May 15
The diaries flag, and so I compensate with old Facebook and Twitter statuses.
1965
Babysitting at O's. They got home at 1 o'clock. That's 4 dollars for me! So much for financial statements.
Comment 2023
And here we fall into a Black Hole: no journal entries for this date until the 1990s, followed by another gap until 2019. So I will compensate with Facebook and Twitter statuses.
1995
A lovely Mothers’ Day weekend - - my 13th. Kiddo 1 bridged to Seniors on Saturday, and Came of age at church on Sunday. We are so proud of her - - her confidence, her insightfulness, her humor. What a great young person.
I let her make her own hair cutting appointment, go alone and pay/tip on her own. I heard her tell a friend about it, so it was obviously a big deal.1998
One more week until graduation. I have a pile of grading between me and it, but the end is in sight! What is standing between me and it right now is indecision about what to do next. The choices are:
Go to bank, do safe deposit stuff so Kiddo can get learner’s permit.
Exercise
Desk stuff at home
Centreville office hours 12-3
Check email
Visit new recreation center
ARHU party 3-5
I occasionally think about riding my bike or walking to work, but then remember that I also need to go to the bank, which is a drive.
So: 9:45 now
exercise 30 minutes
shower 15 m
desk stuff 30 m
Grab some fruit to eat later
11 leave for bank
12-3 Centreville office hours, check email
3 check out rec center, then drop in at ARHU event.
It can be done!
2009 (Facebook)
Finished (for now) with all the messy chapters, next up: "A Girl is Not a Boy", all about Disney Princesses and pinkification.
Comment 2023
That chapter shrank down to just four pages in a different chapter. Best laid plans…
2011 (Twitter thread)
Taking my laptop to church so I can keep grading while listening to the service in the foyer. Glad Unitarians are geeky and forgiving
Will I get these grades in today? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! (@ Grading Hell)
Dinner break over. Back to grading. Three more papers, then final grades. (Cue theme from "Jaws".)
DC Tweeps: Sorry about the high-pitched whine you hear. I just submitted my final grades.
My reward: a Heavy Seas Belgian style IPA. 7.25 ABV
Can't be too snarky about my research methods class. They weren't that bad, and two of them follow me.
Comment 2023
I miss random apolitical Twitter.
2013 (Twitter)
I accidentally bought a craft gin flavored with, among other things, cilantro. Ick.
2017 (Facebook)
Student: I deserve an A in this class because I enjoyed it.
Professor: Yeah, I saw you enjoying it on your cell phone all the time.
Comment 2023
Retirement was just weeks away, and it shows.
2018
We are number one!
Well, only for tonight. I don’t think that we are number one in the overall rankings. But it was a fun night; good to see everyone. I have been sewing some more. A pair of pants that I am somewhat happy with, except for my own fat ass.
Comment 2023
In retirement, I joined a pub trivia team.
2019
Fun night at New Deal Trivia, despite a horrible set of questions. Met a 96-year-old neighbor who remembers “Jimmy Henson” making puppets in the house two doors down from her.
Comment 2023
For 35 years, we lived about three blocks away from Kermit the Frog’s birthplace in a small Maryland suburb. We even fantasized about buying it when it ever went up for sale. It’s a modest ranch hour with just one step at the front door and no basement - ideal for older folks. But it never went on the market. Besides, the entire backyard was a bamboo forest. I must content myself with a kid who graduated from the same high school as Jim Henson and my own career at his alma mater (go Terps), including seventeen years in the same college. (The College of Home Economics!)
2021
To-do list: I did it all!
Spicknall’s
Dining area
Set up laptop for Zoom display
SU Drama reunion run-through
Fellowship Dinner food order
Fellowship Dinner
Watch Pickleball
That was exhausting, but quite wonderful. I truly feel surrounded by community. More than any time in my life.
Current situation 2023
I have made you read enough, and it’s mostly about my end-of semester woes. Sorry.
May I just report that last night’s Problematic Mother’s Day event was awesome. We had snacks and libations (I had a Dogfishhead 90 minute IPA) and watched Burglar (Whoopi Goldberg, 1987).
Today I write, knit, watch a movie (and knit) and enjoy the outdoors while having a beer with a friend. Hope your day is similarly joyous.
2024
One memory jumps out at me: Spicknalls’. That was our local farmstand, the source of most of our rhubarb, strawberries, and peaches, and the best corn ever. I say “was” because they decided to close after last season. Bereft.
