~:[CH3 - Day 59]:~ Stormy with a Chance of Meatballs

~:[CH3 - Day 59]:~ Stormy with a Chance of Meatballs

The much needed storm rolled into Southern California and dropped more rain in these two days than we saw all of last year. While it's annoying to deal with, I'm sure most people are fine with it. However, with a new all-weather track, the rain cannot stop our workouts. Of course, it didn't really do that before anyway. I remember the days when we did intervals in the "mud," slipping and sliding. I must have been crazy, but they did them and to the best of their abilities. The day itself was busy with debates in class, making copies for the trip, and then packing up so I could try and get to bed early since we have an early wake up call tomorrow. It's time to hit the road, let's hope that I have everything! If not, it's too late now.

~:[CH3 - Day 58]:~ After Closer Inspection

~:[CH3 - Day 59]:~ After Closer Inspection

The rain that was suppose to come, came during the evening, leaving a beautiful blue sky overhead. I still await the pouring rain to come down, but know it will not be avoided. I can get over it though, as it's much needed. A sore throat got me worried, as I lectured through the day, but it slowly disappeared, as I drank water and upped the Vitamin C. I want to avoid getting sick before this trip. After a great practice, I headed to TapEx before heading home to take care of some work for the trip, which is pretty much completed now, and also to take care of a few other odds and ends that I need to take care of before Saturday morning. One of those items was changing the battery in my stop watches. Being the son of a watchmaker, it was quite easy to do with all the right tools and a master watching over in case I had any questions. Except for the fact that I didn't have all the batteries I needed, I succeeded. Printing away, the night was spent printing position papers, documents, and making booklets for our team. A few good news notes ended the night, as I received a bag with a bunch of UCI goodies, as I am now the custodian of all the old UCI bookstore items and will be compiling them digitally for all to enjoy, UCI's team won, and finally, the Clippers brought in a new marquee player to fill in some gaps. What a great night! All I need now, is ... nothing! I shall sleep well tonight!

~:[CH3 - Day 57]:~ Moving On

~:[CH3 - Day 58]:~ Moving On

It was definitely a crazy day, as the night was spent prepping for today's Black & Gold Meet. With rain in the forecast late, we did our best to speed through the meet to get everything done on time. With some elements of the track not completed, we decided to forgo a few events. Overall, we have a little bit in each area, but still have a ways to go before we are where we need to be. I was able to grab dinner real quick before heading back to Cerritos to catch our girls second round basketball game. We ended up pulling out the victory against Jurupa Valley, as the girls played a great game using all of their weapons! Moving on to the quarterfinals, I was sad to realize I would be gone when they play again and will have to miss that game. Following the game, I darted back home, cleaned up a bit and caught the end of the Clippers game. I was very happy when they pulled out the victory, as I headed back to my room to prepare for the trip ahead. Still a lot of work to do!

~:[CH3 - Day 56]:~ Even More Deliciousness

~:[CH3 - Day 56]:~ Even More Deliciousness

In the middle of eating my lunch, someone I knew brought me a special lunch! This dish is one of my favorites and definitely is of restaurant quality even though the person who makes it just does it as a side job. Since I was already eating, I only took a few bites (I couldn't resist) before putting it away for tomorrow (I am so excited for it!). She caters so if you need someone for a simple event, let me know! During the day, I also finished off my letter campaign so hopefully those who asked for one will all receive it! Practice was a little hectic trying to get the Black and Gold meet all organized, however, hopefully everything is in order and we're all good to go! We'll see about that! I spent the rest of the night getting ready for NHSMUN and have printed all the papers I need for the trip and just finishing up with the passports that I make for the students! I can't wait! 

~:[CH3 - Day 55]:~ Something's Fishy!

~:[CH3 - Day 55]:~ Something's Fishy!

Ah, another great thing about the Union Square/SoMa area is being able to pick up a little bit of poke to start the day off right. After a short, yet eventful trip, I headed back on a high note, with some good eatin' before heading out. I thought that I might miss my flight, as someone was supposedly on the tracks of the BART (or that's what it sounded like they said). Eventually the train moved and we ended up at the airport with enough time to grab some ramen and gyoza to top of my San Francisco experience. I made it back in time for practice, got a lot of work done preparing for upcoming meets, and I was able to stop off at TapEx on my way home. I caught the Clippers game (another W) and then caught up on all I missed including QT with the family! I started prepping for NYC and am so excited to leave on Saturday!

~:[CH3 - Day 54]:~ A Little Bit of Spice

~:[CH3 - Day 54]:~ A Little Bit of Spice

It was quite the loaded day which left me bloated at the end; however, it was only because it was a great day. With a decently early rise, I was able to grab some poke at the Westfield Mall for breakfast before starting the day. While maneuvering my way through the BART, I ended up at the Berkeley Marina and stopped off at Bette's Oceanview Diner for brunch. The place was packed, however, the wait went pretty quickly as I was watching the Clippers vs OKC game on my phone in Spanish. It was great to see them finally pull one of these games out. The food went down nicely and it was great to see a variety of food. I ended up with the Maryland breakfast with a side of bacon next to the California breakfast and banana souffle pancakes. I stopped off at Ici and got the lemon-mint sorbet over the coffee chocolate chip cookie dough and caught up briefly with a few alumni before heading back to SF. I was able to navigate through the MUNI system and ended up at Hot Pot Garden for a nice and filling AYCE dinner. Catching up with my friends Shannon and Lawrence, the meal was delicious and it was great just being able to spend time with them. I was able to catch up with a few more friends afterwards around Union Square and SoMa, but being on my fifth meal of the day, I was absolutely stuffed. My day was as full as my stomach, but why have it any other way. Thanks for all those who made this quick turnaround trip as amazing as it was!

~:[CH3 - Day 53]:~ Diplomatically Speaking

~:[CH3 - Day 53]:~ Diplomatically Speaking

It was another year and another conference, however, this one was a little different than those previous. First, our middle school conference had a few schools attending other than just Carmenita, which was a cool. We also implemented our new excel sheets that not only rank delegates, but allow us to evenly select delegates automatically. The scores inputted create a tally which change a chart that puts those with the least amount of comments to the top and those with the most to the bottom. Not only was it fair, it made the process a lot quicker! The delegates overall did an amazing job, as chairs had a lot of good things to say about the majority of the committees. It was also a first of me having to guest speak as a female. Above, I am the Syrian Minister of Defense, however, previous, I was the female vice president of the Syrian Opposition Government, the hardest role I had to ever play. Never again!

~:[CH3 - Day 52]:~ Flying High

~:[CH3 - Day 52]:~ Flying High

It was our first step towards completing our preseason with the vaulters finally getting on their poles. It was great to see such a solid group of vaulters practice. While it was the day of Sadies, we still had a pretty large group at practice, which made me proud of the group we had. It was quite a crazy day after a late night and spending the day trying to get things together for the conference tomorrow. Regardless, it was also a relaxing night with a very relaxing evening.

~:[CH3 - Day 51]:~ Buses, Planes & Other Thangs

~:[CH3 - Day 51]:~ Buses, Planes & Other Thangs

Unfortunately, this will be the last photograph taken of this year's team at a game, as well fell to an efficient-shooting Arroyo Grande team. However, it did not take away from all the memories that this team shared together as one of the most unified team's we've had. The journey to Arroyo Grande took its toll a bit, as the trip to a city just south of SLO took nearly four hours driving on top of the stops for a total trip of 6.5 hours to the site. Add another four on the way back and it makes for a long day. It only added to this travel heavy 2014, which has already had me in five different states. The journey is part of the memory, however, and will just add to the lasting memory of this year's squad.

~:[CH3 - Day 50]:~ A New Beginning

~:[CH3 - Day 50]:~ A New Beginning

It's been a difficult start to the new track season with a lot of early restrictions and obstacles with the installation of the new track. From not being able to use the grass to a delay in using the equipment, not having a shot and disc area, and also getting the coaching staff organizing, today was the first day, I really felt as if it was all starting to come together. Sure, we were missing a few things, like pole vaults, but all the areas were buzzing and each section displayed a pretty good sized team. While I know that we will have gaps to fill, it slowly is coming together and hopefully, we'll have a few more athletes coming out soon from winter sports. Next week is already our inter-squad meet, the Black & Gold Meet. Any staff and alumni that want to join us can run a 100m, 400/800m or 1600m on Wednesday, February 26 starting at 3:15pm. You can get a chance to run on our new all-weather facility! The day itself was grueling as I slept late the night before. Speeches took care of the school day, however, I had mounds of copies to make, ordered all the food for our conference this weekend, completed a crazy practice, and held our final Nationals grill and parent meeting. After coming back to finish off some odds and ends such as printing placards and credentials, it was time to sleep. To bed, I said. There is a long road ahead, but this is  a pretty good place to be.

~:[CH3 - Day 49]:~ Life and All Its Deliciousness

~:[CH3 - Day 49]:~ Life and All Its Deliciousness

It's strangely wonderful to get back in the routine. Going to work, seeing my students and colleagues, going to practice, and more was just refreshing. Most would say that going back to work for 12+ hours would be miserable, however, I didn't sense that misery at all. I loved being back. I missed it and got to enjoy it all once again. Sure, I may not feel this way soon, but I guess I can enjoy this while I can. It will be a busy week coming back, however, it will be an enjoyable one. Besides, who can beat a day that ends with a delicious baked salmon covered in Sriracha!

~:[CH3 - Day 48]:~ Ahhh, I Missed You

~:[CH3 - Day 48]:~ Ahhh, I Missed You

No, not the weather man, but the weather. It was an interesting week looking at 20s and 30s all week with snow scattered through the forecast. Now that I look at the weather report for this week, all I see is 70s ~ winning. It was quite the lazy day, catching up on sleep, however, I also seemed to get caught up on a few things I needed done. I also caught a few glimpses of the Olympics before catching my shut eye. Regardless of all I did not do, it was nice to know that I was home in my bed in weather that I missed so much.

~:[CH3 - Day 47]:~ The Road Home

~:[CH3 - Day 47]:~ The Road Home

Stepping foot back into your home after a long trip is one of the greatest feelings you could have. However, with that, you leave behind the many memories you gained over the trip. This group of seventeen seniors went on quite the journey through Washington DC, braving over a foot of snow, walking nearly 20 miles in the span of two days, and adapting to the ever changing plans and environments that they faced. This trip almost did not happen, as we originally did not have enough members to go, however, the team pulled in their fellow classmates in order to make the trip happen. With a slew of very solid performances, I know that those who will be continuing on to their next conference in Berkeley in a few weeks will be motivated and prepared to join the other half of the group who stayed behind. Regardless, this group will have many memories including the snow day, seeing Obama, eating empenadas, and much, much more. It's great to be home, but even better to have a bunch of memories to carry with me as I move ahead.

~:[CH3 - Day 46]:~ Magically Magenta

~:[CH3 - Day 46]:~ Magically Magenta

It was a tough morning to wake up as midnight crisis went to 2:30am and we got back at about 3am or so, however, we must keep moving along. I caught some of the Olympics when getting back and headed to sleep. I woke up a little later before heading over to committees, which was difficult for those in the crisis sessions. In the longest days of committees, it was definitely a challenge for everyone to stay focused. It was also a catch up day, as I ran into an alumni for lunch who is leading a volunteer team that is currently in DC and also caught up with an old friend, her son and husband. I found it fascinating that the first color that he said was "magenta" and second "turquoise" of all colors. At just 20 months, he is a lively child and it's amazing to see how energetic he was. I headed back to catch more committee and ran into a few more alumni in the evening with some that went to John Hopkins and GW. After returning from the delegate dance, I sat down in front of the couch to watch the Olympics and later on, I realized that I had fallen asleep ... the rest of it is history (for tomorrow's blog). 

~:[CH3 - Day 45]:~ So Much Good

~:[CH3 - Day 45]:~ So Much Good

Today is the day of singles and couples, but I love it when this day is about simply sharing love with others. My hope is that people will strive to reach out to those around and share their love with them in hopes of making this world a better place. Today, just solidified that it is possible. After an amazing morning where we saw Obama at the White House, we ventured back to our hotel for lunch and conference. The empanadas were amazing and started the day off right. We tried to keep surprising the kids through the day as we gave them candy, pencils, buttons, cards, and cupcakes. I had two dinners tonight, Ethiopian for a light dinner and Buca di Bepo for our team dinner where we celebrated two birthdays and where the boys bought the girls flowers. When returning back to the hotel, we had extra cupcakes and gave them to the hotel staff and it's amazing how these little cupcakes brightened up the evening for them all. It made my night and while we still have midnight sessions, today was a great one and am glad that I could share this day with great people, both whom I know and don't. It doesn't matter as it's all about spreading love to others. In any case, it's time to get ready for midnight session. Thank you to all my family and friends for being so amazing all these years. I love you all so much!

~:[CH3 - Day 44]:~ And It Begins

~:[CH3 - Day 44]:~ And It Begins
After a morning that had its obstacles, keeping the group from the Pentagon, Mt. Vernon, and even the alternate plan of Georgetown, the group kept their spirits up. With a quick stop at Georgetown Cupcakes, the rest of the day was spent grabbing lunch and prepping. I ended up making chicken fried rice, since I had the ingredients for it and it was satisfying! The walk over to the conference was tough with the heaviest snow we saw on our walk over. Another few inches fell this evening adding to the total amount of slow. While the storm rolled in and kept about half the delegates away today, our students seemed to come ready and prepared for committee. They were active and it sounded as if they were substantive, doing what makes me the proudest, focusing on the MUN aspect and not necessarily the competitive aspect. I am hoping that the other half of the delegates make it to the conference, as the groups are not as active as we are used to having here. We

~:[CH3 - Day 43]:~ Monumental

~:[CH3 - Day 43]:~ Monumental

It was going to be a difficult day already with a very long monument walking tour set up for the day, however, it got tougher with a forecast for a night storm which brought in cold weather. The morning was beautiful and no storm seemed like it would ruin the day, however, it was taking its time. The Museum of Crime and Punishment was pretty fun and cool with good exhibits and some interactive items that kept the students engaged. In Chinatown, I was able to grab food at a more modern type dim sum. I would have preferred a typical dim sum, but there aren't many options in the area. We had xiao long bao, scallop and shiitake mushroom dumplings, and lavender honey lemonade among a range of other dumplings and dishes. We then started our long journey as we passed by Ford' Theater, took a stop at crumbs, passed by the White House, stopped off at the Washington Monument, climbed up to the Jefferson Memorial, through the FDR Memorial, by the MLK Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and three war memorials (Korean, Vietnam, World War II) before we called it a day. We were suppose to go out for dinner but most preferred to stay in, get some work done, and just relax. I topped off the night with the Kabob House which was amazing! Our tours tomorrow got canceled due to the storm and we'll be getting 1-2inches of snow through the night. 

~:[CH3 - Day 42]:~ Still Strolling Around

~:[CH3 - Day 42]:~ Still Strolling Around

It's amazing when you realize that you are walking around the nation's capital in the same places that many of the greats in this country set foot. We once again were able to venture around DC this time hitting the beautiful Library of Congress, one of my favorite buildings, and through the various museums of the National Mall. For lunch, I needed to warm up so I stopped off at Daikaya to grab some delicious shoyu ramen, which looked salty but was great! I was a bit tired so took a short nab before walking around more. Dinner was good before heading to watch a play at the Kennedy Center. We ended grabbing some late night pizza at Alberto's pizza, as we began looking ahead to a day where a winter storm is suppose to roll in. Good luck to all those in the area!

~:[CH3 - Day 41]:~ Jam Packed

~:[CH3 - Day 41]:~ Jam Packed

Today was one of our most jammed packed days of the trip, as we ventured throughout the capital today. We started at the Supreme Court, which did not have the fake front this year. We then headed across the street to the Capitol building. Our tour guide was quite funny and kept the environment fun and light. We then headed down the hill to the Newseum where they had a new Anchorman display. The team had a lot of fun with the anchoring exhibit and spent most of their time there. We walked through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and it was an Ingress paradise! I grabbed some portals while in the garden before heading to the Archives to see all the nation's important documents! We were able to skate a bit as well, but the chilly weather and tired feet kept our session short. We quickly headed back as we had our traditional cook off. Each room made two dishes with one being a vegetarian dish which turned out well. I made a marsala chicken pasta and a penne marsala with artichoke hearts. The rooms made some great dishes! We also watched Frozen, which was on demand in our hotel! Regardless, I spent the rest of the night uploading photos and realizing that the mid-week would bring a large snow storm. We'll see how much this changes our plans. Enjoy the California weather back home, we miss it, yet are still loving the experience of this weather as well!

~:[CH3 - Day 40]:~ Delicious Way to Start

~:[CH3 - Day 40]:~ Delicious Way to Start

I had to stay up late trying to finish everything I needed to for next week. It's true that it is much harder to miss a day, as there is so much more work to do. I ended up staying up until about 3:30am on a day that I had to wake up at 4:30am. I was able to do so and get all the work done. Heading to the airport, I was exhausted, but made it onto the plane and took my nap. I love Virgin America, as our group had a fun chat on the airline chat program. We got into DC with most of us starving. When we got in, we arrived to a nicely redone hotel that was already nice to begin with. We headed out and grabbed a meal at Pizzeria Paradiso and I got the Cavolfiore Affumicato with cauliflower, red onion, speck, garlic, thyme, smoked mozzarella and I added lamb sausage. We added parmesan, red pepper flakes, and red chili oil and it was totally fabulous! The rest of the night we wandered in the lightly falling snow and were able to get a relaxing night to adjust to the city. Tomorrow is a long day, but I am glad that we at least got to relax on our travel day. The hotel made it so much easier to relax.

~:[CH3 - Day 39]:~ A Short Break

~:[CH3 - Day 39]:~ A Short Break

It was a day of prepping for the trip, printing out paperwork, doing laundry, shopping, and editing videos for next week's game/  However, just as I passed the halfway mark of being done with editing, I got a text from Shannon that she ended up in town! I stopped off at Guppy's for a quick drink and catch up session which was totally awesome. Tomorrow is the big day and in just a few hours, I'll be up and heading to the airport. Time for some shut eye.

~:[CH3 - Day 38]:~ CROWDed

~:[CH3 - Day 38]:~ CROWDed

The students came through on their word and showed up in droves to an away game at La Mirada, packing the stands until they could pack the stands no more. Tonight, we saw one of the biggest groups to show up to one of our games. Unfortunately, while we played another solid game, our shots did not fall tonight after a solid shooting night just two days before. The environment definitely played a factor in getting our athletes to push and never quit and despite how things turned out, the fans stuck around. While we still need to work on eliminating some chants they picked up in our last match up with LM (#keepitPG #dontforgetcharacter), it was good to see a group this into a school event. Hopefully, this will not be the last time we see a crowd this big, as the crowd really serves as an important "sixth man," factoring into the outcome of the game. With only two games left in league and a solid hold in league, we'll need them as we finish out the season and move into CIF. It was quite a busy day with it being the last school day before DC, however, it will definitely be a memorable one.

~:[CH3 - Day 37]:~ Building a Fort

~:[CH3 - Day 37]:~ Building a Fort

How do you prepare for a nearly four hour hour grill session after school for MUN? With notes, a computer, good food, and a microphone. Our team once again met to prepare for our conference, which is quickly coming and I'm glad to see the improvement I had hoped for from many. There is still a lot of work to do, but we have made progress and it's been great to see. I was able to get home from school a little past 9pm and caught the end of the UCI vs LBSU game and I am glad that I did, as it was a close game. Overall, the day was long, but not as tiring as you may think. Regardless, there is much to do before I leave this weekend, so it's time to get focused!

~:[CH3 - Day 36]:~ Great Support

~:[CH3 - Day 36]:~ Great Support

Today is always one of my favorite basketball games - the faculty & staff appreciation night. It is always great to see all our faculty & staff come out so we can have a chance to recognized them for their hard work and dedication to the students. We were able to give them a great show tonight on the offensive end, scoring 82 points, but we could have played better defense. It was great to have everyone get a chance on the court today, however. We really hope that all of you join us for our big game on Friday at La Mirada! Last game our gym was packed and the game was pretty good despite an off shooting night. Heard it could sell out, so if you're going to come, come early and wear black to support Cerritos!

~:[CH3 - Day 35]:~ All Over the Place

~:[CH3 - Day 35]:~ All Over the Place

It was the earliest I've been to school this school year as the darkness of the campus was quite interesting to see at six in the morning. However, MUN individual grills called as I quizzed each group as we prepare for NHSMUN. I was given a great morning surprise, however, as someone made me lunch on a day I forgot to bring mine! I also finally got a break during lunch, as I had no grills scheduled in order to handle any questions that I might have missed while in grills through the week. We also had our first regular practice today . It must have take a lot out of me though, as I crashed once I got home. Good night :P

~:[CH3 - Day 34]:~ Starting Off Fresh

~:[CH3 - Day 34]:~ Starting Off Fresh

It was a new day, a new semester, and the start of a new track season. We held our first practice today with the enormous task of moving all the pads and some equipment back to the track. Since we do not have our shed yet, we weren't able to move all our equipment back the track. It was a tough day to organize all this as it was our first practice back and time spent orienting ourselves and introducing the new staff to the new athletes was spent making them slave away, sadly. Of course, we had a great core arrive today at practice and hope that more are on the way, as we always slowly progress through the first week of the season, having more and more athletes come in this first stretch. The day itself flew by even with grills until later in the evening with just enough time to be discouraged by a difficult loss by my beloved Clippers. Did I mention along with all the news, we have another new mascot??? See picture above :) No, not Damon!

~:[CH3 - Day 33]:~ Early Early Early

~:[CH3 - Day 33]:~ Early Early Early

It was definitely much too early when my alarm went off at 4:30am, but I rolled out of bed knowing that others depended on me to get to the race. As I departed, it was nice to see that there was no traffic at that hour of the day. The beach was packed as 16,000 half marathoners and more spectators descended on Surf City USA! This wave of people came after the thousands that came an hour earlier for the start of the marathon. I got the joy of spectating today, as my training plan had not started yet and despite my history of trainingless races, I opted not to run, but supported those who ran. It was quite a joy to be in that position as I do not normally fare well in chilly conditions especially with the wind and didn't mind missing the five mile very slight but constant incline on PCH heading to the finish line and being against the wind, made it that much tougher. Afterward, I hit up Little Saigon as the crowds backed the area for the lunar new year. After grabbing a meal, I got home to take my nap, opened my eyes a bit for parts of the Superbowl and just vegged through the day. Tomorrow starts the new semester and I hope it starts off on the right foot.

~:[CH3 - Day 32]:~ What a Surprise!

~:[CH3 - Day 32]:~ What a Surprise!

It was tough to wake up early on a Saturday, but I dragged myself out of bed and headed to the second day of the Surf City MUN Conference. With our three buses, we headed over to Huntington in actual SoCal winter-type weather, a chilly 60 degrees (calm down, I'm joking on the chilly part). Regardless, the day went pretty smooth except for the fact that I was exhausted. We came out with ten students who received the gavel in their committees including four sophomores and matching our five underclassmen/ten total gavels from last year. However, we earned ten more award this year than last year for a total of 59 students coming back with awards! Of course, it was more rewarding to see some of my old students develop from freshman year and I am excited to work with them next year. Afterward, I headed to DT Fullerton and hit up Heroes for a surprise birthday party for David! It worked out great and the food was pretty good, but the portions were HUGE! Be careful what you order, as you'll have an extra meal or two after you finish. It was great catching up with those who joined in and also to all those we ran into on the night! I ended up heading out early though, as it will be a SUPER EARLY rise tomorrow. Good night!