Hello Friday...a Friday off from work...well, notionally. I will still be working, but around the 70 million errands I need to do this weekend. Right now, I'm downing a ton of water so when they take my fasting blood tests, I won't get poked 17 times while they try to find a vein. I'm hopeful anyway. So yeah, I haven't eaten, no caffeine yet.

I was looking forward to this weekend. It's three days for us (random school board decision), and I knew I'd have a ton of grading and other stuff to do (car needs oil change AND smog), but with three days, I had a chance of getting a lot done AND having time to relax and make art (those are two separate things by the way).

Well that was a busy weekend. I'm still tired from it. I may have been semi-productive around all the things I had to do. I dropped a quilt at a gallery for a show that opens Saturday. I went to another exhibition closing reception and then pulled all 6 of my quilts down and packed them into the car to drive home.

Hello Friday...before weekend of chaos. Seriously, this weekend is a shitshow. Already looking forward to next weekend. Today, kids will need to finish a unit packet and turn it in, and then actually be mature enough to evaluate their own work and progress and complete missing work. It's babysitting hell. But I brought it on myself. I can monitor and bug the shit out of them with our monitoring app, or I can ignore that they're all on games and Instagram and get some work done.

I feel like it must be later in the week than Wednesday. I was ON all day yesterday, teaching writing and graphing. Mostly OK, but like pulling teeth in a couple classes. Certainly lets you know which classes are lacking in some skills. Good thing to know. Since the standard we're learning about requires graphing knowledge. At least knowing which line is going up faster...or whether it's going up or straight.

There's a bunch of these coming up locally, so I'm putting them all here. The Feminist Image Group show Master Glitch is closing this Sunday at the Techne Art Center in Oceanside. There will be an artist panel from 2-3 PM. The closing reception is from 1-4 PM; this is your last chance to see this exhibit. I have 6 pieces, mostly big ones, in this exhibit.

Rough weekend. Not as bad as next weekend. I think of a good weekend as some relaxation time with a book or some art, and a hike in the late afternoon (haven't done that since I got back from Oregon...mostly due to heat, but lately due to life). Lots of time to wander the house, maybe water some stuff, clean up a little.

Y'all, the day after Back-to-School Night is always the worst. I feel like I've already done a whole week. Usually I'm smart and plan independent work, a low-key day, but no...we're doing a lab. Ugh. Bad plan. So yeah. At least I'm getting better from the weird virus I had...never really manifested as a cold...just sat around and made me feel like shit for four days.

Being sick sucks; being sick as a teacher sucks even more. The job is physically and mentally challenging on a good day; trying to do it when you're feeling shaky is harder, but the alternative is writing sub plans, assuming your classroom will be a disaster and no one will get anything done, and betting on the fact that you'll feel better tomorrow...like is THIS the worst day of this illness?

It's finally cooler. Still summer for us, but not in the 100s. Still running all the fans and appreciating when it cools down at night...knock on wood, so it doesn't go away. My studio still holds onto daytime warmth, which is great in winter and not so much now, so I'm ironing with a fan on my legs so it doesn't blow the pieces away.

The heat is finally starting to fuck off. I meant to put some artsy evocative word there, but this is more appropriate. 104 degrees. Ugh. Still in the 90s, but bearable. My studio was down to 88 degrees last night...it's amazing the difference it makes. The heat will probably be back...it's September and that's what September (and sometimes October) does. It's just hard to concentrate on work and art when it's that hot.

Weird week. Really hot...supposed to be 105 degrees today. My studio was 91 degrees at 10:45 last night...right now, there's a tiny coolish breeze coming in, but it'll be gone by the time I get home again. This house just holds heat...it sucks. This is the time every year when I think about air conditioning. Because we barely slept last night...it was just too hot.

Ah blessed extra day off. I am actually in a union; nay, I am a union representative. So I gladly take this day and thank those who had the brains before us to make good laws about labor. Will I be laboring today? Unfortunately yes; despite putting in about 4-5 hours yesterday, I am nowhere near done. I did spend a chunk of Saturday doing art things (while doing school stuff in between, when I was waiting for things to heat up).

I swear yesterday was Friday. Today is Second Friday. I know why; I gave a test and had kids turn in their science packets and they were not prepared. And I thought it would be easier...I at least should be prepared for the chaos and I guess I was not. So I ended the day with a parent meeting for a different kid than I thought it would be for (pure confusion on my part; we had already met with the parent of the other kid, so yes, I am losing it)...got home, and sat in exhaustion.

OK. Deep breath. Wednesday. All I can think about is making art and applying to shows and residencies. My job is demanding though, so I keep waking up at 3 AM and going SHIT. I FORGOT TO DO THAT. This morning, I forgot I set my alarm early, ignored one of them, and reset the other one. SHIT. It's fine. I got it.

Hey Monday. As always, you appear too quickly. Busy weekends make you show up even faster. Hoping next weekend is better...oh wait! It is! Three-day weekend for the win. The heat wave has finally backed off a bit. It's still in the 90s, but not the high 90s. It makes a difference. I was actually cold last night in bed. A freakin' miracle.