two more rows

 I guess that's something at least.

Tonight I added two more rows to the purple thing. 

I'm just tired. It was after 5 pm when I got home - I got home a bit earlier but decided I had to wrap my niece's birthday gift and get it out to UPS (I decided to pay for "pack and ship," which was almost the price of the entire gift, but at least it was easier on me). I guess it was good I did it; the cheapest shipping will get it there two days before her birthday, and it matters to me it's there on time.

(Never mind that they're always late with gifts, and I haven't received a birthday gift two years running from them, it's still important to me my niece has a gift and it's on time). 

I taught only one class today, but beside that I wrote two exams and sorted one sample and met with a student who wanted some tutoring (hopefully she can bring her grade up; she also said she was using the other tutoring available through a central office). And had a faculty meeting where we had to listen to an edtech guy make his sales pitch (over zoom). When the meeting was first called I groaned to myself and said "if they expect us to use this I am simply going to refuse and remind people that I'm within striking distance of retirement" but AS IT TURNS OUT the guy was just so persistent with my chair that she apparently capitulated to make him stop calling and e-mailing. So yes, it wasted our time, but the conclusion is most of us don't want to use it. (The campus apparently already subscribes to it, so THEY STILL ARE GETTING THEIR MONEY whether we use it or not)

But it has been a long week again. And tomorrow I have a 1 pm meeting, supposedly brief, about something else, but I will have to decide: do I bring and eat my *fourth* Sad Desk Lunch of the week,, or do I wait until the meeting is over and go home and eat (and maybe be hangry as a result). Or maybe I take a snack in case I need it before the meeting and just plan on a late lunch at home. 

It's just.

Everything feels so busy right now, much busier than it should be. 

I do have a vague plan - if I get my grading done - to go home a tiny bit early and start some house cleaning, and then continue Saturday morning, with a hope to putting up the Halloween stuff after that. And maybe I'll be happier with some of the clutter gone. 

I do also have to prepare something for a potluck at church. The theme is "Italian" but I've decided to go rogue and get some berries and peaches (maybe frozen, if I can't find decent looking fresh ones) and make a fruit salad. I'll look about a bit for a possible dressing; I used to have a recipe for one but it took Cool Whip (blah) and was kind of involved. I'm wondering if something like a simple syrup, thickened with cornstarch and with lemon and maybe mint (if I can FIND fresh mint) would work. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find an "Italian" or "pseudo-Italian" fruit salad dressing or dessert sauce (I guess there's zabiglione but I don't know how involved that is or if it would be okay on fruit)

I had planned to get the flu vaccine tomorrow but I don't expect there will be time now (and I didn't schedule it anyway) so I guess I push that off another week. 

someday things have to slow down, right?