Aiming for the GHGs (Official)

[V]

Morning.

Day 3 of jumping into the mud pit. Is it Friday yet?

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
Some chores around the house this am...then lunch and phone help with my neighbor...then making a basta pasta salad with fresh orange & yellow peppers for book club tonight. This is the fun one--with food.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

Seven IEP meetings down, one to go (for now)! All of the meetings that I had yesterday went well. Both parents wanted to talk a lot, but I was able to get them on track and finalize the meetings.*

Trivia tonight. Fun times!

Mia seems to be doing a lot better. She is not scratching and grooming near as much.

*Since I started writing this, I have talked with a parent on the phone, met with three students and run all over the school. I am ready for Paperwork Mountain to be plowed down!

I hope you all have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Update. I have everything I need. book club has been cancelled tonight; play and magical dining cancelled for tomorrow; schools are cancelled. Lots of water and toilet flushing abilities; and a very safe place to be if needed. The orchids are all on the floor and off the plant stands on the patio. That's it. I'm done and ready. I did not buy any hurricane snacks and already regretting it 36 hours in advance........Internet and TV are a guessing game.

[Cyn]

Hi,
Last night was a HUGE migration night. Almost 30million birds had crossed over IL by 11:40pm, and there were almost 70 million birds reported in flight moving somewhere. Saw lots of the tiny warbler species today, along with a magnificent juvenile Red Tailed Hawk at the pond walk. It stuck around for quite awhile, flying and posing in different trees, until a cacaphonous murder of crows chased it off.

I agree about the ease of access to information available via portable internet has made it unneccessary to do actual hard research or even take notes anymore, so the brain's retention ability is not being used in the same way as when we came up.
Sound bytes and 140 character limits are the norm now.

[gadgetgirlil]

Happy Friday Eve!

I had 2 students who didn't show up for the lab exam. One emailed me to let me know he has been sick all week with the flu. The other never contacted me. Any retakes will be during finals week. The students in the first lab section did much better than the second section. I think that is because the students who registered early enough to get into the first section tend to be more organized. The women, with the exception of one, rocked! One very quiet woman had a perfect exam! Another fellow that I didn't think was that serious of a student also did very well. A male student who I thought would do really well didn't do so well. Otherwise, the results were pretty much as I expected. 1/3 of the students need to improve their performance, the rest are fine. We will see how the written exam goes on Monday.

I'm still way behind on emails, finishing the grading of Monday's test in the other class, and getting ready for tomorrow's ECG screenings. I truly feel like Sisyphus this month and I hate it.

Today I exchange ECG machines, have an eye exam, department meeting and then will have to try to get ready for tomorrow's ECG stuff as well as class. There are not enough hours in the day.

Have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

From yesterday, sherrydorlando2, the police could sort of hide in our parking lot because of the way the buildings are laid out within the complex. Our main building is perpendicular to all the others.

Our security guy watched the video and he said around 6:40 pm a white truck left and the cops sped off after him. I still don’t know what it was about.

Our newest employee who started last week may not be around much longer. He has said a few things that seemed “off” to me so I did the background check I use for internet dating. It isn’t fool proof and might get some facts mixed up among people with similar names, but it gave me some trails to follow. Our dude might lose his security clearance. He sure hasn’t shown good judgment. I’ve been telling bossman that we need to start paying for full background checks and not just relying on security clearances or the threat of having to get one. This seals the deal. Someone can get a security clearance and then get arrested for something. If no one reports it to the security clearance people, they’ll never know. Dumb, dumb, dumb on this guy’s part.

I’ve got a woodworking class all day Saturday that I’m looking forward to. Just one more sleep and the weekend will almost be here.

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

pepper - regarding your comment about heat and electronics, the bigger issue I've had was it being too cold for electronics! My Garmin InReach got really upset when I was hiking in minus 18 degrees. The battery on my iPhone drains rapidly in the cold. I keep my electronics in my coat pocket with hand warmers. I also carry a powerbank or two.

As for heat, at your temperatures, my body would shut down before my electronics.

[V]

Morning.

I hope today is better than the last two weeks. I really need a break.

I got out for Mexican food, girl time, and the Beetlejuice movie with the girls. CSO had a powderpuff football game with her GD that YF & I sat in on for the first half before going to the movies. GD made a touchdown and that was super exciting! YF & I went for a walk after the movie and I vented about some of the stress that has been weighing on me.

I need to get things laid out for this evening so that I don't just go home and sleep the afternoon away without accomplishing anything I want to get done. That's my new focus for the week/rest of the month.

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
I's dark and rainy and windy. It will go right past Tampa this evening and Tampa is about 80 miles from us. Problem is she is 400 miles wide..so 200 to the right and left of her..Will be heading north towards Tallahassee. Cross your fingers for my roof. I need to download another book in case internet goes off. We'll hunker down and be fine.

[V]

Holy Hell!

I looked to see how much PTO I have coming. There are 2 unscheduled WEEKS available before I have a full week at Christmas and another day that are already scheduled. No wonder I am losing my mind. Outside of a couple of days for my uncle's funeral and some days where I was sick, I haven't had a vacation in 4 months. That was the Lied Lodge Spa weekend with the girls. That seems forever ago. April. It was April.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

We are out of school today because of flooding and downed trees all over the county. We are a large landmass county with a rise in elevation of over 3000 ft. It can be clear and wonderful in one place, but not another. I hate missing a day so early in the year, but can't say that it's unwelcome. I will not do one thing for work today and rest my brain.

I do need to spend some time on this house, just doing little things. Then the GN crew may be heading out. It will depend more on the weather. I can always get out to the local sports bar and watch TNF, if I want to. It's only a mile or so from my house and there is no danger of coming across flooded roads or whatever on my way there.

I hope you all have a good day!

ETA: We won trivia last night!

[V]

OMG. YF just stopped by and brought me an iced coffee from our coffeeshop and treats from a gf bakery she went to last week. I am so loved.

[Cyn]

Hi!
Been trying not to worry about my FL sister in St Pete, sounds as though all is well there thankfully.
Got my Chewy account woken up, and got a $15 welcome back rebate on $49 which was lovely. I think I will also do the spend $100 to get a $30 gift card and stock up on stuff. I need to figure out a wet food for Queenie, but have been in analysis paralysis. Somebody left some free cans of wet food in the lobby, but of course she turned her nose up at it. Sigh.

Sending safe weather mojo to newmoose and sherrydorlando.
gadgetgirlil I hope your next screenings will go smoothly. I'm sorry your fall semester is such a busy cluster.
pepper yikes about the security stuff!
V, get thee a vacation planned, toot sweet!

[gadgetgirlil]

TGIF!

Holy heck it has been a week. I'm not ready for class. I'm not ready for the ECG screenings. I hope I can get everything done in the 3 hours that I will have assuming I get to my desk at 6am. Ugh, that is a ridiculous thing to type out.

This week (month) just had too much crammed into it. I did get my vaccinations, DEXA and annual eye exam fit in. Ordered new glasses yesterday since I won't have vision insurance next year unless I can find something that I can purchase on my own that is affordable.

All my department members now know I'm retiring. Most knew but a few didn't. It was announced at our department meeting yesterday. Another colleague was asking me questions about logistics of retiring (healthcare aspect) as he is about 2 years younger than I am and totally fed up with what has been going on at the university.

I have no idea what I'm doing for the weekend other than writing Monday's exam, finishing the grading for the other exam I gave for medical terminology and getting as much class prep done as possible. Also have some emails that need to be handled with our outside partners. My workload this month has been ridiculous.

Have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

sherrydorlando2, I hope you’re doing ok!

I’m ready for the week to be done. The End.

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
All is well, everything is on and no leaks so far. I never did figure out what the loud crash was I heard last night over the howling winds and pounding rain.....I need to get busy today. I have had jobs/errands on my phone not done for 3 days straight....Picture this. A friend texted to see if I got her check....The sun came out for a few; no horrible wind and no rain (feeder band). So, I took the dogs for a quick walk to get the mail (2-3 blocks). They are terrified of noise and rain. By the time we got there the sun went in; a howling wind started and I could barely contain them at the mail boxes; so, trying to hold 3 frightened babies and a huge thing of mail and a package and my keys and a poop bag we started home. The bottom fell out. It was so windy I didn't feel safe on the sidewalks lined with oak trees. So, we were in the middle of the road in a downpour walking as fast as a fat 75 year old woman can with a bad knee and sore foot could while being dragged down the street by three tiny weenies. I don't know if any neighbors videoed it, but it could be worth a lot!! WE were soaked to the bone.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

We are fairing better than most in our area. We have power and internet, where many people here do not. WF has no power and a tree just fell on her house. I am here for her, if she needs it, but she is probably just as safe at home with her dog.

The weather should clear up this afternoon. I plan on going to get my Covid and flu vaccines after the rain goes on.

GN was fun, though not everyone came out. I don't blame them. It really is nasty out there.

I hope you all have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Hello weekend!

We managed to be all wrapped up a little after 5pm yesterday with the athletes. Still had a lot of no shows but it is their problem now to stay eligible to compete. I did have enough energy to swing by Trader Joe's on my way home so the freezer is restocked for the upcoming week.

9 of my 35 students didn't come to yesterday's review session for Monday's exam. Their loss as the students who were in attendance got 5 bonus points. I also mixed in 16 questions in my slides that I will put on the exam. At 0.5 pts each, that is another 8 "free" points assuming they can retain the information over the weekend. I had mixed results with students retaining information on those "free" questions from the time of the review to the exam last semester/// There will not be any extra credit offered on the exam, nor will I curve their grades.

5 weeks done, 11 to go. We are 1/3 through the instructional part of the semester as the last week are finals. Today is the homecoming football game. There is some tailgating thing going on. I just delete all the emails as I have no interest in spending any more time than I have to on campus this weekend. I'll do my class prep and that's it.

I think we are supposed to get some rain this morning. It was pretty windy yesterday afternoon but nothing like what people had down south. I think tomorrow might be okay to try to go bike riding before I head to campus.

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
I have been outside "supervising" some tree trimming on my oak trees. Better for roof and safer as one limb was just barely brushing my bedroom window...could have exploded in at 4 am....Yesterday was a bit of what I needed to do .Our HOA used to pay for that--and now they don't. They take something away every year seems to me. Today will be some of that and pickup med at Publix (so check out all of the BOGO's.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

The weather here has finally calmed down, for now. The destruction of this storm is unparalleled for our area. When I tell you that I live in Paradise, I mean it. We don't get extreme weather. We don't have natural disasters. Well, of course we do, but they are rare. Earthquakes are not even felt by most of the people. Tornadoes happen once in a lifetime. Flooding happens along the rivers, but the waters recede quickly. All of that changed this week. Entire towns are under water. Hospitals destroyed. Roads washed away. Hundreds of thousands without power. The Asheville area is going to look like a war zone for quite a while. I am in mourning for places I love.

WF is not responding to texts. I am going to give her a bit longer and then I may try to drive to her house. I don't know what good that will do, since her driveway may still be blocked. Her power is not due to be restored until tomorrow night. She is probably limiting her cell usage, since the towers are needed for emergency usage.

I hope you all have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

My biggest accomplishment yesterday was successfully changing the tire on my bike without a single cuss word! This is the bike with the new rims that left me in a jam during my big August trip when I couldn't get a new tire on without special tools that I didn't have with me. I've watched several YouTube videos and read posts on the biking forum I follow for tips and tricks for dealing with really hard to get on/off tires. Yesterday morning I took my front wheel off, removed the current tire, and put on a brand new tire (the one I tried in the dark on the roadside in Nebraska). It wasn't easy nor quick, but the tips I picked up made just that little bit of difference and I got the fresh new tire on! I also discovered that I messed up the rim tape on the front wheel when I had my hour-long tire change roadside in Colorado. So I've ordered new rim tape and will redo both wheels in the coming weeks. That will give me more practice as well. It is so much easier to tackle this type of project sitting in a comfortable chair in my kitchen.

I got all caught up on my medical terminology class and am good for the next 2 classes (I'm out of town most of next weekend which impacts class prep). Most of the students did fine on the exam but there are a few that need to study more. That one student still hasn't bought the book. He currently has an F for the class. I also took care of the emails that were the highest priority and got the ECGs sorted out. We did 75 athletes on Friday.

I started to pull together questions and diagrams for the other exam that I'm giving tomorrow. Still a lot of work to get that put together as I couldn't use much of last year's exam because that exam was a mess. I've refined what I'm covering in the chapters thus far as it was obvious last fall that this really had to be taught at a survey level. We are only covering maybe 20% of what the upper level classes teach. 95% of these students would fail those upper level classes which is sad. One student commented Friday after class that we are covering so much material. I internally rolled my eyes since I feel like I've dumbed down the material from last fall. I reminded her that this is nothing compared to the upper level classes. Makes me wonder what they are doing in their other courses in their major.

Heading out for a bike ride this morning before I deal with finishing the exam.

Have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

Yesterday’s class was very, very good. Remember how I complained about how my previous 7 week class was sooooooo sllllloooooooowwwwwww? In 28 hours we made what is essentially a large box with handles. Yesterday we made two fancy boxes in 7 hours. I need to sand and put some sort of finish on them, but I’m very pleased with the speed of the class and how the boxes turned out.

Today I need to go water the community garden, then I think Mom and I will get our nails done if she’s up for it.

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
Rain again a lot of yesterday. Today is hot already. damn, I got spoiled in those few days. Things on the list I keep putting off. several walks and stairs today. I haven't lost an ounce in about 6 weeks or so and I need to switch up something. Maybe an all day work/rest/work day will help. Maybe a giant burger and fries would help. Still on very lo calorie intake. pfft!

[newmoose]

Good morning!

I woke up to texts from WF! She can only text Android phones from her iPhone. I happen to have an Android. She had to walk down the neighbor's pasture to get to me. I took her hot coffee, hot food, and a gallon of water. She was so happy to see me and the dogs.

DH and I are getting ready to get more food to Damascus. It's hard to feel so helpless.

I hope you have a good day!