A majority of the month of August was spent in hibernation, much like all of July was. Yet, by the end of the month I had to eventually delve into what would be a relatively tiresome balancing act of school and work….
For the most part, August was all about relaxation and enjoyment, being quite possibly my last “free summer”. Granted, if I eventually become a teacher, my summers will still be free, but I don’t necessarily enjoy all too much the prospect of doing “nothing”. After a week or two, I get relatively bored… I spent much of my days and hours watching various television shows. My progress in continuing “The Simpsons” has ended roughly around season 14 with the start of school encroaching upon me…. Most people recognize Season 10 as the first bad season, but I see it emerging mostly in the middle of season 12/13. I hope eventually as I catch up to the 22nd season it gets better… Other than that, Degrassi was relatively entertaining until the very anti-climatic “fall finale”. Breaking Bad seems to get more ridiculous as the show goes on, and Dan has solidified the reason why I still want him to win on Big Brother (FUNERAL!)
Aside from using my time to watch a bunch of useless television shows, I also have been studying for the CSETS. My first test: Social Science Subtest II will be on U.S. History, which should be relatively easy if I continuing reviewing the subject material (the test is on September 8th)…. In terms of hanging out with people, I have been doing it both reluctantly and relatively less than normal (See January through July calendars for details). I actually feel kind of guilty spending money when I’m not actually making money, despite having saved enough from working at EHS… I still got to save money for tuition for next semester, so I need to refrain from overspending, especially since I now have to pay for gas. When hanging out with others though I generally do the same activities: movies, games, boba, etc. etc. My top 10 for the month are as follows:
My parents moved me into the living room, and that’s where I presently sleep now. It’s kind of better not having to hear my dad’s snoring, but also a public nuisance. Shrug. I’ve also been spending quite a bit of time playing the Political Machine 2012. I’m not much of a gamer, but it’s a fun simulator for anyone interested in seeing how politicians have to sway their viewpoints in each of the 50 states in an effort to win general elections. Speaking of which, Ron Paul got robbed at the convention, and I will absolutely never support Mitt Romney for President. It really doesn’t matter though, because Obama is going to get reelected by a landslide.
Which brings me to my final topic at hand, the start of school and work. Cal State Fullerton is definitely a smaller campus, but the people there are nice. I’ve met a few friends, but it’ll take me some time to actually solidify those bonds (if I actually want to). I’ll join some more clubs next week in an effort to increase my social networking skills. I also encountered Huyen working at the bookstore surprisingly enough, and we got lunch twice in an effort to catch up. In terms of the classes, they are as follows:
EDSC 310: This is a general introduction to teaching in secondary education class. I have to do 45 hours of observation in a middle and high school for this class, which will both tiring considering my soon to be busy schedule. I’ll have to make it work though.
EDSC 320: Adolescence. Learn about adolescents and the way they work. Seems to be a child development class, which will probably be interesting for me. Our first assignment is to write about my childhood, which will be easyyyyyyyy for me since I can for sure refer back to my blog for immediate notes.
EDSC 330: Content Area Literacy. To be self-sufficient in teaching a subject of any area while promoting literacy. One of our semester long assignments is to journal with pictures, which I will probably have fun with. The rest of the assignments? Probably not.
EDSC 340: Diversity. I’m probably going to struggle in this class as a libertarian because I don’t really like to see people as different groups. In fact, I’d rather be colorblind to the whole “race” as an issue agenda being promoted everywhere, but I’m open minded to learning what they have to tell me…..
While I have to balance school on one hand, work is the other major time consumer as of present. Working roughly from 2pm to 6pm Monday through Friday, this was my first week of work at Anaheim Achieves (run by the Anaheim Family YMCA). And though a bit unorganized at first, I’m starting to pick up the pace of things. Kurt is a really nice boss who is extremely laid back, while my co-workers seem to know what they’re doing (since they have all been there for 5 years). Ironically enough, we’re all roughly around the same age. The junior high kids are nice and easy to talk to, and I hope I can promote a positive environment for them. It’s looking like I’ll probably get transferred to a high school within a month, so I hope I don’t get too attached to them (although I already have memorized a few of their names). It’s fun because I can order them around when they’re playing dodgeball, can help them with homework when they need it, and can also play boardgames with them in their spare time. I make sure whenever a kid looks lonely to start making conversation with them, so that they don’t feel alone. Hopefully, I can break the shell of out of shy kids, being once a shy person myself….
Meanwhile, driving is relatively fun. I realized taking the 91 is definitely more effective than using the 22/57 to get to school (which takes roughly an hour because traffic moves at a snail pace the entire time there). My driving skills have definitely improved and I hope to perfect them in time for when I want to eventually visit San Diego.
Looking ahead, it’s going to definitely be a challenge balancing school, work, and observation hours, but I’ll have to do my best. I also plan to be involved at CSUF with clubs and other activities. If I had to choose between the beginning of the month (staying at home doing nothing), or the end of the month (being overconsumed with school, work, and assignments), I’d choose the latter because as an overachiever, it’s more in my blood to actually want to do things. I feel both productive, and better when I have a calling in my life to attend to. As a result, I might not have as much time to blog this month, but I’ll keep you all updated hopefully if something exciting emerges.
