Tuesday, April 15, 2008

planting the camote outside

a little over a month ago my parents came to visit and my dad decided to plant my camote leaves in the ground.  i wasn’t sure if they were ready for it, but i let him plant some of them while i kept two of the cuttings in the plastic cups.

they didn’t grow so well out there, and i decided to buy a spade and a cultivator and i tilled the ground, digging it up and turning it over and aerating it.  basically, i was prepping the soil to eventually plant my flowers in it.  well.... the next day i came home and noticed that i did such a good job of it, the ground looked nice and combed evenly.  it wasn’t until later when my roommate told me the gardener dug up my plants that i noticed that he had noticed my work and redone it, in the process killing the remaining two leaves that were still in the ground.  oops! 

well, my dad came over this last weekend and wanted to check up on the camote plants, and he was surprised to see that they had disappeared.  he noticed all my other healthy plants inside and wanted to plant them as replacements as well.  he took the sprouts off of the tuber that was still sitting in water - basically snapping them off the potato and leaving the rest of the shoots intact.

here’s shoot #4 being snapped off

he then went outside and dug holes and stuck the roots in

i tried to take pictures without flash but it was rather dark out - you can see him working in the background

and here are the plants after i watered them today.  the one closest to the door is the only one that looks a little wilty - everything else is strong and standing tall.  i think it’s good that this time they have a healthy root system -and- a healthy bunch of leaves - it’s not one leaf and a sprouting root this time.  i don’t know if it’s the position (it gets the least amount of sun) or not, because the leaves that were planted there also wilted the fastest.  but it sure looks like i’ll have a healthy ground covering of ready-to-cook-talbos soon!

Posted by kgrp on 04/15 at 12:55 AM
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Sunday, April 06, 2008

spring break 2008!

being a teacher is somewhat a weird profession because of all the holidays and breaks we have, and the inability to take vacations at other times.  sometimes that means i get stuck at home on vacation when everyone else is working, and sometimes that means that my friends go on vacation while i’m working and i’m unable to take time off.  however, when you have friends that work in the school system, it can all work out beautifully.  and even though i’ve been home for a whole month not working, i still had a spring break during which there were no students at the school, so i -had- to take a vacation.  darn. 

well, marlene, shyla, and i were all able to take a cruise together this spring break.  we pretty much just sat on the boat and relaxed and ate unlimited food.  it was nice not being cooped up at home all the time, and it was nice also to be able to walk around in the sun without being too strenuously active, which was perfect for me.  the salty sea air was definitely nice too, and it cleared up my breathing a bit.  i should’ve taken a cruise while i was home sick!  eating well and resting in the sun - just what the doctor ordered!!

anyways, here are some pictures for you to enjoy:
me, marlene, and shyla at dinner

where we met sam, emily, and amy

richard and paresh also sat at our table

i won the trivia game on the cruise - check out my 24 carat gold plastic ship on a stick!

the cruise crew did all sortsa things to make our cruise enjoyable, such as leaving animals on our beds with the towels…

... or making ice sculptures in less than 20 minutes!

i was really surprised to run into ching’s cousin on the cruise - what a small world to be meeting people you know on this ship!

we wandered around with flowers in our hair

and then passed ‘em on to our new friend esau

all in all we had a great time.  thanks ladies!!!  that was one of the best spring breaks i’ve had!

Posted by kgrp on 04/06 at 11:21 PM
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Thursday, March 20, 2008

my school made the news!

check this out - the second half of this clip from fox news is about my school.

never mind that they got most of the information wrong - their source was a parent, and they didn’t bother to contact the school or the district.  as far as the school and the police department are concerned, there has been no gang activity and the threats were instead of students who wanted to fight each other (they think it might be a race thing).  the enhanced security -did- include a helicopter surveillance team watching the students leave campus on tuesday, which happened to be my first day back to work.  so exciting, huh?!!  we’ve had the PD on campus to ensure that nothing more happens, so actually, it’s all been rather calm here at school.  but the way you hear fox news talk about it makes it sound all dramatic and dangerous!!! 

ooooh!!!  the dangers of public school!!!  was this why i always attended a small private academy?  hahahhahahah…

i guess that coming from such a sheltered background makes it feel that much more gangster being on the news =)

Posted by kgrp on 03/20 at 01:35 PM
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

going back to work

because of my recent bout of pleurisy and pneumonia, and the 3 rounds of antibiotics i had to take (plus the visit to urgent care when the pleurisy set in - who knew it’d hurt so bad?!?!), i haven’t been going to work.  i’ve been on a regimen of antibiotics, a ton of water every day, and a LOT of rest.  meaning mostly i lay in bed awake watching tv shows on my computer, dozing off multiple times throughout the day. 

but that 3rd round of antibiotics finally did its job and as of thursday, i actually started feeling better.  and friday was the first day that i noticed that my breathing was clear - both inhaling and exhaling.  yes, i still cough, and it’s still productive.  but i feel like my lungs have totally cleared up, and 3 days later at my doctor’s appointment on monday, my doc agreed with me and we decided i’m good to go back to work.

well… after being home for so long it’s really gonna be a challenge to get back and be in charge of my classroom, but i’m up, i’ve had breakfast, and about to finish my second cup of water.  i’ll bring a slew of fruits with me and i’m gonna go tackle that classroom!  i need to show ‘em who’s boss!  (especially after finding out that 2 girls escaped through the window behind my desk during the class that had 2 teachers in it) yup… i need to go there and expect them to behave now that i’m back!

pray for me PLEASE!!!!!

Posted by kgrp on 03/18 at 06:49 AM
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Friday, March 14, 2008

hot'n spicy barbecue chips! mmmm.....

ok, so, if you’ve talked with me recently, you know i’ve been home for the last 3 weeks sick with pneumonia and pleurisy.  i’ve been bored outta my mind, and i’ve spent a good amount of time on the internet.  i’ve also cleaned out my entire room and closet and some other stuff around the house, but that’s besides the point.

basically, i’ve had A LOT of time on my hands.  i’m finishing up my 3rd or 4th week of being home and i’m SOOO sick of it!

well… the following story made marlene and rita laugh -at- me, but i don’t care!  i love chips! =)

anyways, there was this new flavor of chips i saw in stater bros in october - the flavor was hot & spicy barbecue!  yum!

well, i was looking for it later and couldn’t find it, and after going to several stater bros. and several other stores i realized that no one was carrying them anymore.  well, given the amount of time i had on my hands, i finally made it over to the lay’s website to see if they still created the chip, and they do!  and according to their website, this chip had been sold in the past month in the stater bros. across the street from my house! 

what?!??! how had i missed it? so i decided to let my fingers do the walking and i dialed the stater bros.  “excuse me, do you know if you happen to have lay’s hot’n spicy barbecue chips for sale?  the website says you have it but i just want to know if it’s on the shelf before i go there.” the lady informed me that they don’t have it on their shelves but i can call the district office to see if they plan on shipping in more of that flavor.

so i called the stater brothers warehouse - “excuse me, i was wondering if you plan on carrying lay’s hot’n spicy barbecue chips, and at which store can i buy them?” well, the guy in charge of the ordering the chips told me that as soon as they got some in stock, he’d send some over to the store near my house (apparently it’s store #55) and that he’d have the manager call me to let me know when they put it on the shelves.  i laughed at myself thinking that they were gonna make a phone call to me to let me know when “my chips” had arrived, but still, it was a better option than me driving around to every store hoping to find them there.

well, it’s a good thing i didn’t waste any time driving around because i got a phone call from frito lay a few days later.  apparently they don’t carry that flavor in our distribution warehouse (which covers all of southern california and a bit more).  i guess it didn’t do so well in their test run so they’re keeping it in the other markets that enjoyed it.  i was disappointed but realizing that the chip was still out there, even if it was far far away out there, and not in southern california, i asked him several more questions: “can i order it straight from another warehouse?” nope, they don’t ship, especially over the rockies, because the bags might pop.  “which markets do sell this chip?” he didn’t know, he could only tell me which flavors his distribution center carries.  there were several other questions but basically, no, these chips are no longer available to me.  not in any way possible.  darn it.

he then thanked me for being a loyal customer and offered to send me some chips as a thank you from frito-lay.  i ended up ordering ruffles kc masterpiece barbecue because those ones always cost twice the price as the lays barbecue.  after giving him my address, he told me he’d send a whole box over! 

whoa!!!  whole box of chips for me!!  and free!!  well… at the price of my dignity, because i’d participated in this mad goose chase all over a flavor of chips.  apparently i’m the only person i know who would do something as absurd as that =) but like i said, i have a lot of time on my hands.  and it was better than driving to every single store in the area to see if they had the chip.  and i got a whole box -free-! 

oh, who am i trying to convince.  it doesn’t matter cuz i LOVE free things and i LOVE chips, so i’m happy happy =)

coolio, right?

Posted by kgrp on 03/14 at 03:24 PM
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Thursday, March 13, 2008

how to be rich

i’ve been reading many personal finance blogs recently and i’ve come narrow down what they say into two basic tenets:

1.  keep your expenses to a minimum and be happy with what you have
2.  re-invest your expendable income so that it grows into more money

reading these blogs has taken a lot of time recently because they not only provide many detailed tips and information on investing and how to be more frugal with my money, but most of their daily posts provide links to other related blog posts that i find fascinating as well.  most of the time the posts i like the most are how to make a cost-effective, simple, and healthy meal.  however, i’ve noticed that even though i haven’t started any formal adoption of their techniques, i am definitely making smarter decisions about what i buy - and i can pretty much avoid most impulse purchases because i get the daily reminder that each dollar i save now can be so much more after invested.

i also like how they provide tips on saving money on the necessities and to be happy with what you have.  i’ve never been one to buy the latest and greatest but it’s always nice to hear tips that can help me save even more money.  even if you aren’t investing every saved penny, it’s still a good idea.  the less you spend on daily living expenses, the more you have to spend on yourself now (or later when you retire).  i have more money for my hobbies because i’m spending less on my daily living.  it’s a great incentive to not make that impulse splurge when shopping - i just tell myself i have to put it on my wants list and come back later for it, or else i won’t be able to buy that new snowboard =D

one of my favorite blogs is “get rich slowly” (thanks jay for showing this one to me!).  he also has a related blog called “get fit slowly”.  it’s not a get-rich quick scheme, but rather a lifestyle that encourages healthy living/spending habits.

here are some of the related articles that i’ve found in the past few days that i thought other people might be interested in.

million dollar journey is the blog of a guy who did a guest post on get rich slowly about how he went from $40,000 of debt to having $285,000 in five years. 

time banks is a good way to volunteer your time and earn “time hours” which you can redeem for goods/services you need without paying for them.  in the article i read, the girl received 2 tickets to a $75 show which was 2 hours long, so it used 4 of her time bank hours to pay for it.  there’s none near me in southern california, but there is one in nebraska!  i thought laura and les might be interested because they do alot of community things out there.

urghh… there were a buncha other articles that i wanted to share but i already closed the tabs.  oh well… i’m sure i’ll find more stuff later than can help us all save money =)

Posted by kgrp on 03/13 at 01:56 PM
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Monday, March 10, 2008

my power color is gold!

thanks to i don’t know for this link




Your Power Color Is Gold



At Your Highest:
You are engrossed in passions that mentally stimulate you.

At Your Lowest:
You seek thrills and neglect what’s important in your life.

In Love:
You see dating as adventure and approach it with an open attitude.

How You’re Attractive:
You passion for life makes others passionate about you.

Your Eternal Question:
“Am I Having Fun?”


What’s Your Power Color?

Posted by kgrp on 03/10 at 04:32 PM
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