John C. Fremont High School Being Shut Down

Hey there.  A few weeks back, I received word that my high school in Los Angeles is being taken over by the state.  Yeah, it's that bad friends.  It's right in the middle of South Central Los Angeles and it's in a pretty bad neighborhood.  That's my school, folks.  lol  Well, it turns out that the city got tired of the low test scores and high drop out rate so they've decided to start from scratch.  They are firing the whole staff and new hires will be brought in.  From what I hear, teachers working there now will have to re-apply.  It kinda sucks, since a class mate of mine is a part of the music staff at Fremont. 

Fremont has always been bad.  I remember that when I first started going there, an older cousin of mine would tell me to not linger around the school and to hurry home to avoid any gang violence or thug altercations.   From the picture that he was painting in my head, this was the school from hell.  Stabbings, shootings, theft... it was all there, according to him.  And I must say, it wasn't always the case.

I was a band geek, so I was part of the marching band.  The band had long rehearsals that usually ended well after school was over and on Wednesday, we would be at school until 8 PM.  Now, I don't remember experiencing MUCH of the violence and what not.  I used to stay after school and what not and I can honestly say that I've run into trouble of that nature once or twice but nothing in the scale of what was said.  We did have lock downs from time to time.  Which occurred during school, and usually during class.  For those of you not familiar with the term, it's when NO ONE is allowed to leave their classroom until the "disturbance" has been taken care of.  Usually, police would be involved.  It wasn't uncommon to go through an armed policeman before entering the school. 

I remember, after graduation, hearing the news that Fremont was deteriorating.  More armed policeman were patrolling the quad, a fence was built around the school to keep students inside (or the "bad" people out), and the student body just didn't seem to care about their academics.  So now, the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD, has stepped in to take control of the school.  It's tough to say what's going to happen to the school.  What I do know is that this year will play out and then once the year is over, who knows.  Just my luck too.  2010 would be my 10 year high school reunion.  lol  For all the negativity that can be said about Fremont, I think it sucks that it's fallen so low.  I can never wash away the memories and friendships that came with my high school experience.  So here's to you, friends.  Whether our school is still "functioning" or not, I say we take care of business and do our reunion anyways.  Just gonna be a lot harder to get everyone together.  We'll see what transpires, but all I got to say is, "Find a Path, or Make One."  Later!

Motivational Sunday - Overconfidence

Hey there. You know, growing up as a child, you 're told that you should reach for the stars. That you can accomplish what you put your mind to and be successful if you work hard. Well, guess what... We were lied to. We can't accomplish everything we want. We cannot rely on our confidence to achieve and be set up to fail.  Sometimes, there are tasks that are just impossible for us to reach. As an adult, I know now that if I stand outside and reach for stars, I'll look like an idiot with my hands stretched way above my head.  Just like the cat in the picture below.  Yeah, you may be good at catching birds, but trust me, my friend, that eagle is going to kick your butt.  Later!

My Wife is on a Bad Wheel

Hey there. My wife has been on a mission to lose all the baby weight from the pregnancy. She's made it a habit to go walk and run along the river bed and ease her way into a daily workout. Yesterday, she went off to do her thing. Well, she must have stepped on something or stepped on kind of slant in the road because before long, she sent me a text saying that she couldn't walk. I was worried. I responded and asked if she was ok, she said yeah but that she was having trouble walking. She made it to her mom's place and continued to talk to me there. Turns out that she may have sprained her ankle.

She was able to walk gingerly at first but as the night progressed, she had trouble getting around. Once we got home, she lied down in bed and I wrapped up her ankle in hopes that it will be feel better later on. She soon after fell asleep.

This morning, I let her sleep in while the kids and I are taking care of business. I made french toast for breakfast and we have decorated our Christmas tree. We've also swept and mopped the floors. Im waiting on my wife to get up so that I can go and get an amp that is a part of our son's gift. We decided that it would be cool to hand down my first guitar to our son as his first guitar. I cleaned it up some, changed the strings, but need a beginner's amp for him.

Hopefully, when my wife gets up, she'll be ok. I looked at her facebook page not that long ago and see that her concern was not being able to play drums for our Rockband night. What a trooper. lol Until then. Later!

Term Life Insurance

Hey there.  I'm a little on the fritz when it comes to life insurance.  I am currently under the plan at work, but am not sure if that is enough in case something were to happen to me.  I'm going to see where else I can be a term life insurance quote for free and check out my options. This whole getting older thing makes you think, you know. I got to make sure my family is well taken care of. Later!

Has Christmas Lost it's Meaning?

Hey there.  You know, earlier today, I got to thinking about what my young one wants for Christmas.  She said she wanted this Strawberry Shortcake Cafe set type thing.  I've never heard of it, but I figured, with the power of Google, I'd be able to figure it out and BAM!  There it is, in all it's glory.  The problem?  It's sold out at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us... So I decided that I'll look for it later and see if I get lucky and find it somewhere.  That lead me to think of that movie, Jingle All the Way with Sinbad and California's very own, "Ahnold".  Has Christmas really gone so far down hill that most parents will go out and about, go through hell in a mall, trying to find a great gift for their young ones?  I know that the movie exaggerated the hell out of this idea since the two characters practically killed each other for the much wanted Turbo Man, but that general idea seems to be well and good.

Every year, I hear someone or another say that they don't have money to go and get gifts, which is absolutely fine, but the problem I have is that much emphasis is placed on gift giving.  Really?  Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones?  A time to reflect on the past year (or is that New Year's?).  Where gifts don't make the holiday but simply serve as a side dish to the main course of love, togetherness, and happiness?  Yesterday, I went and got gifts for the little one's in my family.  My wife and I told ourselves that we'd cut our list short to only include young ones under 7.  With the exception of being a parental unit, sibling, or grand parent, don't expect a gift from us.  lol  But the point being, we took the time to go out and get gifts knowing that we're not going to get some back.  And we didn't worry about it.  There was no, oh man, we spent too much, no worrying about forgetting this person or that person, or any of that.  It felt good to go out and get gifts with out all added pressure and that's how it should be.  Us going through a "recession" and all, we're at a point where we are able to give.  Whether we receive or not, doesn't matter.  At least not to us, the parents (the kids may be a different story).

I'm beginning to feel as if Christmas is becoming more of a "need to get a gift for someone" instead of it being a holiday filled with cheer.  Christmas shouldn't feel like a chore, yet for some reason or another, it does this year.  We haven't had a chance to put the tree up, we're not done getting gifts, let alone wrap them, and quite frankly, I'm tired of all the "gloom and doom" that seem to emanate from every TV or radio.  I say, screw all that.  Sit down with your family, bake some cookies, share some stories, and enjoy yourselves.  That, right there, sounds like a pretty bad ass Christmas to me.  Gifts are a bonus.  I don't remember seeing a Terms and Conditions sheet on celebrating Christmas.  I don't remember baby Jesus breaking into song and dance saying that the Wise Men must give gifts or they'll be hell to pay.  Just like every other holiday out there, I say we celebrate the way we see fit and be happy.  Get rid of the pressures that come with holiday shopping.  Go ahead and grab gifts.  I'm not saying you shouldn't, but what I am saying is take it easy when you do.  It's not worth the stress and killing your holiday because you were stressed out 23 days out of 25 because you were getting gifts, sending cakes, decorating the house, etc.etc.  You're only adding to the bah humbug that seems to plague this year's Christmas season if you're all moody and cranky.

Now...  I'mma go see Elf.  That elf sure knows how to do Christmas right.  I mean C' mon people.  He's parading around in an elf suit singing his little heart out without a care in the world.  I think I need to do that.  Yeah, I need to walk in a store and be like, "I'm in a store.  I'm in a store and I'm singing!"  Yeah, that'll spread some holiday cheer alright.  lmao  Later!

Top Commentator Contest is Here to Stay

Hey there. So I've decided, the top commentator contest will run on this site until I no longer breathe (or get shut down, whichever one comes first) lol I've gotten many comments from many readers that I've decided that we'll keep it going. The race has been tight with over 26 participants so far. Many of whom have made multiple comments. So... what are standings? Here they are so far:

$5 1st Place: Ann
$2.50 2nd Place: Silvergirl
$2.50 3rd Place: Underfloor Heating

Just outside the winner's circle: Buggys, Susie (Comadre), and Ally

If the contest ended today, those would be our winners. I won't disclose how many comments but trust me, the participants leading up to third place are many and are only separated by a few comments. The contest is not over so you still have time to put in your comments for a chance to knock the above readers out of the top 3 spots. Handle your business friends and comment away. Later!