Wanting blanket fort

Today was not a particularly great day.

The biggest thing: My friend, Jean, from church had moved to Tulsa to be near her family. (Jean is in her 80s and is in not the greatest health; she has bad neuropathy among other things). One of her sons had some chronic illnesses (he was in his early 60s so you can guess at Jean's age). He died yesterday.

Apparently the burial is going to be here, despite all the family being up there (I guess it was his wishes to come back to where he grew up). They're going to try to arrange a "Family Time" at church - Jean is apparently coming down here for the funeral (Like I said, her health isn't great but apparently it's good enough for travel).

I will like seeing her again but not under these circumstances. (I need to get a sympathy card and send it out. I should send her a card anyway; I've periodically been writing to her because I know she gets lonesome - she worked until about a year and a half ago when she moved, and she's not very mobile right now, and that must be hard for someone who's been active).

Also, I'm just tired. I think I figured out why I feel such malaise on Thursdays, aside from it being my hardest teaching day: I hit a point where I have maxed out on human interaction for the week and need a break, but I still have Friday ahead of me, so Thursday doesn't even feel like "you're almost there." (Wednesday is also a hard teaching day)

Yesterday I did field lab and it was mostly good - once again, I had a student remark on "You know the trees SO WELL, how do you do that?" (Well - the person is a pre-med. I suppose I could have compared it to, for example, a physical therapist knowing the muscles or an orthopedist knowing the bones, but I just kind of shrugged and said I'd been doing it for a long time).

But coming back - I dislike the parking lot for the vans, it is extremely small (it was supposed to be larger but apparently one of the teams needed their practice area to be located where part of the lot was supposed to be....). It's very hard to park the fifteen-passenger vans because there's no room to turn a van properly (you have to do a three-point or, in my case, more like a six-point, turn). I got the van MOSTLY parked and realized I had it on a bad angle and I couldn't move it any more without worrying I was going to hit another van.....so I went to hop out to try to suss out how I needed to move it, and I hit the ground hard, pronated, and turned my ankle. (I do that very easily; my feet naturally pronate and while I have orthotics they aren't perfect).

So then I gave up, limped back to the office, handed in the keys and told the Motor Pool Lady someone ELSE would have to move the van. (I was frustrated and near tears at that point). My ankle is better enough today (I don't think I actually damaged it) but it still wasn't fun wearing dress shoes.

Also, today was the photosynthesis lab, which involves bright lights (unfrosted, 150 watt bulbs, and dear only knows where they still find incandescents like that....maybe there's a secret lab-supply store that still sells them). There was literally nowhere in the lab I could go that didn't mean a light was shining hard in my eyes. (I have sensitive eyes; most of my lamps around the house are low-wattage because I prefer that).

Also, that lab is just a pig to break down, and because I teach the last lab of the week.....I have to break it down. The TA I had previously was really good about that, he would start doing it as I was helping the last few teams finish and usually he'd pretty much have it done by the time the last group was finished. But the new TA.....well, she "let" me do most of it. I wound up just leaving the glassware because I was tired and cranky and if the lab coordinator doesn't want to do it, he can tell me and I'll do it tomorrow but....ugh. Three pm on a Thursday is just the nadir of my week.


I dunno. I'm also kind of surrounded by some low-level bickering about stuff and that drags me down like nothing else. If it weren't so hot out I'd burrito-roll myself in a blanket and read a cozy mystery, but, I don't know....I had to put the air conditioning on because breathing was getting woeful.

My ponies did come; photos maybe tomorrow when I'm in a better mood.