I saw quite a few people on Christmas day - the most since the start of the pandemic. So yesterday when the sinus attack lingered, I started to be afraid I'd caught a cold. Well, I didn't! That was the fourth time in the past few years that I've had a sudden quite bad sinus attack that lasted less than a day and did not turn into a cold, flu or covid.

Today I finished up a complicated, time-consuming, twice a year task for my department -- finally "winter break" for me. Whatever that means! I get to surf the web for fun, I guess.

Today would be Millie's 91st birthday.

 I am having a sinus attack. Ugh. I am a bad patient.

 I have a few things to write. First, Merry Christmas! Bob put up a tree about ten days ago. It's the first tree we've had since 2019. We couldn't get a fresh cut one because the tree farm we always patronize closed on December 10 for the season. It's a fundraiser for the boy scouts and I hypothesize that there were not enough kids willing to spend their free time at the tree farm. The tree he bought is nice, but I can tell that it is already becoming crispy. That's an exaggeration, but it's clear it won't last like a fresh cut one does. 

Next, I had a dream with Donna in it a few nights ago. That's strange because in th 8.5 years since she died, I can't remember ever dreaming of her. The dream seemed to take place in the elevator lobby of a dorm, high rise apartment complex, office building, hospital or some other institutional setting. There were festivities of some kind going on. Donna wasn't drinking and I was apprehensive because Bob was having wine.

Finally, we watched Oppenheimer. We were both disappointed. We'd seem a documentary on the subject months ago, and I think if I had not seen that first, I would have been completely confused by the movie. The only praise I have is that the acting was good and I expect it will win some acting awards. The movie itself was too long, the sound was a struggle, and the timeline seemed inappropriate for non-fiction. Then, there was so much of that tedious subject Hollywood loves...McCarthyism. We were both happy we had not gone to a theatre for this movie.

One thing about putting some time into working when everyone else is shopping for or celebrating the holidays is that a lot gets done because there are no interruptions!

 I feel like I am finally sort of caught up on work tasks I needed to do. What a relief!

I finished grading about two hours before the deadline. I have not pushed it this badly in years. I took about a two hour break, and then worked until 4:45 posting the grade breakdowns. I did this to avoid tons of student emails demanding a breakdown. I then slept six hours. I'm still not caught up, but I am not feeling too bad at this point. The good news: no complaints so far!

No changeover to snow happened, it was a couple degrees too warm. I'm deep in the abyss of grading. It is going well, but the clock is ticking!

It's very warm and rainy right now, but late tonight the precipatation is supposed to change to snow, resulting in 2-5". 

I watched the debate last week. My takeaways: RD is creepy. Eww. I have a feeling there are many icky skeletons in his closet. VR is an unhinged nut. Also, he's a boot lick for DT. All three are dangerous.

Back to grading.

I've started to read Liz Cheney's book. I hardly have the time right now, but I limit myself to one chapter per night. It's hard because the book is riveting. I am in awe of her bravery. The message is scary, but it's so important to pay attention to it. If we ignore it or discount it or buy into the cult a dystopian future awaits.

Last day of classes today. It was a good semester. One student waited until class was over and everyone had left to tell me how much he liked the class and how much he learned this semester. It was nice to hear that today.