I'm reflecting now. It's almost 6p.m. on New Year's Eve and I am on full reflection mode. Watching the news and seeing their segment on international new years that have already been celebrated is only feeding this more. I just tweeted this, but I will say in terms of the Twitter-verse, it was a great year.
A month ago (ish) I got into a car accident. I did have to say goodbye to my PT Cruiser, but I did end up getting a new car (whoop whoop!).
An early Christmas gift to myself
I've been around LA enjoying my car, and its MPG. In other aspects, work is going well. My friends are well too. Here is a pic of our Christmas dinner, after which, we went to see an Old Hollywood theater Christmas music review.
My family is doing well, especially my sister and her twins. Grateful for many things this Holiday season.
Now I'm off, as Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house is about to commence.
Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" doesn't drive, and when he needs to take the bus he wears his "bus pants." And so my friend Yaya reminded after the following happened...
My car is crashed. I'm okay, nothing happened to me, but yes, I've had my first car accident. I've been driving for about 15 years and I've never been in an accident. I witnessed one once as a pedestrian, so a part of me feels that this right if passage was overdue. I'm sure my car will be declared a total loss, still waiting. It was sudden, I was pretty nonchalant, and it all got processed, towed, and talked through pretty quickly. Just waiting on some more info, we shall see.
The good thing, if there is a good thing, is that this happened pre-Thanksgiving, when I have time to sort things out. If you're not from LA, let me tell you, having a car is essential. However, I'm no stranger to the public transport. I didn't have a car in high school nor did I have a car when I lived overseas, so don't go off thinking I'm staying put because I'm 100% car dependent. These things happen, c'est la vie.
A glimpse at the occurrence (unfortunately, it's worse than this frame)
October is a staple of fall, a preview into what November will be. October was a huge month. Was it because it was Halloween?
I once again went into my novel-based characters (I should revisit Harry Potter & Peter Pan pictures, and went for Oz's later named king, the Scarecrow.
But no....that wasn't it.
It was because I just go new nephews!!! Yes, nephews, with an S. My sister super recently had twin boys, Danny & Javier. Here they are:
Now here they are with their awesome uncle:
While on the date of their birth, I felt quite accomplished because I could instantaneously tell them apart, that skill did not last long. They grew into their not-so-smooched-anymore features post-womb. Now they are extremely identical and I made the same mistake their parents are now prone too, good thing they still have their hospital anklets.
We are now in the midst of autumn and it feel crisp (previous blog post), hopeful, and near-conclusive.
Many things to do, per usual, enjoy the long weekend.
p.s. My condolences to Julie H., who recently lost her husband, Jim.
It's the changing of the seasons, and with that, it's time to post.
The Virgo Trifecta
Now that the most amazing time of year, Virgo season is over, I can now reflect on September time. My birthday, along with Nick and Pat's passed, and like many moons ago, we celebrated our birthdays together. We had a blast at Fuego and Hotel Maya. Glad to celebrate our birthdays with our friends. Birthdays are always a tricky. Fun and reflection, quite a combination of thought.
My Nephews are Coming
My sister recently celebrated her baby shower. I'll get to meet my nephews in a few weeks. Funny how my mother, my sister, and now my niece are surrounded by brothers. She had a great baby shower alongside family and friends.
From SK to LV
Had another Korea reunion, this time in Vegas. The Evans clan came to visit from Italy. It is always great to see this group of friends as went through quite an experience together, we are very like-minded, and enjoy each other's company. I can't wait for the next ones.
Thoughts
Now that I'm back to the school as a teacher and a student, I'm figuring out that rhythm (again). I'm back to the back forth, back forth, and back again. Speaking of which, sometimes, some things don't change. I reflected a while ago how small the world is, and the world keeps putting that in my face. It's mostly positive, but sometimes it isn't. I like to think God has a sense of humor and you get put in places for a reason, the world has a logical order. I like logic.
A recent, let's call it coincidence, occurred that made me realize how small the world is. It's pretty hilarious how tied we are without realizing, until something hits you and makes it concrete. This one started off as a funny Skype sharing about someone and ended up being blasted to the entire Southbay, including Yelp.
Colorado and the people I knew there definitely contributed to this thought process as well. Also when I think of friends who are in similar career networks and realize how much we know the same people, that also trips me out at times.
The world we live in, it's pretty tiny.
Time to colonize the moon.
Back from a GREAT trip! Just a day ago, I was traveling all over Colorado. Thanks to my friends and especially the Bramleys for making it an amazing trip. Denver, Colorado Springs, and Estes were such fun places to be. After Brooke picked me up from the airport, we went straight to visit Jackie & Nico in Colorado Spring (more people from Korea reunion!).
At the Garden of the Gods with Jackie and Brooke
Hitting up a Boulder in Boulder, CO with Matt & Brooke
Enjoying the (wet) Estes scenery
About to hit the pedal boats at Jazz in the Park
at the US Mint
Thanks Bramleys for showing me a great time in Colorado
I love having some free-spiritedness all the while keep my "ground." Looking forward to another summer trip.
I love exploring and making the world smaller and smaller.
I always wonder why things happen around me the way they do. I'm sure everyone figures that in their own lives, but I have some type of special-case-syndrome. A friend told me, "How do these things keep happening to you? Well...around you." Very true.
Long story short, this week has been filled with a many big things happening around me, but having little to do with me other than being in the audience. Story of my life, wrong place wrong time Osc. I mean BIG things have happened to me like this, where I can only really play a fly on the wall and seek advice through those that were not present. I'm stirring a pot of soup, but they're not my ingredients.
Granted, this time around I played a more active roll, but nonetheless, I'm a small factor in the larger equation.
Well, as this soup keeps boiling, I just think of things, process them, and hope they turn out for the best.
Like the awesome Alanis Morissette says in her song and that I can and have been able to always relate to, I am a "citizen of the planet." I love learning about the world and in turn, learning about myself.
Last year I was driven to travel to some great places, and was blessed to scratch Italy off my list. But lately no place in particular has got me itching for traveling. I had been contemplating a few places, especially those where I know people that live there (which is why places like Italy and Hawaii have been awesome for me) but there was no drive to go to those places. I didn't feel like I was being pulled anywhere, then my usually minimalistic mind came to an epiphany. That was that I should know my surroundings better. I don't do as much local, or cross-country, traveling to get to know my country and the greatness that it offers. One thing I feel I need to clarify when I'm in a foreign country is that being American can mean so many things. First off, I have to explain that being from a different state alone is like being from a different country. Each state has its own laws and prominently values. Meeting someone from Hawaii, someone from Alabama, and someone from California and presuming they live and believe the same things is quite a stretch. Secondly, scenery is important. Going to LA to check out the scenery means something totally different when talking about an upstate city like Sonora. This let to me having a conclusion.
I've decided to travel to another US state. Plans are still in the works for going, but it is Colorado and I'm pretty excited. Anyone who knows what's been going on knows that I need to get away, especially from the city. I am so looking forward to take ~one week and just escape to a sanctuary-like state of mind. To hike would be ideal and it's the perfect place to do so. I think I need a healthy dose of nature, appreciation for the Earth, and overall perspective.
So yeah, that's where I am. Travel bug is here, but with a different purpose.
It has been two years since I've been back from Korea and it didn't really come to my attention until this past weekend. I met Adelis, my friend's kid who had a birthday party. I saw people at this party that I hadn't seen in a while and before I knew it, many people were asking me about SK, how it went, how it's been being back and if I would do it again. Would I do it again? Who knows.
My parents have told me that they admire my sense of determination and my wonder of the world. They didn't get to have opportunities like I did, so they know I don't they these experiences for granted. I think that if I did it again, I would like to do it in another country, though I remember when I initially explored my options, Korea had the best to offer. And based on what my friend Julie recently told me, it still does.
And like the things the universe always seems to want to send me, Simon and Martina from Eat Your Kimchi posted a video this week about their reflections:
I do miss doing explorations like this:
However, I love my job, I love being in LA, and traveling with still coming back home (Like a Hero, lol).
Now here I am watching Arirang like I only had SK local channels, hahahaha.
Write a postcard of advice to the younger you that lived there then....
How much time do you have?
So I was evaluating a TED Talk to show my students, and it led into a life examination. The TED Talk went over technology patterns in humanity and how artistic it can be.
You put in the address of where you grew up and it creates a movie.
The movie is a great audiovisual experience.
At the end however, it post a writing prompt for the participant: Write a postcard of advice to the younger you that live there yet.
Here is what I wrote
Oscar,
You were in a rush to grow up, now you want thing to slow down to stay put.
I wrote this because of something I've addressed earlier. This is that I always enjoyed the company of adults more than those of children my own age. The exception were classmates because of the magnet schools I went to and being able to have equals and betters in order to exchange ideas and be teenagers at the same time, a nice mix. But outside of that school atmosphere, I really enjoyed being around adults. I wanted to be an adult, or at least being acknowledged as one. This was not in the typical "I can't wait to be 18 and get out of here" in the hormonal teenage fashion. I wanted to be an intellectual equal. Now that I am an adult, with some degrees and experiences, I want things to stop. I'm comfortable and happy. Although I always love a good challenge, don't you just want things to pause sometimes? I do. Probably because so many things will once again be changing soon. But yeah child Oscar, funny, isn't it?
As Teacher Appreciation Day comes around in a few hours, I think it is a perfect time to reflect on what I do.
I teach, and as a student of life and citizen of the planet, it is something I love to do. I know what I was made for and what I was physically born to do. It feels right and I love it.
Recently, changes have been made to my career, confirmed and known to everyone at my school at this point. I have gotten really great feedback. I feel I'll get the best of both worlds. I get to work where I am comfortable with the students I have grown to care for, and get the adrenaline and nerves that come with starting a new job.
How blessed I am that the opportunities that are coming have come my way. I always think that things could easily go differently, so I know how lucky I am.
Appreciate your educators, and they work hard, live hard, and love hard.
I recently received good news, like really good news, regarding my profession. Although I am happy about what is happening and what is going to happen, I'm not particularly acting like it.
I can't take compliments, like real ones. I always have a snarky sardonic comment, act defensively, or try to not draw attention to it. It's weird because I should be grateful, and I am, but my mouth moves too fast and gets ahead of me.
So in separate instances, when people have congratulated me on this new path, my reaction is "Shut up." Shut up? Seriously? Seriously Osc, shut up? Yes. I wish it were nicer but before I can control the verbal sewage that comes out of my mouth, it's out there. Granted I don't intend it in a mean way and definitely don't shout it. It has quite a playful tone, one where you know that no one is going to get butt hurt. However, I really need to come up with a better reaction. Even after the third instance when I finally caught myself doing it, here came incident number four and I did it again. Granted, I keep myself in good company where I can get away with that.
Need to watch that mouth Osc, need to watch that mouth, because this stuff isn't going to fly in the months to come.
Today was interesting. It was like looking into my future, and I have mixed emotions about it. I knew it was coming, today it was set in stone, and now that it's here it's a bit scary.
Although I'm still heebie jeebied about a couple of things, I'd like to think its for the best. It's for my own growth. There was a lot to take in today, it's still processing in my head.
In other news, I had an amazing time participating in the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event at the Rose Bowl. My awesome team raised over $800!!!! Amazing!!! Beyond what I did last year and beyond what I had set as our goal. Thank you Etna, Scott, and Andrew and Raymond :-) Can't wait to do it bigger and better next year.
Isn't it funny how if you put something out there in the universe that you get it back? Big time! The day, in fact, the morning after my last post, it came back to me in a powerful way.
Sometimes people surprise you, the universe surprises you, and your faith in the world strengthens.
Don't knock the song based on who sings it. When you learn what influenced the lyrics, listen to lyrics, know that it's influenced a theater production and even moved Luciano Pavarotti to sing his own version of it, then you'll appreciate it.
There's a line there that always (well more than one) grabs a hold of me, "hasta mañana, always be mine."
Geri Halliwell, the composer of the track, explained in a documentary I once watched that the song explains how you have those people you will always love, but you need to give them a "see you later."
This song caught my attention, especially from the harmonies, before I really understood it. Once I understood, it became very ingrained in my head.
I feel with age, it becomes a credo for how things in life go. You have those friends and loved ones that you will always cherish, and you know how you feel, and they know how you feel, and they feel the same, and it all happens with little to no contact. It happens more and more often. You don't have to be with people all the time to know that you love them, and sometimes letting go makes things better. It's a "goodbye for now" but you will always be a part of me and the person I am.
I'm not isolating any cases, but just thought it was a nice tidbit of philosophy to share.
One more lyric before "Viva forever, everlasting like the sun, live forever, for the moment."
Yep, the title says it all. Tale as old as time...we don't have any time. These past two weeks have been intense, and all within a professional sense. This weekend is the first time in two weeks I got to do things Osc like, well to some degree. I still had to go to class and grade a huge stack of essays today, and lesson planned last night at Barnes & Noble, but eh, what are you going to do about that? That's life.
Even though I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed and just busy (I'll be using this word a lot in this blog apparently), it has all been for growth. I enjoyed going to the CUE conference in Palm Springs, and I can't wait to go again next year! I learned so much and enjoyed the lectures, plus getting swag from different ed tech companies is always a plus ;-)
Unfortunately, I could stay the entire time and had to leave Palm Springs on Friday night because I had to attend another ed tech conference, but this one was at Mt. St. Mary's. I'm sorry, did I say attend? I meant to say presented at! I presented at an ed tech conference with the topic of social justice (Critical Thinking in Action). Best part? I got to present with some of my students in order to present the school's iPad program and social justice assignments we have done via those means. I learned a lot, and although I've spoken at other conference, this LA-wide one was something I'll remember for a long time. The feedback I have received is also a major plus.
Spring break is around the corner, and I can't wait for it. Well deserved, I think so at least.
Busy, but good busy. It's a good busy, once you see it in retrospect. At the time I've honestly thought, "Why am I so tired? .....Oh yeeeeeah."
The main theme of my literature class this year is, "What happens if in the end, the hero doesn't win?"
Glad to say the students are catching on to it. They're in the midst of writing their own myths at the moment, and a couple of them are excited to write about their hero not winning. This was a unit I've wanted to teach since I wrote it during my credential classes at LBSU. I remember my professor for this unit stated that she hoped I'd teach it someday. The funny thing is that I wrote it for a sixth grade class, and that's the class that's doing it, kind of like a prophecy.
The works they've read and are currently reading are Ozma of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia (esp. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian), Of Mice and Men, The Tale of Isis and Osiris, "Orpheus," "Arachne," and other Greek myths. If you've ever read any of these, you will understand about the hero not winning (esp. in the traditional sense). I remember my principal was happy I'd be teaching that theme.
All of this has had me thinking about the heroes in my life, both through my own personal connection with them such as family and friends, and my admiration through published works.
In my personal lives there are just too many to name. I'm a believer that who we are is only really 10% us and 90% of everything you have learned from those around you. And when you think about it, 10% of you may not seem like a whole lot, but you may be 10% to many many others out there, and that is incalculable.
I think in those whose lives I've read about I have greatly admired some people in history (and some who will go down in history). As a matter of fact, I added them (but not all) in a book of sorts that I wrote for a heroes class I taught during an English summer camp in Korea.
Here are some of my heroes to name a few: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah Winfrey, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Toni Morrison, J.K. Rowling, Alanis Morissette, Shakira, Fey, C.S. Lewis, Dalai Lama, and Barack Obama. Don't know why? Read up on their lives, how they achieved and struggled in their careers, and what they do to give back. They didn't really win in the traditional sense, that's why! And that's life.
Also, one of my favorite Latin singers (who is on the list) is on tour. Waiting for Fey's US dates though. Here's a taste of it, watch the whole thing, she is amazing in what she does:
So it has been too long since I've written. But time has not been my friend. Between work, school, work, work, some school, and work, time has not allowed me to write as often as I wish I could. You have no idea how many countless times I sit back and think, "this would make an excellent blog post!" But alas, it doesn't work out that way.
So things that have been happening, aside from the business stated earlier, that have been development in some of my own goals. Some growth opportunities have been presented to me recently, and as I keep hearing them from more and more people, they seem to be more and more of a possibility. Should make for an interesting later half of the year. I know I'm being über vague, but I don't want to jump ahead and have things turn out differently.
It's been unfortunate that three of my friends lost grandparents in a one week timespan, for supporting them has also been part of what I've been doing. For me alone, this has been a recent issue. I will say that there was a sense of what I can only describe as strangeness when attending the wake for a friend's grandparent when I could not attend those of my own grandparents last year (other that the rosary services my mother held here for our local family and friends). But the important thing is to be there for those I care for.
Lent is here, and with it the same thing I gave up last year. I ended up learning a lot last year, so I hope it continues into this lental season.
So here I am just keeping busy, and with the ongoing commitment to try and write more often.
Stay tuned.
In good music news, I LOVE this song by Josh Groban and completely recommend it:
