Some days less is more–and this is one of those days for me. #Verselove suggested a where I’m from poem, but at the end of a long day, a where I’m from Haiku is where I found myself. (Inspired by the black sage in full bloom on campus right now)
Where I’m From
My nose knows black sage
fragrant, earthy purple blooms
marks this place as home
My alarm rang early on a Saturday. Today was our San Diego Area Writing Project Spring Conference! Before I got out of my cozy, warm bed I checked the weather app on my phone. Drizzle. Drizzle is not really rain, right? I decided against dressing for rain and opted for my Vans tennies and some black almost dressy pants to go with my cute sweater top. (I would have to open the conference, but I also had to walk a good bit to get from the parking structure to the conference venue on the UCSD campus.
About 5 minutes before I was planning to head out, I looked out the door and changed my mind. That was NOT drizzle–even by Southern CA standards, that is called rain! I rushed back to my bedroom, kicked off the Vans, changed into jeans with skinny legs so that I could pull on my cowboy boots–the dressier footwear option for rainy conditions–and then headed out the door wearing my raincoat with my umbrella in my bag.
With windshield wipers on high, I braved the slick freeway and low visibility, and as I approached the university, the weather began to clear. The ground was wet and puddly as I walked from the parking garage, but the sky had cleared a bit and it wasn’t even drizzling.
It’s hard to get up on a rainy Saturday morning to attend professional development–even when it is self-selected. But I knew once I arrived that the energy of the participants and presenters would carry me through. And I was right. Our morning keynote by our own Christine Kane focused on the value of conversation, how the best conversations reveal things about ourselves both to those we are conversing with and to ourselves as well. She referenced David Brook’s newest book, How to Know a Person, and shared some of his advice about being a “loud listener.” She also reminded us of the Chinese symbol for listening which includes the eyes (to see), the ears (to hear), the mind (to think), undivided attention (to focus), and the heart (to feel).
What a perfect set up for being conference participants! The three sessions I attended were excellent! Even with 35 years of teaching under my belt, I felt inspired and motivated by gems of wisdom and practice shared by the presenters. I enjoyed my interactions with fellow participants and left the conferences knowing it was a morning well spent.
My drive back home included one surprise rain shower along the way, but as I headed off the freeway toward my house, the sky was bluing and the sun was shining. As I stepped out of my car into the driveway I was greeted by tiny yellow suns sprouting right out of the driveway cracks. Dandelions! I couldn’t resist kneeling down to capture their light and glow. Nothing like a bit of sunshine on a rainy day!
When I saw Chea’s invitation over at #verselove this morning, I knew that I would need to do a photo walk and create a photo essay poem about this place where I continue to spend so much time–UCSD. I combined my lunch break with walking and taking pictures, not quite sure what would speak to me once I sat down to commit words to a page.
Architectural Tour
In this place
cars hide underground
burrowed together
out of sight, out of the way
Emerge into a space
of angles, lines, sharp corners, rigid edges
structures to hold learners and learning
restrained, confined
Creativity splashes orange
filling eyes, nose
inhale
break free
find your own face looking back
New shoulders old
towering, shadowing
the elderly relics
of another generation
How will the piles of folders
paper towers
infuse, confuse, contribute
build, flourish
bloom
Reflections
outside in
inside out
native beauties, architectural wonders
structures
unstructured
See anew
abandoned lenses
embrace
perspectives
Historical paths
lead to new discoveries
symphonic differences
roughing up the angles, straight lines
Beyond the structures
eyes on
brains on
hearts on
let learning
dance!
They’re everywhere. Seemingly multiplying when they come in close proximity. Some are orange, others lime green. Like a school of fish, we all move together shifting left then right, never getting out of formation for fear of an impending tumble, or worse still, a dreaded crash! If you’re lucky, you can hear them coming up behind you. If you’re not, that frozen feeling creeps up your back and you don’t know whether to move right or left or just stand still until they pass.
And they move fast! The hurry is built right into the design. No need to push off or keep the roll going with the swing of a leg. Just stand up, hold on, and go! Bikes have bells, cars have horns, and even skateboards have the click clack of wheels over concrete…but electric scooters are pretty much stealthily silent. Blank-faced riders looking straight ahead with no pretense of athletics, no helmets or elbow pads, often not even athletic footwear. Some are even actively engaged with phones, scrolling, viewing, sometimes even filming.
If only they solved the parking problem on campus or become part of the mitigation of fossil fueled commuting. Unfortunately, they seem to create their own hazards as ownerless transport left in growing herds. Maybe I need to hop on one and find their charm for myself.
March has been a busy month with my Saturdays filled with writing project work. Today was the day for our much awaited Leadership Advanced Institute–a day planned to renew, reconnect, reenergize, and reignite the joy that we have experienced with our colleagues in the past. But three Saturdays in a row is hard.
Luckily we had planned the day we would want. A day filled with social opportunities, engagement with new ideas and thinking, opportunities to inspire writing, and feedback on those writing ideas from our colleagues.
This was our first large-scale in person meeting since the COVID shutdown in 2020. 32 educators gathered on a Saturday because we knew that interactions with each other would be salve to our battered teacher identities.
We created identity heart maps to allow us to connect or reconnect with each other. For some of us, it was the first time we had met off Zoom. A block party got us up and talking, catching up or meeting new friends. Later, we took inspiration from Brene Brown and Daniel Pink as we created maps of our journey from here to there–or there to here.
Our maps became a starting point for writing, sharing our stories–many filled with frustration, regret, and exhaustion. We listened to each other for those moments where the writer might go deeper or the writing might help to explore a complex topic. We talked and listened, knowing the writing would help us through whatever journey we chose to take.
After a lunch delivered–what a treat to sit and eat and talk with friends new and old–we wrote. Time to write is gold! This was not about homework. We will come back and write some more for part two of this Advanced Institute. But before we left, after recording our next steps in writing, we picked a single sentence to read aloud to the group. The symphony of voices and words touched our hearts, knowing we want to hear more, read more, write more. A day of work–but so much more than a job.
From the 5th floor you can see the ocean
cobalt blue beneath the layer of cloud
From the 5th floor you can feel icy fingers
caress your face as you pull your jacket in close
From the 5th floor you can hear the community
talking, laughing, moving like ants below
From the 5th floor you can smell spring arriving
as sunshine mixes with sea breezes
From the 5th floor you can see the old and the new
shoulder to shoulder, architectural eras illuminated
From the 5th floor you can imagine the impossible
looking beyond the now
into the yet to be
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, today was the day to head to the university to get a tour of our new offices and get keys. We’ve been watching the building emerge from what was formerly a parking lot for a couple of years now. Deep holes and mounds of dirt have been replaced by shiny glass and modern lines. This multi-use space includes offices, meeting spaces, retail, restaurants, and student housing along with underground parking. While we all worked from home, construction continued and the building has come in pretty much on time.
A pandemic opening is a bit strange. We’ve all been invited in two or three at a time to be introduced to our new spaces. So instead of a busy, buzzing space, things were quiet today. And that seemed perfect. After a grand tour of all the offices and working spaces, Angela and I got a closer look at our writing project’s spaces. We puttered around a bit, getting a feel for the layout and began to organize and unpack a few boxes.
As a writing project, we’ve moved a number of times. The first place I remember was a portable building outside the Teacher Education Program building. When that building was demolished to make room for new construction, we moved into an old building in another part of campus, this time moving in with CREATE, our current (and forever) home department. When that building was razed to make room for yet more new construction (are you seeing a pattern here?), we moved to our more recent space–an old science building renamed to fit its new occupants–the Social Science Research Building. That place has been home for more than a decade, a place for meetings, for conversations with colleagues, and for all the “stuff” that accumulates from our work with teachers and students.
Even when we packed all our belongings in the fall, the move to a new space still didn’t seem real. We’d heard all about windows that opened, space for the entire CREATE family all in the same building, conference rooms and parking (I’ll still believe in its ampleness only when I get to experience available parking spaces once folks come back to school and work!).
But today…these new offices became real. And they feel just right. They are fresh and clean, even while piled with boxes and books that need putting away. They feel like a the promise of a bright future, a place to envision new ways to support teachers and students. A place to build on a more than 40 year history of successful professional development. I can do my work from home, but I am feeling excited about heading back to the university. To my brand spanking new office, to collaborations with my colleagues, to informal conversations in the common spaces, to a post-pandemic work life. Now, to get back in there and get those boxes unpacked! (And I’m pretty excited about having a window that opens…and a bit of a view!)
Thursdays are my SDAWP day. That means that I spend the day at UCSD doing my work as the director of the San Diego Area Writing Project (SDAWP). Inspired by Margaret Simon‘s list of things she loves in her slice the other day, I’ve been thinking about things I love about my SDAWP work.
I love being on campus at UCSD. I’ve taken so many photos of the library–it’s unusual architecture means it always makes an interesting picture. This one was from this morning–I wanted to capture the billowing clouds to the east. As I neared the library, I could hear music. If you look closely you’ll see the people singing. The acoustics of the cement building made their voices soar, those few people sounded like a concert…before 8am this morning.
I love the many opportunities I have to talk with educators across disciplines, across educational roles, across levels. Rich conversations about access and equity, what constitutes success and how to bridge the instructional gaps that happen along the K-college pipeline for some students.
I have a love/hate relationship with writing grants. I love imagining the possibilities and creating structures to support teachers and students. I hate deadlines and the institutional hoops you have to leap through just to submit–and that doesn’t even ensure the grant will be awarded. I’m deeply in the writing process of a grant right now…and probably should be writing that right now instead of blogging. Wish me luck!
I love working with and supporting teachers. I especially love talking educational pedagogy, best practices, and all things writing. I love reading the latest research and thinking about both tried and true approaches and new ideas that I haven’t yet tested for myself.
I love that my doctorate didn’t pull me out of the classroom. With my dual (or more) roles, I get to retain my expertise and credibility as a classroom teacher and stretch beyond my classroom to work county-wide, state-wide and nationally. There is never a dull moment with my multiple hats balanced on my head.
And I love that on my way home I can stop off at Torrey Pines Reserve for a walk on the beach. The cliffs at Torrey Pines are spectacular! Today I chatted with a photographer whose camera lens was the size of a small child. He was watching a mating pair of peregrine falcons, waiting for a chance at a perfect photo. He patiently waited and watched, chatting with beach walkers as they passed. I’m grateful to have gotten a chance to see the falcon–although my camera lens wasn’t able to capture it. The view below is of a raven. A pair of them were swooping and diving…and I’m sure I saw them carrying twigs or other nest building materials in their beaks.
The tide was low today so I was able to walk to the southern end and catch a glimpse of tons of hang gliders in the distance at the Torrey Pines Glider Port.
Don’t think for a second that this is a comprehensive list of things I love about directing the SDAWP…I’m sure I could go on and on and on! I do love my work. What would you include in a list of things you love today?
Sometimes I long for exotic vacations, opportunities to explore places I have never been. I imagine wandering through iconic museums, looking up at skylines made familiar through movies and artwork, and a peek at a way of life different from my own. And then I remember that I live in a pretty special place–one that is exotic for others!
Today I had a rare day off and set off with my mother, my sister and my niece to enjoy a wonderful staycation day. We headed off to Coronado–best known for the Hotel Del Coronado (a historic, high-priced beachside hotel), a naval station (North Island), and miles of exquisite beaches. Locals call it an island and mostly access it by driving across the iconic Coronado Bay Bridge, a curving stretch with breathtaking views of the bay and the San Diego skyline, but it is actually a peninsula.
We walked and walked, feet in the cool water while the sun (even pretty early in the morning) warmed our shoulders. We noticed some posts in the distance and found the fence that separates the public beach from the Naval Air Station.
We also found that this far end of the beach was designated as a dog beach and the dogs were loving the water today. They chased and retrieved balls and chased and played with each other. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes, and like people, they seemed relaxed and happy as they played along the shore. They were obviously enjoying their own staycation!
After lunch at El Indio, a favorite San Diego Mexican restaurant, we decided to head to Old Town. I can’t remember the last time I explored this part of our city. It was HOT today, so the cool greens of the beautiful botanical art sculptures were soothing to the eye. I love the way the plants were a growing changing part of the art piece. (This is a full body, taller than me piece…but I was drawn to the face and the juxtaposition of light and shadow.)
Earlier in the week, as a part of our Summer Institute, we took folks out around the UCSD campus for a writing marathon. This University of California campus is a jewel, filled with natural beauty and with interesting art installations called the Stuart Collection. As we visited different parts of the campus, we took time to study the art, consider it in relation to our own thinking after nearly four weeks together, and wrote. We started with this piece by Michael Asher. As often as I have been on this campus (weekly for years) and have walked past this piece, I never knew it was an art installation. This ordinary looking water fountain is made of polished granite to look (and function) exactly like the metal ones we are used to seeing. I find myself still thinking about its placement, its ordinariness, and wondering how it ended up in the UCSD collection–and I know I will never look at it in the same way as I did in the past.
And then we headed off to another piece in the Stuart Collection–the whimsical, enormous engineering feat that is Bear by Tim Hawkinson. Made of local boulders, this bear stands more than 23 feet tall in a courtyard formed by three engineering buildings. This piece is a favorite of our young writers, an enormous reminder of childhood.
So consider a staycation in your place. What sights and sounds will capture your imagination? What might others see as exotic? Or how might you see your local place in new ways?
You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #staycation for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.
Share your place with us this week, taking us on a #staycation journey with you. What hidden treasures will you uncover when you vacation (even for a few minutes) right at home?
Do you speak in images? Enjoy taking photos to document your experiences or just to express what you notice in the world? Love to share them with others? Welcome to the weekly photo challenge! I post a new challenge each week…check in regularly and join the fun!
I’m not a fan of the time change in the fall. I mean, I love getting the bonus hour…for sleep, walking, exploration, photography…but I hate getting home when it is dark, especially when it isn’t even 5pm! But in this first week of the time change, I have found some interesting images BECAUSE of the time change.
I’ve been trying to squeeze more time for physical exercise into my life…and this week I’ve been carrying my gym shoes so I can take the time for a walk at the end of the day. Earlier this week I had a late meeting near UCSD, so when I finished my regular work day I put my gym shoes on and took a nice long walk around the campus. As the sun dipped lower and lower into the sky, I loved watching the way it caressed the buildings and played hide and seek through the trees.
In this image, the low sun found its way through the tall buildings, lighting up the midsection of the eucalyptus trees in front of them.
In this shot, the harsh setting sun created a flare of light as I shot directly into it. Using an app to convert it to black and white created a neat effect with the light.
The Geisel Library at UCSD is such an architecturally interesting building that I couldn’t resist framing some shots. You can see the sun setting behind the building in this shot focused toward the west. Again, I changed it to black and white, creating lines of light framing the building.
And as I walked I noticed the moon rising. I chased it through the trees, tracking it down when it hid behind buildings. And as I circled back toward the library, I found the moon sitting on its shoulder with the colorful afterglow of sunset in the background. This image is almost otherworldly!
Yesterday I was at school late, after all, it is report card season. And it’s hard to stay focused on work as the classroom gets darker and darker as the sun sets. About a half hour after the sunset, my teaching partner and I headed out…and looked out toward the end of the hall and saw the most incredible colors in the sky. Brilliant oranges sat on the deep turquoise sea, and even as I took the time to snap a few images I knew that my camera would not do justice to the intensity of the colors.
And here is one more, looking across the field at the baseball backstop with the ocean just beyond.
How has the time change impacted you? What are you seeing and capturing in your photos that are because of the time change? My pictures happen to take place as the sun went down, but I can imagine that the morning light is also different, changing what you see.
You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!)
I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #timechange for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.
How did you take advantage of your extra hour? What are you noticing now that our days are shorter and our nights longer? I look forward to seeing the time change through your lens!
Thinking Through My Lens 