stumble, eat dirt, stand up, do it again.

We had a group of students today completely bomb their presentation on China-U.S. relations. The scope of the assignment was that each student take on a different perspective looking from the U.S. into China's own way of life and how U.S. officials can assist China in affecting change (My disagreement with this project premise is the least of my worries at this point). Granted, they are freshman, and they are still learning... but they've had all year to refine their research and presentation skills. I would hope that at this stage in the game they would at least be able to identify when it's time to ask for help. But alas... I return to making up lists and rubrics for them after the fact.

This frustrates me. Perhaps because there was no rubric in the first place. No specific guideline stating, "Here is what I want to see..." But that is not my fault. My main responsibility is to now help my students, "my kids", as I call them, as much as I can.

In other news, yoga was even better today. I felt a better stretch, and Mark came over to help me straighten my leg once or twice. "Breathe through it," he said after noticing my wince. And so I did.

Infinity is the same as finity.

I can't believe I gave up yoga for so long.

This feels amazing.

It felt amazing when Mark made me pull my arms back and pull my toes to my head into a full cobra.

Never have I had a better lower back stretch.

And I hadn't realized my left shoulder was as tight as it is.

I feel complete and endless simultaneously.

Oh, Monday. You're too good to me.

My stress seems to manifest in new ways all of the time. I suppose this is meant to keep me on my toes.

Today, my jaw decided to lock up. All of a sudden while driving, moving my jaw became excruciating. Given my already existing jaw problems, the added stress of clenching my jaw and teeth was enough to cause the muscle to freak out. And today was not the best of days as it involved menstruation, taxes, and my current feelings about my relationship status. It all just seemed to culminate on this glorious Monday.

Some Advil and menthol cream later, I'm still trying to soften it up. I'm predicting it's going to take a few days, in fact. However, with the craziness of Festival del Sol, I need to keep it together. The High Tech High students have this crazy Festival in order to present all their hard work and I'm sure many will be close to tears by Thursday evening.

I just hope this clears up soon. If not, well, I might as well start looking for a long-term remedy now. Stress prevention is my next project.