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.

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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.