students run philly style 2008

Thursday after school, I was in my classroom working on lesson plans, as usual. Ms. ...., popped her head in and had asked me if I could help her out with her and her runners. She needed somebody to stand at 17th and Girard, while 12 of the 7th and 8th grade runners ran around Gesu School and St. Joe's Prep, which is probably equivalent to 1/3 of a mile. I timed them 15-minutes and cheered 'em on! (Need I remind you, most of these students are obese, out of shape, unmotivated, low self-esteemed, inner-city kids.)

It was fun, despite the fact, about 100 yards from me were 5 cop cars, a ton of cops carrying off a fellow from off the ground, who had literally hit one of our students.

Anyways, after the run, we stretched for about 10-minutes, and as we were walking back into the school, one of the 7th grade girls put her arm around me and had asked me if I was going to their meet this weekend. S...., she is one of the most stubborn, confused, mean, yet sweet girls that you'll ever meet. I met her 2 summers ago, and I had the honor to go to Cape May, New Jersey with her and a bunch of our students last summer for Whale-Watching as a side-trip, although we only saw dolphins, it was awesome! She is awesome. Like I said, she's stubborn, so you have to catch her on a good day, but even at her bad moments, she still carries a slight smirk on her face. She and her older sister, S...., live down the street and the neighborhood...it's not pretty. So anyways, a little side-tracked. She and I kinda grew on each other. I'm pretty damn stubborn myself and we just click. She was one of the reasons why I chose to go to their meet today instead of the FACAA.

I don't even know where to start with how I was feeling at this first meet...I honestly didn't know what I was getting into until we hopped onto a school bus with 13 of our 7th and 8th graders, rowdy as always, yes, even early as 8-in-the-morning! And hungry as always, which reminds me, I'm bringing in snacks for our next meet.

So, there were 550 members (kids and adults from all over Philly) and that's not including the many, many volunteers who helped out with this training for a marathon for the youth. This particular run is for teens from 12-17 yrs. old, most of whom come from the sketchy parts of town (which to me is anywhere in Philly). Inner-city kids coming together to prove to everyone and themselves that they are worth...worth something! I mean, if you met them, you'd know they are worth so much, but after this marathon or even during training, they'll learn to believe this fact for themselves.

Getting off the bus, we ran to our destination in the pouring rain. When we got in, they had snacks and a short documentary for us. The documentary was about five 17-year old students from Oakland, CA, who struggle in their daily lives such as our Philly students, but after running a 26-mile marathon, they felt like they could conquer the world. I mean, wouldn't you? It was so inspiring and so touching, I was ready to take on any obstacle, but this isn't about ME! As I was watching our kids, A.... was playing with R....'s braids, K.... was playing Tetris on his phone, while J.... was watching intently with a huge smile on his face. J.... is a character. Shy, but determined. I was telling him about Oakland, and how before I left Cali, I felt like Oakland's crime-rate was what kept me from visiting more often. When I moved to Philly, in my mind Oakland was the relevancy to Philly. (Philly's homicide rate is about three to four-times higher.)

After the documentary, we walked through the school, played some Ice-Breakers like a Get-to-Know/Meet and Greet BINGO game and Steal the Bacon-like relay races in the gym. We made some cheers, ate lunch, and I watched the hormonal boys stalk the girls from other schools and the girls giggle at the boys from the other schools. HILARIOUS! We took a group photo with our neon green STUDENTS RUN PHILLY STYLE shirts as our "before picture" and cheered for those who have finished one or more marathons, they were the celebrities of the morning. H...., Ms. ....'s 5-year old daughter, finished 3/4 of a marathon, last year, and I don't know about you, but that's pretty damn impressive! She was my little side-kick today, funny little one. Lots of energy and old in spirit. She was telling our teens about "cooties" and "lowering" their voices on the bus. Old spirit trapped in a tiny body.

So, my point...just excited about this. We will meet the same group of people, the other students again next month, in April. The marathon will be in November 2008 on Broad Street, Philadelphia, 26-miles. Come cheer us...them on! I see so much potential in these students and hopefully soon, they will see it, too!

I feel like this is a win-win situation for me. I'm so glad to be a part of the Students Run Philly Style. We chanted: Who are we? STUDENTS! What do we do? RUN! How do we do it? PHILLY STYLE!

Eh, eh, you like that?

Check out this link. I'll be on those same steps (Museum of Art-where "Rocky" ran up) with my kids in November! http://www.fasttracksrunning.org/studentsrunphillystyle.html

When do we get to vote? Every Philadelphian that I have asked, doesn't seem to know. Somebody, anybody...

Packed bags in hands, Mom, Dad, and Roxy on either side of me. They smile and say, "We're taking a trip to Philly, except for when we get there, we're dropping you off." One-way flight to Philadelphia...wow! This is it.

I've always had a bug in me to live in the East Coast, and was never really sure why. Something intrigued me about this place - the weather, the people, the trendy-fashion, the fast-paced lifestyle - I don't know, I couldn't put my finger on it because I've never been until I stepped foot in the City of Philadelphia on February 18, 2006. (I've visited Lancaster, PA and New York City in 2004, but does an 11-day trip count?) I've read stories, watched the news, and kind of got an idea of what Philly was about before I moved here, but never did I imagine how I perceive it now.

Moving across the country from South San Francisco to the Port Richmond area in Philly, and working as an After School Counselor in an inner-city school changed my life instantly. I, for once, was the minority. I would look around and notice that I was the only "Asian" person. It was quite strange. I've even had people people drive by with their windows open and blurt out something like, "Ching, ching, chong" and laugh. To clear things up, I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean anything in any language AND I'm of Filipino decent. To those idiots that blurt stuff out like that, learn the difference.

Originally, I came to Philly to go to school at Temple University because I truly admired Bill Cosby and in some weird sense, I hoped to be like him. Yes, I realize that I'd never be...as funny as he, but I would try. ;) Realizing how dangerous the city really is, I decided to wait off for school and figure something else out. Luckily, I got a full-time position as a teacher in an inner-city school who will help me get my Master's in Education at St. Joseph's University.

Back home, I started to get bored with the same old pattern - Clear skies, 70 degrees, sunny - chance of rain - clear skies, 70 degrees, sunny - rain - fog. There wasn't much of difference in seasons, winter couldn't made you believe it was summer, and fall and spring were interchangable. I might be exaggerating to make a point, so don't take me too literally. The point is, I was bored and needed change. Philly provided such change - FOUR SEASONS, yay! We had three "snow storms" my first winter, and I loved the looks of it, but did not appreciate driving or walking in it. I spent 2 hours shoveling my front steps and sidewalk in West Philly (my second place in Philly), took me about half an hour to get my car out of the slush and ice that it was burried in, and I learned to drive like an East Coaster, better yet a Philadelphian. I just love it!

The fact that Philadelphians don't use (or most times, don't know) the term "jay-walking" is unusal to me! People here cross the street like their life is at risk, and for the most part...it is! Drivers will not stop for the love of them! Which is how IT SHOULD BE...none of this "Pedestrians have the right of way." Do you know how much more difficult it is to stop a 2-ton car? A lot more than a person crossing the street. It's law to stop for them, so I do, but I've seen some risky business out there. Drivers running red lights even before the lights turn green, barely stopping or not stopping at all at stop signs - it's ridiculous. Drivers speeding on, what you call, the Turn-Pikes. Back home, I've been pulled over for going 60 MPH on a 45 MPH, roll-stopping at a stop sign, and for NOT running over a possum. You heard me right, NOT running it over. I learned that it was law to hit all animals in Cali except for deer. I still second-guess it. So when I see these drivers speed up as a pedestrian steps onto the street, all I can do is scoff. I crack up even more when I see huge guys with bling, a do-rag, and baggy pants try to cross the street, not so hardcore running.

In San Francisco, people use the crosswalks like it's a protector of all harm, no car would dare hit them, and for the most part, they're right. Californian drivers will wait, even if someone hasn't set foot on the street yet...they'll just wait, and this is extremely annoying to me.

In high school, I had a friend who used the crosswalk, but didn't press the crosswalk button to cross, got hit by a car, broke his arm, and got fined for "jay-walking." Not in Philly, nope!

Sports fans here are absolutely CRAZY! I thought it was extreme back home, but I was completely off. I keep my SF-tendencies to myself just so that I won't get hurt in the mix of things. Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and the E-A-G-L-E-S, I'll root for them, but you can't let my brothers know. I wouldn't be caught in their gear though, I promise you that, it'd be wrong of me. I love the dedication of the fans, win or lose. I've learned to stay indoors if there is a lose, people get rowdy and MEAN!

Before I end this, I have to give props to the most delicious food I've ever had, other than my grandma's cooking, of course. No wonder this place is so fatty, fat, fat. No offense, but if you're one of them, you know what I'm talking about when I say cheesesteaks, soft-pretzels, pizza, 'wooter' ice, hoagies, and the TastyKakes. This might be one of the reasons why I wouldn't go back to the west.

One fault though, that I've learned to live with - the potholes Philly just can't get enough of. Drive around them or bust.

Philly...best decision ever!

This was taken from my previous page...cut and paste...cut and paste...

It has occurred to me that I'm probably acclimating to the cold...kind of. After living here for 2 years, I now own 6 or 7 pairs of boots and heavy coats with hoodies. Whereas back home, I never owned a pair of boots and all of my coats were thin and basically for style. Keep in mind, California has perfect-condition weather, majority of the time. Rain is probably the worse we'll ever have it (besides the nasty shaking of the faults, but that's another topic).

Don't get me wrong, I still find myself with Californian-tendencies. Running for my coat anytime there's a slight gust of wind, hint of flurries, or simply when the sun's not shining. You must realize, "freezing rain, flurry, and wind chill" was once a figment of my imagination, but is now a daily dose to my winter vocabulary. I'm not as bad as before though because I find myself laughing when I hear that when it's "cold" back home - cold to West Coasters is anything BELOW 70 degrees - they literally run for their coats.

You'd be glad to know, I actually feel the difference in warmth when it's anything above 20 degrees. Weird, but cool, literally.

For Monday, February 18th, 2008 -- Happy President's Day! We salute you, we do!

For Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 -- I want to wish my mom a HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Although, she's not here with me in Philly, she's here in spirit. I love her and am always thinking of her. :)