Ritual

I really should be grading right now. I decided to spend the day grading hours ago. But instead of grading, I've skyped with my mom, cleaned my kitchen, brewed a cup of tea, and watched several Jay Leno clips. And now I'm writing a blog.

I've learned this little trick over the years: when I need to be productive, I resolve to grade. And then I am wildly, record-breakingly productive.

The key to achievement is this, kids: know thyself.

I had a lovely weekend up at a cabin in Julian that I could write about, but uploading pictures takes me forever and a day. So I'll post the weekend pictures the next time I sit down to grade.

Instead, I will tell you that yesterday one of my colleagues told me a brown recluse spider flew out of her hair dryer when turned it on. She will never blow dry her hair again.

Her story strengthened my resolve to maintain a nightly tradition I began when I moved to my new place.

There are lots of trees on the property surrounding my new place, which means there are lots of spiders. And, as I learned in my old, close-to-a-garden-full-of-spiders apartment, spiders have a way of finding secret passageways that lead them from outside into the warmth of a house.

So I pull back my bed covers and shake them just before bedtime each night, checking for any spiders that may be settling down to lodge there for the night. Twice in my life I have unwittingly gotten into bed with a spider. I will never let it happen again.

Last night I was particularly diligent in checking my sheets, in lieu of my colleague's close, nightmarish call with a brown recluse.

And what do you know, in the exact spot I was preparing to nestle my cold little feet I saw a giant, hairy brown thing scurrying toward me.

I yelped, jumped, threw the covers over the fast little rascal, and paced frantically trying to figure out what to do. Then, armed with a giant ball of paper towels, I tentatively pulled back the sheets, aiming to kill.

And there she lay: a spider-sized hairball.

Oh the hazards of having long hair.

Which reminds me, at the rate I shed, I'm due for another vacuuming of my place.

In fact, I should probably do that right now.

And then I'll grade.

I promise.

Happy almost-Friday, friends!

-SJ


© by scj