Syzygy

Pattern projected on the pedestrian bridge by night; runners delight

Well, it's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks around here (shocking, I know).

Some of the more exciting details you will learn more about shortly.  Ad for those less exciting details which I speak of now, let me just say that last week at work felt kind of like an episode of X-Files.  This episode, to be specific:

Don't remember X-Files episodes from 1996?  Well lucky for you (?) I do: this is the one where there's some crazy astronomical/astrological allignment event - for which the episode is named - and those two teenage girls who are pictured who share a birthday (on the event) get telekinetic powers while they and everyone else in their town (and episode) get belligerent and crazy.  Especially Mulder and Scully, of course.

It was a good episode, but it was the second "funny" episode in a row and the previous one was a mighty clever installment about cockroaches written by Darin Morgan, who wrote most of the really whacky-humor X-Files bits and as a result this episode was somewhat overshadowed.  I loved funny X-Files outings, but having these two in a row ... eh.  You are watching Fox, so ...

Right.  Last week ... the part of me that loves me some X-Files wishes that it had of been a full moon or something, because that would have been an awesome explanation for why a lot of my charges were having a pretty hard time.  Not in a belligerent way, but a lot of adolescent folks were upset, and as a week-wide phenomenon it did feel a little freaky, and occasionally overwhelming. 

It is hard seeing my charges upset.  I like the little rascals, and I do not enjoy the sensation of  helplessness which arises when I see them struggling with a lot of tough things that I can't really do anything about.  Well, nothing other than trying even more than usual to show them that they are awesome, important, and that they matter ... because, you know, it's true.   

... the episode had a young Ryan Reynolds in it ...

This, of course, starts kind of a crazy chain reaction in my brain.  If all of these rascals are important and matter, then oh mah goodness, that is a lot of support to try and give ... which is why I think some people end up not trying on the social front so much.  Well, among other reasons.  Some people just freeze up when there's a lot to do; I myself have to fight pretty hard sometimes to get going when I feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff that will dominate my schedule through until, well, July.  And it will probably continue past July, but the end of June just happens to be as far as I've thought ahead about things at this point.

 It also doesn't take an syzygy-like astrological allignment for this level of busy-ness to have the same effect on me as it did Mulder and Scully - I tend to get a little belligerent (with other grown ups) - especially over the topic of trying to knock off the things that need to be done.  With rascals, I have a lot more patience.

or, Mulder's retort as to why he never let Scully drive

This is my issue, then: how to get stuff done without being a nasty person for others to be around?  And what is a reasonable amount of effort to expect?  To be honest, I'm not always so sure about either of these quandaries ... and right now, I gotta dash and get some stuff done for tomorrow.

Happy start to another working week, everybody.  And beware of the horn-ed beast that can raise its head when the going gets tough, when the rubber hits the road, when the kladdkaka hits the fan, and so on, and so forth.

... and if you get that reference, you too are awesome.