-we had a swell time in the gaslamp district of san diego. i was sent there for a teacher conference to learn more about how to use data to help the kids. my friend corey was the brains of the place; she truly is brilliant! i knew she'd become bilingual while living w/a mexican family in her youth; then i learned she got a full-ride to ucsb... at age 15! while i strained to understand a session about RTI/MTSS (acronyms for academic & behavioral intervention), she sat there cross-legged like a little kid, listening while at the same time completing on her laptop a 32-page school plan that had been dropped on her last-second when our principal retired last week, then raising her hand to ask questions. she was following everything! i felt like i should be wearing a dunce cap, but also admiring. it used to bother me that i was salieri to mozart, but now i really enjoy & treasure meeting & recognize greatness in certain rare people, then doing whatever i can to help them shine brighter!!
-most brainiacs i have known (or those who have thought they were) were so taken with themselves or so crazy, it wasn't worth learning their ideas; they just have generally not been people who in end i want to be around. (exception: my ex-husband, a good man with head filled w/numbers -- however, he has disconnected from the family, & so be it. must respect his wishes!) corey's different: she's so damned smart, but also as ribaldly funny as was aunty rita -- but kind and honest and practical. yes, what a terrific combination of gifts this young woman has. she could change the world for the good, if she wanted to venture beyond our school! -- tho i know, as teachers, each of us right now where we stand are impacting & changing lives.
- teaching is noble. we carry a precious duty. i'm honored to be a part, & to be inspired by great people like corey.
-james & i had a lot of fun in the little time we had when i was done w/the intensive seminars. i came back one day & he was overjoyed, having had a great time tripping around town to a magic store, a museum, a haberdashery, meeting & talking with people as he so loves to do, experiencing this & that... that morn at the conference, we teachers had had great chewy bagels & tasty yogurt granola parfaits, then james met us for burgers at an outside stand on the marina adjacent to the convention center; we ate w/our math teacher friend & corey & her beautiful little family. that eve, james & i had a lovely spontaneous dinner at sultan's baklava, exotic soup to nuts for us, serving turkish cuisine spiced with dill, mint, & other clean & fragrant flavors, with striking atmosphere & people-watching opportunities. the next day in escondido, we found a delicious german-italian (yes!) deli. we shopped in the little downtown, getting old postcards & new steel-toed docs at a big discount. (incredible how many really cool size 12 shoes we've found for him at bargain prices!) the pix above are taken on the roof of the hotel after we'd hit the ramada st james's exercise room; we both initially liked the view, then got spooked & had to beat it down to lower levels. (he & i both don't like heights nor the ocean, tho we both love shows about deep sea life...) the motel, the oldest in SD, had been a place where wyatt earp dealt cards as well as featured an elevator that in 1912 was the fastest in the west; now it was a rather terrifying rickety thing, so i walked lots & lots of stairs over the course of our stay. the st james had nice touches, like chilled mint & lime water in the lobby & gourmet coffees & a comfy, comfy bed... en route home, on the endless drive, we stopped off to see our mutual friends & i got to visit w/bright & indomitable donna, my dear friend of near-many decades who can talk about anything on earth & make it interesting. my friend, always very generous, is now after years & years of financial struggle earning six figures & so now is even MORE generous; i left her beautiful house w/gifts of dried fruit, oil of olay, & a feather pillow-top for our bed!
sh*t, we're getting old! but life is sure good.
(ps, i am holding a secret for donna, & when i told james about it, he laughed & yelled with delight. and we are hoping. but i can't say a word about our hopes right now.
but i sure will post here if it ever every happens.) :)
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