I'm unsettled. Burrito is lethargic, inactive, and has been since this morning. I've been gone most of the day but he doesn't seem to be eating and certainly not running around like he normally does. There's no way to tell what's happened and therefore no way to address it. Tomorrow morning I'll get some probiotic from the feed store which helps their gut function. It's a "can't hurt" action. I'll also take his temp (rectal) which should come in within a degree or two of 102.
This is the hard part of raising animals.
I spent a couple of hours at the coffee shop and made good progress, then came home and did a brisk (by my standards) 3.5 miles. Took a quick shower and then went over to David & Marta's rental and spent several hours painting. The problem came when I got into the fourth can of paint, a can that had the exact same color coding on the lid, but was NOT the same color. About two shades darker. Grrrr.
I had rolled out the second coat on part of one bedroom wall when I could clearly see the problem.
Nothing to do but put that second coat on the whole room, and now I'll go back and redo the cut-in tomorrow. 'cause a this point there's a white strip up at the ceiling and along the floor.
I was *this* close to being done with painting. That second coat on the small bedroom was the last step.
David was there doing some work on the barn he's building (it will be horse property) and came in for a visit. Great guy who has also spent time in Kenya. We compared experiences and readily agreed on key aspects of our perspective, incl. the cluelessness of Americans who don't realize how good we all have it.
In-country (David in Kenya, me in Tanzania) they don't have cupboards because they don't have anything to put in them. Or closets for extra clothes, which don't exist.
We sure like David and Marta, and that they're family in Christ makes it that much better.
I've mentioned here how much I enjoyed teaching, and especially the relationships I developed with my students. My favorite places on campus were the classroom and the cafeteria where I ate lunch with students. We had fun both places.
I took my work very seriously, worked very hard, and expected the same from my students. Most people who enter into a program like a college degree track will rise to expectations if they're at all reasonable, and I did my best to make it possible for them to succeed. Most of them did. And we had fun in the process. They knew not to take me too seriously because I don't take myself seriously. That allowed us to banter at times in the way friends do, friends who know it's all good.
Tobin sent me a video clip last week, something he'd captured from a TV show, or Netflix show or... The front part of it got cut off so he told me what it was, a bit about Richard Wagner (German classical composer) and the end of the world. He said it reminded him of me.
I used to tell students that if they came to my office to complain about an exam or paper grade (it happens, sometimes legit, sometimes baseless whining) they should stop and listen for what music is playing. If it was Wagner they should leave and come back again later.
(Wagner wrote some really ferocious music that's great for working out frustrations.)
That message from Tobin made me feel good.
I miss teaching.
The people are the best part.
No comments:
Post a Comment