Death of a Whistle

When I was in 9th grade, I was still in jr. high (in Wichita the grouping was 7th-9th), and I was a girl's gym leader. I, in no way, wanted this job, but the p.e. teachers made me do it. We were supposed to help out in gym class, and also to "monitor" the showers. (I don't think they still make jr. high kids shower after p.e, which is good, because that borders on torture.)

One of the "perks" of being a gym leader was that we got to wear white camp shirts and bloomers instead of pea green camp shirts and bloomers. Really. 

One of the other "perks" was that we were given whistles. Until today, I have carried my whistle on my keychain, and perhaps I have used it a handful of times in the past (aaahhhmmm) years. Today, the whistle totally fell into two pieces, and that is the end of that.

Ump Stuff

Many years ago I told H that he should get a hobby so that he would have something to do when he retires so he wouldn't have to "devote his life to" me. He took that advice to heart and took up softball umpiring. This hobby has developed from little girl rec ball to NCAA softball. And by developed, I mean that the amount of gear required has expanded. Here is a little peek into the car last weekend as I went along on the road trip from Occidental College on Friday to California Lutheran on Saturday. This meant four games.

This is the second and much better rolling duffle bag that carries quite a bit of stuff. 

All umpires seem to have a rack for hanging various shirts and pants. 

Must have water to drink, and a spray bottle of water to wash off the dust from shoes after each game. Not pictured are the two pairs of shoes (one for behind the plate, one for the bases) and the folding chair used for between games.

* * *

Day 15 - Clutter Cleanse: Today I am shredding a whole folder of past string student registrations. Why did I hang on to them?

Superbowl

My friend Kim sure knows how to throw a Superbowl party. This was her spread, and there were only three of us there! While I didn't really care who won, I was rooting for the Ravens as well as a good game, and I got both of my wishes.

My favorite commercial? The TIDE ad. Watch here if you missed it!

Spring Softball

Hooray! It's softball season! Here are some shots from yesterday's game at CMS (CMC, HMC, Scripps). It was a perfect 70 degrees, slightly overcast, no breeze. 

Monday Night at the Epicenter

Every time we go to see a Quakes game, we come home with some new memory.  Last night we went out with the HMC Summer Chemistry Research group, and if you ever want to go when parking and crowds are no issue, go on a Monday night.  I was concerned that the game would not be very fun since there were so few people in attendance, but we really had a great time.  

Last night we saw a number of scouts with their radar guns and stopwatches sitting right in front of us (and right behind home plate).  I guess that's one way to fill a section.  

I was not fortunate enough to get a photo of the HMC students who got to go on the field during the 7th inning stretch and hold some sign during the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.  They were on and off the field so quickly that I didn't get over behind the dugout quickly enough.  

 We had a huge chicken burrito.

The woman in front of us was having a great time (and ate three huge hot dogs).  She would turn around occasionally to comment on something we said that she found particularly amusing.  The game was actually pretty close, and when the Quakes started to tie it up, she would jump up and down and turn around to high-five us.  Of course, she went ballistic when the Quakes hit a the ball for a walk-off run, and everyone got high-fives.  So much for worrying about a boring game!

38th Annual Vista Track Meet

Here are some shots from today's track meet at Vista.  You can read a little more about it from last year's post.  This year it was overcast with a little mist, but that did not deter the event.

Click on this photo for a larger view of the two boys at the head of their race.  Great expressions!

Using our new long jump sand pit for the first time

The kinders heading back to the room after a little while.  They'd had enough.

Women's Lacrosse

Having seen this new field at Pomona College which sits atop the new parking structure along 1st St., we finally got over to see a game on Saturday.  Look carefully and see that we watched women's lacrosse, with cross-campus rivals CMS challenging Pomona/Pitzer.  

Bryan Clay at Vista

Do you know who Bruce Jenner is (before the Kardashians)?  Chances are you know he was an Olympic athlete.  To jog your memory, he was the decathlon Gold Medalist in 1976.  Flash forward.  Do you know who Bryan Clay is?  I didn't either, until yesterday when he came to Vista.  Clay also won the Gold Medal in decathlon - in the Beijing Olympics.  Vista's principal, Dave Stewart, was also a decathlete, and he used to work out with Clay.  

Clay came to tell the Vista kids that with hard work, you can achieve your dreams - whatever your dreams are.  He arrived in a fire truck (driven over the field to the cheering of the students), talked to the excited crowd and then demonstrated a long jump and javelin throw.  For fun, some of the teachers participated in putting the shot and javelin throw.  

(As an aside, I read a pretty funny blog post about a javelin recently, and the sister-in-law of the blogger was a brave soul who was one of the teachers throwing the javelin yesterday.  Although I have it on film, my better judgement said not to publish it on the blog, but if you want me to email you the clip....let me know.)

I have, however, included a video clip of Bryan Clay in the long jump at the bottom of this post.  You can check out the Bryan Clay Foundation here.

Bryan Clay holds his gold medal

Camelback Ranch

View from Center Field

The main reason for our Arizona Spring Break trip was to catch a few spring training games.  The Dodgers and the White Sox share the stadium called Camelback Ranch in Glendale.  We saw the Dodgers play the Rockies one day and then the Sox play the Angels the next.  Our seats were up the 3rd base line in the first row of the second section of seats (as seen from the photos below).

We really enjoyed seeing games in the smaller venue which holds just over 13,000 spectators.  While we had a great time, it would have been advantageous to have more shade in the park as well as better concessions.  The second day we ate before we made it to the field and brought in our own water.

One great thing about spring training games which don't count, the crowd is pretty laid back, and I didn't hear anyone getting out of hand or swearing.

Dodgers warming up 

Matt Kemp coming in

Albert Pujols in a new red jersey.  He has lots of new fans.

New Year's No. 2

Yesterday's bonus holiday, New Year's Day Again, was filled with food and football.  For the first time since we've been Ducks fans, we can celebrate a bowl win!  Even though Wisconsin is one of our other favorite teams, Oregon is our current #1 NCAA team. (Too bad that Stanford couldn't make their win, though.)



C and B helped in the celebration by bearing all kinds of good food.  We provided the homemade guacamole, they brought homemade tamales, rice and beans, and cupcakes.  The salad came from our garden.  I am happy that I still have today to get ready to start the new year of teaching!

Daryl Evans at Vista

This morning the Vista kids were herded out to the roller hockey rink in Wheeler Park (next to the school) to listen to LA Kings announcer and former left wing, Daryl Evans.  He was there to give an inspirational message to the students about working hard on their dreams so that they can live the life they want.

For the rest of the day, each grade level has a time on the rink with Evans and some other reps from the Kings to learn a little about hockey.

Continuing Cider Quest

When daughter C borrowed the car on Friday, she went to Liquorama in Upland.  I had never heard of this place, but apparently it has a variety of spirits, and I was bestowed a gift of Ginger and Blackcurrant Unfiltered Pear Cider by my favorite Fox Barrel.  We split the bottle while enjoying the Stanford/USC game (which was a nail biter through the 3 Overtimes).  

About the cider - there is a reason that Ginger is listed first in the title.  Wow.  It is very strong.  But I noticed that after a few swigs, it became less pronounced.  I'm not sure I would buy it, but it was an interesting flavor.

Homecoming Parade

Signs of fall abound in Southern California (despite the rush to the Christmas season which merchants are already advertising) and Claremont High School celebrated homecoming yesterday during perfect weather.  I would have had more pictures of the parade, except this year, for some reason, they changed the parade route.  Usually the procession comes down College Ave, but by the time I figured out it was headed down Harvard instead, I had missed the CHS band.

I did, however arrive in time to see the floats, and I gather that the theme had to do with video games.  Seniors were Mario Brothers.

Juniors were Pokemon.

 Sophomores were Pac Man.

 Freshmen were Donkey Kong.

 Following the floats came the El Roble Color Guard and Marching Band.

According to the reports, the football team lost big time last night.  About 8:25 I heard fireworks which I assume were at the football game, but they coincided with the Cardinals winning the World Series.

Ducey Gym

On Monday the Ducey Gym at CMC closed down for a bit so they could replace all the cardio equipment.  I think this is the third set of elliptical machines that I have used here in the past 10-15 years.  I believe that the founder of LifeFitness is a CMC grad, and the story that the tour guides tell when they come through the workout room (when I've been there) is that he wrote a proposal for this company as his senior thesis, but he didn't get a very good grade on it.  Obviously he was better at starting a company than writing a proposal....

Sports Saturday

Yesterday was a bonus day for sports fans.  On tv we had the opportunity to watch the US Open, the Dodgers and the Oregon Ducks Football.  In order to more fully enjoy the day, C and B came over and made us some delicious grilled pizza while we watched the Dodgers win and the Ducks (unfortunately) lose.  We think that next year the Ducks might want to chose an easier first team to start their season.

An LA Day

It has been sweltering hot for the past 4-5 days, so, of course, we took up the offer of free tickets to the Dodger game this afternoon when Rick and Mary Beth couldn't make it.  Fortunately, their seats are in the shade, so it wasn't unbearable.  The Dodgers put up a good effort against the Rockies, but couldn't make the sweep - losing 7-6 today.  With attendance so low these days, getting parking (an outrageous $15) was easy, and getting out of the parking lot after the game was even easier.

We wanted to go to Philippe's for french dip sandwiches after the game, but it was too early for our stomachs.  (We had lunch around 1:00, and we got to Philippe's by 5.)  So we settled for boysenberry pie à la mode for dinner which was perfect for the hot afternoon.  By the time we got home the house was 88 degrees inside.

Do Something You Aren't Good At

I have heard it said that in our culture where we are told we must be the very best at our endeavors, it is actually a good idea to participate in activities in which we aren't very good.  Just for the enjoyment of it.  If that is so, then I should play tennis more often.  Yesterday morning we decided that we hadn't hit the courts in awhile (over a year, perhaps?) so we headed to that little hidden gem in Mallows Park at the corner of Harrison and Indian Hill.  Neither of us is particularly good, and I am worse than H, but, we joke, we get some exercise, and when it is over, we get coffee.

I'm not that good at yoga yet, but I am getting better....

HMC Chemistry Goes to the Quakes

You know it's summer when the HMC Summer Research students and faculty and families head to Rancho Cucamonga to enjoy a night of baseball at the Epicenter.

Lauren sang the National Anthem.  She sometimes sings with the Village Pipers, the recorder group I have played with twice.  She did a fabulous job!

We had great seats behind home plate.

We got to cheer when our group name went up on the board.

It's a good thing we came to help put some warm bodies in those seats.  Attendance is down.

Quakes (Dodger team) beat the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels team) 4-3 to complete their 3-game sweep.  

Duane Jackman Invitational Track Meet

Duane Jackman, left / Ley Yeager, right

I have no idea how many years Vista has hosted the Duane K Jackman Invitational Track Meet, but Duane was the principal at Vista for many years before Ley Yeager (who is retiring next month after 20 years at Vista).

4th-6th Graders from all of Claremont's elementary schools come to our campus for races of 60 yards, 100 yards, 300 yards, relays, long jump and softball throw for a morning of great fun.

Amgen Tour of California, Stage 7

Claremont has been all abuzz with the big bike race that came to town today.  The Amgen Tour of California chose our fair city to be the start of the Stage 7 which you can read about here.  The riders came up College Avenue at about 11:52 and whizzed by in a matter of moments.  Here are two of my photos - others are currently uploading to my Flickr site.