eyeballs

We've had lots of rain the last several weeks. We typically welcome the moisture, but now the new fear is that all the rain has produced piles of fire fuel for when/if Mother Nature turns off the faucet.

Oh well, one day at a time. I did get caught in a major downpour bicycling home from work recently. As I was heading out, the clouds were moving in and rumbling a bit, but I thought I could beat it. Wrong!

Once the drops started, I quickly became drenched - DUH-WRENCHED - as that drenching deserved two all-caps syllables. As I soakingly approached our house, next door neighbor guy was also in the midst of his bicycle commute home, seemingly without a care. In fact, I think he was enjoying it. 

"He's got the right attitude", I reflected, "at least it's not hailing"

...just as hail started smacking us in the helmets. Thankfully I was in the driveway by that point.

Coworker Blossom had recently returned from a work conference. She brought little gifts for each of us upon her return. For me, she bestowed two sturdy, attractive bookmarks. 

"You like to read, right?", as she held the little paper bag out for me.

Shortly afterwards, I was enjoying a bike ride while not getting drenched. I decided to swing by the library and play Staff-Picks-Shelf roulette. I often read books on my Kindle, but since I had two virgin bookmarks, I thought I'd get an actual physical book.

Our libraries, like many, have a "Staff Picks" shelf where rudderless patrons like myself can check books out without having to put much thought into it. I've had good luck in the past, and I'm not one that HAS to finish a book once I start it. If it's a dud for me, it goes in the DNF pile.

[Hench] is the book I ended up choosing.  It's science fiction with superheroes and villains and regular people employed by superheroes and villains - not my usual thing, I'm not sure I have a usual thing.

But it's so good! Smart and witty and strangely deep at times.

Another win at Staff-Picks-Shelf roulette!

Thank you, library staff member Leah.

I am trying to read more - fiction and non-fiction both. Social media gets old, too much news is not good for the soul. I'll listen to audio books as well. I often feel, "this could be a good book with a different narrator". It's me, not them.

My libby app tells me I've checked out 34 books this year. PFFFT - proof that I have no qualms about DNF-ing, as I've not read nor listened to anything close to 34 books. 

This morning, I'm off to the optometrist to pick up some new specs. At my recent eye exam, the dr. told me my prescription had actually gotten a little weaker. I contemplated just continuing to strain my neck with the glasses I have, forever searching for the "sweet spot" in my old-lady progressive lenses. But then my spare pair decided to retire by dramatically severing a hinge. 

Well, they'd had several years of service. These were the frames I had during my middle school lunch lady days [when that cart fell on my face, and my glasses took the bullet for me]. Good times.

Whacha reading?

June parade, and Grinch no more

Last weekend, I volunteered at a happy/sad event. Happy/sad because it was well attended fun meant to raise awareness after tragedy.

[Ollie's Bike Parade] is a charity organization that grew out of the death of 10-year-old Oliver Stratton. Ollie was killed after he was hit, while riding his bicycle, by a woman who was texting while driving. She received the maximum penalty of...drum roll... one year of work release. Talk about salt on a wound.

This was the second annual Ollie's Bike Parade. It was a beautiful day featuring lots of vendors, food trucks, lots of cute kids and their families, and yes, a cute and colorful bike parade around the CSU campus. The organization is about raising awareness and advocating for stiffer penalties for those who choose to text while driving.

And of course, there were somber reminders

Fifty-five ghost bikes representing 55 traffic related deaths of bicyclists in Colorado in 2024. Those children's bikes are the hardest to fathom. Sheesh, there was a tricycle among them!

Another large tent featured stories and mementos of several victims. It included pedestrians and motorcyclists as well. Ollie's ghost bike was in that tent.

Now, I've driven in the area where Ollie was hit. It's a residential area with wide streets, high visibility, and homes of young families. It's almost like one would have to go out of their way to collide with anything, let alone a person.

Yeah, don't text and drive. Please.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of advocates, Grandboss is on my A-list now.

In the past, I've whined here about Grandboss. He's the biggest sufferer of Main Character Syndrome I think I've ever known. Woe to anyone who gets caught in one of his super boring stories about himself.

Apparently, I started working for him in June of 2021. I don't work as much in testing as I used to as I've gone more over to the tutoring side of things, but I'm still a "valued employee" of the testing center according to Greatgrandboss - my boss's boss's boss - Grandboss's boss.

Each month Greatgrandboss sends out emails to our organization, recognizing anyone with work anniversaries, so I made the June announcement... kinda.

Yeah, he totally misspelled my name. Both first AND last. He closed with:

"This group of employees brings so much positive energy in our spaces! We appreciate you and we’re glad you are here!"

So all of us in the testing center are having a good laugh at Greatgrandboss's blunder (because really, who makes a big deal about these anniversary emails?) when Grandboss chimes in on our team chat

Fully making fun of Greatgrandboss, but more importantly... he noticed.

Admittedly, my last name is often misread. 

My last name is Barker

Okay, be honest. What did you read?  Did you read Baker? Look again.

I've had this problem my whole married life.

Greatgrandboss went above and beyond, however, by mispelling my first name too! Yet, not only did Grandboss catch the error right away, he quickly informed Greatgrandboss about the mistake, and Greatgrandboss sent me a follow-up email, dripping with apology. 

Afterwards, I felt toward Grandboss like the grinch. You know the scene...

We'll see how many boring stories it takes to shrink my heart back, but I'm not holding my breath.

from where I sit

Woo, disappeared from blogger for a bit there. I had to open my own blog to see when I last was here - over a week ago.

Well, summer semester kicked off, and I've got an almost full slate of summer tutees. So it's been busy with the figuring out of logistics and getting schedules meshed. Now we should all settle in for a raucous time that is the world of densely packed summer classes. The semester's nearly a third of the way complete!

But recall, a few months ago, I mentioned that our library was renovating the bathrooms - going from traditional men's/ women's to one big all-gender bathroom? It is done. I took it for a test drive

It's not really one big room. It's a big space with a partition wall down the middle. I've attempted a crude top-down diagram...

The thick lines represent the walls. The larger stalls in back are for disabilities. 

The first thing I noticed is how big the doorless entrance is. It's possible to see people at the sinks from the hallway entrance. 

I support the all-genderedness as it will also be helpful for people accompanying their opposite gendered young children or elderly, but it was admittedly weird. Not the cultural norm.

The stalls have floor-to-ceiling doors - something we Americans are not used to (except for at Buc-ee's).

Here's the view from within:

The big metal thing on the right, I believe, is an alternative hook for purses, backpacks, etc. along with a shelf thing for tablets, laptops...

I found it a bit claustrophobic, but certainly sturdy and certainly private.

Good enough, gets the job done. I didn't notice a diaper changing table, but surely they're in there. I guess I don't really look for those these days.

There were "feminine hygiene" dispensers on both sides - more noticeable I guess, but also things I no longer look for *ahem*

Anyway, that's my quick update. I'm headed out for a volunteer event this morning. Should be a lovely day for it. 

Not sure of the bathroom facilities for that, I'll report back.

scratchlings

I was working at the testing center earlier today. We had a tester call us from the parking lot, saying she didn't think she'd make it in for her test. Apparently her back had seized up, and she couldn't move. 

As she stood, inert, bracing against her car, the head of the nursing department happened by. The nursing school doesn't have a summer session, but luckily "Angie" was there for the rescue. Angie alerted security who contacted paramedics. Our tester was taken to the hospital. 

I've noticed similar on previous occassions. Once, while out running errands, an elderly woman tripped on a curb and couldn't get up. As I contemplated what to do, a woman approached, "I'm a nurse..."

Recall that I recently came upon a [collision between a car and a bicyclist] while on my way to work. Then again, "I'm a nurse..." appeared within seconds. Nurses. Seemingly everywhere when you need them. Thankfully.

I thought I'd share some testy artwork here. Most testers are allowed scratchpaper or whiteboards for scratchwork while testing. We collect it all before they leave us, and some of their "scratchwork" seems too fun to throw away, and lives on a while longer, tacked to a corkboard in the breakroom:

Hmm, what's that there above? Toaster Pastry Kitty?

I also enjoy the notes they often leave for themselves. Some recent ones I recall...

"She believes in you"

"Here we go, one team one fight"

"I can do hard things"

"Don't be dumb"

Then there was [that one guy] who'd written 

"F**k you b*tch  MotherF***ing b*tch..."

We're not sure if that was a calming affirmation or... something else.

picnic, puzzle, pudgy pet

 I'm heading into work at the testing center in a bit. Full timers Boss and Blossom will be attending a division picnic of sorts, and Boss has left Party Girl and me in charge for the day. Let the games begin.

The campus is relatively quiet these days since spring semester ended. Summer session starts next week. A few services are around like security, the library, and us in testing. Advising, maybe?

A couple of weeks ago, during finals, we ran out of space in testing and overflowed a few students to the advising area. Boss was manning the place, and I took some students over. A couple of advisors were in the area... working on a jigsaw puzzle?

Boss later said that they worked on that puzzle the whole time he was there. "I shoulda been an advisor!", he joked.

Okay, maybe not many students are meeting with advisors during finals week? But a couple stayed around just in case of drop-ins? It was a good sized puzzle. A 1000-piecer at least.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang returned from a fun getaway with a friend this week. I had been seeing to Wolfgang's cat during his adventures. Ideally, we would have the cat "board" with us, but that wouldn't work with our feisty cat Napolion.

So I'm now off the hook from cat duty. Wolfgang's cat is a big fluff. It's hard to tell if she's fat or just has SO much hair.

"Does this fur make me look fat?"

She lets me pet her, but in general, is not big on being touched. So I can't really "grope" her to see how much is chub and how much is hair. 

After she'd eat, she would lay on the floor like this, belly exposed. I've heard that's an animal's way of showing their trust in you.

Or maybe she was just baiting me.

checkup and chopping

Last week, I was feeling rather without purpose after the abrupt end of the semester. Now, one week later, I'm all, "I could get used to this!"

I do still have a couple of shifts per week in the testing center, so I'm not a total slug.

I've checked off many of the things I had back-burnered until this point. For one, I had my annual eye exam last week. Eyes haven't changed all that much, so no need for new glasses.

Eye doctor did confirm that cataracts are still stalking me. "You've got a few years", she says. I recall when she first told me I had signs of cataracts forming, and I was thinking, "B-b-but cataracts are for old people". Oh... yeah.

Meego and I went for a nice hike over the weekend. Wolfgang is out of town and Magnum had a case of what I deemed the "Oompah Loompah Virus" because, whatever it was, it made his voice all gravelly. Maybe the latest iteration of covid? So anyway, Meego and I had an enjoyable time - sort of a Meego's birthday/ Mother's day thing. 

And I've checked off two tasks from my list this week. (1) give my mountain bike some TLC and a good cleaning - not because it's dirty from riding, but because it's dirty from sitting around doing nothing - and (2) chop up an old crappy mattress. Ugh, that was a task.

We have a futon in the living room, which naturally has a futon mattress. When the old one wore out, I bought the crappy one off amazon. It was NOT as advertised and was this big thick lumpy thing that didn't work well with a futon frame. 

After dealing with it for a few months, I gave up and ordered a more suitable replacement. Meanwhile, I'd chucked the lumpy thing out to our back porch, a.k.a "catio". 

Well, the cat loved it. This full sized big cushy lump. I finally got around to unstuffing it and bagging the remains. Really, I hate sending it to the landfill, but it was truly unfit for human consumption.

As expected, the cat was a bit miffed and went all Karen on me upon inspection of the now spacious floor, insisting on speaking with the manager.

I suppose we'll get some peace offering for him, but good riddance to that lumpy POS mattress.

And I did finish "reading" an audio book while butchering the mattress. The book was Small Game. Coworker Kitty was reading it for her book club, and it sounded interesting.

It was okay. I'll give it 3.5 stars out of 5. It made the tedious mattress work go faster. Audiobooks are handy for such things.

Makes me wonder. Will there come a time where people no longer read? It seems to have already begun.

nerds, netflix

School's out. Monday was the last day of spring semester. I had a final meeting with a tutee, because nothing like a last minute cram sesh. 

So, after a whirlwind of tuting and testing - the two areas where I work - the tuting's come to an abrupt halt. Not gonna lie, I feel a bit rutterless. At least testing is still hopping. We typically get a wave of testers at semester's end. Newly pinned EMT's getting their certifications, educators getting their licenses, etc.

On Tuesday...

Magnum: No more tutoring?

Me: *SIGH*, not until summer session starts... but in the meantime... (gesturing to the whiteboard, because, yes, we have a whiteboard).

I'd put up a thought provoking math problem, to keep our brains exercised, nerd that I am. Nerd that he is, he couldn't wait to try to solve it.

Since that, there've been more brain teasers appearing on the whiteboard. Some from me, some from him. I had to get more markers, we'd expended the others.

So this is what happens when nerds collide, get hitched. This, and that offspring who liked to do experiments and once blew stuff up and melted a poop bucket - but at least it was outside the house - and that's another story.

Meanwhile, we finished the Netflix series Four Seasons since it was getting a lot of hype. 

It was... all right. It's about a group of friends, 3 married couples, who take regular vacations together. One of the husbands asks for and gets a divorce, then takes up with a much younger "girlfriend", thus changing the vacation group dynamic. It's based on the 1981 movie, which I've never seen.

It was entertaining enough. I didn't always relate to the characters as I found them too neurotic in general. But it did remind me of a couple I met years ago. 

J and A were good friends with Magnum's dad and stepmom. The four of them went on vacations together, etc. Then it turned out that husband J was having an affair on wife A with a younger woman. 

J and A got divorced, and J eventually married the other woman. I remember FIL telling us they'd received an invitation to J's wedding.

"I threw it in the trash!", he said with a chuckle.

I didn't know my FIL that well yet at the time, and I remember him moving up a few rungs on the moral ladder in my mind with that remark. 

But really, I think I may have gotten more into that other viral Netflix series - Tiger King. 

This concerns me a little. 

moms

Happy Mother's Day😊 I'm not a "Hallmark Holiday" person, so I don't like or want a big to-do on the day. BUT, I do definitely appreciate my own loving mom.

I have this photo from the ancient times that, presumably, my dad or older brother took on the spur of the moment.

Me in the coziness of Mom's lap, my brother "Guano" (appropriately attired in a batman cape), the three of us sitting way too close and engrossed in something on the black-and-white Motorola TV. Loooong before google, so there are printed materials strewn about.

Nothing scripted, no prepping. I imagine Guano having food stains on his face... So happy good moms appreciation day!

Speaking of appreciation, I showed up to meet with a tutee one day last week, and she appeared, saying, "I want to give you something". She reached into her tote bag and pulled out this lovely pot o' succulents!

Is that so sweet or what?

She found out earlier in the week that she's been awarded a transfer scholarship to the university's engineering program.

This is "the mom" I've mentioned here before - juggling strenuous coursework while raising two young daughters.

She says she wants to get her degree before she turns 40. I think she just might make it.

I brought the plants home and put them on a shelf in Magnum's work-from-home office which happens to be of the most sunshiney rooms in the house. There are shelves in there that are the home of the only houseplants we have, because anywhere else is not safe from attack from the cat.

The cat doesn't necessarily want to eat the plants, he's just a jerk.

...but I bet his mom was nice.

nature, Mexican beers, and a cult

Happy May, y'all! Spring continues to spring.

Last weekend, we got together with Meego and Wolfgang for a little hike-about in nearby Lyons, CO. Lyons is a small town - population of about 2,000. The main industries appear to be weed dispensing and catering to outdoor recreators, not necessarily mutally exclusive. Beautiful day for it.

We stopped at a favorite Mexican restaurant post-hike, where we FINALLY learned that Sundays are "men's day". I say we finally learned this because every other time we'd gone had also been on Sundays. The guys would each order a beer and get two instead of one for reasons unbeknownst to us. Turns out, it's a "men's day thing".  Who knew?

We didn't learn this until after ordering, however, so once again, we had double beers at the table.

Switching gears now... Okay, I have this friend, we'll call her Rosemary. She moved to another state about a year ago or so. We're friends on f4cebook, and she's starting to post things that clearly indicate she's joined a cult MLM.

I'm not sure which MLM she's involved with, as she's being vague - as is tradition, it seems. But signs are that she's selling (trying to sell) ridiculously expensive water filters.

Now, I've had other friends get roped in - usually other moms I know - and I just ignore their pitches, and eventually, they see the light. Confession: I myself got roped into an MLM in the early 2000's before I knew anything about them. But I soon experienced the creepy / cult-like atmosphere and got the heck out before losing money and becoming a weirdo... well, an MLM weirdo anyway.

And now, Rosemary. She's early- to mid-thirties, no kids, no college degree. A ripe target. I'm seeing these type things from her on the regular -->

...and I cringe inwardly.

So I contemplate. Should I DM her like she prompts in order to

(1) try to talk her out of it - to which she probably wouldn't listen?

(2) pretend to be interested, infiltrate the cult, and then try to talk her out of it?

or do what I'll probably do in the end,

(3) ignore it, and watch painfully from afar.

Hopefully, she'll learn sooner rather than later.

fake blood and a weird haircut

Well this week, she was a busy one. Nothing specific, just into the homestretch of the semester at work and the beginning of a new PEO year. But my head's still above water. 

I worked last weekend and there was  law enforcement/ EMS training event going on on campus. One those things with "trauma victims" and various simulations. We were told a flight-for-life helicopter would be making an appearance, but by the end of our shift, we realized, no helicopter. We were promised a helicopter!

Also this week, I went in for a haircut. I've been going to the same stylist for a couple of years now. She does a good job and is reasonably priced. The salon is pretty laid back - professional but not snobby.

Each stylist has their own little cubby, partitioned off from the others. And it's not uncommon for the stylists to chat with each other across partitions. Sometimes, my stylist's college age daughter drops by and catches up for a while.

But this last time - tell me if this is weird. I'm there in the chair getting my haircut. Daughter comes by with a friend and shares greetings with my stylist while going to the breakroom. Then they come back out and some other dude comes in - not a college dude, but an older guy. Someone's husband? I dunno. He wasn't there to get a cut or anything, just stops in to shoot the shit.

So it's me in the chair, my stylist is working. Her daughter, daughter's friend, and weird older dude are just hanging around. Stylist is dropping hints now and then like, "Sorry, I can't visit much today, my schedule got backed up a bit..." And I'm there like I'm having my haircut at someone's backyard barbecue.

The trio isn't taking the hint, just keeps hanging around and visiting. I still have no idea why older dude is there. Honestly, I'm not sure why the 19-year-old daughter with a car hangs out at her mom's work either. Stylist says something like, "Sheesh, I feel like I'm being graded - everyone just watching me work, heh heh" *hint*hint*nudge*nudge*, and still they stick around.

In hindsight, I should've glommed onto that and said, "How do you think I feel?!" but I just remained there feeling awkward. They probably still wouldn't have gotten it anyway.

When she finished up, and I paid, she seemed to be giving me apologetic vibes with her eyes.

But it was weird. Was that weird?

springing

Well, so much for birds chirping and sun shining. It's currently snowing. Welp, that's April for us. It's okay, as always. We need the moisture.

It feels like this week flew by and zipped right to Friday. The end of the semester is nigh, and student panic mixed with exhaustion is palpable. Despite today's winterness, the spring fever is hitting hard as well. As such, I've noticed much more crowding at the bicycle racks at work now that the fair weather commuters have joined in.

As I was securing my trusty commuter, Daisy, I couldn't help but notice this stranger at the end of the rack

"Big Weird Red" - that's gotta be a custom job, right? 

Eye catching and artistic? Yes. 

Ridable? Doubtful. 

pelican briefly

It's a beautiful morning here. Birds chirping, trees budding, sun shining... Can winter hibernation be over?

It felt like a productive enough week, and I think spirits, in generally, are lifted by our nice weather. Soon, it will be hot, and people will be at each others' throats again, so we'll enjoy this bit while we can.

I came across some visiting pelicans on a recent weekday morning

Up until about 25 years ago, I thought pelicans were strictly sea birds, hanging about the coasts. But one day when we lived in Utah, we were entertaining the in-laws - who at the time were avid birders - at a local bird refuge where we saw all kinds of bird friends, including *gasp* pelicans?

And I remember thinking, "What the frick are pelicans doing in Utah?". Well, migrating. Hello.

Since we've moved to Fort Collins, I can remember seeing pods of pelicans every spring - like an annual pelican convention. Lovely things.

Speaking of wildlife, Boss acquired a new-to-him cat. Recall that a few weeks ago, his beloved cat, Biscuit, went belly up from a stroke. Since then, Boss had been on the prowl for a suitable replacement. The yet-to-be-named newcomer is slowly getting used to his new life, which started out by biting Boss in the hand and henceforth being quarantined.

New Cat is recently released from cat jail, and Boss says he doesn't meow, doesn't purr, but eats like a champ. 

The rescue shelter didn't have a whole lot of information on "Little Dude Bob" (temporary emergent name), and it seems like he wasn't very well socialized to humans. 

Boss'll break him in, one hand at a time.

bicycles, birds, baddies

It was a beautiful morning for a bicycle ride today, and that's exactly what we did. Really feels like spring has sprung. While tooling through a particulary ritzy neighborhood - visiting how the other half lives - we came upon 4 or 5 wild turkeys.

Although rare, I've come across wild turkeys within the city limits before, but this particular "rafter" (had to look that up) of turkeys included comparatively large and quite lovely birds. Others have seemed scraggly and weak looking. 

I slowed a bit to take in this healthy bird crew as a pickup came up behind us. So I moved on along to not block the pickup, but then pickup guy pulled alongside of us and asked, 

"Didja see the turkeys?! They're HUUUUGE!"

The group let out a good gobble-gobble, just to show off, as we carried on our way. 

Shortly afterward, a lone blue heron gave us a flyby, and a while later, a pod (google again) of pelicans gracefully circled overhead. A morning of bicycles and birds it was.

I have no photos of these majestic bird sightings. Know that I at least momentarily considered pulling over and getting pics, but talked myself out of it. 

I didn't experience the local "Hands Off" rally first hand yesterday, but heard that it was peaceful. However, later in the afternoon, we got several news reports of a "possible gang-associated" shooting at the local mall with a suspect on the run. 

So that was news for our sleepy, relatively low-crime city. Authorities were still looking for a suspect when we went to bed.

Around 4:30 this morning, I was awakened by what sounded like someone knocking on our glass door or one of our windows. About 6 knocks, followed by a pause and 4 more knocks followed by a pause and 2 more knocks in quick succession. 

A disconcerting sound, certainly. But then I figured if someone was knocking on one of our windows or doors, the dogs would be going bananas, which they most certainly were not.

"Hmmm, it's probably gun shots or fireworks", I figured, which made it strangely seem less disconcerting. 

No news of it today other than from Ring neighbors and Nextdoor people who were similarly awakened and wondering, so it was likely fireworks.

Fireworks are illegal in Colorado, but not so in Wyoming, which is about a 45-minute drive from here. So we get firework shooters year-round and learn to just go back to sleep.

Anyway, we learned that the police identified and arrested a suspect in the mall murders - yes, both victims died. Some teenager. Under 18. WTF.

on track

It was good to be back to the "normal" schedule this week, with students back after spring break. Catching up with tutees, many stuck around and just enjoyed the break, while others took advantage and went somewhere fun. 

• I've been wondering about Thor this week. He is not one of my tutor students as I am just his designated scribe, but I typically see him every day in the tutoring center. I haven't seen him at all this week, nor have I heard anything about scheduling his next math test.

• Another of my students is currently battling cancer. She's one of the nicest people you'd meet, intelligent and hard working too. Always has a smile and positive temperment. Makes my minor gripes seem silly.

• Another student has a neurological "condition". I'm curious to know more, and he'd probably tell me if I asked, but it feels wrong to ask. He often reports to me about recent seizures - "about one every coupla weeks" - and yesterday, he showed me his new watch. It's meant to alert him, and others around him, when he's about to have a seizure.

I've considered what I'd do if a seizure comes on during tutoring, and I think I'll be able to react appropriately. So far, so good. I will say that his math skills are sharp as a tack. I think his parents chose to sign him up for tutoring mainly to keep him on track with his assignments, but once we get passed the chit chat, our sessions are mostly me just watching him do everything correctly. 

Speaking of smart watches, I'm liking my new toy purchase from last weekend.  It's a little too "Mother Hen", though, a la:

What is this "harder training up ahead"? What does it know that I don't??

And speaking of coaching, there's a shakeup at the nearby high school. Ten of the twelve track and field coaches (why were there so many to begin with?) were abruptly fired earlier this week.

The only explanation so far is that they "violated district policy". And the official statement also included "no students were involved". 

Piecing together from the rumor mill, it sounds to me that all ten were drinking, most likely during a track event/meet. If so, then yeah, I can see the abrupt canning of the bunch. Student safety is the coach's responsibility during an out-of-school activity.

I feel bad for the track kids, though. Their season JUST started. C'mon, adults, actions have consequences. I wonder how they were found out?

I'm sure more details will come out eventually. 

carriers and ducks

On Saturday, we went to that big honkin' sporting goods store, SCHEELS. Apparently, it's so big, we're supposed to write it in all caps.  

I'd only been there once before, and that was mainly a field trip of sorts to check out the big honkin' sporting good store "everyone" was talking about. We spent a good amount of time there on that visit, just gawking. Didn't purchase anything.

Saturday, I was there to pick up an activity tracker/ fitness watch I purchased online for store pickup. I've never had one, hadn't felt the need. I still don't really feel the need, but I was talking to Chaco last week, and he was telling me about the one he recently got and how much he liked it. I was sold. Mine is not as fancy as his, but good enough for my old lady years.

I got a new phone a little while back. It's bigger than the old phone. Bulky when "fitnessing" about. The watch is a very nice alternative. 

I happen to belong to a running group on facebook. A question that often (sadly) comes up is for women runners - how to protect yourself when running alone on a remote trail or after dark/ before sunrise? 

I've been somewhat surprised to see that a good 80% or more of the women who respond claim they have a concealed carry permit, and carry their gun while running. 

My first thought is, "sheesh, talk about bulky". 

While at SCHEELS, out of curiosity, I searched and checked out the wall of gun toting holsters, belts, belly bands and such - mainly geared toward women. I'm not in the market. 

FYI, most of the other respondents who aren't toting a gun say they run with their big dogs. The last category would be women like me who stick to safe routes, don't wear earbuds, and rely on their wits. I've never had any trouble *knocks on wood*. I think there are plenty others in that group as well who, like me, don't bother to respond.

Speaking of safe places, I snapped these ducks during a recent run when I still carried my big bulky phone. Spring looks to be springing, and there will be baby ducks soon.

chewing

I've cleaned our floors, washed the car, and laundered the winter jackets. Short of sacrificing a virgin, I don't know of other strategies to help bring on some precipitation, so now we wait.

I'm enjoying this taste of spring break, which will come to an end for me Thursday as I'm scheduled to work a shift at the testing center. One of my more dedicated tutees still wants to meet online this afternoon, while the rest of the bunch has opted for the week off. I'm not complaining about the light schedule.

I'm assuming the testing center will be quieter than usual with the students out this week. As such, maybe I'll get a chance to have that talk with Boss about my future employment there. 

My testing schedule now is pretty sparse and inflexible. When Buzz transferred over from a different campus and then Kitty returned from family leave, I took that opportunity to increase my tutoring and decrease the testing. Once the tutoring schedule is set, it's set for the semester.

Now after Star has moved on to a better place, Boss is feeling the void she left. Let's just say that neither Buzz nor Kitty are the most robust of workers. That, along with Blossom's frequent absences, leaves Boss overworked and stressed.

He'd be justified in hiring another part-timer, but with me and my skimpy schedule, can he offer someone else enough hours to make it worth their while? We've had others with skimpy schedules before, again, because of outside obligations. So, I'm pretty sure he'll continue with me if I want to, but I don't want to if it's more of a hindrance than a help, y'know?

Then there's Thor. 

As of now, I'm the only amensui...  emenuens... amensui... scribe on tap for his (lengthy, exhausting...) exams. As much as I'm opposed to there not being a plan B and other easily available scribes, if I jump ship before the semester's end, that would leave Thor and the disability support team scrambling to get someone else. Doable, but unsavory.

Oh well, just ruminating 

Meanwhile, doesn't look like there'll be any rain today. 

if you leave

Happy spring break! One week off for the college kids. The testing center is still open , though, so I'm expected for my two shifts. Fine.

This week, we felt the effects of Star's leaving the testing center. We have just enough staff now, so if someone is out sick (happened Monday) or if someone is off scribing a 3-hour test for a blind student (me, yesterday), the void is quite obvious.

Boss was rather frazzled when I returned from Thor's test yesterday. He and Kitty were the sole holders down of the fort for most of the afternoon. I was a bit frazzled after scribing a 3-hour test for a blind student. Kitty was frazzled because she's still getting back up to speed after her recent return from family leave. In short, the frazzled three stayed late to get everything caught up.

I haven't yet had the "should I stay or should I go?" discussion with Boss because it's been... well, too busy.

On a related note, I learned a new word this week: amenuensis

"a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority.

In some academic contexts, an amanuensis can assist an injured or disabled person in taking written examinations.

Hmm, our documentation shows "scribe". Does an amenuensis make better pay? Syllable based pay?

No epic plans for the break at my end. Maybe do some spring cleaning, as that's always a good time. 

Last night, we watched the movie, [Metal Lords]. Typical plot of high school outcasts banding (literally) together and finding meaningful relationships. 

Not bad, often cute. About an hour and a half of not having to think too much. It's humorous, but also touches upon bullying, rebellion, and mental illness.

One of my tutees this week told me she's looking forward to her psychiatrist appointment on Monday. 

"I haven't taken any meds for two months!", she excitedly revealed.

"Oh? And you're feeling good?", I asked.

"No, not at all!", she replied, wide-eyed and smiling.

ADHD, not for me.

shooting star and a limp biscuit

Lately, I've been contemplating how much longer I wish to stay on working at the testing center. I've been slowly increasing my tuting while simultaneously decreasing the testing. They are two distinct positions at the college - two different bosses, two different pay buckets. 

I'm now down to two short shifts per week in testing plus the Saturday rotations. I enjoy tutoring more, which does coincidentally pay a little better. I'm coming up on four years at the testing center. It was the job that got me in the door at the college, and I picked up the math tutoring later, after getting to know some of the "math people". 

I'm actually a bit surprised at how many students sign up for in-person tutoring with all the other resources at their disposal. But there seems to be no shortage of requests, and I can seemingly add more hours at any time.

Test administration is fine, but truth be told, there is little to no creativity in that job. I do enjoy my coworkers. All of us part timers are similar in that we have other things going on, and don't wish to work in testing full time. All of us except for Star.

Star, as I've mentioned before, is young, intelligent, hard-working, without many obligations outside of work. It was a mystery to me as to why she was languishing at this part-time job, and now I get it. I get it, because she's announced she's leaving to accept a full time admin offer from a nearby medical research center. I realize she was building up her administrative experience to enable her to move on to bigger and better things.

So, good for her! Her last day working with us was yesterday, and it was certainly bittersweet. I'll miss her but I'm super happy for her. 

Thursday morning, I arrived for my short shift to find Sarge running around, still getting things set up while testers were starting to show up.

"You opened by yourself?", I asked

"Yeah, Boss texted", he explained, "Biscuit (Boss's cat) lost the use of his back legs. Boss is taking him to the kitty ER"

Well, that didn't sound good. Sure enough, Boss texted us a short time later. Biscuit had a big ol' stroke, so Boss had him put down and sent for aquamation, a process I was unfamiliar with before Biscuit.

Bottom line, it's probably not the best time to tell Boss I'm gonna leave.

In other news, the PEO year came to a close and the new year has begun. I agreed to stay on as Prez for one more year. ONE more. Magnum and I visited the big greenhouse down the road last weekend, and I picked up these little plants of appreciation for the other officers from the past year.

They are drought resistant, we'll see how long we can keep them alive.

New slate of officers heading back to the philanthropy trenches:

polar vortex and stirring the pot at the library

"I'm so dumb, I think I'm smart"

A student made that remark about himself last week. We chuckled a bit, but I was thinking, "well... he's not wrong..." I don't think he realizes how far in over his head he is. 

Meanwhile, I asked the Mom/ wife/ student tutee how her day "off" with the kids went. Not well. She took them to the library, thinking she'd get in some study time, but EVERYBODY took their kids to the library that day, since there was no school and it was fffffrrrrrreeeeezing outside. 

"Do you just not sleep?", I asked her.

"Well, no, I guess", she answered, "since I have to get all this done and still have time to fight with my husband!" 

Priorities.

I worked today at the testing center since my turn came up for Saturday rotation. I worked with Kitty. Remember Kitty? Coworker of last summer's shotgun wedding?

Kitty had her baby a few months ago, and came back to work in January. Kitty is a fun, rather laid back coworker. Almost too laid back sometimes, as she's not the hardest worker, but she holds her own okay. 

She's so laid back, I wondered how she'd be at home with a baby, requiring much upkeep. Thankfully, she seems to really be thriving in her new familial role. She mentioned that she and her husband are enjoying parenthood so much, they're sort of  toying with the idea of having another baby. She's in her late 30's, so I was assuming she'd be a one-and-done, but hey, who knows?

Meanwhile, the college library - which also functions as part of the city library system - is renovating its bathrooms. Going all-gender with locking stalls. I'm sure it will ruffle some feathers, already has actually. In  the meantime, they've set up a temporary bathroom outside of the library, so of course, I had to check it out and reflect. 

It sits out back, next to the observatory

Honestly, the experience was not too shabby. I mean, it's not Buc-ee's but I've certainly inhabited worse facilities. The loo was about twice the size of a typical passenger airline bathroom, which isn't saying much. But it was heated and very clean and well stocked  - I'm guessing because hardly anyone uses it since there are other buildings where one can have such needs met

Meanwhile, we finally emerged from the latest polar vortex. I walked home while it was in the upper 40's, and it felt downright hot after the past several days. 

The cat got his sunbeam back and doesn't look to be giving it up anytime soon.

busy people

I just got a text from one of my tutees. 

I wonder when this woman sleeps. She's got a husband who works full-time and two kids in elementary school, plus she's a full-time college student studying engineering. 

Sheesh, when I was an undergrad, the only person I had to look after was myself. Good thing.

I remember one of my classmates, way back then in the ancient times, had a baby (surprise!) during our college years. She made it to graduation, just barely. These two examples reinforce my leaning that such things work better when done in series, not parallel. 

I admire my tutee, however. She works hard and advocates for herself. I have no idea what my college professors would've said if I told them I needed a work around  because my kids had the day off from school. But then, work is a state college and not a university, so probably more lenient.

Then I answered an email regarding more tests for the blind guy. He needs a better blog name since he may show up here again. Let's call him Thor. 

Whew, all this working on the weekend *sarcasm*

I was at a PEO meeting yesterday when a snowstorm rolled in. Going home was sloppy, but doable. We have yet to need to test our fun-mobile we purchased last fall to get around in heavy snow or our version of off-roading, and I'm not complaining. It sat pristine in the garage while I scooted around in our capable Honda. 

Still, I'm ready for spring.

lights, camera...

 Dear neglected blog... you are not alone.

Woo, it's been a hot minute since I visited this space. Well, the start of the spring semester at the college  ramped right up, including the fun meetings, scheduling new tutor students, blah blah. I'm supporting an additional class this semester for tutoring, so getting up to speed and doing plenty of meth math. Also, February is end of year/ start of year for PEO, and I've committed to a second year (but no more!) as chapter prez.

When not doing meetings, math, and other things, I haven't felt like sitting on the computer - hence the blog neglect. BUT things have somewhat settled down to a gentle routine, now, hopefully.

In the midst, I replaced my old cranky phone. It hadn't died yet, but was giving the signs, so I did a pre-emptive strike and upgraded. Nothing fancy, of course. The weather at the time of phone procurement was crap, so I took a couple of mundane photos around the house of other neglected things.

My bicycles, looking at me in harsh judgement, because I have not ridden them since winter decided to get wintry. 

I will say that the city does a nice job of clearing the bike paths in a timely manner. However, there is no clearing of a good portion of streets - just main roads - so getting TO the bike paths is a real challenge.

Then there was pooch Penny, giving this critical evaluation of my dog companion skills during the latest snow storm. I tried telling her that she would hate being out there on a walk, but she wasn't buying it.

The weather's warmer now, so we're in the cycle of melt, refreeze, melt, refreeze, creating much crusty crappy. I'm ready for spring.

A couple of evenings ago, I was home minding my own business, when I suddenly heard what sounded like someone driving by with their car stereo blasting. Except, it seemed to be an unmoving source. Also, the music wasn't the typical thug music coming from a bass blasting car stereo. It almost sounded like... an ice cream truck? With a tricked out sound system??

Laziness Curiosity got to me, and I hit the live feed on the ring camera. Recall our friendly across-the-street neighbors? Now with his 'n' hers Teslas? They were having a Tesla Light Show, which we've since learned is a thing.  Other Tesla friends in attendance. I only managed to capture the tail end.

I'll see if our little skillets can hold a candle.

mystery booms, cooking, keeping up

Like many others, we're in the deep freeze. I'm looking forward to Tuesday, where we're forecast to be in the balmy 30's again.

This past week was rather busy as the college is getting ready for students to return for spring semester. I was supposed to work on Saturday, but the snow shut that down. I wasn't disappointed. Campus is also closed tomorrow for the same reason. Classes were off for the holiday anyway, so, again, not disappointed.

• One night last week, there were these mystery booms that woke us up around 2:30am. They weren't particularly loud. To me, they sounded eerily like someone was gently tapping on our sliding glass door *tap-tap-tap (pause) tap-tap-tap...* 

Magnum jumped up after hearing them. He thought it was our water pipes about to burst, so went to put all the faucets on drip. Funny how two people can interpret the same weird noise.

Anyway, it was neither of those things. Later, our Ring® notifications were full of people talking about the strange noise - gunshots? fireworks? - heard for miles around. They remain a mystery.

• Recently, I bought a cute 6-inch cast iron skillet for whipping up quick, healthy snacks and meals after coming home from work (2nd lunch?)

I like cooking with cast iron anyway, and it works nicely with our induction stove we purchased last year. Plus, maybe I'm rather partial to cartoon weaponry? 

Anyway, Magnum noticed the merits of the mini skillet. But alas, one of its virtues is that it serves as both cooking vessel AND serving dish. As such, I was monopolizing the cookware whenever I used it, which is often.

So we went wild and bought a second one.

I mention this only because of our neighbors across the street. They're a friendly couple - late 30's, I'd guess. Both professionals. No kids. 

A couple of years ago, Wife bought a Tesla Model Y. This week, she bought another one, and Husband got the hand-me-down. Now they've got his 'n' hers Teslas.

The skillets are our way of keeping up with the Jones's.

Totally the same thing.

granny and square

I was stressed out in kindergarten. 

I still feel the anxiety from it, 55 years after the fact. The cause? I didn't know how to tie my shoes. 

I knew that learning to tie shoes was on the kindergarten syllabus. However, I didn't realize that a lot of my classmates would already know how to accomplish this feat. This was in the ancient times - before velcro shoes. 

So there I was. Behind the curve. 

We were each provided a flat cardboard "shoe" - adorned with our name - with actual laces so as to learn by doing. Once we accomplished the task successfully, our shoes were pinned to the bulletin board of fame.

I watched in apprehension as a good number of classmates made their neat little bows, and their honorific shoes were pinned. Meanwhile, I struggled. Eventually, I tied an ugly but functional bow, and my shoe made the bulletin board at last.

Just recently, only about a month ago, I learned I've been doing it wrong this whole time. Who knew?!

"Square knot" is the correct way, and I've been doing "Granny knot" this whole time. 

In short, if your first knot is right over left, your "bunny ears" knot should be left over right or vice versa. The knots should be opposite direction, never right - right or left - left. 

This link provides a quick demo:

https://youtube.com/shorts/sCEaXpOLFlo?si=Dsf8i1dg0JuItOJV

All these years, I'd been a right-righter. But no more! And no more having to double tie! So freeing.

*******************************************************

This week was grey and cold here, but we can't complain while watching what's going on in LA.  My Father-in-law and his wife evacuated from their home in Pasadena to stay with Step-mother-in-law's daughter, not that far away. Apparently, they've been cleared to return home.

And today is sunny and clear here. I went out for a pleasant escapist run this morning - shoes expertly tied. 

We get an average of 300 days of sunshine per year here, so we're spoiled and get whiney on overcast days. I was so enjoying the sun, I stopped to get a pic of this horse's ass.

stricken

I've never been a nailbiter. I know it's a thing, but I'd not given it much thought. Ever wonder where the bitten nails go?

It was back to reality this week after our DC trip. I worked Thursday and Friday in testing, and thankfully, Boss had turned off scheduling for some tests so we could ramp back up rather than have to hit the ground running. 

He and I were closing up yesterday and decided to do some decent cleaning since the place was pretty quiet. He washed chairs, I vacuumed. 

I vacuumed a fair amount of discarded fingernails. *GAG*

Some chew pencils, some muss with their hair, some rock back and forth, some chew and spit out fingernails...

I was honestly thinking along similar lines when we were out with the throngs at the various DC attractions. Here's a rundown of all the places we visited.

Outdoors:

• Washington Monument
• Lincoln Memorial
• Jefferson Memorial
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
  
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
• National Christmas Tree

Indoors:

• Capitol building
• Archives (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights)
• Library of Congress
• Air and Space Museum, DC
• National Gallery of Art, East and West buildings
• National Museum of US Army
• Natural History Museum
• Air and Space Museum, Virginia

Looking back, we covered a lot of ground. While at the various attractions, I noticed all the glass, upon which people scrunch up to get a good look at things, kids plant hands and faces. 

"Dang, someone's gotta clean all this glass", I realized. I appreciate the glass cleaners. 

...and the floor cleaners, the bathroom cleaners, etc.. So many people, so much mess.

In general, every attraction was pretty darn immaculate. Oh, and I noticed this painting in the National Gallery right away. Featured recently by Fresca, I was pleased to see it in the flesh!

The Jolly Flatboatmen

I learned that the Washington Monument and the Capitol building were both struck by lightning on New Year's eve. An omen?

When seeing the Capitol for the first time, I was rather agog by the "badass" statue atop the dome. 

I wanted to learn more about The Statue of Freedom, my current favorite statue

So it was struck by lightning, and I imagine it wasn't the first time. 

But she's tough, I'm sure.

Personally, I made it to the rooftop of the National Gallery for this impressive cock.

So, a memorable and worthwhile trip.

And now... back to the nailbiters.

saw your picture today

I was never a journaler, or a "dear diary"-er. Before blogging became a thing, I didn't really record anything, really. These days, I appreciate blogging because I can go back and look at stuff and/or retrieve dates of things. I mean, well, I sometimes go into a room and then wonder what I'd gone there for, so... I appreciate records.

With that, I visited blog posts of 2024, as we do, to summarize the year in pictures. I'll say it again, though. I'm not a big picture taker, so I'm sure other mundane things happened, but I'm lazy. 

January: I almost froze

February: I winter biked-to-work.. and almost froze

March: we got a Buc-ee's

April: I finally visited that cute little art supply store

May: we watched the resident corpse flower try to have sex

June: biked-to-work on my day off again

July: celebrated FIL's 90th 

August: celebrated another year of wifey-ness

September: bought a truck and started a facebook marketplace frenzy selling Mom's car

October: completed construction of the pot smoking screen porch

November: spent a lot of days cat sitting while Wolfgang made his 2024 highlight reel.

December: graced the nation's capitol with my presence

Here we go, 2025. Bring it.

Happy New Year!