So I kind of think Tuesdays are for unfortunate stories about my life and book memes.

Last week, I had to drive to a school for work. It's located an hour away from my lab, and I had to prepare a bunch of paperwork (we plan to work with kids in the school, so we have to send consent forms home to parents in advance to see how many children will be able to participate) and get the principal to sign an agreement form. I get this all prepared (340 packets!) and drive on over, buzz in, and say I'm there to see Principal A. I get inside, confidently introduce myself, and one of the office staff members says, "Oh. You're looking for Principal A? That's at School A. We're School B, and this is our principal, Principal B."

Cue me standing there, flustered and confused, possibly with coffee all over my coat (I'd spilled it on the drive over and had forgotten to clean up), and trying to work out how I'd made this mistake. I quickly apologized for wasting their time and fled the office. Pretty sure I heard one of the office staff say, "Oh my god," as I left. Yeah, same, lady.

How did this happen? Well, both School A and School B are located in the same town, and I happened to be in talks with both of them about scheduling visits. School B had yet to get back to me, but School A was eager to participate. Somehow, I got it in my head that School B was the one that had gotten back to me. So there I was, only ten minutes down the street from School A, but with completely wrong paperwork. 340 packets' worth.

So I drove the hour back to work and proceeded to spend the rest of the workday dismantling and rebuilding packets with the correct information. All 340 of them. (Did I mention how many packets there were?)

Oh well. I hadn't driven in a while, so at least I got some practice in, right? And now I know exactly how to get to School A! Silver linings.

OK, enough ranting from me. Have some book memes!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
My teaser this week is from Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler:

"That's what it's like outside. If you got a gun, you're somebody. If you don't, you're shit. And a lot of people out there don't have guns."

Eek. Sounds like things are pretty out of control in 2025, the year this book takes place. I hope Butler wasn't accurate in her premonitions of what's to come.

I was gonna do Top Ten Tuesday as well, but I'd basically be reiterating my list from last week (which you should check out!), just focusing on the books rather than the authors. So let's try out First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday from Bibliophile by the Sea. Because I've already got it handy, let's use Parable of the Sower.

All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change. God Is Change. —Earthseed: The Books of the Living

Saturday, July 20, 2024

I had my recurring dream last night. I guess I should have expected it. It comes to me when I struggle—when I twist on my own personal hook and try to pretend that nothing unusual is happening. It comes to meet when I try to be my father's daughter.

Today is our birthday—my fifteenth and my father's fifty-fifth. Tomorrow, I'll try to please him—him and the community and God. So last night, I dreamed a reminder that it's all a lie. I think I need to write about the dream because this particular lie bothers me so much.

OK, between the teaser and this opener, how can you not check this one out?

Happy Tuesday to everyone! I'll try to make sure next Tuesday is heavier on the books, lighter on the personal tragedy. :)

Link up any memes you take part in in the comments!