Brainpower

Yesterday was more stressful than it needed to be. Dropping 6 new kids into my classes on a Monday when I’m doing a lab is a pain in the ass, and it was entirely avoidable. They could have told me the week before, let me know what their names and schedules were. I could have emailed their current teachers and checked on behavior, especially since the microscope labs seem to bring out the worst in that. I could have had their science folders ready to go, the seating charts adjusted, all without the last-minute scrambling. But no. Instead I got crazy. I didn’t need any of that crazy.

Today should be better (unless they’ve found more new students for me that they haven’t told me about). The lab is mostly set up, I have a plan for dealing with some of the stupid from yesterday, and those poor new kids have now been terrified by my class and will never misbehave. One of them, a sweet little thing, has been saying hi to me for the last three weeks. Apparently she was very excited to come to my class (whatever) and made sure she knew how to pronounce my name. Very impressive. We’ll see how they do.

But after all that drama and stress, I had to go to the gym. I did grade at the gym, using the iPad on the stationary bike, but then I rewarded my weightlifting with reading my book on the elliptical. There was only so much crap I could deal with yesterday. I have one assignment that really needs to be graded quickly. I got through 3 classes yesterday; will get through the other 2 today. Google Classroom won’t let them see an assignment once they turn it in, mostly so they can’t keep editing it before we grade it, so if I want them to use it for say a study guide, then I have to grade and return them. Speed grading…the worst kind of speed dating.

The gym was a smart choice. I came back and dealt with dinner and the boychild trying to renew his license online and one more class of assignments, and then I took myself off to the studio, which is where I wanted to be anyway.

This is Cat 5…the foxlike kitty.

I had to find and bring in the orange fabric drawer for that one. I couldn’t find anything that was dark enough and in the right range. The belly fabric is only tiny pieces, not enough for a binding. But I managed to find some weird thing in there that I think came from Sandi. It was folded weird, and many of her fabrics were folded weird.

Then I did my favorite one…Cat 6…

Seriously, how can you not love this one? It’s weird, it has a cat, there’s eyeballs and a disembodied hand. OK, I know my taste in images runs a little strange.

All that’s left is Cat 7, the brightly colored sister of Cat 5. Hopefully tonight…then I have a bunch of bindings to handsew, and then I’ll be out of the studio for a while (except for cleanup). Wonder Under tracing goes on in the living room. Same with cutting it out and sorting it. Presumably I can get that done before Thanksgiving break and maybe start picking fabrics then (don’t think about the huge number of projects that will be coming in…seriously).

Meanwhile, I’ve been applying for some more editing jobs, even though it feels lately like I would be unable to actually DO any freelance work (in my spare time). I guess I really don’t need to sleep or eat. Right? Whatever. I’m a few thousand short for college, so somehow I need to make up that shortfall. I just don’t have the brainpower to figure that out right now…my brain just wants to draw and play with fabric. It’s kind of a grump at the moment.