Another fast week

This week I started getting up at the earlier school time which is 6 am for me. It really means reminding myself to go to sleep earlier, not reading or surfing the internet until midnight, since I usually do not mind waking up in the morning. I noticed that I'm more energetic this week (at least in the mornings) than I was when I had my alarm set for 7 am. I feel more motivated to get things done when I'm in my office before 8am, somehow. 

I had long meetings every day this week at school. Monday and Tuesday, the whole morning was taken up by the STM-101 group. It was nice to have everyone in the same room, making decisions together. Since I wasn't able to attend the group meetings last fall and it was just B and I teaching the course in the spring, I almost didn't remember that this is a collaborative effort. There are eight of us teaching five sections this fall.

Monday evening I went to board games and played all three games I had brought (Gorinto, Half Truth, and Through the Desert). When I arrived, the group was halfway through 7 Wonders, so I sat with a beginner and helped him play the rest of the game. It's been a long time since I played 7 Wonders in person. The most annoying person from last time wasn't there, so it was a less frustrating evening for me.

Tuesday evening I went to cribbage and played okay. We had a large group with four people joining us from out of town, plus a lot of the regulars back from summer break. We ended up only playing eight games because things were slow.

Wednesday I spent 9 am to 2 pm in the General Chemistry meeting with the other instructors, talking about the schedule and SLOs for the fall. I brought the quinoa salad I made Sunday for the potluck lunch. 

The stands are nearly empty.

Wednesday evening I met my friends K and P for a Gwinnett Stripers game. Our previous game was on a Saturday in July. It was interesting to see a difference in attendance this time. Only one concession stand and the taproom were open (I had a hotdog with popcorn and an iced tea - the meal deal for $12). We parked essentially at the entrance and at game start, there may have been as many players and coaches on the field as there were fans in the stands. Despite the threat of rain, and the ignominious defeat (2-14, against the Louisville Bats), we had a great time. I was able to collect from the team shop the cap I ordered after the previous game.

My new Stripers cap!

Thursday the chemistry program met 9 am to 2 pm. It was really nice to be able to talk to everyone about our goals, projects we want to work on this year, and some budget/fundraising priorities. I don't think we ever met this way all last year. I brought the leftover quinoa salad for the potluck. After the program meeting, I had my last POGIL endorsement training session, which was basically an SII evaluation. I forgot until they mentioned it at the end that I'm getting a (small) stipend for doing this; I just wanted the professional development opportunity!

Thursday evening was my science fiction book club meeting. We did not read a book as a group this month because everyone was feeling overwhelmed. Instead, each of us brought something we were currently reading and we shared. I brought The Summer War by Naomi Novik. We voted to read Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson next, but we will split it over two months because it is quite long. I immediately put holds on the e-book and the physical book at the library; we'll see when I can go collect it.

Friday we had the Division meeting 9 am to 2 pm. There was a lot of useful information shared. Lunch was CAVA takeout. I got to sit with M, who I haven't talked to all summer, and tell her about my travels around Georgia. After the meeting, I was able to work on some things in the office and it felt good to be productive. I've been so lethargic and unmotivated the last several weeks; partially I was tired I think because supervising a research student takes more effort than I remembered, but partially because summer just makes me lazy!

My colleague G just bought a house and moved to Tucker and I heard him asking K and others about places around there. He asked me about Henderson Park, specifically. K recommended Ponko Chicken, which was one of the options I had been considering for dinner. I pass the restaurant every day. So I ordered takeout and picked that up (in a thunderstorm) on my way home. I had the basic chicken strips meal with french fries and green beans, and I also got three of the mini-cake cups. It was pretty good, but probably would have been better in the restaurant, before the hot stuff had cooled. I ate at home while catching up with J & J over Zoom. Then we played some BGA games. 

Saturday I slept later, but I was still up by 8 am. I cleaned the fridge, which I have been meaning to do the whole year I've lived here. It was not too bad, but under the bottom drawers was kind of gross with something black dried there and what appeared to be chunks of baking soda. I took all the shelves out and washed them and I also wiped down the sides and ceiling. I cleaned the front grate too. It does look a lot better now. The other project for the day was to reorganize the bookshelves. As these things go, I made a bigger mess first by piling books on the floor and moving books from place to place. I'm not quite finished, but most of the books are sorted into categories and placed generally together. I put many books up for trade on BookMooch (eleven have been claimed already), and then I alphabetized about half of the BookMooch books on the guest bed. I still have about six unopened boxes of books that I don't have room for, and three boxes of BookMooch books, and at least four boxes of TBR. It's a lot of books! I also sorted through the pile of travel brochures and stuff that has been collecting on the floor next to my desk; I put those in folders in the filing cabinet.

After Family Meet I had leftover quinoa salad for dinner and then I went to Kroger (in another thunderstorm) to get groceries. Going out in the rain reminded me that the gutters on my building are not good. In the back, I have noticed weeds growing in the gutter, and the water spills over the edge instead of draining to the downspouts. In the front, all the water seems to drain directly onto the front step which makes it impossible to go in or out without getting drenched. 

This annoyed me enough to log on to my HOA website (which I only rarely do) to submit a maintenance request about it, and while I was looking at my account I noticed that my dues haven't been paid since January and I've been charged a $20 late fee in addition every month. Ack! I thought that my mortgage company was paying the dues with part of my escrow, but it turns out that is not the case. I was apparently confused because I had paid all of the 2024 dues included with closing last summer and I had not realized that it was a separate thing. Ack! Well, eight months of dues and fees have now been paid (I'm thankful I have the ability to draw that amount from savings), and my feeling of chagrin will fade once I start paying on time.

Sunday was another ambitious day. After breakfast I put together the three little solar lamps that Thrivent sent me last week. They were easy: essentially I had to put a rubber gasket around the edge, screw the circuit board to the case, connect two leads, and screw the case together. They even included the screwdriver. The process made me wonder how this is beneficial. Wouldn't it be more efficient to just put the kits together in the factory, rather than packaging all the parts and shipping them to different locations for different people to assemble? They even sent me a tote bag as a thank-you gift.

Pre-assembly

Three finished lamps.

Next, I scrubbed the kitchen floor. The tiles, and especially the grout, were pretty dirty. I was amazed how much lighter the grout color was afterwards. I should do the rest of the tile in the dining room, but after an hour and a half with the scrub brush I was too tired to continue. If I had a bigger bucket, I could possibly use a mop, but I'm not certain the mop would be able the scrub as effectively. Maybe if I clean the floor more regularly I won't need so much effort next time? I mean, who knows how long it has been since the floor was cleaned? I suspect it's been at least two years, like the windows, since it doesn't look like the previous owners did any cleaning.

Once I had rested, cleaned up, and had some lunch, I cooked. I made a vegan white been and kale dish for the Sunday Assembly potluck. I baked some Wildgrain dinner rolls and biscuits. I cut up a watermelon. Then I went to the potluck, which was good. I think this was my third monthly potluck. After eating we played board games. I was able to teach some people Around the World in 80 Days, and then we played Castle Panic. I went home with only a cup or so of leftovers.

I discovered when I got home that my Wildgrain box had been delivered at last. It was shipped Wednesday and should have been delivered Friday. On Friday afternoon I got a notice that the delivery company "couldn't" deliver for unknown reasons. I contacted customer service Saturday and they said they would look into it. The box was in transit for five days, so all the dry ice was gone and the frozen gel pack was completely thawed (in fact, it had a puncture and had leaked goo inside the box). My croissants had risen until they were one mass of warm dough in a plastic bag. A cardboard box of peach pie bites had been crushed and was also soggy. The other breads in their plastic bags seemed okay after I rinsed off the gel. It was quite a mess, though. When I had sorted that out, and taken the food waste to the trash, I only had time to wash the many dishes and go to bed.