Today is the last day of dress up week at school. It’s Ballistic Blue day and SGirl understood the assignment. Unlike elementary and middle school, HS does not inform us, so it was news to me this morning when I saw my little thug dressed for school.
I wanted to do something different for Father’s Day this year. We took P to Smorgasburg in LA. It takes place every Sunday and there are several dozen different food trucks. It is pricey but well worth the time and money. Since it was very hot we went early and were out by noon. We had lobster nachos, Peruvian tacos, vegan potato balls, lumpia, P had another taco, and Inca Cola (Peruvian) as a treat because SGirl does not drink soft drinks. As we were leaving we realized we meant to try arepas (Guatemalan sandwich). We tried the deluxe because you can’t have a sandwich without avocado. Sadly, we were to full to eat it, but were ready when we got home. It was a really nice experience and we can’t wait to return. We will most likely wait until is not as hot.
The vegan place we tried, Seneoritas, won the Food Network’s Food Truck Race. We did not know that at the time because they were half way through the season. I did tell the owner that I knew they won, and the girl had a poker face. I was right, they are the first vegan food truck to win. The funny thing is that the vegan part did not cross my mind. The potato balls I grew up calling Rellenos de Papa, stuffed potatoes. The filling is usually picadillo, made with ground beef. SGirl did not notice the difference, and really enjoyed it.
The last BTSN we attended was for SGirl’s 7Th grade. It was nice to resume some kind of normal. The Engineering Academy accepts 32 students every year. I learned yesterday that SGirl is one of the 5 females in her cohort. We need to do better with our daughters, they are as good as their male counterparts at STEM.
The engineering kids take four core classes together as a group. They branch out for Honors and elective classes. Two of SGirl’s friends were there last night.
A big change when SGirl started 9th grade was that we were (still are) dealing with a pandemic. The school tours were done virtually, there was a mask mandate for everyone, no exceptions. Both 9th and 10th graders were first time students at the high school. To keep the kids safe, no parents were allowed on campus. I was only on campus twice, the second week of school SGirl got sick in class, and I was called to bring her home. The second visit was to attend the honor roll ceremony the last week of school.
It is still weird that we have yet to set foot in any of SGirl’s classrooms. We have always been there for the first day of school, and volunteered for classroom and field trips. I was allowed to accompany SGirl when she picked up her books, had her ID picture taken, and to drop over $200 on activities through the school year. We received an email recently and they are considering having an in person back to school night. While this is very foreign to us, as long as the kids are safe we are on board. SGirl still wears a mask and only takes it off to eat or drink. She is very serious about not catching COVID and so far we have all escaped the curse.
SGirl has been an honor roll student since third grade, when they start awarding HR. I do not know if this is the way all high schools do it, but HR is only awarded at the end of the school year, not both semesters. Another change I did not know about until they started calling out names, is that they only have a ceremony for those with a GPA higher than 4.0. I don’t even know if they award honor roll for GPAs of 3.50 to 4.0. SGirl also received an award for outstanding performance in math. We were only advised that she would receive teh award, but not the class. P and I were pretty surprised that it was math. The picture below is our girl the day of the HR awards. SGirl would not even take off her mask for the picture. ☺
SGirl is now a sophomore in high school. She successfully completed her first year in the Engineering Academy. SGirl’s freshman year was difficult, the classes/teachers very demanding. At times SGirl was deep in homework up until her bedtime (9:00 p.m.).
The week before school started P had a major life change. After ten years he has moved on to another employer, same job. For the past 15 years P has come home for lunch. The last 10 years he worked 1.6 miles from home. He is now commuting close to 30 miles each way. No big deal in the mornings, but a traffic mess in the afternoons.
California’s governor passed a law allowing high school students an extra hour of sleep, thus starting school an hour later. I really didn't think it would matter much to SGirl, especially coming from summer break. I was wrong, the first two weeks she was upset at having her routine disturbed. SGirl has finally settled in her new schedule.
Changes for SGirl and P means changes for me. Last school year SGirl spent some time with P before he left for work. Now he leaves by 5:30 a.m. and she does not wake up until 7:00 a.m. I thought that was going to be an issue but SGirl has not complained.
For P to leave early means I have to pack his lunch early, something I had not done before. Prior to me staying home with Baby S, we worked in different cities and took care of our own lunches. Now I wake up much earlier and a shout out to insomnia that makes it possible to get up and get P ready. Its weird to see him carry a messenger bag and a cooler to work.
I need to backtrack at some point and post some of SGirl’s milestones. My laptop is dead and I was going to ask for a new one for my birthday, but SGirl needs a new desktop with lots of bells and whistles, including two monitors, to do her engineering homework. Change is good and necessary, we will adjust accordingly.
I take SGirl to school at 7:45 a.m., and try to get errands done as early as possible to avoid the heat. I’m rarely out past 11:30 a.m. I leave to pick up SGirl at 2:15 p.m. to be able to find a place to park. Then I wait until 3:30, when school is out. I leave a shade on the car, and roll down all four windows. It still gets really hot in the car. This was the temperature last Tuesday, a record.
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