:: The Princess Diaries ::

:: 26.2.03 ::

joking around with one of my favorite students (yes, i have favorites), patrick -
i said, "do i know you?"
"what?"
"do i know you? have we met before?"
"yes."
"how do we know each other?"
"we're friends."
"oh, where did we meet?"
"in math."

later in the day (during math), jim was working on progress reports and called patrick in -
"let me ask you something."
"okay."
"can you tell me who your friends are here?"
"my friends?"
"yeah, who are your friends?"
"well... miss kim."
"well, okay, but what about like, the kids?"
"oh."

and everyday before he goes home, he tells us a joke and finishes by saying, "thank you ladies and gentlemen! you've been a great audience! don't forget to tip your server!" i love this kid. there are some days when i want to take him home with me.

:: debbie 2/26/2003 04:23:00 pm [+] ::
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"so, miss kim, you're 24 today?"
"yup."
"you're younger than somerville?"
"yup."
"hey miss kim, i'm going to be 24 in 7 years."
"oh, gosh. really?"
"yup, and when i'm 24, you'll be 31."
"thanks."

:: debbie 2/25/2003 08:44:00 pm [+] ::
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happy birthday Pierre Auguste Renoir!

what's one of the best ways to spend your birthday? with a class of kids who have social skills problems, but love any excuse to not have class and eat cake - for free. my students are great though. within the course of 8 hours, "happy birthday" was sung to me about four times (the one song i hate and won't sing) and i got some of the best birthday cards i've ever gotten. it's a great day to turn 24 and enter my twentysomething years (as someone told me.)

:: debbie 2/25/2003 04:23:00 pm [+] ::
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1.5 glasses of mango sangria + 1.5 glasses of midori sour (barely) + one shot of tequila + sip of a strawberry martini = THE worst headache of my life + an early night. yes, i'm weak.

what's one of the many things i want for my birthday? beastie boys action figures. yeah, i'm going to be 24, so what?

if today is any indictation of how the rest of this week will be, God help me.

:: debbie 2/24/2003 02:42:00 pm [+] ::
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so, here is the dilemma i'm running into (well, not so much a dilemma, but still):
there's this music festival - coachella valley music and arts festival - i'd really like to go to in april - april 26th, to be exact. who is going to be at this festival, you ask? why, i'll tell you! badly drawn boy, N*E*R*D, ben harper, AND... BEASTIE BOYS!!! oh my freaking god! so, what is the problem? april 26th is when sun yong's brother is getting married. and as much as i want to see hyun chae and cindy wedding ceremony, i gotta see sun yong in that GOLD bridesmaid's dress! true, i have a ton of things due for my classes, but do i care? heck no! if i don't go to this, i might have to go the japan for the tibetian freedom concert. and if i don't go to that (which i won't), i'll just have to wait for their next tour. oh, but when will that be? oh...i can't wait that long!!!!

:: debbie 2/21/2003 12:13:00 pm [+] ::
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today, in biology, we were reviewing the different parts of the brain. i was trying to stress to my students how important our medulla oblongata is and how it controls our most basic life functions. i told them that the rest of our brain could be damaged, but if the medulla was still intact, we would still be breathing and alive. we might not be able to do anything else and be vegetables, but we'd still be breathing and our hearts would still be beating. but, on the other hand, if our medulla was severely damaged and the rest of our brain was all right, we'd be in big trouble. if our brainstem is not working, we'd be dead. they all sort of gave me these blank stares, so i was trying to think of examples they would understand. i was about to tell them that when people commit suicide by putting a gun in their mouths, they will immediately die because the bullet would go through the medulla. but, i decided that wasn't an appropriate example to give and held myself back from sharing that with them. i sometimes forget who these kids are and what they have gone through (we actually have a student who was shot in the head.) so, i think one of the last things they need is their teacher telling them how and why certain suicides strategies work.

:: debbie 2/19/2003 11:55:00 pm [+] ::
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back in the hay day of the quality music videos and music, was the ever-memorable 1994 mtv vma's:
"Feeling confident that his friend and fellow director Spike Jonze was going to win the best video honors for having directed the "Sabotage" video, Hörnblowér* left his seat and made his way backstage. When the announcement was made that "Sabotage" had lost best director honors to "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M., Nathanial was overtaken with emotion and made his way out to the microphone where Michael Stipe was in the process of making his acceptance speech. Yearning to voice his frustration, Hörnblowér was able to quickly vent before MTV security set out to remove him from the awards platform. 'This is an outrage, because Spike is the director who has just? (sigh). I'm from Switzerland. Let me just tell everyone that and since I was a small boy I had dreamed that Spike would win this. And now that this has happened, I want to tell everyone this is a farce, that I had all the ideas for Star Wars and everything.'"

* "Nathanial Hörnblowér: Said to have been born in the Swiss Upenziel, Adam Yauch's uncle and alter ego, Nathanial Hörnblowér has
richly contributed his creative flare to several Beastie Boys' projects throughout the years."

hilarious...

:: debbie 2/19/2003 08:51:00 am [+] ::
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here's a twist to the uic commute: a police chase going down I-94. as alarming as it is to see about seven or eight morton grove and niles police cars racing after someone, i must say that it is quite exciting - even if i have no idea what is going on. but, oh man!!! I LOVE IT!!!

:: debbie 2/18/2003 04:13:00 pm [+] ::
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another let down? when i see that i have voicemail at work and it turns out to be one of my students. eversince she discovered that i had my own line at school, she has been leaving me voicemails. there have been three so far. the first time she called, it was just so say hi. and there was one for valentine's day and one for president's day. "hi, miss kim. this is laurie. i'm just calling to say i hope you had a nice day at school and that i hope you have a nice week. and have a nice president's day." and then, there might be some singing because she's singing along with the radio before she hangs up. okay, now, she's a sweet girl and all, but i see her five days a week for 8 hours. i can do without the voicemails.

:: debbie 2/18/2003 09:39:00 am [+] ::
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one of the biggest let-downs? when i have new email and it's from my communication and language disorders professor. and she sends emails way too much, so i'm disappointed quite often. no offense to mavis or anything, but really, it is disappointing. please stop sending so many emails. that's what the course website is for. (and of course, i would feel so incredibly bad if she ever found out this is how i felt, because she really is such a nice woman and she could give me a bad grade.) but please, for the love of God! stop with the emails!

:: debbie 2/16/2003 09:36:00 pm [+] ::
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i received some valentines from my students and they were all very sweet. they were all hand-made and the messages ranged from:
"the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. they must be felt with the heart" - helen keller
"a teacher-aid... deserves a special valentine! ms. kim, have a happy valentine's day 4 U & me!!!"
"it has been a pleasure to work with you over the past two years! keep up the excellent work, and pretty soon you might be taking Ms. Peirce's position if someday she might retire which will probably not occur. i would finally like to thank you for grading my math work even though it maybe stressful sometimes."
"you have a good sense of humor, for example when patrick tells jokes you can laugh a lot... i know that when I ASK YOU a lot questions you get frustrated at me. i know that ""MR. SUMS"" like to make fun of you and MS. Peirce and MS. G (sometimes). so why don't you GET BACK AT HIM... so i hope you have a very very very happy Valentine Day. Sums love annoying you and Peirce."

there's nothing like getting a valentine from a student in special education.

:: debbie 2/15/2003 05:54:00 pm [+] ::
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sometimes your students drive so crazy that you just have to laugh...
i'm laughing A LOT right now.

:: debbie 2/14/2003 12:14:00 pm [+] ::
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tonight, mina asked me if i could balance on min's big exercise ball for five seconds. i tried so hard, but only reached 3 seconds. after many attempts and mina pushing me over and throwing the gigantic ball at me several times, it dawned on me that perhaps mina was not trying to test my balancing abilities. she was just trying to get a good laugh. well, mission accomplished. we should have never got min that exercise ball.

after i told my mom two of my classes this week got cancelled, she was bothered. after i told her that one of my professors cancelled class because he was in hawaii, she was pissed. "and they get paid for that?" my brother said the same thing. "i would be upset too. you're paying a lot of money." i'm not pissed at all. in fact, i'm overjoyed and think my professors should go on vacations more often. good for them.

:: debbie 2/12/2003 11:28:00 pm [+] ::
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today, mrs. beem, the nurse i work with, turned and said to me, "i see you becoming something great one day. like in administration or something." flattered, i smiled and said, "maybe a partner in a law firm?" for a quick moment, she had this blank look and compassionately said, "whatever you want." that's the same thing we say to our kids when they tell us they're going to be doctors and meteorologists and marry george clooney.

:: debbie 2/11/2003 04:36:00 pm [+] ::
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today's blog is for min jung:
i was thinking about her this morning and realized that she and i have known each other for at least 12 years. and what a gal! there's is this tendency to dread getting older and to question what you've done with your life and such. but, i really believe that min does not have to worry about this. much to her disbelief, she has accomplished a lot and is well on her way to continue becoming a great person. she gives us countless moments of joy and happiness. and her friendship is one of those rare friendships that you are always grateful for. so, thank you, rachel min jung kim!!! and a very, very happy birthday to you!

:: debbie 2/07/2003 09:00:00 am [+] ::
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one of the best birthday presents i ever got was from my brother. in the 23 years i've known him, he's hardly given me any gifts without asking what i want. he tells me i'm a hard person to shop for. i don't totally disagree with him. a little bit before my 23rd birthday, he kept telling me that he knew what he was going to get me and that i would like it a lot. and no matter how hard i tried to get it out of him, he wouldn't tell me anything. so, the day finally comes and he gives me my present. at first, i'm looking at it thinking, "that's a small bag." and as i take it from him, i can tell right away that it's a cd. i take it out and it's not just any old u2 cd. it's a recording of their rehearsal right before starting the elevation tour. i was so excited. i couldn't believe that he put that much thought into it. i know the cd isn't some rare one of a kind or anything. but, it's from my brother. i couldn't ask for anything better.

:: debbie 2/06/2003 10:35:00 pm [+] ::
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yes, i acknowledge that ADHD is terrible, but it is so damn annoying! a couple of our students have ADHD along with having a learning disability. but, there is one student who just pisses me off so bad. fine, he's got ADHD and has a learning disability, but he's not stupid. he's the same student who makes inappropriate comments and gestures towards me . there are days when he just refuses to let anything sink in and today was one of those days. so, of course, i have to get on his case and be the mean teacher. i can't stand this kid. god, please help me not to lose it and drop-kick this kid. but, if i do one day, will someone come bail me out?

i have another student who is always telling me how "charming, beautiful, smart, and kind" i am. "oh, miss kim, you're so kind, so nice, so smart, and so beautiful." "why, thank you micheal." "miss kim, am i charming and handsome?" "yes, you are." well, he came in today with this terrible cold, coughing everywhere with things flying out of his nose and mouth. his assistant said to him, "micheal, pretty girls won't want to sit next to you if you don't cover your mouth when you cough." "pretty girls like miss kim?" "yup." "oh, miss kim, you're so pretty." "thanks micheal." "do you think i'm a charming prince?" "yes, i do." then, he looks at me in this weird way and gives me the creeps. so, i walk away from him. i love my job.

:: debbie 2/05/2003 04:16:00 pm [+] ::
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