This week was a transformative period in time for me. I entered it feeling like a "student teacher" and exited it feeling like a real teacher, a professional educator. In fact, had I had my act together and my "sub papers" completed with the Atascadero Unified School District I would have been literally a professional educator as I would have been paid $121 per day for all five days of this work week as my master teacher was out of town dealing with a family health matter. I've had many things on my plate to divert my attention from doing that, plus my own procrastination combined with mistakenly believing it was more trouble than it actually is. I will fix this next week so I get paid for subbing in the future. Anywho, I digress.
This week I created all my own lesson plans which I actually taught all six periods of tenth grade world history in 85-minute block periods. I employed many of the pedagogical techniques I have been trained at Cal Poly to use in my classroom and I allowed my God-given talents and God-shaped personality to blend with that training to create a classroom environment that engaged, challenged, and taught students important details about World War One and how they relate to these very students in their lives today. From some of the formative assessments I conducted this week I know that as a group each class "got it" and in the process we bonded. Tonight I am exhausted but feel wonderful.
Showing posts with label AHS alumni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AHS alumni. Show all posts
Friday, January 27, 2017
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool LII
It has been nearly two months since the previous Random Musings was posted which is an unusually short interval in recent times. During that span this blog has received over 25,000 distinct visits. This edition will only feature the latest stuff going on with me which unfortunately seems the trend of late with these columns unlike a few years ago when I often included my observations or shared interesting factoids about a variety of topics. Next time which is soon, I plan to return to that model with this column. In the meantime, here's the latest on my efforts at getting from the classroom (where I learn) into the classroom (where I teach).
I am now mid-way through the current quarter at Cal Poly. This term took longer to get settled into than it has ever taken me in any term at any level of higher education. This was due to my inability to get into the four-unit Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) class which I had initially attempted to add during my official sign-up period late last quarter. At that time I was automatically blocked from taking it due to KINE 250 being considered equivalent to Multicultural Health (Kinesiology 255). At Cuesta College I took a multicultural health class that was transferable to Cal Poly as the equivalent of KINE255. I also was informed not to worry about the block as I would be able to easily add it by crashing the class the first day and receiving an "add" code from the instructor. However, this did not work as the block persisted and I was informed in no uncertain terms that I would not be allowed in the class. For the teaching credential I must take either KINE 250 (which is no longer an option) or Health Education For Teachers (Kinesiology 443). The single-subject history teaching credential grad program prefers students take KINE 443 (which includes first-aid and CPR unlike KINE250 or 255), but allows for KINE250, too. Whereas, the multi-subject teaching credential grad program through the Education Department at Cal Poly only accepts KINE443. For some reason my buddy Blake who has been my wing-man at Cal Poly, was able to get into KINE 250 after taking the same multicultural health class at Cuesta College. The only explanation I can come up with is that since he took KINE250 a year ago there has been some sort of requirement change.
In any case, by the time I realized all of this, Week One had ended. I looked into crashing KINE443 a week late, but it is only offered as an evening class in a bad time slot in the week for me and thus is not an option quarter. Later, I discovered that it is not even offered at all next quarter, my graduation quarter. Fortunately, I am allowed to take it concurrently with my teaching credential course-load next year. However, my inability to take one or the other of the kinesiology classes created a problem for me. I need to be taking 12 or more units per quarter to receive the maximum amount of grant and loan money with which to attend Cal Poly. Without a kinesiology class this quarter, I was stuck at 10 units. I scrambled to switch the two education-related classes I ideally need to take before entering the teaching credential grad program, to wit, exchange Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) in place of KINE443. The time slot worked and there was room for me in the class, but the two instructors were out of town at a conference and being un-tech-savvy were unable to reach their emails until their return at nearly the end of Week Two by which time I had missed the deadline to get into a class without applying for a special waiver costing $20. Fortunately, I did get into the class being granted my waiver but was by that point two weeks behind everybody else. I am doing well in the class but am still getting caught up. I absolutely love my two instructors, to wit, Dr. Frances Mayer and Dr. Sidonie Wiedenkeller.
This quarter I am also taking the four-unit History of Prostitution (History 421) with Dr. Christina Firpo (with whom I took Research & Writing Seminar In History or History 303 during my first quarter at Cal Poly). This class "double-counts" as it satisfies my requirement that I take (and pass) three 400-level history classes and three non-European/non-American history classes in addition to a host of other requirements. This class focuses on prostitution and other forms of "unfree" labor in Southeast Asia, mostly during the Colonial Period but reaching back often to what existed before Colonialism as it pertains to the changes that Colonialism wrought. I am also taking the first half of my senior project, to wit, History 460 or Senior Project I which is good for two units and is the research half of the project. I am very behind in that class unfortunately. Fortunately, I am taking it with Dr. Lewis Call who understands my situation and what I am having to deal with both with school and my ongoing family dramas and traumas. I am also taking a class I have had my eye on since I first arrives on campus over a year ago, to wit, Nuclear Science & Society or SCM335 (Science & Math 335) with Dr. Jim Eickemeyer. This class has thus far been fascinating and the most useful class this quarter. In it next week I shall be giving a PowerPoint presentation on the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in Japan.
Last week, I signed up for my classes next quarter, my final quarter as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly. I will be taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call again as well as my last history major requirement which I neglected to take a year ago this quarter when I should have, to wit, Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) with Dr. Cameron Jones, one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly. I will also be taking Introduction to Shakespeare (English 339) a Dr. Fitzhenry whom everybody seems to agree is wonderful. This class will satisfy my C4 requirement (Literature/Philosophy/Arts Upper Division Course). I had hoped to get into either of the two movie classes which involved watching movies and writing papers on them, to wit, Film Styles and Genres (English 371) or Film Directors (English 372). Unfortunately and rather surprisingly, neither is offered the last quarter of this academic year when seniors could most use them. Lastly, in order to remain at full-time student status (12+ units) I have signed up for the Air & Space class I have heard about (AERO310).
One of the requirements of for completing the teaching credential grad program is to sit on on classes and observe and if asked, assist the instructor. However, I feel this is probably more relevant to the lower grades where multi-subject teaching is occurring and instructors can use more hands on deck to help in the classroom. In any case, I had to be LiveScanned and checked per Megan's Law as well as take a TB test to make certain I have not been exposed to the disease. I occurred to me that I could probably get that done at no additional coast in the campus health center and I was correct. While I was in getting that done I elected to go ahead and get my long-overdue tetanus shot which I upgraded to a Tdap vaccination at no additional cost to me.
In the case of Paso Robles Unified School District, they seem to realize they have had some problems and seem to be taking solid steps to address those issues. They have also had to deal with a great many retirements in recent times and that is not unique to PRUSD. It appears that now is the best time in a very long time to get into teaching before the window of opportunity shuts again when hiring catches up to demand or when the economy goes in the crapper next time which it will given that capitalism is a boom & bust cycle-driven system.
While talking to the admin at PRHS regarding sitting on on classes I was given a bit of a hiring pitch from the assistant principal whom I really like.... he's a cool but no-nonsense sort of guy. The principal recently left so there is a temporary management situation there which seems to have the assistant principal probably having to do more than usual. He made it clear to me that they like teachers who are willing to do extra stuff like coach or lead in some other activity when I told him I wanted to help coach. He also informed me that the health care package is about to get better at PRUSD. The head headhunter at human resources in the PRUSD in the district offices I had to go into as part of the process of getting on campus was very cool and she seemed keenly interested in me and even gave me her card and asked that I keep in touch with her.
Given I was given no such pitch at the Atascadero Unified School District offices or at Atascadero High School and that there seem to be no openings there I suspect I will not be working in Atascadero fresh out of grad school. However, things can change and over a year from now who knows how the battlefield will look? It's also possible the only places hiring will be junior high schools or middle schools upon my graduation from the teaching credential program. I might be facing the option of leaving the area or at least the North County to teach high school or else settle to teach junior high or middle school in order to stay in this area.
In Week Five I finally got in to observe some classrooms being taught. I got accepted into Paso Robles High School first so I checked out two classes there, Mr. Land's standard U.S. government and civics class and Mr. Bradford's Honors world history class. Both seem to be effective teachers and showed me how different things are done now compared to when I was in high school.
In California, sophomores take world history, juniors take U.S. history, and seniors take a semester each of econ and civics which I believe was the case when I was there 1985-1989. Within that horizontal framework of class track by grade level there is a framework of three levels of ascending difficulty: standard, honors, and advanced placement (AP).
In Week Six (last week), I finally got into Atascadero High School (my alma mater) and stayed all day watching four class sessions. I watched two consecutive sessions of my old school mate and teammate David Donati teach standard world history to sophomores. Then I watched Ben Tomasini teach AP world history and finished the day in Christine Williams' AP civics class. All four class sessions and all three teachers taught me something(s) useful. I also spent the lunch period talking to Athletic Director Sam DeRose who was an assistant varsity football coach back when I was in high school playing varsity football for Larry Welsh. Sam gave me some interesting insights and it was good that I let him know I'm getting into the teaching career locally and soon.
Last week I also attended a Paso Robles Unified School District Board meeting and I wasn't bored. They welcomed two new hires to the athletic department, including a former Greyhound football star who went on to some success in Arena League Football. They also went over some generalities regarding remodeling and new construction at various district facilities within the context of a bond measure. They also discussed and congratulated themselves over how the district handled a recent student death. That death turned out to be a 12 year-old girl killing herself after being bullied by other girls, at least one of whom was a freshman at the high school and was heard to say something to the effect of "good, she deserved to die." This is hardly the first and surely won't be the last such case but for some reason this one bothered me more than most.
I worked an event at the Colony Inn in Atascadero last Friday night. There, one of the important organizers of the performing arts event was Kathy Hannemann, a long-time educator within Atascadero Unified School District. She and I hit it off and I learned a lot from her in a short time while just chatting with her and I got to network with her and let her know I'm getting into the biz just so word can get spread via yet one more avenue. Also notable there was that a very nice lady representing Rio Seco Winery was pouring her wine at intermission. Carol Hinkle and I talked at length during the show about local schools and such as she, too, is well-connected locally to a lot of what is going on and who matters so yet another score for me and I hope she was entertained by her chat with me.
Last month I took the CSET Social Studies Subtest I. Last week I got back the results which are that I passed the test. It is worth noting that I took the test "cold" which is to say, I did not study for it. Last week I took Subest II and I took it cold, but by accident. I thought that test was for civics so I reviewed my old textbook from Cuesta College. However, as it turned out, that test is history so my studying did me no good. Apparently, Subtest I is world history and geography whereas Subtest II is American history. I have to wait about a month for the results from that test. Tomorrow I take Subtest III which I have learned is civics and economics but focusing on the U.S. and California. I shall study for it tonight and tomorrow morning by reviewing my political science and macroeconomics textbooks from Cuesta College and bone up on my U.S. Constitution again as I did before Subtest II last week. After I take my third of three CSET tests tomorrow, I plan to sign up to take my CBEST test which is also required in order to get into the teaching credential grad program. It is worth noting that each of these tests cost me $99 and I am supposed to have them all passed by April 30, 2016, despite the fact that one wait 30-45 days to get results before knowing if one need retake a test. At least on have one of them knocked out.
Winter 2016 Mid-Term Update
I am now mid-way through the current quarter at Cal Poly. This term took longer to get settled into than it has ever taken me in any term at any level of higher education. This was due to my inability to get into the four-unit Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) class which I had initially attempted to add during my official sign-up period late last quarter. At that time I was automatically blocked from taking it due to KINE 250 being considered equivalent to Multicultural Health (Kinesiology 255). At Cuesta College I took a multicultural health class that was transferable to Cal Poly as the equivalent of KINE255. I also was informed not to worry about the block as I would be able to easily add it by crashing the class the first day and receiving an "add" code from the instructor. However, this did not work as the block persisted and I was informed in no uncertain terms that I would not be allowed in the class. For the teaching credential I must take either KINE 250 (which is no longer an option) or Health Education For Teachers (Kinesiology 443). The single-subject history teaching credential grad program prefers students take KINE 443 (which includes first-aid and CPR unlike KINE250 or 255), but allows for KINE250, too. Whereas, the multi-subject teaching credential grad program through the Education Department at Cal Poly only accepts KINE443. For some reason my buddy Blake who has been my wing-man at Cal Poly, was able to get into KINE 250 after taking the same multicultural health class at Cuesta College. The only explanation I can come up with is that since he took KINE250 a year ago there has been some sort of requirement change.
In any case, by the time I realized all of this, Week One had ended. I looked into crashing KINE443 a week late, but it is only offered as an evening class in a bad time slot in the week for me and thus is not an option quarter. Later, I discovered that it is not even offered at all next quarter, my graduation quarter. Fortunately, I am allowed to take it concurrently with my teaching credential course-load next year. However, my inability to take one or the other of the kinesiology classes created a problem for me. I need to be taking 12 or more units per quarter to receive the maximum amount of grant and loan money with which to attend Cal Poly. Without a kinesiology class this quarter, I was stuck at 10 units. I scrambled to switch the two education-related classes I ideally need to take before entering the teaching credential grad program, to wit, exchange Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) in place of KINE443. The time slot worked and there was room for me in the class, but the two instructors were out of town at a conference and being un-tech-savvy were unable to reach their emails until their return at nearly the end of Week Two by which time I had missed the deadline to get into a class without applying for a special waiver costing $20. Fortunately, I did get into the class being granted my waiver but was by that point two weeks behind everybody else. I am doing well in the class but am still getting caught up. I absolutely love my two instructors, to wit, Dr. Frances Mayer and Dr. Sidonie Wiedenkeller.
This quarter I am also taking the four-unit History of Prostitution (History 421) with Dr. Christina Firpo (with whom I took Research & Writing Seminar In History or History 303 during my first quarter at Cal Poly). This class "double-counts" as it satisfies my requirement that I take (and pass) three 400-level history classes and three non-European/non-American history classes in addition to a host of other requirements. This class focuses on prostitution and other forms of "unfree" labor in Southeast Asia, mostly during the Colonial Period but reaching back often to what existed before Colonialism as it pertains to the changes that Colonialism wrought. I am also taking the first half of my senior project, to wit, History 460 or Senior Project I which is good for two units and is the research half of the project. I am very behind in that class unfortunately. Fortunately, I am taking it with Dr. Lewis Call who understands my situation and what I am having to deal with both with school and my ongoing family dramas and traumas. I am also taking a class I have had my eye on since I first arrives on campus over a year ago, to wit, Nuclear Science & Society or SCM335 (Science & Math 335) with Dr. Jim Eickemeyer. This class has thus far been fascinating and the most useful class this quarter. In it next week I shall be giving a PowerPoint presentation on the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in Japan.
Last week, I signed up for my classes next quarter, my final quarter as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly. I will be taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call again as well as my last history major requirement which I neglected to take a year ago this quarter when I should have, to wit, Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) with Dr. Cameron Jones, one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly. I will also be taking Introduction to Shakespeare (English 339) a Dr. Fitzhenry whom everybody seems to agree is wonderful. This class will satisfy my C4 requirement (Literature/Philosophy/Arts Upper Division Course). I had hoped to get into either of the two movie classes which involved watching movies and writing papers on them, to wit, Film Styles and Genres (English 371) or Film Directors (English 372). Unfortunately and rather surprisingly, neither is offered the last quarter of this academic year when seniors could most use them. Lastly, in order to remain at full-time student status (12+ units) I have signed up for the Air & Space class I have heard about (AERO310).
Getting Into The Classroom
One of the requirements of for completing the teaching credential grad program is to sit on on classes and observe and if asked, assist the instructor. However, I feel this is probably more relevant to the lower grades where multi-subject teaching is occurring and instructors can use more hands on deck to help in the classroom. In any case, I had to be LiveScanned and checked per Megan's Law as well as take a TB test to make certain I have not been exposed to the disease. I occurred to me that I could probably get that done at no additional coast in the campus health center and I was correct. While I was in getting that done I elected to go ahead and get my long-overdue tetanus shot which I upgraded to a Tdap vaccination at no additional cost to me.
They Like Me, They Really Like Me
In the case of Paso Robles Unified School District, they seem to realize they have had some problems and seem to be taking solid steps to address those issues. They have also had to deal with a great many retirements in recent times and that is not unique to PRUSD. It appears that now is the best time in a very long time to get into teaching before the window of opportunity shuts again when hiring catches up to demand or when the economy goes in the crapper next time which it will given that capitalism is a boom & bust cycle-driven system.
While talking to the admin at PRHS regarding sitting on on classes I was given a bit of a hiring pitch from the assistant principal whom I really like.... he's a cool but no-nonsense sort of guy. The principal recently left so there is a temporary management situation there which seems to have the assistant principal probably having to do more than usual. He made it clear to me that they like teachers who are willing to do extra stuff like coach or lead in some other activity when I told him I wanted to help coach. He also informed me that the health care package is about to get better at PRUSD. The head headhunter at human resources in the PRUSD in the district offices I had to go into as part of the process of getting on campus was very cool and she seemed keenly interested in me and even gave me her card and asked that I keep in touch with her.
Given I was given no such pitch at the Atascadero Unified School District offices or at Atascadero High School and that there seem to be no openings there I suspect I will not be working in Atascadero fresh out of grad school. However, things can change and over a year from now who knows how the battlefield will look? It's also possible the only places hiring will be junior high schools or middle schools upon my graduation from the teaching credential program. I might be facing the option of leaving the area or at least the North County to teach high school or else settle to teach junior high or middle school in order to stay in this area.
Finally In The Classroom....
In Week Five I finally got in to observe some classrooms being taught. I got accepted into Paso Robles High School first so I checked out two classes there, Mr. Land's standard U.S. government and civics class and Mr. Bradford's Honors world history class. Both seem to be effective teachers and showed me how different things are done now compared to when I was in high school.
In California, sophomores take world history, juniors take U.S. history, and seniors take a semester each of econ and civics which I believe was the case when I was there 1985-1989. Within that horizontal framework of class track by grade level there is a framework of three levels of ascending difficulty: standard, honors, and advanced placement (AP).
In Week Six (last week), I finally got into Atascadero High School (my alma mater) and stayed all day watching four class sessions. I watched two consecutive sessions of my old school mate and teammate David Donati teach standard world history to sophomores. Then I watched Ben Tomasini teach AP world history and finished the day in Christine Williams' AP civics class. All four class sessions and all three teachers taught me something(s) useful. I also spent the lunch period talking to Athletic Director Sam DeRose who was an assistant varsity football coach back when I was in high school playing varsity football for Larry Welsh. Sam gave me some interesting insights and it was good that I let him know I'm getting into the teaching career locally and soon.
....And At A School Board Meeting
Last week I also attended a Paso Robles Unified School District Board meeting and I wasn't bored. They welcomed two new hires to the athletic department, including a former Greyhound football star who went on to some success in Arena League Football. They also went over some generalities regarding remodeling and new construction at various district facilities within the context of a bond measure. They also discussed and congratulated themselves over how the district handled a recent student death. That death turned out to be a 12 year-old girl killing herself after being bullied by other girls, at least one of whom was a freshman at the high school and was heard to say something to the effect of "good, she deserved to die." This is hardly the first and surely won't be the last such case but for some reason this one bothered me more than most.
Networking Baby!
I worked an event at the Colony Inn in Atascadero last Friday night. There, one of the important organizers of the performing arts event was Kathy Hannemann, a long-time educator within Atascadero Unified School District. She and I hit it off and I learned a lot from her in a short time while just chatting with her and I got to network with her and let her know I'm getting into the biz just so word can get spread via yet one more avenue. Also notable there was that a very nice lady representing Rio Seco Winery was pouring her wine at intermission. Carol Hinkle and I talked at length during the show about local schools and such as she, too, is well-connected locally to a lot of what is going on and who matters so yet another score for me and I hope she was entertained by her chat with me.
Of CSETs & CBESTs
Last month I took the CSET Social Studies Subtest I. Last week I got back the results which are that I passed the test. It is worth noting that I took the test "cold" which is to say, I did not study for it. Last week I took Subest II and I took it cold, but by accident. I thought that test was for civics so I reviewed my old textbook from Cuesta College. However, as it turned out, that test is history so my studying did me no good. Apparently, Subtest I is world history and geography whereas Subtest II is American history. I have to wait about a month for the results from that test. Tomorrow I take Subtest III which I have learned is civics and economics but focusing on the U.S. and California. I shall study for it tonight and tomorrow morning by reviewing my political science and macroeconomics textbooks from Cuesta College and bone up on my U.S. Constitution again as I did before Subtest II last week. After I take my third of three CSET tests tomorrow, I plan to sign up to take my CBEST test which is also required in order to get into the teaching credential grad program. It is worth noting that each of these tests cost me $99 and I am supposed to have them all passed by April 30, 2016, despite the fact that one wait 30-45 days to get results before knowing if one need retake a test. At least on have one of them knocked out.
Monday, January 25, 2016
R.I.P. Joe
This evening I discovered that somebody with whom I grew up died overnight last night. I have known him since sixth or seventh grade as well as his brother to a lesser extent and his even younger sister to even less an extent. However, we all used to hang out with our moms together and go to places like Hazard Canyon over at Montaña de Oro State Beach near Los Osos, CA.
I watched him grow up at Atascadero Junior High School and initially at Atascadero High School as he was a grade below me. It seems to me he disappeared after awhile which as it turns out was due to his transferring to the Continuation High School in Atascadero.
We lost touch for about two decades after that but reconnected on Facebook and at a social function in Atascadero a few years ago. Through mutual friends in the know, I became aware in more recent years that he had been a minor drug dealer in Atascadero in his younger years. Apparently, he had long abused drugs and alcohol for much of his life. From his rough appearance and premature aging as well as how he spoke and his mind functioned it was clear to me this was quite true.
Last night he died in his sleep of cardiac failure as his heart finally gave out after all he put it through over the course of his 43 or so years. It was haunting and melancholly to look at his Facebook page tonight and see his last post was at 9:57 p.m. I "liked" it and posted the response, "Oh Joe, please go to a hospital right now and not to sleep...." I suppose it would not have mattered if he did.
I watched him grow up at Atascadero Junior High School and initially at Atascadero High School as he was a grade below me. It seems to me he disappeared after awhile which as it turns out was due to his transferring to the Continuation High School in Atascadero.
We lost touch for about two decades after that but reconnected on Facebook and at a social function in Atascadero a few years ago. Through mutual friends in the know, I became aware in more recent years that he had been a minor drug dealer in Atascadero in his younger years. Apparently, he had long abused drugs and alcohol for much of his life. From his rough appearance and premature aging as well as how he spoke and his mind functioned it was clear to me this was quite true.
Last night he died in his sleep of cardiac failure as his heart finally gave out after all he put it through over the course of his 43 or so years. It was haunting and melancholly to look at his Facebook page tonight and see his last post was at 9:57 p.m. I "liked" it and posted the response, "Oh Joe, please go to a hospital right now and not to sleep...." I suppose it would not have mattered if he did.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Jon Meets Mario
Tonight Jon was released from the hospital. After what Jon and his family have been through we felt it apropos to treat the Marsh Family to a dinner party at Hancock Street Cafe with Mario holding court. As the evening played out it was the perfect coda to our visit. Jon had a blast and seemed to be greatly cheered up as was his wife Laura it seemed. After the couple had left who was already there when we arrived, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Well, aside from Mario's lovely and talented daughter who was there visiting and also helped Mario some by playing gracious hostess a little bit.
*Note: for more adventures experienced on this trip check out these:
*Note: for more adventures experienced on this trip check out these:
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| Jon being a silly savage... |
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| ... and his son riding in the saddle tracking down our dinner. |
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| Oh dear, Brandon went and did it this time.... offering Jon a gnome's tushy to kiss is asking for trouble. |
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| Pucker up, big boy! |
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| Jon's Special Pizza... Mario's own invention. Note the meatball in the center: a custom touch. |
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| Jon picking his nose for more pizza toppings. |
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| Brandon needed a hug while we awaited our main course. |
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| Brandon liked pulling on this bell a little too much. |
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| I better hurry up and get married before I reach that age. |
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| And so it began: Mario's dinner show began with the Mario Shuffle. |
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| If I can't have Weird Al Yankovick then I'd gladly take Mario. |
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| Jon and Mario connecting. Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved) |
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Chillin' With Mike, Not Mick
After hanging out with Jon & Family for quite a while today Jannine Dow and her mom and I were joined in Jon's hospital room by Mike "Mick" Mariotti. Mike joined us in junior high school and continued with us into high school in the Class of 1989 continuum. After high school he left the area and ended up in San Diego County. Mike was unaware until recently that Jon is also living in San Diego County. Jannine and Mike kept in touch since high school. When she knew she was headed down to see Jon this weekend she invited Mike to join us which he did tonight. It was a happy reunion without an iota of awkwardness. I was quite pleased to meet Mike again after so many years. Over the course of time Mike has developed into an impressive Godly man. After bidding Jon & Family adieu for the evening Mike and the three of us headed to Old Town with Mike and his girlfriend as our tour guides. Mike guided us to dinner at Cafe Coyote.
*Note: Mike Mariotti wants it known that Mick Mariotti is dead and the "Mick" Facebook account is a joke of sorts.
**Note: Check out these other related adventures experienced on this trip:
*Note: Mike Mariotti wants it known that Mick Mariotti is dead and the "Mick" Facebook account is a joke of sorts.
**Note: Check out these other related adventures experienced on this trip:
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| From left: Mike Mariotti, Laura Marsh, and Jannine Dow. |
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| I don't like the look of the fat, creepy guy at right... what the hell happened to him? |
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| Our little group congregating in front of Cafe Coyote. |
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| Our little group headed into this amazing Mexican restaurant. |
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| The Cadillac margarita in the middle foreground was an amazing experience, good for a light buzz. |
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| I loved the architecture of this place. Jannine and Patsy headed out at left. |
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| Patsy, Mike, and Jannine from left. Jannine is holding a CD of the music of Mike's metal band Mojave Green. |
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| Mike and Jannine holding a classic Barren Cross vinyl Jannine brought for old time's sake. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). |
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Surprising Jon
Just 48 hours ago I found out my nearly life-long friend Jon Marsh was possibly dying. Apparently, he has been suffering from an infection while also contending with heart failure for which he is awaiting a heart transplant.
I first met Jon in the first week of February, 1982, on the first day of the second semester of 5th grade. That was my first day of school ever at Santa Rosa Road Elementary School in Atascadero, CA. We stayed close until high school when we fell into different orbits. After high school (Class of 1989) our paths diverged entirely. However, in more recent years he and I have reconnected and our lives have re-converged.
My friend Jannine Dow whom I've know just about as long having attended the same schools and grown up in the same neighborhood as Jon and I was aware of Jon's condition. She decided to go down to San Diego and visit him at UCSD's cardiac hospital. She invited me to join she and her mom Patsy on an impromptu holiday weekend trip down to the University of California San Diego's Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center where Jon has been receiving treatment.
In the past I would have gratefully declined given I am recovering from the flu I contracted last week and fought into earlier this week. Consequently, I have gotten behind in my studies as a result of that illness. However, having elected to continue last year's theme of getting outside my comfort zone and trying new things I accepted Jannine's offer with God's blessing to do so.
We drove down to San Diego today from the Central Coast arriving somewhat late but in time to see Jon before checking into our motel in the Midway District. With Jon's wife Laura's help we were able to surprise Jon tonight upon our arrival this evening. Below are some images I shot of the encounter which are shown in the order captured.
Note: check out these other adventures experienced during this trip:
I first met Jon in the first week of February, 1982, on the first day of the second semester of 5th grade. That was my first day of school ever at Santa Rosa Road Elementary School in Atascadero, CA. We stayed close until high school when we fell into different orbits. After high school (Class of 1989) our paths diverged entirely. However, in more recent years he and I have reconnected and our lives have re-converged.
My friend Jannine Dow whom I've know just about as long having attended the same schools and grown up in the same neighborhood as Jon and I was aware of Jon's condition. She decided to go down to San Diego and visit him at UCSD's cardiac hospital. She invited me to join she and her mom Patsy on an impromptu holiday weekend trip down to the University of California San Diego's Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center where Jon has been receiving treatment.
In the past I would have gratefully declined given I am recovering from the flu I contracted last week and fought into earlier this week. Consequently, I have gotten behind in my studies as a result of that illness. However, having elected to continue last year's theme of getting outside my comfort zone and trying new things I accepted Jannine's offer with God's blessing to do so.
We drove down to San Diego today from the Central Coast arriving somewhat late but in time to see Jon before checking into our motel in the Midway District. With Jon's wife Laura's help we were able to surprise Jon tonight upon our arrival this evening. Below are some images I shot of the encounter which are shown in the order captured.
Note: check out these other adventures experienced during this trip:
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| The plotters gather around the corner from Jon's room sallying forth for the surprise. |
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| Surprise face! |
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| Gotcha! |
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| Whose your daddy? That's right! |
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| From left: Laura, Jon, and Jannine. |
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| How come he has no gray hair and I do? |
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| Brandon at right is Jon and Laura's adopted son who has adopted me as Uncle Kim. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). |
Friday, August 1, 2014
Picture of the Day - Trio of 89'ers
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| Tonight I attended the whatevereth AHS All 80's Get Together at the gracious home of Fran and Julie Fernandez who opened their house to our Atascadero High School 1980's Classes alumni once again. This was my first year attending and I had a blast. I missed the previous ones due to forgetting or scheduling conflicts. This year I was extra motivated to go because I missed last Saturday's AHS Class of 1989 25th Anniversary Reunion at Big Bad Bubbas in Paso Robles as I was working that night. Tonight there were 8 people there from the AHS Class of 1989: Carla Smith, Chrissy Williams, Carla Nichols, Dwana Morris, Janelle Decker, Mike Cota, and myself. The images taken of all of us together were wonderfully posed but I erred on a camera setting and those were all worthless. I did get a good image here earlier on when I only knew these to great ladies were in attendance which has Carla Smith on my right and Chrissy Williams on my left. Photo by Greg Heath with my camera (all rights reserved). |
Friday, July 25, 2014
AHS Class of 1989 25th Reunion Mixer
This evening I had the distinct pleasure of catching up with some of my high school class peeps for a impromptu mixer before the main event tomorrow evening at Big Bad Bubbas BBQ. Below is who was present at the Barrelhouse Brewing Company. I've gained so much weight I could not recognize some of them initially. Anywho, I'm sure glad I'm not Forty-Something like they all are.
These images turned out not very sharp for some reason but this is what I have to offer.
Note: I apologize for missing including a picture of Joey Davis and Carla Smith who were there.
These images turned out not very sharp for some reason but this is what I have to offer.
Note: I apologize for missing including a picture of Joey Davis and Carla Smith who were there.
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| Tom Jones (left) and Graham Melander (right). |
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| Lisa Bishop (left) and Dawn Seitz (right) |
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| Mica Mumford (left) and Todd Sorenson (right) |
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| Dawn Seitz (left) and Jennifer Buchanan (right) |
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| Pat Moore |
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| Nicky Wallravin (left) and Tom Jones (middle) and a friend of an alumnus (right) |
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| Ben Monmonier (left) and Scotty Holden (right) |
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| From left: Nicky Wallravin, Tracy Theis, Juan Fernandez, and Aaron Sherer. |
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| Scotty Holden (left), Mica Mumford (center), and Marshella Collier. |
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| A whole cluster of 89ers and their significant others. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). |
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Picture of the Day - Captain Keith
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| This morning the North San Luis Obispo County CERT met once again (this time at the 911 Supply House) for those of us who missed the first meeting a couple of weeks ago at the Paso Robles Emergency Operations Center (EOC). I was in attendance for only part of that meeting , but had to leave part-way through to go to work. Therefore, I was compelled to attend this one for practical reasons (paperwork to sign). I would have done so anyway even if I had been able to attend the entirety of the previous in order to familiarize myself with the people who attended today's meeting. Atascadero Fire Captain and Atascadero High School alumnus Keith Aggson gave a short but newsy presentation to start things off. He was there representing his agency seeing as they have taken on the leadership role for this CERT by taking it under their wing bureaucratically and thus legally. I also discuss this meeting in my next blog posting HERE. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). |
Friday, November 15, 2013
Shawna Sommers Leads A Flight Of Gypsies
I decided to get out of my cage tonight and go to Camozzi's Saloon in Atascadero and see the East Bay Area hard rock band Gypsy Flight fronted by a cool gal named Shawna Sommers. She and I attended Atascadero High School in the Class of 1989, the coolest class at that school ever (or at any school ever). Anywho, bars and saloons are def not my preferred environment and their denizens are generally not my sort of people and tonight certainly reaffirmed that reality. Wine bars, wineries and breweries are a different matter entirely. However, I would not have missed this for anything. It's good to not only get out of one's cage as oft as possible but also to leave the safe confines of one's comfort zone and get one's soul and mind stretched just a tad. Gypsy Flight put on a great little show despite the piss-poor acoustics in the room which used to be a Rexall Drug store or similar. They more than made up for that with the power of their sound. Shawna did not disappoint us one iota as several of us from her class were in attendance. I certainly hope she and her cohorts find it worthwhile to come back down for another performance, hopefully in a different venue with better acoustics and more space for a larger crowd.
Note: I used a camera to which I am not especially familiar as my own camera has died and I have yet not acquired a replacement. Therefore, I did what I could with the machine I had in hand. Please view the blurriness and lighting limitations as characteristics intended for artistic effect.
Note: I used a camera to which I am not especially familiar as my own camera has died and I have yet not acquired a replacement. Therefore, I did what I could with the machine I had in hand. Please view the blurriness and lighting limitations as characteristics intended for artistic effect.
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Picture of the Day - Non-Poisonous Ivie
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| This morning I attended a men's prayer breakfast at Paso Robles Bible Church which has become my secondary church home. To my surprise, I ran into my high school buddy Kevin Ivie (Atascadero High School Class of 1989). He is an AWANA missionary trainer stationed in Texas. PRBC supports Kevin and this morning's event was a promotional get-to-know-everybody gathering of all the missionaries this church supports abroad. Above is a so-so image I took with my iPhone of Kevin's short presentation which was wonderfully done. Hopefully he and I will find time to break bread sometime before he leaves in a few days to head back home. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). |
Friday, April 26, 2013
Picture of the Day - Rich Ferguson
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| Tonight my high school friend Rich Ferguson who has gone on to become an accomplished magician-mentalist hosted a dinner to thank some of his friends and acquaintances for supporting him in his recent endeavor to become SLO Ambassador-At-Large as we discussed HERE and HERE. It was a wonderful get-together at the Upper Crust Trattoria in SLO with great company and delicious food and wine. In this image we see Rich posing following an incredibly inscrutable trick involving the two "THANKS" papers pictured above. Please pardon the crappy quality of this image. My camera is down for maintenance and so I had to use my iPhone and I'm not at all proficient at taking images with it, especially indoors. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved) |
Friday, April 12, 2013
Atascadero High School Alumni Memorial Page
I am the editor of the memorial page portion of Atascaderoalumni.org. I have just finished updating it today while I was home sick. I invite those with an interest to check it out by clicking on the icon below.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLII
This blog continues to grow in relevancy as both Reddit members and Google Search add more visitors as well as regular readers. We are now up to around 8500 page visits a month give or take depending on the content quality and frequency. Not only is traffic increasing but so is positive feedback both online and from folks encountered at shows. Early on in this project I was warned against casting too wide a net topically-speaking. I was admonished to stick to a more narrow focus and court readers interested in that particular narrow field of interest. I have gone in the opposite direction with this project and it seems to be working well. In many instances the eclectic and esoteric, arcane and mundane, geekish and wonkish shotgun fired from the hip approach to matters here seems to appeal to a broad base. Not only that, but in touching on numerous obscure subjects this blog in many cases is one of the few sources or one of the better sources of information to be found on the internet regarding those specific subjects. I thank you all for following me along in this journey which we are embarked upon together and hope you continue with me resting content in the knowledge I have absolutely no clue where we are headed.
I am now in my fourth semester going back to college which is the sixth semester of college overall in my life. I had an epiphany quite recently that my time here at Cuesta College is about to end as I will soon be done there. This could happen as soon as after one more semester after the current one. I am currently enrolled in 14 units in which I am doing quite well. This is the most units I have ever taken in college, even going back to the year at Cuesta College I did back in Fall 1989-Spring 1990 fresh out of high school. Those two semesters I had 13 and 11.5 units respectively. For the period Fall 2010-Spring 2011-Fall 2011 my unit count was 6, 8, and 10 units respectively with all A's except for one B (Spanish last semester).
I plan to visit a counselor soon and discuss my graduation requirements and find out how I must go about applying for the colleges to which I am interested in transferring. Part and parcel with that is my need to find out what sort of financial aid packages they offer.
There are five universities I am primarily interested in applying for at this time. Three of them are secular public universities (Cal Poly, UCSB, and USC) and two of them are well-regarded private Christian universities (Westmont and John Brown University). At present JBU appears to be the direction in which God is leading me. If that turns out to be the case this will mean some major changes in my life such as I have never experienced heretofore. It is worth noting that I applied for and was accepted to JBU back in 1990 but backed out at the last minute due to my downward spiral into mental illness.
As to what major I am pursuing all I can say is "hell if I know". My officially declared major is emergency management. However, given I am starting so late in life and with no military and/or public safety experience which seem par for the course to be in emergency management I am therefore uncertain this shall remain my major. Furthermore, the genesis for the idea of getting into emergency management came about in mid-2009 at a time I was still away from God and thus was not discerning His will for me. Thus this idea and all ideas engendered during that period and before are suspect.
I placed into the second-to-lowest math class offered by Cuesta College (Math 07) as a result of a miserable math placement exam result late last year.I have a ways to go at this pace before I start getting into math courses with units that are transferable to the University of California system and elsewhere. I don't care to get hung up at Cuesta College over one single subject and languish there for a couple more years getting through this remedial stuff and then accumulating all the necessary math units to then transfer. Something I am contemplating is getting my easy A out of this current class all the while studying in the math lab on the computer in preparation for retaking the placement exam and getting into the classes I actually need, hopefully starting with college-level algebra in the Fall 2012 semester or perhaps even this Summer as loath as I am to take Summer courses and ace myself out of a possible trip to the Coleman Mines in Arkansas to dig quartz crystals. I took and passed the Advanced Placement English test my senior year of high school earning a score of "3" on it which means I have the option of cashing that in for 3 units of English with Cuesta College, something I must still do but have been too busy to bother with up to this point. Achieving this fete would be a minor consolation for what is happening for me in regards to math.
I see a pattern in my life developing, a theme if you will that is best described in Jeremiah 6:16 which states "...Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you will find rest to your souls..." Thus far, after years of being haunted all my adult life by the fact I never finished what I started in college straight out of high school I note also that back at that time I was a declared journalism major. This in no way suggests that was God's will for me then nor that it is now. However, I am chronically inquisitive and a capable writer who is a diamond in the rough waiting to be faceted. Is journalism what God put me here to do from a vocational standpoint? Another possibility is teaching: I've been hearing a growing clamor for me to become a teacher. Is this a message being conveyed to me by God via other people? Another tangent of the past intersecting with my present is that my late father James Gordon Noyes (1946-1985) earned a Bachelor of Arts in History but never used it. To my surprise I am finding the one subject I am enjoying even more than geology is history for which I am finding even more meaning derived from it as it pertains to my life. Thus, I wonder if I am to take up my father's mantel and get a history degree and actually use it unlike my father. Am I to teach history? I have all sorts of questions but no answers on any of this yet.
Or rather what do you think about hiring me for a job? I need a regular paycheck given that I'm chronically underemployed and just barely getting by. I'm doing better now than I was one year ago or two years ago or even three years ago so it's nice to see progress... gradual as it is. However, I need to make more progress and my talents are being wasted not being hired weekly to do more than the current sporadic general labor interspersed with a periodic rock show engagement. I could be a monster of a customer service representative or server in the service industry or salesman provided I believed in what I was being hired to sale which means I'm not willing to sell just anything. I would be most potent selling wine, however, so any wineries out there needing new talent in the tasting room they can train and mold me into the shape they desire so please contact me via this blog if you are interested. Know this: somebody at some point is going to snatch me up so will it be you or your competition?
As one who suffers from mild Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) I am noting with delight that the days are getting noticeably longer and twilight is lasting longer and the Sun is getting noticeably higher in the sky and it's heat on my skin is getting noticeably more intense. Yes, I'm quite light-sensitive... like a houseplant except I'm starved for it and not vulnerable to it. As is typical most years on the Central Coast Spring effectively starts sometime in February. However, I have noticed it seems to come consistently earlier than it used to appear. Add to the mix this year rainfall being way below normal and what rain has come this rainy season (7/1/11-present) did so mostly in the Autumn and thus we have early to middle Spring-like fire conditions. The almond blossoms having been blossoming for weeks and are not waning as are many other types of blossoming trees. Leaves are also busting out all over which is exciting to see. Many folks around here are concerned that we will get at least one more hard frost which will kill what is now growing on the trees. I'm already late getting my garden planted despite having re-landscaped my backyard earlier this Winter.
A few days ago while working on my computer in my house I heard a loud explosion in my neighborhood and immediately the power went off at my house and throughout the neighborhood. That was the first time in my life that I can recall losing power and simultaneously hearing the cause of it nearby. The other memorable power outages I have experienced were caused by the 1994 Highway 41 Fire when I awoke the morning of August 15, 1994, to no power anywhere in Atascadero. Strangely enough, a mere week before that there was the time my schoolmate Derrick Todd (AHS Class of 1990) died with some of his family and friends (4 people in all) in a small plane crash out of San Luis Obispo Airport. Their plane lost power on take-off which caused them to slice through power lines along US101 adjacent to the Sunset Drive-In Theatre in SLO. The moment they all died the power went out where I was living in Atascadero. Of course, at the time I didn't know it but learned of it later that night or the next day. Another memorable power outage was the powerful storm that hit Atascadero the night of February 3-4, 1998, bringing hurricane-force winds to the area and knocking out power dramatically throughout the area. I still remember getting up on the roof over the garage and hearing the wind roaring through the neighborhood and the sound of things banging and breaking and seeing power flashes of various colors in various directions at various distances.
My dear friend and benefactress Penguiness has been kind and generous enough to give me her old computer which really isn't that old but is too slow for her needs and just perfect for mine. Nobody on Earth will ever know the pure unadulterated aggravation I have endured over the past few years with my current computer which I acquired as a refurbished computer near the start of my current poverty in late 2008. Over time it has gotten slower and slower no matter what was done to ameliorate the problem. I have the thing sitting next to me here on the floor as of yet not taken out of the box so I don't lose anything out of it until I get around to switching over to it sometime this weekend. This comes on the heels of Penguiness last year prequeling that by way of giving me her fresh-out-of-the box 3G smart phone as she apparently upgraded shortly after purchasing it to something faster and instead of doing what most sane people would do (take it back for a refund) elected to simply give it to this chronic, life-long underachiever (but on the verge of becoming a late bloomer). I was both surprised and humbled and grateful for that gift as I now am of this latest one. I see a Honda Point Disaster artifact (or something off the U.S.S. Harvard wreck) in her very near future. For the record: Penguiness designed and executed the entire look of this blog page including my cool cartouche.
I was recently honored by new Santa Lucia Rockhound's President Barbara Bilyeu with the task of being chairman of the 21st Annual Rockhound Round-Up Rock, Gem, And Mineral Show in Paso Robles, CA. I take this responsibility very seriously and have thus far fully-engaged myself therewith. We are already very actively working on this in regards to planning and recruiting and delegating various tasks to various members whom generously volunteer their time. I look forward to the show the way a child anticipates Christmas many months in advance. It is my intention to NOT complacently observe tradition and maintain the status quo but rather push this show towards its future starting this year. I hope to achieve this with a very realistic ambition to improve the show with the ultimate goal of moving it to a much better and more viable location and as a result expand the show and make it even more user-friendly than it currently is as limited by the confines of its current venue.
Looking Forward On School
I am now in my fourth semester going back to college which is the sixth semester of college overall in my life. I had an epiphany quite recently that my time here at Cuesta College is about to end as I will soon be done there. This could happen as soon as after one more semester after the current one. I am currently enrolled in 14 units in which I am doing quite well. This is the most units I have ever taken in college, even going back to the year at Cuesta College I did back in Fall 1989-Spring 1990 fresh out of high school. Those two semesters I had 13 and 11.5 units respectively. For the period Fall 2010-Spring 2011-Fall 2011 my unit count was 6, 8, and 10 units respectively with all A's except for one B (Spanish last semester).
I plan to visit a counselor soon and discuss my graduation requirements and find out how I must go about applying for the colleges to which I am interested in transferring. Part and parcel with that is my need to find out what sort of financial aid packages they offer.
There are five universities I am primarily interested in applying for at this time. Three of them are secular public universities (Cal Poly, UCSB, and USC) and two of them are well-regarded private Christian universities (Westmont and John Brown University). At present JBU appears to be the direction in which God is leading me. If that turns out to be the case this will mean some major changes in my life such as I have never experienced heretofore. It is worth noting that I applied for and was accepted to JBU back in 1990 but backed out at the last minute due to my downward spiral into mental illness.
As to what major I am pursuing all I can say is "hell if I know". My officially declared major is emergency management. However, given I am starting so late in life and with no military and/or public safety experience which seem par for the course to be in emergency management I am therefore uncertain this shall remain my major. Furthermore, the genesis for the idea of getting into emergency management came about in mid-2009 at a time I was still away from God and thus was not discerning His will for me. Thus this idea and all ideas engendered during that period and before are suspect.
A Step backward In School
I placed into the second-to-lowest math class offered by Cuesta College (Math 07) as a result of a miserable math placement exam result late last year.I have a ways to go at this pace before I start getting into math courses with units that are transferable to the University of California system and elsewhere. I don't care to get hung up at Cuesta College over one single subject and languish there for a couple more years getting through this remedial stuff and then accumulating all the necessary math units to then transfer. Something I am contemplating is getting my easy A out of this current class all the while studying in the math lab on the computer in preparation for retaking the placement exam and getting into the classes I actually need, hopefully starting with college-level algebra in the Fall 2012 semester or perhaps even this Summer as loath as I am to take Summer courses and ace myself out of a possible trip to the Coleman Mines in Arkansas to dig quartz crystals. I took and passed the Advanced Placement English test my senior year of high school earning a score of "3" on it which means I have the option of cashing that in for 3 units of English with Cuesta College, something I must still do but have been too busy to bother with up to this point. Achieving this fete would be a minor consolation for what is happening for me in regards to math.
Looking Further Forward On School
I see a pattern in my life developing, a theme if you will that is best described in Jeremiah 6:16 which states "...Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you will find rest to your souls..." Thus far, after years of being haunted all my adult life by the fact I never finished what I started in college straight out of high school I note also that back at that time I was a declared journalism major. This in no way suggests that was God's will for me then nor that it is now. However, I am chronically inquisitive and a capable writer who is a diamond in the rough waiting to be faceted. Is journalism what God put me here to do from a vocational standpoint? Another possibility is teaching: I've been hearing a growing clamor for me to become a teacher. Is this a message being conveyed to me by God via other people? Another tangent of the past intersecting with my present is that my late father James Gordon Noyes (1946-1985) earned a Bachelor of Arts in History but never used it. To my surprise I am finding the one subject I am enjoying even more than geology is history for which I am finding even more meaning derived from it as it pertains to my life. Thus, I wonder if I am to take up my father's mantel and get a history degree and actually use it unlike my father. Am I to teach history? I have all sorts of questions but no answers on any of this yet.
Well Enough About Me... What Do You Think About Me?
Or rather what do you think about hiring me for a job? I need a regular paycheck given that I'm chronically underemployed and just barely getting by. I'm doing better now than I was one year ago or two years ago or even three years ago so it's nice to see progress... gradual as it is. However, I need to make more progress and my talents are being wasted not being hired weekly to do more than the current sporadic general labor interspersed with a periodic rock show engagement. I could be a monster of a customer service representative or server in the service industry or salesman provided I believed in what I was being hired to sale which means I'm not willing to sell just anything. I would be most potent selling wine, however, so any wineries out there needing new talent in the tasting room they can train and mold me into the shape they desire so please contact me via this blog if you are interested. Know this: somebody at some point is going to snatch me up so will it be you or your competition?
Don't Look At the Calendar Now But Spring Has Sprung Already
As one who suffers from mild Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) I am noting with delight that the days are getting noticeably longer and twilight is lasting longer and the Sun is getting noticeably higher in the sky and it's heat on my skin is getting noticeably more intense. Yes, I'm quite light-sensitive... like a houseplant except I'm starved for it and not vulnerable to it. As is typical most years on the Central Coast Spring effectively starts sometime in February. However, I have noticed it seems to come consistently earlier than it used to appear. Add to the mix this year rainfall being way below normal and what rain has come this rainy season (7/1/11-present) did so mostly in the Autumn and thus we have early to middle Spring-like fire conditions. The almond blossoms having been blossoming for weeks and are not waning as are many other types of blossoming trees. Leaves are also busting out all over which is exciting to see. Many folks around here are concerned that we will get at least one more hard frost which will kill what is now growing on the trees. I'm already late getting my garden planted despite having re-landscaped my backyard earlier this Winter.
I Experienced a First This Week
A few days ago while working on my computer in my house I heard a loud explosion in my neighborhood and immediately the power went off at my house and throughout the neighborhood. That was the first time in my life that I can recall losing power and simultaneously hearing the cause of it nearby. The other memorable power outages I have experienced were caused by the 1994 Highway 41 Fire when I awoke the morning of August 15, 1994, to no power anywhere in Atascadero. Strangely enough, a mere week before that there was the time my schoolmate Derrick Todd (AHS Class of 1990) died with some of his family and friends (4 people in all) in a small plane crash out of San Luis Obispo Airport. Their plane lost power on take-off which caused them to slice through power lines along US101 adjacent to the Sunset Drive-In Theatre in SLO. The moment they all died the power went out where I was living in Atascadero. Of course, at the time I didn't know it but learned of it later that night or the next day. Another memorable power outage was the powerful storm that hit Atascadero the night of February 3-4, 1998, bringing hurricane-force winds to the area and knocking out power dramatically throughout the area. I still remember getting up on the roof over the garage and hearing the wind roaring through the neighborhood and the sound of things banging and breaking and seeing power flashes of various colors in various directions at various distances.
I Gotses A New Used Computer... And Smart Phone, Too!
My dear friend and benefactress Penguiness has been kind and generous enough to give me her old computer which really isn't that old but is too slow for her needs and just perfect for mine. Nobody on Earth will ever know the pure unadulterated aggravation I have endured over the past few years with my current computer which I acquired as a refurbished computer near the start of my current poverty in late 2008. Over time it has gotten slower and slower no matter what was done to ameliorate the problem. I have the thing sitting next to me here on the floor as of yet not taken out of the box so I don't lose anything out of it until I get around to switching over to it sometime this weekend. This comes on the heels of Penguiness last year prequeling that by way of giving me her fresh-out-of-the box 3G smart phone as she apparently upgraded shortly after purchasing it to something faster and instead of doing what most sane people would do (take it back for a refund) elected to simply give it to this chronic, life-long underachiever (but on the verge of becoming a late bloomer). I was both surprised and humbled and grateful for that gift as I now am of this latest one. I see a Honda Point Disaster artifact (or something off the U.S.S. Harvard wreck) in her very near future. For the record: Penguiness designed and executed the entire look of this blog page including my cool cartouche.
Guess Who Is the New Rockhound Round-Up Chairman?
I was recently honored by new Santa Lucia Rockhound's President Barbara Bilyeu with the task of being chairman of the 21st Annual Rockhound Round-Up Rock, Gem, And Mineral Show in Paso Robles, CA. I take this responsibility very seriously and have thus far fully-engaged myself therewith. We are already very actively working on this in regards to planning and recruiting and delegating various tasks to various members whom generously volunteer their time. I look forward to the show the way a child anticipates Christmas many months in advance. It is my intention to NOT complacently observe tradition and maintain the status quo but rather push this show towards its future starting this year. I hope to achieve this with a very realistic ambition to improve the show with the ultimate goal of moving it to a much better and more viable location and as a result expand the show and make it even more user-friendly than it currently is as limited by the confines of its current venue.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Paso Robles Vine Street Christmas 2011
Tonight I attended Paso Robles' Vine Street Victorian Christmas Showcase known to locals as simply "Vine Street" for the second consecutive year. I enjoyed it more this year because I went alone and did my own thing which was first taking all these photos and then volunteering at North County Christian Fellowship (NCCF) where I regularly attend church. Below is my evening in photographs. At the end of the evening I had a reunion at the church with a schoolmate from my youth growing up in Atascadero, CA, in the mid-1980's. Leroy Howland (Atascadero High School Class of 1988) recently joined NCCF and both of us became aware the other was going to be there tonight so we had a reunion after not seeing each for 23 years.
All photographs by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)
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| The event's official name. |
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| The crowd was a throng of humanity. |
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| One of many living nativity scenes. |
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| Scrooge kept coming out of the second story door and acting like a Scrooge. |
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| The Fairweather Four singing quartet of 80-somethings. |
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| The Snow Queen sang to the crowd. |
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| The God Squad doing their thing dancing for the crowd in front of North County Christian Fellowship. |
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| The front of the sanctuary of North County Christian Fellowship. |
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| One of the church pre-school play-structures. |
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| Atascadero High School Class of 1988 member and new NCCF member Leroy Howland;. |
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| Leroy went from being an old acquaintance to my newest friend. |
All photographs by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)
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