Last Minute Punishment

I just finished a trial of endurance. I went to a school supply store "Lakeshore". It was two hours of mostly waiting to use the laminating machine. About 15 minutes of the two hours was shopping AND waiting to pay.  Watching the different people come and go, it was sometimes frightening that some of those people were teachers:
Clueless
Selfish
Talkative
Impatient
Bad parent
Just some of the adjectives that came to mind.

Back to School

Quick entry...I hope.  Today was shopping for new clothes.  Although with my financial situation, I really shouldn't have been shopping for clothes.  I return to work next week.  Most of my clothes don't fit well.  I have been fairly inconsistant with my jogging, but I have been jog somewhat.  Enough to lose a few pounds.  Up until today, I only had one pair of pants with a 34in waist.  I have a couple of 36in waist pants, but they are becoming increasingly too loose.  My belts were also for a larger me.  Now, I have some comfortable clothes for the new year.  As for shoes, I'm going to have to stick with the ones I have for now.  As with previous summers, I mostly slept this one away.  My only saving grace was that I did run from time to time. 

I attached a photo of my purchases.  In total, I spent $244.95 for the clothes you see. Most (if not all) of the items shown were clearance sale or deeply discounted. 

Gotta go.  Considering the junkfood I ate at the mall today, I do need to run tomorrow.  I also have to retrain myself to running in the morning before work.  Now, my goal is to drop to a size 32 waist by the end of this year.  I would like to use my Holiday Club savings for a Kindle and a couple of size 32in waist pants.

Crazy week.  Stressful too.  This was suppose to be a different start to the new school year, but everything seems to be playing out like a broken record. 

Quick summary because it is very, very late.  With relative certainty, I'll be teaching 6th grade this year.  With that, I did what I do when I'm nervous about the coming school year, I went shopping. 

Yesterday, I went to the teacher's store in Brooklyn.  They (in my opinion) have a better selection of middle school materials.  The plan was to get there at opening to avoid the crowd.  I managed to be the second person to arrive before the store opened up.  My plan was just to briefly look at the books --with the idea of not spending more than $100.  Well, when I left, I was about $300 poorer.  From there, my plan was to go home, drop off the purchased materials and then continue on to the mall to go clothes shopping.  But since it was getting late -- the last evening bus from the mall is 7pm.  The problem with depending on public transportation is that you have to plan around the bus and/or train schedule.  At the mall, I needed to buy some "back to school" clothes for myself.  Unfortunately, I tend to wear clothes until they are falling apart.  By the time it was time to go, I was about $300 poorer.  I caught a few sells, so I was pleased about that.  I purchased a couple of pair of shoes, 3 slacks, 5 shirts (three color, and two white), and underwear.

Today (Sunday), the plan was to go to the teacher's store closer to where I live (Lakeshore).  Lakeshore is a bigger chain of educational supply stores.  I went to try and exchange the 4th grade materials that I had purchased.  I thought it might be difficult to exchange, but it was very easy.  I just said that I wanted to exchange....Before I finished my sentence, the person behind the counter just said, "don't worry, I can help with your refund."  I also went to use their laminating machine.  Wow, it was very convenient.  It was a bit annoying waiting on the line.  I was a bit annoyed at a couple of people on the machine when I arrived.  One lady was moving as slow as molasses, another lady was making her (center) signs while she was using the machine.  One lady on line complained about how slow the line was moving, and yet, when she got to the machine, she had about 15 or 20 hand-made charts that she was planning to laminate. AND, she was picking through her pile trying to decide what she wanted.  The lady in front of me was nice, but she seemed a bit old.  Not that there's anything wrong with an older person teacher.  I just thought she seemed a bit out of it.  Not to mention the very old poster she was laminating.  It must have been from the 70's.  The poster was of an African-American family (with Afros) sitting around and reading.  Behind me, there was a guy complaining loudly about his new teaching assignment and how he wasn't spending any money now.  He said he might spend some after he assesses his students.  When it came my turn to use the laminating machine, to be fair, I offered to use it for 5 minutes, then I would let the next person use it.  And then use it for another five minutes, and then let the next person go, etc... After laminating, I went to briefly look through the materials for 6th grade materials.  And, I ended up leaving about...$300 poorer.  Since I had to travel by bus, I decided to cut and trim the decorations and posters so that they would be easy to carry.  It ended up taking about 2 hours of cutting.  When I finished, I discovered that about 1/3 of the items didn't laminate properly.  At first when I went the the person behind the counter, the manage was about to say it was my fault that I didn't have the machine on hot enough.  However, when one of the cashiers mentioned to him that another person had the same problem earlier, he went straight to the machine, and tried to solve my problem.  I was impressed that despite the crowd, when the manager said that he would return in a couple of minutes, he actually did!  He used one of the two laminating machines that was broken to feed in my posters and decals one by one until the heat melted the plastic lamination.  AND for my time wasted, he gave me 3 coupons for free laminating (15ft. each). 

No exercising today.  I hadn't eaten anything since I had a can of V8 this morning, so I was hungry.  I went to Wendy's restaurant on the way home.  I was thinking that a 1/2 lbs burger and medium fries would fill me up.  NOPE!  While I was waiting for the try, I ate the fries.  I finished off the hamburger minutes later.  I avoided the soda because I know it has a lot of calories.  The strange thing was that it felt like I had eaten a White Castle burger.  I was ready for dinner.  I settled on a Healthy Choice sweet and sour chicken meal.  I also drank a liter of ShopRite Zero Carbs and Calorie Free Sugar Free and Caffeine Free soda. 

Well, that is ....

Oh, I almost forgot.  I just finished looking at the materials that were in my Amazon.com shopping cart.  When I first found out I would be teaching 4th grade, I went online to purchase 4th grade copies of the 3rd grade versions that I liked.  Well, when I found out I would be teaching 6th grade, I did the same thing.  Luckily, I was able to delete some of the items since I had already purchases them.  In the end, I spent about another $200.  My credit card is smoking like a five alarm fire.  But there is one more thing I really, really, need to get.

Even more than a decent photocopy machine, I need a grading machine.  My school is very, very big on "Data Driving Instruction".  I was drowning in paperwork last year.  I will lose my mind if I have to try to keep up with testing paperwork again this year.  This machine (and others like it) can do in about 30 seconds, what it would take me 2 hours or longer to do (grade a class set of a single test AND provide a data analysis for each student).

Now, I think  that's it...

Random Thoughts

Hello All.  Yes, it has been a while.  I just finished eating a rather unappealing container of Weight Watchers mint ice cream.  Yuck.  Lately, I've been trying to find substitute foods that taste interesting, but are less in calories (and sugar).  The mint ice cream was a miss.  However, I do like their (so called) Giant Ice Cream Bars.  Two of those bars are usually enough to satisfy my cravings for ice creams.  240 calories for the two bars as oppose to a pint of Ben & Jerry's about 1,000 calories. Oh, and I'm really liking favored seltzer drinks.  They are suppose to (according to the label) have zero calories, no caffeine, zero carbs, and sodium and sugar free.  It tastes like a cheap imitation soda, but it does taste like soda.  Before I discovered these drinks, I was buying liters of ginger ale at the local deli (about 450 calories each). I hope these aren't too good to be true.

Sorry for the lack of postings.  I've been in my usual summer vacation vegetative state.  Not doing much but laying around my very messy apartment.  Today I finally got around to doing the laundry.  It only took me about 7 loads to complete.  Today was also the day I finally did two workouts in a single day.  For the last few days I've only been able to get on my stationary bike once a day.  And sometimes, I didn't even do that.  Long story short, I fell off the exercise bandwagon around the end of July.  Doing a single squat had my knees crunching like a bag of chips.  After that, I've been very stiff in the knees and reluctant to run on them.  So, most of this summer I've been riding my stationary bike off and on, trying to keep up the routine I started the summer with, but with little success.  My weight has been one long inconsistent roller coaster ride.  Finally, the last couple of weeks or so, I've been fairly consistent with getting on my stationary bike at least once a day.  Oh, and I purchased a new digital scale.  With my poor eyesight, I need the larger numbers.  Unfortunately, this new scale is showing that I'm fatter than the old $10 scale.  I went from thinking I was 116lbs. to discovering that the old scale was lying.  On the new digital scale, I was 122lbs.  And I've been yo-yoing around 122lbs for the last couple of weeks.

This evening, I'm now 119.4lbs.  Before the spaghetti dinner and ice cream, I was 116lbs. on the digital scale.  But then, I hadn't had anything but a Power Bar and 16oz of orange juice all day.

I'm going to have to wrap this entry up, so that I can get to bed to get up early enough to do the two rides on my bike.  There were several near blogs I could have written, but since I didn't write notes for myself, I don't remember the details about those blogs.  What I'm going to do now, is just jot down a few random thoughts about some of the things that come to mind.  Hopefully with this blog entry, I will be able to get back into a regular posting routine.

Movies
I went to the movies a few times.  Below are those movies that come to mind at this moment.
Captain America - I liked it.  A bit long, but enjoyable.
Surfs - I should have hated it, but it was cute.
Planet of the Apes - Nice set up for a sequel.  Enjoyable.

Broadway Shows
Wicked - Saw it.  Liked it.  Had to get the book to read it.
Spiderman - I just purchased tickets to see this in a few days.

Exercising - See above.

Reading
Wicked - I read it, but didn't really like it.  It wasn't what I thought it would be.  It tried too hard to appeal to adults.
Star Trek Voyager "Children of the Storm" - I liked it. It does a good job of continuing the series, but in novel form.

New "Neighbor"
Yesterday while chatting online, I met another "neighbor".  After chatting for awhile, we discovered that we live very close by.  How close?  He lives in a building across the street.  Can you believe it, right across the street? 

Shopping
When school resumes in a few weeks, I will be teaching a new grade for the first time.  I have been assigned to teach 4th grade.  Luckily, it is close to the grade I've already been teaching.  Luckily, or not so lucky (I'm not sure which), I will have most of my same students from last (school) year.  Why is this in the "shopping" area?  Somehow, I ended up spending most (if not all) of one of my paychecks on buying copies of 4th grade resource and reproducible books that I already have in 3rd grade.  I wanted to make sure that I didn't fall into my comfort zone.  I also purchased various baskets, for my classroom library, as well as a few other things for my classroom.

I could've rambled on some more, but it is time to end this entry.  Hopefully, I will now be able to start getting good routines down.  Tomorrow, I need to start cleaning my pigsty of an apartment.  I also need to resume posting on LoseIt.com.

Another Little Black Bag

I just purchased yet another little black bag.  In this case, it is a back pack(pronounced "Molly").  I've tried the messenger bag, but I want to go back to the backpack.  After a bit of internet searching, I purchased this pack from Amazon.com.  It should arrive in about 2 weeks. 

It has been a while since my last posting.  And not much new.  Oh, I do plan to start another exercise/diet plan.  My appologies to those who received a strange email from a dieting website.  When I registered (on an impulse), I added about 5 names and email addresses of those who I thought might be interested in the site/friending me as I went through the plan.  I was planning to send another email to explain the diet site, but being the procrastinator, I never did. I thought it would be similar to Blogger, but now I think it is more like Facebook.  With Blogger anyone can follow your blog entries, however with Facebook, you have to register to have access.  No need to register, I'll keep updating my progress on this blogging page.

At this point, I could go into the new diet/exercise routine I'm planning to start on June 1st, but having done the "New Plan" thing for quite some time now, I'm going to just fill in the details as I go through them.  I hope.  However, I will mention that I also recently purchased a metronome.  I've wanted one for years and I've finally purchased one.  Why?  In the past, I've been so easily distracted that I often lose focus with reps and pacing.  Whether I was rowing, running, or on my stationary bike, I would often find myself barely keeping up a steady pace.  Usually, programs will say to maintain a certain heartrate, but more often than not once I'm into a physical routine, my mind starts wandering and I barely seem to be doing much of any sweating.  I'm hoping the metronome will help me keep a consistant pace while I'm exercising.  It also has an earphone jack, so I won't disturb others.
I just did a quick YouTube search -- not really expecting to see the metronone.  Imagine my surprise when the exact metronome I purchased had a video clip.  So of course I have to attach it.

Santa was very good this year, but...

Santa was very good this year, but I'll be paying for it next year.  Today, I should have been cleaning up my apartment, but once again I went out for a walk after I finally dragged myself out of bed. 

I went to buy myself a recliner.  For the longest time, I've logged more hours in a very uncomfortable computer chair.  I also have a futon, which I've been  treating as a couch, but it really isn't.  Besides, my futon is usually covered with books and papers.  In other words, I don't own a comfortable chair.  Other than my bed (which is a bit cheap anyway), I don't really own a piece of solid furniture.  Nearly everything I own is cheap and disposable.  I was raised on shopping at discount stores.  I think I paid about $700 for my complete bedroom set (2 dressers, headboard, 2 night tables).  It's cheap(by NYC standards), but since I'm very easy on my things, they usually hold up surprisingly well.  Well, not my clothes, I tend to wear clothes until they disintegrate).

Anyway, I finally decided to treat myself to a recliner.  I brought a rocker recliner at a local discount furniture store.  The total cost (including taxes, and delivery fee) for the recliner was $346.63.  See the attached photo.  I couldn't find the exact style online, but the photo is pretty close.  I ordered charcoal/black.  It should arrive in 7 ~ 10 days.  I'd wanted to go to the discount furniture place -- I wouldn't even call it a store.  It was more of a store front.  They have a few pieces of furniture, but mostly, you order from catalogs they have from a couple of companies.  They call the warehouse and ship it to you.  Since I was please with my bedroom set, I wanted to buy a recliner from them as well.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any recliners.  The salesperson told me that she didn't know when they would have anymore in stock.  So, I went down the block to another discount furniture store that recently relocated there, and would you believe, there was a recliner sitting right at the front door. 

Oh, and I also bought an imitation ipad.  At first I wanted a Kindle, but then the ipad came out.  I thought (to myself) why limit myself to just an e-reader.  Then, I had my heart set on getting an ipad, but my finances made that a long-shot.  I had to settle on an imitation ipad.  It has a capacitive response system.  I had no idea what that meant until I did a Google search and I found my answer on Wikipedia  -- Yes, I know, Wikipedia isn't a reliable source for research, but I can't help it.  Anyway, Capacitive means that you have to use a stylus pen, object, or your finger nail.  The ipad uses a touch screen technology (meaning you can manipulate with the touch of your finger).  I'm getting sidetracked. 

Back to my Apad.  The online reviews were pretty 50/50 with the positive and negative comments.  I brought the imitation with the idea that a nice guy won't get screwed with  a piece of junk.  Well, if you've read this blog for any period of time, you know that's not necessarily true.  We'll see.

Oh, while I'm at it, I might as well complete my Christmas list.  I also bought a laptop tray, a pair of Dockers, DVDs (300, Meet the Spartans, and Superman/Batman: Apocalyse) and accessories for my Apad.

Quick Entry

More shopping.  I went to the teacher's store near me.  I needed a classroom number line.  Well, I picked the wrong time to go.  I was expecting the place to be very crowded, but it wasn't.  However, the placed was fairly picked clean.  I made a list of things that I wanted to get, but several of the items were out of stock.  Unfortunately, that didn't stop me from spending money I don't really have.  I ended up spending another $225.  I really need to get a handle on my classroom spending.

Exercise
So now that my exercise bike is up, what's the plan?  Starting tomorrow, or Tuesday, I will return to my (modified) liquid diet until October 31st.  Right now, I'm only looking at short-term.  Anything longer will seem to unrealistic.  Actually, my original plan was to do the liquid diet during this summer, but we know how that turned out.  Well anyway, the thinking is that if I can stick with the diet and (stationary) bike riding for the 8 weeks, I will be motivated to do another 8 weeks.  If I stick with some kind of workout routine until January, I'll join the Y.....yet again.

Back to School Shopping (Part 1)

Well, my vacation is just about over.   As usual, I didn't do anything I had planned to do during my time off.  A part of me is looking forward to returning to work....a part.  : )

Today I finally got around to cleaning my living room floor.   I finally swept, washed, and waxed the middle part of the floor.  Now, I just have to do the hallway floor.  I also have to put up the new shower curtains, then my apartment is as clean as it is going to get until next summer.  I am happy that I will be starting the school year with a (relatively) clean apartment. 

I was just transferring the photo of my back to school shopping trip purchases when I came across photos of my apartment taken July 5, 2010 (the start of this summer).  If I get around to it, I might do a before and after series for the different rooms of my apartment.  Now that it's clean, I don't mind.  Hopefully, I'll never let it get that bad again.  I hope.

Anyway, I went shopping for some back to school materials.  Usually, I go to a store in Brooklyn, but I discovered that a larger store is located near me.  It turns out the travel time to the teacher supply store near me is about an hour one-way on public transportation (not including waiting time).  The store in Brooklyn is about 2 hours one-way on the subway.

So, was I able to show some self-control with shopping?  A little.....very little.  I ended up spending $380.07 on teaching materials, classroom supplies, and bulletin board decorations. 

I settled on attaching a photo of the books I purchased at the teacher's store.  I'll save the "messy room" photos for another time.

Quick Entry

Today I received a call from my AP. I ordered a few items that I'm hoping will help me get organized this year($475). She suggested that I come to move my boxes from the office to my room. It wasn't until I arrived that I realized that the 4-draw file cabinet wasn't among the boxes. My AP told me that she would ask the delivery person to deliver the file cabinet to my room. The four boxes were easy to move, but a 4-draw file cabinet wouldn't be easy to move by myself up to the second floor. So what did I buy? I bought a couple of shelving units, a storage cabinet, and a file cabinet.

Dental Visit

Today I had a dental appointment. I wasn't too pleased with the experience. Although I haven't had an appointment in about 5 years, I've never had an experience that was painful or uncomfortable....until now. I chose this dentist because I received a postcard a couple of years ago (yep, I still had it after two years.) I also liked the location of the practice (a nice office complex near my home).

Anyway, the visit started off nicely. I had to stand in a room with a lead bib under a machine that rotated around my head. That was cool. Then, I was escorted to the back room to the more familiar dental room. After the dental assistant had me prepped and ready for another x-ray???(including the lead bib). She informs me that the dentist wouldn't be able to start until I paid the $125 for the appointment. So yes, I had to get up and have the lead bib removed so that I could pay. Then everything was put back on. I do have insurance, but not all the paperwork is filled out, so I decided to pay now and be reimbursed later.

The cleaning.
In the past, I remember a white straw-like vacuum being hooked to the corner of my mouth while the dentist did the cleaning. Today, the dental assistant had a silver hose what looked like a dime in diameter (holding the silver part with both hands with the tubing coming from over her shoulder. It looked like she had dragged in a household vacuum slung over her shoulder. Question? Has dental surgery really progressed in the past five years where a simple hooked-typed vacuum is replaced by the need for a human being doing nothing but hold a vacuum? The problem? She wasn't really doing a good job. Occasionally she would dab the vac, but most of the time, she just stood there holding the vacuum. The saliva bubbled up and out of my mouth but she just stood there holding the vacuum in place. The dentist? He was digging and scrapping with the drill like a carpenter digging for termites. I guess basically, I felt he didn't have nice bedside manners. It seemed like my mouth was just a thing he was working on. I've never had that experience before. I felt the dentist was being too heavy-handed. Shouldn't the dentist have let the drill do the work? I don't think force was required to remove plaque or tartar, when you have a drill.

When the dentist finished, he told me that my wisdom tooth might need to come out because "food was collecting back there." He also told me that I have serious abrasions on several teeth. I told him it was due to me brushing my teeth too hard. Every dentist I've ever been too were the ones to tell me that. I was alway told to brush with less force. What did this dentist say?

"Do you want me to bond them? That looks serious. It could get worse. I'll charge you $50 per tooth. I normally charge $75 per tooth".

I said no thank you, maybe next time. When I got to the receptionist, she told me she didn't have change and could I go to the store a few doors down to get change". When I returned, she was finished typing a letter for me. Yep a letter. When I arrived I had mentioned that since I didn't have insurance at the moment, I would need a receipt so that I could put in a request at a later time. Well, what I got was a receipt on one of the slip from the cheap receipt booklets you can find at some $.99 shops. I know because I bought a receipt booklet from a 99 shop a few years ago. Anyway, I was given the none descript receipt along with the letter stating that I had received dental services. A business card was enclosed in the letter "just in case you have to send in more proof". The receptionist asked if I wanted to make an appointment for my next visit, but I said no, I had the check my schedule. I will make another appointment in 6 months, but I will try another dentist.

After the dental visit, I should have returned home and cleaned my apartment, but here in New York, the weather report was predicting another HOT day. I felt the heat waiting at the bus stop, so after stopping off at the post office (the property owner of the apartment I live in sent the new lease by certified mail). Anyway, after the post office, on an impulse, I decided to go to the mall to beat the heat. This time, I went to a mall I hadn't been to before. I went to the Galleria in White Plains. The plan was to walk around (in the air conditioning), and maybe see a movie.

The first thing I liked was that the bus ride was only an hour. The other malls mentioned here take about 2 hours (usually two trains, or a train and a bus) when factoring wait times. The second thing I liked was that it had China Max (formally Panda Express).

Unfortunately, this location is more "Americanized". There was a lot more grease in the food than the other locations. Even the green beans which were practically raw, still were dripping in grease. This meal didn't taste as good as the others. Also, I discovered that this mall didn't have a movie theater. The movie theater was actually located in another mall. I say another mall because
1. the place had a different name
2. it was located about two city blocks away with no connecting tunnel or bridge.

From a shoppers point of view, this is a great shopping place. I think all of the big names are in this area. I also think there are actually three (yes, three different malls) right near each other. There is also a transit hub nearby, so it is a nice place. I should have been wowed by the sight of the three malls. But, when it is over 90-something degrees, and one purposely goes out of his way to get out of the heat, one does not want to walk two blocks in blistering heat to hop from one mall to another. Well, that's just first impression disappointment. Instead of getting love at first sight, I'll have to learn to love this location.

I didn't event get a chance to explore. I get caught up in Barnes and Nobles (first in the hobby section, then in the teacher's section). I was really trying to not spend money I don't have, but in the end, I caved. So, some of my bills will be late again this month. Although I am please that I did put some things back.

Instead of listing the items, I'll just attach a photo.

After B&N, I wandered around Target Store. I did eventually find the movie theater. I was going to see Cats and Dogs, but I liked their movie prices. In Manhattan, I would pay $18 for 3D, but at this Mall (City Center), the price was $12 for a matinee(the price of 2D in Manhattan).



Post Date - Thursday, August 5, 2010 12:43AM

Another Toy...I mean Tool

Now I'm thinking about holding off on getting the Kindle. I might go for the Sony Reader instead. Unfortunately, both have heavy negatives to deal with. The Kindle has its "exclusive" nature. Sony Reader has the limited battery that will require replacement after about 2 years. A new battery will cost $125 not including S&H and tax. The Sony Reader cost is about $199.

I just purchased a pair of compact binoculars. I'm planning to go to the circus next month.

Big and Tall

Today I went to a local mall. First stop was the movie theater to see of anything was playing. I was in luck, Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs was showing within 5 minutes. The movie was cute, I enjoyed it. I also liked the theater being only about 1/4 full.

After the movie, I did a quick price check on portable DVD players. Then, to my surprise, the restaurant Panda Express was back!!! Well, the name was changed to China Max, but everything seemed the same. Same workers. Same food. The only change seemed to be a more of a fast-foodish look with the display menus.

After lunch, I went clothes shopping at JCPenny. After about 45 minutes of trying to find something I could wear, I was about to call it quits with a pair of shorts and a single shirt. Then, on the way out I discovered their "Big and Tall" section. I've never needed this section before. Oh, for those of you who don't know me....I'm not tall. After my vacation, I'm really going to have to start exercising. I left about $98 poorer. The damages:

1 belt
2 shorts
2 short-sleeved shirts
2 Tee-shirts
I was going to buy my underclothing here, but came to my senses. I knew Target would be much cheaper.

Next stop was Target. I finished with a $267.65 hole in my pocket. My list:

1 pack of undershirts
2 pack of underclothes
1 pack of socks
1 Sony DVD portable player
1 3Yr. service plan for DVD player
5 DVDs
- Epic Movie
- Disaster Movie
- Eragon
- Spiderman 3
- Jumper

Back home, I ordered Chinese takeout for dinner (Beef with Broccoli). Now, I'm about to call it a night.

Oh, the Amazon company called me to tell me that the man purse would not be available until the end of July, so I had them cancel the order. I might go shopping downtown on Wednesday for a new backpack. As for my sneakers, I don't think they stink, so I'll be keeping them a bit longer.


Post Date - Monday, July 13, 2009 11:36PM

Tornado !?!

There was a storm last night, just not the room cleaning kind. A couple of weather reports even mentioned that it might have been a tornado. So, did I use Mother Nature's fury to motivate me to start cleaning my apartment...No.

I was awaken about 8AM with the sounds of loud conversations about the storm last night. After taking a few pictures from my living room, bedroom, and kitchen, I had a bowl of oatmeal, and a cup of green tea. I was back in bed soon after.

Around 3:30PM, I was finally showered, dressed and out the door. First, I walked around my neighborhood taking pictures of the storm's damages. Next, I had to pay a credit card bills or risk paying yet another $39 late fee. Today, I made my last ($343)payment for that credit card; this credit card is now paid off.

After stopping off at the bank, I took the Metro-North train into the city. I was determined to find a Napster card. I also wanted to get a digital antenna. I miss channels 7, 11, 13, and 21. First stop was MacDonald's at 42nd street near Grand Central station.

I walked down to 14th street to get my Napster cards (I bought two). I didn't get the digital antenna. The clerk told me that it probably wouldn't increase my signal, so I passed on buying another antenna.

Next, I took the train back to the Bronx. With time to kill, I went to the Target store. I ended up buying some things:

a 28in duffel bag
a toiletry kit bag
Superglue to fix my mini shortwave radio (I found it yesterday)
a few other odds and ends.

Once home, it was a Healthy Choice meal for dinner than I was online downloading songs.

I'll attach a photo slideshow of the damages from the storm.


Post Date - Thursday, July 9, 2009 1:51AM

Man Purse or Murse

A slow day of surfing and sleeping. So far, that tornado through Kansas has been delayed. Not much to write about. Last night I went shopping online for my upcoming trip west. I was looking for a backpack, but I got hung up on the many, many choices available. I'll be gone about 3 weeks, so my over night duffle bag won't be enough. I'll be traveling to the west coast on a plane. I'll be returning NYC by bus. This will really be my first trip (inside the US) outside of this east coast area. At this point, Washington DC has been the farthest I've traveled from NYC. How should I pack for 3 weeks, I'm not sure. I'm learning as I go along.

Anyway, in terms of packing, my plan was to pack a semi-large duffle bag as checked bag, and a backpack as a carry on bag. However, when I finished searching Amazon.com, the bill came to about $350 before taxes and shipping. No, I didn't spend that amount. I realized I would have to delete some items. Normally, I'm a backpack person. It is very difficult for me to leave my apartment empty-handed. For awhile I've been wanting a stylish mini pack that didn't look like a man purse. I also didn't want a fanny pack. I have enough junk in my truck, I don't need attention drawn to it. I really don't want a man purse. I like the messenger bags, but too big. I needed something big enough to carry a paperback book, tickets, maps, mini umbrella, camera, my wallet, etc...

I may have finally found the answer to my murse problem. It looks cool (to me). It is not too big. And it doesn't look like a purse. I will cut and paste a photo from Amazon.com. Now, my problem is having the mini pack arrive in time. According to the Amazon site, the delivery date will be very close. I also purchased a luggage cart. I was tempted to buy nice duffle bag with wheels, but having to travel by bus and being responsible for the moving of my luggage with layovers, I wanted ease of travel. With the luggage cart that is foldable. I can unfold it and put my luggage on it. When I don't need it, it folds up and will fit (or I will certainly make it fit) in my large checked bag.

Well, I better go. If I go to bed early, maybe I can bring on that tornado mentioned in a previous blog. One of the things I want is to return from my vacation to a clean apartment.


Post Date - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 10:07PM

Spring Break - Day 11

The end has arrived. And as usual, I'm annoyed with myself for not accomplishing anything productive. Now, I will be returning tomorrow stressed out about work, that should have, could have been done. Plus, I'll be stressed with the new work that will be added.
Today was my errand day. For the first time during my vacation, I was able to get up and out of my apartment at 9:30AM. I went to Macy's to buy the pair of pants and the white shirt for work. I also bought a lighter jacket for spring. I spent about $140. I didn't have my digital camera, so I took a couple of photos with my camera. I'll attach on for this blog entry. Macy's had a flower show display. From Macy's I had lunch at a pizza restaurant. Then, I went to my foster father's place to set up the TV I bought him. I felt a bit bad for being cheap. For about another hundred dollars, I could have gotten a larger TV than the 19 inch.

Next it was food shopping and laundry. Now, I better go because tomorrow will be a long day.

Oh, one last thing before I go. Did anyone see the new animation show on FOX called, "Sit Down and Shut Up!" The show was a cartoon about a group of teachers and a principal at a school. Wow, it was unbelievable. And not in a good way. Due to my need to get off line, I have to cut this short. Bye for now.

Post Date - Sunday, April 19, 2009 11:09PM

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Weekend is just about over. This weekend I decided to do something (other than sleep my Saturday away. I went to the mall. My plan was to buy a new pair of shoes. Lately, my right foot has been hurting. I'm thinking (and hoping) that the cause of the pain was the shoes.

I also wanted to go see a movie. To many times, I waste my weekends away with the worry about things that need to be done for work. I worry (and procrastinate)to the point of accomplishing nothing. This weekend, my goal was to do something fun (like see a movie), and spend Sunday doing my regular Sunday errands.

I arrived at the mall about 12:15pm. The only movie playing at a good time was "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans". Since I took the bus there, I had to make sure that I would be able to be at the bus stop in time.

I bought the 12:30pm ticket. Then, I went the Barns and Nobles. I bought about $65 dollars worth of books
Thunderbolts
Shadowpact
Teen Titans & Outsiders team-up
Human Anatomy (a book of Four 96-piece jigsaw puzzles)*
*I might go back and get the Mythical Monsters puzzle book next time.

So, how was the movie. It was okay. Not great, but the movie was entertaining. I didn't like the ending. Without giving away the ending, I'll just say that it was one of those typical "B Movie endings". The vengence fight ends "half done" and sloppy at that. I was also a bit annoyed at one of the movie goers in the theater. The movie theater had about 10 people in it. The guy arrived and the very first thing he does is put his feet up on the chairs in front of him. He was about 4 rows ahead of me. Later, that same guy waited until the end to talk on his cell phone. since he wasn't getting good reception in his seat, he stands in the aisle to finish his conversation. Problem? I was sitting in the back row to the left of the aisle, meaning the guy was right in my line of sight. When I call out, "excuse me", the best the guy could do was crouch and continue finishing his phone conversation. I ended up missing the end monolog of the movie.

After the movie, I was planning to eat at Panda Express only to find that it was gone. No more Panda Express in the mall. those who have read my previous blog entries, know how much I like Panda Express. I settled for buying lunch at a Japanese place at the food court. I think the place was "Oishii Japanese". I ordered the day's special Shrimp Tariyaki. The food was okay. I left feeling not full.

After lunch, I want to Modells (a local sports equipment and apparal chain). I bought a pair of sneakers. Then, I went to JCPenny to buy a pair of dress shoes.

Once home, I stopped by the local Chinese food takeout restaurant for dinner. And with a pint of Haggen Daz, that was the end of my day.

Post Date - Sunday, February 1, 2009 10:44AM

Shopping at the Mall

Another weekend that is about over and not much to write about. This weekend, I wanted to do something other than my usual "comatose" weekend recovery. I knew I wasn't in the mood for socializing, but I didn't want to do the "sleep away the weekend" thing. I started on Friday by starting my lesson plans. I only started but it was enough for me to feel comfortable with taking a day off to go shopping as oppose to spending the weekend with the cloud of "disorganization and I'm gonnas" only to have accomplished nothing.

With my lesson plans started, I felt comfortable about leaving the apartment to head to the nearby mall. The plan was to just see a movie, hit Barnes and Nobles, and eat a meal at Panda Express.

First stop was the movie theater (Loews or IMAX), however, there was nothing playing at the time frame I had. Since I have to travel by public transportation, I have to pay attention to schedules. The bus to the mall does not operate on Sundays, and only about once per hour with a couple of two hour gaps in the afternoon and evening. So, no movie. I had lunch at Panda Express, then I headed to B & N.

B & N was one of the reasons for me going shopping today. I finished reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Gookind. I enjoyed the book so much that I read the last 1/3 last weekend, however, that left me without reading material for my workday commuting. The plan was to buy the third book in the Eragon series from the Target store on my way home, but I turned cheapskate at the last minute. I didn't want to buy the hardcover book. I also wanted to by the second book in the Goodkind "Sword of Truth" series. I ended up buying the boxed-set of the Rick Riordan series "Percy Jackson & the Olympians". It started off okay, but my first impression was that it was really written for kids. Halfway through the first book in the series, I started liking it a bit more. I like the "Olympians Gods are still around" theme. I will finish the first book in the series, and then save the other two books in the box-set as backups for when I need a replacement book between the other books on my reading list.

Anyway, In B&N, I ended up spending way more than I was planning. I also finally broke down and brought a membeship to B&N. When I left B&N, I was $98.24 poorer.

I brought:
Civil War: Fantastic Four
Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest
Teen Titans: Beast Boys & Girls
E.E.Knight Dragon Strike (Book 4 of the Age of Fire series)
Star Trek TNG: Resistance
Stone of Tears (Book 2 of the Sword of Truth series)
B&N membership fee ($25)

Next, having already spent more than I was planning, I was going to call it a day, but decided to take a quick stop in JCPenny for another sheet set. A few months ago, I got tired of shopping at the imitation 5 & Dime store. I wanted better quality in the sheets. In the past, I would buy bed sheets for $3 or $4 only (tissue paper thin) that would start unraveling with the first wash. Anyway, When I finished at JCPenny, I was about $274.05 poorer.

I brought:
2 jeans
2 white dress shirts
1 pair of black Dockers
1 pack of socks
2 pair of pajamas
1 flannel sheet set
1 coin-counting bank
1 catalog

Final stop was Staples. I only needed a couple of packs of markers (one for home and one for school). And $106.79 poorer, I brought:
2 packs of markers
1 16 ft. printer cable
1 box of chalk
1 heavy duty stapler

The Staples stop was for work related items. The printer cable was so that I could hook up my copier to the classroom computer. Now, I won't need to set up my laptop when I just need to print one thing. The heavy duty stapler is for the holiday homework packs and multi-page packs that can't be handled by a regular stapler.

Well, much more than I was planning to write (and more than I was planning to spend).


Post Date - Sunday, January 25, 2009 3:18PM

Rosh Hashanah

Here in NYC, schools are closed for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. I'm not Jewish, but I like their holidays.

So did I make the most of my time off?

Regular readers (if there are any) know the answer to that question. I slept most of Tuesday away. I got up about 4pm. Today, I tried to be a bit productive, but I didn't accomplish much. I went to the teacher's supply store in Brooklyn. My plan was to see if they had any materials for teaching to Non-English speaking students. I have a girl who has only been in the country for about a couple of months. The catch? She can't read in her native language (Spanish). I ran out of things for her to copy. Since she can't read in Spanish, she of course can't read in English. I have to start at absolute zero with the girl. I got tired of watching her color and draw. Anyway, the teacher's store had materials for teaching Spanish (and French, and other languages), but it did not have materials for teaching English. It took me a while to figure out English is the language of instruction. So, if I wanted to teach English, I would have to start with the basics, or materials at a lower grade level. Anyway, with the plan of only buying a couple of books, in the end, I spent about $100 dollars.

After the teacher's store, I went to Wendy's restaurant. After that, I rode the train back to Manhattan. I went to visit my foster father, but before that, I stopped in Staples to buy a few more binders. Now that I have 30 students, I needed a few more binders. I like the idea of my students all having the same binders, so I bought about 25 a couple of years ago. But now with 30 students, I needed a few more.

Well, I better wrap this up. I need to prep for tomorrow.


Post Date - Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:52PM
Completion Date - Wednesday, October 1, 2008 9:08PM

Highlights

I haven't blogged in a while. Here are a couple of hightlights:

* More online shopping for for my classroom. I bought:
- a mini fridge for myself,
- 30 clipboards for my students,
- a couple of cases of Japanese green tea.

* Cafeteria lady asked to borrow $300 on Tuesday. I only had $200. Yes, she did pay it back promptly.

* I'm still leaving later and later from school. Yesterday 10pm was the latest -- still, with not much to show for my efforts.


Post Date - Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:37AM

Errand and Walk Day

I'll have to keep this brief. It is almost midnight. I would like to be in bed by then.

Today turned out to be better than I thought it would be. Those of you regular readers know, I tend to do only one thing per day. Today I was up about 9:30AM. I showered. I did my laundry for the week, including hanging up my work clothes. I also walked to the supermarket to do my grocery shopping ($139). I also stopped at the imitation Five and Dime store to buy some brooms. Yes, I did say some brooms. I brought a couple of hand held dust brooms for my students. I brought a couple of cheap regular sized brooms. One for the students, and one for "borrowers"; Ms. Across the Hall often borrows my brooms. I also brought a cheap mop. I already had one spill with more (I'm sure) to come.

After shopping for about 30 minutes, since no train would be arriving in time, I walked back home. About a 23 minute walk each way to and from the supermarket. I had about 7 minutes to put away the food before it was time for me to catch my train to NYC.

The plan was to meet Vpal to continue our "Broadway Walk". The meeting spot was 42nd street and Broadway (where we stopped at the last walk). I arrived about 10 minutes early and Vpal only arrived one or two minutes late. We walked uptown (or north for you none New Yorkers). There wasn't much to take picture of, so I don't have a lot of good photos.

Well, it is time to go. It is almost midnight.



Post Date - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:06PM
Completion Date - Sunday, September 7, 2008 11:39PM