Bleargh. This week sucks. One of my work friends invited me to a crafting night, and I was all excited about that, because I really haven't been doing too well at making new friends here. I even went and bought some new yarn to start a new project, because I've got like four half-finished projects around hte house, but none of them really seemed like what I felt like working on. So I bought stuff to make a sock monkey hat. But I've been aching all day, and by mid-afternoon, I could tell that there was just no way that I'd be able to make it -- I was just hurting too much to be able to focus on crochet and carry on a conversation like even a semi-normal human being, and I'd end the night hurting even more, and I've got to teach tomorrow morning and I've got a long day Friday, and it just wasn't going to work out. So I told them that I wouldn't be able to make it.

And now I was sitting here feeling upset about that, and thinking that I ought to find something to do to make myself feel better, and thought, "Hey, maybe on Saturday I'll go to the place that has vegan cronuts and get one of those." But then I remembered -- my students have a midterm Friday night. Which means that I'll be working until at least 10 or 11 grading, and I know from experience that I won't be in any shape to do anything other than flop on my couch and whine on Saturday.

I hate my body.

Ugh Hillary, is there any way you can get someone to proctor for the exam on Friday night? Seems like rest would be a better use of you and your resources.

It's not proctoring the exam that's the issue -- my students and another instructor's students take it in the same room, and he's OK with being the one who walks around and answers questions, with me going over to answer questions if one of my students has something that he can't answer to their satisfaction. But after the exam, we do group grading, with each of us grading one problem from all of the exams from all the sections. That's what takes forever, and sitting that long is tough on my body. And I'm covering a class for a coworker Friday morning, so either I stay on campus all day (which might be a good idea, since I do have stuff I need to get done there) or I drive home and rest after that class and then drive back to campus for the exam.

The midterm Friday is calculus. My geometry students also have a midterm tomorrow, but that one's a lot easier -- just 25 students, and it's a small classroom so not much walking, and I trust them a lot more than I trust the calculus students (plus it's pretty tough to cheat on a geometry exam to begin with), so I can sit down a lot more.

I got my painkillers refilled, so I have those ready for the weekend, when I know I'm going to need them. The class that I'm covering tomorrow morning is only about 10 students, so that shouldn't be too difficult. (I've got two classes of 65 students each right now, and I am not great at managing that many.) Then spend most of the day grading geometry midterms from today, then give the calculus midterm, then grade that.

I bought nachos stuff, because I know I'm going to want some kind of junk food by the time I'm finished with that grading.

does that calculus grading have to be done right after? It couldn't wait the weekend?

It's group grading -- there are about ten of us who give our students the same exam, and to ensure it's graded fairly, each of us is assigned a particular problem to grade, and we grade that problem for all the students. The logistics of it work out best if everyone's in the same room at the same time, and the general consensus is that we should get it over with and grade right after the exam.

Oh, I thought it was just you and the one other guy. Yeah, that would be trickier to move.

Hil, good luck today.

I have concert tickets for the end of August which means that somehow between now and then I have to get ltc to start on a bottle so I can leave her with my mother for s few hours.

Feeling sad and out of sort today. One of my older friends passed unexpectedly this morning. We still don't know what happened. She was 72 going on 22. I believe everyone thought she would live well over 100 years. (Tom, this was Pat that gave us the tour of her ranch)

Pat was so full of life each and every day. She grew or raised or traded for everything her family ate. I'd bring her citrus or the mango chutney I'd canned to fill in where she couldn't do it herself. Avid hunter and big ole Republican. She would happily discuss politics with me and never considered taking it personally. At the frequent Otter Lake get togethers she would be my dance partner when her grandkids didn't get her out there first. She shoveled roofs and moved lawns and I just couldn't imagine her stopping. She had joint issues from Lyme disease that slowed her a bit on the dance floor and chores, but I didn't think she had any serious health issues.

One more lovely story of Pat while I reminisce. Pat had a number of animals, emus, hogs, chickens, deer and such. Through the years she hosted buses of disabled children and adults for farm tours. When her granddaughter was born a couple years ago with Down Syndrome she expressed her gratitude that she had known so many children and adults with the syndrome because it gave her more experience to be loving guidance for the grandchild.

We could not have been more different and we certainly had completely different life experiences, but we loved each other. It is a much larger hole for her family and the community, but I have a hole in my heart. RIP Pat. You made the world a better place.