School, then Nani told him that she saw the article/picture, Robert described me and bang she recognizes me and from the picture and her instinct knows I'm going to do great things here. O....K...
[Back to the story]
So we're hanging out with Nani & Joey. She's trying to recruit me to teach at Hana's school (they have cottages just for the teachers) Nani's "tenant" who lives somewhere on the property shows up for a while. The three of them start smoking a bizarre looking joint. I'll admit, I don't know much about dope, but anything that makes me cough like that...I'd rather have a beer, thank you.
The tenant leaves and we're still talking. The next thing you know, "we" all decide to go on a mini-tour to the ponds. What are the ponds you ask? Part of this land that is hidden away from tourists (mostly, anyway) that the locals pretty much have control over. Because of minerals in the rocks at each, one has a blue glow, one a green glow, the other a black...well, black doesn't glow, but you get the picture.
We pile in the jeep and we're off to the ponds. Now Nani and Joey are cool. They're treating me like I'm family and not a tourist. I'm getting inside info on some of the places around there. (more on that later) They talk like...um...well, kind of like if you meshed Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Don Ho. "Eh, we really got baked last night, Brah!"
After we ran over more mangoes than is eaten in Rochester in a year, and even more potholes, we get to this one little clearing at the side of the "road". There's a truck already parked there. I was told to pull in there. We get out of the jeep and start walking to this tiny trail that is muddy and uphill. Anyone see the movie Anaconda? I'm getting this vibe. We go through some pretty funky forest, but only for about 50 yards and we come to this really cool waterfall that empties into this pond.
We scurried down the trail...or they scurried, I tried to keep my ass from falling down the hill onto the rocks below...and came right to the water. Robert, Nani & Joey start taking off various parts of clothing. They were prepared with relatively normal swimming attire. Then there was me.
Oh...and by the way, we were not alone. There was a guy and his...um...11-year-old daughter there swimming as well - locals.
OK...I'm not going to just sit on these slimy, dirty, pointy rocks and watch other people frolic. So the next thing I know, I'm in my boxers wading into this f-ing cold pond. It's less of a pond and more of a pit because literally after your first step in, the bottom falls out and it goes to about 12 feet deep...which I quickly found out.
Now there are a couple of reasons for my near-death at this moment. One was I had the aerobic capability of a fat guy on Rikki Lake as I haven't been to the gym in months because of my achilles tendon which could explode at any moment (yes, still). The other reason was the fact that my body was revolting for being made to join the Polar Bear Club. Either way, I couldn't suck in air and I was going down fast. After 15 minutes...OK, it was really 30 seconds...I got used to the water. From that point on, it was pretty much one of the most relaxing things I've ever done. We didn't even stay in that long, maybe 20 minutes, but it's been hours and I can still feel the effects. I got to sit under the waterfall - right when you get to it, there's a natural ledge for you to sit on. It was better than any shower massage you'll find at Crap-Mart...right on, brah.
Turns out the guy who was already there, had connections to Nani, even though they didn't recognize each other. After talking and figuring out their connections, they were fast old friends, but everything turned religious quick. There were a lot of praise-god's and I-prayed-for XYZ. It was weird...Nani & Joey turned into...uh...Jeff Spicoli-Faye Baker.
So now I have a bunch of friends in Hana. Nani gave me her number and told me to come any time - I can camp out on her property for a weekend if I want. Robert and I left, tired and relaxed. This is a ridiculously long post so I'll finish it up with the ride back...
Beautiful, but fuzzy. We picked up a poor-little-rich-girl hitchhiker who was so vapid it made my brain smooth ("but dude, she was hot")...stopped at this bar/restaurant to grab a burger and listen to this singer-guitarist who we'll be playing on the new podcast, then home to chill.
The moral of this story is...get your ass to Hana, I guess.
Now, I'm going to try to put pictures in this post, but I've been having problems with it. My theory is that because I'm scrounging a neighbor's bandwidth I don't have enough juice to see them on my laptop, but it should be cool on your computer. If that's not the case and you can't see them, just click here to see the pictures I took, but again, they don't do the ride justice.
Postscript: I know, this is pretty long already, but the following is a list of celebrities - dead &/or alive whose houses we passed in and around Hana:
Ted Turner, George Harrison (2), Kris Kristopherson, Pat Benetar, Jim Nabors, Bill Bixby, Richard Pryor, Woody Harrelson (who I actually literally almost bumped into yesterday at Mana Foods), Brett Favre, and more I'm forgetting. Sounds like the next Bob Hope Christmas Special. Oh, but I forgot the biggest....Oprah. Oprah has bought so much f--ing land in Hana. She hasn't started building on it yet. She insists she will be saving the coastland for Hawaiians. But what she bought, had to be worth in the tens of millions. Pretty soon, they'll be calling it The Road to Oprah.
Everyone I know who has already been to Maui has told me, "you have to go on the road to Hana." Hey, I don't have to do anything...OK, I went.
So a friend from home came down on Tuesday to hang for a week. I had to work (a lot) so he did stuff on his own. Friday, he was gone most of the day and into the evening. He did the road to Hana. But that's not all. On the road past Hana, right before the state park, is this fruit stand. Robert pulled over and didn't see anything he was interested in, but sitting on a hill behind the stand were two women, one around my age, the other in her 60's. They had 4 teeth between them. Their names are Nani & "Auntie". Robert quickly made friends with them and the next thing he knew he was being given a tour all over the countryside.
They owned 144 acres of land that has been in the family for generations.
So Robert got the tour of a lifetime - which he told me all about when he got back. The next morning he insisted I go with him, back to Hana. Not really for the tour, but to check out the drive, maybe stop by to meet them and go back. The drive itself is supposed to be the attraction. I reluctantly agreed...harumphing (sic?) all the way to the (rented) jeep.
I ended up driving the way there. It was a trip. Sure, I saw what there was to see, but I couldn't pay much attention to it. Once you get on this road, it's 55 miles of 1-and-a-half lanes. And sometimes not even that. It winds, climbs and drops. I know my Ford Focus isn't taking that trip any time soon.
At this point, I'd like to say that I did take some pictures - not when I was driving - but to be honest, I tend to lose interest in taking pictures and pay more attention as to the moment. So I have some, but not nearly enough to give you the real picture of what this drive is like. There is a lot of coast land, but you're usually above it with the most diverse vegetation all around. And it's not diverse all in one spot, it changes as you go. And you're driving on that cliff road which is pretty...uh...focusing.
So, we get to Nani's and there she is...with her boyfriend, Joey. Who looks kind of like a Polynesian Danny DeVito.
Oh...I left out something....
[Tangent Alert]
I told you about the Governor's visit to the school last week. Well, a picture of it made the front page of the Maui News. The main focus was on one of the students, but I'm pretty much in the picture. Or so I'm told, I haven't really seen it yet.
When Robert was there by himself he told him that he was staying with me for the week, that I work at the Charter School, then Nani told him that she saw the article/picture, Robert described me and bang she recognizes me and from the picture and her instinct knows I'm going to do great things here. O....K...
[Back to the story]
So we're hanging out with Nani & Joey. She's trying to recruit me to teach at Hana's school (they have cottages just for the teachers) Nani's "tenant" who lives somewhere on the property shows up for a while. The three of them start smoking a bizarre looking joint. I'll admit, I don't know much about dope, but anything that makes me cough like that...I'd rather have a beer, thank you.
The tenant leaves and we're still talking. The next thing you know, "we" all decide to go on a mini-tour to the ponds. What are the ponds you ask? Part of this land that is hidden away from tourists (mostly, anyway) that the locals pretty much have control over. Because of minerals in the rocks at each, one has a blue glow, one a green glow, the other a black...well, black doesn't glow, but you get the picture.
We pile in the jeep and we're off to the ponds. Now Nani and Joey are cool. They're treating me like I'm family and not a tourist. I'm getting inside info on some of the places around there. (more on that later) They talk like...um...well, kind of like if you meshed Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Don Ho. "Eh, we really got baked last night, Brah!"
After we ran over more mangoes than is eaten in Rochester in a year, and even more potholes, we get to this one little clearing at the side of the "road". There's a truck already parked there. I was told to pull in there. We get out of the jeep and start walking to this tiny trail that is muddy and uphill. Anyone see the movie Anaconda? I'm getting this vibe. We go through some pretty funky forest, but only for about 50 yards and we come to this really cool waterfall that empties into this pond.
We scurried down the trail...or they scurried, I tried to keep my ass from falling down the hill onto the rocks below...and came right to the water. Robert, Nani & Joey start taking off various parts of clothing. They were prepared with relatively normal swimming attire. Then there was me.
Oh...and by the way, we were not alone. There was a guy and his...um...11-year-old daughter there swimming as well - locals.
OK...I'm not going to just sit on these slimy, dirty, pointy rocks and watch other people frolic. So the next thing I know, I'm in my boxers wading into this f-ing cold pond. It's less of a pond and more of a pit because literally after your first step in, the bottom falls out and it goes to about 12 feet deep...which I quickly found out.
Now there are a couple of reasons for my near-death at this moment. One was I had the aerobic capability of a fat guy on Rikki Lake as I haven't been to the gym in months because of my achilles tendon which could explode at any moment (yes, still). The other reason was the fact that my body was revolting for being made to join the Polar Bear Club. Either way, I couldn't suck in air and I was going down fast. After 15 minutes...OK, it was really 30 seconds...I got used to the water. From that point on, it was pretty much one of the most relaxing things I've ever done. We didn't even stay in that long, maybe 20 minutes, but it's been hours and I can still feel the effects. I got to sit under the waterfall - right when you get to it, there's a natural ledge for you to sit on. It was better than any shower massage you'll find at Crap-Mart...right on, brah.
Turns out the guy who was already there, had connections to Nani, even though they didn't recognize each other. After talking and figuring out their connections, they were fast old friends, but everything turned religious quick. There were a lot of praise-god's and I-prayed-for XYZ. It was weird...Nani & Joey turned into...uh...Jeff Spicoli-Faye Baker.
So now I have a bunch of friends in Hana. Nani gave me her number and told me to come any time - I can camp out on her property for a weekend if I want. Robert and I left, tired and relaxed. This is a ridiculously long post so I'll finish it up with the ride back...
Beautiful, but fuzzy. We picked up a poor-little-rich-girl hitchhiker who was so vapid it made my brain smooth ("but dude, she was hot")...stopped at this bar/restaurant to grab a burger and listen to this singer-guitarist who we'll be playing on the new podcast, then home to chill.
The moral of this story is...get your ass to Hana, I guess.
Now, I'm going to try to put pictures in this post, but I've been having problems with it. My theory is that because I'm scrounging a neighbor's bandwidth I don't have enough juice to see them on my laptop, but it should be cool on your computer. If that's not the case and you can't see them, just click here to see the pictures I took, but again, they don't do the ride justice.
Postscript: I know, this is pretty long already, but the following is a list of celebrities - dead &/or alive whose houses we passed in and around Hana:
Ted Turner, George Harrison (2), Kris Kristopherson, Pat Benetar, Jim Nabors, Bill Bixby, Richard Pryor, Woody Harrelson (who I actually literally almost bumped into yesterday at Mana Foods), Brett Favre, and more I'm forgetting. Sounds like the next Bob Hope Christmas Special. Oh, but I forgot the biggest....Oprah. Oprah has bought so much f--ing land in Hana. She hasn't started building on it yet. She insists she will be saving the coastland for Hawaiians. But what she bought, had to be worth in the tens of millions. Pretty soon, they'll be calling it The Road to Oprah.
Friday, August 17, 2007
New Plan
OK...enough is enough. I've been moping around too long. Those of you reading this who know me well enough are not going to be surprised when I say that I don't give a crap about Hawaii. I'd rather sit at a ballgame than a beach and every time I come to an "incredible view" I feel like Chevy Chase at the Grand Canyon. No one should be made to feel like Chevy Chase. It's just not natural.
In case you haven't guessed by now, this teaching job sucks so far. Most of the kids couldn't care less about what we're trying to do and treat the program like day camp. The teachers (including me) are trying to work together but we're not doing a very good job. There are reasons beyond our control for some of it, but not all.
So, here's the new plan. I'm going to go ahead at school and do what I intended to do with these kids. Most of them are not ready intellectually and/or maturity wise. I'm going to pick one form of media...probably the cable access TV show and start that with the kids who are mature enough. Then when more of them get their acts together I'll start the podcast. If we can get most of them to chill out, then I'll start the newspaper. I didn't move 6000 miles to teach spoiled brats to read. Oh, I'll teach them to read, but we're going on MY agenda. Not theirs.
Then there's the issue of money. Monday I have an interview with a tutoring center. It sounds like they're going to hire me. Ironically, they get a lot of kids there because of No Child Left Behind. So I'm going to do what teachers unions do. I'm going to take the government's money (indirectly) to show how lousy their program is. Unions take charter school teachers' money then lobby to get rid of charter schools.
I'm moving to a cheaper place in January. Then I'm going to spend every possible cent I have in getting rid of my debt. Seriously, if I'm a good boy, I'll be done with everything (including that albatross of a car) in 4 years. Then, I'll decide if I stay or go.
So I need to start doing things that I want to do. I don't care about surfing or snorkeling or luaus or whatever. Thursday I meet with the general manager of Maui's only community radio station about going back on the air. As soon as my Hillside pension money gets here, I get back into the gym and start getting ready for baseball. (my gear & guitar finally showed up)
Where's the f-ing Green Party in this town?
In case you haven't guessed by now, this teaching job sucks so far. Most of the kids couldn't care less about what we're trying to do and treat the program like day camp. The teachers (including me) are trying to work together but we're not doing a very good job. There are reasons beyond our control for some of it, but not all.
So, here's the new plan. I'm going to go ahead at school and do what I intended to do with these kids. Most of them are not ready intellectually and/or maturity wise. I'm going to pick one form of media...probably the cable access TV show and start that with the kids who are mature enough. Then when more of them get their acts together I'll start the podcast. If we can get most of them to chill out, then I'll start the newspaper. I didn't move 6000 miles to teach spoiled brats to read. Oh, I'll teach them to read, but we're going on MY agenda. Not theirs.
Then there's the issue of money. Monday I have an interview with a tutoring center. It sounds like they're going to hire me. Ironically, they get a lot of kids there because of No Child Left Behind. So I'm going to do what teachers unions do. I'm going to take the government's money (indirectly) to show how lousy their program is. Unions take charter school teachers' money then lobby to get rid of charter schools.
I'm moving to a cheaper place in January. Then I'm going to spend every possible cent I have in getting rid of my debt. Seriously, if I'm a good boy, I'll be done with everything (including that albatross of a car) in 4 years. Then, I'll decide if I stay or go.
So I need to start doing things that I want to do. I don't care about surfing or snorkeling or luaus or whatever. Thursday I meet with the general manager of Maui's only community radio station about going back on the air. As soon as my Hillside pension money gets here, I get back into the gym and start getting ready for baseball. (my gear & guitar finally showed up)
Where's the f-ing Green Party in this town?
New Plan
OK...enough is enough. I've been moping around too long. Those of you reading this who know me well enough are not going to be surprised when I say that I don't give a crap about Hawaii. I'd rather sit at a ballgame than a beach and every time I come to an "incredible view" I feel like Chevy Chase at the Grand Canyon. No one should be made to feel like Chevy Chase. It's just not natural.
In case you haven't guessed by now, this teaching job sucks so far. Most of the kids couldn't care less about what we're trying to do and treat the program like day camp. The teachers (including me) are trying to work together but we're not doing a very good job. There are reasons beyond our control for some of it, but not all.
So, here's the new plan. I'm going to go ahead at school and do what I intended to do with these kids. Most of them are not ready intellectually and/or maturity wise. I'm going to pick one form of media...probably the cable access TV show and start that with the kids who are mature enough. Then when more of them get their acts together I'll start the podcast. If we can get most of them to chill out, then I'll start the newspaper. I didn't move 6000 miles to teach spoiled brats to read. Oh, I'll teach them to read, but we're going on MY agenda. Not theirs.
Then there's the issue of money. Monday I have an interview with a tutoring center. It sounds like they're going to hire me. Ironically, they get a lot of kids there because of No Child Left Behind. So I'm going to do what teachers unions do. I'm going to take the government's money (indirectly) to show how lousy their program is. Unions take charter school teachers' money then lobby to get rid of charter schools.
I'm moving to a cheaper place in January. Then I'm going to spend every possible cent I have in getting rid of my debt. Seriously, if I'm a good boy, I'll be done with everything (including that albatross of a car) in 4 years. Then, I'll decide if I stay or go.
So I need to start doing things that I want to do. I don't care about surfing or snorkeling or luaus or whatever. Thursday I meet with the general manager of Maui's only community radio station about going back on the air. As soon as my Hillside pension money gets here, I get back into the gym and start getting ready for baseball. (my gear & guitar finally showed up)
Where's the f-ing Green Party in this town?
In case you haven't guessed by now, this teaching job sucks so far. Most of the kids couldn't care less about what we're trying to do and treat the program like day camp. The teachers (including me) are trying to work together but we're not doing a very good job. There are reasons beyond our control for some of it, but not all.
So, here's the new plan. I'm going to go ahead at school and do what I intended to do with these kids. Most of them are not ready intellectually and/or maturity wise. I'm going to pick one form of media...probably the cable access TV show and start that with the kids who are mature enough. Then when more of them get their acts together I'll start the podcast. If we can get most of them to chill out, then I'll start the newspaper. I didn't move 6000 miles to teach spoiled brats to read. Oh, I'll teach them to read, but we're going on MY agenda. Not theirs.
Then there's the issue of money. Monday I have an interview with a tutoring center. It sounds like they're going to hire me. Ironically, they get a lot of kids there because of No Child Left Behind. So I'm going to do what teachers unions do. I'm going to take the government's money (indirectly) to show how lousy their program is. Unions take charter school teachers' money then lobby to get rid of charter schools.
I'm moving to a cheaper place in January. Then I'm going to spend every possible cent I have in getting rid of my debt. Seriously, if I'm a good boy, I'll be done with everything (including that albatross of a car) in 4 years. Then, I'll decide if I stay or go.
So I need to start doing things that I want to do. I don't care about surfing or snorkeling or luaus or whatever. Thursday I meet with the general manager of Maui's only community radio station about going back on the air. As soon as my Hillside pension money gets here, I get back into the gym and start getting ready for baseball. (my gear & guitar finally showed up)
Where's the f-ing Green Party in this town?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I Think This Just About Sums it Up
The following is the fairly accurate transcript of a phone conversation I had yesterday. I think it pretty much sums up how things are going here:
Secretary: Akuka Cable Access, how can I help you?
Dave: Hello, my name is Dave and I'm a teacher at the Kihei Charter School.
S: Yeeeessss?..?.??
D: My class would like to start producing a show for cable access. We'd be using our own equipment and just submitting tapes, but we don't know the technical requirements. So I was wondering if I could speak to someone about that?
S: Uh, well. {pause} Would you be able to call on Monday? You see everyone's in meetings this week and to be honest, we just had someone who works here die. So...
D: Oh, I'm very sorry. Of course, I can call back on Monday.
S: Yes, I'm not even sure where anyone is right now and things are just a bit slow right now.
D: I completely understand. I'll call on Monday. Is there someone specific I should ask for?
{long pause}
S: That's the person who died.
D: Oh. Um. Well, I'll just call on Monday and we can go from there.
S: Thank you.
D: OK. Goodbye.
I'm really starting to wonder if John does therapy by phone.
Secretary: Akuka Cable Access, how can I help you?
Dave: Hello, my name is Dave and I'm a teacher at the Kihei Charter School.
S: Yeeeessss?..?.??
D: My class would like to start producing a show for cable access. We'd be using our own equipment and just submitting tapes, but we don't know the technical requirements. So I was wondering if I could speak to someone about that?
S: Uh, well. {pause} Would you be able to call on Monday? You see everyone's in meetings this week and to be honest, we just had someone who works here die. So...
D: Oh, I'm very sorry. Of course, I can call back on Monday.
S: Yes, I'm not even sure where anyone is right now and things are just a bit slow right now.
D: I completely understand. I'll call on Monday. Is there someone specific I should ask for?
{long pause}
S: That's the person who died.
D: Oh. Um. Well, I'll just call on Monday and we can go from there.
S: Thank you.
D: OK. Goodbye.
I'm really starting to wonder if John does therapy by phone.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
A Weekend of Eh's
I guess I'll just go chronologically.
I got almost all of the rest of my stuff on Friday. There's 3 boxes yet to come and it's the stuff I probably want the most, of course. My guitar, a couple of prints for the wall and my baseball gear. Well, I don't actually need the baseball stuff right now, but it would be nice to know it's here. But I do have my cheese grater so I guess my manhood has been restored. I would like to know what I was thinking when I packed the soup ladle though. It's always 80 degrees + here...I'm not making soup. (I hate gazpacho)
Saturday, we had the big to-do with the Governor of Hawaii coming to give a speech at the school. Parents, students, muckity-mucks were all there. There were a couple "bunch-of-flowers" security guys there only in Hawaiian shirts. (BOF is taken from an Eddie Izzard routine where he describes secret service guys with their hands in their suits like they're about to perform a magic trick: "Bunch of Flowers!")
I was relatively underwhelmed by the governor. When she hit the occasional Republican talking point I didn't even roll my eyes. In fact I even got into a conversation with this one guy who works for some new TV-media thing that's supposed to be working to encourage business, blah, blah, blah. When he started blowing tax credits for corporations up my ass, I suddenly saw a student misbehaving and had to go.
But I did get to meet more parents...40 out of 48 kids came on a Saturday. Not too shabby.
I didn't do much the rest of the day. Mopped my permanently stained floor, laundry, etc. I was just moping around waiting for today.
I took the Prius back today. The whole ordeal took over 3 hours. Now, I HAD to leave with a car. Not only for work, but there really is no public transportation and I had no way of getting my ass home from the dealer without one. They ran through every option starting with the far-fetched one - pretending I never bought the first car. That didn't work with the bank who had the loan. Long story - short, I ended up puttering home in a new Ford Focus. This is still going to suck, but it was almost a couple hundred dollars a month cheaper. At least I should be able to eat from now to January. Things will smooth out once I move in January. And no, I'm not putting pictures of it on the blog.
Then I came home and did the podcast with Jill. If you didn't catch last week's show, she'll probably be on for a while while I get the whole internet thing figured out and I can get Keziah & Erick back on. Meanwhile, Keziah's been doing a kind of Andy Rooney thing.
Or maybe Jill won't be back on. I was using a Whitee mug during the recording. And when she asked what it was about, I explained and gave her a CD. She may never come back. Though she did give me a dradel today. (you have to listen to last week's show to know why that was relevant).
So, I'm going to finish getting ready for school and get that damn gecko out of my bathroom. Everyone tells me they're good luck. If that's true, I should be the luckiest Mo Fo on the island!
I got almost all of the rest of my stuff on Friday. There's 3 boxes yet to come and it's the stuff I probably want the most, of course. My guitar, a couple of prints for the wall and my baseball gear. Well, I don't actually need the baseball stuff right now, but it would be nice to know it's here. But I do have my cheese grater so I guess my manhood has been restored. I would like to know what I was thinking when I packed the soup ladle though. It's always 80 degrees + here...I'm not making soup. (I hate gazpacho)
Saturday, we had the big to-do with the Governor of Hawaii coming to give a speech at the school. Parents, students, muckity-mucks were all there. There were a couple "bunch-of-flowers" security guys there only in Hawaiian shirts. (BOF is taken from an Eddie Izzard routine where he describes secret service guys with their hands in their suits like they're about to perform a magic trick: "Bunch of Flowers!")
I was relatively underwhelmed by the governor. When she hit the occasional Republican talking point I didn't even roll my eyes. In fact I even got into a conversation with this one guy who works for some new TV-media thing that's supposed to be working to encourage business, blah, blah, blah. When he started blowing tax credits for corporations up my ass, I suddenly saw a student misbehaving and had to go.
But I did get to meet more parents...40 out of 48 kids came on a Saturday. Not too shabby.
I didn't do much the rest of the day. Mopped my permanently stained floor, laundry, etc. I was just moping around waiting for today.
I took the Prius back today. The whole ordeal took over 3 hours. Now, I HAD to leave with a car. Not only for work, but there really is no public transportation and I had no way of getting my ass home from the dealer without one. They ran through every option starting with the far-fetched one - pretending I never bought the first car. That didn't work with the bank who had the loan. Long story - short, I ended up puttering home in a new Ford Focus. This is still going to suck, but it was almost a couple hundred dollars a month cheaper. At least I should be able to eat from now to January. Things will smooth out once I move in January. And no, I'm not putting pictures of it on the blog.
Then I came home and did the podcast with Jill. If you didn't catch last week's show, she'll probably be on for a while while I get the whole internet thing figured out and I can get Keziah & Erick back on. Meanwhile, Keziah's been doing a kind of Andy Rooney thing.
Or maybe Jill won't be back on. I was using a Whitee mug during the recording. And when she asked what it was about, I explained and gave her a CD. She may never come back. Though she did give me a dradel today. (you have to listen to last week's show to know why that was relevant).
So, I'm going to finish getting ready for school and get that damn gecko out of my bathroom. Everyone tells me they're good luck. If that's true, I should be the luckiest Mo Fo on the island!
Friday, August 10, 2007
School Pictures
I'm going to try not to Kvetch much in this post. And I have some new pictures (yea!). Hopefully, they'll show up in Blogger. Either way, you can see them by going to the link on the right.
First of all, I got MOST of the rest of my stuff. I have to admit, I'm still feeling ambivalent about the joy I'm having getting my "stuff". Our things are not supposed to define us, but if you keep a grown man from his zester and you'll get your eyes scratched out, biatch. So everything else came except the two things I've been waiting for the most. A couple of framed prints I wanted to put up (because I like them and they'll help cut down the echo in the room) and my guitar. I've been itching to get back into playing. Well, I have my cheese grater and my Whitee mugs so I'm fine for now.
OK, pictures. I took a few around school today. We've only been in the actual space for a couple of days. There's still a lot to do decor-wise, but it's working so far.
Assuming this actually shows up. This is our main computer lab. A big part of the program as we'll be doing a lot of stuff digitally.
This is our main classroom. We still need to make it more homey and we don't have all of our accessories yet.
I know, you've been waiting for this...our feral chickens. They're actually all over the island. They're our squirrels. There's actually more than this around the building...a lot more. Including a Mom and a dozen of her chicks.
There's a few more here.
First of all, I got MOST of the rest of my stuff. I have to admit, I'm still feeling ambivalent about the joy I'm having getting my "stuff". Our things are not supposed to define us, but if you keep a grown man from his zester and you'll get your eyes scratched out, biatch. So everything else came except the two things I've been waiting for the most. A couple of framed prints I wanted to put up (because I like them and they'll help cut down the echo in the room) and my guitar. I've been itching to get back into playing. Well, I have my cheese grater and my Whitee mugs so I'm fine for now.
OK, pictures. I took a few around school today. We've only been in the actual space for a couple of days. There's still a lot to do decor-wise, but it's working so far.
Assuming this actually shows up. This is our main computer lab. A big part of the program as we'll be doing a lot of stuff digitally.
This is our main classroom. We still need to make it more homey and we don't have all of our accessories yet.
I know, you've been waiting for this...our feral chickens. They're actually all over the island. They're our squirrels. There's actually more than this around the building...a lot more. Including a Mom and a dozen of her chicks.
There's a few more here.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Random Stuff
Maybe the Jews DO run the world...could someone tell me why Hebrew National Bologna costs the same here as in Rochester? Freakin Pineapples are more expensive here.
Oh, and this is seriously old school...we have Star Markets here. I don't know if it's the same Star Markets that were in Rochester 35 years ago.
I didn't make anyone cry today, but I sure as hell wanted to. Little bastards.
In the middle of class...or lunch, actually, we had a pop-in visit from our Congresswoman. This program....I'm starting to think it's less of a big deal than it is a photo-op for every politician in Hawaii. A really expensive one. Anyway, I kept my mouth shut which I should get a freakin medal for as this person is on the House Education Committee...I got your No Child Left Behind Act right here.
Then some other woman, who's name and significance eluded me, gave us all as speech about how great our first-term Congressperson is and virtually chided us into giving her a round of applause. Even the adults couldn't figure out why. The woman's tone was as if the Congressperson was royalty or saved someone from a burning car. I've sold my f-ing soul.
Fire Marshall Fred came through and we were able to get into our space - finally. It'll be cool, but we haven't been shown how to use anything....the digital camera & computer set-up that everyone assumed I knew how to run to tape the Congresswoman "interviewing" our kids, the computer network that had different passwords, didn't hookup to the network or saved one kid's stuff on all the computers. Oh, and no one empties our garbage cans and the dumpsters are locked.
And did I mention the roving gangs of feral chickens that wander around outside the building? There's even one who walks with a limp - probably from some chicken bar fight. I'm actually glad they're there, because they eat the hordes of cockroaches that are in the lawn. When you stand in the grass they actually crawl around your shoes...and most people in Hawaii wear sandals. My achilles tendon still hurts so I'm wearing sneakers.
Today, my boss had some stuff from a Filipino deli he was passing around. Interesting. Not bad tasting, but I could see how a diet of that would mess you up. Some sweetbreat thing with pork and other unidentifiable stuff inside and a potsticker thing...more pork and also sweet. I ate it...I won't live on it. I don't think I'm going to be finding any bacalao around here.
Some people asked for more pictures. I'll try to add some this weekend. For some reason they don't seem to be showing up on Blogger, but they're in albums on the Fotki page. The link is on the right.
Oh, and this is seriously old school...we have Star Markets here. I don't know if it's the same Star Markets that were in Rochester 35 years ago.
I didn't make anyone cry today, but I sure as hell wanted to. Little bastards.
In the middle of class...or lunch, actually, we had a pop-in visit from our Congresswoman. This program....I'm starting to think it's less of a big deal than it is a photo-op for every politician in Hawaii. A really expensive one. Anyway, I kept my mouth shut which I should get a freakin medal for as this person is on the House Education Committee...I got your No Child Left Behind Act right here.
Then some other woman, who's name and significance eluded me, gave us all as speech about how great our first-term Congressperson is and virtually chided us into giving her a round of applause. Even the adults couldn't figure out why. The woman's tone was as if the Congressperson was royalty or saved someone from a burning car. I've sold my f-ing soul.
Fire Marshall Fred came through and we were able to get into our space - finally. It'll be cool, but we haven't been shown how to use anything....the digital camera & computer set-up that everyone assumed I knew how to run to tape the Congresswoman "interviewing" our kids, the computer network that had different passwords, didn't hookup to the network or saved one kid's stuff on all the computers. Oh, and no one empties our garbage cans and the dumpsters are locked.
And did I mention the roving gangs of feral chickens that wander around outside the building? There's even one who walks with a limp - probably from some chicken bar fight. I'm actually glad they're there, because they eat the hordes of cockroaches that are in the lawn. When you stand in the grass they actually crawl around your shoes...and most people in Hawaii wear sandals. My achilles tendon still hurts so I'm wearing sneakers.
Today, my boss had some stuff from a Filipino deli he was passing around. Interesting. Not bad tasting, but I could see how a diet of that would mess you up. Some sweetbreat thing with pork and other unidentifiable stuff inside and a potsticker thing...more pork and also sweet. I ate it...I won't live on it. I don't think I'm going to be finding any bacalao around here.
Some people asked for more pictures. I'll try to add some this weekend. For some reason they don't seem to be showing up on Blogger, but they're in albums on the Fotki page. The link is on the right.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I Can't Make This Funny Anymore
Another day at school, another kid cries. It's just ridiculous. The girl was home schooled. The mom said that when the kid didn't want to do something - like read or write - she didn't make the kid do it. The kid did art and listened to music. That was her home schooling. So now, she's in class and can't do the math, can't even keep up in writing...I mean copying notes, and when she does, she can't spell simple words. She's probably at a 3rd grade writing level. So in the middle of class, she starts crying. And there's Uncle Dave to take her into the hall and calm her down.
After school, I was talking with the other teachers and we figured out what's going on here:
When parents were told about the new program they were told that this is to be a rigorous program that focused on advanced math and science to get kids ready for college. What they heard was, your kid sucks at math and science so we will focus on that a lot to get them back up to speed. So the parents jumped at the chance to get their kids into the program, even though it's not right for their kid.
So now we have...uh...I'll be conservative (for a change) and say 80% of the students in our program who are not equipped to do what this program is supposed to be doing. I sure do hope the Governor doesn't figure this out on Saturday. Doh!
After school, I was talking with the other teachers and we figured out what's going on here:
When parents were told about the new program they were told that this is to be a rigorous program that focused on advanced math and science to get kids ready for college. What they heard was, your kid sucks at math and science so we will focus on that a lot to get them back up to speed. So the parents jumped at the chance to get their kids into the program, even though it's not right for their kid.
So now we have...uh...I'll be conservative (for a change) and say 80% of the students in our program who are not equipped to do what this program is supposed to be doing. I sure do hope the Governor doesn't figure this out on Saturday. Doh!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
I Make the Young Girls Cry pt. 2
...and puke as well, it seems.
Yesterday, Fire Marshall Fred said he was too sexy for our school, too sexy for our school, so sexy he droooooooled. This meant more days of driving kids around town, no computers to do what our charter school is supposed to be doing and pulling lesson plans out of our asses. Now I've been in situations where I've had to do this, but it's been on my own, not in a team teaching situation and it's been a bit frustrating because I really don't have that much say in what's happening right now. And from what we're dealing with, it's really best for now.
That being said, I was involved in making another child cry and another get "sick to her stomach".
In the afternoon, we gave the kids a "pre-test" in math. Which is teacher-talk for a test to see what the kids know how to do. At least half the kids when into panic mode even though we explained there is no grade and that it's just to show us where they are and what we need to teach. It didn't matter because they've been trained that when they hear the word "test" it's high-stakes. And they're scared shitless because in other schools they're told their scores will reflect on the school, blah, blah, blah. A lot of kids just weren't getting it.
One girl, who was only able to do 3 of 40-something problems, put her head down and started crying. We went into the hall and I calmed her down, told her stupid jokes and she was OK.
Ten minutes later, another girl claimed her stomach hurt. Well, did I mention that we don't have a school nurse? Well, we don't. So, being in the high school, we went to the front desk and the...well I can't call Melanie the receptionist because the school wouldn't function without her...she's the school Superwoman...called the girl's mom who came and picked her up. Turns out the girl does this all the time whenever there's any kind of stress on her.
I was not happy about all this. I made it look like I was mock-pissed, but I didn't get into this business and I sure didn't move 6000 miles away to make kids cry and fake sickness. I told the math teacher that Ted Sizer was going to come to Hawaii and kick her ass. (as a joke, of course)
If we were in the building we were supposed to be I would have had a chance to make other suggestions or help create another way to assess these kids but it's impossible right now. The last I heard, we may get in by Thursday.
I volunteered to talk to all the students about stress and anxiety in school, but I don't think the other teachers are going to necessarily like what I say. They're a bit more competitive than I am, especially when it comes to school. They like competing in science fairs and other academic contests - for the wins.
{sigh} Grandma was right. I should've been a plumber.
On a different note, I talked to my car dealer dude, Brother John. I'm going in Sunday morning to work things out, which means sell the Prius and get something waaaay cheaper.
Yesterday, Fire Marshall Fred said he was too sexy for our school, too sexy for our school, so sexy he droooooooled. This meant more days of driving kids around town, no computers to do what our charter school is supposed to be doing and pulling lesson plans out of our asses. Now I've been in situations where I've had to do this, but it's been on my own, not in a team teaching situation and it's been a bit frustrating because I really don't have that much say in what's happening right now. And from what we're dealing with, it's really best for now.
That being said, I was involved in making another child cry and another get "sick to her stomach".
In the afternoon, we gave the kids a "pre-test" in math. Which is teacher-talk for a test to see what the kids know how to do. At least half the kids when into panic mode even though we explained there is no grade and that it's just to show us where they are and what we need to teach. It didn't matter because they've been trained that when they hear the word "test" it's high-stakes. And they're scared shitless because in other schools they're told their scores will reflect on the school, blah, blah, blah. A lot of kids just weren't getting it.
One girl, who was only able to do 3 of 40-something problems, put her head down and started crying. We went into the hall and I calmed her down, told her stupid jokes and she was OK.
Ten minutes later, another girl claimed her stomach hurt. Well, did I mention that we don't have a school nurse? Well, we don't. So, being in the high school, we went to the front desk and the...well I can't call Melanie the receptionist because the school wouldn't function without her...she's the school Superwoman...called the girl's mom who came and picked her up. Turns out the girl does this all the time whenever there's any kind of stress on her.
I was not happy about all this. I made it look like I was mock-pissed, but I didn't get into this business and I sure didn't move 6000 miles away to make kids cry and fake sickness. I told the math teacher that Ted Sizer was going to come to Hawaii and kick her ass. (as a joke, of course)
If we were in the building we were supposed to be I would have had a chance to make other suggestions or help create another way to assess these kids but it's impossible right now. The last I heard, we may get in by Thursday.
I volunteered to talk to all the students about stress and anxiety in school, but I don't think the other teachers are going to necessarily like what I say. They're a bit more competitive than I am, especially when it comes to school. They like competing in science fairs and other academic contests - for the wins.
{sigh} Grandma was right. I should've been a plumber.
On a different note, I talked to my car dealer dude, Brother John. I'm going in Sunday morning to work things out, which means sell the Prius and get something waaaay cheaper.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Dave's Going Big Time
I promise, I'll be a good boy. This Saturday, the Governor of Hawaii is coming to do the photo-op thing at our school. Why? Well, I didn't fully realize the importance of the program I'm in. First of all, the Kihei Charter School is the only charter school on Maui. But the STEM program that I'm in is the only one in Hawaii - in any school. So many of the jobs here are service jobs, so if the state is going to try to attract businesses to come here (don't get me started on that), they want to have students graduating with a background in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Look, anything that's bugged me about Maui since I've been here - there isn't anything the Governor can do...well, except for taxes, I guess. But I'm just going to be eye candy. I'll get my picture taken and try to post it here.
So, I work in a place that's a big deal...at least in Hawaiian educational circles.
It's been a bit of a rocky start so far. We actually failed to get the approval from Fire Marshall Fred to let kids come into the school (or the part of the business park where are classrooms are. Seems that the architect didn't put in a pull-down alarm by the front door on the blueprints - therefore one wasn't put in. So we're still driving kids around town for classroom space.
With all transitioning we're doing, we can't really get the kids focused yet. A lot was planned before I was hired so I haven't been that instrumental in planning yet. Everyone's fine with the things I want to do, I just can't get any traction to get there. Maybe the Governor can do something about that...
Just kidding.
Look, anything that's bugged me about Maui since I've been here - there isn't anything the Governor can do...well, except for taxes, I guess. But I'm just going to be eye candy. I'll get my picture taken and try to post it here.
So, I work in a place that's a big deal...at least in Hawaiian educational circles.
It's been a bit of a rocky start so far. We actually failed to get the approval from Fire Marshall Fred to let kids come into the school (or the part of the business park where are classrooms are. Seems that the architect didn't put in a pull-down alarm by the front door on the blueprints - therefore one wasn't put in. So we're still driving kids around town for classroom space.
With all transitioning we're doing, we can't really get the kids focused yet. A lot was planned before I was hired so I haven't been that instrumental in planning yet. Everyone's fine with the things I want to do, I just can't get any traction to get there. Maybe the Governor can do something about that...
Just kidding.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Good News, Bad News
I'll try not to get too introspective. But this will have a relatively happy ending.
So, I got my first paycheck yesterday. {insert "boing" noise here} Holy crap they take a lot of your check. And they still haven't started taking out for health insurance. Sooooo...the car's going back. Yep. It just won't work out. One paycheck a month is going completely for rent...I mean completely. I'll probably be moving in January to some place cheaper. I had it pretty much worked out, but I had no idea how much they mess with you in taxes, and other interesting little costs.
So I walked around feeling like I had a big "L" tattooed on my forehead. I went out with some co-workers for Pau Hana, which is basically Hawaiian for happy hour. I wasn't really feeling it.
Today I was getting ready to do some work at school and the post office truck pulled into the driveway. MY STUFF! Yeah, I bitch about people being consumeristic, but I was sad about one of my things and now I'm happy because I got some of my other things. CD's and some school stuff. So the rest of it should be here in a week or so.
Well, I'm not unpacking too much. I'll be moving it again in a few months.
So, I got my first paycheck yesterday. {insert "boing" noise here} Holy crap they take a lot of your check. And they still haven't started taking out for health insurance. Sooooo...the car's going back. Yep. It just won't work out. One paycheck a month is going completely for rent...I mean completely. I'll probably be moving in January to some place cheaper. I had it pretty much worked out, but I had no idea how much they mess with you in taxes, and other interesting little costs.
So I walked around feeling like I had a big "L" tattooed on my forehead. I went out with some co-workers for Pau Hana, which is basically Hawaiian for happy hour. I wasn't really feeling it.
Today I was getting ready to do some work at school and the post office truck pulled into the driveway. MY STUFF! Yeah, I bitch about people being consumeristic, but I was sad about one of my things and now I'm happy because I got some of my other things. CD's and some school stuff. So the rest of it should be here in a week or so.
Well, I'm not unpacking too much. I'll be moving it again in a few months.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
First Day of School
A couple of quick stories about my first day at Kihei Charter School. I'll go in chronological order. The first one happened about 20 minutes into the day. All the kids were dropped off by the parents, we hoarded them into vans and drove to the high school (as I mentioned before, our facilities aren't ready until Monday). So we get there, go into the auditorium and start playing a game - a warm-up activity that also gets us to introduce ourselves. We're all seated in chairs except for one person in the middle who says "My name is Billy and I like...." and whatever Billy likes (or is), everyone who is the same has to get out of their chairs and run to a different chair. Which means there will always be one person left standing and that person is next. My name is Becky and I'm....
So we're doing this for about 10 minutes and I'm sitting next to this really little girl. I forgot that sixth graders can be this small. She looks at me really disappointed and says, "If I get out there no one's going to like what I like."
"Why? What is it you like?"
"Coding in html." [web page speak]
I swear...I almost said "I love you." It was right on the tip of my tongue. But I decided that it would be an inappropriate thing to say to an eleven year old child who I had just met a half-an-hour ago.
So when we were finished in the auditorium, we had to leave as the high schoolers had to eat lunch there. We loaded up the vans and drove to the Kihei Youth Center. We split up into two groups to do that I Went To The Beach And Brought A... game. (I brought Atias' Amazing Orangutan) As we got out of the vans and were walking to the field, I looked out and saw the ocean. We were maybe 150 yards from the shore. There's a mountain to the right (with beautiful windmills) that looked like something out of a Bob Ross painting...with wisps of clouds. And the first thing that popped into my head was:
How the hell did I get here?
That's when it really hit me - what I was doing. I was on a tropical island teaching 50 slightly spastic kids. THIS is why I went to college.
Of course the day's over, I'm exhausted and I have my own version of Moe, Larry & Curly who I have to give private van riding lessons to tomorrow because they can't seem to figure out how to behave in a van. Pretty freakin cool.
So we're doing this for about 10 minutes and I'm sitting next to this really little girl. I forgot that sixth graders can be this small. She looks at me really disappointed and says, "If I get out there no one's going to like what I like."
"Why? What is it you like?"
"Coding in html." [web page speak]
I swear...I almost said "I love you." It was right on the tip of my tongue. But I decided that it would be an inappropriate thing to say to an eleven year old child who I had just met a half-an-hour ago.
So when we were finished in the auditorium, we had to leave as the high schoolers had to eat lunch there. We loaded up the vans and drove to the Kihei Youth Center. We split up into two groups to do that I Went To The Beach And Brought A... game. (I brought Atias' Amazing Orangutan) As we got out of the vans and were walking to the field, I looked out and saw the ocean. We were maybe 150 yards from the shore. There's a mountain to the right (with beautiful windmills) that looked like something out of a Bob Ross painting...with wisps of clouds. And the first thing that popped into my head was:
How the hell did I get here?
That's when it really hit me - what I was doing. I was on a tropical island teaching 50 slightly spastic kids. THIS is why I went to college.
Of course the day's over, I'm exhausted and I have my own version of Moe, Larry & Curly who I have to give private van riding lessons to tomorrow because they can't seem to figure out how to behave in a van. Pretty freakin cool.
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