Traditionally, the college has not closed for MLK day, likely because the first day of spring semester is the Tuesday after, as is the case this year. Our state community college system (something like 13 colleges) got a new chancellor a few months ago. She sent out an email declaring today a "chancellor's holiday" since it was not originally a holiday on the schedule.

"...it is important that we honor Dr. King’s legacy on the day our nation reflects on his life, courage, and lasting contributions... This observance aligns with our commitment to inclusive excellence and service and reflects the values we strive to uphold in our work and in our communities."

Nice. Couldn't have said it better. 

Shortly after we received this message, we were told that Great Grandboss (Boss's boss's boss) said testing, alone, would stay open on MLK day. To that, I thought, "PFFFFT, did he not read the email?"

Now, it doesn't affect me directly either way. I'm typically not scheduled to work on Mondays, but it's the principle of the thing. Great Grandboss's reasoning is that some students might need to take a last minute placement test - emphasis on LAST MINUTE.

C'mon, they've had a ton of time to get their ducks in a row. So somebody above Great Grandboss overrode his attempt to override the chancellor, and the entire campus, including testing, is closed in observance. And from what I've learned about her, I do like this new chancellor, even though I'm not really sure what chancellors do all day, honestly. And Great Grandboss has been a bit on my sh*tlist ever since [that time he totally botched my name]. 

Speaking of ducks in a row, how about turkeys in trees?

Magnum and I were on a coffee walk when this flock  (I counted fifteen) of wild turkeys was partying it up in one neighborhood. We snapped a few pics when I noticed two of them in a tree. See them? Since when do turkeys fly up into trees? 

I mean... I assume they flew. 

I went to the gym this morning, not because it's New Year's Day, but because it's Thursday, and Thursday is typically a gym day for me. There were a handful of seemingly non-hungover patrons there as well. Just another Thursday morning gym sesh.

I was snoozing at midnight last night, but was awakened by revelrous popping of, hopefully, fireworks. On my bike ride to the gym, I rode through a hefty dose of confetti in one section of the neighborhood.

2025 - I fed some ducks

Will have to change that for 2026.

Speaking of escaping, one goal I had for 2025 was to "read more". I didn't specify a number or a genre, and I'm happy with how that worked out. My Goodreads wrap tells me I read 25 books. Recognize any?

Happy Boxing Day.

I went out this morning for a pleasant little jog-around. We have had a very mild December, really only one decent snowstorm among many warm, sunny days. I'm enjoying the nice weather, but at the same time fretting about the lack of moisture (and revenue for the ski resorts).

As I was out and about, I realize I've always appreciated the day AFTER Christmas, even as a kid.  Yes, I did also make a big deal about presents on Christmas morning as a kid, the big countdown to the day, having trouble sleeping the night before... but the day after feels a little like a calm after the storm, a day of appreciation. Now more pronounced in my old lady days.

There were others out this morning, walking together, walking pooches, running. I sensed maybe some new dog harnesses, new outwear, new fitness trackers. And I remembered that's the hopeful fun of Christmas gifts - appreciated things rather than unwanted, wasteful things - not the [deadweight loss of Christmas]. 

Ours was low-key, as per usual, and enjoyable. Meego and Wolfgang came over. We ate, we walked the dogs, we played some cards, we talked with Chaco on speaker phone, we passed the phone around with calls to my in-laws. No big exchange of things, but enjoyment of company.

One of my goals for this past year was to read more books as opposed to doom scrolling the internet. I'm happy with how I did with that and plan to continue. Now, a new goal is to get back into routine sketching. I fell off that habit a while back, and I've got sketchbooks, pens, pencils collecting dust. 

So I figured I'd start today with a warm-up to break up my inner rust and cobwebs. Some everyday mundane item to get the ball rolling.

[King Prawn Pepe] it is.

Christmas Eve. We've made it passed the winter solstice, the days are getting longer. Feel it??

We had our white elephant swap holiday party on Monday at work. We're a relatively small group - 8 staffers in total - and one had already skipped town for the holidays. So 7 of us plus one toddler got together for the rip roaring time. 

We actually gathered in the testing center while it was still open for the last hour and a half. There wasn't much business going on in there at that time on the Monday of Christmas week.

There was plenty of good food (no booze allowed on campus), and the swap was pretty fun, nothing outrageous. I don't get excited for presents, but I'd say I did pretty well with what I ended up with: two cat themed teacups, a cat themed bookmark, a sample of handcrafted soap, and a coupon for a local chocolate shop. Blossom revealed afterward that it was her contribution. 

I suspect that Party Girl was drunk or at least tipsy. She was acting rather weird, talking about stupid stuff and being more touchy-feely than usual. At one point, she got on the ground and tried to crawl into a large gift bag?  I don't hang out with her outside of work, though, so maybe that's just the way she is, but I still suspect some booze was involved. She's not secretive about her daily drinking habit.

So now the break has officially begun. Campus is closed until after New Year's.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to be productive and have something to justify my existence at the end of each day. We're staying here for the holidays this year. I've got my food fixings, so shouldn't have to be anywhere near a grocery store until after Christmas. 

Last night, while I was somewhere between asleep an awake, I sensed the cat doing his typical midnight zoomies. At some point later, I was awakened by what sort of sounded like rain drops or sleet spitting against our window. 

But when I became more awake, I realized it was the cat licking his chops. It was juicier sounding than his typical bathing. So I switched on the reading light to find the mighty hunter at the foot of the bed, digging in to the remains of a mouse. *GAG*

Magnum got up (better him than me), scooped the departed mouse into a bag, and that was the end of Napolion's Christmas feast. Apparently the zoomies I'd heard were not just a training sesh.

So today, I raise my cat teacup in honor of the mighty mouser, Napolion. 

December has arriveth. Looking out my window, I see actual snow on the rooftops. Not much, but I say it still counts.

I had all of last week off from work and tried to make the most of it. During that time, I...

... shopped, enjoyed family time, climbed a mountain, had a tarot reading, shot a gun, napped, ate lots of good food, walked dogs, (reluctantly) learned a little about plumbing...

along with the other day-to-day stuff. All in all, a good week with a minor annoyance of a slow leak in one of our bathroom sinks. The silver lining is, we should have a nice new faucet when all is said and done. We (translation: Magnum) think we can DIY the fix before having to call in the professionals. Fingers crossed.

Of those who remain in the fight, I think they're all going to make it. It feels like The Hunger Games around here sometimes.

This past week was an exhausted drag into fall break. Yeesh, Thanksgiving is a late one again this year, and it's been felt at the college by both students and staff. No classes all next week, but campus is open through Wednesday.

I worked in testing today with Sarge. It was a, thankfully, smooth and uneventful day. I have no tutees next week because of the break, so I'm in loaf mode since clocking out this afternoon. 

For my birthday last year, I was given a piñata (empty). He still lives at the testing center, and we named him Felipe'

Here is Felipe', last year during December finals (he doesn't normally have reindeer antlers) guarding a few beverages - his designated job.

So it'll be a small paycheck next round, but I'm looking forward to the time off. No major plans, but I'll think of something. 

I also noticed the adjunct faculty whiteboard has been further adorned with decompressive thoughts, now that mid-semester is semester's end.

I'm hoping to get in some loaf time with good books - currentlly reading [The Wedding People] and am see-sawing on its goodness or badness - some nature time, and other chill pursuits. Tidying, that's always fun.

What's on your whiteboard?

Wordless Wednesday. 

As if. 

I can't seem to do it.

We'll go with "less words"

On this morning's traipse around the neighborhood, I came across this lovely mailbox adornment

Magnum and I had a nice Sunday morning bike ride today. Once again, we cycled passed a [fave local brewery], and once again, there was some sort of outdoor exercise class going on. I recall coming across this for the first time last summer, and here it was again: [Cycle Sips and Lifts].

The mood seemed quite festive. I doubt that anyone who attends a workout event at a brewery is going to be too hardcore about the fitness aspects.

Speaking of local breweries, Chaco talked us into going to a different one earlier this week for dinner while he was here. He figured he "had to" go to a brewery while in Fort Collins, it's what you do. Apparently.

So we went to [Odell Brewery]. Chaco and Wolfgang could not believe! we'd never been there before. 

What can we say, we don't think to go to breweries. I'll admit that it was a nice experience on the patio on a pleasant summer evening. The food truck on site was an Italian flatbread truck. Nothing to write home about, but it was fine. 

As I perused the menu, the vegan option sounded interesting. I wondered how they would pull off the vegan mozzarella. I chickened out on ordering it, however because of the name: Vegana.

I wasn't sure how to pronounce it, and it looked so much like "vagina", so I ordered the Marinara lest I say vegana incorrectly. ( I have since learned how it's properly pronounced...)

Our 4th of July was lowkey. We were dogsitting Chaco's dog Ella, and she is NOT a fan of loud noises. Our dogs, Penny and Merlin, couldn't care less when it comes to fireworks, thunder, etc. Ella is more typical.

"What was that?!"

I've never been a nailbiter. I know it's a thing, but I'd not given it much thought. Ever wonder where the bitten nails go?

It was back to reality this week after our DC trip. I worked Thursday and Friday in testing, and thankfully, Boss had turned off scheduling for some tests so we could ramp back up rather than have to hit the ground running. 

He and I were closing up yesterday and decided to do some decent cleaning since the place was pretty quiet. He washed chairs, I vacuumed. 

I vacuumed a fair amount of discarded fingernails. *GAG*

Some chew pencils, some muss with their hair, some rock back and forth, some chew and spit out fingernails...

I was honestly thinking along similar lines when we were out with the throngs at the various DC attractions. Here's a rundown of all the places we visited.

Outdoors:

• Washington Monument
• Lincoln Memorial
• Jefferson Memorial
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
  
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
• National Christmas Tree

The Jolly Flatboatmen

So it was struck by lightning, and I imagine it wasn't the first time. 

But she's tough, I'm sure.

Personally, I made it to the rooftop of the National Gallery for this impressive cock.

So, a memorable and worthwhile trip.

And now... back to the nailbiters.

Wolfgang and Meego had been out there in the spring, and they joined us this round as well. So all 5 of us were together for Christmas, and they were able to help Chaco with the tour-guidin'.

I'd never been to D.C. before, and I 10/10 recommend it as a destination! Maybe not during the holidays since holiday travel can be a hassle with crowds and potential weather delays. The weather gods shone upon us, though, with mild weather for the duration. D.C. was quite crowded, however. Chaco said he'd never seen it so, even last Christmas from what he remembered. 

But we couldn't complain, since we ourselves were part of that fray, so we moved about with the masses. 

SO much to see and do there - Museums! Memorials! Statues! People! People! Lotsa People!

I can't choose a favorite attraction, everything had much to offer. And thank gosh for the Metro!

I didn't take many photos, as is typical for me I suppose. Enjoying the moment and then later thinking, "hmm, maybe I shoulda taken some pics"

Christmas Day was our first full day there, and we saw the national Menorah Lighting from a distance. Meanwhile, we wandered over to the National Christmas Tree display on the Ellipse and quickly located the Colorado tree

Meego agreed to pose

We are on a little getaway, and I'm spending a cozy bit of morning with the "granddog" Ella at Chaco's. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas season however it's done. This is the first time in  several years that I've traveled during the holidays, and the weather's been, thankfully mild.

I'm catching up on my blog readng. Meantime... here's me and a big thing.

I worked the Saturday shift with Blossom yesterday. It was a relatively quiet day, and we weren't complaining. Still, I found myself wanting to speed up time a bit, so I cleaned and tidied more than usual. 

The past 4 trees have had the ornament shown as the topper.

It's a dumpster fire with the year 2020 engraved upon it. 

I don't know where Work Study found this nearly life-sized sticker, but The Elf adorns our entrance

I'm also not sure how easy it will be to remove him?

We had our white elephant gift exchange party last week. I ended up with a queen size plush blanket and some fuzzy socks - not too shabby.

Happy don't-say-Christmas!

Another busy week down. I feel I've neglected the blog and blog reading (as well as housework, but that's allowed) this past week. BUT the semester is now finished. Onto the next thing.

I had a PEO thing yesterday. Fun, but yet another obligation. I look forward to a relatively obligation-less week ahead. 

As such, I was over at the site where I do my other tutoring. There's a questionnaire for setting preferences and such, and I noticed some strange wording:

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow USAians! This is a quiet one for me as Magnum, Wolfgang, and Meego all went to our niece's (Magnum's sister's daughter's) who is hosting the gathering of family. I've hung back to be zookeeper to our dogs who can't be left alone for the time it takes to drive to niece's, feast, socialize, drive back.

No worries, I figured I'd get some things done around the house that need doing, spend a little time homeschooling myself on that math refresher... Those plans went out the window shortly after the guys left. 

I was stir crazy and, instead, took each of the mongrels for a decent walk. That's my purpose today, afterall. 

The college students have the whole week off, so my tutor calendar is empty empty. I worked a shift in the testing center on Monday, and that's been it for my college obligations. I'm basking in free time until Monday.

What's everyone else up to today?

I hope it's a grateful one.

Happy Friday as many of us settle in for a long weekend - the unofficial end of summer. Mornings are getting noticeably cooler. Nice! 

I'm off of work today, so it's a 4-day-weekend. It was a good and busy week. Nearly every time slot in my tutoring schedule is filled, and the tutees are all very pleasant. I think I've just got one 1-hour slot left on Wednesdays. Anyone?

Testing biz has picked up a little with students returning. We're not quite at full capacity yet, but soon. For now, we challenge each other by seeing who can be the fastest at the various addictive NYT games: wordle, connections, spelling bee, mini crossword, strands. When things get really busy, we might need a 12-step program.

Our work study staffer, known here as Work Study, has crushes on a couple of campus security guards. Conveniently for her, campus security is located right across the hall from the testing center. Earlier in the week, one of the crushes had a birthday that coincided with our Grandboss's birthday.

Work Study used the excuse to incessantly suggest getting a birthday cake to celebrate Grandboss, even though Grandboss doesn't work at our campus.

It would be wrong to ignore, wouldn't it? 

Decisions: clean the bathrooms, or go shopping...

In a rare situation for me, I'm blogging from a Starbucks™. I took my little Toyota in for its annual oil change and decided to wait for it nearby rather than schlep back home - about 2 miles. Typically, the shop  calls and tells me the car's ready shortly after I get home, leaving me to just turn around and schlep on back.

So now that I've decided to wait for it nearby, they'll probably not get to it for hours. Yes, this is an annual event for the car and me since I drive it so infrequently and not very far. Even so, I haven't met the suggested oil change mileage.  It seems I've driven about 1,000 miles since last summer's service. Honestly, sometimes, I drive it around just to keep myself in practice.

Today, being Juneteenth - a federal holiday - the college, including the testing center, is closed. I am typically off on Wednesdays anyway, so nothing out of the ordinary for me. As is typical in the summertime, our customer numbers are relatively low. 

The testing center is part of the college, but also operates as its own entity. We administer tests for students with approved accommodations, but also provide a whole lotta "high stakes" tests - professional licenses and certifications. So summers are mostly those professional tests.

It's been slow as far as volume of customers goes, but seems like we've had a lot of high maintenance tests lately, making it feel like we're busy as ever. Expecting to be able to kick back a bit at work, but being faced with these work demands during summertime reminds me of a meme I came across recently:

I've only got one tutee currently, and I'm not complaining. I rather like having the mellow workload during these summer days. I tried reading a particular book, but it was horrible. I saw advertisements for the movie "[The Idea of You]". It's based on a book, so I erroneously figured, "It was made into a movie, so it's probably a good book"

Wrong!

I kept reading, however, because I figured, "It was made into a movie, so it's probably going to get better".

Wrong!

So I stopped the insanity and am now reading a much better book. 

Okay, it's now been over an hour since I dropped off the car, and I'm thinking of heading on home - the obligatory coffee I purchased, rather unappealing with over half remaining. As a bonus, however, the  "heat wave" is taking a break here in these parts. It's a lovely morning for schlepping up the hill. 

Aren't blogs handy? Before blogging became a thing, I'd never journaled or kept a diary or any of that stuff. Who knows how much I've forgotten??

But with blogging, we can dip into the archives an unearth all kinds of boring things. Let's recap 2023 on this new year's eve, shall we?

January - learned about the formation of pornographic ice

February - noped out of winter bike-to-work

March - did my last Tortoise-and-Hare race for the '22/ '23 season

June - yessed to summer bike-to-work

July - partied with step-father-in-law for his 90th birthday

September - became a scribe for a college math student with cerebral palsy

October - completed all but one of the 31 inktobers

December - gonna go make some fried rice, I think

See ya next year!

"Okay, stupid question", I began, "Which ones are the Eagles?"

And so began my experience watching live professional hockey. We went to a Colorado Eagles (farm team for the Avalanche) game yesterday and watched them lose to the Calgary Wranglers. It was much fun, I hope to do it again - maybe not the losing part, but either way...

A few weeks ago, when we got together with Meego and Wolfgang, we somehow got on the subject of hockey. They both claimed it was fun to watch, while Magnum and I had never partaken. We learned that the guy who owns Meego's company is good friends with the guy who owns the Eagles, so employees typically have a number of tickets available to them for free as well access to the company's suite seating.

So Meego invited us to yesterday's game, and off we went. I figured it would be an educational field trip, which it was. Wolfgang got me up to speed with some basic rules - as well as pointed out which team was the Eagles - and I easily got into it. We actually didn't use the suite since the owner's kid was using it for a good sized crowd, but our gen pop seats were quite good.

It was fun watching it live, and the arena was awash with lots of positive energy - never a dull moment. I knew that fights often happen in hockey, but it was a bit shocking to see players haul off and punch someone in the face, live and in real time. 

A good time it was despite the Eagles losing 5-1. But I'm totally new to this and haven't developed team loyalty yet. 

Now here it is Christmas eve already. After watching that hockey game and noticing the players with missing teeth and understanding why, I've had that song "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" playing in my head.

I've mentioned here before that I murdered my two front teeth when I was 11 years old. I won't rehash the story now, but the key players were myself, a skateboard, and the street. I remember my loving grandma singing that song to me...
Brother Guano referred to me as "toilet teeth" after I got them fixed because the crowns were ceramic - the material of toilets. 

Yes, a formative time in my life. I imagine the teeth voids are more a badge of courage for hockey players. 

Whatever wished for this season, whether having to do with teeth or not,  I wish anyone reading the happiest of holidays!

• We had our little white elephant gift exchange at work  yesterday - ended up just being five of us as Triple-D was sick, and Star and Kitty had other obligations. I was surprisingly content with what I ended up with - a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, kitchen sponges, and a dental grab bag - HA!

With these work gift exchanges, we try to do them without anyone having to purchase anything. I learned that the jigsaw had been gifted to Party Girl's dad, who has dementia and can do a 60-piece puzzle, tops. I suspect that she did purchase the kitchen sponges - they are new and in the shape of cat faces. The dental grab bag came from Work Study, who informed us that the college's dental assistant program had given them out for Halloween. Who knew?

As to why I ended up with gifts from two people, it's a roundabout story, but suffice to say that I almost ended up with that Zombie book that I brought after things had made the rounds. But Sarge actually wanted the book and traded up to get it. So all's well that ends well, and I don't have to buy toothpaste or floss for a while.

• In other happy news, I went running this morning. My foot had been on the fritz for about a month and a half, but had gotten to feeling better, so I rejoined the weirdos this morning. It did okay, but in the meantime, I had contacted a local physical therapy office that specializes in running injuries.

They're offering a $49 special with full analysis/diagnostics, plus they're office is really close to our house. So I made an appointment for next week, and they sent me a questionnaire which asked typical questions like, "what hurts", "what makes it better/ worse", "what have I tried doing for it", etc... And it also asked something like, "What are my goals from therapy and how meaningful will it be for me to reach them?"

As for goals, I just want to be able to go for regular runs again and make a decent showing at a handful of races - 5K, 10K realm - each year, blah blah... But meaningful? I had to think. I mean, I'm nearly 60 years old. I'd like to be able to leave other 60-year-old women in the dust, but I'm pretty sure I've passed my peak. I came up with something for the meaningful question (all fields had to be filled in), but I realized I could find meaning in other activities if push comes to shove.

I'm off work today, and we're closed all next week. I guess I'll start searching for some meaningful things to occupy my time.

Another Wednesday, and I am again without tutor detail since the college kids are on break. I'm trying to make good use of my free time, it's going so-so.

The annual Christmas haul from step-mother-in-law arrived yesterday. The Diabetes in a Box has somewhat toned down from years past, so that's nice. She also habitually sends a 1000-piece art themed jigsaw puzzle for all of us as well as an art-themed desk calendar for me.

I have received these desk calendars from her for about as long as I've known her. I can't remember the last desk calendar I actually kept. I vaguely remember using a few at my desk when I was a working girl - back in the days before shared digital calendars. But I haven't had a desk job in many years, and we have things like MS Outlook now.

I mean, it's a nice thought, and the high-grade calendars are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - [this year's] is Van Gogh. But seriously, I haven't had use for a desk calendar in a long long time and don't know how to ask her to stop. So I donate them shortly after they arrive.

I did get started on the puzzle. Possible marks for productivity?

On that note, I thought I'd try this Wednesday 'podge I've seen over at Incognitus Scriptor:

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

I would guess that I did more talking, but really, I'd think it to be about 50/ 50. I worked at the testing center, which necessitates that I spew a fair amount of information, but I also must listen. Then there's always the sit-around-and-gab-with-the-coworkers.

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? 

Yes. Hot. Green or black. No additives. No Christmas tea. First thing with breakfast.

3. What’s an activity you won’t try, an event you won’t attend, or an athletic challenge you won’t take part in not even for ‘all the tea in China’? 

• Activity = scuba diving
• Event = bull fight
• Athletic challenge = ultimate fighting

4. What’s something most people seem to love but is not ‘your cup of tea‘? 

Avocado anything

5. How does your family celebrate New Year’s Eve? 

Long ago readers might remember that we used to run a mile at midnight on New Year's Eve - "midnight mile" - no matter the temperature or conditions. These days, I'm tucked away in bed by midnight, ready to get on with the new year.

But hey, I'd stay up for midnight miling. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I went to the eye doctor today since it's been over a year, and I had the time. Nothing much has changed, and I almost feel the dr. just tweaked my prescription a little bit to justify my going in. 

But the bike ride to the eye doctor's and back was lovely. We've had nice mild weather most of this week, and I was reminded that this time last year, we were in a deep deep freeze and holed up indoors most of the time. What a difference a year makes.