The last two weeks…

A lot has happened in the last two weeks. I’m going to try to keep this succinct, if not brief.

Tuesday of last week was our Back-to-School-Night. As we, the 2nd period wheel teachers, introduced ourselves to the 6th grade parents, the principal came on the intercom and announced there was a gas leak and we had to evacuate. All that preparing and cleaning our rooms and getting ready was for naught. We were told at a staff meeting later that we should make videos to share with parents. I have four different classes which means I would need to make four different videos. Almost two weeks later, I’ve only made two of them.

I came home that night with a lot of pent up anxious energy and I didn’t workout so I couldn’t discharge it and I slept like absolute ass. It really sucked.

Using the computers at work has been a real crap shoot. Some days (very few days) they work fine. Most days a large portion of some classes get a “this site cannot be reached” page when they try to load anything. It will eventually (for most students) resolve itself but it takes 10ish minutes for that to happen. The worst part is not knowing if and when it will be an issue. I’ve taken to having them turn on the computers and then put them aside while we do something else, to make sure we can all start when I need to, but they REALLY struggle to not mess with a computer that is on next to them. It’s making me crazy, especially in the COMPUTERS EXPLORATORY class.

A tech representative came in and treated me like an idiot asshole while she logged into several computers and showed me how she couldn’t recreate the issue. It was honestly a REALLY unpleasant encounter, and not worth detailing here, but suffice it to say, I will not be informing Tech of any further issues because they won’t help me, but instead might make me cry in my own classroom.

I’ve had my classes long enough to feel confident saying that they are, for the most part, pretty decent. They all require CONSTANT VIGILANCE. The minute I try to get something done it all fall apart, so I need to use my prep periods really well. Right now it all still feels exhausting, but there is no one class I dread above the others.

We bought the 16yo a used electric bass and amp. The first set we were interested in fell apart, and it took a lot of my brain space up as it did so. The second set we wanted ended up being a much better fit for us. It was more expensive, but worth the extra money, and I’m so glad I don’t have to think about it anymore.

The 16yo turned in her application to the internship program that she really wanted last year, but was rejected from in the final round. This summer she rewrote all her answers to include the stuff she accomplished this past year, but evidently she hadn’t checked the new application and was answering last year’s questions. Luckily we realized the questions were different enough that all her new answers needed to be tweaked with enough time to tweak them, but it still took hours to do so. I’m relieved that is over too.

The 16yo also applied to two aquatics positions at two different city Y’s – one for a Junior Lifeguard internship and one for a Jr. Swim Instructor position. I really hope one of them pans out.

The 12yo’s baseball team has won its first three games. Last year it only won ONE game total, so this season is already a big improvement! We put the 12yo in a lot of baseball camps this summer and it seems all that practice has really paid off. He’s doing a great job at first base, and has scored at least one run in every game so far. Most important, he is clearly much more confident playing. It’s really rewarding to see the effort we all put into him improving at a sport he cares about pay off.

The husband and I went to the 12yo’s BTSN last night and we saw a lot of familiar faces in his classes. I guess he has a few friends in almost every class this year, a stark difference to having no friends in any class last year. That probably explains why the start of school has been so much smoother in 7th grade than it was in 6th grade.

Last weekend (the long weekend) was jam packed. A lot of it was fun stuff I chose to do, but in the end I think it was too much for me in 72 hours.

Friday I purchased the electric bass and amp near my work (we got out at 1pm that day). Then I visited my friend who had a baby this summer and we sat and chatted for several hours. I ran on the way home because the weather was beautiful and I felt like I needed to process some anxious energy, but my knee was hurting again which sucked. That night I did two loads of laundry at home and went to bed early.

Saturday I taught my class at the dojo then trained for three hours. I got home, then spent over an hour trimming the succulents in front of our house that someone ran over and destroyed. Then I showered, helped the kids get ready to sleep at my parents’ house, then went to dinner and drinks with the husband. We had a great time, but were home and in bed by 11pm again. I honestly wasn’t disappointed at all.

Sunday morning we trekked over to Chinatown for a last minute meet up with some college friends who were in town for the Cal football game. We ate dim sum and caught up for over two hours. I rarely see college friends (they all live in LA), so I really appreciated getting to see them.

Sunday evening I went to Oakland with two friends from the dojo to dance at a rooftop EDM show. To say this is not my kind of event is a vast understatement, but the one friend has been having a really hard time with her kid and I promised her I would go. Luckily our other friend decided to join last minute, which I REALLY appreciated because my friend ended up knowing EVERYONE at this show, which her friend was DJing at. She got to dance and hang out with her friends while I hung out with our other dojo friend. I danced for two hours! (Talk about outside my comfort zone!), but we also walked to get good food when we were tired and our friend wanted to keep dancing. We were home by 12:30pm and for that I was very thankful.

Monday I did chores around the house, worked out, and joined the family for Coyote vs. Acme at the theater. We’ve been reading about the fate of that movie for years, and it was fun to finally see it on the big screen.

This weekend we have nothing planned and I’m so here for it.

The 16yo got an awful cold two weeks ago (which was two weeks after I got mine). The 12yo stayed home today with a cold. Are we all getting the same cold, two weeks apart from each other? The husband is the only one who hasn’t had a cold so far and I REALLY hope it stays that way.

On a related note, the 16yo had her ADHD meds checkup and they actually had exactly enough of her meds at the pharmacy to fill her prescription. I’ve been so worried that we would finally be able to fill her meds, only to hear that the pharmacy didn’t have them. We also got our flu shots while we were there! Woot!

On a related related note, I got my quarterly thyroid levels checked and they are still well within normal range. With all the anxiety I’ve been dealing with this summer, I’ve been wondering if my levels were high again. Now that I know they are not, I am even more confident that I’m feeling this anxiety because of my meds change last year. You may remember I went off my stimulant ADHD medication because I couldn’t manage filling two of them during the meds shortage anymore. So now I take a non-stimulant ADHD medication that I used to take ten years ago, but ended up switching because of anxiety just like I’m feeling now. I think these meds just don’t manage my symptoms as well, so I feel anxiety about not managing my shit because it feels like I’m not managing my shit. I don’t feel shitty enough to request to go back on my stimulant meds, but damn I wish I didn’t have to make the choice of what medication to take based on unnecessary medication shortages.

Back at school, the science wing flooded and all of the four science lab classroom had to be evacuated for two days. I had a science class in my room during my 4th period prep yesterday and today, which meant I couldn’t really being in my classroom prepping. I guess the rooms won’t be ready for FOUR WEEKS, but they found some other spaces on campus to house those classes, so I won’t be losing my space every 4th period for a month.

Between the gas leak, the tech trouble and the flooding, it really feels like our school is either a shit hole or cursed Probably a little of both? I do not envy my admins, that is for sure.

This past week we had a brief heat wave. On Wednesday it was 90* in San Francisco, supposedly it was the hottest day in the past two years. It almost hit 100* down by where I work (where my classroom now has air conditioning, thank goodness). It was 87* in my house on Wednesday, but luckily by Thursday afternoon it had cooled off considerably (at least in the city).

I had more to say, but my 45 minutes on the elliptical are over and if I don’t publish this now it may never happen, so I’m going to do it! I hope you’re all doing well and I apologize for the silence here!