September 21, 2020

1. An old dog can be taught new tricks, because I can now use Zoom–and many of its features– with confidence.
2. However, I still am old-fashioned enough to want to keep a binder at the ready, since I like to jot down notes on paper as I am speaking with individual students.
3. I am vain about my appearance, because I will never attend a Zoom meeting without fixing my hair and applying a touch of makeup, and maybe even putting on a pair of earrings.
4. I am really enjoying wearing pants with elastic waistbands all day long.
5. I am really enjoying not wearing shoes all day long.
6. Even though the kitchen is steps away, my goal of starting to prepare dinner during my breaks from work is rarely going to happen.
7. I can get very easily annoyed with members of my household who ask me why I haven’t started to prepare dinner during my breaks from work.
8. I can get very easily annoyed with members of my household who ask me to assist them (“Can you wash out my water bottle?” “Have you seen the sewing kit?”) while I am working.  Clearly, having me available at their beck and call during the first several months of quarantine has now spoiled them rotten.
9. I can get easily distracted by birds and squirrels. Serves me right for setting up my desk right beneath a window that faces the backyard.
10. And speaking of the backyard–I realized that I really like attending virtual faculty meetings from the comfort of my deck. 
11. I am often overwhelmed by the vast number of tabs open on my laptop. 
12. Even though we are meeting virtually, I am still pretty good at putting an end to mischievous behavior of my students. For example, Instead of gasping in horror at the PBR beer can clutched in the hand of a young man, I just coolly and calmly asked him to move the can offscreen, and he complied.
13. When a student tells me that he didn’t join the Zoom meeting because he was out with friends, I am capable of holding my tongue and not scolding him for not making school a priority.
14. When a student tells me that he didn’t turn in any work for the past several days because he was at the beach with his family, I am capable of holding my tongue and not scolding his parents for not making school a priority.  (OK, OK, full disclosure: I wish I were at the beach, too.)
15. I really don’t need to project my formidable voice during a Zoom meeting.  It’s not a classroom, is it? There’s not a back row anymore, just screens, and my laptop microphone is remarkably sensitive. Old habits die hard.
16. I miss my fellow staff members, and believe it or not, I miss teenagers.

Throwback to September 4, 2015

1. Labor Day Weekend.

2. Charlottesville Women’s 4 Miler Weekend (Go, Pink Ladies! Save the Ta-Tas!)

3. Three Days Off From Work And Boy, Do We Need Them!

4. Last Chance to Wear White Shoes Until Next Spring.

5. Retailers Roll Out Sales and All Their Halloween Stock.

6. End of the Summer Vacation Season.

7. First Performance of the Christopher Newport University Marching Captains at the First Home Football Game of the Year.

8. First Time In Twenty-Four Days (But Who’s Counting?) That I Can Hug College Boy 2.0 (My Baby! My Son! My Sweet Pippy!).

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away yesterday.  She was a hero, role model, trailblazer,  and a beacon of hope to so many of us.

I am not going to repeat all the accolades and heartfelt praises we have already read on social media, because it’s all been said much more eloquently than I could say it.

One of my favorite things about RBG was how she described the love story between her and her husband, Martin.  She said he admired her “intellectual luminosity,”  and was “the only young man I dated who cared that I had a brain.”  (This kind of man, by the way, is the only life partner I would accept, and the kind of man I hope my sons have become.) 

Today’s cocktail is strong and direct, of course. Don’t underestimate the punch it can pack.

I used R and B and G–rum and bourbon and gin.

In a glass filled with ice, mix 1 ounce white rum, 1 ounce bourbon, and 1 ounce gin. Add ½ ounce lemon juice, ½ ounce lime juice, and 1 ounce simple syrup. Stir until combined, and strain into a martini glass.

Raise your glasses to RBG. May her memory be a blessing, may her memory be a revolution.

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Monday, September 7, 2020

Happy Labor Day! Today is the last day of summer vacation for many, including my students at Albemarle High School. Tomorrow I will host Zoom meetings for the 56 (and counting?) students on my rosters. The weirdest summer of my life is now behind me, and now I embark on what will no doubt be one of the most challenging job experiences of my life.

I will have to punch that time clock tomorrow–it’s actually an app on my phone. Wow. I have set alarms on my device to remind me of this, and I will ask Alexa to likewise remind me, since I have not really worked since March and I have to re-learn old habits. I have set up a desk dedicated to school business only, and I have filled my binders with fresh sheets of paper, but I don’t have to worry about packing a lunch, or about picking out my first-day outfit, or about determining where the closest faculty restrooms are located. But I am worried about whether my students will be able to connect with me via their laptops, and whether I can motivate them to work, and whether I can anticipate their needs.

The sun is setting on my summer vacation, and yes, I am a tad anxious about what the rising sun will bring.

This drink is my version of a Rum Sunset (a cousin to a Tequila Sunrise).

In a measuring cup, stir together 6 ounces orange juice with 1 1/2 ounces light rum. Pour 2/3 of this into a tall glass filled with ice. Add 1 tablespoon of grenadine into the remaining liquid in the measuring cup, mix, then slowly pour this down the side of the tall glass so you get a layered effect. Garnish with a citrus slice.