and so it begins

The school year has begun here and it's obvious during my morning commutes. I go passed an elementary school and a middle school on my way to work. Additionally, the high school is in the opposite direction. So I get caught in elementary and middle school traffic, while high school traffic is flowing towards me.

Not complaining, just observing the increased traffic now that kids are back at it. At work, classes started this Monday, and suddenly there are people "everywhere" after the quiet summer semester, all gung-ho before the drudgery sets in, I suppose.

I generally enjoyed being a student throughout all the levels. Still, there are definitely things that make me glad to be done with school.

First thing that comes to mind, group projects. These weren't so bad before college, and even the undergraduate projects weren't too bad in my case. By grad school, though, I'd had enough.

Then of course there's tuition and fees.

And while on the subject of money, we can't forget outlandish textbook prices

In addition, if wanting to park on a college campus, that's another layout of cash for the parking permit. Many students just take their chances, figuring the parking tickets won't add up to the cost of a permit.

Thankfully, I was able to bicycle to campus when in college. That's not to say I never arrived with 5 mins. until the start of class and was greeted by something like this:

And I don't miss the campus proselytizers. I mean, they could be "entertaining", but sheesh, I'm just trying to get to class.

I personally never experienced living in a freshman dorm, but I've heard/seen enough to know to be thankful for that.

Lastly, I realize I like the freedom of not being tied to a class schedule or syllabus or assignments or tests...  I mean, yes, there are aspects of these things with a job, but money comes in exchange, right?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Top 10  8 reasons why you are glad you are done with school.

What Happened?!

It's almost time to change the calendars.  I'm tired of hearing the people on the radio talk about all the famous people who died in 2016.  Yes, it's sad.  I get it.  Do we need to go through the list every day leading up the 2017? I think not.

Instead, I went through the archives to pick out some of my highlights.  Gotta love them archives:

Our 2016 started with a fun trip to Estes Park.

Dad's time on earth ended in February.  Not necessarily a highlight for me, but I'm hoping it was one for him.  He'd emphasized that he was ready, that he'd had a good life for nearly 92 years.

I miss him and Mom every day.

 I'm glad Meego enjoys extracurricularing in the high school band program.  If nothing else, it keeps him from wearing the same clothes all the time.

This year, I learned that I shouldn't donate blood, because it might kill somebody.  Oh well, I can take a hint.

Chaco graduated and has become a productive member of society (and he's off the parental dole, yay!)










Had a rip-roarin' good time at P.E.O. convention.  Looking forward to the next!

Third round of driving lessons...

Donald Trump made Wolfgang a news celebrity

A blog friend came to visit in real life!!

Followed by another one!!

We enjoyed a lovely morning of bloonz backdropped by the Peak











And I finally got around to climbing the Peak with Chaco.

A good marching band season...

...many more geocaches in the log...

                ...and grad program completion.
(no commencement ceremony for me, clipart it is)

Okay, 2017.  Bring It!

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Spiral

I'm not taking any notes today.  Just doodling in a spiral notebook.  It's not even my notebook, it's one of Meego's that was handy.

I thought I'd do this doodle for Illustration Friday, where the prompt this week is "spiral".

My class is finished.  It was the capstone class, which means I've completed the program. I got the program exit survey in my email today along with a reminder for commencement registration (not doing the ceremony - I'm a party pooper that way). It's kind of a weird feeling to done.


I actually finished a bit earlier than I'd originally expected.  I'm not desperate for a new job just yet, but it's nice to now have the degree and see what, if any, doors it will open for me.  In the meantime, I've got my tutor shingle back up for now, but tutoring's not really something I want to do for much longer.

So in the meantime meantime, I doodle in spiral notebooks.  I was going to do this doodle for the prompt, then remove it from the notebook after taking the pic.  But I think I'll leave it in there and just put the notebook back where Meego left it.  Something every teen aged boy wants to surprisingly find during class?


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blank pages

Oy, it's been (almost) a week since my last post?  I'm hereby making an early new year's resolution to blog more often.

Until I started blogging, I didn't really write much - was never one to write in journals or diaries (is there a difference?).  My previous work life didn't require it, and that was fine with me too.  But now I enjoy it, and I enjoy helping tutees with writing too.

This is good since I need to do quite a bit of writing now for school.  So I don't mind it, but I'll blame that for my lack of blogging.  Too much of a good thing and all that.

And this week, I got an e-mail in my university account offering "custom writing services" a.k.a cheating.
The note listed several reasons to use the service

• tight deadlines
• writing papers prevents you from attending social functions
• papers due the next morning, but you haven't started any
• no time to sit and focus on research
• working on papers bores you

Serilously?  I'm not naive enough to not know that there are students who pay others to do assignments for them.  This is the first time anyone has hit me up, though. Their note mentions that the are available on Facebook, WhatsApp, Kik, WeChat, Line and Skype".  Geesh, they're everywhere.

They advertise writing assistants who *help* students write papers, but  the not-so-fine-print advertises that they will

"...confidently provide papers that are original, delivered punctually, and which conform to the writing style of you university/college and that all communications will maintain the highest level of confidentiality..."

Sure sounds like cheating to me.   I did an internet search and found all kinds of others. Okay, maybe I am a bit naive about just how many such services exist.  I'm curious as to how many customers they have.

In the meantime, I, for one, will continue to do my own work, responsibly and punctually!

effing arachnids and cutesy video

Looks like I've been a neglectful blogger this week.  I'll blame the effing spiders!  That and maybe there just wasn't a whole lot of excitement around here...

As far as effing spiders go, I woke one morning and as the day progressed, I noticed itchy welts forming.  Four of them in total.  I concluded they were spider bites.  I'm not sure if one big spider bit me four times, four spiders each bit me once, or some combination in between.  I'd rather not think about it.

Two were on my inner right thigh, one was a bit below and to the right of my belly button, and the fourth one was an outlier on the back of my right shoulder.  I'm glad to say that the worst is behind me, and that it wasn't quite as bad as the summer of the bees, but memorable nonetheless.

Apparently, they weren't poisonous bites or I could possible be near death by now.  But they itched and got all swoll up, and I felt a bit deformed for a couple of days.  The one beneath the belly button caused the most freakish deformity - from the swelling and gravity, I assume, I was left rather asymmetric if y'know what I'm sayin'...

Thankfully, that's behind me, and I never saw nor felt the culprit(s), but clearly this is in retaliation for the spider spraying I do during the summer.  I don't kill them, I just blast the spiders and their webbery from the front porch and door.  On the one hand, I look at all the little morsels they've caught in their webs and am grateful that those things didn't make it into the house, but on the other, it makes the front door quite creepy and unwelcoming.

So I blast them away, and for a little while, we appear friendly.  Soon, they're back and rebuilding the webs and, apparently, infusing me with vengeful venom.  I keep hoping for super hero powers to come of this, but so far, I got nuthin.

In other news, it was bike jam day at the university this week to kick off another year of Pedal Perks.  I didn't get any freebies or participate in any contests, but I was there for the "campus cruise".  It's just a slow pack ride through campus for anyone who wants to go along, which effectively ties up any car traffic that happens to regretfully cross its path.  How could I not play along with that?

Last year, a couple of brave souls rode on the back of a small, unstable, no-handles towed trailer to shoot video footage of the campus cruise.  The result was this cute little feel-good production.  If you're observant, you might spot me in red and Alice as her typical photogenic self:


UCCS Bike Jam Fall 2015 from Rich Moricz on Vimeo.


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a new door opens and a sign gets run over

And so it begins.  The new school year has officially begun.  Meego started back last week, but really, that first week of high school seems like there's more homework for ME than for him.  All those agreements to sign to say I read the syllabus and agree to all the class rules.  Yup.

While out and about this week, I came across this "bad sign" at a busy intersection.  Hmmm...





My classes officially started on Monday. It's nice to be back into the swing.  Yesterday, I went to the university, and there were PEOPLE everywhere!  I'd gotten used to the quietude of summer semester.

And today, I felt right back into it as I had a typically productive day... of procrastinating my classwork by doing a bunch of other things!

I've got two big boxes o' stuff here that the nice guys with the big truck are coming to pick up tomorrow.  I reminded Meego and Magnum to go through their things for stuff that doesn't "spark joy".

Magnum says, "If I get rid of stuff, I can replace it with new".

That's the spirit!

In similar news, I was able to cut ties with Meego's old bicycle.  He'd conveniently outgrown it in the spring, which is conveniently when his birthday is, and we conveniently got him a new one to celebrate.  I fully intended to quickly sell the old one, but made the "mistake" of riding it one one day out of convenience.

Well, what a sweet little bicycle it was!

But here we are, three months later, and I realized I should let that bicycle go be friends with some other kid instead of this old lady who already has two bicycles.  I snapped a couple of pics, but it took me another week until I was emotionally ready to place the ad.

Good ol' Albert

Then it sold within about three hours.

Chaco tells me I sell bicycles for too low a price, but I say I price them just right to hit my target market.  My strategy came through again.

See, I price them so someone who doesn't really appreciate a nice bicycle will say, "PFFFT, I can get a NEW one at Walfarts for cheaper!"

But someone who knows a little about bicycles will say, "THAT'S a deal, what a good person that seller must be!  I'm gonna buy that bicycle for my 13-year-old grandson right now!"

And that's pretty much how it went down.  Win win.



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fweedom

Tired of me yet?  Well, join the club.  My summer class finished up with grades posted last week, so now I'm in a lull until fall classes begin.  I've got tuting and P.E.O. stuff to keep me on my toes, but still have some time to kill each day.  And darn if my new phone won't load Pokemon Go either!

Now I have a question for anyone reading.  At what age do you expect your kids to get their own selves out of bed on time for school, work, etc.?  Or for those who don't have kids - at what age were you responsible?

I don't remember my exact age, but I do remember getting a cool clock radio one Christmas, and from then on, I relished in the ability to set my alarm and get up on time each morning for school, all by myself.  I think I was in middle school or late elementary school.   Little did I know at the time that it was also a Christmas gift for my mom.

Meego, at 16,  still struggles with this.  I swear, he could sleep through a train wreck.  He sets alarms, but it usually happens that Magnum or I has to wake him up to tell him his alarm is going off.  What?

I felt he was getting too dependent on Magnum to get him up.  I recall one day, late in the school year last year, when he came to me asking for a ride to school - he usually walks, it's just over a mile away.

Meego:  *reluctantly*  Can you give me a ride to school?
Me:  *raised eyebrows*
Meego:  I know it's not Dad's job to wake me up, but he woke me up really late.
Me:  *to self - "does he listen to his sentences?"*  Uhm... that's a half-right, half-wrong.

Anyway, I gave him a ride.

He's made some progress over the summer, but we're not yet in full self-reliant mode.  Baby steps.

Any pointers?

SOURCE

In other "Get Up!" but otherwise unrelated  news - apparently Barry Bonds (I hear he plays baseball) reads my blog.  He was in town for something and did the Manitou Incline - clearly after reading about it here.

He posted a short, scenic, out-of-breath video seen [HERE].  Funny he didn't mention me...


Okay, ShadowRun, we're next!

acting busy 'cause it's hot out

I'm blogging from the university.  I probably look all studious doing so.  If they only knew...

Summer classes started this week, and I have just one.  It's a leadership class and I like it so far, follower that I am.  Wolfgang has moved back home temporarily.  He and Meego made the bedroom work with a bit of rearranging.  I've noticed my recent tidying efforts being compromised, but I'm managing to contain myself.

It's very hot today so I'm reluctant to head back home since (1) the university library is air conditioned, (2) the tidiness issues mentioned above, (3) my bicycle expects me to pedal it in order to go forward, (4) pedaling when it's so hot out is sometimes not fun, and (5) waah.

As I was riding here, I came upon what looked like a very fresh traffic accident.  There were three cars pulled over just off an interstate off-ramp, all of them with their hazard lights aflash.  There was a young guy - looked to be early 20s - sitting on the ground outside the driver's side of one of the cars.  A couple of other guys looked to be fine and walking around while yet another healthy-looking man was on the phone.

They were signalling traffic to proceed around them, so I didn't stop as it looked like the situation was under control and I would just get in the way.  In hindsight, I could've offered some water to the guy sitting on the ground.

One thing that struck me as strange was that there didn't seem to be any dents, scratches, or whatnot on any of the vehicles.  Nothing.  So I wondered if it was a fender bender or was the kid on the ground in the midst of some sort of health problem?  As I wondered, I heard sirens approaching from the distance, so help was apparently on the way.

In another news update, I've been going regularly to that new gym trying to do strength workouts I've found on Pinterest, and that's not nearly as wimpy as it sounds.  I haven't really done much of this stuff since high school, and it shows.  Clearly

And in other other news, that nephew of mine got hitched.  You can tell by this wedding photo that they're a pretty pompous couple *SARCASM*

Too fun.  Before anyone asks, I have no idea where he got that suit.

no degree for me yet, but I least I got stuff!

Another semester of classes has come to a close.  When I last spoke with Chaco, he couldn't WAIT to be finished.  That was on Sunday.  He and Wolfgang actually came over as a sort of Mother's Day... thing.  Which was nice.  We just kinda hung out as we don't usually do anything special on Mother's Day, so that was special.

Whee!  I'm in college!

I was thinking about back to nearly four years ago when Chaco was just moving into the freshman dorm - how excited he was (and how rather traumatized I was).  It's been a good four years for him, and it's time to move on.

Graduation is tomorrow.  We left it up to him as to whether he would do the whole cap'n'gown thing as we're pretty ambivalent when it comes to all that pomp and circumstance biz.  We told him we'd be there with bells on if he wanted, but Chaco didn't feel a need to sit through graduation in a funny hat.  YAY.



I went to the university today.  I noticed right away that I didn't feel as old as I usually do.  There were quite a lot of "older than usual" people on campus - parents in for graduation or packing freshmen and/or sophomores out of the dorms.

As for me, I was not there to collect any degrees or any children, but rather to cash in!

Remember a little while back?  I mentioned this "Spring into Wellness Challenge" the graduate school was throwing?  I was drinking a bunch of water for that first challenge?  Sure ya do!

Anyway, the challenge took place over the final six weeks of the semester, with a different challenge each week.  We were to complete the challenges and take part in discussions with other participants.  I thought it was fun.  The challenges weren't too difficult, but made me think about "wellness", and I enjoyed the discussions with grad students other than those that are in my program.

"Prizes" were vaguely mentioned early on, and lo and behold, they awarded nicer than expected prizes to the top three participants.  And I got top prize!  Yeah, moi!  Fifty bucks at the university bookstore.  Surprise!

So I went today to cash in.  I did NOT spend it on textbooks.  (1) the bookstore book prices are ridiculous, and (2) sorry, but a textbook doesn't feel very "prizey".

I got an Under Armour ColdGear 3/4 zipper pullover.  It's fun just to say it!  This will be nice for those cold-weather rides and runs.  And yes, so far, it is "sparking joy"

As I was perusing all the paraphernalia, I was surprised to not see any reference to the university on this particular pullover.  Then I turned it around and saw this rather inconspicuous blurb

Well, okay then!  I didn't need it today as it's lovely out and I rode in single layer short sleeves.  I just put it on for blog quality - sacrifices I make.  I like the thumb holes in the sleeves.  I wish we could actually go back to winter right now!  No I don't!

I was also due for Pedal Perks from April, so...

I know they look like pretty boring socks from the tops, but the material is nice lightweight moisture whicking stuff.  And they're actually quite flashy.  Plus... free!




So that's it for now - top to bottom.  What's new with you??

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finally almost

I'm getting so much done!  Strangely, we're in the final weeks of school, so final projects time.  That means I do everything BUT work on final projects.  Funny how that happens...  I tell myself that it's all cooking in my brain while I do all that other stuff.

So while I'm busy procrastinating, I thought I'd drop in on the blog and report that firstly, the sun hath returneth!  Much rejoicing has taken place this week.  See?

"Meow'm SO happy!"

The school year is winding down for Meego too.  The music program had it's annual Spring Concert last week.  The kids and instructors all do a nice job, but there are so many different groups, and they each play multiple songs.  The thing stretches on forEVER!   Look, don't Meego and this gang look like they're having a rip-roaring time?!

Yah! Spring!  Music!  Whoo!

Chaco graced us with his presence this week.  It's finals time for him too, so the procrastination apparently runs in the family.  Actually, he's had a tough case of Senioritis this semester.  He's had  a job since last summer, and he's just having to finish up these last classes to be working full-time.  Anyway, he came over stating that he wanted a haircut.

He and Wolfgang still come over for haircuts since I've been the family barber since forever.  They've considered going to a real hair place, but I guess they like the freebies.  I noted that his hair didn't seem all that long.

"Yeah, but I decided I'd come over here instead of work on projects"

I'm not complaining.  He didn't like what I'd planned for dinner, so he cooked us a better one.

So it's springtime, and it's warm and sunny for now.  I can feel my allergies bubbling up.  I am aware of bugs buzzing around, but I have yet to be stung by a bee.  All is good.  And there, I just finished more final project...

...in my mind.


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giving up the snooze

The grad school started a "spring into wellness" program that began the week after spring break.  For the remainder of this semester, participants have a series of weekly challenges to complete.  There are prizes!  (because, really, who would participate if not for prizes?)

For instance, this week we are tracking our daily spending and watching for any bad habits or unnecessary expenses.  It's not much of a "challenge" for me since we got on the penny pinching bandwagon way back when I quit my job to be a stay-at-home-mom.

Last week was a water challenge.  We were tasked to drink half our weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day.  So for someone who weighs 200 lbs, they were to drink 100 ounces each day.  There are online discussions to participate in each week, so last week's discussions mostly centered on big people having to carry around lots of water and easy ways to do that, along with an increase in trips to the bathroom.

Since this week isn't particularly challenging, I took on an additional goal.  See, for two days in a row, I was prompted, from unrelated sources, to stop using the snooze button.   I took these as messages from the universe to GET UP! when the alarm goes off.

I'll admit to having been a snooze-a-holic for the past several years.  Don't know when it began actually.  But yes, I'm one of those weirdos who would set the alarm for a good 30 to 45 minutes before I needed to get up, then spend that time repeatedly hitting snooze.  Magnum rode along.

This week, we decided, no more of that!  I learned that sleep quality  is actually quite crappy during those snooze button sessions.  We are way better off just setting the alarm for when we intend to get up, and then GET UP.

So we're doing it.  I feel SO much better!  Okay, it's only been two days, but...

In other progress news, the tidying continues.  I honestly thought I was already pretty tidy, clutterphobe that I am.  But I'm rising to a whole 'nother level.  Even Magnum has (surprisingly) gotten on the bandwagon.  Or  maybe he's just playing along because of that testimonial from one woman who chucked out her husband along with the other discards that were not sparking joy.

And speaking of tidying, the city seems to be on that bandwagon too.  Over a year ago, they took to cleaning up and renovating a section of the bike trail that I used regularly.  It was a big project as it included putting in a bicycle underpass and performing major clearing and erosion control on the adjacent creek bed.  It was scheduled to be finished at the end of last October, which meant that in no way would it be completed by the end of last October.

Since they closed it off, I've been taking a detour which hasn't been too bad, but caused me to encounter people hitting me up for marijuana as well as Bella's tire being screwed.

But whaddya know, Magnum and I went on a ride and discovered that they opened it last weekend!

Glory Hallelujah!

I don't have any "before" photos, but suffice to say that this is quite a makeover.  No wonder it took so long!  It's almost too devoid of flora, but I've seen landscapers out with a few plantings this week, so I doubt it will stay this barren for long.

Gosh, I'm gonna miss that guy bumming weed.  

I break for spring

Happy Spring!  It's here!  AH-CHOOOOO!!  I google imaged "spring break" for something appropriate to add, but suffice to say I found nothing "appropriate".

Actually, I'm just happy the sun is shining.  We've just emerged from two days of gloom.  At least we got snow out of it, because we were hurtin' for water, but I'm glad the clouds are now gone.  We average 300 days/year of sunshine here, so when it's overcast, I for one go into a bit of withdrawal.

And with the start of spring comes spring break at the university, and same for Meego at the high school.  Nothing major planned other than getting caught up on a few things along with filling in the gaps with fun.

And the gloom did provide the opportunity for some spring cleaning.  I fired up the chromecast to stream "Sunshine Cleaning" while I decontaminated the house.  That movie helped our house to not seem quite so bad.

In other movie news, Magnum and I watched Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation.  I have no review to offer because the movie put me to sleep.  Well, I guess that's my review.

At the other end of the spectrum, we also watched Wild.  I'd been wanting to see that movie ever since I read the book and loved it.  And I loved the movie too.  It really is a great story, not just her solo trek on the PCT, but the whole thing of what put her there in the first place, and then going on to write the book and make the movie years later.  As with the book, I was a bit sad when the movie was over.

Later last night, Magnum suggested we take China for her beauty walk.  We usually take her at night because she prefers it, anything above 40 degrees seems too hot for her.  I was reluctant because it was dark and cold out.  Magnum says, "You just watched that movie, and you don't want to walk the pooch around the block?"

Okay fine.

A few weeks ago, Chaco was over here rummaging through the scrap wood pile and borrowing some tools and hardware.  He was customizing his desk chair for "optimum geeking gaming".

Yesterday, I was at their place and saw the finished chair.  Magnum told him he should offer to similarly modify geek friends' chairs for a small fee.  Chaco has no interest in that whatsoever, but I snapped a pic, threatening to open an etsy store:  "Chaco's Chairs"

Throttle on the left hand, joystick on the right.



I'm wondering, how does he get his homework done?  Oh well... I guess he does homework in lieu of cleaning the apartment *ahem*.

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midterms and mish mash

It's midterm time at school.  I will say I feel in a bit of a conundrum, because on the one hand, I like my classes, but on the other, I feel I'm too old for this sh...tuff.

And I haven't had much time this week to either read or write a blog post.  Actually, I suppose I have had the time, but during the parts I haven't had the time, I've been on the computer reading or writing school related stuff, so when I do get the time, I'm outta here.

Here are some random thoughts from the week in speedy bullet form.

• I find the news story about this guy really strange/interesting.  Can I meditate to the point of being super smart, but avoid the frog aliens?
• I went to a career fair today and ran into Jake, Magnum's (ex) best friend at work.  Sounds like he's got some good prospects.  He'll be fine.
• I randomly sat next to a guy on a full shuttle bus. Turned out I know his boss's boss's wife.  Small world?
• The barefoot runner guy I see and wave to almost daily while on my bicycle jaunts spoke to me this week.  He said, "Bike!".  I almost responded with, "Feet!", but changed my mind.
• I watched a few vlogs on youtube and found them really mundane, and thought, "Why do these people vlog?"  But if it was in blog form, I probably would've found them more intriguing.  Why??

Anyway, that's about all the typing I have in me for now.  "See" you soon!

Loves,
Abby


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naked and (almost) alone

I went swimming at the university pool yesterday.  I've gone swimming there on a few occasions when I've had the time.  As usual, there was hardly anyone else there.  Traditional students just don't seem to use the pool much even though it's a perfectly nice facility.  So I was in there with three other people, and we were all "old" by university standards.  In fact the only person there of traditional student age was the lifeguard.


I'm not complaining.  I had a whole lane to myself and could just lazily do some laps like the others.  Afterwards, I was getting dressed in the locker room when one of the other old swimmers rounded the corner, totally naked except for the towel wrapped around her head...

which struck me as a bit strange since, I don't know what goes on in men's locker rooms, but women typically don't traipse around so naked in women's locker rooms.

Oh well.


"Isn't it funny how empty the pool locker room is, but they assign people to lockers right next to each other?", she commented.  (When checking into the rec center, the desk person assigns the lockers.  You get what you get).

I agreed and moved a little so she could access her poorly assigned locker while I could continue my own outfitting.  Thus began a conversation.

She, too, wondered why the young students don't use the pool, and commented how she'd just begun swimming, and how nice the pool was, and what good exercise it seemed to be.  The pool area also has a large hot tub, where young people could hang out and do... hot tub stuff.  But they don't use that much either.  I agreed on all counts and added that I didn't necessarily dislike how uncrowded it was.

Anyway, we continued gabbing along, and I learned she's a member of the faculty.  She teaches 2-D and 3-D art.  This university isn't exactly known for it's fine arts program, but apparently it does have one.

The whole time we were gabbing and dressing - about 20 mins. or so - not one other person was in the locker room.  I mentioned this to Magnum during our China beauty walk last night and we reminisced about our earlier college days.  Back then, the university rec center was always teeming with activity - weight room, cardio room, raquetball courts, gym, and especially the pool.  I suppose our university had a larger enrollment, and more students living on or near campus?

Or is the campus rec center just  not as much of a thing as it used to be?  Ours is a nice rec center and just recently completed the construction of a large addition.  Most of the young students I see there are usually hanging out playing ping pong or shooting hoops, while just a few are actually using the fitness equipment.

This after Wolfgang stopped by this week.  He just recently joined a fitness center - I wouldn't actually call it a "gym".  It's this huge facility that's in that ritzy neighborhood Magnum and I biked around last weekend.  A couple of Wolfgang's friends have memberships there, so he'd gone as a guest a few times to work out with them and decided to sign up too.

He could work out at the rec center for "free" since it's included in his student fees.  Same goes for one of his workout buddies, but they'd rather pay their hard earned money for the private center.  Maybe that's the trend these days:

"Campus rec center?  Pffft, that's for stupid freshmen and old people!"

Okay, fine.


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joy and sparkle

With the start of the new year, I've once again declared myself smoke free, and I'm back to strapping on the pedometer and getting my healthy money.  Another quarter, another round of health incentives.

In addition to giving us credit for the number of steps we take each day, the program sometimes offers supplemental "challenges" for bonus points.  This week, we have the "Aim High Challenge" where we set our "number-1 priority" each day.  I don't even have to meet the goal, just have to set it.  Heck, in reality, I don't even really have to set it.  Just say that I did, and *BAM*, points.

But it wouldn't feel right to cheat.  And I've actually been trying to do this anyway.  Spring semester doesn't start until next week.  We get a long winter break because the university does this "winterim" session where they offer a few one-week long concentrated classes.  That's going on now.

So, in the meantime, I'm taking care of a few necessary mundane things while also continuing to call upon my "fresh eyes" to make a few simple home improvements.  This has mainly involved getting rid of crap, and I'm enjoying that immensely.


I've heard of this popular book, but haven't yet read it.  I do get a kick out of reading some of the reviews.  From them, I get a feel of how this book is written and why it may cause a few snickers.

In short, the author apparently advises to get rid of anything that doesn't "spark joy".   My fresh eyes are finding a lot of non-sparking things.







I thought I would get into the spirit of the Aim High Challenge along with this life-changing tidying magic and set a few number-1 priorities to outline my week.

• Monday: Go through dresser drawers - (got rid of two joyless pairs of pants, yay)
• Tuesday:  Go through the food storage.  I've got a feeling there are some joylessly expired items in there.
• Wednesday:  Win the Powerball Jackpot
• Thursday: Research joyously sparkling islands for purchase
• Friday:  Make a list of things to do with the rest of 500+ million dollars (after taxes)

Okay then.  All pretty doable, I'd say.  Should be a productive week.

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Silver Liningness Sunday

I find it funny and a bit ironic when newscasts encourage people to not go out in bad weather, and they do so by reporting from out in the bad weather.  Those reporters all bundled up and getting tossed around by the wind, or pelted by rain or snow.  Such sacrifices for their jobs.

That said, I offer this report.

Yes, the big snowstorm that the weather people were all a-flutter about this past week arrived.  I'm feeling the cabin fever as it kept me home all day yesterday.  But at least I finished my conclusion.  Is that redundant?

Thankfully, I got out for a nice run in the morning before the flakes started flying.  It was fully overcast, but about 30 degrees and QUIET quiet.  The genuine calm before the storm.

Then the roads got all messy with multiple slide-offs and such.  On Friday, I talked a bit with Wolfgang who was sort of lamenting the fact that he hasn't gotten to test out the  new snow tires he recently got for his truck.  He was in sunny warm Hawaii during our big snow of Thanksgiving week.  Oh... the hardships.

But today looks a little better... a little.  I hope to get out in a bit for some errand running and general escape.  I don't like to shop on the weekends, but maybe after the Bronco game starts, the crowd will thin.  Yay for football fans.

This was a productive week of finishing up the semester, so I'm thankful to be pretty wrapped up with two more classes.  Meego has finals coming up this week.  They have two finals a day, then afternoons off.  The e-mail says...

               Students should use the time to complete make-up exams, seek
               individual tutorial time, or to study for exams.


So I said, "Oh, tutorial time.  Good idea, that's what we'll do!"

He just laughed, like I was just messing around.

Beware the nerd mom with some time on her hands.  MUAHAHAHAHA!

in conclusion...

Homestretch of the college semester now.  I'm finishing another final case study and have pretty much everything done, just need a conclusion.  Time for the procrastination to kick in!

Oh well, thanks to procrastination, I got a lot of other things done today.  Cleaned the shed, cleaned Bella, cleaned the dog kennel, ran some errands...

One thing still left to do - I need a gift for the PEO Christmas party gift exchange.  About $10 range.  It's a yankee swap, which is fun.  Last year, I ended up with this huge platter, remember?

So I guess I can't re-gift it at this year's exchange?

In other news, Meego had another concert this week.  Symphonic band this time, Meego on the euphonium, so not as jazzy as jazz band.  It was a nice performance all around, and I'm just pleased to know what a euphonium is.

Any yankee swap gift exchange ideas are welcome.

And I WILL write a spankin' conclusion...

Tomorrow.

wrappin' up

I'm sitting here watching my email for inputs from teammates on a final group project for school.  Lemme just say, no matter how nice the teammates are, group projects for an online class are a pain.  We all have different schedules and obligations which is why we're taking classes online in the first place.  Heck, one of our teammates doesn't even live in the same time zone.

But it will get done.  In fact, I've got the whole thing ready to ship, I just think the others would want to have more of their fingerprints on the thing, however virtual.  Either way, it's nice to be at the end of another semester.  Wrapping things up with these final projects and final exams before the long winter's sleep break.

Speaking of school, I was on campus yesterday for a bit.  The mood was respectfully somber as yesterday was the funeral for Officer Swasey.  There was a notable presence of police and other first responders as the campus was preparing for the funeral procession, which was absolutely huge.  Also in his honor, a blue light replaced the usual white light in the campus clock tower for the past week.

SOURCE

So it was quite the outpouring of support and respect as the motorcade left campus for the funeral, and during the whole procession afterward to the cemetery.

In other school-end-of-semester news, Meego finally had a band concert for jazz band this week.  We were wondering, thinking one was due.  At the concert, I saw another  mom friend of mine who was thinking the same thing, wondering "Did we miss it??"

But it happened, and they put on an entertaining performance.  Meego on his new Thunderbird bass.  I'll say that the new bass does have a nice stage presence, pretty.  Sounded good too.  I tried to snap an obligatory cell phone photo, but it was crap.  I did get this less-crappy-but-still-grainy photo of Meego at the formal reception afterward.  You can tell it's formal because of the mini solo cup.

So although the Thunderbird is sadly absent here, it's just such a rare thing for Meego to be wearing buttons, let alone a tie.  It needed to be documented.  

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Silver Liningness Sunday

First of all, Ima say it.  I do miss blogging more often.  I just spend so much time on the computer for school that I gotta get some balance.  BUT, can't miss the silver liningness.

Truth be told, it's been a somber week, actually.  One of the high school band kids passed away.

I got a call around noonish on Wednesday.  It was one of the school office staff informing me that a student had died and that Meego had been seen by a grief counselor.  I figured the only reason she would be calling me in person was if the student (she didn't give his name) was a close friend of Meego's and/or in the band since that is Meego's main extracurricular activity.

Sure enough, it was a band kid.  He and Meego were not close, and I didn't know his family.  Still, anyone who's been a high school band nerd *raising my hand* knows how close everyone gets just from the large amounts of time spent together practicing and performing - and just being part of something bigger than oneself.  And this just after the they'd gotten back from their fun end-of-season road trip.

His name was Sean.  He was just a freshman.  He played alto saxophone.  He had two little sisters.

We don't know what happened, just that he passed away "suddenly and unexpectedly".  He had no known health issues, and his family was close, happy, "normal".

So, it's been a sad time, but I will say that it seems to have made the whole band "family" closer in general.  Several of the kids have expressed thoughtful and mature insights and tributes to Sean.  And I sometimes poke fun at the band parent stereotype, but truth is, the boosters just really care about the kids - all of them.  And they work tirelessly for the benefit of the program.

It doesn't make up for the tragic loss, but it's silver liningness Sunday, so I'm grasping.

Rest in Peace, Sean







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cruising into fall

Happy Labor Day weekend.  A holiday for the workin' man... and woman.  I guess after this, summer unofficially ends.  Got any plans?

Meego and I plan to do the American Discovery Trail Marathon again on Monday.  "Do" as in "WATER!... GATORADE!... WATER!... GATORADE!..."

Yes, I volunteered to work an aid station again, and I managed to get buy-in from Meego despite the early morning duty.  I had leverage - his want of a band jacket.

And with the start of September comes the start of bike month at the university.  "Bike Jam" was Thursday, and we were glad to learn that Pedal Perks will continue for another year, woot!  Bike month just throws in a few more events and incentives to hopefully get people to continue to commute for the rest of the year.

So, I was there towards the end of bike jam.  It was a nice day for it, and there were friendly booths scattered about.  Several of us went on a "campus cruise", probably to the annoyance of people trying to park and go to class.  Serves them right for driving on bike jam day.

Find Alice and Abby?
hint:  I'm in red, behind a woman in a chartreuse cape (?)

There were contests and raffles, but I didn't win anything.  One contest was a fix-a-flat contest.  I didn't enter, I hate fixing flats.  Even for prizes.

The wellness center gave out some little ice packs and these cute first aid kits.

I, for one, appreciate the "Sting and Bite Pad", y'know what I'm sayin'?













There was plenty of food too and other freebies, including this button that serves no other purpose than being a button.

I'm not much for backpack adornments, but the button is still there, now two days later.

So, a fun little diversion, and I met a few nice fellow commuters.






On the way home, I passed some maintenance crews cleaning up the trail.  Maybe prepping it for the marathon?  Or just for the Labor Day weekend in general?

I hope my blog friends have a nice end-of-summer weekend, and get to enjoy some fruits of the labors!  Doing anything fun??

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