I somehow slept until 3 today. So, didn't get done nearly as much grading as I needed to. Tomorrow, going to campus to get work done. Maybe I'll say that I'll get brunch somewhere near campus, to make sure I'm actually awake, because I really have no room for not finishing stuff anymore.

The tickets for high holidays thing has always blown my mind. Churches will just cram people in. Bigger churches will sometimes have overflow with some sort of screen or audio in another big room or chapel. I guess sometimes people are turned away if you hit fire code? If you want a seat you get there early - you know there will be throngs of C&Es (people who only show up at church on Christmas and Easter).

And while collection plates are passed, for members it's generally the weekly installment of an annually pledged amount and for non-members it's an optional thing. Well, for everyone it's an optional thing - they're not going to make you stop coming if you don't meet your pledge or don't pledge at all.

I sort of feel it's a difference without a distinction -- both are considered donations and come off the taxes as a deduction!

I have been working all day so far (it's early afternoon in Poland) so I might go out for a couple of hours and then come back and works some more.

You know, I get that some people feel pressure to out money in the collection plate every time it get passed, but I have never had a church official say anything that sounds like it's a real, official pressure. I mean, preachers preach about tithing and giving, and sometimes there is a real practical issue like a roof or something that the congregation has to raise money for, that gets mentioned during the announcements. But regardless of the percentage of your income you choose to give, if you are giving of your income, it makes sense that you give after payday. So some people are going to put something in the plate once a month, some every two weeks, some more often, some less. So far as I know, they pass the plate at every service not to guilt people into giving when there is nothing coming in, but because it's easier to do it all the time than to try to make a schedule based on when everybody's paychecks come in. It's none of my business if someone else puts something in the plate, or doesn't. My parents gave us our allowance on Sunday mornings, and taught us to give some of that in church. They stopped giving allowance once we were old enough to babysit or mow lawns. If I had done some paid work that week, something went into the plate; if I hadn't, I gave nothing and no shame about it. And then I brought this guy I was dating to church with me. When the plate was passed, he had a few dollars to put in, and handed me one so I wasn't empty-handed. Which was thoughtful of him, but at the same time I totally had zero need to put something in the plate just to put something in the plate.

Oh, there was never *official* pressure, but you sure knew everyone in the nearby pews was watching. And gentle, sideways questions if there was a change. "Is everything all right, dear?" if the amount was smaller, or whispers among themselves if the amount was higher, "I wonder what she's making up for." The little envelopes were the only way to get around it, and you could only hope the church treasurer wasn't a gossip.

signed, grew up in a tiny church in a country village.

signed, grew up in a tiny church in a country village.

co-signed

My BFF's mom was just saying that she missed the old school system where your family "bought" a pew where you sat every Sunday. Thus, you were guaranteed a seat on C & E and didn't have to get there early.

I have a page in my bullet journal where I'm supposed to write one good thing that happens each day. It's supposed to be good for my mental health, and I figured I'd try it. Some other days, I've written that one of my students said I was a good teacher, or I saw my cousin on TV, or had coffee and a fun conversation with a friend. I spent today grading papers, doing lesson plans, and reading news about Trump. The best thing I could come up with to write down was that I bought some cool erasable gel pens and highlighters. The best thing about today is pens. Today sucks.

These pens are weird. They're heat-activated, somehow. When you erase stuff, it's the heat from the friction of the eraser that makes the ink disappear. And, apparently, if you put the paper in the freezer, then everything you erased will reappear. Though, also, if you write a bunch of stuff with it, and then leave the paper in a hot car, it will disappear. And if you write something with the pen, and then highlight it with the highlighter, the stuff written with the pen fades.

That doesn't seem really helpful for pens.