Thursday, February 05, 2009

Take Your Wins Where You Can Get 'Em

I somehow managed to oversleep just a bit this morning.  Not by much.  But, when you are on a tight schedule in the early hours, ten minutes might as well be thirty.  However, with great hustling and bustling (not to mention a goodly amount of hand flapping and cursing) I was able to exit the manse on time.  I even had a cup of coffee and some breakfast foods in hand.


-===================[  

The above line was typed during the editing phase of the blogging process by a certain feline who likes to "help."  I leave it for your consideration.  I have no idea what he was trying to add, but it was probably important.  And I defy you to find another blog post out there tonight that was partially typed by a cat.

Back to the regularly scheduled blogging:

My car should have been glad to see me.  It should have welcomed me with open doors and whatever cars do when they want to smile.  Instead, it decided to tell me that it was -6 degrees outside and that seemed snarky to me.  I didn't need an on board computer telling me that it was cold.  I already knew that.  

There were any number of things that did not go quite as planned once the day got started.  The kids were not exactly at their most delightful and this made those of us on the teaching end of the equation grumpy at a proportional level.  The phone rang in my office incessantly and I missed half of my preparatory period due to my needing to watch a student.  It appeared that no one is on board with the fact that I have to be out tomorrow for another one of those stupid Safety Procedures classes and that planning is kind of crucial if a teacher is going to be out.  

By the time one of the social workers dropped by to discuss a phone call I'd made to her yesterday, I was telling the three million students who were in dire need of answers that, "Mommy was busy and that they should go ask Daddy..."  She could only say that she failed to understand how I got up every morning to do this job.  

It's not always easy and sometimes it's cold.  But you get a win every now and again.  Mine came during morning bus duty when, for the second time in recent memory, I was on time while my duty-mates were late.  Last time it was the assistant principal who witnessed and commented upon my great dedication.  This morning, it was the actual-honest-to-god principal who got to see me doing such a magnificent job.  

I was humble about it and even made a point of telling him that I'd been late before, myself.  I'm good that way.  I further informed him that my absent colleagues were of the highest calibre and that they were most certainly off rescuing kittens from trees or something along those lines.  I am not only good...I am generous.

I also hope that they will do the same for me 'cuz I'm probably due for another late arrival in the near future.

I don't suppose I'll be able to reward myself with much knitting, though.  As I'm the instructor for tomorrow's training, I probably won't get in much needle work.  But I'm still going to skein up some sock yarn and pack some needles.  You never know what you can get done during the lunch break.  I also don't really have to study the Very Important Instructor's Binder since I just taught this class a few weeks ago.  I'm all set with the material so I can knit tonight without guilt.

The Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty is celebrating by living large.




Um...that would be very large.  Embarrassingly large.  


Actually, that picture is sort of a lie.  It's from last month.  The AGK in question is actually sitting snuggled right up next to me on the couch.  Do you have any idea how long it's taken me to convince him to do this?  He wasn't much of a lap cat when he first came to live with us back in June.  

That's something of a win too, wouldn't you say? (edited to add: Except for the part where he tries to type the blog post.  I'm fairly certain I could have managed it myself.)

SA

12 comments:

sheep#100 said...

He's all snuggled up on the couch because you are there ad you are warm and he wants to stealz ur warmz!

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the teaching of the grown ups tomorrow.
You're so lucky to have AGK to help you with your blog and to keep you warm.

Mel said...

Cougar has taken time to learn that snuggling can be fun, too. He has a preference for snuggling with me, though, because David tried hard to "teach" him that snuggling is fun, which kind of had rather the opposite effect. He did recently voluntarily jump in David's lap, though, which was quite the momentous occasion.

Anonymous said...

Cold has a tendency to encourage reticent felines to become lap cats.

I think he was typing,"If you want me to keep you warm later you better cough up some treats!"

Sheila Z

Donna Lee said...

I have the training that lets me do the training tomorrow. And today I managed to slip on the ice outside the hotel where the other training was being held and threw out my back. It's going to make practicing restraints very difficult tomorrow!

Kath said...

Considering the AGK's girth, do you really want him to curl up on your lap? Wouldn't next to you be safer for all concerned?

I'm speaking from personal experience as my chunky outdoor cat discovered "the lap" a couple months ago and now demands it daily. My small lap + her plump butt = pain due to occasional slippage requiring sudden insertion of stabilizing claws.

PICAdrienne said...

I think, perhaps he was complaining that he had not been indulged with treats from a can. Most kitties, in my experience, are very fond of the cook and tend to like to keep track of them.

How is the dishcloth progressing?

Anonymous said...

Isn't there some opportunity to give your *students* quiet reading time tomorrow during the training? That would constitute some good knitting time for you. Unless the *students* are too unruly and demand constant supervision lest they become destructive of school property and each other.

Cathy said...

I'm always amazed you make it to the blog after the day you live. I think AGK was just trying to take some of the stress off your shoulders (and put it on your lap???)

Looking forward to more dishcloth shots.

Knitting Linguist said...

I'm guessing he was trying to write to protest the posting of that picture. It's very, um, revealing....

Cursing Mama said...

Personally, I agree with AGK 100%, he makes a fine point and you should really take note.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't the AGK live large every day?