Easter Vacation at Last

Whew! 24 hours later and I'm finally feeling as if I'm on vacation now.

So what have I been up to?

1. Work.

• I got to "teach" a workshop session at our professional development day last week.  I know the powers that be are trying to make sure they're getting their money's worth out of the tech program they purchased.  Oh, and out of me as well. (That said, they just paid for my CPR training and certification but I'm hoping they're not expecting me to make use of it anytime soon.)
• Really concerned about the student teams I have going into this reading competition.  They just seem really un-motivated despite the coaches' best efforts.  They're supposed to meet certain requirements, but there's not much for me to enforce except to tell them that they'll reap what they sow (or don't).  I mean, maybe they'll do fine, but I don't want to get blamed if they don't come home with top honors.
• Speaking of blame, it always makes me nervous when we get into the home stretch of the school year.  Will I be told I still don't do enough? 

2. Cat Care.

• The Cat's "boo-boos" are starting to look much better.  The one on her tail looks like just a little scratch now--although it looks as if her tail is dented, because the vet buzzed the fur around it to help it heal.  Her neck one is much smaller than it used to be, and she doesn't seem to be fussing with it as much as she had been earlier.  I guess the salve helped.
• For some strange reason, lately she's been screaming her head off inside the apartment just as I'm arriving home.  As in I can hear the cries the minute I'm out of the stairwell.  (Probably because now my car is so friggin' loud.)  So I just throw my stuff down, open the door and walk to the lobby to get my mail.  She has dared to venture out the door, and while I figured that if a neighbor walked in the front door or stepped out of the elevator, it would startle her back home--but oh, NO.  She stares and them and they say she's CUTE.  So apparently now she likes going out to get compliments, too!

3. Reading and Watching Stuff.

• I treated myself to a local movie theater's showing of the recording of The Royal Opera's live broadcast (in the U.K.) of La Boheme.  It was fantastic.  Even the fact that it was recorded and shown on a screen didn't stop it from being tremendously moving--I laughed, I sighed, I cried.  The behind-the-scenes clips were interesting, too.  (To get an idea of what they were like--here's a video of the conductor and two singers--those two were not the players in the broadcast we watched, and our clips were shorter.)  I want to go back for a few more of those screenings.
• I also watched Frankenweenie (too scary and sad for me, not funny enough, and baffled by the ending), and read DATA, A Love Story by Amy Webb.  I could not put down that book.  Engaging, smart, sad and thoughtful by turns. . . and definitely got me thinking.  And planning.  More on that soon, I promise.

It's Holy Week, so I'm doing the church thing tomorrow and won't be online.  (I fast from TV, radio, and online activity for Good Friday.)  I have to get my things together for Easter as well (do I know what I'm cooking or wearing? Not yet!) so things might be quiet until Monday.  I don't have to be at school on Monday.

Gosh, that sounds nice.

Happy Easter!