June 8, 2006
Yesterday there was not much to write about, it was a fairly nice work day…despite the rain. My work schedule was fairly easy. I was the sub for the Spanish cluster/prep teacher. No, I didn’t do any Spanish lessons. Once again, I just relied on my collection of worksheets. My first period was my prep(preparation) period. Second period was the Spanish teacher’s student council meeting (which was my free period). Third period, there was a dance performance in the auditorium, so I covered the class there.

Fourth period, I had to cover a pre-k class. It was a little disappointing. The teacher seemed to have done what teacher’s often do; she seemed to have loosened up the reins as the school year winds down. Result, the kids were wild.

The big carpet was switched for a smaller carpet, so the kids could have assigned seats on letters of the alphabets. The big carpet was moved to the opposite side of the room (now sharing the block area and the drama area. The idea was good, but the reality was not. The carpet now being used in the meeting area is very small, which means the kids are practically sitting on top of each other. And since the carpet is so small, not every kid has a letter to sit on. Huh?!?!

The kids no longer (since the last time I was there about 2 months ago) have assign seats at the tables. The results, the kids race to sit next to friends, arguing over who got to the seat first.

Most of the time I spent in the room was trying to rein in the kids and keep them from going wild (kids hiding under tables, running around the room, grabbing things, bullying others [yes, I did say this was a pre-k class]). I’ve subbed in this class 3 or 4 times about two months ago, I really don’t remember them being this wild. Luckily, the little kids are easier to manage than the older ones. I did manage to get the reins and quiet the kids down. About 5 minutes after the teacher (and her assistant) was suppose to have returned, I left the kids with the parent volunteer assigned to help out, so that I could go to my next class. I really don’t like being late for classes. Knowing how rough some classes can be, a teacher’s preparation period is very important. As I leave the room, the classroom teacher and her assistant are strolling to the room, remember, they are already five minutes late. My next class is on the opposite side of the building, two floor up (no elevator), and a 5th grade class. Did I mention the periods have no travel time between them? No time to get organized moving from a wild pre-k to a 5th grade class, no time between classes for traveling, I was in sprite mode as I left the pre-k classroom, only to be stopped in the hallway and lectured by the assistant teacher. Why? I should not have left the kids with the parent volunteer. I wanted to say, “you need to get your ass to class on time and stop strolling in the hall”, but I said nothing. I suspect she imagined that I left the kids running wild. No, I didn’t. Despite seeming to have forgotten every rule that they were taught, I managed to give the per-k kids some free time, had them clean up their toys, and had them all sitting quietly on the carpet, before I left. Usually, I like to end a lesson with a quiet activity (in this case reading a story), so that the kids and the classroom are in shape when the classroom teacher returns.

Fifth period, I covered a 5th grade class, since they were planning to go on a trip, I had something to keep them in line. I had no problems with this class. Next period was my lunch period. The finally period of the day was covering the 3rd grade class that I’d subbed last week. A very nice class, especially when one particular boy was absent. That kid has some serious issues.

Since yesterday was an early dismissal, I was out of the building about 2:35. Despite it being a very rainy day, I had a good work day. After returning to my shoebox, I did 30 minutes on my rowing machine, and made baked chicken and rice. The vegetable was okra. I am not a big fan of okra, but I wanted a changed. Actually, I am not really a vegetable fan, I only eat vegetables because they are healthy (and I really can’t afford to get sick). Later in the evening, I ate a full container (1quart) of sherbet. Sherbet (I am hoping is much, much healthier than ice cream. I used to eat about a quart of ice cream (butter pecan and strawberry were my favorites). Sherbet seems to be an okay substitute; I don’t miss ice cream…very much.

Today, I have another day off. I am happy now, but I will not be when payday comes.

I was about to end this entry, but I have one more addition to today’s adventure.

I went to the office supply/copy center to make copies. Upon arriving, there were two copy machines, one was being used by an elderly gentleman who could not make the machine work. The other machine was being used by a couple of young guys giggling and laughing like they were the only people in the copy area, although there was a line of about 4 people waiting to make copies. After about a fifteen minute wait, the copy machine was available (the gigglers were finished). The store clerk was nice enough to lecture the boys about holding up the line, and she was nice enough to take the people waiting on line to the counter so that she could make their copies. I stayed because I had a lot of copies to make.

You are probably saying why waste your money making copies when you can just have the copies made at school. In some schools, copies are easier to have made than in others. At my current school, all copies have to be made by the secretaries, who are usually very accommodating, but will at times be too busy, or don’t get the copies the way I want the copies, or the machine jams, or the machine is out of paper. For me, it is just easier to go to the copy center get the copies made when and how I want them. As you’ve read in previous entries, the classes are usually very wild. I hate going into a class empty-handed. Kids will usually use the “the teacher did not give us any work (so that is why I was going wild).

Anyway, After making my copies, I went to pay at the counter. Although, this copy center is close to where I now live, I really don’t like this copy center.

the copies are more expensive.
After waiting to use the copy machine, customers than have to go to the counter to stand on line to pay for the copies. Usually, copy centers have copy cards that you insert into the machines and the cost is deducted from the card. However, this center wants to be different.

Anyway, when I approach the counter the clerk (a guy this time), is having a conversation with a customer about freedom. According to the clerk, freedom is being able to call in sick if he does not feel like coming in. Also, the clerk mentioned that freedom is not sitting on a yacht sipping champagne, but telling the boss to f**k off if he wants to quit. The clerk rambled on for about 2 or 3 minutes, before he bothers to come to the cash register so that I could pay for my copies. Apparently, freedom is also understanding that a causal conversation takes precedence over a paying customer.

How are things with my neighbors in the shoebox? A few loud (but short) arguments. And the drains are another annoying problem. I bought cheap strainers to catch the things that could clog up the drains. Problem, no one wants to use them. Mr. 40+ always takes the kitchen strainer out when he is washing his dishes. The young lady Screamer (who seems to shed hair like a sheepdog) does not like to clean her hair out of the strainer so she puts it on the side when she is showering. For the last couple of days, I’ve been pulling the hair out of the drain and leaving it on the side next to the strainer. Only time will tell if that does anything.

Post Date Monday, June 12, 2006 2:27am

Day off today. Lots of sleep and television watching. I started off on my computer setting up my internet telephone account. Then one of my pen pals from Japan gave me a call. It was great hearing from my pen pal in Japan.

I went shopping for a few items while my clothes were washing in the Laundromat. Since it was getting late, and I have to go to work tomorrow, I did not cook dinner. I had canned soup and toast for dinner.

Post Date Monday, June 12, 2006 2:25am

Yesterday, I stayed home for most of the day. Unfortunately, so did my neighbors. I could not believe how loud people will play their music. I used to think that there was an etiquette to music playing; if one person is blasting his (or her) music, then another would wait before blasting his (or her) music, but that was not the case. Yesterday there were about 3 stereos going (at the same time) at full volume.

Today I went to check my mail at my foster father’s place. It would probably too difficult to change my address (not to mention probably not safe) to have all my mail come here to my shoebox. After picking up my mail, I went to the store to buy a stereo headset with microphone (see attached photo). I recently downloaded one of those computer programs that will allow me to make phone calls via the internet. I just tried the headset out, wow, it is great. The speakers on my cheap second-hand computer are low, but the headset sounded great. I have not tried the microphone yet, that will have to wait. The microphone was really what I was planning to buy for the purpose of making internet calls; it is suppose to be cheaper than making regular phone calls. I also bought a serving tray; I got tired of making multiple trips back and forth to the kitchen.

Oh, speaking of kitchen, the trash was finally taken out today. The pizza box and the jar of pasta sauce with the note attached were also taken (see previous blog entries for details about the note). Yesterday, I noticed that someone continued to fill up the trash even though the trash was already full; this annoyed me so much that I decided not to dump the trash (which seems to have been my job). I was annoyed that I buy the trash bags, separate the trash, and usually dump the trash, but my neighbors seem too lazy to even take out the trash. Yesterday, I left a clean trash bag by the trash can, I guess someone got the message. Since Mr. 40+ was already gone before the trash was dump, I’m guessing it was either Screamer or her boyfriend.

It is getting late. Tomorrow is a work day. I almost forgot, I have a couple of days off next week. There are two clerical workdays for the regular teachers. Since I am only a sub, my services are not required on those days. I am happy to have the days off now, but I won’t like it when payday comes.

Until next time…

Another weekend has arrived. Not much to write about, so this entry will probably be short. Yesterday was the second day at the school on the hill. Yesterday, both assistant principals were out of the building, so originally no one knew what to do with me. I was able to use the first period to organize my shopping cart full of worksheets. I didn’t think about it at the time, but maybe I’ll take a photo and attach it to this blog entry. After the confusion, I was assigned to a kindergarten class. My assignment was to cover(watch) the class while the regular teacher completed the year-end assessment tests for the each individual student. Originally, I brought my shopping cart to the classroom (I also contemplated bringing down my shopping bag filled with kindergarten teaching materials. Luckily the class was not in the room. I decided I needed to stop overworking and stressing myself trying to plan for every possible contingency. I decided I would just go in empty-handed and let the teacher give me the materials. Where were the kids?

All of the kindergarten classes were in the auditorium practicing for graduation/moving up ceremony. What did I see? I saw disorganization and chaos, but the kids seemed to be okay. It looked like the teachers had never had a ceremony before. There seemed to be two camps, one for leaving spaces for the absent students , and the other camp for filling in the gaps. As much as I wanted to jump in with my two-cents, I kept my mouth shut…for the most part.

After the rehearsal, and after lunch, I returned to the class. Why was I not surprised. I didn’t know who Ms. A was, but I should have known. I was assigned to a wild class. I had already prepped this class once a few months ago. This was a class of students that did not seem to know the word “no”. Few (if any) could sit still for more than a few minutes. The students’ tables were messy, but the teacher’s table was messier. It was also a class with mostly Spanish speaking kids. Unfortunately, 1. I don’t speak Spanish, and 2. the students (I think) were used to the teacher translating everything. Everything in the room had double labels; the work written on the board was in both English and Spanish. There also seem to be about a 50/50 division of the books between English and Spanish. I am not sure why, but I was suddenly in a very bad mood, maybe it was being in a difficult class without materials that I knew (and was comfortable with), maybe it was not being able to speak Spanish (It seemed like every other kid spoke only Spanish), maybe it was being in a room without an air conditioner (and the windows blocked and covered with junk so that I could not open them[at least a couple of the windows were opened from the top]), or maybe it was so hot (I was sweating like there was no tomorrow). Most likely, it was a combination of all of the above.

The teacher left a few things that I could do with the students, read a story, do a simple math lesson (reversing numbers), and free time. The teacher gave me the option of book activity instead of letting the kids loose. Normally, it would not be a good idea for a class that is wild to be given free rein. However, with this class one of the things I needed most was a bargaining chip. Once the teacher left the room (she did the testing in the hall), I gave the kids a very simple message:

Listen / free time
No listen / no free time

They understood. They listened (for the most part), and the ones that did not listen lost 5 minutes of their free time. Only the twins were consistently disruptive. I was able to read the story (a very long boring story most of the kids probably did not understand); take the whole class to the bathroom down the hall, and have the kids clean up the classroom (before they could have free time). It turned out to be a very nice class. The kids were nice. I could see the potential trouble makers, but since everyone really wanted to have free time, everyone tried to behave…even the twins. I actually liked this class. Usually, there are 2 or more (for lack of a better word) aggressively disruptive, the ones that seem to have no self control (and no fear). This class didn’t seem to have any. This class did have a large number of boys over girls (about 3 to 1), and it did have a number of “hyper” boys. Now that I think about it, there probably was one boy who has some self control issues, but he was manageable yesterday.

At the last minute, my schedule was changed. I was assigned to also go to the K/1 special ed. bridge class. Again, I used the free time to keep them in line. I also told them that if they did not clean up and the end, then I would tell their teacher that they should have a shorter free time next time. They cleaned up very nicely.

Yesterday was a shorten schedule day, so I finished (and was out of the building by) 2:35pm. I even managed to catch a train that was just arriving as I was walking down the steps (no running and no waiting time). There have been a couple of thunderstorms in the area over the last few days, and on Friday (yesterday) another one was expected to hit. I managed to return to my shoebox right before it hit (or in-between). After finishing about 30 minutes on my rowing machine, I decided to risk going to the store (for milk and sherbet) and get some Chinese take-out. The rain had off until I returned to my shoebox.

All in all, yesterday was a good day.

June 1, 2006

A quick entry about my return. Let’s see if I can really keep this brief.

My day:

7 minute walk (uphill) to the train station.
12 minute train ride standing up.
another 7 minute walk (uphill) from the train station to the school.
The weather was about 80 degrees. I was sweating like a roasting pig over a fire.
The office was deserted. I was given my assignment about 5 minutes before I had to go to the classroom. At this school, the kids are sent up to the classes at 8am (it is like the running of the bulls).
The class I was assigned was one with a good reputation in the school.
The lunch period was changed (but no announcement was made), so there was some confusion at lunchtime.

Relatively speaking, I had a good day. The class was nice (relatively speaking). The math coach came in to do an assessment check, so I was able to sit for a couple of periods. My preparation period was right after lunch -- I graded the assignment I’d given earlier. The class also had a computer period last period.

I wrote a brief report for the regular teacher and I was out of the building by 3:30. Once in my shoebox, I rowed on my rowing machine for about a ¼ of a mile. None of my neighbors were home this whole evening. My day was a nice day (relatively speaking).

May 31, 2006

Today was the last day at the school that I’ve been subbing at for the last couple of months. Tomorrow, I return to one of the previous schools that I’ve written about in the past. Originally, I was worried about staying at this school for a long time, but as it turned out, I enjoyed my time there (relatively speaking). The school is about a 4 minute walk from the train station. For the last couple of days, I’ve had a very easy schedule. I was assigned to monitor various kindergarten classes while the regular teacher works on the end of the school year assessment test (ECLAS).

Tomorrow’s school is a bit more of a challenge. Relatively speaking, it is nicer than some of the other schools that I’ve taught at, but something tells me that the last 4 weeks will not be easy. Physically, the school is in the same neighborhood (also near the same train station, however, the school is about a 7 to 8 minute walk (up hill). Dismissal time is very chaotic; all of the classes in the building all are dismissed out of the same exit, at the same time.

So why return? I kind of promised that I would return when the long term assignment I accepted (see previous blog entries) was finished. Usually, I try to keep my word. I said usually, because I did not keep my word when I said that I would return to one of the other schools (also mentioned in previous blog entries). Although, I have to be honest, even though I said I would return, I was being polite (and trying to be as vague as possible); I really did not want to return to that school. Although the administration was very nice, I had the feeling that the administration let the kids run wild. This was the school when the principal was adamant about not have photos taken showing the kids going wild.

I kept telling myself that I would go back, but in the end, I didn’t. Why? I felt that there was just too much unnecessary stress. I should have been honest, and told them that I wasn’t coming back. They really were nice, and relatively speaking I did enjoy going to that school.

Shoebox update. It has been fairly quiet since that big argument. However, little by little, the couple seems to be falling back into old habits. Day by day the arguments are getting louder. The young lady (Screamer) seems less and less willing to “keep her voice down”. I suspect the boyfriend thinks that I was the one who called the police (I wasn’t); he no longer speaks to me. The couple of times that I’ve said hello, he hasn’t said anything. Oh, would you believe that the note, the pasta sauce, and the pizza box are all still around.

Well, it is very late. Lately, I’ve been using my rowing machine and that (along with the stress of “teaching” wild kids) has been making me more tired. When I return to my shoebox, I’ve been exercising before I eat dinner. After dinner, I usually fall asleep watching TV. I wake up about 2 or 3 in the morning, wash my dishes and shower, then return to sleep for an hour or two.

Another wasted weekend. I am going to try to keep this entry short. Today I spent most of the day in bed (fighting yet another cold). I finally got out of bed around 3pm. My plan was to clean up my shoebox, but I ended up cleaning everyplace but my shoebox. There have been several burnt out light bulbs in the common areas. Once again, I tried the “if they don’t care, then I don’t care”. The problem, they don’t (seem) to care, but I do. My neighbors don’t seem to have any problem with living in a pigsty. Last Monday, I wrote a note and taped it to the jar of spaghetti sauce that was thrown in the trash. I left the jar (with the attached note next to the trash, would you believe that jar (with the note still attached) is still sitting there. I will attach a photo.

What did the note say? Basically, it asked that sauces and beer be poured in the toilet. My neighbor(s) have a bad habit of dumping anything and everything into the trash, (sauces, half drunken beer bottles [with the beer still in it], whole pizza boxes, etc…).

Anyway, when I finally came out of my room, I noticed the newspaper that I’d put down last night was wetter – I slipped on some water last night. There was cat crap on the floor. The bathroom had strands of long hair all over the place, and dirty foot prints all over the bathtub.

At first I was only going to clean up the cat crap. Since there was some cat crap on the wet newspaper, I picked up the wet paper only to discover the newsprint was all over the floor. But before I could clean up the newsprint stains, I had to sweep the floors. I ended up mopping the hall, the bathroom, and the kitchen. I got tired of living in the dark, so I replaced all of the light bulbs. Once the light above the gas range was on, I could clearly see all of the greasy build-up that was covering the range that I’d just cleaned last week only to have the Screamer cover it the very next morning in grease.

After doing my imitation of a house-keeping maid, I was too tired to clean my own room. I was also a little annoyed that within 10 minutes of cleaning the kitchen, the Screamer was in it cooking for her and her boyfriend. There is now a pot and a few dishes in the sink.

Other than living with slobs, how have conditions been with the immature couple since the big argument? I have say things have been relatively….less noisy. I don’t expect the “less noisy” condition to last for very long, but I’ll enjoy it while I can. Now if only those living around me would turn down their “music”. It is strange for me to be living in a place where people seem to be trying to “out play” their music. While I was cleaning there must have been at least 3 different stereos playing at the same time, each one at full volume.

Also, now that the weather is getting warmer, I noticed that the locals are out later and later, and getting louder and louder.

Instead of trying to back post blog entries for the past week, I am just going to summarize my week.

Remember my very good work day on Friday. I knew that I would have to pay for it and I did.

Monday, May 22, 2006

I was assigned a special ed class (4/5 grade bridge class) for kids with behavioral and/or emotional problems. There were about 12 students on the registrar, but only about half showed up. Lucky me? Hardly. Even with the 3 other adults in the room, the group was still a hand full. I was like an on guard sentinel, I couldn’t turn my back for a minute. I had to stay on my feet, because anything would set some of these kids off. The frightening part, was that there did not seem to me to be a major difference between this class and other classes I’ve had.

So, having 3 adults must have made things much easier. Yea right.

One of the paras (teaching assistant) was pro-active like me, she did not wait for trouble to kick into high gear before doing (or saying something). The other para (although very nice), was more laid back, she did not get involved as much. One thing that did annoy me was her bringing in another child “to watch” until lunch time. I had enough difficulty with the regular kids from this class. The kid that she was supposed to be watching, was almost just as disruptive as any of the other regulars. I spent more time correcting that kid’s behavior than the para that brought him in. What about the third adult? I think her job was to suck up air and complain about the kids behavior. She came in, plopped down in a seat, didn’t move until my back was turn, then she disappeared for most of the morning, only to return to say that she was leaving.

Returning to my shoebox, I was too tired to row. I was also annoyed that the cooktop range that I’d spent a bit of time scrubbing clean the previous day was now covered in grease.

Tuesday
I had the special ed class again. This time the woman who was of no help did not come in, however, about 2 or 3 of the boys who were absent yesterday came today. Results. The class was wilder than yesterday. Did I really need to type that?

Finally at 9:40, the wild ones broke free. I managed to get the group up to the science room. Once there, one ran, and two followed. While most of the students were in the science room (that was my preparation period), I was trying to plan out the rest of the day. It was at this time, one of the paras came in the room to complain about working with that group. This was the para that was actually working and very helpful with keep the group from going wild. She decided that she would take one student to the computer lab. She reasoned that taking that one kid away would keep the others calmer; she said that he was kind of an instigator. True, but he was not the worst of the bunch.

Now, the only thing on my mind was how I would survive this day. It turned out I got lucky. The runners were kept out of the classroom. One was sent home (the one I was told could not be controlled by his parents). With the runners out, the class was actually calm…relatively speaking. I was also pleased that the other para stepped up to the plate (she was more involved than she was yesterday.

Wednesday. I went on a job interview for a counselor at a summer day camp. I am someone who needs to be working during the summer or I will do nothing but stay home eating and sleeping.

By the end of the week, I was fighting yet another cold. Sorry, it is getting late, so I am cutting this short.

May 21, 2006

Weekend update. On Friday, I stayed awake from 2 in the morning. I was expecting to be extremely tired, but I wasn’t. In school, I had a cluster’s schedule (I love cluster schedules) for the Pre-K – 2 grade science teacher. The only pre-k class on the schedule went on a trip that class was canceled (free period for me).

I had a 2nd grade class next. The wildest second grade class. I mean no disrespect to the teacher, but I don’t think that teacher has a good grasp on that class. Whenever I see that class, the teacher seems on the verge of losing it; the kids never seem to be on line, but move in a mob. Being the softy that I am I was little worried that I would not be able to control them in the science room, especially without a “reward” (bribery) for good behavior. In the room, a few kids tested me, I gave a few time-outs, but all in all I controlled the class. I didn’t sit (and rarely) turned my back on them. Only a few thrown crayons. I told them that if they went wild, they would be having lunch up there in the science room away from their friends, and if they spoke during my lunch detention, I would have them there again on Monday. That worked. At the end of the period, I had them in two straight lines and quiet. And the teacher was late. After waiting a couple of minutes, I opened the door to see what was holding up the teacher (her class was one door down on the other side of the hallway). She was in the hall gabbing away. The minute she walked into the room, the kids started to revert to the wild mob. I briefly reminded them about their lunchtime. I could tell the teacher was happy that the students were quietly lined up; she used that time (my lunch period) to lecture them about being good for the cooking lesson next period.
While she took her students, I took the wild boy (who could barely sit still in his seat) who tried testing me telling he had to go to the bathroom because it was an emergency. Once a returned the boy to the class, the class was wild again.

After lunch, wanting to reinforce the message I had given the wild class. The kids were all over the room…out of control. Seeing me, seemed to make the teacher happy. However, the results were opposite for the students, they got quiet fairly quickly. I reminded them that if they had not gotten their act together during the science period, I would be taking the trouble-makers for their lunch period. The teacher got very happy. “That’s right. I understand. They need to lose their free time”. She then went on to explain that that was the only class that didn’t cook because of their behavior.

I then noticed that the teacher was in the middle of the classroom just beginning to set up for the cooking lesson that she had mentioned in the science room would have taken place right after the science period (her prep period). The thoughts in my mind were:

What was she doing during her preparation period?
What was she doing for the last period that she said would be the cooking period?

The teacher kept asking for me to give her the names of the ones who were out of line during the science period. She wanted me the take those kids out of the room (knowing it would be the usual kids), hopefully giving her a stress free cooking period. I didn’t take the bait. My goal was just to put a little bit of fear, or at the very least, a chance for the kids to think twice the next time they come into a class that I am subbing for (or in a worst case scenario for the day that I have to sub for this teacher).

The next period was the kindergarten class that I had the long term sub assignment while the regular teacher was out sick. However, there was some confusion. The kindergarten teacher knew that the science teacher would be absent, but the office did not make an announcement that the prep period would be covered. Therefore, she didn’t bring the class up. By the time I went to check why she had not come (about 10 minutes), she did not want to stop her lesson to bring up the kids. So…another free period for me!

The last class was another kindergarten class (I did an all day sub for this teacher two days ago). The first year teacher has been struggling with this class, but they were very nicely behaved for me; I was looking forward to having this class for a period. It turns out one of the students was having a party, and she only needed a half a period to get ready.

Since Fridays are shortened days at this school, I was finished at 2:30. I was out of the building at 2:35. That was my work day! I had a very good work day.

In my shoebox about 3:10, I made an appointment for a summer job at a day camp. I know that if I don’t work, I will be bored out of my mind this summer. Also, I need the money. Before I moved to Japan, I was a summer camp counselor at this day camp for about 5 summers.

I got the impression that the lady on the phone (in charged of hiring) had not really looked at the application (and the resume) I had mailed in because she did not know (even though it was written on both) that I was a counselor at that day camp for 5 summers.

Any problems? The woman told me that the only counselor positions were for kids aged 4 and 5 years old. I really don’t want to be a babysitter, but I am going on the interview just in case something else becomes available for an older group.

On Saturday, I did my usually sleep all day routines. About 4pm, I went shopping at a local grocery store for a few things. I fried some pork chops, and made some 10 minute rice. After I finished cooking, I put the food aside so that I could get on my rowing machine for about 30 minutes.

I was so proud of myself. Usually, when the food is ready, I am ready to eat. I usually promise myself that I will exercise after I eat, but I never do. Somehow (with fried pork chops sitting on the side), I was able to get on my rowing machine for the 30 minutes.

So, how are things on the war front (between the Screamer and her boyfriend)? They seem fairly quiet (relatively speaking) for the last few days. However, I think they are slowing returning to their old patterns.

Now, I have some laundry to do. I also need to clean my shoebox.

I also need to upload these blog entries. I have about 12 pages of blog entries for the month of May. I think my last posting was April 23rd. I also have those Washington DC photos to upload to my other website (not to mention my Kyoto photos). Sorry, I am getting lazy on my computer.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 8:20pm

May 19, 2006 2:40am

Another screwed up evening. Today (at work) I had a cluster teacher’s schedule to do. A cluster’s schedule means that I have various classes to teach instead of one. I did a lot of walking from classroom to classroom (with [about] a 50lb. shopping cart filled with my teaching supplies. However, with a cluster’s schedule, there is no classroom room to clean up at the end of the day, and no report to leave for the regular teacher letting him (or her) know what was done in class. The end result was that I was out of the school building at 3:09. I could have been out of the building at 3:00, if I organized my materials better.

Anyway, my plans were to go to the local copy center to make photo copies, come to my shoebox (change clothes go shopping for a spring jacket, and buy a small flashlight for my keychain. Also, I wanted to upload the various blog entries for this month. For the regular readers of this blog, I still have not posted any blog entries for this month. Even though I now have internet connection at home, I’ve been reluctant to go on-line during the work week. For me, a planned “brief” trip usually turns into a couple of hours on-line.

Recently, I’ve been forcing myself to use the rowing machine. How? I force myself to exercise before I eat (or even make) dinner. After exercising (even briefly), then eating dinner, I fall asleep only to wake up in the middle of the night. I was hoping this evening would be different considering I was in my shoebox about 4:05. I should know better by now.

As soon as I walked through the front door, I had the feeling it was going to be another less than great evening. I walked passed the young couple’s room (the first room with a hole kicked in the door); the lights were off in the room. The hallway light was burned out (reason for the flashlight). I think I’ve mentioned the inconsideration my neighbors have about leaving the hallway light on at night, so I am in no hurry to replace the bulb. Sorry, I’m getting sidetracked.

When I walked into the hallway, I was greeted by a pleasant “hello, how are you? from the Screamer. Oh crap, I thought I would have at least a day or two of peace and quiet (relatively speaking in a building where every other room seems to have their stereo blasting at one time or another).

I’m rambling and it is very late. I need to shorten this.

The young lady knocked on my door wanting to talk, and being the kind of person that doesn’t know how to say no, I invited her to talk. She stood at the door for about an hour and a half. Highlights:

she was sorry for the disturbance last night.
she was the one who was throwing things last night.
she blacks out when she gets angry and doesn’t remember anything.
she gets angry when her boyfriend blocks her out.
she gets jealous when her boyfriend spends more time with his friends.
etc…
Oh, her boyfriend pays for everything (food, rent, etc…)

There was a heck of a lot more, but it is getting late.

She also explained that there is some kind of “situation” with one of the girlfriends upstairs that is why she was afraid to go outside today. She told me that she was scared, nervous, shaking, etc… She couldn’t sleep being so worried. She explained that she wanted to clean up (both the pile of dirty dishes that have been sitting in the kitchen for about a week, and the room that she admits trashing herself), but she was so worried about the situation with a girl upstairs about something that was said last night.

All day the weather was beautiful. It was a beautiful spring day (the reason for the spring jacket). Unfortunately, the weather report said “chance of evening rain showers”, and the weather report was correct. It started rainy while I was out getting the jacket. I had wanted to walk around see what was available, but since I was trying to beat the rain, I just bought the first cheap jacket that I could find. I’ll try to attach a photo.

I returned to my shoebox, and about 10 minutes later, the young lady returned. Another hour conversation passed. Basically, she loved my macaroni & cheese and wanted to know how I made it, what ingredients I used, how much it would cost…

Oh, and would I mind going to the store to buy the ingredients. I reminded her that mac & cheese would not be a good make-up dish because her boyfriend doesn’t like a lot of cheese. I also reminded her that it was raining. It turns out she just had a taste for mac & cheese (she especially loved the cheesy crust I made with mine). And, she did not know that it was still raining.

Please don’t think for a minute that since I haven’t said anything, I am buying any of the **** she is feeding me. My problems are 1. I don’t know how to say no, and 2. I don’t know how to say shut up.

No, I didn’t go to the store. Unfortunately, the young lady did mentioned that she was worried that her boyfriend was still angry, and I did suggest that that she could get his attention more if she cleaned up the room she trashed. I knew they were not breaking up, so I was not upset (too much) with playing next door psychologist.

The evening went fairly quiet. With only one more interruption (she wanted to borrow my newspaper to read her horoscope), and only one complaint (she was very tired cleaning up her (boyfriend’s) room. I guess she was too tired to wash her dirty dishes which are still sitting in the kitchen (with the addition of a couple of cups removed from the room she cleaned, and the bowl after eating some of my sherbet -- she had not had sherbet in a long time [and wanted to know where I bought it]).

After rowing for about 30 minutes, and eating dinner (I ate leftover spaghetti I’d made last week). I watched the series finale of “That 70’s Show” and “Will and Grace”. I thought both finales were boring and a waste of time (both to make and to watch). I managed to stay awake to watch the entire last episode of Will and Grace before I fell asleep.

I woke up about 2am. My neighbor’s boyfriend returned about 2:30am. Can you believe that the Screamer actually yelled (just briefly) the minute he walked in, but now they are quiet…but only for the moment.

It is now 4:13am in the morning, and my dirty dinner dishes are staring at me. I am very glad it is Friday. By the time I wash my dishes, and take a shower, it will be about 5:30. Since I get up about 6am, I can kiss going to sleep goodbye. I really need to get my life together. Not to mention, I need to grow a backbone.

Well, since it is too late to go to sleep, I might as well “briefly” go on the internet and check my e-mail.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 7:58pm

And the saga continues. My neighbors (the guy and his girlfriend [the screamer]) had another fight. How did it start? The boyfriend left the room without waking up the Screamer. The fight started about 11:30pm (May 17th) with a phone call:*

*This is the conversation I heard from my room. The young lady was talking on the phone with her boyfriend. The dialog below is the young lady’s part of the conversation. Obviously, I couldn’t hear what the boyfriend was saying on the other end of the phone call.

“How could you f**king leaving without waking me?”
“I don’t care.” You left without telling me where you were going.
Don’t come back. I am locking your f**king a** out. (forget the fact that it is his room, and he pays the rent).

About 15 minutes later the boyfriend came home, and the Screamer…starts screaming. She goes on for about 10 to 15 minutes. I’m in the hall (not sure what to do), a neighbor from upstairs comes down tells me to relax “that is the way she is”. Then my other neighbor (on my floor) Mr. 40+ comes out of his room, and says the same thing, “just ignore it. While the 3 of us are in the hallway (right outside my room) the upstairs guy explains that he knows all about me. The guy (the screamers boyfriend) told him all about me. Apparently, I am the guy that will listen to the young lady screaming and think that she is getting beaten and call the police. They (the police) would listen to me and have the guy arrested.

Now that there is an audience, the screamer kicks it up a notch; she comes out of her room screaming hysterically running into the bathroom. The boyfriend is now cursing at us (the audience in the hall) to mind our f**king business. He then alternates screaming at us (the audience) to go back in our rooms and mind our f**king business and yelling at his girlfriend he has money and doesn’t need her.

Not knowing what to do, I go wash my dishes. The other hallway audience members return to their respective rooms (I think).

About 10 minutes later, the screamer comes into the kitchen calm, pleasant just a little bit nervous. She asks if I can please do her a favor. Someone had called the police.

What was the favor?

She asked me to not open the door. I told her that I couldn’t do that. She then asked me to say that I didn’t hear anything. Again, I told her I couldn’t do that. I (tried to) explain to her that the police are law enforcement officers, I am going to look pretty stupid saying I did not hear anything.

Now, if the police had come in to talk to me, I would have told them exactly what I type here (minus the dialog). As I have mentioned in previous entries, the couple (seems to me) to be incredibly immature. The look on the young lady’s face was (to me) one of a child) who got caught doing something wrong, but not knowing what to do.

Now, it is very quiet. How do I feel now? Actually, I am feeling a little pleased with myself. Although I wanted to ignore the fight (pretend that I did not hear anything), I believed that providing an audience, with make the combatants (or should I say performers) think about their next encounter. Unfortunately, I am sure there will be a next time. But I hope they will at least keep the drama to a minimum. I think the screamer was a little scared that someone called the police on the little drama that she has participated in for months. If I am not mistaken, tonight was the first time the police were called. I am hoping the couple will mature (at least a little).

Attached is a photo of the hallway, that is my room with the opened door. The couple has the room closest to the main door, and Mr. 40+ has the room in the middle.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 7:47pm

Another wasted weekend. I stayed in my pajamas (in bed) for most of the day. I was too lazy to go into the kitchen to fix breakfast, so I ate a couple of breakfast bars, and drank a vitamin health drink. My back was also hurting for most of the day. I am not sure if it is the cheap futon mattress or the rowing machine that is the cause.

In the kitchen. more dirty dishes. For someone who has said on several occasions that she does not like rats, my neighbor (the screamer) seems to enjoy leaving food for the varmints. She has also been showing off her new blender. Last night, she left the blender, the box, and the packing materials on the kitchen counter, at that time, I put those things in one of the cabinets that she uses. Today, the blender (and the box it came in) was back on the kitchen counter. Now, my neighbor has a blender to go with an electric chopper, electric mixer, and coffee maker. Wow, she is becoming quite the Betty Crocker. Next month, she will graduate high school; I wonder what new counter clutter gadget her boyfriend will buy her.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006

Endings and Beginnings. All over again. Today was the last day of my long term substitute assignment teaching a kindergarten class. For me, it was like a vacation. Usually, I am given difficult classes in the upper elementary grades because I seem to be able to minimize the wild behavior that usually takes place when a substitute teacher arrives.

For the most part, I really enjoyed having my own class. Relatively speaking, the class was a very good group of kids… Relatively speaking. Any negatives. The little ones don’t really handle being sick very well. All this past week, I’ve been cough on and sneezed on. Today, there were 5 kids out sick. One kid who seemed to be sicker than the others, chose to come to school. I think he wanted the perfect attendance awards (a pencil, a pad, and a certificate). The kid is very nice, but an incredible daydreamer. However, he is the smartest kid in the classroom – also the biggest. He is about 54 cm (over 4 ft. tall). He was also one of the kids who could not tie his shoelaces. His shoelaces were always uneven (and untied). Finally, I told him to tell his mother that he needed new shoe laces. So…she buys the smallest laces that don’t fit his big shoes. I had to tell him to ask his mother for bigger shoelaces. Finally, she bought him a good length of shoelaces, but she still did not teach him to tie his shoelaces.

I got so tired of tying his shoelaces, I took away apart of his play time, to teach him to tie his shoelaces. And once he learned how to tie his shoelaces, what does he do? He teases another student for not knowing how to tie their shoelaces.

Anyway, I spent all day (all week actually) telling this child to cover (and/or turn) his head when he coughed or sneezed. All day, I had this kid coughing (and sneezing) on me or anyone nearby. It took every ounce of willpower to not strangle him. Now I sit here typing with a headache and a runny nose.

Other than the colds going around the classroom, I enjoyed my time there. Today was my last day. The regular teacher will return on Monday. It took me about 3 hours to pack my things, clean up the classroom, organize the work (and materials) that I used these last couple of months, and write a report (briefly outlining what I did in the classroom). I divided up the students work into piles according to curriculum topic. I labeled most of the assignments (and each pile) with post its. I then laid the piles on an unused desk. When the regular teacher walks in, she will know within a couple of minutes what was done in her absence. I will attach a photo of the end product. All in all, I left that classroom much cleaner (and organized) than I found it. I'll also attach a photo of a bulletin board display of the kindergarteners work.

I finished up about 6:30, and returned to my shoebox. Anything new in the shoe (box)? Oh, let’s see. Someone tried to set the front door (of the building) on fire, leaving the plastic window on the door slightly burnt, and the curtain with a hole the size of a grapefruit. The building manager had the door replaced. However, there is still a leak near the kitchen area.

And finally, last night, I saw a rat in the hall when I stepped out of my room. It was the first time I’d seen a rat inside. I told my neighbor (the screamer) about the rat when I walked in the building (the building manager put the door up yesterday evening without giving anyone keys (until today). My neighbor let me into the building. Sorry, I am getting sidetracked.

When I told my neighbor about the rat sighting, about 3 minutes later, she removes the dirty dishes that were in her room and leaves those dirty dishes on the kitchen counter (plates still containing bits and pieces of food not eaten). And how are things going for you?

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 7:22pm

Quick entry. Today was relatively nice. Nothing much to report about class, I just have another 3 days before the regular teacher returns. I managed to leave school at 3:35. My plan was to make some photo copies for school, and pick up the ingredients for baked macaroni & cheese (today was payday). I ended up spending about an hour at the copy center making copies for the next 3 days. After returning to my shoebox, I quickly changed my clothes and went to the store to pick up the ingredients for baked mac. After returning to my shoebox, I find my neighbor (the screamer) in the kitchen starting to cook. As I am putting my ingredients away (to wait yet another day), my neighbor tells me that I could share the kitchen with her (because it is everybody’s kitchen). That was very nice of her to say (and true); she is actually a very nice young lady when she isn’t screaming and hollering. Unfortunately, I am not the kind of person who can just jump into someone else’s space. At that moment she had all of her ingredients on the counter, so I took a pass. I exercised on my rowing machine for about 30 minutes. I ate about a quart of rainbow sherbet and a breakfast cereal bar, and drank a mug of hot green tea. I then fell asleep.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 7:15pm

Central Park Zoo. Today as a substitute, I had to take my (kindergarten) class to the Central Park Zoo. I was nervous, but the trip turned out to be very nice. The program was very well organized. Basically, the program divided up each class (there were two from my school) and paired the small groups with park volunteers; the job of the teacher was just to supervise. I enjoyed the trip very much! I didn’t take many photos (only about 2). Too often, schools (where I’ve done subbing) have shown a dislike for me taking photos of the students when the students are going wild. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, “oh no, you can’t take photos of the children without parents written permission. But if it is “related to school (translation = kids not shown wild and out of control) then it is okay to take their photos. So being the stubborn person that I am, I didn’t feel like guessing what photos would be okay to take, so I did not take any (of the kids). Relatively speaking, the kids were all nicely behaved. The other teacher I was with seemed a bit more relaxed.

After we returned to school it was time for the kids to leave. A good class trip is one when the kids return right at dismissal time. Today was the first time in a long time that I was able to leave school at 3pm. Except the assistant principal’s late approval of the homework sheet, meant that the kids did not receive their homework packet at dismissal time. But being the person that I am, I stayed after to write the students’ name on the packets and distribute the homework to the kids (most of who) were in the after-school program. At this school (and most of the schools that I’ve subbed at), the school policy is to give kids homework every day.

I was out of the building at 3:33 (still an early time for me). After stopping off at copy center, I returned to my shoebox.

My plan was to do the laundry, make some bake chicken and bake macaroni & cheese. When I told the boyfriend that I was planning to make some mac and cheese, he told me that he was also planning to cook after I was finished. Stupid me, I assumed that he meant he (or his girlfriend) would come into the kitchen sometime after I was finished (or nearly finished [as in the case of previous instances]). l went to the Laundromat to get my clothes out of the dryer. I was gone no more than 4 or 5 minutes (the Laundromat is in the building next door), When I returned, both the boyfriend and his girlfriend (the screamer) were in the kitchen cooking (he frying something, she making a cake). With my chicken still in the oven, my neighbor (the screamer decides that she wants to bake a cake (no special occasion she just felt like making a cake) and wondered how long I would need the stove.

When they finished in the kitchen, my other neighbor (40+) started cooking his dinner, The kitchen was free about 9pm. So once again it was canned soup (with the baked chicken that I had made that earlier).

Oh, my neighbor offered to share the cake she baked, it was a little over cooked, but it was good.

Tomorrow, I am going to try leaving the school between 3:30 and 4pm, so I can post this blog entry along with the last 2 or 3.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 6:58pm

For the last couple of days I’ve been subbing for a 1st grade teacher. I later found out that she was out with strepp throat. I thought that I’d seen a wild 1st grade class, but nothing compared to this class. There were about 3 or 4 wild boys in this class. What shocked me the most wasn’t the flips, or the throwing of objects across the room. What shocked me the most was the level of vulgarity that came out of a couple of the boys’ mouths. They knew every curse word in the book. One boy (after calling another boy’s mother a b***th) threatened to beat down the other boy and piss on him. I could not believe this was coming from a 6 year old boy. Did I tell the mother? No. I thought it would have been a waste of time. By now, I am becoming increasingly cynical about some parents’ parenting abilities. Anyway, I did get a chance to meet the mother a few times during dismissal time (when she came to pick up her son).

First encounter, she wanted to know everything. Even asked me to write a daily journal about anything and everything her son did.

Been there. Done That.

Second encounter, Cautiously taking the written report (at the same time keeping one eye over her shoulder to see who was listening), and quickly changing the subject.

Third encounter. “Another boy just viciously hit my son when you weren’t looking”. Which negated anything I could have said about her precious little man. I could go on, but what is the point.

Next topic.

After procrastinating all weekend (and not doing my laundry), I had to do my laundry on Monday evening. I decided to go to the small Laundromat in the building next door. As I was taking my clothes out of the dryer, a loud young lady (in a red jacket) came through the door. She briefly rambled on about returning to the old neighborhood to “see who was renting her apartment”. After I finished in the laundry, I started to walk back to my shoebox. Guess what? The same loud young lady (in the red jacket) was on the sidewalk (in front of my building) talking to some friends. In total, there were about 5 people blocking the sidewalk. The young lady (in the red jacket) had her back to me talking to her friends. As I approached the group, I said politely “excuse me”. No one moves. I said excuse me again. The young lady slowly turns around and looks at me (without moving). She looks to her left and right side as if to suggest that I should walk around. The only way I could have walked around (if I were to actually consider it) would have been to take a couple of steps back, walk into the street and around the car parked next to the sidewalk; the young lady must have realized that because she reluctantly moved to one side. To explain the interruption, I said, “I live in this building”. She said, “I don’t give a f**k where you live. I live in that building over there”. She then bursts out laughing. I was in the laundry so I know that she used to live in the building across the street. She told the laundry worker (and anyone in ear shot) that she had moved about a month ago.

I have about 2 more examples of vulgar language (and behavior) of mothers with child(ren), but I think you get the mental picture.

Attached is a photo of my building and neighborhood.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 6:58pm

Yesterday on a bit of an impulse, I bought a microwave and toaster; I got tired of cleaning my neighbors’ appliances. It was very nice that they were so comfortable with sharing their appliances, but I’d often had the nagging feeling that borrowing from them came with a price. Then again, it could just be my imagination.

Anyway, I brought a microwave and toaster after getting off the train on my way home from work. The microwave was on sale $48.76 (with tax). I passed on buying the store’s extended warranty: the microwave came with a one year warranty. I thought a small microwave would not weight much, and I would not have any trouble carrying it the 15 minute walk to my shoebox. When will I learn that few things in life are as easy as they seem.

In my shoebox, I unpacked the microwave and plugged it in. And…it didn’t work. No matter what button I pushed, no matter what I tried. More than that, the receipt had written on it, “Appliances are Not Returnable or Sold On A Trial Basis”. I don’t think I’ve ever bought something under warranty that did not work right out of the box. I thought I got shafted, but I was able to return the microwave with only a typical problem you would find in the ghetto…waiting. Before bringing the (heavy) microwave to the store, I made sure I would be able to return the microwave. I brought my receipt and I went to a manager-looking clerk. Once he saw that the microwave was purchased yesterday, he said that it would be no problem to exchange the microwave. I brought the microwave to the store, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited.

The old couple in front of me couldn’t decide on whether to buy a camcorder or not.
Other clerks would pull my clerk away for one reason or another.
The salesclerk had allergy attacks, and needed to stop about every 10 minutes for a sneezing frenzy.
The clerk had to find out what was the procedure for returns.
Customers having questions that needed answering.

Once the clerk had taken the microwave and the receipt, he became my clerk; I couldn’t just go to another clerk. Besides, the other clerk (behind the counter) seemed just as busy.

Once the clerk finally gave my return his full attention, he was told that he had to test the microwave to make sure it didn’t work. To make the exchange, the clerk had to enter data into the computer, but a previous clerk didn’t log out, so my clerk (and I) had to wait for that clerk. In total I was kept waiting for more than an hour (1 hour and 26 minutes to be exact).

Post Date Sunday, May 04, 2006 6:52pm

On the last day of my spring vacation (on the evening before I was supposed to return to work), I slipped on some water in the hallway near the kitchen. I had slipped 2 times before. The first time, I thought leaving the mops there would stop the leaks. No. The second time, I thought putting newspapers down would soak up the water. Again, no.

I don’t know who I was madder at, me for slipping again, or the landlord for his, “oh, I didn’t know there was a leak” attitude. I called him the very next morning – I was worried that I would be bothering him if I called him at night. During the phone call, the landlord told me that he would handle the water problem. Two days later the water was back on the floor.

Today, the landlord knocked on my door asking about the rent, acting like nothing happened. At that time, I was not interested in talking (or thinking about) the water on the floor. And that leads to the next problem…I got sick.

I think it was either a serious cold or a minor flu. Since I didn’t have a runny nose, I am guessing flu. I think it started on Wednesday when I returned to my shoebox, I felt chilly. At the time, I thought I was cold because there was no heat. Now, as I am typing this I don’t remember what kept me awake (sweats or chills), I just know that I could not sleep. And the next morning, I was a mess. It took every ounce of strength I had to get out of bed, and about a 10 minute break for every action I did. On the train ride, I was minutes from passing out.

Luckily for me, the two wildest boys in the class were absent on Thursday which made the day fairly decent. Although, by the end of the school day I was so weak, I had to lie on the rug in the classroom. After about a 10 or 15 minute break (and a few left over school lunch peaches), I had strength for another half hour. In my shoebox, it was another night of chills and sweats, but the next morning -- I still had the throbbing headache, but I was feeling a little better. Unfortunately for me, the two wild ones decided to show up.

Today (Saturday) I spent the whole day in bed. After a couple of days of no appetite, and no taste buds, my appetite came back. For the last few days, I was too sick to do any cleaning, and my neighbors seemed to not notice. They were their same messy selves. I had to clean the bathroom. There were footprints and clumps of long hair all over the bathroom floor. I don’t mean to be sexist, but shouldn’t a woman be cleaner than 3 men. Once I was able to relax in the bathtub, I tackled the kitchen. My neighbors seemed to have something against an empty sink – There seems to always be dirty dishes there. Aside from the sink, someone made popcorn. And yes, they managed to make a greasy mess. How does someone make a mess with popcorn (other than the trail of dropped popcorn leading out of the kitchen)? Which is worst, someone leaving a trail of popcorn, or someone too blind to see the popcorn and steps on the fallen popcorn? My neighbor has a bad habit of making pots of over-cooked starchy foods, eats it once, then leaves it for weeks (till mold starts to grow). After spending about a half an hour cleaning the stovetop (and the greasy exhaust filter), I decided that I did not want to risk messing up the stove top. Although I had a taste for fried chicken, I decided to bake the chicken. Guess what? The young lady (I am assuming) left pile of something in the oven which started smoking when the oven started to heat up. I had to turn off the oven and clean the oven before I could bake my chicken.

My taste buds have not fully returned, but they returned enough.

Post Date Sunday, May 21, 2006 6:45pm

Final tally. Well, it is the end of the day, and the end of my vacation. Well, what did I accomplish. I cleaned my room. Vacuumed the floor. Organized my clothes. Wrote up a prelimary outline of my lessons for next week. I typed up my homework sheet for the students. Went the a nearby large office supply/ copy center. I copied all of my homework assigments (while I was there, I also stapled and labeled each set for the day of the week the assignment will be given.). Made dinner (canned soup, leftover [baked chicken], wheat toast, and Tang. I cut my own hair. Showered. Cleaned the bathroom (if I don't it usually won't get done).

Sorry for the sloppy writing. It is late. and tomorrow is a work day. Oh, my neigbor didn't ask to use my computer.

The final day. Today is the last day of my vacation. Unfortunately, since I spent all vacation doing basically watching TV, I now have to spend today (a rainy day) running around like a maniac trying to get ready for tomorrow's work day.

So how much did I accomplish yesterday. Not much. After about an hour answering an e-mail, I went to the post office. I went shopping (afterwards) to buy a few cans of "no salt" canned vegetables and a few cans of a health drink that was on sale. Not really the kinds of things to buy when it is raining out.

After visiting my foster father for a little while, I returned to my shoebox. I probably could have done one or two more things on my "to do list", but since it was cold and damp outside (and just plain cold inside my shoebox), I just stayed under my blanket and watched TV.

So, was writing that list of things to do a waste of time? No, not really. I think that if I had not written the list (and posted it), I probably would have just stayed in my shoebox watching TV.

Today I now have to do those things in order to be ready for tomorrow. I also have see if and when my neighbor (the young screamer) will be knocking on my door to ask if she can use my computer to do her homework. All vacation she has been telling about the homework assignment that she has to do that are due on Monday morning. About an hour after I got the landline telephone turned on, she asked if she could use my computer to connect to the internet to research and complete her homework assignments. She must have forgotten that I'd mentioned (several times) that I had a limited amount of internet time (10 hours per month). At the time I had to say no (which is a word I seem to not know how to use). Why? My computer (like my room) was a mess (a lot of junk all over the place). Usually, when I don't think someone will be looking, I am disorganized. But at the same time, I like things a certain way. When someone touches something of mine, I like it returned exactly to way it was given. Of course I would do the same. Unfortunately, people rarely do. If something is messy, they will return it even messier. Sorry, I am getting sidetracked.

Anyway, being the kind of person who does not know how to say no, I spent about an hour or so cleaning up my computer, then offered the young lady my computer to do her homework research. At the time she said cleaning her room was more important. I just so happened to know that the library was opened Saturday and Sunday. She said that she would go on both days to do her homework. Well, yesterday (Saturday), she stayed home giggling and laughing with her boyfriend. That leaves only today. Oh, did I forget to mention that she does not have a library card; she has never been inside the local library, however, she does know where it is. Also, the computers need to be reserved before you can use one. After the way she monoplized the kitchen (with me in it) on a couple of occasions, I know it would not be a good idea to let the young lady use my computer today, especially since I also waited to the last minute to do all the things I should have done days ago.

Morning wake up. This morning my neighbor’s boyfriend returned home around 6:00am. How do I know? His girlfriend (the screamer) started screaming and crying.

“Where were you? Why didn’t you call? I was worried about you.”

I found this tirade a little annoying considering the time, also considering last night (during our marathon [shared] cooking experience) she told me that her boyfriend would be coming home very late.

After the 3 or 4 minute “crying drama”, I then had to listen to the dutiful wife prepare her “husband’s” meal (along with the 3 or 4 times she let her room door slam close as she went back and forth to the microwave in the kitchen [sobbing along the way]). And of course the morning wake up would not be complete without the “hey kitty kitty! Hey kitty kitty!”call. I don’t think my neighbor will be too angry for too long; last night she told me that her boyfriend bought her a pair of sneakers (the day before yesterday), and that he would be buying her another pair of sneakers today so that they can have identical sneakers. Enough about my neighbors (oh, how I wish that were true).

Today my plan is to do about 20 minutes on my rowing machine. Take a shower. Clean up my room. Do a preliminary outline of my lessons for next week. Do a little shopping for the few things I couldn’t get at the store in this neighborhood. Drop off some macaroni salad for my foster father. Cut my hair. And finally take a bath.

By writing my plans out, hopefully, I will be able to accomplish most of the things on my to do list.

Oh, did I forget to mention that is suppose to rain (heavily) for today and tomorrow. Perfect weather for staying in bed and watching TV.

April 21, 2006

A quickly prepared meal (that was anything but). My vacation is rapidly coming to a close. Today I did not do anything that I planned to do. After watching several hours of television (mostly court programs), I went to a photo copy center to make a few copies. I had a week and a half to do my planning, but once again, I’ve let procrastination get the better of me. I now have Saturday and Sunday to do my lesson plans for next week.

After making my copies, I went food shopping. I bought about 4 or 5 bags of groceries. I wanted to buy enough to last most of the month. Also, since my macaroni & cheese was so well received, I decided to make macaroni salad. My plan was to bake some chicken, and while the chicken was baking, I would divide up the various meats I bought and put them into single servings bags. Once frozen, I only need to defrost the single servings to cook (single servings meaning enough to last me for a couple of days). It is cheaper to buy meat in bulk (or family size), and divide it into smaller portions. By the time I finished dividing up the meat; I could then cook the rice, and make the macaroni salad, all this while the chicken was baking (anyway, that was the plan).

So, is there a point to this rambling?

The chicken was baking, the rice was making, and everything was going according to plan (that is, until my neighbor came into the kitchen). My neighbor (the screamer) came into the kitchen while I was cooking. I told her that I would be finished in a half an hour (30 minutes). She said, “oh, no rush”. But then, she starts preparing lasagna. Originally, she said that she only needed one pot to boil the pasta. I let her get the pot, but before I knew it, she was in full cooking mode. I purposefully stood and watch her hoping she would get the message. After about 10 minutes (of me , she said something to the affect of “oh, I didn’t know you were waiting for me. You should have said something”.

Although the conversation was very nice, I would have preferred to have the kitchen all to myself. I could have finished in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, sharing the kitchen added another 2 hours to the time I was planning to spend in the kitchen.

I attached a photo of my finished product. For dinner, I made bake chicken, yellow rice, macaroni salad, and kale. The orange drink in the photo is Tang. After I post this blog entry, I will go into the kitchen to wash my dishes.

My computer is acting up. I was not able to upload the photo. I will try again at another time.

I'm connected. I am now writing this brief blog entry from my shoebox. The telephone company rep stopped by today to turn on the phone. I now have access to the internet. I am currently using one of the free internet service providers. This company alllows 10 free hours per month access to the internet. I will probably upgrade at another time. It is late. I just wanted to briefly say hello.

April 19, 2006

Not a good morning start. While I am at the internet café, I thought that I would briefly write about my morning.

About 4 o’ clock in the morning my neighbors returned home. How did I know? They were arguing. Were they loud enough for me to hear? Yes! So, am I able to give an example of what they were shouting about at 4 in the morning? Sure!

"Those are my skittles (candy). Give them to me!"

I got so annoyed. I had to do my reminder (that other people live here) walk (to the bathroom). Once they heard me, the argument stop. My other neighbor either pretends he doesn't hear them (his room is next to theirs), or he cranks up his music to drown out the screaming and yelling. Sorry, sidetracked.

About 10 minutes later the young lady came out of her room calling out to the stray cat that she has adopted, “Hey kitty kitty!”. She turned on the hallway light which is like turning on a light in my room. Due to the crappy way my door was installed -- an inch at the top and the bottom of the door brings all that light into my room.

Later in the morning, I thought I waited enough for everyone to use the bathroom before I took my shower. However, I did not wait long enough. No sooner was I in the shower and soaped up, the water turned ice cold.

Later, my neighbor’s daughter also took the time to try and chat with me.

Her: :“So Mr. Coffee man making your morning coffee?
Me: No, it’s green tea.
Her: Oh, I love green tea! I drink green tea too. ...Is that oatmeal?
Me: Yes, would you like some?
Her: No, I already ate breakfast.

Am I becoming an old geezer for not wanting to talk to a 9 year old girl?

Leaving this blog entry now would make (I think) a good entry in terms of maintaining a consistent tone. But, if I am to be honest, I have to admit that my day (despite not doing much other than watching TV) was an okay day. I did manage to use my rowing machine and finally noticed that I am finally starting to lose some weight(which amazes me considering how much junkfood I eat [see previous blog entry that mentioned my dinner]). The weather was also very nice. After I post this entry, I will stop by the post office (to send off a long over due thank you souvenir), then I will drop off some of my macaroni & cheese for my foster father and his lady friend. His lady friend helped me with some suggestions for making the dish. The directions on the box seemed a little strange. 5 cups of milk for a half a box of macaroni.

Until next time… Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow the telephone company will be setting up a phone line for me in my shoe box. That means I will have internet connection at home. And since I bought the unlimited calling plan, I will probably have a certain neighbor visiting me more frequently. Lucky me.

April 18, 2006

Not much to write about. I stayed in bed (watching TV) for most of the day. I finally baked the macaroni & cheese (see the attached photo). I seemed to have had the floor to myself. Both of my neighbors were out for most of the day. It was a nice quiet day today. The weather was also very nice today. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it like I should have. I only went out to buy a cheese grater and milk for the macaroni & cheese.

My neighbor (the guy with his visiting daughter) returned around 10pm. Any problems? Again, you must be a new reader. About 5 minutes after returning, the guy went into the kitchen, and his daughter followed him into the kitchen (locking his room door). At first I really did not want to get involved, but I ended up getting involved. The guy was planning to either pick the lock, or break down the door. He was already in a bad mood because apparently his daughter at some point in the day was crawling on the floor in the subway station. No, I am not making this up. He was also annoyed that she was spending too much time chasing the stray cat (and not paying attention). Sorry, I am getting sidetracked.

Since I’d been in a similar situation (I didn’t tell him that), I offered to help. I thought that since my door was so cheaply constructed, that his door would be the same. Surprised, surprise, it was not. After trying to push and pick his lock, his door did not budge. Some people have all the luck. I volunteered to call the building owner on my cell phone(my neighbor doesn't have a phone). The owner said that he would be over in a few minutes. While the guy went to wait out front, his daughter went into the kitchen to cook. When the owner arrived, the guy was nowhere to be found. The owner was pretending that he has to do an incredible search in his bag of keys. Since the guy wasn’t there, the owner seems (to me to be stalling) going on and on about how he might not have the key. I went into the kitchen to suggest to the daughter that she stand by her father’s room door to offer assistance if needed. Actually, I thought if the daughter was there, that would be enough for the owner to do his “oh, I found the key. Wow, that was lucky. Isn’t it great that the landlord has a spare key to all of the rooms.”

Would you believe the girl tells me to wait a minute (while she is seasoning the meat her father was about to cook). I don’t know why, I just got incredibly annoyed with the girl. I told her she needed to stop what she was doing and go stand next to her father’s door while the owner was trying to help her father and her. I tried to keep my tone polite, but I don’t think I was successful. About 3 or 4 minutes later, my neighbor returned. And less than a minute later, the owner did his “oh, I found the key. Man, you are one lucky dude.
What a surprised!!!

April 17, 2006

Well, it has been a while. Part of the reason for the infrequent entries is that while I am living in the Bronx, the internet café I’ve been using is located in Manhattan. I hope to change that by getting an internet connection. Originally, I refused to get a landline phone. Since I had a cell phone, I did not see the benefit of paying about 20 or 30 dollars in phone fees and taxes when I really wouldn’t be using the phone. But having an internet connection at home might be worth the cost of paying for a landline phone. So today I went to the public library to look through the phone book to find out about getting a phone. By the time I finished in the library, it was too late to call the local phone company, so I’ll do it tomorrow. Other than that, how is my adventure in the shoebox going?

Yesterday while sleeping in the afternoon (I am currently on vacation), my neighbor banged on my door to show me the visitors in the hallway. When I got to the hallway, I found about 50 or 60 winged insects crawling up the wall (another 20 or 30 were crawling all over the bathroom). I thought the insects were termites, but the building owner informed me that the insects were ants not termites. And, it was normal for ants to come out at this time of year. His suggestion? Just sweep them into the hallway with a broom and prevent them from getting into my room. He said that he would stop by later, but he never did. While I was complaining to one of my neighbors (the young lady who screams a lot), she told me a little bit about conditions in the building before I moved in (broken pipes, mice, rats etc…). The young lady was very nice. It amazes me that someone who seems so nice can cuss the way she does when she is in her room with her boyfriend. Oh, she has finally stopped calling the guy she is living with her “husband”. Although, today, the guy referred to her as his wife…strange. She also gave me a little bit of a tour around the building (and described a few of the previous tenants). I attached a few photos of my (shared) living areas.

As I typed this, I just realized that I should have taken more photos of the building, but I wasn’t thinking at the time. Mainly, I took a photo of the hot water tank. I was shocked when I saw it. Although I should not have been shocked, the size of the tank explains why the water turns cold after about 10 minutes. The tank is 40 gallons in size. That tank supplies hot water to the entire 3 floor building. On my floor there are 4 people. The young lady told me that there were 10 people on the second floor, and a family living on the 3rd floor. Oh, I almost forgot…that tank also supplies (I think) the steam for all of the radiators in the building. Maybe I should rename this blog “ the ghetto life”. Need more?



Today, I was planning to make some baked macaroni & cheese. I went into the kitchen to check the stove availability (I also included a photo of the kitchen), the young lady was already in the process of making lasagna. I told myself that she would probably be finished when I returned from shopping. I returned from shopping. No sooner was I in my shoebox, there was a knock on the door. A girl was at the door. I immediately recognized her from a photo that I’d seen. She was the daughter of my other neighbor, the 40 year old guy who asked me to write him a reference letter after meeting me a couple of times within a few weeks (check a previous blog entry). Although the girl (about 9 years old [I think]) was a very nice young girl, I was a little annoyed how casual she was with me (an adult she had never met until that moment). This situation eerily reminds me of my encounter with my foster father’s lady friend’s son’s daughter (see a previous blog entry).

Sorry, I got sidetrack. Back to the present…

When she knocked on my door, my automatic reply was come in. Am I wrong to find it strange for a 9 year old girl to knock on a stranger’s door to come in and start looking around, complimenting me on how my room was arranged. She visually examined my shelves, my table, then she left. That was it. Am I being old-fashion to be annoyed by the above visit by the 9 year old girl?

Is that all? Ha! You must be a new reader to this blog.

Moments later, I went into the kitchen to ask my neighbor (the young lady) how she prepares bake macaroni & cheese. Would you believe the 9 year old girl actual stood in between myself and the other “adult” offering her suggestions on how to make macaroni & cheese. She just butted in like she was an adult. I immediately thought about when I was that age. I would never, never have interrupted an adult conversation. I am not sure which is more upsetting, the behavior of the 9 year old girl, or my old geezerly attitude. I sound like one of those gray-haired old men complaining about the olden days. Oh well…

On my way out, the father was on the stoop waiting for his friends (I guess). Moments later, the father and his 2 or 3 friends are having a loud conversation on the stoop, and the 9 year old girl was chasing the stray cat (my other neighbor seems to have adopted) back and forth, and I was saying to myself, “so this is life in the ghetto”. There were a couple of other examples, but I drop those. I think this entry is long enough.

P.S. – So how did my baked macaroni & cheese come out? I never got to it. After neighbor #1 finished her lasagna, neighbor #2 took over the kitchen (with daughter). I got into the kitchen about 10pm, by then, I was not hungry. While I was waiting for the kitchen I ate a half a bag of Doritos, and a couple of oatmeal cookies. I’ll cook the mac and cheese tomorrow.

April 2, 2006

Well, I finally did it! It took much longer than I thought it would. What? I finally made onigiri (rice balls). In a previous entry, I’d mentioned that I went to a Japanese food store here in New York. I bought Japanese rice and onigiri seasoning. I will attach a photo of my finished work. The directions were written in Japanese, so I had to do some guessing. It turns out, that 1 cup of rice only makes about 3 rice balls. I’ll take one rice ball with me to school each day. It will be good (I hope) to not have run to the corner junk food store, when I want a snack (or lunch) during my work day. Sorry, it is late, so I have to keep this entry short. I had a 4 day weekend! Since Thursday and Friday were teacher professional development there were no students in schools, so no need for a substitute teacher. I was happy to have those two days, but I know when payday comes, I won’t be happy. I will have lost 2 days pay. Also, the week after next is the start of spring vacation, so I will be out of work (vacation!?!) for about a week and a half. Since I’ve returned to the US, I noticed that there are more vacations.

Well, it is late. Until next time…

Test Results. Well, I just checked my (unofficial) test results for the New York State Teaching Examination.

The Minimum Passing Score was 220 for the whole test (as well as for the individual parts). There were 8 parts of the test (including a short essay response question).

So, how did I do?


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I Passed!!!

My (unoffical) score is 241. Again, the minimum passing score is 220. My score was low, but considering that I had not studied, I should not be complaining.

So now, all of the requirements have been met. My application for a New York State Teaching license has been mailed off. Tomorrow and Friday are teacher work days, but the students won't be in school. Since the kids won't be in school, I won't be in school. I have a four-day weekend starting tomorrow. Now, I am happy to have a four-day weekend, but when payday arrives, I won't be happy because I am losing 2 days of pay.

It is getting late. I am going to end this entry now. Since I am tired, I am just going to order some Chinese Take Out (my celebration dinner).

March 26, 2006
She’s Baaack!!! Well, it didn’t last long. My sreaming neighbor has returned. Although, I should be honest, she did not scream today.

I am still in a bit of shock. This young lady made that big hysterical scene (about the broken cell phone), left with about 2 or 3 large trash bags (full of clothes), and I think at least two boxes. And she returns a day later. She returned about 12 midnight (bags and boxes). Strange! The loving couple is back to playing husband and wife. Enough about them.

This weekend was my clean my shoebox weekend. Yesterday, was rearranging the furniture. I got tired of reaching over the TV to open the window. Today was organized the mess day. I only got halfway through. I had to stop because tomorrow is workday.

Oh, tomorrow is also the day I get my Teaching Exam test results. Actually, if I had internet connection, I probably could have check the results sooner.

Until tomorrow…

March 23, 2006

Stress. Stress. Stress, and more stress. Quick entry. Today, I started a new substitute assignment at a previous school. About midday, I realized that I’d left my keys (locked) in my shoebox of a home. I thought that it would not be difficult to just go to a lock shop and have someone open the door. After work, I went to the lock shop. First, I was told that they would not open the door without the lease holder of the building present. I was also told that it would cost me about $85 dollars to have the door opened. The shop worker seemed a little bit unconcerned that I was locked out. He just kept saying that he really did not have time to do anything especially at that time (about 5:20pm) because “his guys were about to go home. The place closed at 6pm. Since my apartment contact guy (the guy I pay the rent to) would take about 20 minutes to reach the apartment building, the lock shop guy just got annoyed and said that he could not help me.

I decided to go to my shoebox and see if I could open the door (without doing a lot of damage). My plan was to ring the doorbell for my floor and have one of my neighbors let me in the building. Since the apartments seemed so sloppily put together, I thought I might be able to figure a way to open the door.

Long story short. Once in the building, it took me all of 3 seconds to open my (locked) room door with my Metro train card.

So, was that the end my stress? Come on, where have you been?

About 2 hours later, my floor neighbors (the bickering couple) started playing loudly with cell phones (laughing and talking loudly)…then the guy breaks the young lady’s cell phone. She flips!!! She was screaming and hollering!!! She was crying hysterically. You would have thought that the guy had murdered a child. After a couple of minutes, I can’t take any more. I knock on their door asking if everything is okay. The guy was annoyed that I knocked on his door and told me to mind my business. I stood in the hallway not sure what to do. I listened to the guy offer to give the young lady his cell phone. He tells her to just take out her information SIMS phone card and put it into his phone. She says no, his phone is a piece of sh*t, and continues to scream (and cry). She knocks over something big threatening to break everything of his. Finally, he tells her to pack her sh*t and get the f**k out of his house. He leaves the building. And the young lady… continues her sreaming hollering hysterical tantrum. Again, she knocks over something big. It sounded like she was trying to break anything that wasn’t nailed down. A few minutes later, she manages to call on another cell phone (or was it the boyfriend’s phone) a friend to complain about what had just happened. She said that she would move to Brooklyn to live with a cousin. I would like to say that the young lady actually seems to be very nice, just very immature at times…like now.

Later the guy returns. He seems to be helping the young lady pack. Is she really leaving? Only time will tell.

Waiting for my unlimited Metro card to reactivate. I just spent about 30 minutes writing a blog entry here at the local internet cafe. I clicked spell check and ended up losing everything I'd just written.

Long story short. Today I didn't work, so I finally sent off my application for my new New York State teaching license. After about a week of procrastinating, I finally finished filling out the application. I had to have my signature notorized, and made copies of all the documents. For lunch I ate a slice of pizza. Now, I am about to return to my shoebox and rearrange everything to try to do something with those extra boxes I brought into my shoebox-sized room. I also want the change the furniture around. I don't like not being able to get to the window.

Just a quick note. I just added some new photos to my other web site. Yes, the photos are a bit out dated, but if you are interested, please feel free to stop by to take a look. The first set (of 3 photos) are from the November 2005 New York City Marathon. The route of the race goes past my father's apartment.

The second set of photos (15) are a few of the photos taken at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was a block away from the route. However, the balloons were big enough to see.

If you remember (yes, I know it was a while ago), one of the balloons collapsed. That balloon (the M&M) balloon was deflated right in front of me.

March 13, 2006

I think I’ve asked this question before. Do you ever get the feeling you are being punished for some unknown crime? Today, my day started out nicely. I was originally given a cluster teacher’s schedule to cover. I like cluster schedules because I am in and out of a few classes for the day. Today, just as soon as I was planning my cluster schedule, I walked passed the assistant principal’s office. She stopped me and informed me that she was trying to contact me but she couldn’t find me. I suppose I could mention the loudspeaker that could have been used, or I could have mention that I was given a cluster schedule (and I was following that schedule). Anyway, my schedule was changed. I was assigned to sub for one of the team teacher’s in the wild (two teacher) class I’d mentioned in previous blog entries.

It is getting late, so let me just jump to the main parts of this entry. After school, I went to the post office near the school. I ended up waiting on line for about 30 minutes to get a money order for my teaching license application.

When I arrived at my shoebox, my plan was to go to the Laundromat to wash the few clothes that I had not washed over the weekend. Instead of walking to the big Laundromat about three blocks away, I thought that I could save time by going to the very small Laundromat in the building next to the apartment building I live in. To make a long story short, one of the machines I used started leaking (and the Laundromat worker) did not know why. She gave me quarters to do my wash over. What should have been about an hour wash and dry, turned into about an hour and a half. And my clothes (after 24 minutes) still were not dry, but I did not have any more quarters, so now my shoebox on top of having boxes and bags all over, I now have semi-wet clothes over my futon. So, was it a big load of laundry? No. About a week’s worth of underclothes, a towel, and pajamas.

My plan this evening was to try making onigiri (rice balls), but my neighbor decided to make lasagna. By 9pm, she was not finished. I think she started about 7pm. I got tired of waiting, so I had to settle for a can of soup. No sooner did I finish eating when my upstairs neighbor had a loud shouting argument with his girlfriend. And would you believe my floor neighbors (the bickering buddies) actual comment about how they (the upstairs guy and his girlfriend) are always arguing. About 10 minutes later, then the bickering buddies (sorry, married couple) on my floor started arguing. I think it started because he wanted to use her cell phone.

Now it is almost 10pm and I have done nothing that I wanted to do. My plan was to get on my rowing machine for at least 20 minutes. Soak in the bathtub. Iron my clothes for tomorrow. Make rice balls (I am tired of going into the corner stores and seeing [and buying] only junk food.

I could have added more details, but it is getting late.

March 12, 2006

Hello Pen Pal. Well, it has been about 2 weeks since my last posting. Sorry for the delay. You did not miss much. I could have written about inconsiderate neighbors, but then, I think that you have a pretty good idea what I am going through. So, anything else to write about?

Last Tuesday, I completed my final requirement for getting my New York State teaching license (assuming that I passed the CST teaching examination). I waited until payday (Friday) to get the $100 postal money order for the application fee for the license (unfortunately, I didn’t leave school before the post office closed). On Monday (I hope), I will send everything up to the state capital (Albany). If all goes well, I should have my teaching license in a couple of months. I’ll let you know if I hit any bumps in the road along the way.

Yesterday, my plan was to get the remainder of my things from my foster father’s apartment, next Monday, he will be getting his apartment painted. After getting the remainder of my things, I decided to go to the bookstore. Since the movie “Broke Back Mountain” won a couple of Academy Awards, I thought I would read the book (before I saw the movie). It turns out the movie was based on a short story. I ended up buying the paperback book for about $10. In hindsight, I wasted my money. I finished reading the book in about 15 or 20 minutes (that included reading some parts more than once). After going to the bookstore, I went to Burger King. Actually, I could have finished the whole book in Burger King, but since the book was so short, I’d decided to wait until I returned to my shoebox. Speaking of shoebox.

Now that I have six more boxes, and about 3 bags of more things in the room, it is now even more of a shoebox. For the last couple of weeks, I have been feeling more like a caged hamster, now that feeling is getting more intense. Add the (wall shakingly) loud music blaring, and the child-like behavior of my neighbors, and the feeling of being a hamster is rapidly changing to the feeling of being a caged lab mouse. For the last couple of weeks, I have not been in the mood to do any blog entries (until today).

After returning from Washington DC, I had just gotten over a cold, and I think I caught another cold from the loud young lady who came in the kitchen hacking and coughing while I was cooking my dinner. The previous night, her and her boyfriend (oh, excuse me…her husband) were in the kitchen for about 2 hours. That was the night I had spent about $80 dollars worth of food, so that I could stop eating out. By the time they were finished, it was late, so I only opened up a can of soup. The next evening, I did managed to get into the kitchen, but as I am cooking the young lady comes in to make a pitcher of ice tea for her…husband. 24 hours later, I was (also) hacking and coughing up a storm.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. Yesterday, I also went to a Japanese Food store here in Manhattan. I was just planning to buy a few items. And, I did. See the attached photo. I ended up spending $39.04 on 16 items. Actually, most of the items, I could have bought in the 100 yen store if I was still in Japan.