First Week of Weird

It was weird, but not awful. At least, not always awful.

My students adapted. They are doing the new assignments and making things work. They let me know when they had a problem so I could extend due dates. They seem to be stable and calm.

I spent half of Tuesday setting things up so I can work from my attic, on my laptop. It's okay. The house is cold during the day, so I wrap up in a blanket. I go downstairs for lunch and a couple of breaks every day. I stream music over the internet while I work.

I had some drama over supplies for my 300-level class. My lab manager ordered some kits for me last week that I thought I could mail to the students so they could do some lab-like experiments. They aren't at all the same as doing the experiments I had planned for them in the actual lab, but better than nothing, I hoped. Well, then the State shutdown happened and I had to leave campus before they arrived. It was announced that the campus mail room would be closed. I emailed somebody in charge and asked if I could collect the package somehow, and then suddenly the mail room announced it would be open a few hours every day. But I'm still not permitted on campus. I eventually found a staff member who is considered "essential" and he agreed to get the package for me and bring it to my house. That all happened yesterday, so now I just need the students to send me their addresses and then figure out how to get them in the mail. And then, figure out what to tell them to do with the kits. One problem at a time, I keep reminding myself.

Besides that, my phone started acting strange yesterday. It shut itself down twice while I was using it. Today it ran out of electricity alarmingly fast in the morning. There was an indicator message that said I should have the battery replaced and I need to go to the Apple Store or ship the phone to a repair center. Of course, the Apple Store in town is closed for the duration. I would have to ship it somewhere, if the repair places are even available now, and that would take 1-2 weeks. While I'm stuck at home, a smartphone may not be essential - I can probably get by with other devices - but I had relied on a scanner app to send documents to students. I don't have any other way to do that. This afternoon the phone seems to be fine, so I'm allowing myself to go into denial for the weekend.