Thursday morning things

* Ran out to the field site this morning (in a few minutes I need to go ID the plants I collected and press them, but...I need to decompress first).

* The water is receding slowly but I think some areas of it got cut off from the big lake, so they'll just have to evaporate/percolate into the soil, I guess. I think I should be able to collect the first set of soil samples for my new study in the next week or ten days (provided we don't get a ton more rain). The only problem is the inundated areas stink like a beach at low tide, so I may have to do the extractions out in the Butler building (which has poor lighting and is not climate-controlled) to avoid stinking everyone out of this building. I don't know.

* Every single stoplight (seven of 'em) turned red as I was coming up on them coming back. I know it's random chance* but it felt like a personal insult.

(* And I suppose there's a way to statistically model that likelihood, provided you knew (a) the timing of the cycles and (b) if any of the lights had a camera controlling them - some here do, and they only turn green if someone pulls up to them)

* Driving back, Sirius XM Classical played "Three Olympians." Okay, I have previously expressed my dislike of "modern" classical music (Far too much of it sounds to me like a horror-movie sound track). Listening to it, I thought "Wonder if he wrote it about those athletes that were murdered at the 1972 Munich games?" but that was actually 11 people and then I realized "Olympian" could also mean Greek god, and yeah, that's it....I'm guessing it's the Ares movement I mostly heard.

I still say I don't like most modern classical music. I don't care if that makes me uncultured or a Philistine; listening to stuff that makes me feel anxious isn't my idea of a good time. Give me Bach any day.

* I'm grateful the debate was last night (I didn't watch) because now we'll be spared more political-commentators-who-don't-actually-knit-or-crochet commenting on knitters and crocheters. As I said on Twitter: I'd far rather be ignored than misunderstood. (Though to be honest, I'd rather be loved than ignored, but we live in a fallen world, so I recognize the impossibility of that)

I'd also rather they commented on the idea of "how do we regulate social media spaces to prevent people from being cruel to others or making others feel unwelcome" but of course low-hanging fruit ("LOL GRANNIES" or "Don't they know you can buy sweaters at wal-mart?") is easy to pick.

(And yes, I know, not all the commentary was that. Just like all the teaching evaluation comments I get aren't terrible. But it's the terrible ones you remember)

And yeah, this is one of my very particular Things. Going back to grade school when I expressed the fact that I liked some particular tv show and was met with a chorus of "Oh my G-d, you LIKE that show? only BABIES like that show!" and I very quickly learned: cover up the more unusual parts of you so you're not singled out.

Heh. I remember as an icebreaker in seventh grade, the teacher tried going around the classroom to ask everyone their favorite TV show. The first few popular kids said "M*A*S*H" (yes I am old, thank you) and I swear to you, EVERY OTHER KID IN THE CLASS also said "M*A*S*H" then. When it got around to me, I remembered my early experience, and even though I didn't really watch it regularly and it was not my favorite show, I mumbled, "M*A*S*H." I remember the look on the teacher's face, but honestly - if you teach 13 year olds you probably need to realize that conformity is a huge thing and anyone who stands out in any way gets beaten down until they conform.

Man, I hated junior high.

And yes, I realize: there are people who have been misunderstood far more than I have, and who have been told worse than "only BABIES like that" about some of their characteristics, but. I feel like anyone's misery adds to the  misery of the world. Celebrating someone else's misery is not a good thing.But that sometimes feels to me like what our culture is becoming.

* I got home yesterday afternoon with plans to weed and remove some of the stupid little trees that keep seeding in (winged elm, mulberry, privet) for about 2 hours. Worked for 45 minutes and my body just gave up - I was shaky on my feet and felt kind of sick so I bailed. That kind of thing irritates me. I feel like I should have a greater tolerance for heat and humidity than I do.

* My new plans for the rest of the week: Identify and press the plants, go home and clean myself up, do the piano practice for today (lesson is at 4:45 now) and take tomorrow - after the mammo - to go to Sherman and do a little antiquing and fun shopping and go to the grocery store. And Saturday, come in here for a while and try to finish up this manuscript.

I also need to try to find some more readings on RECENT environmental regulation/legislation/court cases to try to update that class for the fall. (I was so excited to hear that maybe someone else was taking it on, someone more qualified than I am, but that fell through). Two of the five classes I teach (the policy and law one, and Soils) are ones I don't really feel qualified for. (I am not a soil scientist and have honestly not even had that much coursework in soils). I mean, I am the MOST qualified person in the department, I guess, but...that's kind of small consolation. (I would happily give up either class, and teach an additional section of Principles of Biology I, or take on Principles of Biology II, if there were a more qualified person to teach them).