New Semester

Spring Semester begins today. I was pumping myself up all morning to get hyped for it. Gotta do something to get amped up about being barraged by 120 students today with their chemistry needs. We have two new part-time instructors this semester. So far they have done quite well, but I made it a point to the department chair that the newbies need to know what the hell they are supposed to do when they come to class. I am not the person they need to turn to for their information as to how they are to teach the class. That was well accepted and dealt with. In past semesters with new instructors, it seemed that I was the one who was trying to answer all their questions, when I don't know half the stuff they do in the lab as far as the actual instruction goes. Frustrating, but being me, I always did my best for them.

I didn't sleep well last night at all. I have been worrying about my dad the past couple weeks. He has lung cancer and has been undergoing chemo treatment. Well, his appetite suddenly dropped off to practically nothing and he wasn't even doing his normal routine. This was very unnerving because he likes to do his daily stuff. He was weak and sleeping a lot. I had no idea how bad he was because I wasn't really seeing him get up too much. He had a chemo appointment last week, and needed to get bloodwork done the day before. I told him to call me if he didn't feel up to driving. He called. I had his blood work order faxed and went to get him. He was winded and completely exhausted just walking to the bathroom in the house and back. I took him to get his blood work done, and then informed him I was taking him to the ER to get checked out because I thought he had pneumonia. We get to the ER and he gets checked out. X-ray says he doesn't have pneumonia, but they gave him some breathing treatments. Those helped him immensely. They turned him loose after a while only to call back the next day to tell me he does have pneumonia. So, we are treating that, and he didn't get his chemo treatment due to the pneumonia. So far he seems to be getting better, but his appetite still just sucks. I don't know what I can do about it. The docs gave him an appetite stimulant, but I don't know that it is doing anything. Grrr.

I am taking a golf class this semester. I would like to know the game and learn what I should really be doing before joining anyone on the links for a round. Today we practiced grips and swings. Even though I haven't hit a ball much in the past, it was amazing how bad my form was just from taking those little shots. Bad habits are easily acquired, but difficult to part with. I was moving my head way too much. Hopefully, I will do better next Tuesday.