Gorgeous Norwegian Auroras (pics)

Coinciding with the annual Geminids, a solar flare made its way to Earth, providing some beautiful light shows/auroras/Northern Lights. I will likely be in Alaska some day (or Iceland, or Norway), to see Northern Lights with my own eyes. That's a travel goal.

Is this the real life?

I saw some crazy streaking meteors the other night. Every December, when it gets cold, solsticey, and holiday music starts playing, it's time for Geminids. The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini, which is where the "radiant point" of the shower is. Most of the shooting stars will come from there. Cool thing is that Jupiter was IN Gemini the other night, so you can just stare at Jupiter in awe while catching meteors in your peripheral. I just laid out on my car, with a jacket and some music. Beautiful show. If you missed it, there's always next year.

Is this just fantasy?

So yeah, in studying History and religions, I'm big on celestial phenomena. What does it all mean? Does it mean anything? Can we attach meaning to it if we want? Yeah, that along with climatic, political, and economic destabilization.... but we survived 2012. We should be okay. At least we don't got giant mutated rats, like the Middle East... or killer hornets, like Japan.

Full moon coming up Dec. 17. Longest full moon of the year, they call it the Full Cold Moon, or the Long Night Moon, cuz it's closest to the Winter Solstice.

By the way, aliens are real.

Photo credit and more photos here: http://www.nrk.no/nordland/...

Beauty Abounds When You Look Around

There's a free show every night.
Just look up when times get dark.

We're floating through space, so during our brief existence on Earth, we can enjoy celestial events all the time, like sunsets, sunrises, moonrises, pretty clouds, and planets. What a blessing. These are the regular events.

I say beauty abounds because it's abundant, if you know where to look.

The moon changes color as it rises!

Cool thing about spotting planets right now, you can see Venus EVERY night, and Jupiter EVERY morning. They stand way out from regular stars, and are commonly mistaken for UFOs[1]. People used to think they were Gods, Goddesses... Venus, Jupiter/Zeus, Mars[2]. Ancient Cosmology first had me interested, back in 2007.

Tonight, 12/13/13, the Geminid meteor shower peaks. It's a special night.

Geminids are crazy!

If the sky in your neighborhood is clear, then this is the BEST meteor shower of the year. I was just talking to a buddy about tonight's meteor shower. We were in the car. He looked up in the Northwest direction and a streaking meteor. Then he saw another. Two meteors in the span of a minute. And the shower's not even peaking yet!

I remember seeing some Geminid meteors a few years ago, and they're not just little meteor flashes. Geminids are known to STREAK BRIGHTLY across the sky. They can be blue/bluish-green!

Colorful streaks like this!

It's an exciting year for space. For a lot of reasons, not just Comet ISON.

If your mind is feeling tense, go outside and try to CALM IT.
Have a seat, take a breath, and keep your EYES ON the sky.

New Life in New Orleans

It's been just over 4 months since I made the drive to New Orleans. Teaching Geometry/Algebra II in NOLA has been one of the major shifts in my life, both professionally and personally. I am learning new skills, gaining new experiences, and finding myself more.

Only took 2 nights. Great road trip.

My old life was... not bad. Still love my life and my people back in Cali, but a change was due. Can't be too complacent, had to step it up.

I actually felt like I wasn't growing enough in Cali, felt bubbled-in between OC and LA, and I wasn't contributing my full potential. Felt under-utilized at the school I was working at, and I felt unfulfilled at the sales job I had consulting businesses. I still don't feel like I'm at my fullest potential, but I've made significant changes in my life since last year.

Camping during our road trip (Kartchner Caverns, Arizona)

Anyone who knew me before would say that I stay up late, I wake up late, I can't cook, and I burn leaves. Although some of that is still true, my habits have improved considerably; I wake up way earlier, I'm less lazy, and am more confident in the kitchen now. My first consistently-paying full-time job really helps too. Along with the lower cost of living here. I feel like a more effective person overall. 

She motivates me to be a better person too (Riverwalk, San Antonio)

Just a year ago, in 2012, I was hardly employed. I did go on a neat vacation to SF with my GF, but it was all on a budget. I was not doing too well professionally, or financially. At least for my standards. The two years before that, I was working part-time at a middle school in Santa Ana (Mendez). Throughout that time, I was networking, looking for classes, seminars, professional/personal development. Bubbling ideas for an LLC. I spent a few months doing Sales and MLM...I may have bugged some friends. Good thing I'm not doing THAT anymore, riiight? Overall, great learning experiences in my post-college life, but I didn't find my niche yet. Still haven't, but much progress has been made.

Gotta enjoy the journey (live from somewhere... New Mexico?)

Been one heck of a ride! (San Antonio)

I view life in seasons and segments. Chapters. This has been a pivotal chapter for me.

I came to NOLA in June knowing one person (from high school), having no place to stay, and no car.
Got trained for 5 weeks, landed a job, met the dance scene here, lived in the French Quarter (which was a blast), and then flew back to Cali in July. 3 weeks went by fast. By the end of July, I was back in Louisiana, with my gf, who joined me for the road trip. Having her here made it so much different, so much better. Having a car helped too. With Mi's assistance, I found this great house to live in, love my house mates, love the location.

Seems like a good growing season. Been sowing seeds, watering daily, snacking on some fruits, and watching roots grow. Looking forward to what 2014 has in store.

Classroom Flows!

Actually wrote this in my car in an inspired moment.

Outside the mall. Then I bought shoes. It was a dope day.

States of Matter

by Tom T.

This is to my country like American Bandstand.

With the strength that allows my friends to easily get up into a handstand,

I take a panoramic scan, from Louisiana land to Uzbekistan.

Sometimes take a seat. Sometimes take a stand.

Sometimes take a walk, sometimes have a dance.

Sometimes you can advance investing summertime for a chance.

Searched for that rare knowledge.

With thirst for that air mileage.

My days back in college were amazing, life was solid.

Since then I learned to flow. Had to know, so I scholar'd.

(some Asian shit)

Aqueous. Rhyme spontaneous. No caging this.

It's hot like a Cajun dish.

Had to calculate the changing ex (change in x).

Say what's next, way complex.

Yet it's not hard to get like the distance to the vertex.

T encourage wrecks on the musical sets, burning flesh.

Breaking beats, earning cash.

Running fast as I mentally dash,

And flashback to my days late for class, chasing ass.

Learned enough to pass, hope I don't miss the Bruin Bash.

Out in Westwood, felt the blessing, It was Good.

Understood. Burn like a candle,

Know what you can do and determine what you should.

It's good to think but it's also good to act.

Can't be indecisive saying should this and should that.

You'll become a should-head, and fall on your ass flat.

That would be wack, so get on the right track. 

Say the wrong thing and you might get smacked.

It's time to take it back, like zoo animals to they habitat.

Shoutout to the bboys who don't need a mat.

No love for the ones who still don't know how to act.

We break on our back without breaking our back.

Strangers in the street get impressed and give us cash.

Straight up, no tax, now we can pay for gas.

Might get a 20 bag, hope to make it last.

Get that paper back.

Do the math.

Or feel the wrath.

I call it "States of Matter" cuz I play with that solid-liquid gas theme, and also, the United States... that matters.

Stream the Audio, or start to follow:

https://soundcloud.com/tomt-2/classroom-flow-states-of

Home-made Frozen Blueberry Cream Smoothie

I bought one of those invisible boxes full of blueberries, from the fruit aisle.

I turned it into this delicious serving of natural berry antioxidants,
which is way less expensive than a Jamba Juice or Boba store. Less sugar too.

Here's how I made this refreshing frozen smoothie, in 9 pictures:

1) First. I put the frozen blueberries in a big cup.

2) Then I added water to clean the blueberries out without abrasively damaging the berry skins.

3) Put the washed blueberries in a blending machine.

4) Added just a little bit of milk. Don't need much, plus it's saturated fat.

5) Then I added a vitamin shake to my berries and milk. 

I prefer Vi-Shape for nutritional content.

6) Set the cover in position...

7) ...Hit blend...

8) Done in about 5-6 seconds, no ice to crush, just berries.

9) Last step, drink!

I spot a parabola and an ellipse.

This feels pretty healthy. Super easy to make, process is simple.

25th Birthday!

It's crazy to think that 10 years ago, I was 15, starting out in breaking, and still having a few girl problems. BWAHAHAHA.

I don't have girl problems anymore. Girls have Tom problems.

Anyway, this year's birthday was different from any other I've had in the past, namely because it is my first one away from all my friends and family.

Last year I was able to have a whole week's worth of events (dinners, sessions, outings, etc.) and see a lot of my good friends in different settings. In a way, I'm glad I did that, not knowing that I would be thousands of miles removed the next year.

The day went super swimmingly though, despite having only 3-4 hours of sleep. I got that energy secret. Being a Friday, I was giving out a quiz in all my classes. However, when I arrived at school, there was a power outage for half the building! So nothing started until 7:45am, which is 25 minutes later than usual. And even then, Homeroom period went on until 9am, so I ended up not teaching my first period at all. (a relief for me, cuz I was preparing the quizzes still). Meanwhile, my Homeroom students were hungry and wanted to buy snacks. They couldn't find any, so I sold them my candy! Made my money back!

Also, some students stopped by my classroom in the morning, and gave me a birthday balloon to carry around all day. It was very sweet.  (thanks Loan!). Pink balloon ftw. I kept it on during my Algebra 2 class, cuz that's a good class with well-behaved and awesome students... did a warm-up, quiz review, then took that quiz. Some said the the material this week was difficult, but they felt confident in the test. I need to grade them this weekend. And being Friday, I have a "Feedback Friday" thing where they give me feedback on the week. The reviews of the recent class changes have been good! Success!

Highlight of my day:
So then I had a prep period before lunch, which basically became an extended lunch period, time for me to run errands, make copies, etc... I filled out a Lunch-time announcement request form for the Hip Hop Sessions club, announcing that there would be battles after-school! Got the principal to announce "Freestyle Fridays" and at the end of the message she said "Each one, Teach one." My proudest moment.

After lunch, and after teaching/quizzing another class, we had an after-school session. After about an hour of practice, in a very impromptu manner, we set up the battles! Had a 2yr+ bracket and an Internewbie bracket. Had some pretty good showdowns in the 2yr+! Lots of sign-ups! And the Internewbies were very brave, some had JUST started coming to sessions THIS WEEK. All of them started THIS SCHOOL YEAR, so less than 2 months experience! Very impressive!

We had a winner for Internewbies, Ty, a winner for the freeze contest, and we had 4 winners for the 2yr+ bracket, cuz we didn't finish the battles. Everyone's a winner!

For the rest of the day, I relaxed, listened to good music, responded to FB birthday comments, and watched the pre-orders for my book stack up!!! That is so excited and fun (claim your free copy now!). At night I went to the gym (2nd session of the day), met some guys who saw me practicing and I invited them to the session/workshop today. Good stuff.

Also spent some time talking to my Mom and girlfriend on the phone. Didn't go out, slept at a reasonable time, and woke up at 8am. 25 years old, and I still feel young. I got a text yesterday that said "There are turtles 12x my age, languages 1200x my age, and trees 2000x my age. So I'm a young'n. I feel like I'm just getting started!!!

Mid-Night, a Counter-intuitive Time for Productivity

I can proudly say, that I fall asleep at fairly regular hours now. And I wake up early.
Now that the work-week is over, I am able to experiment with 2 sleeps per night.

That's when you wake up in the middle and have 2 sleeps per night.

It's a counter-intuitive time for productivity, a fun time to do stuff,
And a great time for writing, reading, journalizing.

Hyperbolic Reflection 

I. Journalizing is internalizing. Reflect.
"Journal-ing" about your day/week/month/year, and "realizing" things in reflection of that Time period, are the two components to "journalizing."That's an effective practice that I encourage everyone to have: Keep a Journal! Do the "write" thing by journalizing.

II. Mid-night also feels like a good time to write creatively, I'm definitely working on making this (Fre)eBook happen. "Astro-Logic: An exploration of Astronomy and Religion" yeah? Always making rhymes regardless.  I think my SoundCloud subscribers deserve a few new recordings too.

New book of rhymes, available in FREE (for all),
1.20 (for all)  or 3.60 for 18+ — Starting 9/27.

III. Then there's reading, which I'm just ready to do right now, after I journalize some more. Excited to spend time with this new book that I got from Baylor's stepdad Bruce. For any book, at least a few people thought it was good enough to be published, so maybe there's value in each book.

IV. The mid-night and early morning hours feel like a fun time to do stuff. Get stuff done. Pay bills. Wash dishes. I could do anything right now. hehe.


The point remains, it's a very counter-intuitive time for productivity. I can imagine weird/new ideas happening at this time.
I'm going to continue reading for now, before going back to sleep. This is a fun practice, but I can perceive one downside/counterpoint:

Might be just waking up and staying up! That's why I'm getting off the computer after this.

No more of this.

Also, if you want to try 2 sleeps per night, you can't start the first sleep later than 10pm. Someone who wants to practice 2 sleeps per night would have to sleep earlier, like around 7-8pm, 9-10pm latest, when the sun goes down. That takes you through at LEAST 1 R.E.M. cycle and makes it easier to wake up around 12-3am, for a Mid-night romp. It's an experience. I'm feeling a different calmness and clearness of mind in the quietude of these hours. I just wrote a 4-point-counterpoint/7 paragraph essay.


The first sleep gives a mental recharge.
Mid-night a very interesting time to do things.
There's a different feel to early morning.

Though I attempt my best to be highly effective, I'm not the most efficient person, in fact, I sometimes take forever to do things. In the end, I'm finding this hour to be more productive than most.