Impostors

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder.

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news.

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉 

As of the writing of this post, I am watching Star Trek: Picard season 3, the early episodes. (If you've seen the show, you'll understand where this question came from. If not, no worries as that won't necessarily specify anything.) 

What if you couldn't be sure if your friends and family were actually your friends and family? (That is, what if there was a chance that they had been replaced by someone or something else?)

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

Half a Pillow Cover

I have almost gotten to the end of the second skein for my little pillow project. So, it was time to bind off as I don't want to go out and get a third skein. 

And...

It wasn't enough to cover the full pillow.

Ah well. It was enough to cover the front.

So now I get to figure out what I'm going to do for the back. Fabric? Or knit something with a different yarn? 

Fabric would be quicker, but I don't actually have a sewing machine, so that would necessitate my doing some hand sewing. 

Knitting (or crocheting) something out of a contrasting yarn will likely take time, but it would be a way to use up some of my stash. Do I have enough of one yarn in my stash for the back of this thing? Not likely. 

You don't have to weigh in on my debate. I'm just thinking out loud.

I don't need a solution now. I can take some time to ponder. But this means that I have nothing on the needles for next week. 

It is again time to find myself a new project.

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

Going Incognito (Mode)

When Blogger did that update thing that seemed to break comments, suddenly I had issues perusing blogs from school. 

(I know, I probably shouldn't be reading blogs when I'm supposed to be working. But there are days where I'm just watching the kiddos work quietly, and that can get really boring really quickly.)

I eventually found a solution to the problem that works for me, and since I know I'm not the only one with the issue, I thought I'd share. (Besides, I don't have a plan for Saturdays other than a picture, and I already did the Canadian geese in a previous year.) 

Although, first, I should mention that when I'm perusing blogs while at work, I am in Incognito Mode.

I do Incognito Mode for a specific reason. When I am logged into the computer at work, I am logged in using my work credentials. I have a whole Google account with bookmarked links for the attendance software and other websites I need to access. I get official district emails. I have a Google Drive with documents I use. 

I know there's a way to use a second Google profile while working in Google, but using Incognito Mode keeps things separate nicely, and passwords don't intermingle. 

This all worked just fine for a long time. And then, one day, it didn't.

It turned out the fix was dead simple. I had to turn on cookies. 

When this is lit up blue, cookies are being blocked, and I can't log in to Blogger. That means my comments are Anonymous. With this off, I can comment as normal.

It took me way too long to figure this out. So, I'm sharing. 

Are your cookies enabled? (Have you cleared your cookies lately?) 

I mean, there are good reasons to disable cookies. This is tracking information. But they are apparently needed if you want to log in to certain commenting functions. (I haven't changed this on my blog because I like to reply to comments directly. The other way, I can't.)

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

Figures 🙄

It was the same school day as I talked about yesterday. I had been assigned to an art classroom. 

As per normal, I was also assigned to cover a class on the teacher's conference period. It was a math class on the other side of campus. 

It was lunch right before, so instead of fighting crowds, I left the art classroom (in the 500 wing) to go to the math classroom (in the 100 wing) about five minutes before the end of lunch. And I got to the room just as the warning bell rang. 

When I'm covering a different class, I don't take everything that I brought on campus with me. My stuff will be safely locked up in the classroom to which I will return. 

I brought in an umbrella that day. It was raining when I arrived, but according to the weather app on my phone, the rain was due to stop around 11-ish. And it had stopped. The sun even came out.

I mean, the clouds were returning when I left for the math room, but it wasn't supposed to rain again that day. 

So, I left my umbrella in the art room which was clear on the other side of campus. 

And it wasn't raining when I got to the math room.

Class started. I was covering the special ed co-teacher, so the general ed teacher did her lesson on point-slope form. And I kept an eye on students who might need my help. (None did.) 

The classroom door was open. Almost halfway through the period, I noticed... No. It couldn't be. Rain? 

Yup, rain.

Of course. Figures.

The special ed teacher returned, and I was dismissed to go back to the classroom I was in for the rest of the day. All the way across campus. In the rain. Without my umbrella.

At least it wasn't raining very hard. I got a little damp, not very wet. 

I mean, I really should have paid attention to how gray those clouds were.

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

Early Morning Exercise

Last Thursday, I almost didn't work. No assignments popped up until 5:40 that morning. 

Because I was kind of waiting on a call (and I really didn't want to stay home that day), I was way more awake when it was time to get up, and I got out of the house really early. So, I got to school really early. 

This turned out to be a good thing.

It was raining, but by the time I left the main office and headed towards the classroom for the day, it had slowed down to enough of a drizzle that I didn't need to use my umbrella. 

The main office is at the front of the school. The art classroom was at the back. So, it was a bit of a hike.

I walked the long way around the multi-purpose building as the other side of campus is still blocked off by the new building. (They started construction on the STEAM building in 2019 or 2018. It's almost done, which is great, but it's been a long time. At some point I should do a post on the headaches this construction has caused.) 

I got to the classroom, pulled out the key, and the key wouldn't turn. 

I looked at the key...

It was for the wrong room.

So, hiking back to the office I went...

The secretary was very apologetic. (She's doing the job of three secretaries right now, so I wasn't angry at her. I could totally see how this could happen.) She took back the wrong key and got me the correct one. Then I headed back out to the classroom.

It was a good thing I was early. 

And, I got a bit of a walk in for the day. Not a terrible thing. Annoying, but not terrible.

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

Deluge

Wednesday morning it was pouring down rain. Drivers around these parts are terrible in the rain, and this morning it had been a lot to get to work. And then, turning into the parking lot at school, the school bus cut me off. 

I was frazzled as I was setting up for the day. I heard a pounding at the classroom door. Someone was outside, crying loudly. So, of course, I opened the door.

Reggie was not happy to see me. Instantly, she remembered that Ms. V had told them the day before that she wouldn't be in class. 

Reggie set down her backpack and exited the room, although with stops as she tried to breathe. She was crying quite hard. I offered to let her stay in the room, but she wasn't interested. 

What to do? Clearly, she wasn't going to open up to a stranger, but there was no way she was going to be able to be in class. 

I called the office that was steps from the classroom. I opened by saying I wasn't sure who to call, but that there was a student in distress who needed someone. The office replied that one of the counselors was on her way as they had also heard the student crying. 

That's about when the warning bell before period one rang, so I went to open the door for the students. Ms. L, the counselor, arrived and gently urged Reggie towards the office. 

And we started our day.

I wonder what happened with Reggie. Teenage emotions can run high, but clearly something set this off. 

The rain tapered off by noon. 

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

Cheating

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder.

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news.

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉 

What if you were accidentally given access to something that you were not supposed to have? (I will only specify that this access won't physically harm another person or animal.) Would you maintain that access? Would you use it? Or would you lock the proverbial door so you couldn't use it?

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