Through the end of the 2019-2020 school year, The Camasonian staff would like to share CSD staff and students’ “silver linings”, those things that make quarantine life more bearable as the school year winds down.
My personal silver lining has been being able to spend so much time with my daughters, Grace (6) and Mia (9). It was tough at first because we weren’t used to being around each other so much. And with the learn-from-home situation, I can’t seem to teach them the right way – “That’s not how Mrs. Schafer/Mrs. Hancock does it!” And there’s never any toilet paper left on the roll. And all MY ice cream is eaten first. Beyond those issues, we’ve made some pretty good memories. 
One, in particular, was a quick trip to In-N-Out down in Keizer. I’m a SoCal boy, so I can eat more In-N-Out than the average human. In high school, we’d do ten-by-tens on Tuesdays. My usual order these days consists of two double-doubles with ZERO vegetables except grilled onions, cheese fries, and a chocolate milkshake. I am lactose intolerant. It wasn’t a fun ride home for my family, but the memories are priceless.
My professional silver lining is the amount of learning I’ve done. I try to read a book every ten days and listen to one podcast daily. Because I never seem to know what time it is or day it is, nor can I seem to remember when I’m asleep or I’m awake, I’ve been able to do a lot of learning. As I reflect on my life, I have grown so much in chaos because I’ve taken advantage of those moments to soak up as much information as possible. For example, I started my reading habit when I was deployed to Iraq in 2003. When I was on guard duty – typically 24-hour shifts with 12 hours on and 12 hours off – I’d spend most of my off-time reading. That is where I started to learn about other passions that I still have today like investing, history, and geopolitics. I’m a big believer that learning is the key to a successful life. There’s a reason why a poor boy born in Olongapo, Philippines can change his stars and serve as one of your associate principals.
What do I miss about CHS? I miss the annoying conversations with Julie Bailey about students parking in places they’re not supposed to park. I miss Brandy Reed pretending like she’s the boss. I miss Sean Tamura claiming he makes better chili than me when he knows who the champ is. I miss walking into Matt Chase’s classroom and him locking me up in a forever long conversation. I miss moderating debates in Kristi Bridges’ class and trying not to laugh at the terrible accents. I miss the smell of burnt onions from Meredith Studdard’s kitchen. I miss bumping into students in the commons. I miss OUR people.
