Monday, May 19, 2014

Where'd the Weekend Go?

I had a weekend here a minute ago, but now I've misplaced it.

So many plans, so many dreams, so many little annoying tasks that need to be done all at once -- but there's work left over from the office that has to be done NOW or else the world will fall completely apart (at least that's the way it's sold), and here I am on a glorious weekend finding all sorts of excuses not to get it all done.

I had a good excuse on Friday. Who wants to work on Friday? I've already put in my ten-hour day; I need some rest.  It was a rough week. What better way to celebrate Friday than to stop off at the local Chinese restaurant and pick up some Cashew Chicken and some Lemon Chicken and some Sweet'n'Sour Chicken and some Spring Rolls and stuff our faces and then come up hungry again in about an hour or so?

Saturday morning was supposed to be a quick run over to the church at eleven to help the Venture Crew pick up the Scout trailer and the stuff out of the shed. I went a little early because I wanted to work on my classroom a bit, and I didn't plan on hanging out past 1 pm.  But ... things happen.

The tires on the trailer needed pumping, and I blew the fuse on the portable pump so had to borrow another one.  Then the unloading/loading took a lot longer than I had anticipated.  And there was still a lot of stuff in the Scout cabinets in the church to go through. That took way longer to go through. I called up the house and Deb came over to help (which was greatly appreciated!).  But after she left, it still took me til 3:30 to get all the remaining stuff put back into storage.

With all that, there wasn't time left to do anything except get ready for the Jazz Dinner Dance which started at 5:30.  It was awesome -- we had catered dinner (by Olive Garden) and wonderful jazz music from many school bands plus a couple of professionals who were "sitting in" to spice things up a bit.  There were even some couples who went out on the dance floor and actually danced! (Kind of a shocker, since most of the Band parents are a bit introverted and not given to public displays of inflexibility.)

We didn't get home until after 10, and at that point, it was time to get to bed because Sunday was coming.  You know, Sunday? That day you're supposed to relax, hang out, read, recharge your batteries?

Yeah, right.

Sunday morning, I suddenly remembered I was supposed to cover for one of the other children's teachers. No big deal, I'm big into improv.  And the lesson was easy (The Martyrdom of Stephen.) Sangs songs, taught the lesson, did the craft, served the snack, easy-peasy. But it kind of threw me for a bit, stress-wise.

Hoping to catch up on my workload during the afternoon, I was waylaid by the girls who wanted to watch "Mirror, Mirror", which is a hilarious and clever movie. It was like pulling off flypaper to get up the stairs and to my desk. Then I had trouble concentrating, I was so tired. And the bed looked so inviting. But then it was time for Mary to mow the lawn and she needed some help. And then there was lunch. And then there was graduation planning. And Family Meeting. And everything else under the sun.

I was up til nearly 1 am Monday trying to get my work ready.  And the alarm (cat) went off right on time, at 5:15, letting me know it was time to go out. Then again at 6 - time to feed the kitties. No point in going back to bed then. So up and at 'em, let's start another day.

When am I going to ever catch up?

Friday, May 16, 2014

A Stolen (and Much Abused) Poem

Provincial Provocation to the Dance

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin;
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid tribal dance.
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release of luck and chance.
Blessed dervish! Whither will thou whirl?
To hoke and poke, thus banish now thy doubt;

Forsooth, I say, 'tis what it is about.

This always reminds me of roller-skating...

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Senior Skip Day

I should've taken the hint from the high school seniors.  Today is a perfect day to skip work. OK, every day is a perfect day to skip work ... when you're not really enjoying it.  And it's a rare day around here when I enjoy going to work.

Graduation is just around the corner and James is getting pumped about it. If he ever had his mind on his schoolwork, it's gone now.  Perhaps he's still got a little bit of focus left for some concerts he'll be playing in the next couple of weeks; but he might as well be wearing the Hawaiian shirt and walking in sand for all the thought he has left of school and schoolwork.

Well, he's also thinking about the money he's going to be making once he starts that job.  Soon.  Enough to pay for things. Cars. Gas for cars. Computer stuff for animations. Trips to the beach with friends, afternoons at the amusement park, movies, restaurants.

Apartments.

School.

Life.