~:[CH15 - Day 130]:~ No Mis-steak

 
~:[CH15 - Day 130]:~ No Mis-steak

I didn't have to think too hard about what to cook tonight. My mom likes meat from steaks to prime rib, you usually can't disappoint her if you go that direction. I bought a nice steak early on and had to think about how to cook it. I went back and forth, but ended up with a soy butter garlic glaze that ended up being perfect. We don't do much on holidays and celebrations, but we do end up cooking up something nice to enjoy together around the house. We avoided the crowds and still enjoyed a great meal. I spent the remainder of the day getting prepped for our banquets upcoming, but it was nice to take some time to spend with my family and appreciate each other's company. Let's make no mis-steak, that even though we stayed home, it definitely was a day to celebrate and we truly enjoyed it together. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful and amazing mothers or mother-like figures out there!

~:[CH15 - Day 129]:~ Progress

 
~:[CH15 - Day 129]:~ Progress

It's easy to get overwhelmed, especially when you're among the crowd in division II, however, I always tell my athletes to just focus on themselves and do what they can do. Some can do it, some get intimidated before it even begins. Regardless, my focus is progress. How have you improved? Do you go out and challenge? At the end of the day, race after race and event after event, we had the same result, "I didn't qualify," but it wasn't a disappointing day. Of course, it would have been nice if my discus thrower didn't scratch, as he threw long enough to qualify, but regardless if he moved on or not, I would be proud of everyone who went out there and gave it their best. My vaulter and high jumper nearly had a new PR, my 200m runner got some experience as a freshman, and my distance runner broke the 2-minute barrier by 0.01. There were are a lot more great stories, but the best thing is to see them progress. They learned through the experience and know what it takes in the future to get better. We ended up scratching the 4x400m for various reasons so we ended up heading home a lot earlier than expected. We enjoyed the mall together before heading home and with that our season had ended. This was our last year in our current league, so we'll see how things go next  year, but at least for now, we know we can applaud ourselves because of the progress we made.

~:[CH15 - Day 128]:~ Back-to-Back

 
~:[CH15 - Day 128]:~ Back-to-Back

With senior awards of Friday, it would be a busy day. After heading out to practice, I bolted over to the gym to capture the moments for Senior Awards. I was amazed that this event is already here as it means the end of the year is already here. I was proud to have so many of my students on stage once again and they truly deserved to be standing up there. I actually had an event that was ongoing at the same time, so I bolted out after it was finished and took photos at the birthday celebration. When a normal person has a birthday, it might be dinner or a party, but when an idol has a birthday, a performance celebration is imminent. It was fun to capture all the moments, but I was truly exhausted when I got home and knew there was an early morning, so I transferred the photos and prepped for the day ahead. 

~:[CH15 - Day 127]:~ A Little Busy, A Little Annoyed

 
~:[CH15 - Day 127]:~ A Little Busy, A Little Annoyed

I was busy today as I had to make a reel for Official Hige Dandism. The group is from Japan and will be hosting a screening of their last performance in Yokohama. I was honored to be working on the promo clips for this. I integrated their music videos and the anime songs and it just seemed to mesh well, which was cool. After wrapping that up, I was headed out to do a few errands, but I forgot my keys and ended up getting suck on campus. I was a little annoyed as it creates a sense of less importance to future drills I know alot of the AP kids were negatively impacted by all that is going on and I feel for them as they navigate these problems. It's been an inconvenience, but for me, the timing ended up working out fairly well as it didn't quite impact my classroom plans. I hope that the person behind this can realize the headaches they are creating for everyone and I truly hope that the person is tracked down. I was already a little busy this week, but all of this has made me a little bit busier, leaving me a bit annoyed as well alongside those students. In the end, we're losing time, which is a little annoying, but I am sure that we'll all figure out a way to balance it all in the end and more importantly, I am glad we are all safe. 

~:[CH15 - Day 126]:~ Togetherness

 
~:[CH15 - Day 126]:~ Togetherness

With CIF coming up this weekend, we hosted our annual CIF diner. It's always nice to treat the team out so they can enjoy time together. We used to wait in the long lines at Olive Garden, often not knowing how long we had been waiting for and so we switched over and now we go to Sweetee Thai. No matter what they think of the food, just simply being together is something more valuable than anything else. I thought it was cool to see their phones stacked on the table, as they interacted and truly appreciated their time together. Life is so easy to get distracted and to build a wall between ourselves and others, but when we spend time together and open up just a bit, we can find that there are so many greater joys that we have yet to uncover. Enjoy your moments with those around you, enjoy the togetherness, but most important, be sure to enjoy the moment, not allowing things, such as phones, to get in the way of your interconnectivity. 

~:[CH15 - Day 125]:~ Time to Celebrate

 
~:[CH15 - Day 125]:~ Time to Celebrate

It may be Cinco de Mayo, a very historical event celebrating their victory, however, May 5th has always been the celebration of my two cousins who were born on the same year, five years apart. It's a festival day as it's also paired with Children's Day and somehow I still get something even in my ripe old age. Despite the fact that it was a rough start to the week, I still found the time and energy to celebrate another year for my cousin. Some days seem quite normal and regular, but there are those days full of such joy and memories, the thing that will make us the richest when we pass away. Enjoy life. Celebrate. Don't forget that work just allows us to gain the mans to enjoy things in life. As much as we want to be a success in life, I hope we can all realize that life isn't all about work, but you must also find time to celebrate and enjoy life. 

~:[CH15 - Day 124]:~ Following the Footsteps

 
~:[CH15 - Day 124]:~ Following the Footsteps

Today started the stretch of my freshman teaching the class. I followed in the footsteps of my mentor teacher who did this with her classes. It's great to be able to create your own ideas and design your own materials as a teacher, but when you see a good idea, use it. Give credit where credit is due, however, it's okay to follow in someone else's footsteps for a bit. I even am able to generate new ideas from the ideas of my own students, which is pretty cool, a teacher following a student. Just because we are older, doesn't make us the know all, rather, in our lives, we must continuously learn and grow to keep pace. Learning doesn't just come from those who are experienced, but also from those who are still developing themselves. Although they don't have any experience under their belt, they too can be a stepping stone for me so I can follow in the footsteps of someone who came before me, with my own variations of course.

~:[CH15 - Day 123]:~ Just Try

 
~:[CH15 - Day 123]:~ Just Try

Too short? Too slow? Too inexperienced? People are going to tell you that you're not good enough, but the question is, do you listen? Sometimes that person telling you this is yourself as you turn around and walk away, sometimes from something that you love. If you love it or just want to do it, why not jus try? Why do you listen to those who try to bring you down and why don't you just go out there and try? As I watch these little ones play basketball, I love how hard they run around chasing the ball and making an effort to get it back. They give it their all and then some. They may not comprehend all that is going on or even be as skilled as others they are playing, but the fact that they're out there trying, makes me appreciate the moment. They're learning important life lessons. It's easier to be born with skills and win than it is to not be and keep trying. It's easy to give up in life when others are more talented. I am not saying that those who are good in something don't have it tough. As they ascending to the higher levels though, they become that small fish in a large lake or ocean. They have it tougher as they try to keep moving up the ladder, much like those who started out that way. Just try and give it your best shot. When you do, you improve and when you improve, you really don't know how far you can go. We ended up losing, but the team played hard and that's all you really can ask for. They'll need to go back and work on some things, but as long as they're working at it, they'll improve as their bodies and minds grow and learn how to improve. They'll be come more skilled and more knowledgeable as time goes by and who knows where they will be in the end. Even if they choose a different path in the end, the lessons they learned will be carried with them. As I reflected back as I sorted through the photos, I was happy that I went today again, as part of me wanted to sleep in. As at the end of the day, I was inspired and reminded to always put my best foot forward, especially when the odds are stacked against me. There are many obstacles waiting on the road ahead of me, but even when they look insurmountable, I'll never know unless I just try. 

~:[CH15 - Day 122]:~ Recovery

 
~:[CH15 - Day 122]:~ Recovery

I woke up early thinking I had a meeting today. It was next week. I really needed to sleep in, but I wok up early and the rest of the day, I paid the price. I wanted a recovery day and I got some rest, but not as much as I wanted. Still yet, I enjoyed getting out there and watching the FOR tournament game. I miss the days of playing in those tournaments and it was fun watching. We played one of the best teams, so it was difficult, but still yet, our athletes played as hard as they could. Finally, our best scorers stared hitting some shots and at the end of the game, the kids were back to enjoying themselves. My throat felt a little raspy, so I was glad that we were headed towards a ramen shop. My parents frequent the spot a lot and they wanted to take me since we were in Torrance. I got the spicy black garlic, which is a combination I had not had. It ended up begin a great way to soothe my throat and helped in my recovery. When I got home, I got work a bit, but was a bit exhausted. I didn't do as much as I wanted, but it also meant, I got a little bit more recovery time. Find things that help soothe your body, heart, and soul and carve out time to soak it all in. As this world and all your responsibilities can be overwhelming, but with recovery time, you'll be able to be ready for the many days ahead. You can do it!

~:[CH15 - Day 121]:~ How to Win a Title

 
~:[CH15 - Day 121]:~ How to Win a Title

I was a little worried about how this track season would go. We graduated a number of top athletes and a chunk did not return. Some seniors quit and we had a number of transfers, leaving us with gaps and holes all across the board, especially on the girls side. I had a sprinter add the hurdles, vaulters move to jumps, hurdlers and vaulters running distance, and sprinters out there throwing. We had groups of athletes who would get out there and work hard every day, setting up and cleaning up. We had coaches willing to stick around. We had some pitfalls here and there and obstacles to clear. Injuries kept some high scoring athletes out or a few no shows knocked our totals down. Even after losing four MVP or MVP caliber athletes, we still were able to hold the ship together and even came back with two MVPs. How to win a title? It's not always coaching, it's also about having the athletes who are willing to step up and do the work to get where they need to be. Our hurdlers were probably our most dedicated group and it showed as we took the top spot in three of the four varsity divisions. Our vaulters have always been the ones out there the longest. Throwers had to step it up and guide themselves a bit, yet did so well. With a delay due to our timer, we didn't get to celebrate much as the driver was ready to leave us behind, but we still celebrated our athletes and the work that they put in. With a large contingent of seniors, it will be sad to see them go,  however, I hope that they showed the underclassmen what it takes to win a title. They need to work hard, they need to take initiative and they need to go above and beyond to earn that title, rather than to just expect it. There are a lot of young athletes within this group and so I am hoping that they'll return next year. With a new league, things will be a lot more challenging, however, as long as they get out there and do what they need to do, we truly will be proud of them, championship or not. For now, we'll celebrate, but not for too long, as the work for next year will begin relatively soon. Congrats track & field Dons!