A Collection of Scattered Thoughts.

Today, for once, this post is going to be what the blog title suggests it is. Random thoughts and events of the day.

I Woke up. Always later than I originally plan. I always feel like a lot of time is wasted in the morning hours, leading to a rush in the afternoon.
But it's all good fun.

It was Eliza's Birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZA!!
We made banana pancakes, and popped popcorn in preparation for her party-thing tonight. We LOVE popcorn. Peanut-butter popcorn, caramel popcorn, Kool-aid popcorn, marshmallow, peppermint, butter,  Kettle-corn, white-chocolate almond, etc. 
We always make more popcorn than anyone could ever eat... but there you go. 

We went to get Eliza a nice ring for her 15th Birthday (as per our tradition), and she finally made a decision. Then we spent another several minutes chatting with the jeweler, who just so happens to be a childhood friend of my Uncle. Small world. Wherever my mother goes, there are always plenty of things to chat about. We had several watch batteries fixed, so counting the passing minutes was easy.
Limited time. Eliza wanted to go to "Charming Charlies," a SUPER cute accessories place in a fancy place called "Tivoli Village." I was excited as well.
We took our neighbors. They have an ASTOUNDING video collection. It didn't take long to find the one we wanted to watch at the party tonight -and see more to take mental note of others for later viewing.
We went to Charming Charlies, and I had fun (their Orange section is very satisfactory)... but kept checking my watch. Not so much fun when you are always worried about being late. 

It turns out that I was late for work... but not terribly so.
I started lessons. I like teaching... but I was kind-of disillusioned with "The City" and it's employees and... it was kind-of disappointing. Lots of new rules that are rather inconvenient. A whole list.
 We aren't allowed to tell the "patrons/parents" that it is cold. It IS cold... but if we stop admitting it... that will make it better?
We aren't allowed to go in the deep end without clearing it with the coaches first.
Oops... that was me. But when you have a level 5 private lesson with a lesson plan, 89% of which is DIVING... you need the deep end. The "Desert Mermaids" look really cool. And they are ALWAYS there. The Swim Teams are always there too, so the poor private lessons are left to fend for themselves. But the Mermaids only had 10 girls in the pool, doing things in a small circle in the middle.  So I took my kid into a little corner of the deep end, and we had a great lesson.
I don't regret doing it, that kid really deserved it (He is the BEST kid ever). But I guess there are consequences... even if it's a blanket ban.

The pool is cold, there is no getting around it. We have to have the "Doors" (Picture garage doors) open for "air flow." Yes, it is Vegas. Yes, it is hot. But even "Hot wind" chills wet children... and WSIs. Some of the TEACHERS (WSIs) didn't get in the pool until our supervisor came and asked them why they weren't in the water. Busted. It was an awkward situation when they had to explain it later on that day.
I always get in with my kids. I was swimming in an outdoor pool in MARCH, with winds that were so strong, the water would fly horizontally off of your arm in the backstroke. The cold doesn't affect me... much. If the kids can do it, so can I.

The instructors have a huge advantage. We only have two lessons a week, so forgetting a name isn't a big deal. The roster refreshes your memory instantly, and you call the kids by name repeatedly during a lesson. For a kid to remember your name, (especially in a 4 and 5 year old class), it really means something. This one kid, named Mathew, is a REALLY good swimmer. He could have moved up a level, but after the first day with me, decided to stay and take the class with "Miss Alayna." (This pretty much melted my heart.)
Today was muggy and overcast. Before class started, Mathew tried to tell me about the weather. "There's lots of .... con-den-sation out there! It feels like it's going to preci....preci...preci...." he looked to me for help, so I said "Precipitate?"
"Ya." he answered back. He is 5 years old. This kid is awesome.
He is in a Pre-school level 2 class with a handful of other kids. There were 5 of them today and they are really a handful, but each of them is special in their own way. I could go on about each one of them, but I won't. They like to show off. "Miss Alayna, watch this!" they say, showing me a trick I've already seen twice today, "Instructor! Is it like this?" Ava would say (she always calls me "Instructor"). I kind of let them do there thing while I help each kid in turn with a swimming skill. It usually works out just fine.
As I was helping Carolina push off the wall, she used a little more force than I expected, and ran into Mathew who -unbeknownst to me- was swimming around behind her. The collision looked painful, but both parties insisted that they were fine... and then Mathew's nose started to bleed profusely. We were out of the water and on the way to the guard-shack for treatment before the class and most of the parents even realized something had happened. I had a quick idea to ask Mat (another WSI) to keep an eye on my class for a while, but dismissed it as Mathew's nose started pouring out blood. I stooped down and told him how to pinch it, attracting the attention of a parent who then informed Mathew's mom of the problem. That was a life-saver. Mathew's mom came to take care of the bleeding, and told me to return to my class. I did, mentally capturing the moment of the collision for the incident report I expected I would need to fill out. After class, I stopped and talked to Mathew and his Mom, who were waiting at the side of the guard shack, presumably for me. He was fine, they were fine, and he was looking forward to the next lesson. What a trooper!
I walked into the guard shack and said, "I probably need to sign that incident report." I got blank stares as a reply. The Lifeguards had done nothing. "We didn't touch him, so we don't need to do anything." they said. Ok, if a kid scrapes his knee running on the pool deck, and you hand him a band-aid, maybe you don't need an incident report. But if a kid was accidentally injured IN CLASS by another student, some documentation should happen. And I know that at least some blood got on the deck... and no one took care of that.
Lifeguards are lazy and useless.
Sorry, it really bothered me. And in light of everything else that went on that day,-- not to mention the presence of TWO City Supervisors--we should have at least been "keeping up appearances."

The wind proved to be a problem on the bike ride home. I was exerting a LOT more energy than usual.
It wasn't sunny today. Usually, I watch my shadow become distorted by foliage along the side of the road as I bike past the trees and hedges. Instead, I watched a Rainbow that seemed to stay with me all the way home.

This post is a lot longer than I expected it to be!
It was Eliza's Birthday party-ish thing today, She doesn't like attention. She wanted my friends there too, because (short version)... they are awesome people! Eliza and I have had combined Birthday Parties a LOT in the past (even though we are a two years and a MONTH apart). It was totally unplanned, but it turned out to be another combined party; her friends and my friends, presents from both of them to both of us. It was no big deal... which was really cool.
My recently married cousin (Nate) stopped by with his wife, on their way to their Honeymoon. (Flights are cheaper in Vegas.) They brought a present for Eliza, which was REALLY sweet. I like them a lot.
We watched "A Cinderella Story." (I'll skip the back story.) Little Melissa interjected at the weirdest moments, just to remind us that she was there.
It was REALLY good to see my friends again. SO much has happened to all of us since school got out... we need more time together, before it starts again!!!

Our kitchen sink is functioning again, thanks to the Jackson boys!
I sure have eaten a lot of popcorn.
My mom keeps saying how tired she is, and how she is going to sleep, but she is still milling about the kitchen, while I type on.
I guess I should be tired too. I need sleep, I work early tomorrow.

This post is too long because I think about things too much.