Planet Personality Quiz

It's Friday of spring break week, so that means it's random quiz day. (My subbing stories will return next week.) I went on an internet search, and I found...

What Planet Am I?

There are a bunch of questions, but they're choose what you prefer questions, so not hard. And then I got: 

Mercury

You have a lot to say, so friends think of you as a chatty, but a wise friend. Your ability to carry conversations make you a great person to make a connection with. Your curiosity may be annoying to some but you enjoy asking questions, so you don't care what people think.

Yup, not me at all. Completely off. No one who knows me would call me "chatty". The opposite of that, actually. 

Ah well. 

So, try it out and let me know what planet you got in the comments. (You don't have to sign up for the site. Just skip to your results.) And let me know if they pegged you correctly or they were as off as they were with me. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Old O Posts

It is spring break. And as per my usual "rules", I'm saving my subbing stories from last week for next week (when I'm back to work), and today I'm on my "summer schedule". Which means Thursday 13. 

Plus, it's April. And the A to Z Challenge. So, what to post that incorporates today's letter, O? Last year I had the genius idea of finding some old D posts (spring break Thursday fell on D day last year), so why not? 

As I found out last year, it won't take me all that long to find enough posts. So, where to start looking? I went to a random number generator, put in the years possible for my blog (2007-2024) and got back 2014. Okay, then. Let's see what I can find...

1. Only One, April 17, 2014

Ah, a prior A to Z post, back when I did my "what if?" day on Thursday. Back when I was doing "what if?" posts. This doesn't bode well that I didn't get an O post until A to Z. This may take more years than I thought. 

2. Old School Horror, May 13, 2014

Spoiler: the horror is the teacher had a chalkboard. Mr. T is still teaching in that same classroom with that same chalkboard. (His room is a time capsule of '80s artefacts. It feels so weird typing that as many of the things in his classroom are things I remember using in the '80s.) Although, I heard through the grapevine that he might be retiring the end of this year. 

3. Out of Focus?, June 3, 2014

A technical difficulties post. Where I attempted to project something to the kiddos and couldn't get it in focus. As I write this post, the co-teacher is using a document camera (like in this old post) to go over notes with the kiddos. Although, using the document camera is falling out of favor because one can do a digital whiteboard that gets projected to the in class big screen TV. Things change, but slowly. 

4. Ongoing, July 7, 2014

A roundup post of some crocheted (and one knitted) projects. I reference my niece's 13th birthday party. She's now 23. Wow, how time flies.

5. Outburst, July 8, 2014

Two O posts in a row! And I was worried about getting enough O posts for my list. This was a repost from March 3, 2008, back when I did reposts on Tuesdays. Some kiddos decided to test me and got a referral. Because 8th graders never change. 

6. Occupational Hazard, September 4, 2014

Oh, I'm so glad this one popped up. It's one of my favorites. It's a repost from May 29, 2009, where I whine about having to watch the first 50 minutes of The Outsiders five times. Because sub. And teachers (used to) always leave videos for the sub. 

7. Oblivious, December 26, 2014

Where I sent a student out of class for blatantly being on his phone in class. Cell phone use has only gotten worse since this.

8. Out of the Box, February 10, 2015

Well, I couldn't get all the O posts out of one year, so I'll keep going from here. This is a "what if?" post. 

9. Optical Illusions, April 17, 2015

Another A to Z post (does O day always fall on April 17th?), this one a Friday. The quiz (it was a Friday, so I posted a random online quiz) is now gone.😞

10. Oblivious, August 26, 2015

This is a different post than #7, but "oblivious" is such a great word to describe the students at the continuation high school sometimes. This oblivious student was playing a game rather than doing his math, and he did not notice me when I approached. 

11. One Song, September 22, 2015

Another "what if?". 

12. One World, October 13, 2015

And another "what if?". 

13. Other Uses, November 30, 2015

And I end this list with a knitting post. The knitted letters that I've been ending my A to Z posts with were made as gift card holders, and this post talks about the time a customer at the farmer's market I used to do asked for me to make one as a car fob holder. 

Wow, this has been an interesting trip down memory lane via the blog. How things have changed (and not changed). 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Nerd Librarian

It's spring break, so I am holding my subbing posts for the week I return to school. That means today is video day (by my self-imposed schedule), or rather What to Watch Wednesday.  

I was at a loss as to what to post about today until I saw an email from one of the librarians in the school district. He has a little YouTube channel. When I noticed that his channel is called "The Nerd Librarian", I realized I had my N. His latest episode is "The AI Episode". 

Yes, that is the librarian at one of the schools I sub at. He's even made the blog before. The English/journalism teacher appearing with him I have yet to sub for, although I have subbed in his classroom (for the teacher that had the room prior to him) and I have subbed for his neighbors. It's just a matter of time. 

The video is about twenty minutes long. I hope you enjoy it. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Malicious and Stupid

I should probably stop writing these. The authoritarian regime is disappearing people. They're kidnapping legal residents (after revoking their legal status) and trafficking them to notorious prisons out of the country. Sure, they haven't come after citizens. Yet. It's just a matter of time. 

Here's Trump saying to Bukele that "homegrown criminals are next" and talking about how El Salvador will need to build "about five more places."

[image or embed]

— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) April 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM

They're taking away legally acquired social security numbers, stating the immigrants are "deceased" and taking away their access to their money. They're telling immigrants to register with the government. They're working on a bill to require people to prove their citizenship to vote, only there is no way for a married woman to prove her name change (marriage certificates are not allowed documents for proof). 

We have a measles outbreak that the regime is downplaying. 

And, of course, the tariffs. That are tanking the stock market. 

It just keeps coming. Fast. And everywhere. 

There is no sense to this. Well, there is. The regime is lashing out because they're malicious. They're doing it all very badly because they are stupid. 

And the press is complicit. Did you hear about all the protests last weekend (April 5th)? No? Yeah, because the mainstream press barely mentioned it. They're not doing their duty. 

Also, Congress. Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours on the Senate floor. And then they all voted for the regime's newest cabinet member. Sigh. 

The federal government is lost. We are in an authoritarian state. 

So, what do we do? I haven't a clue. I found some online articles that I wanted to link to (more for me, really, but you might find them useful).  

• A Threat Model for Opposing Authoritarianism
• All of US: A Directory To Connect, Care, & Build
• Some Actions That Are Not Protesting or Voting

And I will resist as I can where I can. Although, I'm not brave, so if the fascists challenge me, I'm not terribly convinced that I'll stand up to them. We can hope. 

Stay safe. Help others where you can. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Leftover Yarn

I went ahead and burned my usual Monday post on Saturday with my finished (without face) cat pillow. Had to be done. I'm not sure how I would have titled that post today, but "Kitty Cat" was sitting right there. I would have been an idiot not to use it. 

Which leaves me with nothing to post about today. And, I am once again without project. Sigh. 

I really need to get a case of start-itis. That's when one has many ideas, so one pulls out yarn, collects patterns, and casts on a bunch of projects at once. I could use a bunch of projects sitting around right about now. But, alas, nope. I have one lone project waiting for me, that I might eventually get to.

So, what to do? 

Well, I could do another cat pillow. I still have blanket yarn. 

Not quite enough for a cat in any of these (well, maybe the white variegated), but perhaps another two-toned cat? 

Last week I had a tote bag idea. I don't have enough yarn on hand for what I'm envisioning (and I'm not buying yarn for this), but I could do multi-colors. 

Yes, that's red, purple, magenta, and orange. Together. Maybe? Maybe not. Just thinking about it right now. (And if you go through all the posts I've done where I was thinking about something, I suspect only about half of them got finished projects out of them.) 

Then again, I've got nibling birthdays coming up. Twins on the 25th. Middle nephew May 4th. And niece in June. Perhaps I should ask them if they want me to knit or crochet them anything. I probably shouldn't have waited this long to ask the twins. 

Anyone have any good ideas? I've got spring break this week, so I have some time to put some projects together. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Kitty Cat Complete

I normally would post my yarn-y post on Monday, but this worked too well for the letter of the day today, so...

If you were here Monday, you saw my fail. The hole for the tail for the crocheted cat pillow was in the entirely wrong place. It took me a surprisingly short amount of time to fix that (as in, one afternoon). I ripped it all out to the tail hole and then restitched everything. 

The tail is now placed correctly. And I rather like how it turned out.

Hopefully it now looks like a cat.

I'm debating embroidering on a face. I'm terrible at embroidery, and I'm not even sure where to start. (The pattern doesn't offer embroidery ideas, only the concept that a face could be added if desired.) But I rather like it like this. 

Even the change in yarn at the rear looks okay. At least, I think so.

Now, what to do with the thing? I have no use for it. Any ideas? 

Kitty Cat previous posts: 

• Yarn Under my Fingers
• Not Quite a Cat
• Leaving the Mistakes
• Feline Fail

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Jazz Age Notes

Friday. Junior English. Third period.

It was my first day flying solo (so to speak--there's a co-teacher) in Ms. A's class. The lesson plans said to present a slideshow to the class while they took notes. Easy enough. 

I previewed the slides. And I panicked a little. The classes are 92 minutes long. There was no way the slides could possibly take up a full hour and a half of class time.

The classes will read The Great Gatsby once we return from spring break. The slideshow was about The American Dream, F. Scott Fitzgerald (the author), and general historical background on the 1920s Jazz Age (when the book is set). 

But, I had made the assignment from the previous class due Friday, so they'd get a bit of time to finish that up if they needed it. Or so the plan went. 

After the morning announcements, we got to work. As I do, I discussed the slides. They had bullet points about The American Dream. I expanded upon what was there. I pointed out how while taking notes, they didn't need to write down what was on the slides verbatim. 

And as I talked (and waited for the students to finish writing), I watched the clock. Time kept ticking away. And soon I realized this was all taking some time. A lot of time. 

We had twenty minutes of class time left. I did a mental inventory. We had a lot of slides left. And I realized, I wasn't going to finish the slideshow by the end of the period. 

Oops.

Although, this was a good problem to have. I was worried I'd have half the class to fill after finishing up. 

I had no idea I could talk that long. And it wasn't even an issue of me having to stop every two minutes to get their attention again. They were following along, a few piping up when I asked questions of the class. I mean, it went well. 

When I noticed that we were within five minutes of the end of the period, I called it. Not quite finished, but looking ahead to the next week, I realized I could finish off the slides then. I definitely have a bit of a cushion, although that means that we'll do a video on the author's life on the last day before spring break. They were supposed to have a free day as Ms. A was kind of expecting many of them not to show.

No big deal. The video is just on F. Scott Fitzgerald's life. I mean, it's interesting and all, but it won't hurt them if they miss that day. 

The slideshow was 55 slides long. I got through about 30 of them. 

So, now I know I can fill an entire 90-ish minute period with 30 slides. I might need this information later. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Idyllic Transition

The day had finally arrived. The day I had been anticipating since September (or October). I would be taking over Ms. A's classes for 30 days. 

Ms. A has been out since the middle of February. But because emergency teaching credentials only allow us subs to cover 30 days total in one class, and because Ms. A planned a 14-week maternity leave, two subs would be needed. Ms. A told me she wanted me to do the second half. 

The first half had been done by Ms. S, who I had worked with in the past. We were given two days of transition, which are days where she tells me what I need to know to keep the class going. Only, as I had covered Ms. A's classes before, I knew what I was in for.

That is not to say that the transition wasn't needed. It's good to have a couple days where I get up to speed before teaching the class. It's way better than the scramble I usually find myself doing. 

But, we really only needed a couple hours of transition, not two days. (We both got paid for them, so I'm not going to complain too much.) 

I recognized many of the faces in the classes. I had had many of them before, most notably in the math class I covered at this time last year. 

On the first day of transition, Ms. S taught the classes. (They had "study hall", so there wasn't much to do.) On the second day, we were beginning talking about The Great Gatsby (which is what we'll be reading until pretty much the end of the school year), so I took over. 

We started with a bit of background on the 1920s, and then they had an article to read on the author's life. They were to annotate it. I uploaded the article into their Google Classrooms, and then I explained to them what they were to do.

To annotate an article online, they use the comment feature on Google Docs. They highlight the passage, and then they can add a comment to it. Easy enough. 

About halfway through class, Aria approached. I have had Aria in classes for the past couple years. I may have written about her before, but I can't remember what alias I used. Sigh. 

Anyway, Aria had a problem. She had made all sorts of comments on the article (allegedly), but they all vanished. 

Upon some digging, we figured out what went wrong. Aria had clicked on a check mark on the comments she made. Which, if you've ever used the feature, is the thing that tells the program that you have "resolved" the issue from the comment, thereby deleting it. 

And there's no way to retrieve the comments. 

On the bright side, I now knew of one issue that might again crop up, so I made sure to warn every other period about it. 

But Aria's comments... Knowing her as I do, I just said I'd take her word for it and not make her redo the comments. (She wouldn't redo the comments.) 

At the end of the day, Ms. S was again free to do day-to-day subbing assignments. And now I'm in another long term. Should be interesting. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Holding No More

April 1st. Tuesday. My first day in the long-term English class that I knew about since something like October. Maybe September. 

(The teacher had emailed me to ask if I would be willing to cover her class when she went on maternity leave. I was unsurprised at the maternity leave as she had mentioned wanting a second child when she returned from her first maternity leave, which I had covered in part for her.)  

I arrived at the school with my usual carry bag and an extra bag with some other things I'd need for the classroom (as I knew I would be there for 30 school days). 

I went to the office to check in. The first door was locked. The second door was locked. I headed for a third door that would be locked, but it would be manned by the school's receptionist who would let me in. (The other two doors are usually unlocked when I arrive at the school. I was just a touch early this day.) 

As I climbed the stairs, my carry bag suddenly fell from my shoulder. I caught it before it hit pavement. What the...? 

I examined the bag. One of the clasps holding the strap to the bag had broken off. 

Uhhhh....

Yikes. This bag has no other handle on it. With my second bag, it was just plain awkward. But at least the office door wasn't too far. As predicted, the school's receptionist let me in, and I went to check in.

I mean, once I was in the classroom I found a spot for my bag to live in for the day (as I usually do) and I didn't have to worry about carrying it again until it was time to leave. The walk to my car is kinda long for holding a bag that has no working handle or strap. A minor irritation, really.

I have a bag that I used to use that still has a functioning strap. Time to pull it out of storage. It'll do until I find another bag to replace this one. Maybe. 

What a way to start my new long term.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Gullible

Last week, while trying to come up with some things we can do in the face of our current fascist regime, I advocated talking to people with opposing viewpoints as a way to maybe change some minds. Since writing that post, I have changed my mind. I don't believe that will help. 

Those who are in the cult won't have their minds changed by us. I don't think they will ever realize how skewed their views are. 

After I wrote last week's post, I got into a conversation with a MAGAt. I was lamenting the kidnapping of legal residents for having dissenting viewpoints. The response? How dare they speak out against the country. They are guests here, and they have no right. Would someone go to China and speak out about that regime? 

I rather thought that last argument made my point, but nope. And my argument that they were sending innocent people to concentration camps was met with, "they must deserve it". 

The whole conversation began with a news report about the Signal messaging thing. The comment? This couldn't possibly be true. It had to be fake news. Why? Because messaging war plans is illegal. They're only supposed to discuss these things in a secure setting. They're not even allowed to take their phones into secure locations. 

So, therefore, the reports were false. Instead of realizing how incompetent these people are. 

My argument about the people in charge being incompetent was met with the response that I only watched the fake news. Therefore I was getting it all wrong. 

I give up. 

Maybe if there's someone you can reach, great. But life is too short for me to try to convince the gullible.

Then, while I was mulling this over on my own, I ran across this comic called "Believe". It's about why people continue to believe things that are not true. It's something that I'll need to sit with as well. It has a good lesson for all of us. 

So, in my Tuesday scream into the void, I again don't have much we can actually do right now. I mean, continue to throw sand into the fascist gears whenever possible. And continue to call your reps for either praise or complaint. And stay safe. They're coming for us.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Feline Fail

Last week... Ah, last week. I had such plans... 

I was sure I was just about done with the cat. I was even willing to overlook a mistake that I caught. I even said, "I can't see the difference, so I'm not going to worry about it." 

Very, very stupid. 

You see, what I had done was to join the rounds wrong. Now, in knitting this isn't a problem. But in crochet, beginnings of rounds drift. The way the pattern said to join the rounds compensated for that drift. But, alas, this was in the notes of the pattern, not in the round by round instructions. 

I started this in October. I worked on it one day. Then I set it down again until March. 

When I picked it up again, I continued where I left off in the round by round instructions. I had forgotten the note in the beginning about how the rounds were supposed to be joined. And I didn't bother to look. 

I didn't see the mistake last week. However, once I attached the tail...

The tail is right of center in the above image. It just looks wrong. (It also has too much stuffing in it, but that's an easy fix.) Here's the back view...

The tail is wrong. Very wrong.

So, I've got to rip it out and fix it. Deep sigh.

Hopefully I'll get to that this week. Now, to figure out how to make that post fit L-day... 

The cat posts so far: 

• Yarn Under my Fingers
• Not Quite a Cat
• Leaving the Mistakes

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Easter Eggs

Well, not real ones...

A neighbor has her Easter decor up. She decorates for every holiday. I thought it was cute (and I needed something for E). 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Downwind

Friday. Sophomore math. Second period. (Yup, them again.) 

Mr. Y was going over the day's notes (this day's discussion was about parallel lines cut by a transversal) when a terrible smell drifted in the room. 

Teenagers and terrible smells don't go well together. They react. Strongly. And complain. Loudly. 

When I am the only teacher in the room, this situation can devolve quickly. But luckily, this class was co-taught with a teacher they like. And still, the kiddos acted as if they were being poisoned. 

One of the boys opined that it smelled like someone had set off a fart bomb. Then the boys accused each other of doing that deed. Mr. Y and I both attested that no one in that room had set off any sort of stink bomb. 

There are days when things are chaotic enough that someone could sneak something like that by. This class at that point in the period? No. The class was way too calm. We would have noticed. 

Mr. Y continued on with his lesson even while a bunch of students made a lot of noise in the halls outside. Even while the kiddos in class whined and complained. I mean, the smell was bad, but not unbearable. And I'm pretty sensitive to smell. 

One of the custodians walked by. He set up a big fan outside. Then, Ms. P (another math teacher who I have subbed for a few times in the past) popped her head in. Her classroom was above ours. 

The smell was so bad in Ms. P's classroom that she had removed her class to work elsewhere. The custodian returned, and he confirmed what the boys had guessed. Someone had set off a stink bomb in the building. 

Eventually, Mr. Y finished with the notes portion of the class. Then it was time for the students to practice. I passed out the worksheet, and then I commented to Mr. Y that perhaps now was a good time to go outside. While he was giving notes, we needed the screen so the kiddos could see the examples. But now they had the notes, and they were just going to be working independently. 

Mr. Y agreed. 

It was a fairly nice day. The sun was out, but it cool. (It was around 9 AM.) My weather app said it was 60°. 

Most of the class got the worksheet done. The boys took advantage of being outside and did things that they don't generally try in the classroom. (Read: mock wrestling.) 

The students had left their backpacks in the classroom, so we returned for the last five minutes of class. The smell had dispersed. Luckily. 

Later that day, I got confirmation that the long term English assignment I knew was coming was going to start on April 1st. (I write about my previous week here, so this all took place on March 28th.) Which meant that this was my last even day in Mr. R's class. 

Quite the way to go out. Although, considering the second period, not all that surprising. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Check My Arithmetic

Wednesday. Sophomore math, eighth period. 

While most of Mr. R's classes are co-taught, his eighth period is not, which means that I get to teach it. Woo-hoo!

They just started a unit on geometry. (Back in the day, freshmen took algebra 1, sophomores took geometry, and juniors took algebra 2. Nowadays they've mixed all the topics up and distributed them over the three years differently.) We did a day of definitions (which they should have learned the previous year), and on this day it was time to go over some problems having to do with those definitions. 

I showed the kiddos how to set up one of the problems. I gave them some time to try it out. And then I worked it out with them to make sure they knew what they were doing. 

As I worked the problem, I got to a point where I had to subtract two numbers. And I paused. 

I tell this like a joke, but it's true. I got through calculus just fine, but I stumble when it comes to arithmetic. 

I mean, I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. But not fast, and not well. 

Give me an algebra problem, and I have no problem. Geometry is even easier. I took four semesters of calculus in college. I majored in physics. I can do the math. Just not the arithmetic. 

I was trying to subtract two numbers in front of the class. It was something like 123 - 15. The mental gymnastics weren't happening. A student helpfully provided me with the 108. 

And so, I admitted my problem. I told them, "Seriously, check my arithmetic." 

I figure it's better to admit it. They all use calculators, anyway. I'd rather they catch me if I write down the wrong number. If they let me know where I made an error, I can fix it right away, thereby not confusing them with mistakes. 

As I proceeded through the page of problems, I made sure to check the key, just in case. I didn't make any major errors. I miswrote a bunch of things (I wrote a 6 when I meant to write an x), but I got the arithmetic mostly right. 

Still, I'll never entirely trust myself. It's too easy for me to slip up. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Bigger

Wednesday. Second period sophomore math (again). 

Why is it always second period? Anyway...

Mr. Y had an IEP meeting, so it was just me and them. But no worries, as the topic was geometry, and I felt quite comfortable teaching it. 

Just after 9 AM, Alonzo left class. He had cleared it with me ahead of time as the band had a performance. I had seen the email, so I knew it was legit. But the boys were offended that he had gotten up and gone. (Before Alonzo left, he caught my eye and reminded me he was going. I nodded to indicate that was fine.) It was as if they were in charge, or something. 

I explained that Alonzo had left with permission, and it wasn't anything that the boys needed to be concerned with. Alonzo would be performing for the assembly for the sixth graders.

Sixth graders? 

Okay, so all the sixth graders from the local feeder elementary schools were going to be on campus for a kind of preview day. (The middle school is kind of attached to the high school. Long story.) They've only been doing this for a couple years, so it's a relatively new thing. Anyway, the high school band, color guard, cheerleaders, and choir were performing along with their middle school counterparts. 

The boys seemed to think that meant an assembly for the high schoolers. Yeah, no. Class was as normal for those not involved in specific activities. 

I continued on discussing how two adjacent angles could be added together. 

And then, the sixth graders appeared. 

This classroom is on the bottom floor of the STEAM building, and it has great big windows. 

We can see everyone who passes by. Mr. Y is fond of the view as he can see his students, especially those who arrive late. (I kind of feel like we're in a fishbowl, but I'm only there for a couple weeks.) 

So, of course we could also see the classes of sixth graders arriving and making their way through campus. 

I pointed this out to the class. They looked over. 

Some of the sixth graders waved. A few of the students waved back. 

(I had more time than material to cover, and I thought it was fun.) 

The students' main comment: "Why are they so small?"

Funnily enough, this is not the first time I've heard this comment. I assured the students that the sixth graders were normal sized for their age. They were just bigger now.

They weren't quite sure I was right. It just seems wrong to them, somehow. I'm not sure why. 

The sixth graders had passed us, so I went back to reminding them that all the angles in a triangle add up to 180°. 

And just like that, it's April. The only thing that changes around here is my titling. My personal game is to make my usual posts fit the letter of the day. Sometimes they just fall into place, like today. Other days I have to work a bit harder at it. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Angry

A long time ago, I was taught that there are really only two emotions: love and fear. All other emotions are built on the foundation of one or both of those. 

I don't know if that's completely true, but it is a useful construct. It sometimes helps me get to the root of what I'm feeling. 

I am angry. Very, very angry. But anger is just fear aimed outward. And I am very, very afraid. 

What has happened to us here in the U.S.? A lot of fear that hucksters looking to enrich themselves have fed upon. 

And too many people who have not realized the horrors we now live with. They are disappearing people. We have concentration camps. And the ghouls in charge are feeding off of the pain. 

I created the above banner so I'd have an image for my Tuesday posts, and the idea was to write about things that I could do, but I'm feeling rather hopeless at the moment. So, let me see if I can find some things to do that are proactive. 

If you are outside of the U.S., the one thing you can do is to not come here. For any reason. Perhaps losing tourist dollars might wake some people up. Besides, it's not actually safe. Many countries have issued travel warnings (for good reason), and innocent people have been detained for reasons that wouldn't have been a problem just a few short months ago. 

And boycotting U.S. made goods is already having an impact. 

There's a bunch of events planned for April 5th. (If you're over 60, check out this website.) I mentioned this last week. 

Calling your reps is still something I advocate. Especially if you have reps that support the regime. They're already avoiding doing town halls (because they're afraid of being yelled at). So much so that some Dem reps are going to neighboring districts to hear those concerns. (My rep has been doing this.) The more of their constituents register complaints, the more they may fear their jobs are in jeopardy. Perhaps they might be influenced to vote for not terrible things. Maybe. 

I found a couple interesting articles that some might find useful. The first one is ten things you can do to resist neofascism. The other is 198 methods of non-violent action. Check them out. Perhaps they might give you some ideas. 

Finally, are you talking to your friends and neighbors? Some have gone full cult, and are unreachable, but some might be woken if enough of their circle keep after them. We need to change minds. If enough of us resist, it makes it harder for the regime to destroy us. 

Today is April 1st, and yes, I am doing the A to Z Challenge. Don't worry, my theme isn't political. Only my Tuesday posts are political. 

I don't have a theme. I play a game. I post as normal. My challenge is to make what I'd normally post fit the letter of the day. And Tuesday is my "do something" day. (At least it is now. I haven't been able to do my "what if?" posts since the election. They feel wrong, somehow.) 

Tomorrow I go back to the substitute teaching of it all. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Leaving the Mistakes

I got all the way to stuffing the cat, and it finally looks like a cat. To me. But sadly, when I took pictures, it just looks like a lumpy pillow.

I tried taking pictures of it from its "face", but still, it does not look like a cat in the photo.

There's even an ear started there. In person, totally a cat in progress. In photos, nope. 

But that's okay. I've got so little left that I should (fingers crossed) finish this this week, and next week it should look like a cat in photos. I even have a title all picked out that'll fit with F-day for the A to Z Challenge. 

(Yes, I'm doing the challenge. No, I don't have a "theme", which is part of the reason I hadn't mentioned it before. Nothing really changes here as my game is to fit the letter of the day to what I'd normally post. Wish me luck.) 

As you can see, I kind of started the ear, and then I stopped. I would have ripped it out, but I thought it would help the photo. 

It was in the starting of the ear that I figured out the second thing I have screwed up in the making of this cat. I was joining the rounds wrong. Sigh. 

I'm not fixing it now. I know what happened. I set the thing down for months, and then rather than rereading the intro notes, I just kept on. Actually, this is a failing in the pattern, I think. They should have written out how the rounds were joined in the pattern itself. I knew where I left off, but some things slip my mind when I haven't worked a project for a while.

I can't see the difference, so I'm not going to worry about it. (Besides, I prefer amigurumi to be worked in a spiral, anyway.) 

That was the second thing I'd done wrong. The first? I didn't need to switch yarns. I'm so bad at estimating how much yarn I need. I didn't realize I was so close to finishing the thing off. 

But again, I'm leaving it. I'll do the ears in the variegated, and I'll do the tail in the straight gray, and it'll look deliberate. This means I have less of both skeins of yarn, which was the whole point of this project, anyway. 

The cat posts so far: 

• Yarn Under my Fingers
• Not Quite a Cat

The Gambler

Wednesday. Second period, sophomore math. (Yes, the same group I discussed yesterday.)

Second period had four boys who just... They'd spend the period hanging out, not paying attention to the math of it all. 

Mr. Y (the co-teacher) had enough, and on Wednesday he separated them to the four corners of the room. So, of course, the obvious happened. Rather than keeping their little party to themselves, they were now talking across the room. Sigh. 

The topic of conversation turned to sports betting. Because one of the boys, Ximenez, has a problem. In the previous class, he talked about how he had won a parlay, but he lost all his winnings on other bets. 

Funnily enough, I was only aware of the terminology at all because my Sunday night show's topic had been about sports betting on apps. In case you'd like to take a look:

(I suppose I should warn you about John Oliver. The show is on HBO, and they take advantage of being allowed to use all the adult language. And the jokes can be a bit juvenile. Along with some good info.)

I held it in as long as I could, but then I spoke up and explained to Ximenez that perhaps the gambling wasn't a good idea. (Especially since I caught him watching a baseball game on his phone rather than taking down the notes that Mr. Y had been giving them earlier in the period.) 

Of course Ximenez didn't see my point and denied that he had a problem. Sigh.

(Okay, so before you ask, yes, Ximenez is a minor. Sophomore. I just looked up his age. He's actually a junior. He's 16--he'll be 17 in a bit under two weeks. I am not surprised this junior is in a sophomore-level class. Clearly he failed a math class in his high school career.) 

He claimed that he'd give it up after... Oh, I don't know. He gave me a couple different times he'd give it up, and I wasn't listening. Because there was a guy in one of the clips Oliver showed that said the exact same thing. Which I pointed out. But Ximenez again wasn't seeing my point. 

This is how gambling problems start. Sadly, there was nothing I was going to say that Ximenez would hear. Not now.

I did recommend the episode. (I knew they post it on YouTube after the episode airs.) Yes, I know it's not really a good show for a minor, but if anyone could get through to him, it'd be through humor, not preaching. 

Ximenez's response? He had a parlay going, and if he won, he'd get $400. And he'd give me $20. (I told him to keep the money. He assumed he'd win. I rather thought the opposite.)

By the time you read this, we should know how that bet went. I don't believe that Ximenez is going to actually follow up with me (and I will likely forget the next time he's in class). 

Edited to add: On Monday Ximenez informed me that... he lost the parlay.

The Boys

Sophomore math. Second period. Monday.

Second period is the class. Every teacher has one. The difficult group. 

This class is made difficult by four boys. They all sit over in one corner of the room, and they spend the period goofing off. Although, they held it together for their test. But during working time...

The previous class period (Wednesday, the day we found out), had been the test. So, on Monday they were starting a new unit on geometry. They had a "what do you remember?" worksheet. And while most of the class was busy trying to remember things (or looking them up on their phones--this was permitted), the boys were playing around. 

They were eating in class even after being asked specifically not to. (Ximenez: "But it's fruit.") They were discussing some new album that some rapper had released. They were talking about gambling. (Jasper to Ximenez: "You keep all but $10 of your winnings, and then bet the $10. You don't bet all of your winnings...") 

If I had been alone and writing this incident in my note to the teacher, I would have said the boys "were having way too much fun". It's not that they shouldn't have fun, but they were clearly not on task. 

But that rap album was too hard to resist. One boy had to play it out. (They have headphones/earbuds. They can listen to music on their own and not blast it for the whole class to hear.) 

Mr. Y warned them to turn it off. And they did, for a time.

But then they played it out again. And again. And again. 

I warned them that it was time to take their phones if they couldn't be trusted to not play music in class. (Me: "I don't want to hear anything coming from your phones.")

But, of course...

This time, Mr. Y went over there and took the phones from two of the boys. Who both claimed that they were not the ones playing the music. 

And yet, the music stopped after that. 

I doubt the boys got any of the work completed. The period finished, and everyone left. Everyone, except the two boys whose phones Mr. Y still had. 

Mr. Y looked at them. I pointed out he still had their phones. 

The boys: "We'll tell you who was playing the music..."

No one knew when class was in session, but after... Yeah. Getting their phones back was a great motivator. 

Not that Mr. Y was going to keep their phones. (He could turn them in to the main office, but considering the situation, it was way more trouble than it was worth. This is a minor cell phone infraction, really.) 

Once the boys left (with their phones), Mr. Y expressed his frustration with the class. Yup, I understood. So, because the boys had been getting on his last nerve, Mr. Y decided it was time to break the group up. New seats for them all.

They did not like this. It helped settle them enough so Mr. Y could teach the class the next period. But after, when they were doing independent work, the boys continued their conversation... across the room. Sigh. 

Booked

I am writing this blog post on Friday, and I just picked up a gig for April 1st. That I'll likely have to drop. Because that's just how this semester has been going.

Ever since this district joined the 21st Century and adopted the computerized booking system, getting gigs is a matter of jumping on them when they pop up on the app on my phone. But I've been letting a lot of those go by lately. 

At the beginning of this semester, at the beginning of January, I had three weeks in that geography/psychology/world history class for a teacher recovering from surgery. 

As that gig ended, I started picking up a bunch of gigs for February. I had about half the month booked when I got the email asking me if I would pick up that special ed long term, the math and world history one. Which (if you've been following along with me, you know) I did. 

There was something sad about watching all the gigs I had picked up, one by one, getting deleted in one big purge. The jobs had to go to other subs as I was going to be busy. I mean, I don't begrudge others having them. It was just how much time and effort it took to fill my month now gone even though my month was going to be busy with the long-term. 

So, again, as that special ed gig was ending, I again went about picking up a bunch of gigs for March. But I've been holding off on taking anything in April. 

Back in something like September, I got an email from a teacher I had done a long term assignment for in the past. She'd be out in the spring as she was pregnant with her second child. Would I be willing to cover? 

Her maternity leave started in February, but because subs can only cover 30 days, she had another sub start when she left, and I'll continue once the first sub finishes her 30 days. Around the beginning of April. 

Which meant that I had March to fill. And, I had just about filled it. Well, I had made a good start, anyway.

But on my last Friday in the special ed long term, I got an email from a secretary (at a different school, so she didn't know I was finishing a long term) about covering a week for a teacher who was suddenly going to be out. 

Sure, I said. And then I sadly dropped all the gigs from that week as I would be busy. 

That's the math class I wrote about last week. 

But, it turns out that Mr. R's foot problem is worse than first thought. When it seemed like the issue might last longer, I went to the secretary and told her that I just had day-to-day assignments for March, so I could drop them and remain in Mr. R's class if necessary. 

On Monday I got word that it would be necessary. 

And so, again, there went two weeks of gigs I had grabbed as they popped up. Sigh. 

It's almost like I shouldn't bother. 

I'm not sure exactly what day I start the long term English class I've been anticipating. The sub desk hasn't officially added me for it. (I know she will. When it's closer.) So, I'm not sure what day it'll start. (The current sub took a sick day, so it got pushed a day out further.)

And, we're not sure if Mr. R will return on April 1st (which is when he's currently scheduled to return). 

But I picked up a gig for April 1st. Which I might end up not doing. Because. 

I mean, at least I've been working steadily. And the days I hoarded ended up going to subs who might not have gotten them otherwise. 

So, I've got two more weeks in that math class. (Well, one more week by the time you read this.) And then the English class that'll take me to nearly the end of May. Better booked than not, I suppose. 

A Protest Near You

I never wanted to live in a fascist country. And here we are. Sigh. 

If you're here, you already know this. I am not going to spend time trying to convince people who are too stupid to follow the news and connect the dots. I need to focus on what we can do. And, there are some good things happening.

Have you been following the #TeslaTakedown? People are coming out en masse to protest Tesla dealerships. They're getting people to sell their Teslas. And this appears to be working. The resale value of a Tesla has plummeted, and Tesla stock prices are cratering. If he wants to take a sledgehammer to everything that makes America great, we'll take a sledgehammer (figuratively) to his fortune. 

Also, the Target boycott (protesting their capitulation on being an inclusive company) appears to be going well. Target is noticing a drop in sales, and their stock price has taken a hit. 

So, if you are looking for a way to be proactive, look for a #TeslaTakedown event near you. 

Or, there's a big series of protests scheduled for April 5th: Hands Off! 

I'll leave you with a little video I found funny. And hopeful. We need a bit of hope in these terrible times. (I tried to embed it here, but I can't. It's from Instagram reels, and it's called the Pettysburg Address. It's only a couple minutes, and it'll bring a smile to your face.)