This past Sunday afternoon, Alicia, Sam, Adrienne (see foto below) and I crowded into my tiny apartment and crafted and baked while it rained outside. I made my first batch of cupcakes from Isa's new cookbook and they were delicious. They were vanilla cupcakes frosted in a chocolate ganache and filled with pastry cream. The recipe was really involved, but that added to its appeal. In the end, they tasted delicious! Alicia went off on her own limb and made a deadly chocolate caramel torte. We were double broiling chocolate, stuffing piping bags with pastry cream and decorating cupcake tops with sugar tiki fruit and googly eyes. I really do think that baking is one of the best ways for people to get to know one another. I learned that Sam and Alicia have to taste everything in-process and that they they'll both lick the spoons and scrape out the bowls until they're clean (hyperactivity) ... Adrienne will take just about any baked good donation because her fiance loves to eat (communal) ... and I like to get flour in my hair and I shun the use of measuring spoons (chaotic) :)

In any case, it was a great Sunday and I'm so glad we had leftover treats because I devoured them tonight. If I need another reason *not* to pursue graduate school at this point, it's because I'd turn into a blimp. Something about academia and snacking go hand in hand for me...and so if only for my personal health, I think I'll avoid the life of a full-time student again. I had to write the shortest lesson plan ever in anticipation for an interview today, and it took me four hours, a cupcake, a piece of chocolate torte, a pint of cider and a mug of soynogg.

I've decided, at this point, to pursue part-time studies instead of going for full-time graduate school. For the longest time, I was caught up on getting into a full-time program, but I think I'll be better off as a part-timer. I've started a certificate program at the UC Berkeley Extension in TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language - to adult learners). I have about five more classes to go before getting the certificate, but I'm enjoying the coursework and am meeting lots of intelligent and seasoned folks in the classrooms...and all that is satiating my persistent academic hunger for the moment :)

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Tomorrow I'm sticking another pot on the fire, and I'm not sure where it will lead. I applied and was asked to interview for the Oakland Teaching Fellows program which places non-certified teachers into high-need schools in the city of Oakland while allowing them to concurrently obtain their teaching certificate. They're seeking teachers starting in September 2007 in the areas of general science, math, biology and chemistry, to name a few, and, if accepted, I'd be placed into a classroom teaching one of these subjects. If for no other good, though, preparing for this interview has given me a newfound respect for the teachers in my life. To all of you that have labored over lesson plans and such...it took me over four hours to prepare a five-minute lesson! I have no idea how you held it together to plan weeks of classes and activities...and how you then went and taught them! You are truly to be admired.

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No matter how it turns out tomorrow, I know the processes I'm going through right now are moving me ahead in the right direction, and I'm excited to see what's in store. If I could have my cake and eat it too for this next year, I'd work on developing or maintaining a school garden in some capacity, I'd travel out of the country for at least a few months at some point, I'd spend time with good people, I'd learn and grow and learn and grow, I'd cultivate even more friendship and love in my life (maybe I'd even meet a spirited and caring boy!), and I'd work in a place or places where I can have a significant positive impact on the lives of others. One can always hope, right?