September 1, 2006
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The Daily News
1 Good morning!
2 Isn't that just a great greeting?
3 Good morning!
4 Each morning I awaken and it's a good morning these days. I can't wait to get up, get dressed, watch a little Korean soap opera, and take off to the hills. So fun that I'd wind up at a school in the foothills of Mt. Hamilton, since I always loved driving up there whenever I could.
5 Each morning reminds me of '05's Senior Sunrise when Loan and I road up that goat trail listening to Coldplay, laughing, and looking down at the city, not quite awake yet, but with that magical twinkle of dawn.
6 My time of day.
7 The fun thing is that I get there twice as fast as my morning commute to YB. You'd think it would take longer, but because of the hour, it's swift.
8 I'm out the door refreshed because I get home, chat and enjoy home, conk, awaken at midnight, write the DN, answer e-mails, read My Space (HA!) until my computer freezes, and then I conk out, and awaken at five a.m. The dog shakes her back; she's less nervous and exhausted these days too.
9 And I have a morning stop at Starbuck's, get a Cocoanut/Banana Frap blended, and then mosey up the street, pass Ruby, and then park. It's quiet; it's dawn over the city, and it's a new day. Like that Michael Buble song.
10 Yesterday I had one class, Leadership. I didn't do much leading because I had guest speakers, tuxedo people who look like they're fresh out of a Korean drama, and the Principal, who wants to address the ASB once a month. Easy Street.
11 So I hung out in my office relaxing a bit for once, the only worry being the Daily Bulletin, which is read by ASB people right after first period. It's all done in ASB, not in the front, and that alone is liberating!
12 It's the only thing I have to worry about, and this girl who is in charge of that is on a laptop updating today's bulletin. ASB is a working, organized presence, and the center of the world up there on the hill.
Well the first days are the hardest days don't you worry
anymore, 'cuz when life looks like Easy Street there is
danger at your door...--The Grateful Dead
13 Indeed.
14 The bell rang, I smiled because I was done teaching for the day, and that happens every single Thursday. I sat down and talked with the formal wear representative, and we laughed and chatted about the irony of working together when I ran the guy out of YB with a cattle prod just about a year-and-a half back, and now we were chatting like young villagers.
15 I looked out only to see that all 79 ASB kids had disappeared, when one student popped his head in. "Are we doing the bulletin?" he asked.
16 Suddenly, I was the old H again. "WHAT!?!?!? Where the Hell are the bulletin guys??!?!?" The Principal wanted to be absolutely certain that the bulletin was consistent, on time, and that people know about picture day on Tuesday and that they buy a yearbook/ASB package that she invented. I asked the guy if he could do it; the bell rang, and no bulletin announcements anywhere near us!~
17 Ain't this fun?
18 The guy jumped over, grabbed the mic, as I went online, which took its sweet time, you know, the way it do, and he just whispered, "It's cool; they're just getting settled. We have a minute." I hit the website, having remembered that the girl was updating, and viola! Saw the bulletin, clicked it, and the guy jumped right in, "Gooooooood morning...!" Another amazing save, and a little more work on the old ticker!
19 So I thought last night at midnight, "What should I write in the DN today?"
20 How about a typical morning, and share a typical moment in the new job. I mean, what would the REAL Daily News typically report?
21 I won't be doing that to you all the time, but I just thought it might be fun for you to have a morning story, and just a taste of what it's like to be in the eye of the storm two weeks into an exciting new job. All right, all right, it ain't Cupid, or cabs, but it is home.
22 So anyway, the rest of the day was spent talking with the tuxedo people, sharing prom stories, learning of the pitfalls, helping one another, and eventually breaking for lunch, where kids lined up with various concerns: the Red Cross Club wanting to do a fashion show, which won't happen, but they will be excited about doing an annual blood drive, which I suggested, every year around Valentine's Day, and we'll call it Real Love. My idea, thenkyouveddymuch. Or the Junior Class wanting to have an outdoor movie night, and I didn't think of that one, but I love that one! Or a kid who wanted to start a Martial Arts club.
23 All this followed with the bell sounding the end of lunch, a quick handshake with the formal wear people who were just great, and on to a Department Chair meeting.
24 Uh...what department? What the heck IS leadership anyway?
25 At the end of the meeting either my phone buzzed or my stomach growled. It was the phone, Thuy Ann! I always enjoy hearing from good ol' Thuy Ann and she had brought a group of the famous PK to visit. Peter put on the school mascot, a Cougar, and went outside and waved at people, and I just said hi to all these guys. Sunshine called from Iraq, and it was just a wonderful surprise.
26 We chatted, enjoyed the company, went to the Theatre for a quick tour of that beautiful facility, and then we all parted with smiles.
27 I went back to YB, saw Ngoc, Trung, John De Vera and Tramy, then Wolcott and Rocha, and finished with the immortal Nathan, who has been a strong Drama Workshop supporter and dear friend for the past hundred years.
28 And finally I was exhausted. I have no idea what I spent the day doing, but somewhere, that was a taste of my new life.
29 I knew I wouldn't be good for anything last night because I have been working way hard for three weeks, and yesterday felt a bit more relaxing and fun.
30 So I thought I'd share my new life with all of you. A day in the life, culminating in Real Love.
31 It was a good morning. It was a good day. In fact, when I arrived at the school yesterday, I stood around with some new colleagues, and the Principal said this to everyone: "You wanna know what the best thing I did all summer was?" She pointed at me. "Hiring this guy!"
32 What a thoughtful thing to say. If she only knew how truly scared and insecure a person could feel in a new job of that magnitude. It just felt reassuring.
33 It was a new day, a new dawn.
34 It was a good morning.
35 Peace.
~H~
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