Summer Send-Off

One week ago I thought I was getting the last drops of summer with a bike ride up and down the beach. It was overcast, and even sprinkling a bit. Now, on my first week back, sporting the shirt and tie to full effect, we get slammed with the hottest week of the summer! I’ve been baking and my classroom swelters, especially with the 41 students I have in the largest class of all time. But thanks to a little experience, a good group of incoming 8^th graders, and the Glade plug-ins Allison bought,  it was a good first week back.

Summer Adventure-Installment #2

starting line--the pickleball house

This OC ride was probably the finale, and it was nothing the like the 70 mile beat-down (from Newport to Redondo and back) I put myself through a couple of summers ago. This one was a leisurely cruise from the usual parking spot in south Newport, (near the house with the pickle ball court), up through Huntington to the pier.

U-turned it at the Huntington Pier

I stopped to watch the volleyball tournaments, picked up a discount pair of jeans at the Jack’s sidewalk sale, and snapped a few pics of what used to be, for some strange reason, my favorite beach. Now it’s odd if we visit Huntington more than once a year, and we were at the beach almost weekly this summer. 

I once spent the night in the sand enclosure in front of this beach house.

 

I ran into the dad of one of my high school friends and teammates on the way back; he was lounging on the boardwalk. I was lounging on the boardwalk. He has a house on the beach, I had a mountain bike, but we were in the same boat for a split second. That’s what I like about these summer ride-aways.

Santa Barbara Coffee Shops

I like Santa Barbara, and I like coffee shops.

State Street Coffee was never open for business when we happened to pass by, but the sign was sharp, the structure was unique, and their weren’t as passersby were at a minimum, so was Al’s embarrassment at my photographing buildings for no apparent reason.

HotSpots, on the other hand, (it literally was “on the other hand” as in “across the street”) was city-renowned for staying open 24 hours, its signature “Obama Blend” (yes we can drink coffee past midnight), and it’s touch screen vestibule for visitors seeking some sights to see. And, in a touch I had never seen before, HotSpots featured several pay-for-internet-access computer stations. Understandably, this all-night access point–which, by the way, was less than a block from the sand–had quite an extensive internet squatting policy.

I spotted three other distinguished coffeehouses on State Street (two Starbucks, a Coffee Bean, and a local shop with an upstairs loft, but I was too lazy to go back for my camera, and too embarrassed (or at least too afraid of embarrassing Allison) to be snapping pictures of a Starbucks sign in the middle of a bunch of people. 

I love lofts in a coffee shop. Reminds me of Top Pot Donuts from Seattle.

Top Pot: Lots of books and two stories! : )

Santa Barbara Coffee Shops

I like Santa Barbara, and I like coffee shops.

State Street Coffee was never open for business when we happened to pass by, but the sign was sharp, the structure was unique, and their weren’t as passersby were at a minimum, so was Al’s embarrassment at my photographing buildings for no apparent reason.

HotSpots, on the other hand, (it literally was “on the other hand” as in “across the street”) was city-renowned for staying open 24 hours, its signature “Obama Blend” (yes we can drink coffee past midnight), and it’s touch screen vestibule for visitors seeking some sights to see. And, in a touch I had never seen before, HotSpots featured several pay-for-internet-access computer stations. Understandably, this all-night access point–which, by the way, was less than a block from the sand–had quite an extensive internet squatting policy.

I spotted three other distinguished coffeehouses on State Street (two Starbucks, a Coffee Bean, and a local shop with an upstairs loft, but I was too lazy to go back for my camera, and too embarrassed (or at least too afraid of embarrassing Allison) to be snapping pictures of a Starbucks sign in the middle of a bunch of people. 

I love lofts in a coffee shop. Reminds me of Top Pot Donuts from Seattle.

Top Pot: Lots of books and two stories! : )

Amateur Outdoor Adventures Summer 2009 Edition

Last year it was a two-day nonstop Mt. Baldy blitz. Haven’t been backpacking since.

Wednesday Jake and I woke up at 5:30, worked out for an hour, came home, loaded the bikes, and commuted to Redondo. The bike ride took us from the Redondo Pier

Redondo Pier

through Hermosa, Manhattan, and Playa del Rey,

Playa del Rey, north of Manhattan and Hermosa

 around Marina Del Rey, into Venice

Venice again

 

 

 

Venice

and up through Santa Monica all the way to Temescal Canyon, just shy of Sunset and Malibu.

South view

 

The way up took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes, with a brief pitstop (we were seduced by a thirty foot climbing rope just south of the Santa Monica Pier):

Dude, you think you can climb that rope? (riding past)

(Glancing at the rope) Yeah.

Glancing back at the rope) You want to do it?

(Pause.) “Let’s do it.”

“Let’s go.”

(U-turn because at this point we’re about 100 yards past. Rope climb commences, and we’re back on our way.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The return trip took less time, and we made it back by 2:15.

Total travel time: 4 hours.

Total distance: 42.6 miles. 

Keeping Tabs on Beer

Far be it from me to be a beer blogger, so here I am blogging about drinking beer during the summertime. About a year and a half ago I swore a semi-oath to experiment with a different beer every time I went into a BevMo, Trader Joe’s, etc. One trip a week or less, however, makes for a long time to work my way through the shelves. And after awhile, I sort of forget what I liked and what I didn’t, or even if I’ve sampled a particular beverage in the past. 

A few moments ago I birthed the brilliant idea of keeping semi-track (maintaining consistency with my semi-oath) of whatever I sample. A blog like Farts and Letters is a fitting forum for such an endeavor (see Farts and Letters 101).

Since the purpose of this keeping track is to remember, I’m going to start with the last two sampled. 

First: Sam Adams Summer Ale–

Seemed to me like a wheat beer in the vein of Leinenkeugel Sunset Wheat (I remember that one), and anything made with “grains of paradise” has got to invoke a sort of Kenny Chesney summertime placebo effect. I liked it, but it dried out my mouth after one beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second: Widmer Drifter Pale Ale–

I’ve been coming around on the Pale Ales, and this is my favorite by far. I think it’s got a load of grapefruit or something, because it has a significant citrus aftertaste, aroma, nose, whatever. Look, the closest I’ve come to beer tasting is a one time dollar deal at BevMo where I sampled three Belgian white beers. Bottom line, there’s a picture of a grapefruit or some kind of citrus fruit on the bottle, so I can’t be that crazy, and I did notice the taste before seeing the picture. Perhaps there’s hope. I’ll have two more of those tonight, and on to something new

In the joyous days of summer freedom to come, maybe I’ll backtrack to a few others as memory serves.

Summer Vacation and Other Touchy-Teacher Topics

As a teacher, I get a summers off. Apparently there are quite a few misconceptions regarding what teachers do with their “down time,” and as a result, educators come out swinging in response to claims that “we don’t work” during the summers. I agree that most educators continue to develop as professionals during the summer, and even that many will work summer jobs out of necessity.

However, after perusing “Summertime–And the Teachers Have It Easy,” an article apparently dispelling the myth of teacher freedom during the summer months, I found my found some of my fellow summertimers protesting a bit much.  The second paragraph of the article begins with this conspiratorial tidbit:

“The catfish are jumping, the cotton is high, and teachers everywhere are spreading towels on the beach and by the pool, popping the seals on fresh bottles of SPF 30.

Right.

If that first paragraph sounded credible to you, you’re not a teacher, the spouse of a teacher, or a teacher’s summer employer. While it’s true that most teachers take time off in the summer, so do most Americans. 

But the misapprehension that teachers enjoy three months of leisurely bliss was likely conjured by parties eager to keep a lid on the teacher-salary schedule.”

One would expect, then, a follow-up description  of duties that teachers perform during the summertime that are directly connected to their compensated duties. After all, if the point of downplaying the work teachers do during the summer is to “keep a lid on the teacher-salary schedule,” it follows that the work done during the summer would be part of the contractual duties for which a teacher is compensated. This was not the case. 

Instead, teachers were described as performing myriad  tasks that would indeed contribute to their growth as educators. Some will visit other countries to observe educational practices. Some work summer jobs, some will “read several professional books,” some will “reflect upon lessons,” and others will work on authoring books, leading professional development, or attending various conferences. The point is that teachers are not sitting around during the summer, and as one who has worked every summer of my brief career, I will attest to the claims at hand. I’ve read many “professional books,” during the summer and throughout the year. I have participated in curriculum and assessment development during the summer, and I have attended conferences. I have also been PAID for most of this, and the stuff I have not been paid for should be considered common practice for anyone who considers themselves a professional.

Taking classes, working second jobs, and taking other measures to enhance one’s professional effectiveness is not unique to the teaching profession. What is unique is that we have PAID time off to get PAID doing other things. If we participate in profession-related activities that are UNPAID, we get PAID time off to engage in these activities. If we want to sit on a towel and do nothing, we CAN, and many teachers DO. So, to get all touchy about summertime teacher stereotypes does not do us whole lot of good when it comes to garnering respect. Other professions have to do much of the same without the paid time off, so when we parade our prodigious summer activities as evidence that we are somehow afflicted by third parties trying to hold our salaries down, we tend to look a bit ridiculous. In my opinion. 

Imagine: A working professional tells me that I am lucky to have paid time off during the summer, and I say, “Well, I spent my summer reading professional books and attending a conference and teaching summer school.” If I were the other, I’d reply with a “Wow, good for you. I read professional books, work a second job CONCURRENTLY, and work on committees in addition to all my other job requirements.” We are not eliciting sympathy when we pedestalize the work we do during the summer, while getting paid. 

In my opinion and experience, MANY teachers are attracted to the job because of the vacation time, and FEW if any would do the job and all the summer time extras if they had to work year-around. Teachers generally have a good gig. I’m sure many of us would appreciate a bit more cash, and a bit more respect, but I doubt it will come by touting the extras that many  do during paid time off.

It’s summertime, and I have TREMENDOUS freedom to develop as a professional. That is a gift, and it should not be paraded haughtily, indignantly, sarcastically, or self-righteously.