working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

Glad your jumpiness has gone away. I've always been very nervous about bad weather. Some people love thunderstorms, but they really scare me. We had several tornados go through town when I was growing up, but there was never really any damage in town. But after I moved over here, I went back for my mom's burial the next summer, and we flew into Chicago. My brother's flight was getting in later, and we had rented a car and were picking him up from the airport, but we had HOURS to kill, so we decided to go see the sears tower, etc. We were up in the tower and the sky turned a kind of dingy yellow color and we could see a fire somewhere down below, but we thought nothing of it. We got down onto the street and decided to go grab some dinner before heading to the airport to pick up my brother. We're walking and it got SO dark and it was only like 5pm and it was summer, and we were like "Wow, it gets dark EARLY here!!" and we could hear police cars with loud speakers in the streets, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. So we just kept walking, and then the skys opened up and it was raining BUCKETS....like we got SOAKED just taking one step out from under an overhang to walk to the next overhang. And then when we checked flights, my brother's flight had been delayed by a couple of hours, so we had even more time. So we sat down and got some cheesecake and we were just sitting there watching the rain when someone said it was a tornado. Once it passed, it was bright daylight again, but some of the roads were flooded. It was just so weird, because this was like...2003? So it was before smart phones, and we had no way of knowing what was going on. We just thought it got dark really early and it was raining buckets.

I should clarify...the excessive jumpiness is gone. Severe weather will always make me anxious. K took Sam to her hitting lesson last night near downtown Houston while some bad weather was moving in. It was mainly torrential rain, but it still made me so nervous. It's funny that you mention sky color. Severe T-Storms capable of producing tornadoes are known to produce what I've always heard called a "copper sky." It ranges between odd hues of green and yellow. I see that and I take shelter immediately...but again...I grew up with a dad that's really into weather. Smartphones really do a great job of alerting us in those severe situations. Otherwise, you have to hope you live in a town with sirens. Thankfully, you just had to deal with the crazy rain from that storm. I'm getting a bit anxious with next week's weather. There's a system in the gulf that's going to produce a lot of moisture. At this point, the chances of it becoming a tropical system are low, but we're expected a lot of rain. We should be in Oklahoma (softball and OU orientation) for the bulk of it, but I can't help but worry about things for the house and the dog while we're away.

 

[Sans Souci]

The excess jumpiness has gone away, but I am still feeling blue. I think some of it is related to not having my vehicle right now. It's given me sort of a trapped feeling. I had planned to skip it when the insurance made it sound like this should be a quick and simple repair. Now that things are going to take significantly longer, I decided to use the rental coverage on our policy. I should be paired with a vehicle tomorrow.

Oh wow!!! I think that would have freaked me out even more! While my dad was in environmental engineering before retiring, a couple of his degrees are in meteorology. We grew in a very weather aware household, to the point that just the mere possibility of severe weather scares me. We lived in the Cincinnati area during the super outbreak of 1974 and were uncomfortably close to the path of the Sayler Park tornado. I have no memory of this, but my mom has pictures. This is part of what scares me about K going to school in Oklahoma. I think sometimes that thinking it was just a bad storm makes it worse. For me, it makes me question what I would have done differently ahead of time if I knew it was going to be more than average severe thunderstorms. When that weather has a death toll, it really makes you stop and reflect on how bad it could be. Thankfully, you were able to get to safety and just had the inconvenience of a power outage. I had similar feelings the other week...a few random minutes, before we knew how bad this was going to be, made the difference between being hit by tree limb vs. watching it come down. Still, like you said, nobody got up that day thinking a tornado would rip through their town or a tree would crash through their roof.

That's tough too. On one hand, you want to stay informed because logic would say that informed means prepared. Still, it's not healthy to be in a panic every time it rains. After Hurricane Harvey, we all panicked the next time we had a heavy rain. It was like...the last time the sky did that, people's homes were under water. With this recent storm, we had several rounds of severe weather in the week and a half following. After several days of it and the fear mongering, I turned off the news. Of course, that was also the day I noticed it was pitch black outside at about 1pm. What's funny...I turned on the local channels and there was NOTHING! I guess even they got tired of the coverage. The Weather Channel also has an interesting effect. During the flooding in early May, I wasn't getting a lot of good regional coverage, so I turned to my old friend TWC. One of the scariest things for me is when your weather is bad enough that TWC has people on the ground doing in person coverage. That sent me into all kinds of weather panic. I definitely can't control it, but I still like some of the news for it to stay prepared. I don't think either kid will now be questioning my judgement when I tell them to come to the first floor during a bad storm.

That's good that you're getting a car. I could definitely see how not having a way to get around would make you blue. It can feel like you are on house arrest.

Did I miss you telling us where K decided to go to school?

It's funny we're talking about weather. My brother texted me this AM and he lives in Cape Coral. He was saying there is going to be a ton of rain this weekend. Then he said he hopes he doesn't have to go through another hurricane. He doesn't have it in him. The house he was renting got damaged in Hurricane Ian and he had to live in a hotel for a couple of months.

The Weather Channel--it's like that meme about Joe Cantore and the weather. You know it's expected to get bad when he's in town.

 

[Sans Souci]

Just a quick update to say E got her exam scores and everything was over an 8.5 except Dutch. She graduates C.um Laude (with honors)!

Excellent news. You must be so proud of her.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I did a HIIT workout today and a kettlebell workout yesterday.

Callie came back yesterday. I was so relieved. She looked so bad the last time I saw her. She was dry heaving, she kept closing her eyes and her fur looked unkempt. I thought she had reached her ninth life. I screamed when I saw her yesterday. She ate a lot and seemed to be in good spirits. She is still here. She is like a little kid wanting to come in and out. As I was petting her, she sat on her haunches and tried to put her paws on my face. I know it's a positive gesture, but 2 stray cats who were in quarantine before being put in the population at an animal shelter showed rabies symptoms. I really don't want her scratching me, because I really don't want rabies shots. Even with health insurance, it's still a lot of money. I think she had a rabies shot when she was spayed, but I don't know when that was. I think the shots are good for 2-3 years.

I keep getting emails from a regional airline I applied to back in 2019.--looking for people to apply I 'm wondering if this is a . They have a base in Philadelphia. It is a subsidiary of American, so I'd get flight benefits on AAL. I'll give it to the weekend to think about applying. I'm leaning towards no, but it costs nothing to apply. I just need to touch up my CV.

 

[Songbird76]

I should clarify...the excessive jumpiness is gone. Severe weather will always make me anxious. K took Sam to her hitting lesson last night near downtown Houston while some bad weather was moving in. It was mainly torrential rain, but it still made me so nervous. It's funny that you mention sky color. Severe T-Storms capable of producing tornadoes are known to produce what I've always heard called a "copper sky." It ranges between odd hues of green and yellow. I see that and I take shelter immediately...but again...I grew up with a dad that's really into weather. Smartphones really do a great job of alerting us in those severe situations. Otherwise, you have to hope you live in a town with sirens. Thankfully, you just had to deal with the crazy rain from that storm. I'm getting a bit anxious with next week's weather. There's a system in the gulf that's going to produce a lot of moisture. At this point, the chances of it becoming a tropical system are low, but we're expected a lot of rain. We should be in Oklahoma (softball and OU orientation) for the bulk of it, but I can't help but worry about things for the house and the dog while we're away.

Yeah, I do that too....when the sky turns that color, I take cover. I didn't recognize it in Chicago because I didn't ever remember seeing that color when we had tornados growing up. They were always far off enough...we had sirens, but you couldn't be sure they'd go off in time. We lived in a mobile home, so we had no basement. As soon as there were watches, we were on alert and we'd go hang out at a friend's house who had a basement. The closest call I remember was when it started to hail and then there was a warning on the TV in our area. It wasn't in town yet, but we grabbed the dog and went to a friend's house. So I never actually saw that color that my mom had always said to watch out for. Until Chicago. That's when I put two and two together. And I moved over here, and we seldom get tornadoes, and the ones we DO get are really small and don't usually do much damage. But DH swore up and down that the Netherlands doesn't get tornadoes. I saw that sky once and I told him I was nervous about that sky. He was like "Why? We don't get tornadoes here." and then there was a roof ripped off of a building and they confirmed there had been a small tornado. He was like "Oh....I guess we do. I never saw one!" so he had no idea what to look for.

Hopefully it won't be too bad where you live and you won't come back to any more damage.

 

[Songbird76]

Hello-

I did a HIIT workout today and a kettlebell workout yesterday.

Callie came back yesterday. I was so relieved. She looked so bad the last time I saw her. She was dry heaving, she kept closing her eyes and her fur looked unkempt. I thought she had reached her ninth life. I screamed when I saw her yesterday. She ate a lot and seemed to be in good spirits. She is still here. She is like a little kid wanting to come in and out. As I was petting her, she sat on her haunches and tried to put her paws on my face. I know it's a positive gesture, but 2 stray cats who were in quarantine before being put in the population at an animal shelter showed rabies symptoms. I really don't want her scratching me, because I really don't want rabies shots. Even with health insurance, it's still a lot of money. I think she had a rabies shot when she was spayed, but I don't know when that was. I think the shots are good for 2-3 years.

I keep getting emails from a regional airline I applied to back in 2019.--looking for people to apply I 'm wondering if this is a . They have a base in Philadelphia. It is a subsidiary of American, so I'd get flight benefits on AAL. I'll give it to the weekend to think about applying. I'm leaning towards no, but it costs nothing to apply. I just need to touch up my CV.

Glad she's ok! Is there a way to contact the place where you took her to get Spayed to ask when it was and if she indeed had a rabies shot? It might give you some peace of mind.

Honestly, I'd say the flight industry now is a huge mess...there's a reason they need people. Passengers are becoming more aggressive from the sounds of it, prices are going up and people feel more entitled because they are having to pay more, and yet the FAs don't seem to get PAID more to deal with it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That's good that you're getting a car. I could definitely see how not having a way to get around would make you blue. It can feel like you are on house arrest.

Did I miss you telling us where K decided to go to school?

It's funny we're talking about weather. My brother texted me this AM and he lives in Cape Coral. He was saying there is going to be a ton of rain this weekend. Then he said he hopes he doesn't have to go through another hurricane. He doesn't have it in him. The house he was renting got damaged in Hurricane Ian and he had to live in a hotel for a couple of months.

The Weather Channel--it's like that meme about Joe Cantore and the weather. You know it's expected to get bad when he's in town.

It was an interesting experience with this vehicle rental. I'm not sure if it's due to all of the storm damage or if it's tied to the collision center, but they are constantly sold out. I had to wait a day and take whatever was available...which happened to be a minivan.

I thought I did, but if not...she selected the University of Oklahoma.

Yes, my parents have also been telling us about the horrible rain. I don't think it's as bad for them today, but I see parts of the west coast are still being pummeled.

I'm always reminded of when he showed up here for Hurricane Rita in 2005. It sent everyone into a panic, but then we ended up on the clean side of the storm and he was left reporting about some flimsy plastic chairs that blew over from a couple of gusts.

 

[Sans Souci]

It was an interesting experience with this vehicle rental. I'm not sure if it's due to all of the storm damage or if it's tied to the collision center, but they are constantly sold out. I had to wait a day and take whatever was available...which happened to be a minivan.

I thought I did, but if not...she selected the University of Oklahoma.

Yes, my parents have also been telling us about the horrible rain. I don't think it's as bad for them today, but I see parts of the west coast are still being pummeled.

I'm always reminded of when he showed up here for Hurricane Rita in 2005. It sent everyone into a panic, but then we ended up on the clean side of the storm and he was left reporting about some flimsy plastic chairs that blew over from a couple of gusts.

Oh, that's great about K choosing the University of Oklahoma. What is she going to study?

 

[Sans Souci]

Glad she's ok! Is there a way to contact the place where you took her to get Spayed to ask when it was and if she indeed had a rabies shot? It might give you some peace of mind.

Honestly, I'd say the flight industry now is a huge mess...there's a reason they need people. Passengers are becoming more aggressive from the sounds of it, prices are going up and people feel more entitled because they are having to pay more, and yet the FAs don't seem to get PAID more to deal with it.

I don't know where or when she was spayed. She just showed up at my patio door and was looking in. I gave her some tuna and she basically never left. Her ear is tipped so that's how I know she is spayed. I don't know if they keep any type of information, other than number of cats served. All I can really do is watch for unusual behavior. She's been around for a couple of years now, so I have a good idea of her typical behavior. I am always looking and feeling for bites and cuts when I pet her. I don't dare touch her belly. lol But she is always bite and scratch free.


Yeah, honestly I am probably not going to apply. I think this airline made me take a 45 minute IQ type test, before I was offered a video interview. I wasn't even offered a video interview, so I must have gotten a poor score on the test. Oops. I did look at the recruiting website and the first year pay is a lot better than even the legacy carriers and the per diem is better, too. I'd want Philly as my home base, with Washington, DC as my second choice. I could drive there, if I had to. The other bases are Dayton, OH, Dallas Ft Worth and Charlotte. Meh. You don't get to choose, they put you where they need you.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh, that's great about K choosing the University of Oklahoma. What is she going to study?

She wants to study Biology for her undergrad. Up until yesterday, the plan was pre-dental, but she's informed us that she may be having a change of heart and is interested in veterinary medicine. I think dental is the better path for her and OU has a dental school that would be good for interning as an undergrad, but it's not my choice. She really wanted University of Texas, but they capped her...which means she was admitted conditionally. She would have had to attend her freshman year at one of satellite campuses, like UT San Antonio, and then move over to UT Austin at the start of her sophomore year. The other condition was only guaranteeing admission to the College of Liberal Arts, which doesn't cover the various science majors. I prefer the OU campus over UT's and I think their housing set up gives new students a more traditional/iconic undergrad experience. The whole housing selection process was a bit of a mess, but she eventually got into a quad with the four girls she wanted to room with...one of which is from her high school.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

My workout today was a mash up of jump rope, kettlebell and gliding discs. I went for a walk, too.

My husband flies back from Dublin tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be sketchy tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, not until after he lands. I have watched a ton of movies at night to keep me occupied. lol I am ready to talk to someone at night. It was kind of a long (boring) week for me.

The heat is cranking up into the upper 90s. I am making ice cubes with beef broth for Callie to help keep her somewhat cool. I'll encourage her to come indoors as well for little breaks as well.

 

[Sans Souci]

She wants to study Biology for her undergrad. Up until yesterday, the plan was pre-dental, but she's informed us that she may be having a change of heart and is interested in veterinary medicine. I think dental is the better path for her and OU has a dental school that would be good for interning as an undergrad, but it's not my choice. She really wanted University of Texas, but they capped her...which means she was admitted conditionally. She would have had to attend her freshman year at one of satellite campuses, like UT San Antonio, and then move over to UT Austin at the start of her sophomore year. The other condition was only guaranteeing admission to the College of Liberal Arts, which doesn't cover the various science majors. I prefer the OU campus over UT's and I think their housing set up gives new students a more traditional/iconic undergrad experience. The whole housing selection process was a bit of a mess, but she eventually got into a quad with the four girls she wanted to room with...one of which is from her high school.

They are both rewarding careers, in their own way. But it's good she's landed somewhere that is aligned with her goals and offers interning opportunities in conjunction with their dental school. I think pre-dental, pre-med, and pre-vet pretty much have the same pre-req classes, so she doesn't have to decide right now. ( I am sure I am not telling you anything new.) I went back to school in 2002 and I was psych/pre-med. A lot of people in my classes were also pre-dental and pre-vet. I had to leave that program, because my son was 6 months old when I went back to school and my husband was traveling a lot for work. I simply did not have the time to study as intensively as I needed, thus I was washed out of pre-med.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I did a "15 min fat burn" workout this AM. I warmed up for 10 min, though. lol I was going to go for a walk, but I had an ultrasound appointment. I had to stop using the toilet after a certain time and then drink 32 oz of water. Well, I ignored not using the toilet part, because that was not going to happen. But it worked out fine.

Then I took a Lyft to my appointment and when it connected me with a driver, I got a notification the driver was deaf or hearing-impaired. There was an option to learn how to say "hello" and 'thank you" in American Sign Language, so I looked at it. The driver shows up and I get in the car and I said and signed "hello." He greets me by name and starts talking to me. So, I thought maybe he was hearing-impaired and not deaf, so I talked loudly. He kept looking at me weirdly in the rear view mirror as I was talking. I finally realized this guy was not deaf or hearing-impaired, so I stopped talking loudly. I felt like such an idiot! He was, however, driving-impaired. I honestly thought we were going to get into a wreck.He was tech-challenged, too, which makes me think that is why I got that notification about him being deaf. The whole drive, he was messing with the navigation app. I was so glad when I got to the radiology office.

My husband's flight lands in an hour, so I think he's going to get away with missing the weather.

 

[Songbird76]

She wants to study Biology for her undergrad. Up until yesterday, the plan was pre-dental, but she's informed us that she may be having a change of heart and is interested in veterinary medicine. I think dental is the better path for her and OU has a dental school that would be good for interning as an undergrad, but it's not my choice. She really wanted University of Texas, but they capped her...which means she was admitted conditionally. She would have had to attend her freshman year at one of satellite campuses, like UT San Antonio, and then move over to UT Austin at the start of her sophomore year. The other condition was only guaranteeing admission to the College of Liberal Arts, which doesn't cover the various science majors. I prefer the OU campus over UT's and I think their housing set up gives new students a more traditional/iconic undergrad experience. The whole housing selection process was a bit of a mess, but she eventually got into a quad with the four girls she wanted to room with...one of which is from her high school.

I thought she wanted to do law or journalism?

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Happy Father's Day.

I am taking a rest day today, but I did a quick kettlebell workout yesterday. I was able to go on a walk yesterday, because it was the air was much drier than Friday. I even sat outside last night, it was so comfortable. But it's short-lived, because there are heat advisories posted already for Tuesday.

I made brioche burger buns and the Magnolia Bakery banana pudding this morning for Father's Day bb-q. I bought store made Cole slaw and potato salad. That seems like a fair compromise to me. It's Father's Day, not Independence Day. My house smells like a bakery, though.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello

I did a really long workout this AM. I usually like shorter workouts, but this was the work out on the weekly schedule I have been following. It was body weight and pretty intense.

I made a really tasty burger yesterday. I put kimchi and provolone on my burger. It was such a good combination. I highly recommend it.

Yesterday, my husband was sniffing and sneezing a lot. But he has allergies and he took some of his nasal spray. He said he felt better. When I was working out this AM, I could hear him coughing and sneezing a lot. When I was done, I asked him if he should take a covid test. He was kind of resistant, but he did. He is positive. He has no fever, but just coughing. He was barely sick the last time he had covid. He was working through it, painting a room, going on masked walks with me. I got it and it was like the most unholy combination of the seasonal flu and norovirus--my son, too. I'm not doing that again. I lost 10 lbs in a matter of days, I lost my sense of smell and taste and I was seriously fatigued for a while. I am going to call my doc and see if he can give me an rx for paxlovid to prevent getting covid. He is in Manhattan 2-3/week, goes on the subway, his office is in Times Square--he is always in tight spaces with a lot of people. He has never gotten ill. He gets ill after going to Europe--again.

 

[Songbird76]

Hello

I did a really long workout this AM. I usually like shorter workouts, but this was the work out on the weekly schedule I have been following. It was body weight and pretty intense.

I made a really tasty burger yesterday. I put kimchi and provolone on my burger. It was such a good combination. I highly recommend it.

Yesterday, my husband was sniffing and sneezing a lot. But he has allergies and he took some of his nasal spray. He said he felt better. When I was working out this AM, I could hear him coughing and sneezing a lot. When I was done, I asked him if he should take a covid test. He was kind of resistant, but he did. He is positive. He has no fever, but just coughing. He was barely sick the last time he had covid. He was working through it, painting a room, going on masked walks with me. I got it and it was like the most unholy combination of the seasonal flu and norovirus--my son, too. I'm not doing that again. I lost 10 lbs in a matter of days, I lost my sense of smell and taste and I was seriously fatigued for a while. I am going to call my doc and see if he can give me an rx for paxlovid to prevent getting covid. He is in Manhattan 2-3/week, goes on the subway, his office is in Times Square--he is always in tight spaces with a lot of people. He has never gotten ill. He gets ill after going to Europe--again.

Oh no!!! I hope you don't get it! My son is home from school today. He's been sniffling and sneezing for a few days, but we thought it was allergies. Saturday night I had a party for my work, so I was away, and my husband sent me a whatsapp to say that A had a fever. I've been sneezing and such too, and yesterday I kept getting dizzy, and we had gone out to lunch for father's day with my in-laws (without A since he was sick) and I was so overheated. Usually I'm the last person to say any place is too warm...I'm always wearing a jacket when everyone else is fine. But yesterday, I was sitting in that restaurant fanning myself with my menu because I was just way too warm. I hope I am not coming down with whatever A has...I have a choir event on Saturday that's an ALL DAY thing, and my choir is organizing it, and my daughter is volunteering...and now she has a sore throat and she's pretty sure it's a throat infection. None of us have checked for covid, but there are no measures here against covid anymore. No one even tests anymore. You can go to work/school as usual. But if I get sick, they have a real problem because there are only 2 first sopranos singing Saturday. One just had a baby a couple of weeks ago, so she's not going to be there, and the other's niece or cousin or something just dust died last week, and she's not sure she will be in a mental state to perform, and I think she was also singing 2nd soprano on most things. And the other first who WILL be there is not always the most...reliable? about knowing her part, etc. and she can't really nail the higher notes...they kind of rely on me a bit too much, so I can't be sick! But I just checked and my temp is just below 100. Hopefully, I'll be better by Saturday. Thursday, would be better because we have an extra rehearsal.

Hope your husband feels better soon and that you and your son can avoid getting it!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

They are both rewarding careers, in their own way. But it's good she's landed somewhere that is aligned with her goals and offers interning opportunities in conjunction with their dental school. I think pre-dental, pre-med, and pre-vet pretty much have the same pre-req classes, so she doesn't have to decide right now. ( I am sure I am not telling you anything new.) I went back to school in 2002 and I was psych/pre-med. A lot of people in my classes were also pre-dental and pre-vet. I had to leave that program, because my son was 6 months old when I went back to school and my husband was traveling a lot for work. I simply did not have the time to study as intensively as I needed, thus I was washed out of pre-med.

I have a psych degree. After getting my BA, I actually started a grad school program that would have led to me getting a PsyD. Phase 1 was a counseling Master's that fed directly into the doctoral program. I was pulling a 4.0 after the first semester, but I was just so miserable and I found myself having a difficult time with countertransference. I also kind of got scared out of it. I was really interested in forensics and criminology. I thought I might want to work with incarcerated individuals. Strike 1 - I was supposed to shadow someone at one of the prisons but it was canceled because an inmate escaped and they were worried about the safety of the counselor. Strike 2 - There was something similar in the news around that same time where the prison psychologist was attacked by one of the inmates. Strike 3 - I went on an interview at a youth detention camp tied to the maximum security prison and was too uncomfortable to ever go back.

Kendall had thought about shifting to psychology and taking University of Texas up on their CAP offer since she had the option of a BS. We saw more options and success rates with her goals if she stuck with a STEM field for her bachelor's, but it was a consideration for a little bit. I couldn't imagine juggling any of it with an infant!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I thought she wanted to do lawn or journalism?

She was originally on a pre-law path in high school, but she had this great epiphany before senior year and switched to a STEM.

 

[Songbird76]

She was originally on a pre-law path in high school, but she had this great epiphany before senior year and switched to a STEM.

Good for her! We need more girls in STEM fields. I loved Science when I was in elementary school, especially when we did experiments. They were never anything really big, but just that it wasn't sitting and reading out of a textbook made it exciting to me. Then I got to high school and had some pretty bad experiences in science classes. When I complained to my Biology teacher that I was being harassed by the boy who sat next to me and asked if he would change the seating chart, he did....but he put the boy right behind me, so instead of making it better, it made it worse because he was closer to me and could actually touch me. And the teacher completely gaslit me, telling me it was my own fault I was being harassed, and that I needed to learn to deal with people I didn't like. Trying to focus on learning while a boy is snapping your bra and whispering dirty things in your ear, and messing with your hair and ears is really difficult. Another boy chased me around with fish guts when we were disecting.

I don't remember much about my earth science teacher except that I didn't like him. He was a short balding man who was very arrogant and I didn't learn much in his class. I remember getting in trouble because a boy in my lab group was being an idiot and ruined our experiment, and somehow it was my fault because I should have been able to keep him from goofing off. It was something with evaporation where we had to determine what was in the water by evaporating the water and using the characteristics of whatever substance was left behind to determine what it was, but the boy decided he wanted to see how hot the little bowl was, so he picked it up with his bare hands after it had been over the flame for 15 minutes, he burned his hand and dropped the bowl, which meant the water all spilled with the substance still in it and we never got the water evaporated. I think if I had had good teachers who made learning fun, I would have loved it. Instead, I DREADED science class because teenage boys are idiots and the male teachers were no better. Now my daughter is going to major in a pretty complicated STEM field and I see how much I might have liked it if I had had a good experience.