Halloween

This Halloween I didn't get dressed up and go out because I had to teach. Most of my students, I'm guessing, did get dressed up and go out because attendance was a little light that night. Before I left for class that day I threw an apple in my bag to eat later. I must have an apple. I am a teacher. But I didn't eat it. I got too busy or forgot or wasn't hungry. I can't remember. Anyway, when I got home that night I pulled the apple out of my bag and started to cut it up but my knife hit something. It was a thumb tack. In my apple on Halloween. I don't know how it got there and I still ate it.

San Francisco

A quarter will get you 4 minutes on the parking meter.

Men and Photography

A while back a male friend of mine started sending my photographs of himself daily. It was his way of updating me on the highlights of his day. I mentioned this to a female friend and she said, "Oh! He must really like you!" I said, "I don't think so. I know something about men and I know something about photography. If a man is interested he would want photographs of you. If a man wanted you to like him he would send you photographs of himself." My female friend begged to differ. Eventually my male friend stopped sending me photographs of himself and shortly after that I met a man who was crazy about me. "Send me a picture of yourself! Please!" He asked. When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas he said, "A photograph of you, please!" For his birthday he wanted a photograph of me. And for Valentine's day. He helped prove my theory right.

Watching Out

I think I figured out one of the reasons why the photographless photographer doesn't take pictures anymore. After I got robbed at gunpoint in 2009 I stopped looking for things to take pictures of and started looking out for for danger. Maybe I should start photographing danger.

To Teach or Not To Teach. This Is The Question.

Yesterday in my teachers union newsletter they had a page comparing college contingent teacher salaries to that of someone working at Walmart. Here are the stats. To work at Walmart you do not have to have a high school degree. To work at a college or university you must have a Master's or PhD. Walmart $9.13 per hour. Higher education pays $7.78 after all the work put into a class is done. On average there are 3 applicants for each Walmart job opening. For a faculty position there are usually 87 applicants per opening. Hmm.

OMG GTA!

Oh my God! Grand Theft Auto 5 came out yesterday! I would not have known this if I didn't teach at a junior college. Some students missed class because they stayed home to play it and some left early. You'd think the school would have considered it a holiday and cancel all classes. Maybe it should have been a federal holiday. Or maybe all those kids should have gone to church instead. I guess it's the most violent version yet. Even my stripper student was complaining that it was too graphic and the language was too vulgar.

The Windy City

I don't know why they call Chicago the windy city. It can't be windier than San Francisco, can it? Here is a photo of me and my sister, Whitney, trying to walk down the street last week. Our friend Gaelan took it.