First week - success!

Happy Sunday to everyone!

Yes, I am still alive and well. This weekend I caught up on some serious missed sleep, so I apologize for not updating sooner. To make up for my slack, I'll make this post extra long. Haha! Last week was quite the week for me and for the most part, I am proud. There are some little things I need to work on

- for some reason I have slipped into the habit of saying "you know" and it's REALLY annoying because if the students "know" then why am I telling them?? -

but if I'm aware of these things, I have begun the process of fixing them. I hope that makes sense.

I have five classes, all freshman English. There are about 20-22 students in each class, and that is VERY nice. I have to keep my mouth shut about that though, since most of the other teachers have ridiculously over-crowded classes. My roommate, Lindsey, who is teaching the new digital photography course at the school, ran into a lot of issues last week because they did not put a cap on her classes. One is up to 46 students!!!!!!!!!!! The room comfortably seats 25. Could you just imagine?? Hopefully the school gets on that this week or else she might quit...

Last week I met Antonio, the custodian who takes care of my room. Here is a note he left me (it says "Ms. Kacen" because my name was written on the board... in cursive) :

I gave him my copy.

Since it was the first week, I tried to establish a community with my students and help them understand the importance of respect in the classroom. I stressed respect not only for me, but for themselves and their classmates. One activity we did to help understand our commonalities and differences was write secrets on cards. (If you're familiar with PostSecret, it's pretty much that but a more appropriate version for school.) I was the only one who would know the secret (legal reasons) unless they decided to share it with someone else. Some of the kids were really deep and posted some incredible things. Some wrote hilarious things. I was so happy with the results. Here is the wall of five classes worth of secrets and a couple of my favorites:
This week, we'll be getting more into the curriculum since we can pick-up our books Wednesday. I hope that they install my LCD projector and fix my connection to the internet since I like using other forms of media. There is a "Back to School" parents' night on Wednesday that I'm scared about. I hope they don't look at me and think I'm too young...

On another note, check out what I found on my apartment door on Thursday afternoon:
Cryptic, no? I was puzzled by the lack of information on the slip - time, date, who it was even for - but what really got me was what it meant by "balcony." Slip in hand, I closed the door and thought, "Could he have put it on our balcony?" Sure enough, I cross the living room to look at our balcony and there is a package on the ground.

THE UPS PERSON TOSSED IT UP THERE!!

It was for me, and the contents were not damaged, but is this typical procedure for delivery?? What if we had a plant or a lamp or something else breakable on our porch?? From below, you cannot see these things because there are cement walls. We have a brand new gas grill on the porch that could have been dented if the package was heavier. I'm glad I received my package but man, things sure are different here.

Speaking of differences, I have begun to compile a list. The first item is the east coast version, followed by it's west coast counterpart. They are the same company!!!

Eddy's Ice Cream = Dreyer's Ice Cream
Hellmann's mayonnaise = Best Food's mayonnaise
Safeway food stores = Von's food stores
Hardee's = Carl's Jr.

I have also discovered random words that have different meanings here. The first is what they say here, followed by what it means to us (east coast people).

quads = ATV (all terrain vehicle)
hot cheetos = the new spicy flavored Cheeto's
rad = cool (haha we knew this!!)

I'm sure there are a bunch more, but this is all I can remember. I'll update as I find them. I must close for now to work on some lessons. Hope everyone is well!

- Carol


P.S. Yesterday while I was going through a box of papers, I found a folder Ellen had secretly slipped in. She made me a great drawing of Turkey. I am going to find a frame for it today. Thanks Ellen!!!!! :)

First day jitters

"This morning I have to make decisions. In a minute the bell will ring. They'll swarm in and what will they say if they see me sitting at the desk? Hey, look. He's hiding out. They are experts on teachers. Sitting at the desk means you're lazy or scared. You're using the desk as a barrier. Best thing is to get out there and stand. Face the music. Be a man. Make one mistake your first day and it takes months to recover."

-Teacher Man- Frank McCourt-

Houdini reincarnated... with fur

I got back from work about 3:30 today. Imagine my surprise when I stepped into my bedroom and saw Turkey's door on the floor. I was mid "Hey Turk-" when I realized there was no bunny! I panicked for a moment thinking, "Oh no, I hope he didn't run out the door when Jeff came home!" I soon brought myself back to reality because 1 - Jeff would've noticed that, 2 - We live on the second floor, and 3 - Turkey wouldn't run out onto (gasp) the cement.

I began my search.


I called out, "Turkey... Turkey..." but I had to be quiet because Jeff was sleeping (he had to go to work at 3:30am today). I don't know what I expected calling out to Turk. It's not like he was going to bark or meow, or even come running. I persisted. I tried to think of places he likes to hide and things he likes to chew. I checked my computer wires... no teeth marks, phew! I peaked in Jeff's room... but I didn't want to look for Turkey in there until I ruled out the other possibilities. Luckily, Lindsey's room was closed. I also knew he wouldn't be in the bathrooms or kitchen (he hates tile). So I'm in the living room looking behind the TV and room divider when I hear a little patter behind me. Turkey comes from behind the couch running at me full speed. He does a 180 in the air and begins to circle my feet. Playtime!!

What a jerk.

And that's it. I don't know how he got out (headbutt?) or how long he was out. So far, I haven't found any damages or poop around the apartment. It definitely could've been worse, like if he got out while we were away this weekend. I guess this means I need to put something a little extra on the door!!

He's sulking now. HARUMPH!

- Carol

Las Vegas and shooting stars

Friday through Sunday, Lindsey, Jeff, and I visited Las Vegas. It took longer than expected (because traffic and construction) and we didn't get there until about midnight on Friday. Good thing Vegas never sleeps! We stayed with a good friend of Lindsey's (Colin) who manages outdoor events at the Flamingo and only lives 10 minutes from the strip. We did the strip Friday night and Lake Las Vegas on Saturday. This resort area is modeled after towns in northern Italy and was absolutely gorgeous. I liked that the second night was more relaxing. Overall, I had a lot of fun, though I'm pretty tired from the late nights. Due to the nature of the beast that is Vegas, that's pretty much all I can tell you about our trip. I will share some photos though! Sorry about some of the buildings being a little blurry. It's hard messing with the exposure time without a tripod!

Can you tell I love the fields of windmills?

VIP view of the Flamingo.
"Sleep is for the weak." - Lindsey, Jeff, and I at 6:30am.
Colin's turtle, Dirk Diggler, eating kale. He ate the whole thing!
I tried taking pictures at Lake Las Vegas but it was too dark!
Driving through the Mojave desert. Yikes.

After a long trip back caused by the same elements as Friday, we grabbed some dinner and headed northeast about an hour to Lake Isabella. Sunday night was the annual Perseid meteor shower. I had never heard about this (or maybe it never stuck in my mind) but Jeff, who is from CO, said he and his mother used to check it out every year. We drove to the lake because there is too much light pollution in Bakersfield. We never did find the lake, but we drove up a long, winding road on a mountainside until we reached the top. There, we stepped out and leaned against the truck for a good hour. I have never seen a sky so filled with stars and to be perfectly honest, I would've been fine just looking at that for an hour! We were able to see quite a few shooting stars and it was just breathtaking. I wish I could have captured what we saw on camera, but I don't have the appropriate equipment. We decided to head back down when Lindsey and I heard something take a step close to us in the darkness. Jeff laughed at us, but hey, I am not messing with a coyote!!

- Carol

My school

Good afternoon all!

The past couple of days have been extremely busy for me. I have been to the district personnel office about five times now to fill out paperwork of all sorts (certification, insurance, benefits, orientation, blah blah) and I really hope that I am close to finishing all of this so I can actually start thinking about TEACHING. Yesterday was really frustrating because I had to sit through 3.5 hours of lecturing about general policies and tax forms. I couldn't help but wish my dad was there to explain it to me better. Note: I did call him today to check that I was doing the right thing! :)

I took a visit to my school today. It was freshman orientation, so I thought I'd have a peak. I found my staff mailbox piled with things, and was given my classroom and school keys. They also gave me two huge supply bags (one for being a new teacher, one for just being a teacher) and I could barely carry everything to my room. I also had a nice chat with the English Department Chair, Lee, who calmed a lot of my fears and made me feel more comfortable. I'm really glad he's so easy to talk to, in case I end up needed something (I'm sure I will). I took some pictures of my classroom and campus for you all to see.
I'm leaving for Vegas with my roommates in a couple hours, so look for an update Monday morning! Have a great weekend everyone. I miss you!!

- Carol

Hollywood and Goodbye Scott

On Monday, I drove Scott to see Hollywood since his flight wasn't until the afternoon. We got stuck in a lot of traffic and ended up stopped right in front of the Kodak Theatre wondering what was going on. Imagine my surprise when we hear, "And now, Michelle Pfeiffer! Here is your star..." and then in a woman's voice, "Oh wow...wow, thank you so much!" Here's an article about it. What a coincidence we decided to go there at that exact time! Well anyway, we had to keep traffic moving so I parked the car in the deck and it was only TWO DOLLARS. We had lunch and watched all the commotion for Michelle directly below us. Then I took Scott to where I knew a good view of the "Hollywood" sign is. The second picture shows the bridge we stood on for the view of the sign.
After Scott took the typical tourist shots, we walked a block or so down to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. More touristy photos were taken, and we walked a couple blocks up and down the street checking out the various stars on the walk.
Traffic was annoying through Los Angeles and I dropped Scott at the curb at 2pm for his 3:05 pm flight. I pulled into a parking deck - just in case - to wait for him to call and tell me he made it through. He called a while later and said he made it through quickly and was at his gate 5 minutes before they began boarding. It took me about 45 minutes to get out of the parking deck, and by then it was 3pm so it took another 1.5 hours just to get out of L.A. Los Angeles rush hour begins about 3pm and lasts until about 7pm - NOT. FUN. I knew this, so I took a longer, but less crowded route to get out, along Sunset Blvd. This took me through Bel Air, Beverly Hills, then back through Hollywood. Here are some random snapshots... sorry they're not amazing, remember, I was driving!
After I got out of L.A. it was about another 1.5 hours because of regular rush hour traffic. It was such a relief to finally get back into Bakersfield. That night, I revamped Turkey's cage. He had destroyed that entire 2nd level, so I went with the plywood option. I found out that Jeff used to do carpentry so he had a saw and cut the wood for me! I also took a cube off the top to use for storage and moved his wooden house to the middle level so he wouldn't keep moving it around.
I found out that Scott had incompetent airline issues in Atlanta (where he was supposed to only have an hour layover) and he was stuck sleeping in the terminal for the night. I felt so awful... He did get a flight back to Philly at 6am on Tuesday morning and is readjusting to PA time. He sent me his trip pictures and this was at the end of the mix. I guess it is people he met in the terminal! Hahaha...Lindsey has begun moving into the apartment and we have been getting to know each other. She and Jeff asked me to come with them to Las Vegas this weekend and while I was initially not interested, I am now pretty sure I'm going to go. I hope it's fun, even though I don't gamble. I feel like if I don't go, I will miss out on roommate bonding, not to mention I'll be bored and lonely here all weekend. Tomorrow I have some new teacher orientation and I'm getting my fingerprinting done. Fun fun. My room is about 85% complete... so I will have pictures soon, I promise!

- Carol

*P.S. What do you think of the new layout for my page? I thought the other one looked a bit jumbled. Should I keep this? Change back? Let me know!*

Turkey's new house

Scott and I built Turkey a new house today, or rather, a bunny condo. It's pretty ridiculous, with three levels and high chewing capacity. Note: I only wanted two levels but Scott was determined we do three. I already had the storage cube sets and I read about people using zip ties to hold pieces where the regular connectors would get in the way. For the first floor, I bought a cheap piece of carpet from Home Depot. The other floors are wire with cardboard cut-outs covering. We originally had two cubes on the third level (the house was where the top middle cube is), but Turk's fat butt had issues balancing on the smaller piece. I didn't want him falling, so we expanded.
Of course, Turkey only allowed an hour or so to pass until he began to ravage his new home. He's going to town on it as I type this. He's such a jerk. Knowing he would seek and destroy, I cut extra floor pieces ahead of time. I think I may eventually switch to some cheap, untreated plywood though.
Scott is leaving tomorrow. I'm sad. We're driving to L.A. about 8:30 and I'm showing Scott around Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I'll see him through LAX around 1:30 for his 3 PM flight. He's not checking any luggage.

When I return, my final roommate, Lindsey, will be here. Her father is also flying in with her. I'm going to offer him the Aerobed that I just bought. I'm glad Lindsey is finally coming because it will be nice to get to know her better. She will probably think I'm crazy because of the insane bunny condo in my room. Oh well.

- Carol

Santa Barbara

Scott and I took a trip to Santa Barbara yesterday. The drive was about 2.5 hours because we had to go south towards Los Angeles, then west, then north on the 101 along the coast. It was really neat to drive next to the coast like that. It took us a while to find the waterfront area - we drove through a crowd walking to a mariachi competition - but it was absolutely worth the wait. I was able to park (for free!) on the road next to the beach and we walked to the pier. One thing I noticed that was different from the east coast was that there were no dunes. I don't know if this is true for all California beaches, or just where we were. The weather was very windy and about 75 degrees - a huge change from the high of 105 yesterday! We had a nice dinner on the pier at a place called Moby Dick's. Every seat in the restaurant has a view of the ocean. Scott had Tilapia and I had crab legs - yum!! After dinner, we walked around a little more, watched some people skateboarding at a skate park along the beach, and took in the cool air. Here are some shots!

Day five on the road... and DONE!

Hello everyone!! I'm sorry it has taken me a while to get on this, but we have been having some major internet issues. Luckily, Scott came to the rescue and fixed it up yesterday. I will give you a recap of what has been going on. Get ready, it's going to be long.

Tuesday July, 31st
Tuesday was the day that changed our trip. We had a nice stay at Motel 6, especially Turkey. He "happy flopped" all over the bed, as evidenced in this picture. How could I not share this?
We decided to eat at Bella's (a diner where everything was homemade) over Burger King for breakfast and met up with a PSU alumni! He and his wife (the first woman Chaplin of the Navy!!) had just traveled north from Las Vegas and suggested we get off I 80 and take the route they had. They called it the "scenic route" and also advised us to stay away from 5 and 99 (these go south to Bakersfield). Scott and I checked the map over delicious breakfast burritos and decided it would cut a lot of time, and we wouldn't have to deal with traffic through big cities like Sacramento and Fresno.

The route we followed was definitely scenic! We traveled through the mountains - a little scary but we took our time. Here's a view from the top of a very winding road.
We also traveled through a lot of dry, desert area. We were pleasantly surprised to see some hope for civilization, though.
After what seemed like endless desert, we came to Las Vegas. It was 4:30 PM, so it didn't look very different from any other big city located in the middle of the desert (that's a joke, there are no other big cities like this in the middle of no where). We drove straight through and saw the gaudy buildings in natural light.

^^I didn't take this one, it was on Wikipedia^^

We stopped at the Nevada/California border for gas and food and then pushed ourselves to make it to Bakersfield. Desert sunsets are so beautiful!!
We got to my apartment at 9:30 PM, ending with 13 hours of driving on our final day. The grounds for Rio Paseo are only about a year old (just like my new school) and there was plenty of space for us to leave the truck. My apartment is absolutely gorgeous, and the roommate who moved in first, Jeff, said I could pick one of the remaining two bedrooms. It was a pretty easy choice for me, as one of the bedrooms was the master (I don't know why he didn't take it!) and has it's own bathroom. Scott and I were exhausted, so we just grabbed two pillows and slept on the floor. Here's a picture of my living arrangement from the following morning:


August 1st - 4th
The past four days have been very busy. Jeff had his first day of work at Dreyer's (he's an industrial engineer, more on him and my other roommate later) so Scott and I moved everything in on Wednesday. It was really hot and my second floor apartment proved to be very annoying when moving the couch, dresser, and chest of drawers. Thursday I bought Old English scratch hider and we polished the old bedroom set that my dad gave me. I was very pleased with the results. I apologize for not thinking of taking a picture of the entire dresser before we started, but you can see the difference with this one drawer.
Yesterday, we returned the Penske. This proved more difficult than expected because the site I was told to return it to had canceled their contract with Penske... and didn't notify me. We had to drive to the opposite end of the city, but we finally got rid of it. I then took Scott to my school (only about a 10 min drive from my apartment!) and chatted with one of the secretaries. She gave us some beach recommendations and we are going to Santa Barbara this afternoon. We have been working so hard, and I wanted Scott to have some relaxation before he leaves me on Monday.

A note to my readers, I will be keeping up with this blog. I've already found it hard to keep in touch with friends and family because the 3 hour time difference and having the blog allows me to show and tell. I know once school starts I won't be able to post daily, but I will share when I can. There will be lots of pictures when I get the apartment set up so keep checking for updates!

- Carol