Scouting About.
Yesterday I received an e-mail from the organizer of the walking group that I recently joined. She wrote that she would like to do the walking event that I suggested last week. So, I decided to do a pre-walk so that I would not get the group lost. I am not very good with direction, and I get lost very easily.

The suggestion.
I needed to do some scouting for a fieldtrip that I am planning for my class. I want to take my class to the NYC Transit Museum. Before I submit a request to my principal, I wanted to do a little bit of looking so that I would have some idea of what to expect. I thought that since I was going to the museum, I would add a little more to the outing to maybe make it a bit more interesting for the walking group. “Two Birds with one stone.” So, today’s blog entry is about the scouting walk.

I started the day being lazy. No surprised there. I decided that I really need to start doing something to get organized. I decided to do my laundry…I hate doing laundry! I decided that I would do my laundry before I went on the scouting. I was very pleased with myself. It may not seem like much to others, but for me it was major. Today was the first time (maybe ever) I’ve ever done my laundry early. Usually, I wait until the very last minute to do the laundry.

I rode the 12:30 Metro-North train to the Bronx. I stopped off at the Target store there. I wanted to buy the sequel to Inkheart (Inspell). From the Bronx, I continued on my scouting mission (all minutes are approximated):

Bronx to Canal street – 30 minutes
Across the Manhattan Bridge – 25 minutes
Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn side) – 10 minutes
Post Office stop for stamps – 2 minutes
Bridges to Transit Museum – 10 minutes

When I arrived at the Transit Museum, I was surprised to see a line to get into the museum. I decided that I should not waste $5 for admission (adult price), I just asked the staff the approximate time to see the whole museum, and he told me about 45 minutes. On my way back, I decided to stop off at the teacher’s store. I ended up spending $48 dollars in the store. After the teacher’s store, I ate lunch in MacDonald’s. I ate a quarter-pounder without cheese, a Hi-C drink (no ice), medium fries, and 2 apple pies. After lunch, I continue on my scouting trip. I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (about 30 minutes). I ended my scouting trip in City Hall Park. I visited my foster father and his lady friend. Since I missed the 8:10 Metro-North train, and I had about 30 minutes to kill, I decided to eat dinner. I order beef with broccoli from the local Chinese restaurant. I returned home about 9:22. I since I ate MacDonald’s and Chinese takeout, I decided to row on my rowing machine. I did about 50 minutes on my rowing machine. I watched my “Ultimate Avengers” DVD that helped to pass the time. I showered and now I am posting this blog.


Wt. = 194.0%lbs. BMI = 29.0%

Post Date – Friday, April 06, 2007 11:50pm

A lazy day. Today, I did not do much. I watched a lot of TV. I ate two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which means I kind of fell off the wagon again. I cleaned my bathroom (see attached photos). I loaded up my large shopping cart with the trash and took the trash to the dumpsters behind the buildings. For dinner, I microwaved frozen chicken, frozen string beans, and the last of the leftover rice I made sometime last week. I rowed about 40 minutes. I used my growing DVD collection to distract me from the exercising. Well, like I said, there was not much going on today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Until next time…























Wt. = 193.2lbs. BMI = 30.9%
Post Date - Thursday, April 05, 2007 11:38pm

Fast time. Slow Time. Long time. Time again. Today was probably time wasted. Today I was supposed to be Spring cleaning, but I wasted most of the day dealing with the internet. For Breakfast I had cold and hot cereal and hot green tea. I spent about 2 hours chatting on Skype because I was bored. About 11:30am, my plan was to go shopping. I thought I would go food shopping before I called Verizon again to find out about my DSL. I got my shopping cart (and my umbrella) walked out my apartment, and walked out my building. Right in front of my building was the Verizon van. I wanted to ignore it, but I ended up turning around and going back upstairs. I went upstairs and called Verizon to find out about my DSL. And…I am not kidding nor exaggerating, an hour later, I was told the problem was wrong with the connection inside my apartment. The connection in the living room was defective. The suggestion was that I should move my computer to the bedroom.

“Knowing” what the problem was, my next step was to move my laptop into the bedroom, and connect to the internet via my new DSL. Problem. I couldn’t connect.

So, back again on the phone. This time it took about 30 minutes to discover that the DSL box “must be defective” and must be returned. By the end, I was too tired to do anything. DSL is suppose to be fast and convenient, but so far, it has been anything but.

I knew tomorrow would be another all day wait-a-thon. So I decided to go food shopping, even though it was raining. I took the Metro-North train to Yonkers. I stopped off at the bank and then the post office (I needed to buy stamps). Would you believe the main Yonkers post office had about 10 to 12 people standing and waiting on line, with no stamp vending machine. The place looks like a museum. I took one look at the line, and walked out. After shopping, I returned home. I spent about $85 on food. I made a couple of sandwiches, and a bowl of Campbell’s Chunky soup(low sodium). I watched the Simpsons, Mama’s Family, did 40 minutes on my rowing machine, showered, and watched Doctor Who. I’ve enjoyed Doctor Who when it was on Public Television. I was very happy when Doctor Who was brought back, but since I don’t have cable, I could not watch it until now. I was happy to watch, it wasn’t that great, but it was fairly enjoyable. Now, I will post this and call it a night.

Wt. = 192.4lbs. BMI = 28.6%

Post Date – Wednesday, April 04, 2007 11:58pm

Spring Cleaning (Part 1)
Well, I’ve finally recuperated (I hope) from the stress of work. Today I managed to start cleaning this pigsty. Since I was inside all day, there was plenty of time. So, do I now have DSL connection? Crazy question, by now you should know very few things (if any) come easily for me.

Yesterday, I made an appointment for Verizon to come and check the phone lines to see why I could not get online with DSL. The appointment time given me was 7am to 8pm. So today I waited, and waited and waited…I think you get the idea. Surprise, surprise no show.

I started this morning with cold cereal and hot green tea. I started cleaning about 12midday. The first phase of this mess is to tackle the trash that has been sitting around for a couple of months. Most of today was spent going through the piles of trash separate paper from plastic. See the attached photo. Yes, that stack of newspapers is about 2 feet high. There are newspapers from January in the pile.

At about 4pm, I called Verizon to confirm the appointment and to remind them that the manager’s office closes at 5pm. If they needed to go into the basement, they would need to arrived before 5pm. I spoke to a live person, and that person checked and confirmed that I still had an “active” appointment. So, I waited, and waited. No show. I called them about 8pm. I was connected to India again. This operator seemed to be more talkative. He wanted to know about the weather here, and asked if I liked rainy weather. And then, he proceeded to tell me the why he did not like rainy weather. After about 15 minutes phone chat…(checking the lines from his end, finding the request information, and connect the phone calls, etc…) I was told that I would have to call back tomorrow before 6pm the time the local offices close. Oh, what is connect the phone calls. The operator explained that when I call the 1-800 number I am calling India, he has to call the main dispatch, who then has to call the local verizon company, who then calls the technician who was assigned (but never showed) to find out why I was not able to get my DSL working. So in the end no DSL…yet.

About 5pm, I ate dinner. I put some left over rice in a bowl, added some frozen broccoli bits and top it with some curry sauce. In the microwave for about 6 minutes…presto…dinner in a bowl. Something I picked up in Japan. I miss Yoshinoya. And Ootoya. They are a couple of restaurant chains in Tokyo that served cheap but healthy fast food.

At 10pm, I finally returned to my rowing machine. I did about 40 minutes. My goal is to lose about 10lbs per month for the next 3 months. By the end of June, I want to be within a reasonable weight range for my height and build.

I showered, and now I am typing my blog entry offline. I will post this entry, and then I will call it a night. More cleaning tomorrow.

WT. = 193.6lbs. BMI = 28.4%

Post Date – Tuesday, April 03, 2007 11:58pm

Strike one! Today was supposed to have been the beginning of "getting things done", but old habits will die slow and hard. I woke up late, got on the computer...and did not do much else. About 1pm, I got in the bath and relaxed for almost an hour. After I got out, my plan was to start cleaning my apartment. However, on an impulse, I decided to check my e-mail knowing that there would be nothing there. Then I decided that since I was on the computer, I would call up Verizon to find out why I could not used the DSL that has been billed on my phone bill for the last couple of months, but I've been too lazy to call. Long story short. After about an hour, I was given an appointment for tomorrow (Tuesday) between...get this...7am (in the morning) and 8pm (yep, in the evening). It turns out, the tech support staff that I was speaking to was speaking to me from India. I thought that was very interesting. The guy said that he enjoyed working for Verizon because he got to speak to many wonderful customers. I had another idea, but I won't go there.After the DSL saga, I read a few pages from Dream-Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Yes, I finished Inkheart. I liked Inkheart. I was a bit annoyed by the silly ending plot point. If you've figured out a way to end the madness (locked away), then why was it necessary to go through the last chapter or so, with allowing the villian to keep you prisoner, and drag you to the stadium so you could undo the "spell". It was one of those silly plot points made only to build suspense, but you say to yourself, if you test the theory in the prison, isn't it stupid and risky to wait until the show in the stadium. Wasting time hiding the "secret". Unnecessarily being threaten. Unnecessarily worrying about is dad dead or alive. Being forced to change clothes etc...

About 5pm, I watched the evening news. I watched a double episode of Mama's Family. I watched a couple of WB comedies (Girlfriends and the Game). I started to watch the 10pm news, then before I knew it, I was asleep. I woke up about 2am, and now I am typing a blog entry.

Hopefully, tomorrow (now today), will be more productive. I really can't afford to waste this vacation.

Post date - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 2:28pm

April 2, 2007

On Vacation! Well, my vacation is in full swing. So how did it start? What did I do? What are my plans? Not much on all counts. Saturday I slept. Sunday, I mostly slept. I told myself that I would not stress myself in the beginning. I've had two days to recuperate. Saturday. I watched TV, including the rest of the Team America DVD. It was still fairly stupid, but I could see the satire that they were trying to do. It was really stupid looking at dolls having sex. And the Humor was a bit heavy handed. For dinner, I made a couple of boiled eggs, and mixed the eggs with tuna fish. I had about 3 or four tuna fish sandwiches. Today (Sunday). My plan was to relax in the bathtub. I filled up the tub, but I never got in. More sleeping. I also continued reading my commuter book (the book I read on the train during my commute). I am almost finished reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy. I am enjoying this book much more than the first book I read by Ms. Funke Dragon Rider. That book was really for young kids...I think. This book (Inkheart) is for an older reader. Young adult most likely. At 534 pages, I don't think there are too many kids that would have the patience to read this book. On the cover there is a stamp that says "Soon to be a major motion picture!" This book is much darker than the other book. It tells the story of a father (and later his daughter) who both can read characters out of books they read. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series...Inkspell. However, I've already bought another book about a deamer walker or something. I probably will start with that book. Anyway, Sunday was basically the same as Saturday. Nothing much going on. About 5pm, I decided that I would get an order of chicken wings and shrimp fried rice from the nearby takeout. I also told myself that I would buy my last pint of Haagen Daaz ice cream before I resume I exercising. My new goal is to lose about 10 pounds per month for the next 3 months. As you have probably figured out, I've fallen off the exercising wagon...again. Starting tomorrow, I will once again resume my rowing, and cutting back on my sweets. Also my goal is to get organized. I need to tackle the mountains of papers growing in my living room. My goal is to also do my lesson planning for the two weeks. I am hoping that since the week we return to school is a three day week (with Thursday being my easy only two period day), I should be able to plan for that short week, and the following full week. The goal is to have all the copies for the full week of school needed to be copied submited the day school resumes. That would mean I would be one week ahead. A large part of my stress comes from not being as organized as I would like to be. Back to Sunday. After returning with my dinner. I ate dinner, and read the Sunday paper. I watched the Animation block on Fox 5. I started watching the 10pm news, but fell asleep. That brings up another goal. I have to break myself out of the irregular sleeping habit I've created for myself. Falling asleep to the point of exhaustion, then waking up at 1 or 2am, only to fall back to sleep at three. By the posting time of this blog entry, you can see that I need to work on the sleep routine.

Well, it is late. Tomorrow, I will need to do something productive. The first thing will probably be to take the things out of my shopping cart. By things, I mean papers that need grading, textbooks for planning etc...Too many times, I've brought that shopping cart home full to the brim with the plan to "get organized, only to have the shopping cart sit by the door, unopened and unmoved until the night before school resumes. It is very depressing to drag that 20 or 25 pound cart all the way home (untouched), only to have to drag it all the way back to school. Hopefully, this vacation will be different....Oh, I hope so.

I am going to attach a photo of the pigsty I've lived in for the last couple of months. Hopefully, posting it will motivate me to clean and organized. As I told my e-pal (as hard as it was for him to believe), I really am a neat and organized person. I believe my living room is a reflection of my mental state...Hopefully, not a permenant state.

Post Date - Monday, April 2, 2007 3:22am

Another recuperative weekend. In other words, lots of sleep. Saturday, I spent most of the day in bed. Last week, the stress of the week was report cards and Parent Teacher Conferences. I think I was out of the school building around 8pm every night last week. So, when the weekend comes I am so tired, I really can’t do much but sleep. Now it is Sunday. I have to spend today getting ready for next week. I have another observation next week (administrator comes in to observe a lesson for a full period). I had three observations with one assistant principal, now for some strange reason, the other assistant principal will be doing my last observation. There is about a couple of paragraphs I could write about this, but I’ve told myself to stop writing about stress at work. Unfortunately, without the stress, there is not much to write about.

As I mentioned above, I did not do much this weekend. I had planned to go on another walking event, but at the last minute, I did not feel like walking (knowing that I would be stressed out about things that needed to be done before the end of the day. To do walking events, I have to be better organized, so that Sunday is free for nothing but walking.

Today I need to do lesson planning (including a lesson for my observation), go food shopping, and cut my hair. While I am typing this, my bath water is filling up. After I post this blog entry, I will cut my hair, and then soak in the tub. Hopefully, if I do the hair now, I won’t be rushing (and stressing) about it this evening. After my bath, I can start a little bit of lesson planning (waiting for my pores to close up), then I can do my laundry, and go shopping. Hopefully, I can finish up my lesson planning, and cooking dinner later this evening.

Well, I think that is about it…

Oh, I almost forgot to summarize my walking event with the walking group in Penn Station. Since I had a few photos, I’ve been procrastinating about doing the blog entry. I better do the summary now, while I still have a few vague memories about the day. Luckily my life is so stone cold boring, I can remember details about something that happened a few weeks ago (with the help of the photos to refresh my memory).

PENN STATION

My day started with catching the 12:30 Metro-North train to Manhattan. I arrived in the Bronx about 12:45. I stopped at Subways to buy lunch. I had a feeling that lunch would not be a part of the walking event. I ordered a chicken teriyaki sandwich to go. I ate the sandwich on the train platform waiting for the #1 train to arrive. I arrived at Penn Station about 1:45 (see first photo). After going to the Penn Station bathroom, I went to the group meeting place (in front of the GNC). I thought the meeting place was a little strange. I was expecting the meeting place to be near a unique place like a ticket booth or information booth. However, when I arrived, there was an information booth right next to the GNC. Once I saw the information booth, I relaxed, because I knew I was in the right place. And, since I was early, I didn’t worry. Until 2pm arrived (the meeting time) and no one arrived. I got more nervous when 2:10 arrived and still no one showed. Finally, I noticed an older guy with a ponytail waiting at a nearby pole. I asked if he was waiting for the walking group. He was. He explained to me that he had been on other walking events, and being on time was not a major concern. Once he started going into stories of other events and how they were late, I excused myself to go to the gift shop to buy NYC souvenirs.

I returned and still no one (but Mr. Ponytail and myself) were waiting. I weighed myself on the scale outside the GNC. The scale told me that I needed to lose 30 pounds for someone of my age and build. Duh!!!

After about 20 minutes more of waiting, I was planning to leave, but ponytail said that maybe there was another GNC in the station. Actually, to myself I was saying that was a dopy idea. I was thinking that this GNC was chosen because it was big and was next to the information booth and a tourist gift shop. Why would there be two big GNC (drugstores) in Penn Station….It turns out Mr. Ponytail was correct. There was another GNC drugstore…on the basement level…squeezed between a coffee stall and a sandwich stall. And the group organizer was there. She seemed very nice. I was a bit annoyed but not much. Group organizers are just regular everyday people who have to courage to take the bull by the horns and do something like organize an event that others (Mr. Ponytail and myself) just sit back complaining about how disorganized it was. The event was basically meant to be a walking exercise kind of event. Even though I knew that, I still have touristy ideas in my head. As we started walking, I kept ending up in the back stopping to take photos. Since Mr. Ponytail was being quite the conversationalist, I was not eager to move up. I did think that the group organizer was very professional and tried to make everyone feel comfortable. There were a total of 4 of us. An older guy from Queens joined later, but also left about the 2nd or 3rd time we walked around the station. Basically, we just walked in circles. Again, the goal was for the exercising, not the sights. Since I knew that, I was not really disappointed.

After about the 4th or 5th circle around, Mr. Ponytail started to take control of the event. He wanted to go to a store, but he did not know which exit to go out of. That was a bit annoying. We were like a group of groundhogs, popping up every few minutes out of a different hole. Like the GO said, it did not matter if we were inside or outside, but as long as we did not keep going in and out. It was a cold day. Finally, Mr. Ponytail found the correct exit. Before we went to the store, GO had to stop at the bank. While waiting, I took another photo of Madison Square Garden.

We finally arrived at the store, it turned out to be a large 99 cent store. Once in, Mr. Ponytail said “good bye”. He said that was because we would probably go our separate ways. Since he was not the GO, I didn’t follow him. I was not really planning to buy anything, but I can’t resist a 99 or dollar store. I think I bought about 10 dollars worth of stuff.

After the 99 cent shop, GO and myself started walking outside. While we were walking, GO was making plans to meet someone at 4pm. That phone call alone told me the walk was over. I don’t think the GO knew how to end the event. After a couple of blocks, she said that she needed to go into Macy’s and then to the Natural Foods store. I took the clue and continued on my way. Along the way, I took a photo of the Empire State Building over Macy’s (see attached photo).

I continued to walk alone. I needed to go to the bathroom. Since GO had already went into Macy’s, I didn’t go in. I did not want to seem like a stalker following the woman. I continued walking down Broadway to 42nd street. On 42nd street, I decided to go take a photo of the Chrysler Building (I don’t think I’ve ever been there). Along the way, I was lucky, I Bryant Park bathroom was open. A very nice and clean public bathroom. That was unusual. Near Grand Central Station, I realized that it was getting late. So, I just took the photo from a distance (see the attached photo).

After taking the Chrysler photo, I walked back to the west side alone 42nd street. I also took a photo of the New York Public Library (see attached photo). I stopped at Toys R Us. I bought a couple of “incentives” for my students. I bought two $10 gift certificates (one for the boy and one for the girl) who read 25 books (one of the New York 3rd grade standards). In order to by fair, in almost everything I do, I try to balance out with the equal rewards, or responses for the girls as well as the boys. In college, I was told that teachers tend to choose and give boys more attention then to girls. Sorry, I was getting sidetracked.

After Toys R US, I was hoping to go to a Staples to by a drum unit for my copy machine. The drum unit needs to be replaced soon. The cost is $188 plus tax. That does not include the toner that is about $80…which is also about to need to be replaced soon. So far I’ve bought about 4 toner cartridges, and about 3 cases of paper for my copy machine. The machine cost about $299. That machine is one very expensive luxury. I really need to get organized so that I am not spending so much on that machine. Originally, the copy machine I bought was only supposed to be used for emergencies with the copies could not be made on time.

Anyway, I walked and walked, but there was no Staples in sight. I went to a CompUSA, but they did not have the drum unit. Later I ended up ordering one online. I also ordered another case of paper yesterday, along with another toner cartridge. My machine recently started flashing the “toner needs to be replaced” message.

It is getting late, this blog is turning up to be much longer than I was expecting. Quick summary. I walked passed the Ed Sullivan theater, where David Letterman’s Late Show is taped (see the attached photo). I took the train at 59th street. I arrived in the Bronx only to have missed the local Metro-North, so I took the express which meant getting off at Yonkers Station and walking the rest of the way home.
What is the final photo. As I approached my building, there was a fire in the back of my building. Luckily, the fire was no where near my apartment. The photo was taken inside my building in the stairwell. I did not know if I was okay to take photos of the fire trucks, so being the coward I am, I waited until I was in my building before taking the photo.

You can see by the time of this posting that I had a very unproductive weekend, and now I am (as usual) making up for it.

The plan today (Sunday) was to go to Brooklyn to the teacher supply store to by bulletin board paper and border. The plan was to be at the store at opening time (11am), and be in and out in about an hour. After a cold cereal, I took the 9:30 Metro-North train to Manhattan. No Lunch. I arrived at the teacher supply store about 5 minutes to 11am. It turns out the store is only blocks from the HQ of the Board of Ed.

Long story short. After wandering the store aisles for about 2 hours, I left $170 dollars poorer.

Since I was in the area, I decided to visit my foster father. Unfortunately, the trains were a mess due to construction. I ended up at my foster father's place about 3pm. He wasn't there. I stayed awhile to talk to his lady friend and I left about 3:45pm. I returned home about 5pm. Dinner was takeout from a soulfood restaurant -- owned by a Korean. After dinner, I went to the laundromat to wash my clothes. I read the Sunday paper there. After returning home, I started lesson planning, but fell asleep on the couch (futon). I woke up about 12 midnight. It is now 2:35. After I post this quick blog entry, I will type up my homework sheet. I should be in bed by 3:15am. And...up at 6am. What a life!

Payday means…shopping on unnecessary things. Well, another wasted weekend. One of these days, I will have to reread this blog to see how many times I’ve written that.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been stressing myself about report cards among other work related things. This weekend like the last few, I’ve been bring home work telling myself that this would be the weekend that I get organized. Well, another wasted…oh, I already wrote that.

I was planning to use this weekend to really go over the mountains of papers (both graded and ungraded) to complete progress reports for the students. I like the idea of providing progress reports to go with the report cards, so that parents have a better idea of how I arrived at the grades their child received. Today was supposed to have been paper organizing day, and as you are about to read…I did anything but.

This morning, I decided to go to the Teacher’s College Bookstore to buy bulletin board paper and borders. Since parent teacher conferences happen next week (Tuesday), I wanted the hallway bulletin boards changed. I started the day with cold cereal and hot green tea. I took the 10:30 Metro-North train to the Bronx. In the Bronx, I ate lunch at Subways. Then I went to the Target store. My plan was to just run into Target to get another book. I finished reading Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. The story was okay, a bit kiddyish, but okay. Talking mice, furry cat people, and dragons. The story was okay, entertaining in a kiddy kind of way. My plan was to by the next book written by the same author. Originally, I was planning to buy Inkheart by Ms. Funke (it will be a movie soon). And the Inkheart book has a continuation book (Inkspell). I think it is a trilogy, but I am not sure. Anyway, my plan was just to run in buy the Inkheart book, and leave. But just like it is not a good idea to go food shopping when you are hungry, you should not go into a store when you are bored. I made the mistake of lingering a bit too long in the book section. I ended up putting Dream-Hunter by Sherryilyn Kenyon into my basket. Another mistake, getting a basket when you are only planning to buy a book was not a good idea. I wasn’t too fond of the cover (it looked like one of those romance novels), but I liked the synopsis on the back. After reading a book with talking mice who fly toy airplanes, I wanted a more adult book, sci-fi or fantasy – yes, but more adult. Short summary, a guy lives in the dreams of others, a woman doctor searches for proof of Atlantis’ existence. Demons are chasing the dreamer guy, and the dreamer guy has to collect a human soul to stay in the human world for two weeks. A human soul is only worth a two week vacation, go figure.

Anyway, although I should have been in and out, I started to linger in the store…as if I had nothing better to do. I went to the DVD section only to see what was released. I ended up buying: Underworld Evolution, Ultimate Avengers Iron Man, and the Boondocks (the complete first season). I’ve read the Boondocks comic strip a few times. Since I don’t have cable, I have not been able to see the animation. Once I finished in the DVD section, I wandered over to the CD section…only to see what was available. I ended up buying a few Target Store mixes (three 80s mixes and a hip hop mix[80s I think], and another Stevie Wonder Greatest hits. On the way to the checkout area, I ended up throwing in A big button desktop calculator, dental floss, and Listerine breath strips. In total, I spent $169.01 in Target, and $6.72 in Subways. My debit card was smoking before I even went to the Teacher’s College bookstore.

After Target, I went to the TC bookstore only to find it closed due to Spring Break. I was annoyed. A woman talking on her cell phone said (while speaking into her phone) that each time she has been there (TC), the store was closed. I silently agreed with her. Since I had once again waited to the last minute, was standing on the street corner stressing over my options. In the end, I decided that I would go to a teacher supply store in Brooklyn. I remembered receiving a flyer about a supply store somewhere in the Fulton area. I couldn’t remember the store name, nor could I remember the exact location, but there I was on the train riding to Brooklyn. After a couple of stops, lucky, I came to my senses. Unlike the TC bookstore, the store in Brooklyn was opened on Sundays. I decided to return home.

Since I was heading uptown, I decided to visit my foster father to pick up my mail. No one was home, but that was okay with me. On the way home, I stopped of at the grocery store. I saw that the Haagen-Dazs ice cream was on sale (2 for $4). I also bought 2 half gallons of orange juice.

At home, I microwaved my dinner (precooked chicken, frozen spinach, and ready to serve rice). I watched the evening news and fell asleep. I woke up about 10. I started to watch the 10pm local news, but ended up watching a very 80’s sci-fi movie (Double Dragon). Now I am doing this blog entry. Tomorrow, I am off to Brooklyn to the teacher’s supply store, return home, do the laundry, and start the papers for the parent teacher conference. Oh, and I need to do my lesson plans for next week.

Well, since I’m up, I’ll take a photo of my Target purchases and attach it.

Finally!!! I was out of the building at a reasonable hour. I clocked out at 4:01pm. I arrived home at 5:01pm. I need to keep this short. I have report cards to do. I am also very tired. At my school, a decision was made that the school building should be empty for the test takers, so all grades not testing this week or last week, had a trip. Tuesday it was Museum of Natural History. Today, we went to the Hall of Science in Queens. And tomorrow, it is the Bronx Zoo...Assuming it does not rain. After arriving home, I first put my dinner (leftovers) in the microwave, then I changed my clothes while my dinner was heating up. Now, I am writing this blog entry. But I have to go now. I have a pile of report cards to do.

Oh, I have not forgotten about my walking trip a couple of weeks ago. However, I've been a bit busy with one thing or another. Mostly just being so disorganized.

I joined a walking group. I walked, but it is too late to go into details. I will do another blog entry at another time.

Well, first day back from the winter break. I thought that after a week of laying around and doing almost nothing, I would have at least a week (or maybe two) before I started feeling stressed out. Well, I lasted for about 2 hours, before the chest aches and headaches returned. Basically the same old nonsense, so I am not going to waste time writing about here.

This morning I was up about 5:30. I was in bed about 11pm last night (internet). Tonight, I am going to try again for a 10:30 bedtime.

Anyway, I tried out my 16oz Styrofoam cups I bought at the 99 cent store. They were great. The plastic lids fit nice and tight. I made cream of wheat (strawberry flavored) and green tea in the cups, put the lids on, and then put the cups in a plastic baggie closed with a twist tie; I then put sealed breakfast in a plastic shopping bag (and tied a knot in that). I ate the cream of wheat on the train, but the tea was too hot. I was amazed how hot the tea stayed. I did not drink the tea until I was in my classroom (and it was still very warm).

I left the school building about 5:30 exhausted. At Marble Hill (before catching my train to Yonkers), I ate dinner at Subways. I ordered the 6 inch chicken teriyaki sandwich. Much to my surprised, I only ate half of the sandwich. I didn’t eat the chips (baked not fried) that came with the meal. By 6:50, I was home. And by 7:10, I was on my rowing machine. I rowed about 45 minutes. I was very tired, and really did not feel like rowing, but I knew that if I did not get on, I would probably not get on again…at least not until the next vacation break (April). Oh, if there are any people out there that think teachers have too many holidays, just stop, look and listen to the kids (and the parents) you see and hear in the street and on the trains. Now, imagine a room full of them.

Finally, I showered after rowing. I ironed my clothes for tomorrow. Oh, I changed back to using a backpack. I'm tired of dragging that shopping cart to and from school.

Wt. – 191.4 lbs. / BMI – 27.3%

This has to be very brief and very quick. Today is the last day of my vacation. I managed to finish my lesson plans for the whole week. Now, my goal is to start Tuesday or Wednesday on the next week’s lessons. I want to be finished by Friday. Next Sunday, I signed up for a walking club. Those of you who have been reading this blog know that I’ve written so many times that I am a walker, but I have not been doing any walking. It is time I got my life to together. Hopefully, I can start today.

Today I managed to finish my lesson plans and the homework sheet for the entire week. Around two, I decided to make a quick run to Target in the Bronx. One of the office workers had a housewarming party and gave each teacher a list of things that he wanted. No, I did not need to buy anything, but I thought it would be nice. I bought a $25 gift certificate. I then took the express Metro-North back to Yonkers. In Yonkers, I went to the big supermarket to get a gallon of Fat Free milk (used to be called skim milk) and frozen vegetables. I then went to the 5 & 10 imitation store to buy a pair of boots. There is a snow storm suppose to be on the way. If you read my previous blog entries, you know I bought a pair of casual dress shoes. I would not be a happy camper to wear my new shoes in a snow storm. After the shoes, I walked back home.

At home, I divided up the meat that I’d bought days ago into smaller bags. It is cheaper to buy family packs and divide them and freeze them. I then put in some chicken in the oven. I just printed my homework sheet. My plan is to now log online to post this blog entry (I write offline then connect to the internet). I will try to do 30 minutes on my rowing machine. I did not row last night. I was too stressed trying to finish up my lesson plans. Hopefully, I can do the 30 minutes tonight. I really have to force myself. I already missed one day and school has not started yet. If I am really going to get rid of this spare tire, I will have to find the time to row. After rowing, I would like to soak in the tub, but showering is probably better. I will eat dinner. While I am watching TV, I will iron my shirts and slacks for the whole week. I will need to pack my things for tomorrow, then it is bedtime. I want to try to be in bed by 10 (no later than 10:30), I will probably need to take the 6:23am train tomorrow.

Results tomorrow.


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I tried to post the above blog is evening, but my computer crashed again. I know I need a new computer, I just hope this one last until I do. Before I try posting this again, I can add more.

After the first posting attempt, I got on my rowing machine for 45 minutes. I showered and ate dinner. I had bake chicken, ready to eat rice (just microwave and eat), and broccoli. After eating, I tried to watch TV and iron, but once the TV was on, I became a zombie, so I had to turn off the TV. I was not able to iron my clothes for the whole week, but I did do tomorrow’s clothes. See attached photo. My clothes are laid out, and my shopping cart is packed. Hopefully, if things go well, I will no longer need to use a shopping cart to drag books and things back and forth.

Finally, my weigh in. After showering (and before eating) I weighed myself.

Wt. – 190.2 lbs. / BMI – 27.5%

A few minutes ago, I weighed myself again (about 2 hours after eating dinner). The scale showed 194.6 for the weight. I don’t know the BMI. My scale can be programmed for up to two users. When I push the select button for the preprogrammed feature, it remembers the last weigh in. I did not want to mess up my 190 weight. Yes, I know weighing myself after exercising (but before eating) is not the best time to weigh myself, but I feel good about seeing the pounds low. Once I get into a regular routine, I will weigh myself at a better time. Right now, I need all the help I can get.
Now, I better go. It is almost 10pm. I want to be in bed by 10:30pm.

This entry won't take long. I slept for most of the day. I did not go outside. I tried to do some lesson planning for next week.

Two days left in my vacation. What did I do today to get organized so that next week does not start out stressing me...not much. Now, I am basically in waiting for the (vacation) time to run out. I did my laundry. I finally dumped the trash that has been sitting in the kitchen for about a month. I also finally hung the curtains in the bedroom. See attached photos.

Wt. = 194.0 / BMI = 29.3%

Wasting another vacation away procrastinating. Today (like all of the other days), I did not do much but sleep, shop, and watch TV.

I told myself that I would stay inside to clean my apartment. Trash has not been dumped in weeks. I have piles in almost every corner. However, I felt the need to go shopping...again. According to the news report, there was suppose to have been some snow fall, so I told myself I had better go food shopping now rather than later. I was planning to just buy some orange juice, and cold cereal, but I ended up buying a bit more. I bought about 5 boxes of cereals, meat, cleaning items etc...In total, I spent about $95. I walked back home.

Once I got back, told myself that I would start cleaning my room, but first I told myself that I would quickly go online to check my e-mail. About 3 hours later, I finally got off the computer. I was planning to cook some spaghetti. I had even defrosted the ground beef. However, I did not have pasta. I also forgot the frozen vegetables. My backup meal was "Sloppy Joe". After dinner I watched some TV and read the newspaper.

I got on my rowing machine about 9pm. New measurements:
weight = 193.4 / BMI (Body Mass Index) = 28.2%

More shopping. I should have been cleaning my room, or grading/organizing papers, but instead, I just wasted the day away. I started off the day watching some daytime TV. Then, I decided to go to the locksmith in the South Bronx to see if I could get the lock from the teacher's desk in my classroom fixed. Unfortunately, students (and a couple of teachers) are a little too comfortable with going in (or on) my desk. One teacher who does small group instruction with me, feels very comfortable with going in my desk (as if it was his own desk) whenever he needs something. Am I being overly anal? Is it wrong to expect a simple request before opening my desk draw (even if it is just for a pencil).

I took the Metro-North to the South Bronx, and then transfered to the NYC Mass transit bus. First I went to the locksmith with the old lock, hoping they would be able to replace the key cylinder, but they told me I would have to buy a new lock (which was okay with me). The lock cost about $8.00.

After the locksmith, I decided to visit my old place (the shoebox). Once again, I forgot my cellphone, so I had to depend on the old fashion method of contact...ring the bell. As I approached the house (I was about two houses away), I could hear the music blasting. I couldn't help but smile. I was so happy to be out of there. I rang the bell. Mr. 40+ answered the door. I asked Mr. 40+ how were things. He motioned to Screamer's door, and the back, saying nothing's changed. He said the hallway was still flooding, and Screamer was still doing her thing.

After the visit, I went to the Pioneer grocery store to buy some boxes of favored Cream of Wheat. For some strange reason, that store is the only one that sells the favored Cream of Wheat. I bought 9 boxes. I rode the bus back to Metro-North. I stopped in Target to buy foot powder. I then rode the Metro-North express back to Yonkers. From Yonkers station, I walked the rest of the way home.

Home, I heated up leftovers, and watched a little bit of TV. I got on my rowing machine for about 40 minutes, and then showered. I am also going to try something new. After I shower, I will do a weigh in to see how I'm doing in the weight loss dept. Without clothes, today I weighed 194.2 pounds, and my BMI (Body Mass Index)was 29.5%. Without clothes, I lost about a pound and I lost about a half of a percentage of BMI. I probably would have lost more if I did not eat half a pack of Oreo doubled stuffed mint cookies.

I bought a scale. Today, I went to Target. My plan was to go to a locksmith to see if they could change the tumbler in the lock from the desk in my classroom. However, I forgot the lock. I left my apartment and took the Metro-North to the Bronx. In the Bronx, I ate lunch at subways (chicken teriyaki sandwich). I then went to Target store. In the book section, I really could not decide which book I would choose next as my commuter read. I almost chose Inkspot or Inspell trilogy (soon to be a movie), but I settled on Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke (another trilogy). I then visited the DVD section. I bought the following DVDs:

I, Robot
Dungeons & Dragons
Wallace & Gromit (The Curse of the Were-Rabbit)
Madea's Family Reunion

I next bought a scale. I bought the kind that measures body fat index (whatever that means). I weigh 197pounds with a body fat index of 30%. Now that I have a scale, maybe weightlose will be easier. I just searched the internet for some information about ideal weight for someone of my height (5'8"). I checked several web sites and the number that seems reasonable to me (for someone with my frame) is 172 pounds.

After shopping, I took the express train to Yonkers station. And walked home from there. It took me 23 minutes to walk home. At home, while I put up the kitchen blinds, I baked some porkchops. For dinner I had Mac & Cheese, okra, and porkchops. I also got on my rowing machine this evening. I showered, and now I am writing this blog entry.

My computer just shut off while I was checking my e-mail. This second handed computer’s days are definitely numbered. I better do a quick blog entry before it over heats.

Yesterday (Monday), I started the day with a relaxing soak in the bathtub. Then on an impulse, I decided to go to the nearby mall here in Yonkers. I should have been cleaning my apartment, but procrastinator in me just will not die. Usually, I like to go to the Jersey City Mall. I am a creature of habit. Although it takes a couple of hours and about 3 or 4 trains, since I learned how to go to Jersey City Mall, I usually go there. Anyway, I decided that since there is a mall about a 10 minute distance (by car), I should just go visit.

To go, I started out at 12:50 from my apartment at the bottom of a steep hill. The bus (at the top of the hill) arrived at 1:03. Up here in Westchester transfers are not automatic. I had to pay $0.25 for the transfer. Another thing, the bus stops don’t line up. I had a choice of where to get the connecting bus, one block down hill to the Metro North station, or about 2 blocks up hill to the bus stop at the Getty Square shopping area. This area is the area I’ve mentioned in previous entries when I wrote about walking 30 minutes to the nearby shopping area. I choose the Getty Square. Actually, it was a little old Spanish lady who helped me make the choice. When I got on the bus I asked the bus drive for the location of the transfer…he was no help. He just mumbled something about over there. It was the Spanish lady who actually spoke up and explained about the bus stop locations. Since she was going to a vegetable stand nearby, she offered to take me to the bus stop in Getty Square.

At the bus stop, I had about a 20 minute wait. Buses were on a Saturday schedule due to President’s Day. Just when the bus arrived a bunch of loud young people came. They all got on the bus, cursing, threatening, and laughing like they were the only ones on the bus. Apparently, one of the boys was having a conversation about defending his girlfriend’s honor because someone called his girlfriend a Ho. Another girl was discussing the condom she liked. The other girl wanted to know why she was using a condom with her boyfriend. The girl’s response was that she did not want to get pregnant. Then the girls conversation turned to on girl explaining about how someone was “bitching” to her mother, and her mother was bitching to her, so she started bitching back to her mother. I had a 20 minutes bus ride of this nonsense.

Once we arrived (everyone apparently was going to the mall), I got off quickly hoping to get away from the noise (they were giving me a headache), Unfortunately, the direction I had chosen (at random) was the same path they had chosen. I ducked into a bookstore. I was sure they would not be going there. I was correct. I kind of let myself get lost in the books. I browsed for a while. It is almost time for me to choose a new book. I am currently reading the “adult” edition of the Chronicles of Narnia. That basically means they took all of the childrens’ edition (7 in total), and put them into a single book with the picture of a scene from the movie. The book must weigh about 3 or 4 pounds. I am about 2/3 of the way through. The book is a bit soft and sappy, but I am enjoying it.

I really don’t know what my next book will be. I really enjoyed the “Eragon” series. I haven’t seen the movie, but the movie looks stupid. And the reviews were not great. I seemed to keep edging towards “Wicked” and “The Son of the Witch” each time I go to the book store. Both books are sequels (or prequels) to the Wizard of Oz. Wicked is also a Broadway show. I was never a big fan of the Wizard of Oz, and the books sound fairly stupid. And yet, I keep eyeing those two books. Anyway, I passed on buying a book yesterday. All of my recent books have been bought at Target store (they are cheaper there), I’m planning to go to Target today, so I’ll see what they have there.

After the book store, I went to Burger King. I had medium meal with orange juice, and no cheese on the hamburget (my lame attempt at eating healthy). Yes, yes, I know, if I was eating healthy, then I would not have been in Burger King.

After BK, I went to Macys to look around, and then from there I went to SEARS. I bought a pair of dress casual shoes for work.
From SEARS, I realized there was not much to see at this “open mall”, and besides, the last bus, yes, last bus was at 5:30. I did not want to pay for a taxi. I was there one time before, I know there is a movie theater somewhere around, but with the snow, and cold, I was not in the mood to explore.

The bus ride back was much nicer without loud youths onboard. Am I sounding like an old man? I nodded off on the bus, and before I knew it, I was back at Getty Square. I did a little bit of shopping in the area. I bought window blinds for the kitchen ($3.88), and a couple of white thermo long undershirts. I wear the white thermos under my white shirt, so that I don’t need to wear a jacket or a sweater over my white shirt. I then went shopping in the 99 cents. I guess you can figure out the kind of “shopping” area from the places (discount furniture, imitation 5 & 10, and 99 cent store). At the 99 cent store, I bought 4 rolls of Bounty paper towels, dish detergent, plastic spoons, and a pack of big restaurant Styrofoam cups with plastic lids. Those cups are good for both hot and cold things. In the past, I’ve missed breakfast because I was running late. A couple of times I put my oatmeal into a bowl to eat on the train, or hot green tea in a mug to drink on the train. However, I would then have to carry the used dishes around until I got home. With the Styrofoam cups (with lids), I can put the hot oatmeal in one cup and the hot green tea in the other. The Metro-North ride is about 12 minutes, so that is my breakfast time without rushing.
After the shopping in Getty Square, I walked home. Now the walking time is about 20 or 25. The more I do it the faster I can do it. Once home, I watched King of Queens. Then I forced myself onto my rowing machine. I told myself that I would start exercising again. After rowing for about 40 minutes, I showered. I was so tired that I told myself that I would lay down for a couple of minutes, but I ended up falling asleep with nothing on but a towel, and very little heat in the apartment. Strange, when heat was not needed, they had me sweating up a storm, but now, the heat is barely on at times. The rowing was okay, but next time I need to push myself a little more. My heart rate rarely went above 100 during my workout. I bought one of those heart rate monitors that wears like a wrist watch.

Vacation / Recuperation has begun. However, it is off to a slow start. For the last couple of weeks I have been so stressed out that I did not even think that I would make it to the vacation. However, I did make it. Yesterday (Saturday), was a very nice day in terms of the weather. Since I needed to go to the post office, I was looking forward to the walk and just getting out. The walk again (see previous blog entry), was about an hour starting at the bottom of a very steep, and very big hill. Yesterday I thought I would try to go another way hoping that I would be able to find a less steep hill along the way. To get to the post office, it is basically a direct northerly walk. Think of a warped rectangle. I could either start with a 15 minute walk up a steep side of a mountain (or big hill), and then just walk along the main road north for about another 40 minutes. Yesterday, I did not mind the walk, but I did not want to start out hiking up the side of a mountain. Remember, I mentioned that the inclination is about 45 degrees. That kind of hike needs a few minutes to get mentally psyched. I did not have it when I walked out my building door and saw the slush and ice. Nice weather, but melting slush and ice. And me, in my new sneakers. My plan was to start the walk along my street northerly then find a less steep hill (side of a mountain) after I had time to get mentally psyched. It also gave me the chance to reexplore my neighbored. Remember, I mentioned that I used to live here before I moved to Japan.

Anyway, I started my walk, and after a couple of residential blocks, my street was a dead end. Luckily, there was a park at the end with a gradual angular/diagonal northeastern direction. After I got out of the park, I could see only the side of a mountain. However, I was not too nervous, I was almost sure there were at least a couple of cross streets that take me up to North Broadway -- the main street that would take me directly to the entrance to the office complex (the location of the post office). After exiting the park, I was on the next main street up the side of the mountain. North Broadway was the next main street. After walking about 15 or 20 minutes, I finally came to a cross street. Very steep, but I had no choice. After walking up the steep street, the street took a sharp turn right (south) – the opposite direction I wanted to go. Having just walked up the side of a mountain – yes, mountain. Westchester is mountainous, not hills. So, no more big hills.

At the top of the street, the residential houses end, the street becomes a road that continues in a southern direction on my right. On the left, is another park with a path. I told myself since I see houses and buildings, there must be a cross street. See, I am very bad with directions, I could get lost in an empty room with one door. When I walk I will do one of two things. I’ll stick to a main road a walk along it, or I allow myself to wander in a specific directions hoping eventually, to come to a train station or bus stop. Those methods have served me for many years living in Manhattan. However, Westchester is an animal of a different stripe.

As I walk along the park path (even though I am traveling in the correct direction), I can’t help but feeling as if I am lost. I see more houses below me on my left, and woods on my right. I do see the North Broadway road on the next tier up, but no way to get there. The park path I am on now is starting to slope down towards the left (northwest [off and away from my rectangle]). The last thing, I wanted was to get lost. The post office closes at 1pm. I am a walking contradiction. I hate being late, but I am so often (nearly late). My problem is that I am good at know time distance traveled to get where I need to (often to the minute), the problem is that once a time is locked in my head, it is hard for me to change my mental schedule. I don’t mind arriving early, but I too quickly get comfortable with being on time. I like getting to a place on time (not early, [definitely] not late, just on time). Problem, my mental schedule often does not factor in train delays, getting lost, or slow daydreaming walkers (who seem to have no place to go). Last week, on my way to work, this lady, stops on the stairs – the only stairs leading to the trains. She stops to search for her wallet, Metro card, or money. And the train is pulling into the station. A couple of weeks ago, a guy “Joe Cool” (too cool to run for the train) strolls up the stairs – why is there only one set of stairs leading to the trains? The guy takes his sweet time, doing his thug walk up the stairs. Only after he reaches the top (and the turnstile) and the train is still in the station, does he make a run for it. He makes it, I don’t. I wasn’t late, but I was extremely annoyed. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Where was I?

Oh, I am in the wooded area. I finally came to a residential apartment building with an open gate. Even though the gate sign said “no trespassers”, I ignored it. I exited the wooded area going though the parking area of the apartment complex. I am now in a ritzy area (I can tell by the cars and the people). I am also walking down a wide road going east. I don’t recognize anything. When I exited the apartment area, I was expecting to see the giant water (?!?!?) tower with the words “Yonkers” written on it. The office complex is at (or near) the base.

When I finally reached North Broadway, I asked a guy walking his dog where the office complex was. It turned out I had over shot my destination, by a quarter of a mile.

Well, I arrived at the post office thinking it was closed. I got my package, and I only had to wait 20 minutes. Why do postal workers move so slowly? There were two clerks when I arrived, but one went to look for something, and never returned, except strolling past a couple of times to say, “just a minute, I am still looking”. And of course, when I finally reach a window, another clerk arrives (also dragging her feet). So, while I am waiting at the counter, the clerk (very grandmotherly), complains to the newly arrived clerk about the old guy who was gone “searching” for something.

On my way out of the office complex, my first plan was to go my regular direction back home, but I decided to take the cross street near the office complex. Yes, a very steep…oh, you get the mental picture. There was a hospital on the left, and smaller office building on the right side with woods behind it. It turned out to be that street with the sharp turn going south. If I had not been lazy about walking up the side of the mountain in the opposite direction, I would have been at my destination. The steep walk was only 5 minutes from the point I made the mistake of turning left (into the wooded area) and continuing up the winding road. It turns out that I went about 15 or 20 minutes out of the way.

When I arrived about a block away from my home, I decided to have Chinese takeout for dinner and a pint of ice cream. Unfortunately, I’ve been eating about a couple of pints of ice cream (one each Saturday and Sunday) for the last couple of weekends. And no exercising. Yes, my jelly belly has returned. I think I mentioned in a previous blog entry that I’ve had to put away my 34 waist pants. Hopefully, that is only temporary.

Since the weather was so nice, I decided to walk south to the large supermarket (about a 30 minute walk from my home). I don’t like to pint ice cream at the cheap local bodegas nearby. Anyway, I arrived at the big supermarket. The place was packed!!! To make it worth my while, I also bought a couple of boxes of cereal (strawberry mini wheat, and cold cereal I can’t remember at this moment). Oh, and precooked rice in mini cups. Just microwave and eat. Those are very convenient during the work week. When I arrived home after a stressful day, I don’t feel like cooking. My usual choices are leftovers (which I don’t usually have), and fast food. With instant rice, and frozen meat and vegetables), I almost have a healthy home cooked meal. Usually, I fix a plate; change my clothes (while my food is heating in the microwave), and then I eat.

After the store, I walked to the Chinese place for a takeout order of fried chicken and fried rice. In the restaurant (while I was waiting for my food), I sat down. I was on my feet walking and standing for about 4 hours (without sitting). I felt like the old me.
At home, DVD, regular TV, then back to DVD. I finally got to watch the Fantastic Four DVD I had bought months ago (see previous blog entry). The movie was not great, or very exciting, but it was okay. After Fantastic Four, I watched a couple of PBS comedies (Are You Being Served) on regular TV. I don’t have cable. I feel asleep on the couch (folded futon actually).

A bit of a hike to the post office. Another weekend off to a procrastinatingly bad start. Last night I was so tired that I feel asleep here at my computer before I could answer the 3 e-mails in my Inbox. This morning I took a bit of a unplanned hike. A little background information.

Last week sometime, I purchased a couple of DVDs online during a moment of boredom. I received the postal delivery notice that delivery was attempted on Tuesday or Wednesday. I assumed that they would probably redeliver on Saturday. Up here, the post office closes at 5pm (Mon thru Friday), and at 1pm (on Saturdays). Just to get out of the apartment I decided to walk there and pick up the package myself. Remember, I think I’ve mentioned that I’ve used to live here before I moved to Japan about 6 years ago, so I had a vague idea where it was. Now, I am the kind of person that has the strangest of luck. Could the package have been sent to the post office that is near the Yonker’s Metro-North station. I have a monthly pass that would have allowed me to travel without extra expense. Or, I could have walked the 20 to 30 minute walk…no problem. The Yonker’s station is also pretty much a straight walk…no real hills to deal with.

However, my luck sent the package to another post office, one that (I must have mentally blocked this memory) was about an hour’s walk away...one way. The walk started with about a 10 minute walk up a 45 degree hill. I’m talking steep! My memory was playing tricks on me. I was sure the walk was about 30 or 40 minutes…not an hour one way. The post office was located in a kind of suburban office complex where most of the buildings are only one store high. Oh, and the post office (of course with my luck) was located at the very far corner of the office complex. From the entrance of the complex to the post office was about a 6 minute walk…without a sidewalk in sight.

So, you are probably thinking I hated the walk. Actually, I enjoyed it. I just liked complaining. After picking up my package (only one DVD arrived, the other will be delivered February 1st.), I stopped by the Dunkin Donuts in the office complex. I ordered something called an omelet supreme with a plain tea (no sugar or milk). From the look of the menu, I thought I was ordering a super sized, but it turned out to be fairly regular. The cost was $4.86 for the omelet and tea; I could have gotten a meal at McDonalds or Chinese takeout. The tea was about 16oz, and very, very hot! I was being a bit of an old fuddy-duddy. I didn’t like the plastic sipping lid. After a bit of a struggle to get the lid off, I wondered if that was a bright idea. The cup was filled to the rim…piping hot. And, I had a wobbly table. Why did I take off the spill-proof lid?

Not really being a social drinker, I had not idea how spill-proof (or dribble-proof) the lid was. Being the old man that I am, I was not impressed with the fancy lid. It looked like the lid of a baby’s spill-proof lid. Besides, if I am going to put something piping hot to my mouth, I want to see what it is. Don’t I sound like a cranky old man? The very kind I swore I would never become.

Well, moving on. After Dunkin Donuts, I went to the bank to take out $40. I am low on funds until next payday. The walk home was peaceful and uneventful. I enjoyed the walk. At home I watched the DVD. Actually, it was a bit of a waste of money. After the DVD, I watched a couple of Sci-fi shows on MY 9 channel 9. Around 5pm, I walked up the hill to the Chinese takeout to buy an order of fried chicken wings with an order of shrimp fried rice. I also bought a couple of iced honey buns from the nearby store. I did not have my regular appetite, I almost did not finish the rice, and I only ate 2 of the 5 chicken wings. After dinner, I read a few back newspapers from last week. And now, I am writing this blog offline. I will now log online to post this entry. Hopefully, I will be able to answer the e-mails in my Inbox.

Two here and there. I made it to another weekend with the goal of getting organized. I just got home a few minutes ago (about 9:17pm). I am writing this blog entry before I log online. I computer tends to disconnect from the internet rather easily now that it is slowly breaking down. Anyway…

Today was another day fairly similar to all the other. About 4 of my students were absent (including my most hyper one), the day was okay. My plan was to leave school about 5pm, but I ended up leaving about 7:30pm. Today was an early dismissal for students and staff (2:20). The sane staff members not doing after-school were out of the building about 2:30. From 2:30 to about 3pm, I attended a UFT meeting. From 3 to about 4 I was just bone tired and did not do much of anything. Only at about 6pm, did I get the strength to do a little bit of packing, vacuuming, and a little bit of preplanning for next week’s lessons. I love my copy machine. Is it possible for a man to love a machine? I love being able to print out a quiz or indoor assignment at a moments notice. Well, before I left for the weekend, I printed out a couple of chapters from various teacher’s manuals, so that I would not have to carry the textbooks to and fro. I still had a shopping cart full of ungraded papers, other planning materials, so I was still doing my imitation of a pack mule.

After leaving school at about 7:40pm, my plan was to catch the 8:20 Metro-North train in the Bronx. That meant about a 10 walk to the 125th train, and about a 5 minute wait for the #1 Bronx bound train. Next is about a 20 minute train ride. At 225th street, I have about a 2 to 3 minute walk to the Metro-North train station…that is to say…when everything goes right. Tonight was one of those evenings when the trains were not on schedule. As I walked to the 125th station, I see about 3 trains coming one after another. I arrived on the platform, and I waited…and waited… and waited.

I waited about 12 to 15 minutes for the #1 train. Near the end of my ride (about 2 stops from where I would have gotten off), the train I’m on decides to skip the next two stops. Most of the people get off at the 207 st. station (skipping stops 215th st. and 225th st [my stop]). A couple of minutes, another train comes. I arrived at my stop at 8:22…two minutes after the Metro-North left.

I ate dinner at Subways restaurant. I ate the footlong chicken teriyaki sub meal. After eating, I went to McDonald down the street to buy a couple of apple pies. The Subway’s apple pies are more expensive (about $1.50 or $1.70 for one). At McDonald, you can get two pies for $1.08 (including taxes). I ate one pie while I waited for my computer to boot up (it is very slow), and I am about to eat the other pie while I logonto the internet. Again, that is slow as well.

Well, I just felt my first slight doze, so I’d better post this blog entry before I fall asleep.

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I just logged online and checked my e-mail. Wow, there were 3 new e-mails in my inbox.

January 23, 2007

Elegant Dining. Nice, but not what I was expecting. Today, was the elegant dining reward for those students who had perfect attendance for the month of December. I (and a couple of other teachers) did not hear about the details of the trip until 10am. The students who would be attending would need to be down stairs about 10:15am The trip was okay, but not too well thought out.

About ……

January 25, 2007

Sorry, I fell asleep at the computer while I was typing the above blog entry. Rather than try to pretend and try to complete it, I am just going to leave it as is. Long story short. About 80 kids were able to attend a trip to a regular McDonalds. So many, that my group had to wait in a nearby park for about 30 minutes.

There is not much to write about. This week like so many other weeks, was mainly me playing procrastinating and catch-up. This evening was the first time (in a very long time) I did not procrastinate. I came home (about 6:30pm), I micro waved my dinner. I ate, washed the dishes (that had been sitting in the sink for almost a week). I took out the trash and did my lesson plans for tomorrow. Oh, for dinner, I had leftover yellow rice, green beans, and breaded fish.

A couple of weeks ago (see previous blog entry), I wrote about a big food shopping trip. Well, a couple of the things I bought were a couple of pre-cooked frozen meats (chicken and a pack of chicken). My thinking then was that if I had the food, I could come home tired, and hungry and could have a full dinner in a matter of minutes. Today was the first time I was able to try it out. I need to stop eating on the run. I don’t think I mentioned this, but recently, I’ve had to put away my skinner pants (waist size 34), and return to my regular size (waist 38). I’ve been stressing, eating, and pushing myself to very unhealthy limits. The result was that I’ve gained my weight back. Lately, I’ve been too stressed and tired to do much of anything, but eat junk food, drink juice, and surf the internet until early hours in the morning (only to get up about 6 in the morning). There were times I was getting about 2 or 3 hours of sleep only to spend the next day, yelling, standing and stressing myself out. I hope this evening is the beginning of a new better chapter in my life.

Last night I could not get online to check my e-mail. I wasn’t too stressed out because I had not received new mail in weeks (if not months), I just surfed the net. This morning I did a quick check only to discover a couple of e-mails. Both were a response to an ad that I’d place a while ago (seeking a walking friend). Who knows, I might be able to do some walking on the weekends, instead of sleeping the weekend away. However, to do any walking, I will have to get organized. Well, I better end this entry now so that I can go online, post it, answer those e-mails, and call it a night. No surfing this evening.

The procrastinator strikes again. Another stress-filled day of being referee, bodyguard, babysitter, entertainer, servant, etc…oh, and teacher. Today, I was sure I would be out of the building by 4pm. I had it all planned out. I almost succeeded, until I answered a parent’s e-mail. That threw off my plan. Before I knew it, I was leaving the building at 6:44. I went to the bank, then I went to Staples to buy some golf pencils. The stubby pencils are my poor solution to kids who keep losing pencils. In Staples, I bought two packs of 12 dozen pencils, a pack of 100 sheet transparency for the overhead projector, and one small $1.29 handheld pencil sharpener. The total amount…about $54 dollars.

I took the bus back across 125th street to the west side, to transfer to the subway, to get to the Metro-North Station in the Bronx. Since I missed the 8:20 train by about a minute, I had to wait for the 9pm train. I had dinner at Subway’s restaurant. I arrived home around 9:15pm. To unwind, I finished the Doritos from my Subway meal deal. And now I am writing this blog entry. I have to end this now and go grade some papers. I should be in bed by 11 or 12am.

Tomorrow, my school is having a reward for those students that have perfect attendance. Usually, those perfect attendancers would receive a school lunch served to them by the upper grade students. The meal is called “elegant dining”. Tomorrow, the students with perfect attendance with being having “elegant dining” at a local McDonald’s.

Hello. I'm tired. It's late. I am starting another week unprepared and procrastinating, so I am not in a good mood. All last week, I've been fighting a cold. This weekend, I slept most of Saturday away. Sunday, Only went out to do my laundry and to buy the Sunday paper. My chairs and cart arrived from Staples. I put those together (see attached photo). One chair will go in my bedroom at my "hobby" table.

I baked some chicken legs for dinner. Not a very productive week. I hope next week will be better.

Old man shopping. Once again, another perfect opportunity to get organized has come and gone. Now I sit here procrastinating further. Another wasted weekend of not doing much. Yesterday, I went shopping for a shelving unit for my mini stereo system. I want to keep my stereo on wheels, so that I can roll it to anyroom I go to. After my experiences in the South Bronx where people would have their music blasting. I told myself that I would not have my music blasting.

Today, I started the day online shopping. I bought a case of paper for my classroom photocopy machine. Unfortunately, I am blinded by the super convenience of having a copy machine readily available at a moment’s notice. I also bought another toner cartridge. The copy machine cost me about $200. However, the ink at $88 per cartridge is killing me. Next month, I will have to reply the drum, that will be another $189. I’ve already bought about 2 or 3 cartridges already. This copy machine is turning into quite an investment. However, like I said, I’m blinded by the super convenience of having a copy machine.

Since I was already online at Staples, I decided to buy a couple of task chairs to replace the folding chair that I’ve been moving around each time I move. I also bought a mobile file cart. I really need to get organized. It really bothers me that people have lives, familes, and the ability to enjoy their evenings. Whereas I struggle to keep up. I am single, no kids, and no expensive hobbies, but I barely seem to be able to keep up.

After surfing for a couple of hours, I took a bath. After the bath? My plan was to go the the shopping area to pick up a chair. Confused?

This weekend, I finally unpacked the last of the boxes that seem liked they were planning to take up permanent residence in my bedroom. On Saturday, my bedroom set was delivered and set up. With the bedroom set up and the boxes, my room looked a bit small, but once the boxes were removed, I moved my bed over to the left side of the room, I discovered that my bedroom was much larger than I thought. At the moment, I am using only about half of my room. I decided to get another card table to put in my bedroom, and a strange looking …for lack of a better definition, a folding pocket chair. It looks (to me) like a big pocket. When I saw the new layout of my room, I thought having that pocket chair would look perfect by the bedroom door. Although, I tell myself that I will use it to have a place sit after I take a shower or bath. However, the reality is that it will probably become the place I throw my just “laundered clothes but I am too lazy to fold and put away” area. The card table will be my hobby table, for the jigswas puzzles never begun, and the paint by numbers, I’ve never finished.

I went to the imitation 5 & 10 store to buy the card table and the folding pocket chair. Since the Metro-North only comes once every hour, I tied the table and the folding chair to my mini shopping cart and walked back home (about 30 minutes). Once I got home, I discovered, that the chair was broken. I waited for the next Metro-North train, with the plan of taking the bus, or walking back. Oh, on the train, I only need to go one stop, there was a guy who must have been in his late teens or early 20s. Anyway, on the way out, of the train, on the platform, the guy held open the door leading off the platform. After I walked through, I said, “thank you”. To which, the guy, said….

Are you ready for this?

The guy said, “you’re welcome, sir. Sir! Did he need to say sir? I know today is Martin Luther King’s birthday, and now, it is a national holiday. I should be proud that a younger person called me sir…But, do I really look like a sir?

Sorry, I got sidetracked.

It turns out the chair did not take that long. I was able to return to the Metro-North station in time to catch the train heading North.

Once I returned home, I started cooking spare ribs. My plan was to do some lesson planning for next week, but I started reading the newspaper…procrastinating.

For dinner I had barbeque spare ribs, precooked microwavable brown rice, and green beans. After dinner, I watched TV, and now I am typing this blog entry. More procrastinating. Now, I am too tired to do anything but sleep.

Shopping, Shopping, and more shopping. Yesterday was payday. I was happy to have received my first of the month salary before Christmas, but having spent most of it, I was really eager for the next payday to arrive. I was also happy to discover that the signing bonus of the new teacher’s contract would be included. I had an extra $600 (after taxes) to spend. And….

I spent it all.

Yesterday, as soon as I received my paycheck, I called the furniture shop (it is a small mom and pop operation…literally). When I made my down payment a couple of weeks ago, the owner had told me that I only needed to call him when I was ready to make my final payment, and I would not need to go to the shop. He told me that I could pay the reminder when the furniture arrived. Anyway, he seemed to have forgotten. He told me to come Saturday morning (the sooner the better to get the items from the warehouse sooner). Since Saturday is usually my sleep all day recovery day, I was not really in the mood to go anywhere. Since I missed the 9:30am train I need to ride one stop on the Metro-North, I decided to walk the nearest shopping district about a 20 to 30 minute walk. The walk used to take about 30 minutes, but the more I walk the route, the shorter the time.

Anyway, I arrived about 10:25am. The shop was closed. Other shops were opening, but the shop was closed. I had forgotten my cellphone, so I tried to call on a pay phone, only the phone swallowed my quarter. I finally arrived at the shop. One of the owners sons arrived about 11:15 to open the shop. I paid in full and got a delivery time of between 12:30 and 1pm. Since, I was in the shopping area, I decided to go to the local 5 & 10 imitation shore to buy curtain rods for the bedroom. I ended up buying curtain rods, a mini stereo system, and a plastic shelving unit. Since my hands were full, I took the Metro-North back home. I arrived with about 15 minutes to straighten up the messes I’d neglected in the bedroom. When I was cleaning up the livingroom, I made the other rooms a low priority…now I was paying for it.

About 12:25 I received a call from the driver letting me know that they were on the way, and how to get to my place. About 10 minutes later the driver called again to say that they were downstairs, but did not know were the building was located. I offered to come downstairs…I ended up holding the lobby door opened. The drivers turned out to be the shop owner’s sons. One of them, I saw when I made the downpayment. He was sitting in a chair playing with his Playstation portable. They arrived, they set up everything. The owner told me that they would deliver and set everything up for $25 dollars. The kids (the oldest was probably in his late teens or early 20’s. The other son was probably in his early teens). I thought they did a nice job setting up the pieces. I only wished they had taken the boxes with them. I gave them the delivery fee plus another $25 dollars ($50 total). Since my bedroom is still not cleaned, I have not attached a photo at this time.

After admiring my new bedroom set, I fell asleep. The bedroom sets is a bit small (like kids furniture), but since I live a lone, the set should work nicely. After I woke from my nap, I was planning to go to the post office to buy some stamps – I have a snail mail pen pal in Brazil. Since I was tired, I was not really in the mood for chasing the train. I told myself that if I missed it again, then I would walk to the shopping district again.

And, I missed the train. I walked back to the shopping district to go to the post office. Man, walking into that post office was like stepping into a time machine. The building was old and the service was slow. I was surprised to find that that main branch post office did not have any of the vending machines that could be found even in the rinky, dinky post offices in the South Bronx.

After the post office, I did a little shopping in a local 99 cent shop. I then ate lunch at MacDonald’s. Next, I went to pick up a few items at the large supermarket. I ended up buying about $216 dollars worth of food products. I took a taxi ride back (the ride cost me $7 dollars plus a $2 dollars tip. The taxi driver was explaining how there were about 4 shootings in this area in the last few weeks.

Once home, I put the food away. I then took the furniture boxes to the trash compound.At this point, I was too tired to cook, so with $216 worth of food sitting in the kitchen, I went to get Chinese take out. I watched a little TV and did a little chatting online. Now (after posting this entry), it will be my bed time.

Day 2 of the students test. Today the kids were their usual hyper selves. Luckily most tried to contain a lot of the hyperactivity during the test. This morning there was not the “breakfast nonsense” of yesterday. I think my phone call of everyone saying that they wanted breakfast was a bit of a coldwater splash in the face (to put it politely). I’d forgotten to mention in my previous blog entry, that my school has a free Breakfast program.

Well, it is getting late. And, I am starting the yawns. I will need to keep this short. Today, I left school at 4:40pm. It felt great to be out of the building while it was still daylight outside.

For dinner I ate a foot long sandwich from the Subways shop.

Testing time. And testing the limits. My students (and all students in public school from grades 3 to 6) are taking city-wide test in the next few days. I thought it was a bit strange to have a test almost a week, after the Christmas vacation, but what do I know. So, how do I think my class did? It is difficult to say, but I am sure they did not do great. They were a little hyper, but they showed some self-control that they are usually lacking. I did have a bit of a strange experience that I wanted to write about. Usually, there is a general "suggestion" that students have a good breakfast before a test. Today was the first time it seemed to be more than a "suggestion". This morning (actually yesterday morning), the principal got on the loudspeaker and announced that anyone who did not have breakfast that morning was to come to the lunchroom (note. announcement was made about 15 minutes before the test was planned to start). I call the office for confirmation, and yes, I was told that anyone who did not have breakfast was to be sent down to the lunchroom. I ask the class, "who did not have breakfast?" Do I really need to write the response here...Well, just in case some of you are a bit slow (like me), yes every hand went up. I called the office to let them know that every hand went up, and I was told that I needed to bring the whole class to the cafeteria. Being a bit stressed about this test, I really was not in the mood. I told my students that anyone who did not have breakfast, would receive a letter home...A second hand count was made and...only one hand went up. Later, I spoke to his grandmother, and she told me yes he did have breakfast. He had breakfast every morning. Then, his story was that he was still hungry. He gets to choose what he wants to eat. That morning and he had chosen toasted poptarts. No, not the healthiest of choices, but not the negligent case of hunger. His grandmother told me that he will usually have a choice of hot or cold cereal.

Oh, I almost forgot. Today left school about 4:45, that is early for me. What did I do? I stopped off at the bank to activate my new ATM debit card. When I arrived from Japan, the bank had just given me a regular bank card. I was always confused when a clerk would look at my bank card and say that I could not make a debit...only at a few stores. See, I told you I was slow.

I arrived home about 6:15, I stopped off for an order of Beef with Broccoli from a local Chinese takeout restaurant. I ate dinner, and promptly fell asleep about 7:15. I woke up about 3am. I am now typing this blog and I will try to squeeze in a couple of hours of sleep before I have to repeat the day again.

Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, I was planning to start rowing again. I got home about 7pm, I had eaten leftovers from my Sunday dinner (a cheap cut of steak and mac & cheese from the box), unfortunately, the heat and the hot water was not on, and had not come on the next morning. So, no exercising. Now, I probably won't start exercising until Saturday (or Sunday). My plan was to grade papers, but I was too tired this evening to even open my shopping cart. Yes, shopping cart. I stopped pretending that I could squeeze everything in a backpack. Once I get organized, I should be able to return to using a backpack.