Weekly Wrap-Up #41

Posted November 14, 2021 by Lisa Mandina in Weekly Wrap Up / 20 Comments

Once again I’ll be linking this up with the Sunday Post (hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer) and with Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Reading Reality).

Oh my gosh, it is like one step forward, FIVE steps back with my job. I finally thought I was at least getting the hang of the virtual school thing, even if I still wasn’t enjoying it, only to have more things added on that I didn’t know I was supposed to be doing. So then on Monday, when I found out about those things, I totally felt like I was doing a crappy job again.

Tuesday was a little calmer in the library, but still finding out more things I have to do. I tried to take some of those things from my teachers who are also being virtual student mentors, because I know they have all their regular in-person students to deal with, and I don’t have that as the librarian, so I don’t want to load them up too much. My district also passed an extra stipend for all of the full time workers in the district, including teachers. We will get $500 in December for working during the pandemic.

Wednesday was a pretty blah day at work. Nothing crazy. But Wednesday night I got to go see The Monkees in concert. Or at least I got to see Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz, the only two that are still alive. The concert was fun! Mickey still looked about the same, well, a lot older. And Mike, well he looked a lot just like an old man. When he talked you could see it in the set of his mouth and how his voice sounded the same pretty much, but I probably wouldn’t be able to know it was him without someone telling me. I didn’t take a ton of pictures. My friend got us front row seats, and I felt weird holding my camera up to take a bunch of pictures from the front row.

Thursday it was nice sleeping in after the concert the night before. I got my new washer delivered in the morning. And even though I hadn’t asked them to, they went ahead and took my old one. Originally I’d thought about selling it myself, but then with it getting cold, I didn’t want to leave it in my garage and have to park my car outside. I also sold one of the guys my older tv that I replaced last Christmas with a smart tv. There was nothing wrong with my old one, it was HD, just not a smart tv. I also had someone come give me an estimate for the deck I want, and well, I won’t be doing that. It was about twice what I was hoping, like $9000. So that’ll be a no because I just got a bunch of debt paid off and I’m not going to get back into it. Here is a picture of my nice new washer!

Thursday didn’t end that great though. I decided to check my school email even though I’d taken the day off and found a lovely email from one of my virtual students claiming I was “hassleing” (her spelling) her every day with my emails (not true, I only email once a week). She proceeded to them tell me to f-ck off and stop emailing her. Even though it is my job to keep up with them on getting their work done. Now, she may think I am just someone behind a computer she’ll never see. But she is one of our in-person students who is taking a couple virtual classes to try to catch up from being behind thanks to the past year or so. And so she could see me at school, and since I forwarded her email on to the administrator for her grade level as well as her counselor, it’s possible she may have to meet with me. Ugh. With the horribleness I’m experiencing at this job, all I can think about is all my friends and family who warned me that this district was going to be the way it is turning out to be. My thoughts about how it wasn’t the students or the people I worked with that were the problem, well, those thoughts are changing as well.

Friday I found out some crazy stuff had happened while I was gone from school on Thursday. First a teacher had a seizure and so they sent his students to the library. One of the students that was in the library for another class overheard the students from his class talking about what they’d seen, and it triggered her own seizure issues and they had to call 9-1-1 for her. Thankfully my library assistant is experienced with medical issues because of her own kids. So it was great she was there. Personally I have not ever had to deal with anything like that, even though my niece has had seizures, I’ve never been around. I’m scared that I would freeze and not be able to help. Since this is the opening weekend of deer hunting season with firearms this weekend, my step-dad went out of town for that, so my mom and I had our usual Friday night scary movie while he’s gone, although we ended up just watching a movie at her house, the new Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.

Saturday is our annual opening weekend of deer season shopping trip with my mom and aunts, although it hasn’t really happened the past few years. We went to a small town outside some of the main Kansas city suburbs where they had several flea markets and antique stores within a block. There was also a craft fair going on in the lower level of one of the buildings. I didn’t buy much, but found some cute things for my #TBTBSanta person.

Sunday we usually do a FaceTime with my sister in Scotland in the late morning, and then normally I go to my mom’s house for dinner on Sunday night. But this week one of my favorite authors is having a live introduction to her new shop opening right at 5 pm local time, and since things will probably sell out, I decided I would just stay home for that.

Books finished:

Technically I didn’t finish Roxy. But I feel like I was able to give a good enough review based on what I’d read. The next two were for blog tours. The fourth one is an audiobook of one that I was sad to not get to be a part of a blog tour earlier this year. And finally the ARC of the sequel to the book I loved last year, These Violent Delights. Just finished it Sunday morning, so should be posting a review today probably of that one. I can’t seem to find my ARC of the first book. I could have sworn I’d kept it. If I can’t find it, I’ll probably give away this ARC too at some point and just buy the finished copies of both.

New Books:

Physical books:

Another writing book. By an author I like. Honestly I don’t know why I bought it since I haven’t been doing any writing. 🙁

The other physical books I got this week were all gifts for either my #TBTB Secret Santa or my Festivus partner through Penny Reid’s Sharks of Awesome group on Facebook, so I can’t show them!

E-galleys:

So I asked for The Date from Hell on Netgalley as soon as I saw it! I really enjoyed the first one, Not Your Average Hot Guy, so can’t wait to read this one. I signed up to do a blog tour for the second one, my review will be this week. Even though I haven’t read The Dating Plan yet, but it is one of my BOTM choices still sitting on my TBR shelf. And the third one had its publishing date pushed back a little but I’ve been anxiously awaiting it! I am reading it as I get this post ready, and hope to be done to post a review on Monday. The last one is the final book in the second Reindeer Falls collection, and I am posting a review as part of a blog tour next Monday.

Free e-books:

I keep telling myself to stop taking all the free e-books, but then there are ones by authors I really like, or they’re just free! How can I not get them just in case I someday have time to read them? And some are just from signing up for new author’s newsletters.

What I’m Watching:

This is the one I watched with my mom Friday night. It was okay. But I prefer the ones in this series that have the ghosts more, those are scarier for me I think.

And I was in the mood to watch The Monkees tv show after the concert. I couldn’t find it streaming anywhere, then I realized I’d bought both of the series’ two seasons on DVD when I was working at the bookstore. So I started re-watching those this week. It has been so long since I’d watched them. I noticed how much the songs’ videos often had nothing to do with what the plot of the show was. Sharing my favorite song from them even if supposedly it is their least favorite song for the band themselves. I also need to go watch the videos with their commentary at some point I think too.

Giveaways to Check out:

How was your week? Did you get any good books? Are you binging any tv series you’d recommend?

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20 responses to “Weekly Wrap-Up #41

  1. I love the Monkeys! Glad you got to do something enjoyable. I wish I could say I was surprised at what students say to teachers, but I’m not. I hope your administration provides her with consequences for her behavior because that is inappropriate.

    Have a great week!

    Samantha recently posted: #SundayPost: November 14th
    • Lisa Mandina

      Yeah, I was lucky at my last school that I had pretty well behaved students who wouldn’t behave that way. Hoping the administrators did something. Thanks for stopping by!

    • Lisa Mandina

      Yeah, Davy and Peter were my favorites, but it was fun! The concert I was at was pretty full too! I had front row center, but we had friends in the third row and they really enjoyed it too. Thanks for stopping by!

    • Lisa Mandina

      Ah, I am on the SmartyPants Romance reading group, so that is how I got approved for Beard in Hiding. Because Social Butterfly has a tour, but isn’t giving the ARCs. I’m reading and enjoying now!

  2. It’s like you were in my head. I did post featuring “boy bands” and I included The Monkees. I saw three of them perform at Six Flags when I was a teen. Their songs were always awesome. Sorry school sucks so much. I was getting flashbacks reading about that email you received. Hang in there! At least you have your magnificent new washer to enjoy. Free books from authors you enjoy are great. You can read them and review them if you want to. I love that freedom when I read my own/library books.

    Sam@WLABB recently posted: Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post
    • Lisa Mandina

      Ugh, I am so glad that it is a virtual student and I am the librarian now. I would not be enjoying these kids if I was in the classroom I don’t think. Yeah, I love all the free books!

  3. Virtual school has got to be tough. Nice about the stipend though. I think it’s great that some companies/ schools do at least something to help people out given the pandemic and all.

    Yikes about the deck! Doesn’t it suck how everything is so expensive now?

    Wow… that student…

    • Lisa Mandina

      Yeah as teachers we rarely get any kind of stipend/bonus type of thing like this, so I’m glad they are using the money they’ve been given this way. Thanks for visiting!

    • Lisa Mandina

      What’s crazy is that the guy was telling me that wood is not as expensive now as last year, so craziness! Oh well, I’ll just have to wait. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Oh goodness, sorry to hear that work is just a constant state of up and down. Yay for a stipend in December – you all deserve it! But still, that’s a lot to deal with.

    Sounds like you had fun at the concert though, so that’s a plus. 🙂

    Lauren

    • Lisa Mandina

      It is just a roller coaster of a year for me. But then aren’t we all dealing with so much? I guess I’m just grateful it isn’t my health or my family’s health. And that I have a job. Thanks for visiting!

    • Lisa Mandina

      Yeah, I loved them when I was younger and I’m getting a fun blast listening again and rewatching the shows. My new job is just not at all what I expected it to be. Thanks for stopping by!

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