Shed building

Spent the last few days tearing the roof off the shed, then the walls, then fuck it, rebuilt the whole foundation.  It's been five or six days of work, but almost done with the interior at least.  A few more days and I'll have a much better work area!

Last Kyu test

I passed my first kyu test yesterday.  Which, confusingly, is the last one before the "black belt" test.  It went well enough, though I felt a bit under the weather the day before.  After the test, I rode over to Frosty Queen for a milkshake.   Ice creamy goodness.

That and getting grades turned in were my last two "must do" things before I felt like I was really on break.  Now, it's mostly goofing around. hurray!

Desert weekend

A lovely weekend with my friends.  Fireworks, high winds, drinking, driving, hanging out.
David and Fuzzy took lots of great pictures.  Like these...

Makes me want to go out again before it gets too hot.  

Marie

This is my friend Marie Panec.  I've worked with her for fourteen years now.  She died yesterday suddenly of a stroke.  She was the chair of the bio dept., a great colleague, and great fun to be around.  I've been walking around in a state of shock all morning.  Lots of us are cancelling classes and mostly just standing around trying to figure out whether they can make it through a lecture without losing focus or crying.

  The last time I saw her was Saturday at Gene's party, holding a tray of cheesecake she had made.  We talked about the right way to make cheesecake, without too much sugar and a slightly crunchy crust.
I'll miss you.

Last big task of the year

My co-worker in the office next to me is retiring after 40 years of teaching.  40 years.  (Actually, he's going to be a part-time instructor next year, but still)  So we had a party for him, which had a budget about 1% of the Grilled Cheese Invitational, and made me appreciate how much of a hassle the GCI must be.  Things I learned:  Never share planning with anyone.  Shared decision making equals someone (me) getting annoyed.  2)  Folding chairs get very heavy  3)  When someone's grown son talks about how he went into teaching because his dad was his hero, I get choked up and almost cry.  almost.   4)  Everybody loves gift iPads.

Best of luck Gene!