A Short(-ened) Week...

This week was only three days!   A LONG three days.   It seemed like everyone had the same perception of the week.  "It seemed a lot longer than it was!"    It just goes to prove that perception can play a larger role in our lives than we give it credit for.  But there were snacks!   And I love foraging for food at the School.   It does not help my diet, eating all of those sugary  treats, ( I LOVE lemon bars!) but that means I simply have to run farther everyday to work it off....But I digress.... So let's try to figure things out a bit...

We had Monday off because of MLK day.   I'll take it!   Mostly because I needed the time to catch up on the weekend that was jammed packed with activities.   So an extra day was spent ...working. Working on my upcoming lessons and the Earthquake lab that I had been thinking about for over a month now.  The problem was I was not going to have enough time to thoroughly plan it out.   

And then it came:    COLD WEATHER to the rescue!    

The temps dropped to below zero and the powers that be made a decision to cancel school an additional day.   Personally,  I think it was an act of God.  Although I had not specifically prayed for it.  I think God saw that I needed that extra day for planning and prep work.   He must really want the lab to be successful.  ( That is how I want to think about it, at least.)  I also heard several other teachers saying that they put that extra day to good use, working on things that had fallen behind during the weekend.   I think God managed to answer multiple prayers in one single cold front!   

Wednesday was the sports day that all got pushed back from Tuesday.  I watched the Girls Basketball to a fairly small crowd.   The girls did well right up to the half,  and then things went the other direction.  I have yet to see the JV girls win a single game.   Maybe my cheering is not helping them out as much as I think.  Well, at least they look like they are having fun.  (As well as Coach Robinson.)  

Thursday night was a Pickle ball Tournament, thrown by the SLHS student council.  I was asked by one of the teachers if I would be interested, and I decided I may as well enjoy a new experience.  For those of you who ( like me) have no idea what pickle ball is...  Imagine badminton, tennis, and ping-pong had a mutant baby that looks more like  the milkman and less like any of the parents!  The ball does not bounce,  There is no table,  the racket is shorter than tennis or badminton, but longer than a ping-pong  paddle. There is a "kitchen" with no food, and the pickle drinks taste AWFUL!  

I thought it was going to be all old people there.   Because...  I have ever only seen old people play pickle ball.  ( Even the NAME suggests that it is for old people...)  

 I was wrong! 

Katie and I were the only people there over the age of 18!    Everyone in the tournament were students!   After losing the first two games, we managed to win against two freshmen girls and a grade school team.  Who says you can't learn something by picking on little kids.   (Never mind that a freshman team buried us in the first round.....) 

Two of my students were on the winning side of our humiliating defeat. And Dominic managed to go all the way to the final round.   He eventually lost... (Because he is a LOSER!) But not before giving the winning team a run for their money.   In fact, the student council was urging them to lose so they could clean up and go home.  ( It was getting late!)  

In the end, it was fun!   And even though I did lose to Dominic and  injure my knee while digging deep for a short shot,  I eventually healed myself and I can almost run again.  ( I ran three miles this afternoon.)  Still,   it is a little stiff and sore when I stretch it.   I guess old age is a factor hat I have to compensate for when playing a new sport.  

Speaking of running:  The incredibly cold days have been a factor in my random race training.  Today was the first day over 30 degrees and the wind was insane!   I don't think the weather app took into account the windchill factor when presenting the temps to me.   I managed to soldier on,  and it was more tolerable when the wind was to my back.  But that all led me to keep the run short rather than try for 6 miles as I normally do on weekends.  

Huan,  the exchange student,  has been trying to get a new phone ever since he landed in the U.S.  He says that his 8 year old phone is too old and he needs an upgrade.   ( It is probably better than my current phone)  So on Friday,  I took him to the T mobile kiosk to see if they could help him.  They told me that he was eligible for a new phone upgrade and simply had to pay the sales tax.   He could keep everything the same, but get a newer phone.  Unfortunately,  they did not have any inventory at that location, so I would have to go on the other side of town to get an actual phone.  

Having no clue of this type of tech tree,  I deferred the decision to the "pros" and offered my services where I could.    We tried Walmart, since they were right next door.   And they were very helpful.   They informed us that we needed his passport and some other form of ID.  Which checked out in my mind.   We went home, gathered the materials and came back... only to get the news that Huan is too young to purchase a phone!   

What?   Hold up!   Just about every kid in High school has a phone.  I don't understand....

Well, for what ever reason...  Kids can not have a phone without parent supervision.  Which is hilarious, since I see every kid in my class clinging to their phone like it was their Binkie!  Who made up this rule?   Sounds like a law some government agency dreamt up to make themselves seem important. Whatever the reason...  looks like Huan is not going to get a new phone any time soon.  Way to keep the kids safe, government.....

And there it is.   There was a Robotics meet today, but it was far away and I had to get some grading done this weekend.  Plus,  Dave has been gone for the last couple days, and leaving Huan alone just seemed a little cold in Cold-er Wisconsin.  I managed to get a lot of things done,  Cleaned up a bit and even managed to fold a little Origami.  We shall see what I can do tomorrow.  

As for everything else,  Second semester is going better.   I find myself actually looking forward to going to class now... even though it is still with a bit of anxiety.   I would like to think of it as a "good" anxiety... like when you are about to go skydiving.   Kind of scary... Kind of exciting.   You could DIE!...... In the end... you will be thrilled that you managed to power through the fear and experience the experience. (Provided you survive the experience...) 

That is all for now.   A normal five day weeks is in front of us,   but with the Help of God,  I know I will be successful.   And if I'm not successful, at least a little Wiser.   Because God will make every second counts!