--We’ll kick
it off with Riley, who has recently constructed a detailed checklist of specific
items to complete for each of the universities he intends to submit applications
to, when the period officially opens at the beginning of August (because…of
COURSE he has…). He already requested letters of recommendation from several
teachers, has begun drafting some of the short answer responses, and enlisted
me to do a preliminary edit of his Common App essay. So yeah…he’s ON IT. (And
lemme tell ya…obviously I love Derek to death, but I find Riley’s organization
and motivation to be a refreshing change from our first experience with this
process. My supervisory role is MUCH easier this time around!)
Meanwhile out
in legislative land, the governor postponed his scheduled announcement about
schools reopening, because frankly things in NC still aren’t what you’d call…um…“under
control”…or even “trending in the right direction” (not so much our
area, which seems to be doing okay, but the state in general). However, our
local school system released their own proposal, which is…complicated,
to say the least.
Without
getting into too much of the minutiae, it features a phased reentry onto
campuses, in which everyone shows up for one day the first week, and then does remote
learning anyway until the end of September, when they begin attending in-person
2 days per week, in shifts. And it goes without saying that all of this
depends on what actually happens when that many people start milling about in
close proximity to one another…so we’ll just have to wait and see.
--Moving on
to Derek, whose life these days mostly consists of slogging through his painful
overnight shift at his Summer job. Although he’s supposed to be
off at 2 a.m., he routinely doesn’t get released until 3:30 or so, and then crashes
until mid-afternoon. I don’t blame him for counting down the weeks until he can
stop working and (presumably) go back to college!
About that: a
few weeks ago we received a 50 PAGE (!) pdf from UofSC, describing their comprehensive
plan to safely bring everyone back to Columbia. It includes things like mandatory
(free) testing for all staff, faculty, and students upon their return; mask
requirements; reduced class size; social distancing regulations in buildings
and around the grounds; and an effort to combine online and face-to-face
instruction (which is ongoing, apparently, since Derek reports that his courses
are still changing). This is also going to be…interesting…to see how it
unfolds…and whether it’s successful…or a spectacular train wreck.
Ay yi yi…
And speaking
of crashing and burning, after weeks of me bugging him to check his grades,
and Derek insisting that they weren’t yet available in Blackboard, we finally
were able to get a final tally for his Spring semester, and it was…mostly good.
Let’s just say that he earned a handful of As (yay!), but also his very first…ahem…”barely
passing” score. However, it was the notoriously dreaded and difficult Organic
Chemistry, and he pointed out that “when we left for Spring Break [and then
switched to the at-home model] I swear I had a B-!” Siiighhh….I do accept
that it must be nearly impossible to independently teach yourself a subject
like THAT, so I spared him the lecture in this case.
Then we
suffered a brief heart-stopping moment, because he’d missed the deadline to
utilize the special version of the Pass/Fail option they offered this
semester, for just such a…GPA-mergency. But he took it upon himself to contact
the appropriate department and explain the situation, and they were willing to
reopen the form for him to request his “S”. (Satisfactory? I guess? We’ll absolutely
take it!) Let’s see: forgiveness with
no penalty for taking advantage of it--plus preventing the offending
mark from dragging down your GPA? I’d call that an offer that is definitely too
good to refuse! (And also, WHEW! Transcript crisis narrowly averted…)
--Finally, I
had a fairly uneventful week--working from home, running errands when
necessary, blah blah blah. But then a group of my bootcamp friends started a
conversation about meeting up at a nearby lake to hang out, catch up, and enjoy
nature…and that sounded like probably the best thing I’d ever heard of after
months of not seeing any of them. It turned out that only a couple could make
it on such short notice, but the opportunity to get together and get OUT was enticing
enough to draw us from our isolated bubbles.
So I let the
GPS lead me to a spot I’ve never explored before (and would not be able to find
on my own in a million years—although it’s technically near Raleigh, it felt
like legit wilderness by the time I’d made all the turns into the park). My
buddies were already there, manning the campsite they’d reserved and tending a
small fire they’d built.
After
enthusiastic air-hugs, we settled in to chat about everything that’s been going
on—or, you know, NOT, as it were—and bask in the forest atmosphere. A short jaunt
on foot led us down to the water, where we were able to ooh and aah over the understated,
pink-tinged sunset.
As if that
weren’t enough entertainment for one night, to cap it off, there were marshmallows
(which I normally eschew due to their questionable content, but as I explained
to my pal, I make basically ONE exception to my rule, namely, “roasting over an
open flame”. Because c’mon, it must burn away the gelatin, right? Just…humor
me on this, ‘kay? Thanks…) It felt so warm-and-fuzzy (and I don’t mean the
mosquitos…or the damn humidity) to reconnect with other humans that don’t live under
my own roof. So, an extremely satisfying interlude to finish off the week
strong.
And with
that, we head into…mid July? Sheesh. Anyway, here’s to another week of doing
all the safe things, staying healthy, and hanging in there. Peace out, peeps!
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