I think right now, at 2:15 PM on Saturday, I finally have some sense of being on Spring Break. Mostly. I have a pile of stuff to grade, both online and physically on my light table (so the Golden Retriever can’t eat it). I have a quilt to finish. I took 290 or so people to the zoo yesterday with my teacher cohorts. Today, I marched in the March for Our Lives. I was exhausted all week. The last thing I wanted to do was get up this morning and march, but I did it. Because I had to. Because people aren’t listening. If I can be part of the mass of humanity that has to show the fuck up, stand out there, and keep yelling before the politicians hear us, then so be it. I will keep marching. I got up, made a sign, picked up my teacher friend, found parking, and marched. I am still exhausted. Let’s hope I get some rest in the next two weeks.

So here’s the last few days…well, actually, this is a photo of my significant housemate cat owner other. That guy who lives here. One of the band wives took this picture at House of Blues last weekend…one of his non-keyboarding songs. Nice lighting…

OK, back to this week…zoo yesterday. I had a good group, which helped, because I made them go fast…

I really love the new baboon exhibit. It’s fascinating to watch them.

Especially the young ones…

I wish they were all in open spaces…

Because these fences suck for photography…

And the penguin/shark exhibit is cool too.

Hua Mei was out and awake…

These guys! I had to laugh…

So after the zoo, we came back, managed some crazy, watched a school play, and then cleaned classrooms for break, so they can redo our floors. I forgot to water the plants. Oh well. And then I came home for about 10 minutes and drove to an opening in La Jolla, where I forgot to take pictures, then more driving to gaming…where, yes…I did in fact cut out pieces for the new quilt.

For #igquiltfest, the theme for the 23rd was stash. This is maybe a third of my stash. There’s more. It’s messy…I haven’t put everything back from the last quilt. I don’t usually do that until the quilt is done, in case I need to cut a piece, like if I lost one…

Then I got up this morning, and made this sign…

The gloves are to show I’m watching my politicians…except I forgot and left them in the car. Whoops!

And we marched…

Me and my quilt teacher, who also teaches in my district (and made the eyeball gloves)…

It was a beautiful day. But it’s almost like I don’t want to smile or acknowledge the gorgeous weather, because I’m marching for something pretty damn serious.

There was a lot of anti-NRA stuff…which I’m totally OK with. We have let political lobbies control too much of government.

The only way to improve this situation is to start passing a LOT of gun control legislation. I’m lucky to live in a fairly liberal state, but my city isn’t liberal. And certainly where I live is not.

The kids were out. The teachers were out. So yeah, as a teacher on the first day of Spring Break, thoroughly mentally and physically exhausted, it was very difficult to get up this morning and put on my boots and face all this. YES. I wanted to stay in bed and sleep in and lounge around in pajamas all day.

But I didn’t. Because this. You need to hear us.

So. Now I’m on break. Marching was something I had to do. I would love to go back to not needing to do that. But it doesn’t seem like that’s happening soon. And that makes me sad.

Today? I have grading and quiltmaking. For the rest of the day. Hopefully getting my head in a better place.

*Stone Sour, Through Glass