My Rationale for an Auto Kitty Feeder

Today, we shall start with a narrative:

A week ago, at the intersection of Inwood and Northwest Highway, halfway through my Friday morning commute, I realized that I hadn't fed Violet the cat her breakfast.

Because I have a standing meeting at 7:15 that kicked off an exceptionally busy day (and I knew she had a little food from the night before), I didn't turn around. I just kept going, with a pang of guilt and the idea that possibly midday I would run home and feed her.

That, friends, was a lie. I knew full well there was no chance I'd run home midday to feed that pitiful orphaned kitty, who lives in my study and has decided she does not prefer half her food selection.

Violet the emaciated, neglected cat. Can't you just hear Sarah Maclachlan in this picture?

Anyway, this is what has kept me from slipping out at lunchtime:

@7:15: Admin check-in. Basically a quick conversation about everybody's plan for the day. It's helpful because no one really knows what anyone else is doing unless there is a moment when everyone sits down and has that conversation.

@7:30: Arrival as well as a bunch of anti-climatic everyday things that happen which are really important yet routine.

@8:15 (and throughout the day): Bluebonnet voting. (For nonTexas people, the Bluebonnet List is a set of books marketed to grades 3-6 that have no curricular connection. In January/ early February the kids vote on their favorite. The winner is the Bluebonnet Book of the year) Voting continued throughout the day (and the week). Deadline to submit votes was Friday.

We voted all week!

@8:30: Every Friday there are middle school homeroom competitions in the library. The challenge is announced (everything from math to push ups) and each class sends a representative. This week's competition: rock/ paper/ scissors.

A rock/ paper/ scissors competition is hard to photograph, so I'm sharing a video (Excuse the quality. Apple to nonApple doesn't always jive exceptionally.):

This event is short and sweet, over before 8:45, as means of preparing for another interesting visitor:

This is Regis the bearded dragon!

@nine: We do something called Fine Arts Friday, which is basically an opportunity for the fine arts department to show off their projects between nine and ten. It's a totally come-and-go event open to anyone in the building that gets announced around 7:45 on the GroupMe (or, if requiring reservations, I send an email early in the week) with specific instructions pertaining to that event. Teachers take it or leave it, depending on their day.

In February, for Black history month, we are featuring artists and speakers. This week we invited Tonja Thurman from Fanged Out Rescue to share with us some of her animal insights.

Y'all, my worldview is if you see a snake at home it's time to sell the house, and I had a PYTHON in my library.

I could not make this up. Here's the pictorial evidence:

No, I did not touch it. That said, it felt like most everyone wanted to touch it.

We also saw Regis the bearded dragon, the aforementioned python, a hedgehog, and two hissing cockroaches. I was amazed with Ms. Thurman and her calmness regarding animals (of all species). This event gave me some anxiety, but I'm glad I leaned in and green lit it.

Also, can you really beat a snake wrangler for career day? I think not!

This ended around ten and then I had the general library stuff (Bluebonnet voting and classes doing research).

Regarding those classes doing research, we are as a collective enjoying PebbleGo not just as an assignment-specific activity, but as a tool to generally learn stuff. One of the things I'm going to do with it is start a list of facts the kids learned from PebbleGo. Kids can come in and write down their fact on a piece of butcher paper. Periodically I will choose one as fact of the week. Maybe I can persuade the announcement crew to mention a fact of the day?

The more I think about it, this would be an easy social media post, particularly if I could schedule it out.

From there, the day went on with bluebonnet voting, little kid research, and ending with a Black history month committee meeting. It was after six before I got home.

Violet didn't seem too upset. She had legit no food and I apologized profusely, although she didn't seem too unhappy.

That said, I bought an auto feeder. We'll set it up over the weekend.

Otherwise, Peleton mornings continued, I'm asleep waaaay before ten, and I listened to Radiohead's In Rainbows (number 387 in the book). Interesting detail regarding this release: in 2007 fans were offered the option of how much they would pay for this one.