San Francisco Day 1

Grüß Gott everyone. I'm back in my hotel after a grueling day of teaching. Let me recount.

I got up this morning at 6, despite my alarm having been set for 6:30. I got a good night's sleep, which I really needed. I seriously think as soon as I get some decent means, I'm going to treat myself to a king-sized mattress. So comfy. So I did the morning routine, including a rather decent continental breakfast. I left the hotel around 8:15, and made the drive to San Francisco. Along the way I passed through Palo Alto, Mountain View, Stanford, the UC Berkeley Extension exit, and many big name tech companies' buildings, like Yahoo, Sun, McAfee, Intel, etc. That was pretty exciting. I made it into SF in good time, and subsequently the State University. The campus was pretty interesting, and I parked in a lot that seemed to be open to the public, and made my way to the Humanities building after asking a campus policeman for directions. When I entered the building I ran into two other teachers who were in a bit of a frenzy and then made my way to my room. I got started setting up, and at around 10:00 I made to find Katie, who I was told would find me to deliver my material kits and books for classes. I found her in a room near mine, and we went to her car to get my materials. After getting back, it was almost time to start the Level R class. Before I knew it, I was teaching. The Level R class was lots of fun and the kids had a great time, as did the parents. That's my job, right?

On the break between classes I had to go with Katie to get more materials, which this time nearly broke my arms to bring in. I set up for my Level 5 and taught that. The class was at full capacity with 28 students plus makeups. Surprisingly, the full class made it a little easier to teach. Either that or just that these students were all eager and liked to read. I actually have a student whose incoming reading rate was 999 wpm. Now, in a lot of cases like this I would be skeptical and want to time them myself, but I really believe that this kid was reading that fast. So, I'm not sure what to do about that. Anyway, it went well and then...a bit downhill. A lot of parents had some questions and there was only a half an hour between classes, and I still had to go to Katie's car for more materials. So I ended up starting the class a bit late, and not really set up at all. I had to wing it, but all in all the class went pretty well. Some of them are a bit saucy, but not uncontrollably so. And then, like that, it was over. But there would still be some time before I made it back home.

So I had to first get my car from where I had parked it and bring it closer to my building so that I could load it up with the materials I still had in my classroom. It took me a while just to find my way back to the car, but I eventually made it, getting some help with the boxes from a couple of the other teachers along the way. Then I had to go and find Katie's car atop the parking garage on the outskirts of campus. I managed to do that easily enough, and loaded my car full to the brim with all the rest of the materials I would need to teach my classes. Then I made to leave and head home. Unfortunately, I got a bit lost, and ended up cruising around San Francisco for about a half an hour before I found my way to the 280. It was actually quite fun, and the city is just really neat. It's a lot like Toronto, but with narrower streets and hills-o-plenty. Finally I got back to San Jose and stopped at a liquor store where I picked up a bottle of Chardonnay to help me relax. I ate my leftover pizza and watched the Food Network and here I am.

The crazy part is I gotta go to bed now and get ready to do it all over again. Say me a prayer. Over and out.

-Alex