A Cold Snap

Another eventful week here. Monday evening I went to board games in Dunwoody. Tuesday I played cribbage and had the fourth-best card, so I won another $5. That was pleasing! Sunday evening it started to get cold and windy, and it was about 0 C when I got up on Monday morning. I needed my winter coat, scarf, and mittens! I had to drive to Lawrenceville in the afternoon to have a mammogram, and there were even flurries in the air when I was out. It was cold all day, and got even colder that night, so that it was -3 C on Tuesday morning. When I arrived in the office, it was even cold there: 14 C! I wore my coat and scarf all day until Facilities got the heat working again in the afternoon.

Wednesday I overcame some adversity to attend my first ACS local section meeting, which was held at a steakhouse in Norcross. I was tardy leaving campus and traffic was heavy, plus the car was nearly out of gas, so after a wrong turn in the dark I stopped at a gas station to fill up and get my bearings. After that I was calmer and found the place; I had to park two blocks away (Norcross is always busy when I go there). Even though I was half an hour later than I expected, the group was still enjoying the buffet of what would have been called "heavy hors d'oeuvres". I had some of that and met the other people at my table, one of whom turned out to be the chairperson of the local section. Both the Georgia section (which is centered in Atlanta) and the Northeast Georgia section (centered in Athens) were participating and I met the other chair in the buffet line. Around 7 pm the lecture started on "The Chemistry of Bourbon." It was a good basic talk about distillation, the history of whiskey, and some chemical components that are responsible for flavors. We also had a tasting of two bourbons, one scotch, and one rye. I liked the scotch best.

My tasting notes, which I neglected to bring home after the meeting.

I had students in my office all day Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the midterm exam Thursday evening. It was another late night at school as I didn't leave until almost 9 pm. I did not have as much difficulty with the scanner this time, and the others left me alone.

Friday after school I went to Documentary Night. We watched "Mission: JOY" which was about Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Llama and their friendship. I learned some things I had not known about each of them, and it was inspiring to see them interact so lovingly with each other. The discussions afterward were good, too. My nomination for next month was not chosen, but I'm glad I participated.

Saturday I graded exams and worked on other school stuff until early afternoon. Then I drove to Norcross to check out the arepa restaurant that a student recommended. Unfortunately, neither of the employees spoke very much English and seemed to tell me they would not be able to sell me arepas, so I went home unfulfilled.  I talked to the parents only during Family Meet because the Texans were at the national band competition with Ian (his band earned 9th place!) and Katy is in Quebec with a friend. I made Alton Brown's baked mac & cheese for dinner and then joined J & J for Zoom games. T & S appeared for about 30 minutes as a surprise, and it was a joy to see everyone and listen to them talk again. How I miss those friends!

Today I met C for another hike, this time at the Powers Island unit of the Chattahoochee River NRA. We tried to do the whole trail on the east side of the river (I hiked the other side once before). It's only about 2.5 miles, about half flat and following the river bank and the other half climbs up the bluff and back down. We made it all the way to the furthest point before C slipped in some mud and hurt her ankle. Luckily after a while she was able to stand and hobble back to the parking lot. I was pretty useless: I offered to help (refused) but was only able to hunt up some nice bamboo sticks for C to use as canes. It took us over 30 minutes to walk the last 0.25 miles, luckily it was the flat part along the river. I was surprised she still wanted to go to Mutation Brewing for lunch and beer after that, but she did. We carpooled in my car, so after lunch I had to drive her back to the park and that turned into a problem because there was a crew painting lane markings on the exit which was therefore closed by the police. I had to detour all the way to the Windy Hill exit and then come back through Sandy Springs/Marietta. C went to the ER for x-rays and found she had a fracture of the fibula. She said it didn't hurt as much as the nurses expected, but I was sorry that our hike ended so poorly for her. It will be awhile before we can go again.

Such a nice day!

I made a roasted sweet potato and chickpea salad and then went to the Sunday Assembly potluck. There was a lecture this month, which was about how to have better conversations with people to build community and lessen divisions. We were told to remember three things: Duverger's Law (which is about the way our system of voting results in a two-party system and maximum division), the Truth Effect (which is that you believe what you hear most often, even if you learn the truth once), and Daryl Davis (who convinced several dozen high-ranking KKK members to leave the organization by talking to them). We also did an activity to practice better communication skills, which I was bad at, although I was good at role-playing the characters in the scenarios.

This week the Federal government reopened after the longest-ever 43 day shutdown. What a mess.