I decided to give up Facebook for Lent and wow it was a challenge! There were advantages and disadvantages to doing so.
First the Disadvantages: I felt very disconnected with some of my friends and family that I depend on Facebook in order to keep up with their lives. I also depend on Facebook as a news source (like eye on annapolis) and weather updates (like foots forecast). Also, I felt sad not being able to upload pictures and comments about major events that have happened over the past 40 days.. (like disney and san diego!)
Now the Advantages: Well of course there is the obvious advantage of becoming closer with God (Duh!) I also learned that I waste a lot of time facebooking. My Saturday mornings were much more productive when I wasn't browsing the news feed for a few hours. I also learned other ways to stay connected with my loved ones (It's not unheard of to pick up the phone to wish someone a happy birthday!) Overall it was a good challenge and I am proud of myself for sticking through with it.
The real reason for my Sunday morning post is to tell about our trip to SAN DIEGO!
At the high school I teach at, I am a "Co-lead teacher" of a major committee called PBIS. PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support. At school, the committee is responsible for breaking down referral data and coming up with school events and student incentives for staying out of trouble. We also do professional development sessions for teachers on how to build a positive classroom environment and a positive relationship. Although it is a lot of extra work (that I don't get paid for), I feel that it is a great leadership opportunity for me as well as a way for me to give back to this school and make a difference. Our school has been recognized as making major improvements over the past few years and was picked to give a presentation at a few different conferences. Now usually my counter part does these sort of things because he has a better way with words infront of a lot of people however he couldn't go to this conference so it was my turn to do the presenting. (AH!)
Anyway, so thats how I got the opportunity to go to San Diego in the first place. Our school is involved in a grant that paid for a team of us to go to the conference. Well of course this conference was conveniently over spring break and consequently during my one year anniversary. So Jman and I decided to make a trip of it! Neither of us had ever been to the west coast or California so it was very exciting and alot more affordable since we only had to pay for Jman's flight and our food.
Here are my thoughts on San Diego (in case anyone is thinking about going): This city is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The weather was mid to high 60s the entire time we were there. The city itself is very clean and everyone there was extremely friendly. At anyone point in time you would see hundreds of people outside running, biking or walking dogs. You can tell that having a healthy lifestyle is something many people in this city value. I was not impressed however, with the very small and outdated airport or the expensive food.
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| Almost there! |
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| The city skyline |
Now about the actual trip: Jman and I stayed at the Hyatt which was by far the nicest (and most expensive) hotel we have ever stayed in. We had a beautiful view of the San Diego Bay and the city.
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| The view from our room |
Tuesday night we went to Coronado beach so that we could watch the sunset on the pacific coast.
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| Pacific Ocean! |
On Wednesday we got up early and went to the San Diego zoo. This zoo is one of the best in the world and I am so glad we had the time to go there! Overall, the animals look very happy and their environments are well kept and designed nicely. They have a wide variety of animals and the zoo had different educational presentations with the exhibits throughout the day which I enjoyed. While watching the elephant presentation (they were giving the elephant a pedicure), I asked the zoo keeper how he got his job in which his response was very funny. He said "Well I was a high school science teacher but I was tired of feeling like a professional babysitter so I moved from the fake zoo to the real zoo". I almost died! My child dream job was to be an elephant trainer so when he said that I thought about how fun it would be to do the same. Nevertheless, I am still a teacher..at least for now! ;)
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| Me with the elephants! |
That evening we went on a dinner cruise which was beautiful and fun.
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| Us on the cruise with the Hyatt in the background |
Thursday and Friday I had to go the the conference so Jman explored the city during the day and at night we went out to various restaurants and bars at night. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back to California.
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| The Hyatt |
My Presentation was on Friday and from what everyone said, I did well. It was a 15 minute long speech and we had about 50 people attend our session. It was a fun learning experience and I enjoyed meeting a lot of teachers, researchers and professionals. I am excited to get back to school and start implementing some of the things I learned.
