Random Tuesday Thoughts......

I post random thoughts when I don't have enough fodder for a complete blog topic, but I have these tidbits swirling around in my head. Full disclosure here.

• I like my Tuesday Zumba class much better than my Thursday one. The instructor on Tuesday (and Friday, but I don't typically go to that one) is full of spunk, and she is so animated. She has great musicality, and it looks like she's just having fun up there. I'm always surprised when we do the cool down, because I can't believe the hour is over already. 
• The Thursday instructor is relatively new, so maybe she will come around. Or maybe I will give her a break and stop comparing her to the Tuesday night gal. One thing that irks me is her lack of musicality. At first I thought she didn't have a sense of rhythm, but that's not it. She doesn't change the moves with the musical phrasing. She'll start doing a new move in the middle of a 4-count measure of music, and it drives me crazy. Worse, sometimes she starts doing a new move on the off-beat. The stubborn side of me wants to do it the RIGHT way and stay on the beat. The proud part of me does it her way so it doesn't look like I'm the only one in the room doing it wrong.
• I was very proud of myself Sunday night for getting my cycling things ready for Hubby to take me to school on Monday. I packed my clothes and even put air in the tires. Then the air went out of my own personal sails, because when I was taking the pump off the tire, I pulled the valve stem out. Naturally it was on the BACK tire, which is a b**ch to change because of the chain ring and all that mechanical stuff whose names I don't know. I was determined, though, so I proceeded to change the tire. In the dark. With only a little help from Hubby. I was very proud of myself, until he dropped me off at school on Monday morning and I saw where the tire was bulging because I hadn't seated it properly in the rim. I couldn't ride with it that way. The only solution was to let some (a lot) of the air out, pop the tire back in, and hope that was enough air to ride home on. It was tough pedaling, and I did NOT throw in the extra 4.5 mile loop I usually do. But I made it, and I learned a lesson. Or two.
• Gus has been "fixed," but apparently he doesn't know it. He has a ritual (usually reserved for the rare occasions when we have company, so he can embarrass us fully) in which he picks up one of his stuffed animals and shakes it violently. He'll toss it a few times, pick it up and shake it, toss it again. This is apparently foreplay. Because after a few rounds of tossing and shaking, he begins to hump the toy. He looks like a miniature kangaroo when he does this, standing up on his hind legs with the toy clasped between his front paws, and afterward he has a body part hanging out that we don't normally see. He appears to be very proud of it - typical male. In this state, he is paralyzed. He can't walk, he can't move, he just stands there and pants in the afterglow. I could offer him a treat, some cheese, a walk in the park, or a free shot at the cat, and there isn't a thing he could do about it.
• I have a catch or a crick in my neck/upper back that is driving me crazy. It hurts worst when I'm sitting in my recliner. I was going to use it as an excuse not to go to Zumba tonight, but then I remembered it was Tuesday, the night I like. I figured I could sit here and hurt, or I could go to Zumba and hurt, but at least in Zumba I would be burning some calories. It still hurts, but it's better than it was. I would give my pinkie finger for some pain pills. Of course, if I gave my pinkie finger, I would NEED some pain pills. I seriously think the crick/catch was caused by playing Mario on the Wii. Don't tell Hubby.
• I wore capris to school today for the first time without checking to see if they are still in style. I also completely ignored the fact that my legs are A) paler than ghosts; and B) hairy. I wore sandals and DID remember to put my toe ring back on. 
• One of my students came into my room today and stared open-mouthed at my desk. I had my desktop computer running the program our students use, my iPad open to a spreadsheet I had been working on, my personal laptop open in a desperate attempt to restore it to some semblance of operation, and my iPhone nearby. She said, "Do you really need ALL those electronics?" She has no idea.
• Our students have been taking state-mandated graduation tests all week. I had to administer one section on Monday. Toward the end, one of the students raised his hand and summoned me to his seat. He whispered, "Can I smash that wasp? 'Cause I'm allergic to them." I resisted the urge to tell him that was the stupidest damn remark I'd heard so far that day. The wasp had been on the window the entire testing period and was not in danger of going near him. If he'd been concentrating on his test, he would never have seen it, because it was BEHIND him. Another girl looked completely bored and had only answered half the questions. But she spent a great deal of time examining her hair for split ends. 
• Technology amazes and fascinates me. I'm still in awe of the fact that my iPad and my Kindle "talk" to each other. Each one knows where I left off in a book. (I read on the iPad downstairs; the Kindle stays by my bed.) I get a message that says, "On your Kindle, you were at location ______ at _______ PM on _______." Sunday night, my Kindle knew that my iPad had been in the Central Time Zone. I'm pretty sure it was jealous, until I explained that it was only Alabama.

Have a good rest of the week, and thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you more than you know.