Jeff for America

It was Erika’s birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday, Erika!) and we went to get our feet done. I’ve never had a real pedicure before – my mom doesn’t count, right? It was a great experience, although a bit pricey. There were definitely a few moments I just couldn’t handle and had to pull my foot away. She kind of seemed annoyed, but c’mon it tickled. In the end, my feet and toes are looking great – sans nail polish, but polished just enough.

The real treat were the pedicure chairs themselves. They are monsters – shooting warm water on your feet, massaging your back and their sheer size make you feel a little high-and-mighty. I was curious how much they cost and found they start around $5,000 – meaning they’ll be paid off 200 pedicures later. Not bad, I suppose. I won’t run out to get one anytime soon, but I won’t be waiting to visit again until Erika’s birthday next year. January birthday anyone?

Who ever thought words could be so beautiful? Wordle did.

Wordle is an online program that takes any text (a quote, a passage, a blog) and counts the number of times each word is used. Based on those calculations, it changes the text size of words, making the more common words larger and other small. The result is a ‘word cloud’ that can transform a heavy text and makes it readable and somewhat more transparent.

Once you start playing with it, you won’t stop. As a teacher, it’s also a great tool for teaching. I was recently covering the interactions between the colonists and Native Americans, and used a quote from a Wintu tribe woman about how the white colonists were destroying the earth. We plugged the quote into Wordle and this is what we got:

Then we used the strategy of making a word map sentence using the largest to smaller words. Applying that approach, you get “White man (or people) kill trees.” It’s just a simplified version of the more complex analysis we applied before the word map was made. In the end – a great way to look for multiple (or main) themes in a quote or passage.

But beyond teaching, Wordle is just kind of fun. Try it with your thesis, favorite blog, or an article or speech. Just for kicks, here’s a word map from my current RSS feed for Jeff For America.

And if you make word map sentence, you can get: a lot actually happened.

That works.

- Jeff

It doesn’t matter if you’ve known me for years or just days, you’ll know one thing for sure – I have a problem losing things. It started out kind of innocent in my early teens. I’d leave my homework at home, my phone in the car. Sometimes I even ran out of gas (ok…so it happened 6 times). When I went off to college, I thought things would get better. They didn’t. I put a sign at my dorm door that said “Wallet? Keys? Phone?” to remind me of my belongings every time I left the room. It helped, but it wasn’t a cure.

As the years have gone on, and I have matured into all the responsibilities of an adult, I have yet to shed my inability to keep track of my things. Just this week, I’ve forgotten or lost the following:

• My toothbrush and scarf at Andrew’s apt in NYC
• My phone, keys and wallet in the desk at work
• My jacket at an event last night for TFA

If you have followed me on the blog in recent months, you’ll also know I left my bags on a train, my phone in a taxi cab and lost my debit card on a street corner. If you’ve known me for years, you’ll also know I once left my computer on an airplane in South Africa and my iPod on a Southwest trip to L.A. In Berkeley, I once even forgot to move my car from a parking spot and walked home from campus instead. Two days later, as I walked out to get my car, and remembered I had driven it to school. Two tickets on my windshield -  you would think I’ve learned my lesson.

All these shenanigans lately got me thinking…maybe there’s something wrong with me. Like, really something wrong – a disorder of some sort. I looked it up online and could only find it as a major symptom of ADHD, which is possible I guess, but not the red herring I was looking for.

In reflecting on how to self-medicate my self-inflicted, imaginary disorder, I have decided to cut out the middle man (or woman) and start a log of my forgetfulness. I figure any good psychologist I could pay to hear my worries would give me that advice. Perhaps keeping track of my losing track will trigger something in my mind that will slow me down and keep things in better order. If you have a better idea, send it my way.

I just can’t live like this anymore. It’s getting out of hand. Help.

- Jeff

Ok, I’m just gonna say it – I’m tired of this. It’s gotten old real quick and I can’t wait for this week and school to be over. Two days left and I’ll be happy to be moving on. In fact, I need it more than anything right now. I’m sick, I’m exhausted and I’m still at school. We have our last report card conferences this week, so I’m at school until 8 o’clock tonight. Becca and I are considering making a move this summer to a new place, but aren’t willing to trade-down just for price. It has been harder than expected. My usual cragistlist charm isn’t working. Anyway, Becca and I went to see a house tonight, but as we were driving (30 minutes in traffic) to the walk-through, the realtor called and cancelled. The house had just been rented. I was pissed and just wanted to go home and fall asleep. But no – I had to turn the car around and drive 45 minutes back to school. I’m trying to capture this moment so I can look back on my miserable day and smile. “Poor Jeff,” I’ll think to myself, “Get over it. Things worked out anyway.” They always do.

- Jeff

I’m enrolled in a masters degree program with Teach for America at UPenn and take classes once a week and one weekend per month. It’s a good program with some flaws but I mostly enjoy my professors and course work. Although it can be overwhelming to write a paper and plan for school, I managed to find a balance by the end of the year. Next semester will be easier. I actually just finished my last class for the first year last night – Education Law. I loved every minute of it (except when I didn’t) and it really got me to thinking about law school or working with something related to constitutional law and education. I just love applying legal concepts to different scenarios. I have developed a strong affinity for that type of thinking. Not sure if it would serve me well in law school, but I have at least found an interst consistent with my experiences. All of my classes were not as engaging, but they all served some purpose in preparing me for this first year of teaching.

The other week I finally got the tuition figures for the two-year program and decided to break down the cost for each class meeting. That was a mistake. The program costs about $38,000 over the two years, and each class meeting costs approximately $350. That means every week I’m paying $350 – $1000 for my masters. Put in those terms, it is just an insane proposition. Absolutely insane. I’ve been saving most of my income, so it should be paid off by next May. That means, though, that I won’t have much savings either. A trade off I’m willing to make.

By the end of next year, though, I will have my teaching certification and an M.S. from UPenn, which isn’t such a bad deal. I guess I’m just used to being at public schools, so this sudden hike in money for school is a bit bewildering. Makes me want to go to law school at another UC. Boalt Law is sounding real nice right about now. But that’s all to consider for another day.

- Jeff

Welcome! This is my 100th post on Jeff For America. I felt compelled to reflect, especially since this is that time of the year for me. I always get really reflective at the end of a school year. Sometimes I wonder what will happen to me when I stop being a student or teacher and my year cycles in January. I think I’ll just have to get over the inclination to make slideshows and write thank you notes to people in June.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic again. About a year ago, I started this blog without many expectations – I wanted to share my new life in Philadelphia with my family back home, and I needed to have some record of my first year of teaching. For a while there, my sharing was limited to short, infrequent posts about large chunks of time. During the summer, I found myself relying on lengthy posts about an entire month. I realized, though, that this blog would serve neither purpose if I didn’t make it accessible and at least somewhat interesting to read. I also realized that there were other people out there who might benefit from a little encouragement and who could empathize with my own experiences in the classroom. What started as a small, closed community has grown into something more meaningful to more people than I expected.

Over the last year, Jeff For America has been visited nearly 8,000 times by hundreds of unique visitors. On a busy day, the site can register over 100 views and during my most frequented month (Feb 09) I had nearly 1,300 hits.

The numbers themselves don’t mean much, but it does encourage me to continue sharing. From my close friends and family abroad or in California, to my fellow teachers in Philly and to the random visitors that send me messages of encouragement – Thank you! I have enjoyed sharing my life and the experiences of my students with you over the last 100 posts.

Many more to come!

- Jeff

This is a great ad that will be run throughout the state, but not without your support. Donate to get things started.

- Jeff

I’ve been taking the bus a lot more lately. Now that’s the weather is turning, I can enjoy the ride a bit more. Though, I do still prefer the quicker and easier car option. Buses are great, but the people on them can really be a drag. There is nothing quite as annoying as sitting next to a pissed off, cussing man on his cell phone or watching a mother yell at her 3 year old. The list could go on, but one of my fellow bus-riders topped the cake this week.

Sitting in my usual spot on the 40, I started to smell something odd – almost toxic. I looked around, but nothing was on the floor or seats around me. I checked my bag and peaked out the window. Nothing. Mind you, it’s 6 AM in the morning and the smell is starting to make me nauseous – I haven’t even had breakfast yet. After some investigating and upon closer inspection, I realized the woman across from me was painting her nails. The toxic smell was now familiar, as if I had walked into (or passed) a salon. I had identified the culprit as an older women, probably on her way to work and looking for any extra moment to take care of business. I thought about it for a while as my tummy settled itself. Where is the line between the public and private spheres of behavior? At what point are we putting others at unease by making ourselves at home in public places? The more I thought about it, the more I recognized my own habits and their potential to tick someone off. I use my laptop on the bus in the morning to finish my work for the day. Perhaps the man behind me hates the clicking sound of my typing. Maybe the crowded bus would prefer I not have a computer on my lap in rush hour. Then there’s the nights when I kick off my shoes during class and wonder if anyone notices or cares. They might, although I don’t think they do. And this woman probably has no idea I might not like that smell in the morning…because I’ll never say anything to her. So maybe we all just bother each other all the time, but we tolerate each other. To a point, thought – there are things I would stand up to. Like smoking on the bus, for example. That would be easy. Nail polish…not quite enough to push me that far.

I guess we all have our thresholds and I can safely say that the smell of nail polish in the morning is just about at the brink. The funny thing is, those nails must be damn messy after that bumpy bus ride. Maybe I’ll take a peek next time.

- Jeff

Philadelphia is not in California, but it’s been nice to make some place completely my own. I have enjoyed the different experiences that Philadelphia has brought me, but the truth is – being so far away from home isn’t very fun. I miss California. I miss my family. I miss my friends. And they miss me.

I decided to come home to Sacramento for a long weekend (took 2 days off) to surprise my family and friends with a visit. Knowing me, I took that sentiment to the extreme and literally wanted to surprise them, so I didn’t tell anyone except my sister and stepdad that I was coming. They had to help me plan the arrival and my stay – I didn’t want anyone up and leaving for the weekend I was home. There were going to be four main surprises: my mom, dad, grandparents and best friend Gina.

I wanted to think of the best way to reveal myself without killing anyone, so I asked my students for some ideas before I left. They were pretty cute, and one idea in particular actually stuck. My student Kim told me to get a cardboard box to hide in and surprise my unsuspecting family and friends. I wanted to go all out – so that’s exactly what I did.

My sister picked me up from the San Jose airport on Thursday night, and I slept in Oakland until Friday morning. When we arrived to my mom’s house that morning, Chelsea told her she got her something from a garage sale. My mom came over to the box and I popped out.

This is what I saw:

Then I surprised my grandma later that day in the backyard. There was no box involved, since I wanted to avoid a potential heart attack scenario. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about – she was actually speechless when I came out from behind the kitchen door.

I then got the genius idea to record the final surprise – one of my best friends, Gina. The video says it all.

Surprises are the best – especially when it’s the people you love the most. Try it sometime, even if it’s not flying across the country. The unexpected gifts bring a kind of joy you don’t see everyday. I’ll never forget the feeling…and will probably do it again sometime. Who knows…you might be next.

- Jeff

On days when my roommate Becca uses her own car to drive to school, I take the bus on both routes. The 40/42 bus line stops just about 5 blocks from my house, and drops me off at the doorstep of my school. It takes about an hour door to door and costs $4 round trip. My day starts at 5 AM and I don’t get back until 6PM. Needless to say, I get tired on the days when I take the 40.

Today was no different. On my ride home this afternoon, I somehow fell asleep on the bus. And not just nodding off…I woke up to the bus driver shaking my arm to inform me I needed to get off because it was the end of the bus line. It was embarrassing, but at least I got in a good power nap. That’s worth it to me, when I so rarely get opportunities for naps. On my walk home, I felt rejuvenated and kind of satisfied with the whole experience.

Something funny to share. Hope your week is off to a great start!

- Jeff