Temporal Acceleration

It's true what they say. "They" being people older than me. Each succeeding year seems to vanish more quickly than the previous one did. It has gotten so bad that I have to stop myself from saying things like, "I can't believe the school year is almost over!". I don't want to become one of those walking cliches like so many other people seem to have become these days. However I might choose or not choose to remark upon it, Summer looms ahead as Spring prepares to slip into our rear-view mirrors.

As a result of a co-worker with a sore back, I spent the last week working days at our site in the Cupertino hills. The kids were from East San Jose, and for the most part, were excited to be surrounded by trees and hills instead of concrete and glass, doing things many of them had never gotten a chance to do before. Our main site was host to kids from a similar socioeconomic demographic. One kid at the main site apparently pooped his pants and tried to blame it on somebody else. Now, that takes some creative thinking! Some things you've just got to own up to though. Personal accountability seems all too rare these days. It's a concept I always stress when working with kids. I'd hate for them to turn out like most of their parents have.

The week before that I was on vacation. I had intended to only take half the week off so I could go to Baltimore for a four day metal/hardcore festival called Maryland Deathfest, but we're encouraged to actually use our vacation time before the end of the school year, so I just took the whole week off. Baltimore was fun, and I'll write about it on my music blog when I feel like it. In the meantime, here's me having a book-geek moment at Edgar Allan Poe's original gravesite:



At home, the chicks are growing quickly, and it's kind of nice to hear them constantly peeping in the other room. Outside, the squirrels have figured out how to get into the bird feeder, and the snails are no doubt plotting an overthrow of the garden beds. We've got copper tape (aka snail kryptonite) around the beds, which so far seems to be keeping the plants safe. The same can't be said for the plants that have the misfortune to be outside the beds. Willow's beans were stripped to the ground in no time, as was the Yerba Buena plant I planted.

This Friday, I got a chance to sit on the other side of the dreaded "job interview table" because I was part of a three person panel charged with screening out/whittling down the number of job applicants for one of the new permanent positions at my job. Half of the applicants for the position already work with the three of us, so it was interesting having to interview my own co-workers. It was all very scripted though. The other applicants were all good too, although predictably my co-workers came out on top due to their more specific job experience. I wonder who will get the position...

Tomorrow I'm back working nights for a final week before the school year ends and preparations for summer camp begin.

Currently listening to: Excruciation "Last Judgement - First Assault" double LP