I have a job! And, I'm flying all over the place!

The best tuna melt I have ever had, and some delicious watermelon. Photo by Ryan Bowen.
Dear students,

Wow, that came together fast. As you may know by looking at my last post, I was up in Washington with Ryan for a while, until August 12th, when I drove back to Portland (because my birthday was August 13th). Now, once I got home, I saw this deal that JetBlue Airways is offering:

http://www.jetblue.com/deals/all-you-can-jet/?intcmp=HPHero1Eng_All-You-Can-JetPass

Basically, for $600, you can fly to anywhere they fly, and unlimited amount of times between September 8th and October 8th. You don't even have to pay taxes in the United States (though you do if you choose to fly internationally). 56 destinations, including many places that I would LOVE to go. Also, I know all of you know how much I love flying. So I figured that would be the perfect graduation/birthday present from my parents. I was jumping up and down excited, and still can't really believe it! Can you imagine all the possibilities? Here's everywhere that JetBlue flies (from Portland, they have non-stops to Long Beach, CA and New York City):

http://www.jetblue.com/wherewejet/

I am currently trying to get other people to come with me too. I talked with Ryan, who might be able to, but understandably has some finance issues with it. I also met with Mrs. DeFrance for lunch on Friday (so good to see her!), who was beyond excited about it as well - though I haven't heard back from her yet. Finally, one of my old college roommates, Steven, is pretty much committed to coming. He has family in Bogota, Columbia, who we could stay with. Isn't that just amazing?

Anyway, that is cool. However, this is cooler: on my birthday (the day after we bought the JetBlue pass), my friend Alexis from Lewis and Clark called me because she really wanted me to apply for a job that she was doing. Do any of you remember Mrs. Woicke, who came to supervise me? Basically, she is helping run this really awesome after-school program called Step Up for some Portland Public High Schools. Here's some more information:

http://www.openmeadow.org/open/meadow/schools/C11/

The job is part time, from 1:45 to 5:30, Monday through Thursday. I had an interview today with one of the guys that runs it, and he hired me on the spot! Woo hoo! I will be working with Alexis at Marshall High School this next year - I have other Lewis and Clark friends that are working at other high schools too!

Basically, I will be an after school mentor/tutor for at-risk youth. I'll have 10 students total - 5 on Monday/Wednesday, and 5 on Tuesday/Thursday. I'm still not sure about the specifics, but I think I will be basically teaching and helping them with whatever they are given in their classes at Marshall. I'll also be meeting with their parents frequently and making sure they know what is going on - since the population is about 65% white and 35% latino, it should be a good opportunity for me to brush up on my Spanish!

So, put the two together, and that means that from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8, I will be working part time during the week (getting to sleep in, woo hoo!) and then flying off to all sorts of exotic destinations on the weekend. Could it get any better?

I've already booked the first trip: I will be flying out to New York City on a red eye after work on Thursday, getting in at 6:30 AM on September 11. I'm hoping to go to Ground Zero and take in all of the rememberances and then jet back to Portland later that night - because I really cannot miss the opening Oregon Duck home football game of the season on Saturday 9/12 vs. Purdue - if any of you are going, let me know! :-)

The next day, Sunday, I'm thinking about using the pass to fly down to Long Beach, CA for the day and then come back. Oh wow. This is going to be SO awesome!

Anyway, where do you think I should go? Take a look at the route map and suggest places! For right now, I am thinking that 2 of the other 3 weekends will be Bogota (with Steve) and Cancun, Mexico, where I can go check out the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza and Coba.

Seriously, it all came together that fast! It really was an incredible birthday and last few days. I am so excited for school!

Finally, here are some aforementioned photos of what I have been up to lately:


Cliff face off of Cape Kiwanda

Check out what the wind and waves did to this rock over time!


Standing on Canadian ground, at the Peace Arch, where Interstate 5 meets the border.


Gorgeous sunset over Birch Bay, Washington. Ryan's parents get this view every night!

Ryan playing pool in Bellingham, Washington. He beat me, two games to one.

LOVE this picture. It is of an alley in Bellingham. The light was just incredible.

The view of beautiful downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. As seen from Stanley Park, to the north of the city.


Ryan and I went to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Vancouver BC. This was his fortune...

... and this was mine. I love it - it is on the inside of my wallet to remind me, haha.

Finally, here's me looking out over the bay towards Canada. Taken by Ryan. Good times. It has been a fantastic summer. Looking forward to getting back to work!
There you have it! Please let me know what you all are up to, and where I should fly to! Have a great day! :-)

Hey There, Everyone!

Hi guys, this is Lauren. Just wanted to share with all of you that I have a job interview tomorrow at the Bliss Bake Shop over in Bethany Village. I'll let you all know if I get the job!

How is everyone's summer going?

Mine sure has been eventful. I've been to at least fifty barbecues and parties, I went to the County Fair with some family, and am doing some volunteer work in portland this weekend. My cousin just recently got in an ATV accident and broke some bones in her lower back and behind her pelvis. Luckily, it won't affect her walking. She's doing okay, although I haven't spoken to her yet.

Home again Home again!

This was taken by my great Aunt Rindy at Rosevelt Lake and that's the canyon I was looking out on.

Hello again!
Just yesterday I got home from a 3 week vacation to Gisela, Az and Young, Az. Two very small towns. I was in Gisela to visit my cousin and his wife. That is my summer vacation usually to go and visit them!

Things I did:
-In Gisela:

Horseback riding (of course)
Swimming in the creek (FUUUUNN)
Went to a 13 year old's birthday party and wrestled three 13/14 year olds and beat them all (used some judo!!!)
Got to see new born baby pups (catahoula/ hound dogs)
Wrestled around with my cousin ( we always beat up on eachother)
Got to have some really good wine!
and lots more!

In Young:
Went on a 70 mile quad ride to Rosevelt Lake and a look out tower (for fires)
Ate the BEST PIZZA EVER(it was sour dough pizza)
Spent a week there.
Mostly rode quads all day
That was really fun time though
we made lots of food!

This was the quad I rode.

and that river is the salt river.
It flows into rosevelt lake!

On the Road Again

Cape Kiwanda, taken on Saturday, August 8th. Currently my desktop background!
Hey everyone,

It has been a long time, I know! I have actually been very much enjoying the first real summer that I have had for a few years. This morning, I was at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon with my family on a weekend beach trip, and now I am currently typing from Birch Bay, Washington, where I am staying for the next few days with Ryan Bowen and his parents. We will probably make a trip up to Vancouver, B.C. as well! Just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am in fact still around - pictures will be coming soon, once this all calms down. No news on the job front yet - there simply aren't any to apply for! We will see what happens down the stretch! Let me know how you are doing - ready for school to start back up? :-)

Have a great day, thanks for visiting!

Long Time No See

Hey guys. How is every body doing? Well i thought i could post something real quick. I'm stuck at the library so i really dont have anything to do. But some summer im having. It has not been too exiting. The blazers though have had a good past two weeks. I recently(last satuday) heard that they signed Andre Miller to a deal so im pretty exited about that. I dont know what i would do with 21 MILLION GREEN BUCKS. Maybe have em all be $100 bills and roll around naked in em. But anyway im ready for school even though its a month away. Ill miss Mr. Fritz though. And the music that blares from his speakers.

Now What?

John and I, at his wedding last weekend in Gold Beach! Photo by my dad, Steven Fritz
Hello all!

Let's see, since the last time I wrote to you, I have:

1) Went to aforementioned wedding in Gold Beach.
2) Finished Lewis and Clark's Masters in Teaching Program - school is finally out for me!
3) Played tennis 5 consecutive days in a row.
4) Beat "Minesweeper" on Expert difficulty 9 times, with the current record at 184 seconds. EDIT: Right after posting this, I beat it twice more, lowering my best time to 182 seconds!
5) Continued to watch "Planet Earth" on DVD - I just finished the "Jungles" section.
6) Contemplated what the heck I am going to do next year roughly one thousand times.

That about sums it up! I had really forgotten how boring summer can be without anything planned to do! Basically, I have been sitting inside, finishing up the last few odds and ends for Lewis and Clark, and trying to stay out of the heat. Really, the only solid thing on my schedule right now is Jury Duty, which is next Monday, the 27th.

Of course, I do have a ton of other things to do as well - namely, preparing essay answers to all the school districts application questions: Beaverton alone has FIVE. The hard thing about those is that since there are no jobs open, it is difficult to tell which I should be concentrating on doing first (and thus, I have a lack of motivation to do them). Ugh, I can never win!

Here are some fun pictures from recent events for you all:


Another great one by my dad - we liked this one so much that we are making a print and giving it to the Trauts (our next door neighbors, remember) as a present.

At almost every wedding I go to, I like to take a black and white photo of the first dance. It just seems so classy!

On the way back to Portland, we stopped at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. Here are some mean looking bison, staring down my car!

Finally, here is a picture of my friends Jessica, Alexis, and me from the Lewis and Clark graduation party this last Thursday. If you have a fantastic memory, you will recall that Jessica gave me the Santa Claus/Muslim hat/beard lesson, and that Alexis gave me the ball of yarn connecting us all activity. Two awesome ladies - I am sad to no longer have classes with them!
Okay, I am off to go play some more tennis (though my hand and arms are starting to feel the effects of so much play)! Let me know what you guys are up to! Also, check out the new poll, which I will use to coordinate my posts on here! Hope all is well!

I'm Officially a Licensed Teacher!

Proof that I am, in fact, licensed to teach in the State of Oregon! You can access this same page (and any other teacher that you have ever had in Oregon) at this website: Teacher Standards and Practices Commission - License Inquiry (you don't have to know anything other than their last name). Pretty cool, huh?
Hello wonderful former students!

I hope and trust that everyone had another great week. I am down to my last week at Lewis and Clark, and even though I technically haven't graduated yet, I did receive my teaching license in the mail this week! Very exciting times, though it may not do me much good because there has been a grand total of TWO jobs in the State of Oregon posted for High School Social Studies this summer so far to apply to. Still haven't heard back from either of them. Bad times to be a new teacher - but as I said to you all many times this year, I am confident that is will all work out somehow, and plus, there is absolutely nothing that could top teaching you guys! :-)

In fact, funny story: last year on this day, July 10th, 2008, I had my first ever meeting with Mrs. DeFrance and Mrs. Ashdown, where they interviewed me to determine if I would be a good fit for Westview. I got the word back from Lewis and Clark about an hour after the interview - they loved me, and I was in! Fast forward to now, and I cannot believe what an amazing year it was! Way too fast, if you ask me.

So yes, anyway, I am officially done with my Masters Degree requirements next Wednesday at 5:00 PM. That is when my last class gets out. However, it seems like an incredibly tall task to get there! Here's a sampling of the work that is due for me this next week:

1) Memorize three pages of Mock Trial testimony for Monday. Mr. Sanderson has us arguing a sexual harassment case and I am supposed to be the expert witness - a clinical psychologist. I've never memorized lines from a script before, so this will be interesting!

2) Teach lesson on why the economy completely collapsed last year. This is actually incredibly interesting, even though it is very complex. Because even us teachers have a hard time understanding it all, Mr. Copley (he came in to visit Period 1 one day, remember) had us all read the transcripts to these NPR programs which do a phenomenal job of breaking it all down. It is a little much, but if you are curious as to what the heck is going on and why the government had to bail the banks out and all of that, I would highly recommend this. Just incredible.

This American Life - Episode #355 - The Giant Pool of Money.

This American Life - Episode #365 - Another Frightening Show About the Economy.

The link to listen is the orange button next to "Full Episode" on the left side.

3) Remake my old lesson plans on either Rwanda or Nigeria to accommodate ESL learners better. This an assignment from the English Language Learner class I am taking. Basically, I have to redo 3 of my old lessons to do better at reaching everyone in the class.

4) Mr. Sanderson has us doing a curriculum development project, which involves creating an entirely new unit for the future. Mine is on teaching the Fourth Amendment - Search and Seizure. You guys would love it, I am sure! :-)

5) Write up reflections and thoughts on economic reading and discussion. Two to three pages.

And that isn't even all of it! You can see why I have been super busy! I will be even more busy this weekend, because tomorrow (Saturday) morning, I am heading down to Gold Beach, Oregon for my childhood best friend's wedding. It is a 6 hour drive, and my entire family is going down and spending the night, as my friend, John Traut, has been my next door neighbor for 19 years. Remember JTrizzOut from the music video? Here's a picture of me and him a couple of years ago:


From left to right, Clarke Miller, Ryan Bowen (speaking of Ryan, you should be delighted to hear that the organization he is working with over in Rwanda, Play for Hope, just won a $10,000 grant! woo hoo!), Tarah (John's soon to be wife), John, and me.
Super exciting, but it also means that I have to be memorizing script the entire drive down! Lots to do! I can't wait to finally be able to take some pictures - it has been way too long since I have had the opportunity to! I will try to post some of them if they turn out good. Until then, everyone seriously needs to be checking out Mary Hare's Flickr, which is just ridiculously good. You have a ton of talent Mary! :-)

That should just about do it for the update, everyone! I promise to be more communicative when I get done with school! Have a fantastic week!

And now, to end the post, I present:

The most random classes that I am now endorsed to be able to teach:

Middle School -
Drama (haha - maybe I would bring my sister in as a guest speaker for 80% of the time)

High School -
Anthropology
AP Macroeconomics (you know after taking a class at Lewis and Clark this summer, this actually wouldn't be a disaster, I hope)
Business Law (I know next to nothing about this)
Eastern Religions
IB Theory of Knowledge
Modern Intellectual History (what does that even mean?)

You see, this is why I love teaching Social Studies - it is EVERYTHING! You really have to know something about every subject there is!

Until next time, keep enjoying summer! Let me know what you are up to!