One Minor Glitch

My little counter at the top of my posts page tells me this is post #4500. Wow. I'm kind of amazed I noticed it. I guess I've been doing this for a while.

Here we go again... 

New school year, new vacant class. This one is seventh grade success. It's basically a study skills class that is kind of an elective for the kiddos, but it's also kind of required. 

I was informed that one requirement of the class is that we're to have them do grade checks every week. Okay, no problem. For them to be able to check their grades, they have to have access to the online gradebook. As they are new to the school, they were going to need to set that up. 

They gave me the instructions on how the kiddos needed to set up their accounts. They also gave me the log in credentials the kiddos would need: their student ID numbers, their official phone number, and a verification passcode. 

Knowing how these things go, I tried to be clever. I typed in the info they'd need into the computer, and I sent that info to each student before class began. 

So, we were in the midst of it. And it was going as well as could be expected. That is, I had many students unclear on what to do even though I had slides with what they needed to click on up for them. I explained to the class, and then I had to explain again to individual students. 

While I was helping the students who were struggling, the students who got it had worked ahead. And found the credentials that I had sent them. 

Only... they all had the same credentials. They had the credentials for one student named Sadie. 

Sadie alerted me to the problem. Several students now had gradebook access to her gradebook. 

Ugh. 

I do not know what happened. I sent each student a different set of credentials. I typed them in myself. I double checked that I was doing a different one for each individual student. It took me over an hour. 

Doesn't matter. It was wrong. 

I deleted what I could. Many students hadn't even gotten that far. And it was the end of the period, so we were out of time. 

So, now I have to track down the person who can reset these things. The main office sent me to the IT guy who sent me to someone in the district office. But it was late afternoon on a Friday. 

At least I wasn't to see this class again until Tuesday. Maybe it'll be fixed by then? So we can try it again? 

Just when I thought I had a handle on things...

A Sudden Absence

Last Monday was the first day of school, and I caught an assignment for the whole week. (More about that in tomorrow's post.) However, I did not have a first period. This was a good thing, as first day of school, no teacher assigned to the class, so I was in scramble mode. 

Just before first period was to begin, I got a call. Could I cover a first period? 

The teacher, Mr. B, had been on campus. He had set up for the day. But, he suddenly got ill and had to go home. 

On the first day!?!

I don't doubt his illness. What concerned me was that there weren't any lesson plans. Uh, what do I do?

I got to the class at just about the bell. The class filed in. 

There were intro first day things written on the board. It was some sort of icebreaker activity. They were to get into groups or something, and I was unclear on what it was. 

The class was credit recovery. Generally, they'll work on whatever class they need to make up credits for. But that can't happen until they've been signed into the program. Which I could not do, not that I would on the first day. 

After I took roll, I flailed about for a bit, letting the class know that Mr. B was out ill, and then I noticed on a side table some worksheets. Score! 

They were simple things, like "about me" and "the importance of education". First day stuff. Okay, then, that works. 

It didn't quite take the whole period. But it was something. 

I had a whole first day thing ready for the class I had been booked for. If I had been thinking I would have brought it with me to that class. But no. 

You'd think by now I would know what to do in any situation. Nope. But at least the class had supervision. 

Mr. B was out all that first week. As I was on campus, I was able to find out. I hope he feels better soon. What a terrible time to suddenly take ill. 

And before anyone says it...

...yes, I know. (Via Jamie at Whatever I Think Of!)

Broken

It had been a pretty mellow Friday. I had special ed biology, and the kiddos were starting a project on genetic disorders. 

It was getting towards the end of the last period. I finished up my note to the teacher, and I sent it off. (I email my remarks nowadays.) I started to pack up my stuff. 

It wasn't quite time for the kiddos to pack up yet. I like to get ready early so than I can focus on making sure they clean up without worrying about my stuff. I had put away my computer, my pencil, and I was putting my water bottles back. I picked one up... 

...And crash... 

I heard something clatter all the way off the desk and onto the floor. 

My water bottle had hit a knickknack the teacher had on her desk. It was a big wooden S, part of her Ms. A tableau. 

A student came over and picked it up. It was in three pieces. 

He tried to make me feel better. He told me that one of her letters was already broken. But there was no way that letter stood up if it was already broken. 

Then it was time for the kiddos to get ready to leave, so I left the broken mess and tended to the finishing up of the period. The bell rang, and the kiddos left. 

I looked around for some glue. Found some Elmer's. It kind of stuck together? 

I left a note. I should probably find where these letters are sold and replace it. Stupid mistake. But it wasn't intentional. Sigh.

Teacher Fail

Friday. First period. Learning center. 

I got a call from the other learning center. Would it be okay if they sent someone over for me to assist? Um, sure... 

The student had homework to complete. Integrated math three (read: algebra 2/junior math). The problems: logarithms. 

Uh oh... 

Okay, so I've had all the math. I took three semesters of calculus in college. I even took senior level math classes in applied analysis. You can throw most math topics at me, and I have at least a basic working knowledge of it.

But not logarithms. 

They didn't bother with logs in my high school. (I think that's pretty much what all the schools did at the time.) We did natural logs and the e function, but that's as far as it went. 

But, pretty decent working knowledge of math, so I can fake it pretty well. Where were the student's notes? Uh, yeah, no notes. 

Deep sigh. 

Third period, IM3. Ms. B went over their homework, the homework I couldn't help the kiddo with. And, after her brief explanation... 

Yeah, if only I had had third period before first period. Because after seeing the example, yeah, I totally could have done those problems. 

Because if the kiddo had had the notes so I could transform the problems, I knew how to solve once the logarithm was handled. 

The one topic I couldn't help with. Naturally. Sigh. 

Missed Lesson Plans

Last week I caught a four-day assignment for Ms. L, who I worked with two years ago when Mr. J was on his paternity leave. I knew who she co-taught with, and I had a vague idea of her schedule. So, when I arrived at school on Tuesday, I headed directly for the learning center. 

The class was "study skills" which is code for study hall. As it was the first day back after a four-day weekend, I was not surprised when the kiddos didn't have anything to work on. 

I hovered a little, but I pretty much left them to it. It wasn't like they kept track of what they did or anything... 

Um, well... 

Every teacher has a "home base". For most teachers, that's their classroom. They keep all their stuff in there. For the special ed co-teachers there are desks that are in the two learning centers. Ms. L's desk is in the other learning center. (I thought it odd she taught classes in the learning center where her desk wasn't, but scheduling issues.) 

Ms. L's desk is in the learning center next door to Mr. J's classroom. So, on my way to that period, I breezed by, just to make sure she had left no lesson plans on her desk (as she hadn't the last time I covered her classes). Alas... 

Yeah, Ms. L had left lesson plans. And I had been supposed to give the first class a paper to note what they got accomplished in class. 

Oops. 

Well, I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and I did have three more days of the class. 

In my defense, the special ed co-teachers don't usually leave lesson plans. We're just assisting the general ed teachers in the classes we go to. And her desk was on the other side of campus. 

(I'm exaggerating. A bit. It was out of the way, but it wasn't a terrible distance.) 

At least I took roll. 

Old Broken Technology

In February, I took a long term gig covering a class that had lost its teacher at the semester. It was a mad scramble. 

At that time, the library was clearing out its old technology. They were throwing out all their old DVD players as most teachers now stream video to their big TVs or have the kiddos watch things on their Chromebooks. The aide for the class snagged one of those DVD players and left it for the classroom. 

At no point did we ever use that DVD player. 

Wednesday. Freshman math, special ed. 

New teacher, but familiar classroom. Mr. R arrived, admitting that he had forgotten he was out of class, so his lesson plan was kind of thrown together. The kiddos had a couple worksheets, and then they could watch a video. (He left three choices.) That DVD player, that Ms. S acquired in February was connected to the TV. 

We got through the worksheets and "Good Things". (Every day they do a thing where the kiddos talk about one good thing in their lives.) And then it was time to watch the movie. I let the kiddos pick which one, and I went to start the DVD player...

Only it wasn't plugged into the wall. We searched for an extension cord... 

I turned on the player, put the DVD in, but the TV wasn't getting a signal. I switched out the cable. Nothing. I tried a few other fixes. Again, nothing. 

I grabbed a Chromebook, figuring I could stream the movie. Only, the Chromebook didn't have a spot to plug in the HDMI cable to plug into the TV. 

Finally, after a good half hour of troubleshooting, I cast the Chromebook to the TV. Only, the picture worked, but the sound did not. Sigh. (The sound worked from the Chromebook, so I turned that up as high as it would go.)

For the next class, the aide called a neighbor teacher who is tech savvy to see if she could figure out the problem. She plugged in a different DVD player... and that worked. (Well, the drawer for the DVD wouldn't open, but the TV got a signal from the DVD player.) 

So, the DVD player, that Ms. S "rescued" from being thrown out, didn't work. Sigh. 

If only Mr. R had tested the thing before setting that as the lesson plan... 

One Small Detail

Wednesday. Seventh period success, eighth grade. 

Success is about teaching the kiddos study skills. There's some social/emotional stuff as well. (I've talked about covering this type of class before.) 

The class was across the way and a couple doors down from the art class. There were some familiar faces. And I knew what I was in for. But the teacher, while small, is mighty, so I wasn't anticipating any issues... 

They had an assignment online. I had them log in. They found the assignment, only the assignment didn't contain any assignment. 

That is, the assignment existed, but the teacher had forgotten to attach the slides that the students needed to do the assignment. 

It was a good-sized class. Full. And these sorts of students don't take to waiting too well. Let's just say they came in loud and not having something to focus on meant that instead of settling down, they got louder. 

I don't like to bother teachers when they're out, but this was a time when I was glad the teacher had left her cell phone number. I texted her... 

Before I went to text her, I had told the kiddos to work on missing assignments. Were they? Of course not. They were treating the time like free time, with half the kiddos sitting on the floor, and others were roaming around, getting into mischief. Sigh. 

Eventually, we got me logged into her account, and I was able to upload the slides to the assignment. Whew? Well, not so fast. 

Usually, when we assign the kiddos something, we "make a copy for each student" so they can edit the files. They each do their work and submit. But (something I learned the hard way a couple years ago) you can't give each student a copy when you attach something to an assignment already assigned. You can only do this when the assignment is being created. 

But earlier in the week (or was it last week? it's all starting to run together) I covered a class where they made their own copies of an assignment and attached it. So, I went to talk the class through what they had to do. 

As I explained, I got a couple good questions, so those who were following along were able to get the assignment to work. But after I got them started, I got more questions... 

Some students were able to get this to work. Others needed me to walk them through it. Individually. Sigh. 

Eventually I got to every student who couldn't figure it out on their own. Or, at least the ones who were asking. So, hopefully, they were able to complete it. 

Technology. Makes some things easier, makes other things harder. 

At least I knew enough to take away the excuse that they were unable to do the work. 

In Trouble

Monday. Fifth period AP English (twelfth grade, literature). 

All the classes had assignments on paper that had to be turned in at the end of the period. Ms. A noted that otherwise she couldn't be sure the students weren't "consulting" ChatGPT at home. (I had a period of freshman English and a period of junior English before the seniors.) 

I had to remind the class the assignment was due at the end of the period as it took them some time to get working. But they all finished and turned in their work before the end of the period. 

As usual, I left a very detailed note for Ms. A. Her initial response: 

I am not surprised by ANY of what you noted. Those baseball boys in the corner. Aye! Aye! Aye! 

She was referencing a comment I made about some eleventh grade boys having long conversations that didn't touch on any of the essay they were supposed to be writing. But then I got a follow up email on Wednesday: 

Hello! Quick question: Did my AP 12 students have computers with them on Monday? I am reading their assignments and they sound too good? Also, upon opening one of the Chromebooks today, a student noticed they were on chatgpt asking a Death of a Salesman question.

Oops. Because, yeah, some of them did have computers. I didn't think much of it at the time. It is something I totally should have caught as they had to go and get computers (they were not out). 

I encountered something similar last school year while on the long term for the eleventh grade English class (those students now in the twelfth grade). Some of their answers were too good. I didn't believe some of them had done their work without ChatGPT assistance. 

So, yeah, I should have clocked that. 

I admitted my lapse. Ms. A wasn't upset with me. But she wasn't happy with her seniors...

Uh oh. They were in trouble...

Fortuitous Mistake

Last Monday was the first day of school. 

Because I got a long term in a vacant art class, and because I got to start a day before, I had prepared a first day of school ice breaker assignment. A scavenger hunt. 

I listed a few things that I knew would be true for some kiddos. Find a student who has a first name that does not contain an A. Find a student who went away on a trip this summer. Find a student who has a family member at the school. (I often hear about kiddos with siblings at the school, so I knew someone would.) Find a student wearing black. 

First thing in the morning, I headed for the copy room to make copies of the scavenger hunt. I had four (slightly) different versions on two sheets of paper (half sheets for each kiddo). I also had a questionnaire that asked things like name they wanted to be called in class and what their favorite food was. 

I was not the only one who had things to copy to start the school year. And two of the copy machines were broken (naturally). 

When it was my turn, I first copied the questionnaire. I had taken a quick count of planned students and got something near 180. I made 180 copies of the questionnaire. Then it was time to copy the scavenger hunt. I had two sheets of those, so I'd only need half the copies. Half of 180 is 90. 

Did you catch my mistake?

I finished my copies, and then I left the machine to the next person in line. (The line kept growing. We were all kind of scrambling.) I headed for the paper cutter as the scavenger hunts were half sheets. 

As I started cutting, I realized my stupid. I was right to halve my number, but I should have halved it again as I had two sheets with two scavenger hunts each. I only needed 45 copies. 

The school opened two new art classes. The art teacher next door is new to the school, and we've been kind of leaning on each other. She's helping me with art stuff, and I'm helping her with other school stuff that new teachers don't necessarily know (like how to set up the online gradebook). 

We were comparing notes as to what we were going to do with our classes. I mentioned the scavenger hunt. She thought that was an excellent idea. And as I had double the copies I needed... 

They didn't go to waste after all. 

And the activity went surprisingly well. The kiddos got into it, but they didn't get crazy. I will totally use this again if the need arises. 

Missed a Step

Friday. Sixth period. 

This is the ninth grade ELD class (English language development), and they're reading Of Mice and Men. Friday, it was chapter five. 

In case you are unfamiliar, chapter five is where Lennie does a bad, bad thing... 

I mean, perhaps I could have warned them. But nah. More of an impact if they don't see it coming. 

After we finished reading the chapter, they had questions to answer. Like a prepared teacher, I had set up the assignment before class. I added it to their Google Classroom. I didn't release the assignment until after we finished doing the reading, as I had done for chapters one through four. 

They got to work. But then, a hand... 

"I can't type on the assignment..." 

And I instantly knew what had happened. 

When one uploads an assignment, one "attaches" it to the specific assignment. Then, one has a choice of selections. Either the uploaded doc can be "viewed", "edited", or "make a copy for each student". The correct answer is "make a copy for each student". That way, each student gets their very own digital copy that they can modify in any way, like by adding their answers to the questions. 

Sure enough, I had not chosen "make a copy for each student". 

There are like a dozen choices one must make when uploading an assignment. Points. Due date. Title. Instructions. Attach the assignment. And others. I try to be very careful when doing this as to not miss a step. But sometimes... 

The worst part? I can't go in and edit it to make a copy. The only thing I can do is delete the assignment and reupload a new one. (Yes, I found this out the hard way.) 

Well, it wasn't like anyone had started the assignment, anyway. They couldn't. They couldn't type on it. 

Now, do I forewarn them about chapter six? Of course not. Better if they don't see it coming... 

Yarn Chicken for Video

I have mentioned a few times that I am currently in the process of making a new video for my YouTube channel. Currently, the project looks like this:

See that little ball of crochet cotton near the upper left hand corner? That's all the yarn I have left to complete the project. Sigh.

When I started, I figured I had more than enough yarn to complete this. And now I see I was overestimating how much yarn I had left. 

The good news: all I have left to do is the bottom. 

The bad news: I went looking for another cone of this crochet thread, and I could not find it in this color. Deep sigh.

As I see it, I have three choices. One: Go on an internet search to see if I can find some more of this crochet threat somewhere. Anywhere. But that'll take time when I'm finally to the point when I can film the finish of this video.

Two: Redo the whole project in another color that I will have enough of the yarn for. But that means starting all the way over. You do not want to know how many clips I have already made (going back to October when I started this). 

Three: Owning up to the issue on the video I'm making, and finishing up in a different color just to finish the video. 

I'm leaning towards three. Either one or two would be way more professional. But, I wouldn't call my channel "professional". It's more amateur hour. 

Of course, if it turns out I have just enough yarn... 

Not likely. And I really don't want to be playing yarn chicken while filming a video. 

I bought another cone. It's white. 

And perhaps I'll redo this video another time. In a while. Right now I just want to finish this thing that I already started.

Seeing Some Progress

It's started.

What you see above took me a couple hours. Why? Because I thought I was smarter than the video. I am not. 

Briefly, I thought the instructions were off (from what I know about crocheting things flat in the round), so I "fixed" them. Only the thing came out looking weird. Once I stopped thinking and just followed the directions, it finally came out correctly. 

Anyway, now it's just a matter of continuing ovals around this eye until the thing is big enough. While guessing what stitch is in the example photo. Should be interesting.

(Last week I previewed what I'm making. I hope to get somewhat close to that photo.)

Are any other Blogger bloggers having trouble with links? Trying to insert the above links went horribly awry. I had to go into the HTML page to get the link to highlight the correct words. I hope that it's just me and my glitching computer or a temporary issue.

Valuable Lesson?

Wednesday. Second period.

I was already frazzled. We had a late start due to state testing, and then they threw a fire drill on top of that. 

But we were back in the room, and I had the notes projected as I explained how to do the problems.

We're doing trigonometry, basically the intro stuff. They are just learning about sine, cosine, and tangent. So, I was taking it slow. 

I had a problem up. We were using tangent. I had them put the calculations into their calculators. And the number they got was not the number on my key.

(I know what I'm doing, but I also have a key with the problems worked out in front of me. I mostly glance at it for the answers.) 

So, I went and got a calculator and punched in the numbers myself. I got the same answer. 

I wrote it down and moved on.

As I worked the next problem, I looked back at the previous problem, and I realized what the issue was.

I did it wrong.

I erased the problem, continued working the example I was on, and got the answer in the key. Then I went back to the previous problem.

"What did I do wrong here?" I asked them.

Elliot replied that I used cosine instead of tangent (it was supposed to be tangent). Elliot is one of the students who's doing well. (Although, he was in the group of four boys who all got the same wrong answers on the test. I assume the others copied him.) 

I agreed, and I then did the problem correctly (getting the same answer as the key). Then I moved on.

I mean, I felt stupid. I've been going over how to figure out which function to use for which sides are given in the problem, and I go and get it wrong. 

But then again, mistakes happen. And I caught it before we got too far. 

I try to let them know that it's okay to make mistakes. I do it too. 

But it still rankled. 

I'll get over it. Eventually.

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

Loopy

Thursday. Eighth grade math. Seventh period.

When Ms. M planned these two weeks that she'd be out, she found a unit that would take two weeks to complete (including unit test). She kept the topics similar for the seventh and eighth grades, although they wouldn't be the same. 

The seventh graders had learned about circumference and area of circles. The eighth graders had done the volume of cylinders. 

As a sub, I don't usually spend a whole period going over notes and problems and examples. (I usually introduce an assignment, answer some questions, and let them work.) So, by the end of the day on Thursday, I was worn out. 

I had taught the same lesson all day. They started with questions reviewing what they had done the previous class session. Then I went over the answers, starting by writing down the formula for the volume of a cylinder. 

"Shouldn't that be squared?" a student asked.

Instead of writing down the formula for the area of a circle, I had written down the formula for the circumference. (Something the seventh graders had done the previous day, but something none of the eighth grade classes had done on this day.) 

I wrote down the formula three different times, only getting it right on the third try. 

Yup, I was tired. And loopy. 

I had to shake it off and get my brain in the game. This was material that was new to them, so I had to get it right. 

I did. Eventually. After a shaky start.

It's a good thing I don't get too flustered when I make mistakes in front of them. I just own that I made an oops and continue on. (And I thanked the student who caught my mistake. What a disaster if I had continued on with the wrong formula.) 

By the time I get used to teaching them all day, my two week assignment will be over.

Misfiled

Wednesday. Third period. Government.

Of all the classes, third period is the one I'm concerned about the least. While a couple of them have had their grades drop (due to missing the last assignment), there are no F's in the class. And I anticipate each one of them passing the class at the semester.

It was a weird day with Ms. P, the instructional aide, out sick. They came in a little bit more wound up than usual. (We had our weather warm up, so the bright, sunny day might have been part of it.) And Sabrina asked if she could not work that day.

Uh...

The assignments need to be completed at some point. And I don't want to encourage slacking off when semester grades are so close. 

But, Sabrina's grade was fine. Wasn't it? I went to check the gradebook, just to make sure.

Sabrina was missing an assignment. It wasn't one of the big packets that are worth major points. It was one of the "quizzes". 

Mr. B gives them the book's quizzes at the end of each section, but he counts them like an ordinary assignment. Because they aren't weighted as a test, they don't hurt their grades too badly. (Most don't do very well on them, and that's even with the quizzes being open book. This is one of the differences in a special ed class.) 

So, instead of telling Sabrina she could take the period off, I told her she should complete the missing quiz. 

All the assignments are filed in a filing cabinet, clearly marked. I went and found the folder for quiz 2.1 and gave it to her. 

A while later, she returned it. When I went to grade it, I discovered that it said 2.2 on it. I double checked the gradebook. I had a grade for quiz 2.2. 

What had I done?

Upon further examination, I found that the folder for quiz 2.1 contained the quizzes for 2.2. And the person who had been putting things away was me...

(Although, now that I'm writing this, I do recall Ms. P had filed something in the government drawer, so I might not be to blame...)

While I was pulling the quiz, I should have double checked the page. So, my mistake. 

But, it was the wrong quiz. I apologized to Sabrina, but she would have to do the correct quiz. (There were 10 questions. True/false. Multiple choice.) While she did, I graded 2.2. If she got an extra point... She did not. She missed one more than before. I did not change her score.

Sabrina finished. 8 out of 10. I added her score to the gradebook.

And that bumped up her grade from a C to a B.

Sabrina then proceeded to work on the day's assignments. So, I guess getting her to work on something got the momentum going. 

(And now I'll be extra careful when giving them makeup work.)

Starting Over

When I started crocheting the Ruffle Tree, I had an idea. I could take a picture each day after I finished bands for the tree, thereby documenting my progress. (I took pics of the first two bands, but not in place, a couple weeks ago.) 

Those first two bands: 

I had this idea after I had completed two more bands. So, I took the first picture, and then I placed the second two bands and took this second picture: 

You'd think me taking the two pictures in the same sitting would make the pictures look similar, but no. Sigh.

I took the project to work. I have one of those assignments where I have a lot of sit around and watch the kiddos work time, so I needed to keep my hands busy. The great thing about bringing crochet projects to work is that I can drop them in a second and help a student when they need it. Then I can pick the project right back up.

I was able to complete two bands a day. That's great progress.

Then, the Friday before Thanksgiving break, I took a look at the last band I completed, and I realized something. I made a mistake. 

(I omitted a round. In each band. Because rounds 2 and 3 are the same, somehow in my head I didn't realize I had to do it twice. I think I might have gotten it right initially, but by band 5, I was just omitting that one round as a matter of course. Until I stopped and looked at the pattern. Sigh.)

And, I decided that I was going to have to start over. 

It wasn't just the error that caused the decision. Missing that one round isn't terrible, although having that round does make the tree look better. (I've since this done them correctly, and I can see the difference.) As I was working those bands, I realized a couple other things.

First, I realized that there was a better way to cast on each band. Rather than using the usual chain and then doing a round of single crochet, foundation single crochet would work perfectly here. It's stretchier. And it makes it neater. (Although that round isn't really seen.) 

Once I discovered the mistake, I thought it would help me not make that mistake again. I was wrong.

Then, the other reason starting over was necessary, was that I was going to run out of yarn. The yarn I was using was vintage. And I could tell that I was going to run out of yarn before I could finish the project. There are ways to introduce a different yarn...

But, if I wanted to remake the cast on anyway, and I had so many that I had done wrong, I might as well start fresh.

So, I did.

I anticipate this not taking all that long to complete. I started my second try on Thanksgiving Day. And other than forgetting that one round (again!) it went pretty well. (My first try was practice. Kind of like swatching.) 

Best Laid Plans

Right around Halloween, I started thinking about Christmas. Planning. I even found some yarny things that sparked my interest. 

And I started my Christmas shopping. 

(I used to do way more making of Christmas gifts, and that'll happen again in the future, but for the last couple years I just haven't wanted to.) 

For the most part, it's not hard to keep things a surprise. I do most of my shopping online. Shipping things to me is not an issue.

The only time I need to be cautious is when I am ordering things for my roommates. 

I don't have to be cautious, per se. I tend to be the one that picks up the mail. And when packages are dropped at our front door, I get them unopened. 

I decided this year I'd get them pajamas. (I think the major influence on this was a pajamas sale I saw at one of my regular online shopping haunts. I gave them pajamas a couple years ago for Christmas, and they were a hit.) 

I put in the order. I even got myself something so I could show it off as what came in the package. (Not that they were likely to question it, but I was being especially sneaky.) 

I watched the online tracking, and I knew when the package would arrive. (The tracking said Tuesday, but it hit the L.A. area Sunday night, so I knew it would arrive Monday.)

I got home from work on Monday evening, and I did my usual. After getting inside, one of the first things I do is get the leash and take the roommate's dog for a walk. As Buttercup and I were heading out, I saw my package right outside. I tossed it inside as me and the dog continued on our way.

Usually Luisa is not home yet, but she had stayed home sick. The other roommate is usually home (she's retired) as she was at that time. 

When Buttercup and I returned from the walk, my roommate admitted to an oops. And it was the last oops I wanted to hear.

Luisa had opened my package. 

Naturally.

The one time it made a difference.

The other roommate had asked Luisa if she was expecting something. She was. No one bothered to look at the name on the package. Mine. 

Sigh.

As soon as Luisa realized it wasn't what she was expecting, the package was put in my room. And considering how clothes are folded and packaged, I doubt that either of them even paid attention to what was inside.

So, I tried to hide my horror and hope that they didn't catch on. They didn't seem to, but we'll see. 

I mean, this is not usually an issue. Ever. The one time...

I just had to share this with someone. Because I can't tell them, at least until we exchange gifts. Then it'll be a funny story. 

All Tangled

No, I did not do anything yarny this week. But as this is a Monday post, here's a pic of some of my stash:

Yup, it's a tangle. And somehow I'm going to have to move it.

A week ago, I found out that I have to be out of my current home in a month. So, last week I was a bit focused on that. 

I've got a lot of stuff, so I'm not looking forward to packing. But first I need to find a place. I've been looking at various situations, and that's all in motion right now. 

I have a mental list of what I need to get done. It's doable. But I really, really hate the process. I may be a bit cranky, so feel free to ignore that. I'll feel a whole lot better when I'm on the other side of all of this.

So, I've been stressed and freaked out, and that has taken a toll.

On Friday, my (soon to be ex-) roommates and I went out to dinner. I ordered something I had never tried. It was chicken and a kind of macaroni and cheese with bacon thing. I did not finish it, so I got a box to take home the leftovers...

And as I was boxing up the leftovers, I knew. I just knew.

It took a while to settle the bill. (Divvying up a check three ways takes time.) But we were done, and then on our way.

A couple miles from the restaurant, and I realized I had forgotten my leftovers on the table. I mean, I knew I was going to do that. I generally remember things pretty well, but in my current mental state, plus it was a Friday (I am an idiot Friday nights), I was bound to miss something. Like the take home container right in front of me. Sigh.

We did turn around to retrieve it. But I felt like such an idiot. 

If I seem a bit off to all of you, now you know why. I hope I'll get things settled sooner rather than later. But it's going to be a busy month.

After I finished this post, my landlady informed me that she changed her mind about moving. Suddenly, the stress of last week evaporated. But this is a temporary reprieve. I'll have to move sooner or later (probably sooner). 

Not Quite Lunchtime

It was Friday of my first week in the long-term English 9 assignment. I had (barely) gotten through second period (my worst class) and fourth period had just left. I shut down the smart board and went to sit down at the desk.

A couple students walked in and headed for their desks.

That's when I realized... it wasn't lunchtime yet. I still had sixth period.

Hurriedly, I turned back on the smart board, got the slides they needed up and running, and got to the door to greet the students.

Yikes.

I mean, I know the schedule. While this school wasn't on block schedule last year, another school was, so I knew of the long three hours between snack and lunch. But I had a brain fart or something, and I thought it was time to sit and rest...

No such luck. 

At least sixth period isn't awful. I'm still learning the groups and the kiddos, but so far, they've been lovely. 

And lunch came after sixth period (which is an hour and a half long).

Wrong Way Round

Last week I decided to shoot another video. The previous two videos I shot are still not edited together. But, I had to grab the opportunity to shoot a video when the quiet time I need happened to appear. 

This time I thought I would demonstrate my tablet buddy. (I created this pattern about ten years ago. The written pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry.) 

While it's been a while since I knit one, I have my written out pattern, and I've made enough of them that I don't have to figure out the instructions as I work it. It would be simple.

Alas, I made several blunders. 

I think the most egregious was where I forgot which way around one knits. I picked up stitches all around the bottom, demonstrating how to do it on video. Then, I picked the thing up to show how to start that first row around, and I realized that I had picked up the stitches backward.

It's a short video. I pick it up, realize what I did, and I turn off the camera:

And then off screen I ripped out all those stitches and started again. Deep sigh.

I did actually finish the piece. It looks like this:

front view

the bottom of the piece

the back of the piece

Unfortunately, the video is not good. There are large parts where my hands are at the bottom of the screen, which I did not notice until I was reviewing what I shot the next day. And I cringe over sections where I misspeak. 

But, if I want to do this YouTube channel thing, I have to keep at it. I'll get better. It just takes practice.