I’m hoping this afternoon will be the beginning of a long weekend. I emailed my boss, who has been on vacation for the last week about taking some of my remaining vacation days. I had asked to take today off, but I did not realize it was a travel day for her. I think she was coming back from a conference in England, but since she doesn’t communicate things like that to us, I’m not completely sure where she had been. Anyway, when I found out she was traveling, I assumed I would not hear back from her. I could have texted her, but I would not have wanted to be bothered on a day when I had been traveling all day. So, when she gets back to work today, I will talk to her about taking this afternoon off. I have a half day that I need to take anyway. I’m already scheduled to be off tomorrow, and I’m going to see about taking Monday off as well. Anyway, we’ll see how that works out. 

If I do take this time off, I’m hoping I can relax and read. We have several rainy days ahead, and I have always loved curling up with a book on a rainy day. I really didn’t have much to say today, but I will post my Isabella pic of the week. I think I have posted this picture before, but it’s one of my favorites:

I’m so glad it’s Friday, and it’s a vacation day for me. I have some vacation time I have to take by the end of our fiscal year (May 31) or lose it, so with the exception of next Wednesday, I will be taking off every Wednesday and Friday through the end of May.

While I mostly plan to relax and read over the weekend, I have some work to do for my class. My students’ research paper was due yesterday, and I need to grade those. I also need to catch up on grading their journals and prepare the final exam. Next week is the last week of classes, and I also need to prepare my final lectures. None of these tasks are difficult, but time consuming.

I also need to do some housework and laundry this weekend. Thinking of all I need to do, it might not be that relaxing of a weekend, but I’ll try my best to set aside some time just for me.

I forgot to post an Isabella Pic of the Week, so here you go:

I’ve been so busy this week with classes, preparing for classes, getting ready for another program, and what has seemed like a dozen other things. Have you ever been so busy that you can’t even remember everything that has kept you so busy? That’s how this week has gone. Next week is actually scheduled to be worse than this week because not only will I be scrambling to get everything done, I have a workshop to attend in Burlington on Friday, and I’m judging a History Day competition on Saturday.

Needless to say, I haven’t had time to “stop and smell the roses,” let alone do anything else for personal enjoyment or entertainment, if you know what I mean. At least there is nothing scheduled for the weekend. 

I don’t think I posted an Isabella pic of the week last week, so here’s one for this week. I love this cat, even if she woke me up at 3:00 am to feed her (I didn’t get up until 4 am) and then turned her nose up at the food I gave her.

I’m not sure where I read/heard this. It could have been on Facebook, the book I just finished, tv, or somewhere else. I guess it doesn’t matter where this was brought to my attention, but I found it interestingly accurate. Anyway, wherever I came across it, the quote said, “Thursdays are the worst day of the week. You are past the halfway point but not yet to the weekend.” I always say I hate Mondays, and I do, but the logic or illogic that Thursdays are the worst day has some merit. I have a love hate relationship with Thursdays. It’s sort of my Friday because I work from home most Fridays, so Thursdays are my last day in the office for the week. It’s also a teaching day for me, and I enjoy teaching and interacting with my students. However, it’s also just me and my boss in the office (my other coworker works from home on Thursdays), and the more I work with my boss the less I like working with her. There are numerous reasons for this, and I don’t see it getting better. 

Anyone know of a museum that’s at a university and needs an educator or someone to manage their public outreach? If you do, let me know. I’m beginning to think I won’t be happy at my current workplace ever again unless we have some staff turnover soon. To tell you how bad it is, I recently applied for a position in the South. Ok, I also applied to that job because it would have doubled or tripled my salary, and it was in Atlanta. If I had to move South again, it would have to be Atlanta or another major city that’s liberal and LGBTQ+ friendly. There aren’t many: Birmingham (but it’s in Alabama), New Orleans, Savannah, or Asheville (NC). Nashville and Memphis are iffy, and Houston and Austin are in Texas. Plus, they are all hot and humid. Yuck! I really like Vermont and New England, and I’d rather stay in this area. 

Also, on a completely different note, tonight is the blood moon eclipse (also known as the Blood Worm Moon), a total lunar eclipse when the earth moves between the sun and moon and causes the moon to turn red. I doubt I’ll be awake to watch it since it will take place between 2 am and 3 am, and here in Vermont, it’s probably going to be too cloudy to see much of this rare phenomenon.

Anyway, I’ve rambled enough for today. I hope everyone has a great day, and remember, tomorrow is Friday and the weekend will be even closer.

I almost forgot your Isabella pic of the week: