happiness

Happy moment No. 1: One of my students told me that my eyelashes are really long. I said thank you. :D Looks like the super-expensive mascara purchase was worth it!

Happy moment No. 2: I had three really great meditation sessions with my students today, thanks to technology that actually cooperated. Hooray!

Happy moment No. 3: Successfully applied (and went out in public with!) eyeliner for the very first time. I know. I am too old not to have worn eyeliner before. But hey. It's never too late. Plus, it was for dinner at a semi-nice place. Another hooray!

lobster stock

A couple of weeks ago, Shaw's had chicken lobsters for $4.99 a pound, so I ended up buying two and having them for dinner two nights in a row. :) They were delicious. But what to do with the lobster shells? Christina, being the culinary whiz she is, suggested making lobster stock and using it in risotto, soups, etc. After a little searching, found two recipes (from La Bernadin cookbook and Gourmet magazine) and decided to meld them into one and tweak. I didn't have thyme, oregano or bay leaf and didn't feel like spending a fortune on herbs that I will use once, so I didn't add them. But I think the stock could be a lot better if I splurged and added them.

My apartment smelled incredible once the lobster was in the oven and I could smell it even building's hallways when I returned from a Trader Joe's run. Yum! (PS: I have no clue what happened to the font color.)

Chop up the lobster carcasses into smaller pieces. I found that using a hammer (with the shells in a bag so it doesn't fly everywhere) worked well and was quite satisfying. :) I also read in several places that I should bake the lobster carcasses at 450F for 15 minutes before I boil them, so I did. On this pan are the remains of two lobsters.

Two onions, diced large-ish. Two-thirds bag of celery, cut into two-inch pieces. Five slices of fresh ginger. Five cloves of garlic, sliced. Saute vegetables until they're soft in enough oil to cover the bottom of the stock pot. Add about half a cup of brandy (per La Bernadin). I didn't have brandy, so I borrowed my roommate's boyfriend's whiskey. Same difference?

I don't eat carrots; I think they're gross in every way. But I found that these things are palatable if smothered in enough garlic hummus to mask to the taste. Add them to your lobster stock after the 16 cups of water and the lobsters themselves.

Bring to a boil for a bit and then reduce heat to simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Strain and ladle into containers. Apparently, they'll keep for two months in the freezer.

Don't forget the salt and pepper!

makeup purchases

In my bid to beautify myself, I have purchases two items. One, Lancome Definicils waterproof mascara, which I have as a sample (from London ... I know, a long time ago) that I keep in the car as my emergency running-too-late-for-school-to put-on-makeup-at-home mascara. Basically, I can't believe I use it as emergency! It is the only mascara I've tried through the years that is practically fail-safe. I've never had clumps. It never goes on too thick. I only ever use one layer, and it lengthens my lashes to incredible lengths. :) Two, Urban Decay 24/7 black eyeliner. I am learning how to put on eyeliner properly. :)

writing quizzes and tests

I see myself as a hard, but fair, teacher. I don't test what I don't teach (and not necessarily vice versa). One thing that I'd discovered in teaching that is it incredibly stressful and frustrating to make quizzes and tests. Not only do I have to ask questions in a way to gauge actual knowledge (rather than rote memorization) through critical thinking (preferably), but also make sure it's an answerable question. Sure, I can be tricky in the phrasing of the question or the choice of answers, but to make a really good multiple choice question or to write a free response that will assess actual knowledge is quite hard.

And I especially dislike making the current events quizzes that I give every Monday. Because I know the amount of bitching and whining that is ensue. WTF, kids, read the paper. How hard can it be to scan the front page every day? Seriously. And it's only worth 5 points. Get over it. I'm just trying to make you form a habit so that you are not going to go out into the world as the most ignorant college student in the country.

Sorry. Is my frustration showing?

Iron Chef potluck!

Just before school started, Kai had the brilliant idea to have Iron Chef potlucks. There would be an ingredient each month and people would make a dish based on that ingredient. The host would make the entree. Last night was the first and the ingredient was apples. Appropriate, seeing as how it is apple season. I was to make an appetizer and settled on apple and Taiwanese sausage summer rolls after brainstorming with J. Christina. Of course, also called mom to ask how to make summer rolls in the first place. Pictures!

a salad with prosciutto, apples and arugula and a lime vinaigarette

Persian rice

a pork roast

flatbread pizza with apples, caramelized onions, chicken and goat cheese

my summer rolls!

apple-kiwi-grape white sangria

a good day

Had a good -- but exhausting -- day. I'm too tired to type in paragraph form, so I'll list them.

1. This is really yesterday, but mom told me a that Amy told her a compliment about me. yay! :)

2. A special ed teacher stopped me in the hall today and told me that one of our mutual students told her that he really likes me. yay! I've never had a student compliment me to another teacher before. :D

3. AND Christina told me that her mom paid me a compliment after I left Sunday. so triple yay! :D

Also, I somehow pulled off a lesson plan that I may or may not have planned in my head and was scrambling to prepare in the morning. Technology issues with my computer log-in that might have impacted PowerPoint, which led to me not only to Plan B, but ultimately to Plan C. Eeek. But it went better than expected, so I'm glad.

trip to Los Angeles

There are a few times in my life when I make impromptu decisions and twice when I booked impromptu plane tickets. Once for Budapest (in November!), another for London last year and two weeks ago for Los Angeles. The wildfires broke out a few days after I bought the tickets, of course, but it was a trip that needed to be taken for the sake of my emotional sanity. Sometimes, I just need to leave Boston.

Regretfully, I did not blog over Labor Day weekend, as Christina and I were too busy stuffing our faces. So I will leave the chronicling of food to her. I stayed for a night with Amy at her place and got to have tacos al pastor and horchata from La Taquiza. It was fantastic and everything I dreamed it would be.

I also got to hang out with Christine and Edward on Saturday! Christine and I had afternoon tea at the Scarlet Tea Room in Pasadena on Christina's recommendation. Oh, man. It was so elegant and the sandwiches were divine. I don't know if I can gush properly about the heaven that is its strawberries romanoff. Christina and I then headed to eat proper tamales before meeting up with Christine and Edward for dinner at the Good Girl Dinette. It was great to see old friends!

On Sunday, had a greasy food fest with James -- and his girlfriend Tari, who is really nice. They're so cute together! Pastrami and onion rings. Yum. I don't think I remember the last time I had either, and it felt sort of great to fall off the wagon ... for the entire weekend ... because this weekend was nothing but food.

Oh, and beautiful Victorian homes in Angeleno Heights.

sick ... and things my kids wrote

I have a giant splitting headache that developed a few hours ago along with waves of nausea. No good. No good at all. Especially when I'm getting on an airplane in less than 24 hours. Hopefully this will clear up soon.

I told my kids today to write down something that is uniquely them. It can be a hobby, an experience or a special talent. What makes them them? Here are some gems:

* I like starting fires with sticks.

* I am a Revolutionary War reenactor.

* I get a haircut once every two years.

* I never dot my i’s. (Yet this kid dotted the i in his name on his name tag. Go figure.)

* I feel out a two-story window when I was 4 .. and didn’t break a single bone.

* When I was in elementary school, I spent my recesses collecting ants with my friends and we brought them inside with straws with eraser caps on the ends.

* I play a video game that was released when I was 3 years old. And yet I still suck.

* When I was learning to walk, I would go even faster than my grandfather. But every so often, I would abruptly stop and, without bending my knees, fall down backward and hit my head on the ground.

* I was once run over by an Indian motorcycle/scooter.

* I sang and recorded a song that is soon to be on iTunes.

a new school year

I guess I keep hoping all summer that work will save me. School will keep me busy and save me from drowning in my emotions. It's worked, at least from 7:45 a.m. till 2:25 p.m. I'm so preoccupied with school, I have nothing else to think about. It's the time alone with myself -- especially the drive home -- that I feel most down. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

Question of the day: Is it ever OK to truly dislike a student on the first day?

A little background is in order. A student of mine has a physical disability and requires a walker. I have known about this for awhile, but I really got to know the condition only in the last few days.

The student was late to class because of a confusion with his instructional aide, which was fine because I was expecting him. Of course, his classmates were unaware of all this and there were a few stares when he got to class. A girl kindly offered her desk so he can sit in the front and not have to negotiate the maze of desks to get to the back. As he was getting settled, a student who sat behind him started making snickering facial expressions to others across the aisle. I only saw the one student and didn't get a chance to glance over to see the recipient of these expressions.

I don't know how I should've reacted, but I don't think I should've reacted the way I did -- which is by not reacting at all. I didn't even give the other student a look. But I felt inner disgust at how he reacted to a physically disabled student.

Tomorrow, I give out my class expectations. On Thursday, we will get to know one another through various ice breakers. On Monday, I think, we will discuss what it means to have a respectful, safe learning environment.