I don’t even want to take a peek at the goals I made for this week.  Pretty sure I hit survival mode on Tuesday and everything else became a blur.  Last weekend was fun with quality father/son time, which included ‘Gremlins 2’ and video games.  Once Monday hit, things started to get dicey.  What happened exactly?

Well, the first thing I can tell you is that I didn’t get any writing done.  I think I got maybe 2 September blog posts done.  I stared at a notebook once before I decided that I was more likely to drool on the pages than write.  It wasn’t that there were no ideas in my head.  Just couldn’t muster the focus and energy to get them on paper.  I plan on writing up the outline for Darwin & the Beast Collector this weekend though.  It’s right next to me in the correct notebook as I write this post.  I can even lazily flick at it while I try to remember where I put my outlining paper pad.  These are really personalized pads that I got when I worked my first office job in 2003-2005.  They’ve lasted this long because I only use them for outlining.  Determined to get this done, so I can start in on writing the book once school is over.

Speaking of writing, I’m still worried that I’m a hack.  Hard to shake this when I haven’t published anything for a while.  Maybe it’s a phase because I don’t get any responses to my books.  Makes it hard to really settle down and dig into an idea though.  Anyway, this isn’t really what I want this post to be about.  Pickled pear vodka is making me ramble . . . I’m writing this Friday night, so don’t think I’m starting my day with booze.  I’m starting it with lemon and honey tea, a homemade sausage/egg sandwich, and 30 minutes on the exercise bike.

Returning to the week, work was probably where the lion’s share of my energy went.  I had meetings, party prep, coverages, and a field trip.  Made a tactical error on that last thing because it was a big event for Life Skills classes around the area.  It was basically Field Day with 10 physical events, pizza, and an award ceremony.  The mistake I made was thinking some of the events would be indoors, so I didn’t bring any sunscreen to reapply.  They were all outside, so the back of my neck and . . . exposed scalp got cooked.  Still had a blast and was very proud of all of our students.  Two earned Sportsmanship medals and one took the Cup Stacking trophy.  Always happy to see these kids excel and have fun.  Going to get to see it again next week when our Unified Basketball team steps into the championship games on Tuesday and Wednesday.  They’re undefeated for the season, so they’re going to kick tuchus.

Don’t ask me what happened Thursday because that day was a . . . Oh yeah.  So, my son’ s Lego Robotics team had their tournament yesterday.  On Thursday, I got a text from my son saying that the parent who was going to get pizza wasn’t able to do it and he was giving me the email list to take over.  I took this as him volunteering me, but it was his version of asking if I could do it.  Well, I didn’t figure that out until I said I would do so, which is fine because I pulled it off.  Don’t want the kids to go hungry on their big day.  Already put in for a half work day on the tournament day, so I did my other appointment by phone while on my way to get the pizzas.  Then, off to the tournament, which was an entire afternoon of action, drama, comedy, and interacting with the ex-wife.  That last one is just in its own category at this point.

How did my son’s team and their sister team do?  His team made it into the semi-finals, but lost to get 3rd place.  That’s still very good considering the robot they made and the ones they were up against.  Thinking back, I’d definitely list them and their sister team as underdogs.  Their sister team got into the quarter-finals and won the Sportsmanship award.  Great to see both teams go home with trophies.  Kind of sad that this is my son’s last Lego Robotics tournament and we’re not sure if his high school has a robotics team or not.  Guess we’ll see what happens.  All of the pictures with him had other people in it, so I’ll put up the picture of his team’s robot:

Lego Robot

Can’t think of much else to talk about here.  This weekend is going to be outlining, puzzle work, finishing ‘White Collar’, maybe working on Phi Beta Files, and a few urgent errands.  For the most part, I want to rest and be ready for the last 18 days of the school year.  That seems easier to handle than 4 weeks since there are 2 holidays and 4 weekends in that phrase.  Home stretch of the home stretch here.  I know it’s going to be busy since my son has finals coming.  Won’t be much in the way of quiet times here.  All I can do is rest when I can and think about the finish line.

Goals of the week:

1. Revise Darwin & the Beast Collector outline.
2. Finish September blog posts.
3. Tinker with Phi Beta Files.
4. Get a surprise thing for a person this weekend.
5. Go to at least the semi-finals for Unified Basketball.
6. Work on this blasted puzzle that didn’t come with a clear picture.
7. Biking and resting to get my blood pressure down.  I’m not sure how the bottom number works since it bounces from 82 to 98 throughout the week.
8. Look into buying a new ‘meaning of names’ book.  The baby name book I’ve had for 15-16 years doesn’t do it for me any more.
9. Continue trying to improve diet.  This past week didn’t go as smoothly as it should have, so I need to make major changes.