I voluntarily took a 7am class my senior year of HS, but it was Microbiology and I luuuuuuuuuuurved it. (The reason it was so early is because it was a mixed class with students from a few different schools, so they held it early in the morning to let everyone get back to their regular school more or less on time.)

Vortex, I'm so sorry

it feels weird not to be going back to school today. This was always the first day in MN.

Gronk. I finally slept well two nights in a row, so why am I more tired than when I wasn't sleeping at all?

So I got to school this morning and was told as I went to sign in: "No school! State of emergency!" As it had only been declared half an hour earlier, none of the teachers had been forewarned, and only some of the kids had been contacted in time - those that arrived had to be returned home asap. After our staff meeting, I spent the day pottering around doing much-needed admin things in my classroom. It was...odd. Sort of limbo-ish.

This is a slightly less fun holiday than Tree Day (when a falling tree cut off our electricity at school, and neccesitated a day off), but so far all seems to be fairly calm in Bangkok. Don't know whether we'll be going in tomorrow - probably, although I know several other schools are taking at least 2 days off to be on the safe side. We shall see how things unfold.

Vortex, I'm so sorry for your loss. Let me know if you need to be taken out for a meal, drinks, or just someone to cry on.

Fay, I'm glad things are calm (relatively) in Bangkok. Stay safe.

Stay safe, Fay.

All good thoughts to you and your family, Vortex.

Stay safe~ma, Fay.

In lighter news ...

It was the Labor Day weekend in the nation's capital, which meant wall-to-wall tourists. Most are nice people ... some of them ... sigh ....

Sunday afternoon I was in Georgetown - not only a hot spot for tourists, but there are three universities nearby - so the place was mobbed. Right near the center of all attractions I was waiting at the bus stop - a stop for the public transit buses, the Circulator buses, and one of the tour bus lines. It's an old section of town, so the sidewalks are narrow brick. A family of tourists - mom, dad, grandmother in a wheelchair, and two preteens - comes up and, rather than lining up against the buildings, stands in front of me. Mom positions herself in the middle of the sidewalk. Guy with a bike pushes past and dings mom, who immediately begins a rant about rude people and how she hates big cities because the number of rude people per capita is so high. She announces she's going to look at a store a couple of doors down ... and is back in a few minutes ranting about how she hated the way the store smelled. A tobacco store, which smelled, surprise!, of tobacco. After listening to mom rant about rudeness, nasty smells, and how much she hates big cities, my bus came and I left her to hate the place some more. sigh.