I have a phrase I use when a morning kind of goes sideways. I wake up on time. I get out of my house on time. But then I hit every red light. Or I get stuck behind a garbage truck. (Or both...) And even though I should be on time, something caused me to be late.
Since it seems to be a Friday phenomenon (I don't know why), the term is "Friday late".
Last Friday became a Friday late.
First the traffic lights. Then the garbage truck. (I had to wait for forty cars to dart around me before I could get around it. Even the school bus that I got stuck behind a block earlier was able to dodge the garbage truck.)
And then on my way to the classroom, I ran into a fellow sub and we got to talking. I realized I should get moving as I knew I had technology to set up, and considering how the Friday was already going, I figured odds were good that things weren't going to work. But still...
So, instead of having nearly a half hour to troubleshoot, I had about ten minutes. Ish.
I had seen Ms. S the previous day, and she showed me what I needed. She had a DVD player set up. But there were also a couple videos (on Costa Rica--it was a Spanish class) on YouTube, so I had to set up her computer. But it wouldn't let me log in. (This is a usual problem that I anticipated, but it took an extra couple minutes that I didn't really have.)
As the students arrived, I was still setting up. Once class started, I started the video...
"I don't think we're at this part yet."
I checked the time on the DVD player. Ms. S had left the time code as to when they left off, and it was a good six minutes past that. But that was an easy enough fix.
Phew. The videos worked. And while I spent the first class scrambling, the students didn't really lose any time. (We were missing a video worksheet, but Ms. S had forgotten to leave me those copies.) By the second class, everything was running smoothly.
Friday late got me again. But it's something that only bothers me before class starts. Once the day truly begins, the day tends to fall into place.
(In case anyone is curious, the Spanish II class finished the movie A Better Life. They watched it in Spanish with English subtitles. Then they saw "What Is Costa Rica?" and "Costa Rica: Animal Paradise of the World". Those were in English. The Spanish III classes watched Viva Cuba in Spanish with English subtitles.)
You seem to manage no matter what is thrown at you!
ReplyDeleteNot always well.
Delete¡Muy bien!
ReplyDeleteGood that the videos worked :D
ReplyDeleteYeah. Phew. Some days don't go so smoothly.
DeleteSome days, everything is against you.
ReplyDeleteAt least Friday late happens on Fridays. Can't ruin the week! I don't have a strict time schedule (appointments, but not work), but know not to go past the school (next block up on my street) at release time if I don't want a traffic jam! I hate getting caught behind a school bus dropping off. When I took a school bus the students gathered in one place, some walked quite a bit to the stop. Now, the bus for high school stops every darn block. Literally. I want to scream, "Just pick them all up at the end of the street! These are teenagers, they can walk!"
ReplyDeleteYou'd think, right? But no. The bus practically picks them up at their doors.
DeleteInteresting how problems seem to cluster together. For me, it was Thursdays at one time. At least it wasn't Monday, and you got the day working right, finally.
ReplyDeleteIt's just the start of the day. And then there's its opposite, Friday early, which happens sometimes, too.
DeleteI been watching quite bit of you-tube lately.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing spanish language movies with subtitles is a pretty good way to learn the language, and kind of fun!
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked it seemed like if my morning started like that, the whole day was off. Hated those days. I have to laugh when I think about them, if it was one of those days where I dropped everything I picked up in the morning, I dropped all day. If I was late the whole day just seemed to odd and off. When I worked in customer service where I worked with other folks all day, if the first customer, was rude, they all were. LIFE!!! GO figure.
ReplyDeleteThose days suck.
DeleteI'm glad your Friday Late days generally improve. I'm flabbergasted at the fact so many cars blew past you (!) waiting behind the garbage truck. Or am I mistaken and those drivers traveled from the other direction? Either way, that's frustrating and rude people make everything worse. Best wishes!
ReplyDelete- Darla Sands
Nope, the 40-ish cars were going my direction (2 lanes each way). First was all the traffic that was in the left lane. Then the cars behind me went around. I basically waited until it was clear before I could get into the left lane and go around the truck.
DeleteI'm glad you played it safe. I don't think I've ever endured such blatant rude behavior on a surface street, at least around here. Freeways and larger cities are a different matter. lol Take care.
Delete- Darla Sands
Never be the car that gets right behind the block. It takes a while to get unblocked.
DeleteWhen things start going wrong from morning, I know what is in store for me the rest of the day.
ReplyDelete