Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am sure all are watching football on TV and smelling the fabulous turkey cooking in the oven. The weather outside is a bit chilly? Dad is thinking he should be out playing golf, but the women would never allow it. Ah, sure wish I were there.

We are celebrating on Saturday with 4 turkeys out in Sawangan with our regular group. Now that Wayne Kaler is not along, a few of us have taken over the tradition of hosting a big feast. We couldn't find a house that would be suitable, so we decided to have it out at Kurt Kaler's place on the lake. It is about an hour south of school, but it is a nice location.

What do you think of the new colors of the blog? I converted to the new beta blogger, and now I have many more options for the format of the blog.

New iMAC

Ok, I have had the new iMAC for a week now, but I kept forgetting to get a photo of myself in front of it. I remembered today after teaching my Photoshop class. I set up the tripod, and took a photo of myself in front of the new machine. Aint it a beaut?? I love the screen....24 inch. It has the new dual processors and 2 gigs of RAM. I think Photoshop runs faster on my G5 tower at home, but the new Photoshop CS3 is supposed to work more smoothly with the new intel chips.

I used the new machine today when I showed the 9th grade class the project week slide show. I was able to just unplug the computer, and hand carry it to the little theatre.....try doing that with a PC. I then plugged the computer up to the projector, and wala....slide show ready to go. So easy. Why would anyone want to use those ugly PC's.....no style, no elegance.

You should have heard the comments from the students as I was carying the iMAC to and from my classroom.....the oooohs and aaaahs were everywhere. The students know a good computer when they see one. I have had many students drop by my room just to have a look.

Ok, enough of the MAC commercial....they should pay me. Nothing else going on. See ya.

Kayla Being Kayla

After the costume party, we put the wigs on the pool table. Well, Kayla found them, and of course, she had to try them on. She had us laughing till our stomach's ached. Then she wanted to model them, so she walked up and down the pool table modeling the wigs. You had to be there to get the full effect, but it was pretty funny.

I played golf today out at Rainbow Hills with a couple of buddies. I hadn't played in almost 5 weeks, so I was rough on the edges. For the front nine, we got stuck behind three groups of Koreans who are not known for their fast play. It took us over 3 hours to get through nine holes. I shot a 54, so was not a happy camper. The back nine was wide open, and we finished it in the regular hour and a half. I shot much better....a 44. Not sure what happened to my swing during the front nine, but it wasn't there. Thankfully, I got it back. I really need to get out more. Once a month does not improve your golf.

Birthday Party and Bond

We started the day today with a birthday party for Bella at an unusual time of day for a birthday party.....10:00 am. I was hoping for Krispy Kreme donuts, but none were there....only pizza. Oh well. Kayla had a good time playing with her friends, and us adults talked about the party last night and the new Bond movie....which, by the way, Tika and I saw....and we liked it. I didn't really like the new Bond when the movie started, but he kind of grows on you through out the film, and in the end, I liked him. I think he is more of the style Ian Flemming had in mind when he wrote his books. Anyway, I recommend the movie. It gets a Scotty rating of 4 stars out of 5.

Haloween Party

Yea, I know, it is the middle of November. Well, a good friend of mine tried to have a Halloween party in October, but it was in the middle of Ramadan, and most thought it might not be such a good idea....so, it was re-scheduled for November. I dressed as "A Guy With Hair", and Tika dressed as the "Indo Marilyn Monroe". It was fun, and there was a different crowd at the party...not just JIS teachers. That was a nice change, and a good chance to meet some new people (that is if you could tell who they were when in costume).

James Bond Marathon

Star movies is featuring a bond movie every night this month in order. Tonight we watched "Thunderball". It is fun, and I always think of Kathleen when I see a Bond movie...."The Bond Trivia Queen". Kath, you would love it. We are hoping that the new Bond movie will open here on Friday.

I did get my iMAC, but forgot to get a photo of myself in front of it. I will do that tomorrow.

Check it Out

I saw this slide show thing on Scott Kelby's blog. He supplied a link, and it was really easy to create. I think it is pretty cool....what do you think?

Drowning in Grading

While I was gone on Project Week, I gave a quiz and a test to my Pre-Calc kids, a project for my Senior Math class, and two projects to my photography class. Guess what was sitting on my desk when I returned....yes, all the tests, quizzes and projects. I at least got all the tests and quizzes graded last night so that I could give the kids their tests back today. I now have to look at all the projects. Yuck.

Got some good news today. The new iMAC was approved for my classroom along with some new camera equipment. If all goes well, I will have the MAC sitting on my desk in the morning.....yee ha. Hopefully, my next blog entry will feature me sitting next to my new iMAC. That will make grading at least a little more pleasant.

PD Day Blues

Today and last Friday there were no students so that us teachers could work on curriculum. Talk about total boredom. They flew in some specialist to help us with our UBD's. I don't know how much the school paid her to come out here, but she was totally useless. Her only saving grace was that she was from Fairfax county. She must have had a bad math teacher when she was growing up because it was obvious she didn't like math teachers....she kept giving examples of why she didn't learn enough math when in high school. Anyway, I will be very happy to see my students tomorrow and get back to teaching instead of learning about essential questions and enduring understandings. Yuck.

In other news, I just got back from playing softball. We won our game tonight, and I contributed by making three catches in the outfield and a couple of RBI's.

Rugby and Kayla

We spent the day today at JIS watching a Rugby tournament and a Swim meet. I had to take photos, and Kayla had a great time running around checking things out. It is nice to be home with my girls.

Mandarine Fish

I was going through my photos today. While the kids were off doing some activity, I was able to escape (last week) to dive with Otto looking for the elusive Mandarine fish. I have wanted a photo of one for a long time. Otto found three of them for me, and one of the photos I took is above. They only come out of the reef at around 5:00 pm or so. They are tough little fish to get photos of as they are always ducking into the coral hiding. But, the wait and patience pays off when you get a shot of these guys....check out the colors.

Newly Certified Divers

The kids all returned to Jakarta today as certified divers. The parents were all very happy to see their kids, and were very proud of their kids for what they did during the week.

We (us teachers) have professional development tomorrow. Not really looking forward to sitting in a room listening to some boring presentation on curriculum writing. I would certainly rather be diving.