Thursday morning things

* Still feeling slightly "off" and have perhaps a reason this morning to suspect maybe I *did* have a 24-hour stomach bug that never really fully developed. Well, of course everyone is sick with it being unnaturally hot for February. It is supposed to be 84 F here today.

* And then we're supposed to get a freeze Saturday morning. And it's going to be in the 50s for my trip to Whitesboro. I am okay with that as long as I don't have to deal with "low tire pressure" light, which often happens when there's a big temperature drop.

* Having a lot of muscle aches. I don't know if this is the virus-that-never-developed, if I'm overdoing it on exercise (I have been trying to do it more vigorously), or if it's just a combo platter of the weather and my body being stupid, but it's kind of woeful. My upper abdominal/intercostal muscles are hurting. I don't want to take ibuprofen lest I mess up my stomach so I'm just trying to tough it out.

Maybe I just take this afternoon off....I've accumulated 110 minutes of actual, dedicated exercise so far this week and I know they say to aim for 150.  And I don't know what counts as "moderate" vs. "vigorous" anyway. Does being on my feet walking around the classroom for a couple hours a day count towards "moderate"? I don't know. (If what I'm doing counts as "vigorous," I've met the 75 minute goal that's given....but I don't know)

(Of course, "they" say for weight loss, you probably need 300 minutes. Yup,  Almost 45 minutes EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE.)

* In stupid legislative moves: apparently Iowa had a bill on the floor of their House that would require faculty of public universities to 'register' by their political voting affiliation. Because they wanted to make some kind of point about "diversity of political thought." And yeah, most universities do lean one way. But: I loathe this kind of "your workplace can invade everything you do in your personal life" and I confess, were that bill to come here (And I would not be surprised if it did, knowing the legislators in my state), I'd seriously consider going and re-registering as "No Party Affiliation*" (if such a thing is legal here) simply as a protest.

(And yes, I know it's public record and if someone wanted to know they could go hunting for it. But my understanding of the bill was that it was going to be published somewhere, so it was more "obvious." And designed as a stick to beat departments with, presumably)

Because I've known people who changed affiliations - sometimes temporary - because they felt maybe they could alter things a bit in the primaries, for example, voting against a truly extreme member of the party.

But yeah. What's next? We're required to disclose our weight? How many speeding tickets we've had? If we sleep on our sides, or backs, or our stomachs? I kind of like there being a bright line between my work life and my personal life.

(*And honestly, these days? Neither of the major parties and none of the minor parties really fit with what I think)

* I'm almost done with the knitting on Raven - just a couple more rounds on the sleeve, then I can put it together and then there's the collar to put on. (I will have enough yarn, thank goodness).

Then I want to shift over and finish Hagrid....and then I can start a big new project (I am thinking Celestarium, provided I can find yarn and beads I want on Saturday). Yes, I still have Starbuck and the invigilating sweater going on, but...

Or I could pull out another worsted weight sweater (I have several lined up, from simple to complex) and start it....I have a sort of colorblock sweater using some KnitPicks yarn (provided I can find the pattern I bought from them for it...)

* I tried that new "Fairlife" filtered milk. (It was on sale at the grocery and was cheaper than the typical organic milk I buy). It's filtered to remove some of the sugars, and is also treated with lactase to break down the lactose (and therefore, I guess, works for people who don't tolerate lactose). My verdict: not terrible. Not better than regular old organic milk, very little difference (a slight "cooked" flavor I can detect). It's less blue-white and watery looking in the skim form, so if that matters to you...

I'm not sure I'd keep buying it unless it does stay cheaper than the organic kind of milk I normally buy. However, if I were to develop lactose intolerance (it can happen: my dad did in his early 70s) it would be a preferable choice (the lactase-treated milk I've tried tastes too sweet, I suppose because of the change in the sugar in it). Or if I were to develop some medical condition where I really needed to strictly limit sugars, as this milk has less sugar and more protein, because of the filtration.

Otherwise, I admit I'm suspicious of additional steps being done to a food beyond what's needed for health and safety (so, for example, I am pro-pasteurization of milk because it means I don't get a nasty bacterium) or for digestibility (why I am not down with raw foodism: I can't tolerate a lot of vegetables and even some fruits in their raw form, but once cooked, they are fine.) I see this sort of thing, the ultra-filtration, as kind of a fad. Not a *terrible* fad, and it may have some utility in some cases (like I said: people who don't tolerate lactose, this might be a better option than taking Lactaid tablets or avoiding milk).

* Aw yes. Came in this morning to find my old, broken chair gone, and in its place a replacement. Which is MUCH more comfortable. (it is the same model of chair, but this one has not seen 15 years of hard use). Our custodian is fantastic.