Boxing Lesson - Day 5 & Coney Island

Today was another slow day. I was online for a few hours, then it was time for the gym.

Today my trainer seemed a bit more attentive. The first 30 minutes, I did exercises to work on my stomach. And my trainer focused on me for the entire time. After, I did 30 minutes on the punching bag. Lastly, since each of the treadmills were in used, I did 30 minutes on a stair machine.

My session was better than previous lessons last week, but my trainer does have room for improvement. He still didn't seem to understand the idea of weight training. He knows boxing, and he seems to know how to train a boxer, but doesn't seem to know what to do with a chunky client with no sports experience. I'll probably have to bring in my weight training book. I will also need to start charting my progress.

Yesterday, I went went to Coney Island. When I got home, I was too tired to blog about it, so I'll have to summarize it now.

I signed up for one of those group
Meeting time was 1pm.
I was 20 minutes early
Only 4 other guys showed up (including the host).
On the web site, about 10~15 people said that they would come (both male and female)
Although the weather report said there was a chance of rain, the sky was relatively clear. We waited for about 30 minutes for late comers, but none showed. Next, a couple of the guys wanted to go to Nathan's, but I thought that if I was going on the Cyclone rollercoaster ride, I should do it on an empty stomach. After the others ate their meal, it started to rain.The group decided to walk around the area. We also decided to visit a small museum about the history of Coney Island. The museum was only 99 cents. The museum was okay, basically, you got what you paid for. A single dusty old room, with a few broken items from Coney Island's past. After walking around the museum, and killing time while deciding what to do next (while the rain still fell on and off). An extremely boring, and bit strange lecture started about renewable energy and society's responsibility. After about an hour, we left. After walking around more, we finally ended the event. We all went our separate ways about 6pm. I took the train to 14th street to eat dinner at the Waverly Diner I've mentioned a few times. I like their service. I told myself that I would get serious about eating healthy and exercising on Monday, so this would be my last junk food meal in a while...I hope. I had a burger deluxe with onion rings, and a large orange juice. For desert, I had a slice of cherry pie and a walnut sundae.

After dinner, I went to the movie; I saw "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". I really wasn't impressed with the movie. I thought it dragged, and didn't really excite me. I thought of the movie as a fairly nice time killer. Basically, I watched with a consistant "this has been done before" feeling.

I was back home about 11pm.


Post Date - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 12:33AM
Completion Date - Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:26PM

Henry Hudson Parkway Walk

The plan was to meet up with Vpal to walk along the Henry Hudson Parkway (the west side of Manhattan Island). The meeting place was at 145th street and Broadway (the point we stopped last week due to rain). The meeting time was 2:30p.m. I arrived about 15 minutes early. Vpal arrived about 1 hour late. Yes, one hour late. I would have left after about a 30 minute wait, but I'd forgotten to bring my cell phone. Our walk started about 3:30p.m. We walked along the greenway on the west side of Manhattan Island. This time I finally remembered to bring the pedometer (a electronic device that measures the distance walked). We walked to 14th street and 12th avenue. My pedometer said the distance we walk was about 7 miles; I later checked Google Maps and the Google site also gave 7 miles as the distance. By the time we arrived at 14th street, I was tired. We agreed to continue next weekend from this point. We would have gone further, but I stopped us often to take photos along the way. We went our separate ways at the A train station. I went uptown, Vpal went downtown. I read my DS9 book and managed to get a seat on the train. In the Bronx with about a 30 wait for the MN train, I ate dinner at Subway's. Since I will be starting my boxing lessons tomorrow...I hope; I told myself tonight would be the last day for junk food for awhile...again, I hope. I had a Subway personal pizza, 3 macadamia cookies, and a large drink. I returned home about 9pm. I washed out the tub from this morning's bath, so that I could soak my legs. While the bathtub is filling up, I'm writing this quick blog entry.\

The attached photo is a picture I took of the George Washington Bridge.

Post Date - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 PM
Completion Date - Sunday, August 3, 2008 9:46PM

A Rainy Sunday Walk

I'll start this entry with the email I read about 10:30am. My epal (Macy's Walker) sent me an email that he was cancelling at the last minute joining me and Vpal (my vegetarian epal) for a walk along Manhattan's greenway (Henry Hudson Parkway or Westside Highway). I was a bit annoyed at the last minute cancellation considering I had asked Vpal to change his schedule to accommodated MW. However later, I thought it was nice that he took the time to send both a email and a text message.

I called Vpal to let him know about the cancellation and see if he wanted to go back to the original meeting time. He said that since he was already up, we should continue with the earlier meeting time. We agreed with a 1:15p.m. meeting time.

I arrived about 10 minutes early, but Vpal was about 15 minutes late. The meeting place was Dyckman and Broadway -- that's way uptown for you non-New York readers. The plan was to start from Dyckman Street and walk as far south as our legs would take us. I will try to attach a map of the Manhattan Greenway. The Greenway is a plan that would surround Manhattan Island with tha pathway for walkers and bikers around the perimeter of Manhattan Island.

We started from Dyckman Street and the walk was going okay, until we arrived at 145th street(about 3.5 miles according to Google Maps). Then, the sky started to darken. Once it started raining, I was in no mood to walk in the rain. I suggested that we take the train downtown and go see a movie. Vpal agreed (suggesting 14th street). We went to 14th street and union square. I asked to stop in Filene's Basement. I wanted to buy a cheap pair of long pants. I knew the movie theater would be cold, and I wanted to be prepared. I thought Filene's was a discount store like a five and dime imitation store, but I was incorrect. There were a lot of expensive clothes (expensive to me) that I really didn't like or were too expensive. However, I settled on a pair of navy blue sweatpants ($29.99).

After we left the store, the rain had stopped, but we went to the movie theater to see what was playing. Basically, mostly sci-fi movies were shown. Right up my alley. However, Vpal did not seem to be interested. He would have settled for the Dark Knight, but it was sold out. Vpal suggested that we try another theater that was only a couple of city blocks away. Again, mostly sci-fi. V-pal suggested we try another theater on 23rd street. I agreed providing it didn't rain. We arrived at the theater on 23rd street and again ...mostly sci-fi with a couple of dramas. There was no way I wanted to see "Brideshead Revisited". However, Dark Knight was available. Unfortunately at that moment, I then remembered that a couple of people had already asked me if I was interested in seeing Dark Knight. I told them I wanted to wait for the crowds to decrease, and I wanted to see it in IMAX. All of a sudden I wasn't interested in seeing it at all. Vpal suggested another movie theater "down the block"; that theater was closed. Now, I was
wet (soaked to my underwear with sweat),
cold, (I was wearing shorts sweating from walking about 90 minutes),
and hungry (I had only eaten a bowl of cold cereal around 10a.m.).
Feeling a bit bad about being willing to see Dark Knight, then at the last minute refusing to see it, I suggested we walk to 34th street to see a movie from a theater there. I really wasn't in the mood for more walking for the reasons stated above, but I suggested the 34th street continuation. And at 34th street, again, mostly sci-fi movies. The marque on the outside did say that "Meet Dave" was shown. Vpal seems to really want to see that movie. The commercials look dumb, but I did not say anything. I would have been willing to see the "Dave" movie. However, no Dave was showing. Someone did not update the marque. I was ready to end this walk then and there, but Vpal suggested that we walk to 42nd Street. We walked.

Along the way, Vpal said he "saw me looking at the Subway restaurant store, so I must have been hungry". He was correct about the hungry part, but I didn't even know we had walked passed a Subway restaurant. I think that was Vpal's way of saying that he was hungry. And since they served veggie patties, he could eat there. Problem. I really wasn't in the mood for a Subway sandwich. Subways is a nice snack restaurant, but not usually when I'm very hungry. I didn't have a taste for a sandwich, chips and a soda. However, I believed Vpal wanted to eat, and being a vegetarian, his options were limited. We went in. I sat while Vpal waited on line. I thought he was waiting to order, but he only wanted to ask if they had any veggie patties. Nope they didn't. Now, I really annoyed. We must have passed a half-dozen BBQ restaurants, MacDs, and Burger Kings; we finally go into a restaurant I really didn't want to go in, and we turn around and walk out. We continue on to 42nd Street.

And on 42nd Street, more sci-fi movies, but no "Dave". I had had enough. I had one final suggestion: "we would walk (rain or shine) to 14th street and call it a day". Vpal agreed. We walked to 14th street, stopping along the way at Penn Station for a bathroom break.

When we arrived at 14th street, Vpal says that he is going to continue walking to 4th street. I agree to walk him to his station. We arrived at his station. At first I was annoyed; I felt I was walking further out of the way from the diner I wanted to go to. I mentioned the diner in previous blog entries. However, it turned out the diner I wanted to go to was right across the street. I had not mentioned the diner because one of the things that Vpal likes to suggest is that we can go to a place that does not have anything he can eat, he will "just sit and watch me eat", which would make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I walked Vpal to the turnstile expecting to say goodbye there. I had forgotten that I could have also taken the same train (going in the opposite direction). Problem. Once Vpal swiped his Metro Card, he was expecting me to follow, but I already had my hand out saying Good Bye, Nice walk...etc. I think he was a little hurt, but he didn't say anything, he just shook my hand and said that he would see me next weekend.

I went to the diner. I ordered my usual -- I've ordered the same thing the three other times I had been there(two with epals and once on my own). I ordered a large orange juice, a hamburger deluxe, and "onion rings on the side". I should have said, "instead of french fries, please give me onion rings". The result, I got both, french fries and onion rings. Since it was my mistake, I didn't say anything. I ate a few fries, but most I left. For desert, I ordered cherry pie a la mode. I left the diner feeling full and happy.


I decided to walk back to 14th street and see if any of the sci-fi movies were playing at that time. "Hellboy 2" was playing. I had about 30 minutes to kill, so I sat on the floor outside the theater 3 and read my DS9 book. So how was the movie?

The movie was okay. I was entertained, but I wasn't too impressed. I thought the movie was a bit sloppy and uneven, with a few weak plot points. I wasn't thrilled with Hellboy and the fish guy doing a drunken sing-a-long. The part where Hellboy fights the giant plant thing when he has a baby in his hand (scene from the trailers) was not the ending, so that should tell you something about the uneven plot. I thought Ron Perlman was good, as well as the fight scenes. Although, the fight scene where Hellboy was seconds ago on the floor barely able to sit upright, and then appears perfectly sobbor was stupid. I also thought the Prince's (unintentional disappearing and reappearing (when the plot needed) didn't help the movie. Example? The movie suggests that Prince Nuada kills a bunch of security guards to get into the top secret underground compound, yet the alarm doesn't go off until he is well within the top secret compound. His sister pushes the panic button on the wall. Short summary, the movie was not great, but it was entertaining.

I was out of the movie about 10:30p.m. I headed for home and arrived about 12midnight.


Post Date - Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:58AM
Completion Date - Monday, July 28, 2008 2:51PM

FDR Drive Walk

Below is a slideshow of the photos I took along the walk from 125th street down to the tip of Manhattan Island along the greenway park along the FDR Drive(about 8.5 miles). The path was along the east coast of Manhattan Island.





Post Date - Thursday, August 14, 2008 5:11PM

FDR Drive Walk

Sunday, July 20th



I had a 3pm meeting at 125th street with Vpal. Our plan was to walk along the FDR Drive greenway. For those of you who are not in (or from NYC) The FDR drive is located along the eastern coast of Manhattan island. Before leaving:



I did a couple of loads of laundry
I had a quick bath
I was out about 1:30pm

I arrived at the meeting spot at about 2:00pm
Tried to find an entrance to the promenade park
Went to MacD for a Big Mac only while I waited
We started our walk at about 3pm. I stopped along the way to take photos of the path for a website that asks volunteers to upload photos of various kinds of paths
We walk down to Staten Island Ferry Terminal, then we decided to walk back up to catch A trains (epal going southbound and me going Northbound)
We finished our walk about 8:30pm
I arrived in enough time to catch the MN train, but due to construction, the trains were replaced by buses for about 10 subway station. Needless to say, the bus was a poor substitute.
I arrived in the Bronx about 10pm with about 45 minutes until the next MN train, I went to MacD and undid the benefits of the walk in one sit down meal. I had a fried chicken sandwich with fries and a medium strawberry milkshake.
I cleaned out the tub (dirty) from this mornings bath.
While my bathtub was filling up, I wrote this blog entry.
Now I need to relax in the bath so that my leg muscles don't stiffen up. Other than the rub burns from flabby thighs rubbing together, I feel okay. Once again, I will try to start an exercise routine on Monday. I also want to sign up for Boxing lessons either on Monday or Tuesday. I want the lessons signed up so that I can start in August.

Sorry for the sloppy layout of this blog entry. I didn't feel like rewriting it.


Post Date - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 12:44AM
Completion Date - Monday, July 21, 2008 12:22AM

5th Avenue Walk

Sunday, July 13th
Today the plan was to meet my epal for a walk along 5th avenue. The meetup time was 3pm at 110th street and Central Park North. I arrived at 2:30pm, but my epal(Veg.) was late. He told me that one of his client (Veg is a freelance designer) was a no show, and his train was also late due to construction. Considering I was late on the first meeting, I felt a bit obligated to wait. Besides, I know the guy is lonely and wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get out of the house. Since the weather was nice, and I was ready my Star Trek DS9 book "Twisted Faith". Veg. arrived about 3:50pm. We started walking but Vpal had to stop to buy a soda. He was hoping the soda would help him with his medicine. To help prevent his epileptic seizures, my Vpal told me the medicine he takes is very strong and can sometimes make him feel very drowsy; he was hoping the soda would give him a pick up so he could continue the walk. The plan was to walk along 5th avenue from 110th street to Washington Square Park (the beginning of 5th avenue). It was about 6.5 miles according to Google Maps. Since it was still early, we decided to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, then later decided to walk over it, and then later still, we decided that we would walk a bit further. We ended up walking about 12 miles (according to Google Maps). I told Vpal that I would walk until 8:30p.m., (mistakenly) believing that I would need about an hour to reach my MN train. However, once again due to my miscalculation, I missed my train, so I had another hour in the Bronx to wait. Since I had the time, I went to MacDonald's. I told myself that I would start dieting and exercising tomorrow, so today would be my last day of unhealthy foods...at least for a while. I forgot my camera, so I was not able to take any photos this time. I agreed to do another walk with Vpal next Sunday. Unfortunately, Vpal wants to do more walking activities during the week. Although he is very nice, I would prefer to only do a walk once a week.

I need to end this entry now so that I can soak in the bathtub.


Post Date - Tuesday, August 6, 2008 12:26PM
Completion Date - Monday, July 14, 2008 12:55AM

Bridge Walks

Sunday, July 6th
Today I had a meetup with the new E-pal(vegetarian) mentioned last week. The meetup time was 3p.m. Although, I had planned to do some errands like laundry, but I didn't do anything. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready. Haircut, shave, and bath 1:30p.m. left for MN train. I arrived about 10 minutes early. The plan was to start from Brooklyn and walk across the Manhattan Bridge and then walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. While on the bridges, we saw the artificial waterfall that have been in the news recently. I think they "waterfalls" were about $15 million to make. Sorry to say, but I was not impressed with the falls. They just looked giant pipes spewing a lot of water. If art is a reflection of real life in some way, then maybe this "art" represents the waste of wealth.
Vpal could not read the history plaques on the bridge, so I read all of them to him and explained as best as I could. Reading all of the plaques added about 30 minutes.
We finished about 5:30p.m. Along the way, I took photos, including a statue of Lin Zexu.
My epal wanted pizza...again. Vegetarian choices were limited.
Pizza Hut was the first stop in the Fulton shopping mall area, but epal couldn't "see the pizza". Epal said that he "knew a place". We ended up walking another 30 minutes well past the Fulton Shopping area. I mentioned several times that I wanted to finish by 6PM because it would take me about 2 hours to get home. I needed to get ready for jury duty which starts tomorrow.My epal could hear me, but I don't think he was listening. I could understand that he was lonely, and was glad for the company. We finally came to a pizza place that displayed the different kinds of pizza. I ordered a doubled layed pizza with sauagages.
We finished eating our pizza, but we just sat there. Since I knew I wasn't going the reach the 6:40 MN train, I suggested I would teach him about Goggle Maps, that got him excited. What he said would be a 20 minute walk to his home was closer to more than 30 minutes. We arrived at his home about 6:35pm.
I left his place about 6:45pm. I ended up getting home about 9p.m.
I looked for my jury duty summons, but could not find it.
I packed my mini TV, and radio, and my DS9 novel.
I cleaned the bath tub for another bath this evening.



Post Date - Thursday, July 17, 2008 11:15PM

Sunday, June 1st.
A very nice day. The plan was to meet with my epal at 2:30PM to see an independent movie. Having not wanting to be late, I left home and caught the 12:45PM bus to the Bronx, then transferred to the NYC subway. I arrived about 2:20PM in front of the movie theater. It turns out the online time was wrong. The movie start time was 2:25PM, not 3:10PM. We saw "A Jihad for Love". How was the movie? It was okay. We both agreed that it was a documentary that could have just as easily been shown on TV. There was nothing exciting or unique that needed to be put on the big screen. Also, there wasn't really anything new that was said in the film that wasn't already known.

After the movie, my epal took me to a local diner in the area. After I sat down, I realized that it was the same diner that another epal(from Brooklyn) took me to. I had the deluxe hamburger with onion rings and a couple of glasses of (freshly squeezed) orange juice. My epal had a chicken club sandwich with a glass of cranberry juice. My epal offered to pay for the meal. Actually, my other epal(Brooklyn) took me to the same diner and also paid for the meal. I still owe him. He hasn't been too willing to venture out of Brooklyn for about the last year. I will have to repay the lunch I received from Brooklyn epal. Now, back to NJ epal.After the meal, we (NJ epal and I) walked to midtown to a comic shop. I ended up buying three graphic novels:

Civil War (Marvel)
Civil War (Marvel Universe)
Civil War: Black Panther (Marvel)

After the comic shop, we walked back downtown. We both had a taste for ice cream. We found a Taste D Lite (I think that is the name). The service was crappy; the ice cream was okay. The plastic spoons were too sharp. Both my epal and I ended up cutting our mouths on our plastic spoons. We had our ice cream to go. We walked further downtown. My epal needed to catch the Path train (he lives in New Jersey). On the way, my epal meet a soap opera actress. My epal seemed very excited to meet her. The actress also seemed to be very happy to have met a fan. I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was nice seeing my epal expressing his admiration for the actress. It was a very nice scene.

After walking my epal to the Path train. I walked a few blocks to my train. I arrived in the Bronx about 8PM. Since I had about a 40 minute wait, I went to the Target store for some milk, dental and shaving products. I caught the MN train and was home about 9PM. I tried to write this entry but I fell asleep.

Next weekend, it will be my turn. We are going to the Big Apple Comic Convention near Madison Square Garden with lunch (or dinner) on me. This just means that I will have to repeat my Friday amazing feat; I will have to do my lesson planning before the weekend. And hopefully, I will have my homework sheet done next time as well.

Completion Date - Monday, June 2, 2008 4:01AM
Post Date - Sunday, June 29, 2008 2:17AM

A nice day. A nice event. I started off the day kind of wishing that I had not signed up for the group meeting event. However, I'm glad I went. It wasn't great, it wasn't good (per se), but it was nice. I only say it was not good in the sense that I really did not feel like a belong there. I'm not a die hard movie fan, nor am I a sports fan, so I really did not have much to do but nod my head and look interested.

About a month ago, I signed up for an online meeting group. The group was one of the movie and a dinner group. I chose this time because it was a three-day weekend, and I like science-fiction/action and adventure type of movies.

I started this morning late still a bit sluggish from the cold I just got over. After messing around online for a couple of hours, I had about 30 minutes to take my bath. Since I would be meeting a group of strangers, a bath was a necessity. I really wanted to relax in the tub, but I was pressed for time. My bathwater was ready hours ago, but again, once online, I tend to lose track of time. Anyway, I had to jump in and out, dress quickly to catch the 12:30 train into NYC. I caught my train and arrived in midtown about 1:10PM. Since the weather was nice, and I had time, I decided to walk to the theater rather than take the subway one stop up. I stopped off at the bank to make sure I had money for the dinner afterward. I Fandagoed my movie ticket so it would be there when I arrived. It is actually more expensive to buy your movie ticket online through Fandango, but the event organizer said that the movie might be sold out. The meetup was at the movie theater at a midtown Loews. I was surprised by how empty the theater was. I was expecting it to be full of people. The lobby was empty, and the theater was about 2/3 full. I ordered a small popcorn ($4.75). Since I was still fighting the lingering effects of a cold, I sat near the back. Actually, that was the excuse I had lined up if anyone asked why I was by myself. However, no one asked. Everyone was fairly spread out.

So how was the movie "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Kingdom"? It was okay. If you are a stickler for realism in your sci-fi movies, than you probably won't like the movie. If you are willing to suspend realism for the sake of entertainment, then you might enjoy the movie. I thought the movie was visually stunning. They really went all out to give the movie the look and feel of the 1950s. There were parts that were annoying (like escaping a nuclear blast by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator). I also thought the movie was a bit too long due to chase scenes that seemed to go on for ever. After the movie was the group dinner.

The group walked a few city blocks to a local Italian pizza restaurant. On the way, a lady in the group asked me questions about Harrison Ford like was he still going out with the skinny woman (Calista Flockheart), and did I think he look a little bit fatter in this movie(the guy is over 60 years old, what did she expect).

In the restaurant, tables were arranged for the group of us (16 total participants = 10 women and 6 men). The woman sat at one end and the men sat at the other. The event organizer sat almost near the middle. The people were very nice, but I really didn't fit in. I was just a sitting wall flower. The women mostly talked about other movies (dramas and indies) and online dating. The guys mostly talked about sports. And I just mostly nodded. I ordered Penni with sausages. When it came time to pay. Each person was supposed to pay for what he or she ordered. I thought I was covered by putting in $20. On the menu, my meal cost about $14. However, when the bill arrived, somehow my sausages were "opened grilled". I ended up having to put in another $10. The total bill for the group's meal was about $312(including a %20 gratuity). Oh, and my meal was very salty. So, would I do it again? Yes, I think I would. It was hard work (for me) because I don't have the social skills or interests to carry a conversation. Hopefully, if I joined more meet ups, then it should become easier. However, I'll wait for another Sci-fi or action movie. I'll pass on the dramas.

After the dinner the group split up. I decided to walk off the salty Penni dinner by walking to 42nd street. I made a stop to visit my foster father, then I headed for home. I stopped off at the local bodega to buy a pint of Haagen-Dazs(butter pecan).


Completion Date - Sunday, May 25, 2006 10:51PM
Post Date - Saturday, June 22, 2008 11:11AM

Sunday, March 9th

I finally got around to activating my new phone(silver and black). So far, I like my new phone. It even has limited Internet access. My old phone(blue and silver) was a very basic model. I will attach photos of each.

This Sunday, I did not do much. I visited my foster father and I finally folded the clothes that have been sitting in my moon chair. And yes, some of the clothes were my summer clothes. Yes, under that pile (of clean) clothes, were the clothes that I wore last summer, washed but never put away (until now). If you remember, for a moment of honesty, I mentioned in a previous blog that I was purchasing the moon chair for exactly that reason.


Post Date - Monday, March 24, 2008 12:08AM

Sunday, March 02nd.
Decided to go shopping at the teacher's store in Brooklyn.
MN train at 1:30PM. This time, I rode the MN train all the way to 42nd street.
I started reading DS9 - Twist of Faith on the train, I also tried out my new electronic dictionary, so far, I am enjoying both.
In Grand Central Station transferred to the #2 train.
About 45 minutes in the teacher's store.($76)

(2)word search books for rainy day lunchtime activities.
Reproducible book of famous American Women(grades 3-5). Each entry has two reading leveled entries.
Bulletin Board lettering, border, and paper for my next bulletin board.
paints & misc. art supplies.

About 4PM, I left the store and went to Wendy's restaurant. I like their burgers. I had the 1/2 lbs. burger meal(medium-sized). Strange how the medium size now looks like what used to be called the large. I think the drink was a 32oz. From downtown Brooklyn, I headed to the Bronx. I went to Target Store to buy a few items(Weight Watcher meals, face scrub, snack (for the class) etc... Why is it that store never seems to have baskets available. Oh right, to force you to use a shopping cart, hoping you would spend more. Today, Target was fairly crowded(with no shopping carts available). I rarely use the cart anyway. I told myself that one of these days, I would buy a large (see-through) tote bag to use.

From the Bronx, I headed home. I arrived about 6PM. While my clothes were washing, I cleaned up my bedroom. I washed down all the top surface areas to remove the dirt, dust, and (probable) dust mites. I removed all of the lite objects off the floor. Then, I swept and mopped the floor. Since all (of 2 working) dryers were in use, I had to hang up my clothes in my apartment. Usually I only hang up my dress clothes for work. I find manual air-drying makes the clothes last longer.

After I finished my bedroom. I decided to try to make the sweet and sour chicken meal on the box of Minute Rice. I followed the directions, but my rice looked nothing like the picture on the box. It came out okay, not great, but okay. Next time I will have to tweak the recipe a bit. After eating, I was about to do some lesson planning and my homework sheet, but I feel asleep. I woke up about 2AM, and well, here I am.

I attached a photo of my dinner attempt. You can see I am still using disposable plates and cups to cut down on a sink full of dirty dishes.


Post Date - Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:10AM

A long day of mental mush. However, I can strike one thing off my "Things to Do" list. I completed my lesson plans for the week that I return back to school. So, what was the mental hold up? Just when I was getting a little bit used to the schedule and the expectations, that things were changed...yet again. Now, at my school we are expected to teach Math for 3 periods (4 if you count the first period where we are required to teach Math Test Prep). Problem? 3 hours of one subject (no matter how you spin it) is too much.

Okay, enough about school. The point was that I accomplished one thing of my list. I am feeling a bit pleased with myself. I was planning to type up my homework sheet, but with a week to go, I don't need to push myself. I will work on my HW sheet tomorrow. I was thinking about doing it first thing in the morning, but now I'm thinking that wouldn't be a very good idea. I was able to get my lesson plan done today only because for the first time in a long time, I was able to avoid turning on my computer first thing in the morning. No matter how many times I say I won't, in the past, I ended up staying online for hours, then feeling like doing nothing. Today, I was able to get my lesson plan done, because I didn't turn on my computer (until this evening).

So, what did I do when I finished my lesson plans? I went to get the Sunday paper. After reading the paper, and eating some of my leftover spaghetti, I watched TV. I watched Fox 5 animation lineup 8~9 (switching between that and American Gladiators). Then, I watched the updated version of Knight Rider. I used to watch that show when I was younger. So, how was the new show. In my opinion, the show was a bit boring, I felt like it dragged on for much too long. Short synopsis?

The story is about an old guy living in suburbia, he is the inventor of the US military defensive system, and the talking car. Yet, thugs can basically just walk up to his house and walk right in. When hard rock music isn't being played, then there is the soap opera aspect presented. "The Team" consists of the daughter of the old guy, her ex-boyfriend (who left her years ago), who is an ex military guy who was abandon by his father and then his mother, and who was a bad seed growing up, but managed to turn his life around. An example of a plot point that what had me scratching my head. The old guy has a heartattack, and is presumed dead, but can still be healthy enough to run to a nearby house. Oh, and the chase scenes were too long.

Well, time to go. Now that I have my lesson plans done, tomorrow, I will focus on cleaning my apartment.


Post Date - Monday, February 18, 2008 12:02AM

Quick entry. Not much to write about, so this should not take long. Today was another rest day. It felt like only yesterday that I was leaving my classroom for the weekend. Having slept most of the weekend away, I really can't complain about my weekend going so fast. I will have to change that.

Today(after finally getting out of bed), I tried to be a bit productive. I finally got around to cutting my hair, and shaving my head. I told myself that if I waited until this evening, then I would probably spend another late night leading to another week of poor sleeping patterns. After cutting my hair, I went to the laundry to wash my dirty clothes. And after the laundry, I did something I had not done in a very long time...I made dinner (see attached photo). For the last couple of months, I have been too dependant on the convenience of the Weight Watcher's meals. The taste is okay, and the convenience is great, but the food is not very filling. Too many times, I have to subliment the meals with sandwiches, or extra food, which kind of defeats the purpose of the meals. Anyway, I decided to make sphagetti with meat sauce. I used ground turkey meat for the meat sauce. I wasn't sure I would have the motivation to clean up afterwards, so I used plastic fork, paper plate, and disposible cup. To be honest, I've been using disposible dishware for the past few months because I've been a bit lazy about cleaning, but at the same time, I don't like messes. Strange? However, I managed to clean up right after eating. I put the leftovers in plastic containers. I washed the pots, and I even managed to wash the stovetop. After dinner, I did my lesson plans for tomorrow only. I would like to leave school tomorrow about 4:30pm. I would like to make dinner again. From now on, I would like to use the Weight Watcher's meals for last minute meals when I really, really don't feel like cooking. I also would like to try something starting tomorrow. I will try cooking for the next day(or days) after I've eaten dinner. In other words, cooking at 9 or 10 at night for the following day(or days). I've never done that before. I've always cooked when I was hungry for that day. Most importantly, I will have to separate myself from my classroom. Another teacher and I was talking and we both shared the same idea of feeling strange for leaving the building at 3 or 4pm. I also have to stop allowing this job to beat me to the point of near exhaustion (to the point where I have to rest for 30 minutes before I can move). We'll see if anything comes of my "New Me" new year restarted resolution.


Post Date - Sunday, February 10, 2008 10:15PM

Another wasted day. I slept until about 10AM. I got up with the plan of taking a bath, but the water was cold. I ate a couple of bowls of cereal and went back to bed. I was up again at about 1:30PM, the water was still cold. I lost all interest in doing anything productive. About 5:20PM, I decided to take the MN to Yonkers to sign up for the Adult boxing program at the local Y, but I was mistaken about the time. The local Y closes at 5:30 not 6PM, so that was another change. I decided to walk up the hill to get some beef lo mein and the Sunday paper. In the lobby, the water problem was revealed with a message taped to the lobby door:

"There was an emergency situation, the water and the heat would not be on until Monday afternoon."

I should not have gone to buy greasy Chinese food, but I was in a mood for greasy food. However, when I got to the Chinese restaurant, the lady behind the counter said nothing as I stood there waiting for her to take my order. I have a bad habit of being a waiter...waiting for an offer or even an acknowledgement. I stood there looking at the lady waiting for her to say something. Then the phone rang. I guess I was in a bad mood, I left. And as I was leaving, I could then hear the lady behind me asking me for my order. I kept on walking. I bought my Sunday paper and returned home. For dinner I opened up a can of low sodium Italian meatballs with spinach. I also finished the last of the sliced turkey meat. I then started working on my paper piles again. I group the (now foldered) piles into alphabetical order. I also labeled the hanging file holders. My file cabinet is now organized. I basically have my personal files in the top draw, and my school materials in the bottom. My files are now in alphabetically order except for one file I've labeled "Monthly Bills". I would have liked to have one folder for each bill, but I know that would be too much for me, so I will have one file for all of the bills that I receive, and that file in the first one. I am hoping this new system will be easier for me to keep organized.


Well, I better go. Only a couple of days remaining. My goal tomorrow will now be half for lesson planning and the other half for grading assignments. I also want to go to the Y to sign up for the boxing for fitness program. $35 dollars per month. You can also pay for a three-month period, but considering that I have yet to set foot in the gym even though I paid premium membership sometime in August.

Finally, while surfing the Internet, I came across the attached cartoon. I was watching a clip from a comedian's appearance on the Tonight Show, then I went to her MySpace homepage. I laughed a few times, but I cringed a couple of times too.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=2503450



Post Date - Sunday, December 30, 2007 11:42PM

A small victory for some, but for me it is a major victory. For the first time, I've managed to complete my lesson plans for the returning week of school, and I've done my laundry. It doesn't seem like much, but it is a big deal for me. It means that if I went into a coma until the day before school resume, I would be prepared for that first day back. What did I do? Unlike in previous years, when I didn't plan, or waited until the night before. Instead of looking at this weekend as the start of my vacation, I tried to think of it as just another weekend. I slept most of Saturday away, and almost did the same today. However, I eventually did get around to doing lesson plans and my homework sheet for the first week back.

So what now? I don't need to stress about the first day(s) back. I also don't need to stress myself (much) about the school work that I brought home to do over the vacation(papers to grade, extended planning, organizing books and mounds of paper, etc...). Tomorrow, I will have to start my Christmas shopping. Luckily, I only have to shop for three people. I was just going to do some shopping nearby, but having finished my lesson planning and laundry put me in a good mood. I'm going back to the mall up North that I mentioned in a previous blog entry. It will be my second time there. I am looking forward to a return visit to Panda Express. For some strange reason, the Tappan Zee bus doesn't not operate on Sundays, so I have to go during Saturdays, or Weekdays. I hope it isn't too crazy tomorrow. I don't usually like crowds. I'll spend a couple of hours at the mall. I need to buy gifts for my foster father, his lady friend, and my foster brother. I also need to do some clothes shopping for myself. My "work clothes" are showing signs of wear and tear (literally). I also need to go to Staples. I ran out of black ink for my printer at home. I also need to get some sheet protectors for my students' portfolio. I'll see what is playing at the movies there. And of course, I will be visiting Panda Express.

Now that I am technically ready for the first day(s) when school resume, what is on my agenda? I really need to clean up my apartment. I mean really clean it, not just make neat piles. I also want to move my computer away from the corner near the window. I think I am getting a bit of arthritis in my right arm. Hours of sitting here and sleeping in this chair is starting to take a toll. I also want to start going to the gym. Hopefully, I will start going on Thursday.

School work? Although I've finished my lesson plans for the week school resumes, there is still a lot of work that I should be doing this vacation (papers that need grading, progress reports that need to be done, organizing my day to day papers, completing "paperwork" for my "slowly developing" students. I also should get around to completing my salary step placement paperwork. With the board of ed, salary placement is not automatic, you have to file paperwork for the correct placement on the scale. Actually, I should have completed the paper work last year. If I got the placement for my time teaching in Japan, and the P-Credits I earned over the summer, I think I should be about 3 or 4 places higher on the salary scale. Luckily for me, my previous 3 years teaching with the board of ed were automatically factored into my current salary.

Well, I better go.


Post Date - Sunday, December 23, 2007 11:12PM

New start, or fresh start. I hope so. As my four-day weekend comes to an end. I will be trying to get back on a sane and reasonable track. I also want to do a few things to get back on track in my classroom. I would list them now, but if I did, then by the time I finished, I would be repeat old habit of late night bed time. Hopefully in the coming days, you will be able to see a change from my blog postings. I hope so.

Quick summary. And this time, I do mean quick. Today, I basically ran out the clock. I knew I wouldn't accomplish anything major. My groceries arrived about 3:30PM, they were supposed to arrive between 1PM and 3PM. Luckily, I had no place to go. I did do my laundry. And I did do my lesson plans for next week (so I have a bit of breathing room). For dinner, I had a can of low sodium soup.

If I can manage an 11:15PM bedtime, it would be the first time in a very long time, that I went to bed at a normal hour. Tomorrow, I want to try to avoid getting online unless I've done everything that I need to do. Lately, I have been online a bit too much.

Well, quick means that I should end this now. Hopefully, my next entry will have some thing positive about new or fresh changes back on the road to sanity...I hope.


Post Date - Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:18PM

Sunday, October 14, 2007
I had breakfast and showered around 10am. I started cleaning my living room. I had shopping bags unopened(since August), and papers almost covering the entire floor. I started getting used to at the same time of being frustrated with the piles that were everywhere. I also finally put together another plastic shelving unit that was bought in August sometime. With the shelving unit up, I could now get the papers and books off the floor. I have to be honest, it feels great to be albe to walk into the living room with out having to stumble or

I fell asleep at this computer. I was trying to say how much I like having an organized a (relatively) clean space. It is nice having an open space without having to step over objects, etc...

I spent most of the morning cleaning and organizing papers and materials. My online groceries arrived about 2pm. I also did my laundry. By the time I settled down to do lesson plans, I knew I would not be able to do the whole week. I settled for a complete day and a homework sheet.

I am not in the best of moods. Today, my plan was to finish up my lesson plans for next week. I assumed that with most of the planning done, it wouldn't take long. I was wrong. I finish planning and typing up my homework sheet about 6:30pm. I started about 1pm. Oh, correction. I stopped at 6:30pm, but I did not finish. I didn't bring the skills book home, so the skills lessons are blank. My granny cart was heavy. I thought if I left one book, my cart would at least be a little bit lighter.

As for Science, after a couple of hours, I gave up. I was annoyed and disgusted. What I eventually figured out is that my school will be following the new NYC science program. There is the kit component that requires the students to do hands on experimenting. Nothing wrong with that (assuming the kids are not bouncing off the wall). Anyway, I think the idea is good one. I actually have a better class than I had last year. Shhh, I have to remember that I don't like to say that out loud. With this group, I think I could do hands on activities as well as art projects.

Anyway, back to the science planning. The planning is a nightmare. There are bits and pieces on this sheet and that. And there is a new science textbook that is suppose to supplement the program, but nowhere is there a guide to know what chapters, or units. Yes, I did figure out the basic match. However, there is more....The first unit is measuring. Yes, measuring (not included in any chapters of the supplemental text). The first few weeks is supposed to be devoted to measuring, and developing the rationale for standard units of measuring. Sounds like math doesn't it. Third graders are expected to cut glue or tape (they don't say which) their own tape measure. Yes, there is more. So far, my school has the some of the kit components, and .....Let me stop.

I forgot, this blog is about my boring life, not this job related stuff. Basically, I like things nice and organized, and I get annoyed when they aren't.

So, my day was spent mostly in front of my computer planning lessons for next week. I have most of it done. I planned science up to Wednesday, when I realized that I will probably have to bounce back and forth between the old and new textbook. I don't have the Test Prep Skills done, but the book layout is very easy to follow. It shouldn't take long to fill in the lessons in my planbook.

Next week, my plan is to start trying to gather materials, ideas, and resources that will let me spend next weekend doing enough lessons for the month of October. I would really like to have a month of lesson ideas. These last couple of weeks were minimally stress free having a relatively clear idea of the lessons that I wanted to teach.

Tomorrow, I have my doctor's appointment to find out the results of my tests. I was planning to go to the laundry, but it is now too late. Hopefully, I will be able to go tomorrow evening after I return from the doctor. With the doctor's report. I will have no excuses for not going to the gym. It has been almost two months since I paid for a preminum membership (private section of the locker room with sauna and steam room) to the local Y, and I have yet to step foot to begin working out. I hope I will be able to start October 1st.

Well, it is almost 8pm. I guess I'll zap something for dinner, pack my granny cart for tomorrow. I will also iron my clothes for tomorrow. It would be nice to relax in the bath.

Oh, speaking of zap. I had to change my halogen bulb. I love my halogen light. It is very bright, and it acts like a bug zapper. I must have shaken out 15 or 20 dead bugs from the light. Bees, flies and even a cricket (or was it a grasshopper), have all ran, jumped, or flew "into the light". I always thought that seeing a bright light before you die was a good thing. I guess that applies to people not insects.

Post Date - Sunday, September 23, 2007 8:17pm

I'm back. Last week, I was too angry and stressed out to blog. I was angry with my situation, and with myself. All last week, I would work myself to exhaustion, then come home about 8pm, collapse from exhaustion, then wake up about 2am and stress out about the next day until 3 or 4am, and then repeat the same thing. On Friday, I didn't even get to return to sleep when I woke up at 2am. I had boxes unpacked, classroom library undone, and new books that seemed thrown at me.

When I made it to the weekend, I avoided my computer, too many times I got into the habit of falling back to using my computer to procrastinate. As a result of avoiding my computer, I managed to do my lesson plans for the 3 days next week. NYC schools are closed for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. I won't embarrass myself by writing the time it took me to write lesson ideas for 3 days. Saturday evening, I even played on my PS2 for a little while.

Today, not having the stress of lesson planning over my head, put me in a good mood. I decided to go to the teacher's supply store in Brooklyn to buy a number line. This morning, I did my laundry. Even though next week is only a three-day work week, I felt that I should not be lazy about letting my laundry pile up. After doing my laundry, I took the MN into the city. First stop was Target. I wanted to develop my photos of my new students. Each year, I take digital photos of my students to incorporate their photos into their written work. I was planning to have the students type up their self-introductions, but Open-House is on Tuesday, so I won't have time to do the typed written assignment. I decided that I would print the student photos and attach them to their hand-written stories. Anyway, I arrived at Target to develop the photos...Oh, and I needed to get a refill of my blood pressure medicine. Anyway, when I arrived at the photo center, there was a lady scanning photos. I did not want to wait, so I put in my refill subscription, and left. I stopped at the Subway's restaurant for lunch. I had a pastrami 6in. It looks like someone else has the shop now, this is about the 3rd owner within the last year...I think.

I arrived at the teacher's supply store with the plan of only buying a number line, but I ended up spending $124. I found some great reproducible skills workbooks in each of the core curriculum content areas. I also found a few other items. For example, I want to do an interactive bulletin board that will allow my students (and myself)to keep track of the books they read. It just requires plastic hooks, binder rings, and index cards. I saw the idea in a classroom a couple of years ago, I will modify it for my personal style and for the reading program we use at my school.

After Brooklyn, I went to Staples on 125th street. I wanted to buy some color index cards, and price the plastic hooks. Target had some okay looking hooks, but not really the style I wanted. Anyway, I took one look at the line in Staples and turned right around and left the building, the line went 3/4 of the way around the perimeter of the entire floor. The line started at the front, went to the back of the store, passed three or four aisle, then back up to the front. Add to the mix, kids running unsupervised, and daydreaming strollers, and clueless shopping cart shoppers, I couldn't take it.

I visited my father's place, then I had dinner at the Korean owned soul food restaurant. I told myself that I would start exercising tomorrow. I went back to Target, but the photo center was just closing, and the shelves were bare. I took the express train to Yonkers. I had about 30 minutes to got to the shop rite store for some milk and shower spray to be back to catch the local train home. The walk is about 10 minutes (6 if you walk fast) from station to store -- one way. If I missed the local train, the next local was an hour wait. I caught the train.

The first thing I did home was to shower, with the plan of trying to print out my homework sheet in blue ink (I ran out of black ink). After showering, I layed down for a minute, but I ended up out like a light in seconds.

Well, I think that is it for now. Hopefully next week (I should say this week since it is now after midnight), I will be back on track. Goals for the week

1. Start rowing on Monday.
2. Make a doctor's appointment to find out the results of my tests.
3. For the Jewish holiday (Rosh Hashanah), I want to do my lesson planning and homework sheets for the month of October. It has long been my dream to be able to plan my lessons a month in advance. An assistant principal mentioned that onetime several years ago, I've thought of it as a fantasy for years, but recently, I started having the desire to make that fantasy a reality.

Oh, I almost forgot. I forgot to mention the small world meeting last week. On my way to work, I met a teacher who was on his way to teach at the junior high school I attended many years ago. The principal at the junior high used to be used to be an English teacher there. About a year ago, I met an e-pal online who also worked at the same junior high school. Small World. :)


Post Date - Monday, September 10, 2007 1:03am

Quick entry before calling it a night. After believing I had beaten the blahs, they started creeping up on me today. Up until today, I did not really feel any stress about school starting. Stress with the nonsense going on getting ready for school, yes, but not much stress about the new students or the new year in general, that is, until today. Looking at my empty (brand new) plan book, my mind started to freeze up.

Long story short, I did not do much of anything that I wanted to do. I napped, then organized the huge pile of photocopies that have been sitting on my living room floor since June. After a while, I decided to do my laundry, then I cleaned my bedroom. I cut my hair and shaved my head. I showered, and now I am blogging.

I really wanted to go to the mall tomorrow, but I know if I leave, I will be up at a crazy hour getting ready for school the next morning.


Post Date - Sunday, September 02, 2007 11:50pm