Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

back to school

Today is the first day of school here. Normally I don't see the little kids, just the sullen high schoolers that are at bus stops when I leave for work, but today I am home for more plumbing. (I'd love to take all day off, but I have a teleconference this afternoon...so unless the plumber is still here, I'll be going to the office when he's done. If he's here I'll be teleconfering from my kitchen, I guess, which will be quite weird.)
Anyway, I was home to see the grade school kids wait for the bus at the end of the street. I don't know what these kids are carrying, but their backpacks look like the one I used to go camping with. I'm surprised they don't tip over from the weight.
My niece starts kindergarden next week...she got a week reprieve when they found asbestos floors in her school when they ripped out the carpet a few weeks ago. (The asbestos floor probably poses less danger than the offgassing from new carpet, but I won't dwell on that.) Anyway, she's so excited. She got a new enormous backpack too.
Actually, though I was never a school fan, I did love the new supplies every year. My school supply love grew into an office supply fetish, and I just treated myself to a new leather day planner last week.
I also didn't like recess as a kid. I was uncoordinated, afraid of hanging upside down on monkey bars, too slow to race. I didn't mind tetherball, but mostly I preferred to smuggle a book out and sit under a tree and read. There were about four of us geeks who did that.
Now I'd kill to have a half hour of enforced physical activity during the day. For awhile there was a gym down the street from my office, and I had a very undemanding job (undemanding because I was being reengineered out) and I could spend my lunch hour in a spinning class or lifting weights pretty much every day. Then when I got back to my desk I could still eat. Those were the days. Unfortunately now my lunch hour is usually half work anyway, and they tore down the gym to build a new office building and parking garage.
Yeah, I think a grade school schedule would suit me well now. Snacks, recess, and maybe rest time. Yeah. 9 to 3. YEAH.