We certainly could save ourselves some money if we did that. We're paying a new babysitter a pretty hefty chunk of change, and I'm not sure she's worth it. She's really nice and the kids seem to like her alright, but she's either distracted by her own schoolwork (she's a college student) or she's in over her head or something, because she's not "on it" the way she should be. As an example, on her first day, the kids finished a bit earlier than scheduled, so they started playing, which is fine, but then they started fighting and screaming at each other to the point S had to leave our make-shift home office and sort things out. I poked my head out, and the sitter is literally sitting -- she's just at the table on her computer. WTF?! It's literally her first day! If you are ever going to hustle, or try to impress your employer, isn't this the time? I'm not sure if she thought she was off since the kids were done with school or she got distracted or just needed a break (she is entitled to take breaks, just preferably not while the kids are screaming and fighting) or what.
Also, she was late today -- just by a few minutes, but that matters because the kids have to log-in promptly and we're on a tight schedule in the morning -- and she left ten minutes early for a dentist appointment. These aren't huge things, but they add up, and they don't bode well for the future. We might have to have an awkward conversation with her. We pod with one other family -- two days here, two days there (we're on out own on Friday) -- and they haven't been super happy with her either. Apparently, during "recess" at one of the days at their house, the kids were just playing Minecraft, and she was on her computer, and our pod-mate mom asked if she could take them outside or do something that doesn't involve even more screen time. I wonder if we need to ask her to not bring her own computer. I'm hesitant to do that, because I don't want her to be resentful toward us. She still has to take care of our kids after all, so even if we would totally justified in such a request, it's not worth it if it's going to engender bitterness. If it gets to that point, I'd rather just let her go.
We do have somebody else we could call too, maybe. We interviewed one other candidate in addition to the one we chose, and I get the feeling we chose unwisely. It was basically a tie. We all really liked both candidates. I was actually leaning a tiny bit toward the one we didn't pick, but everybody else was leaning a tiny bit toward the one we did pick. If I would have come out really strongly for my top choice, I'm sure we would have picked her, but I didn't, because I didn't have reason to. It's just not really possible to tell who's going to be good at the job, until they actually start doing it. (That's what a recent episode of Revisionist History is all about.) You kinda have to get lucky.
We've also been spoiled by our last sitter, who is the best. I so, so wish she was available, but, alas, she's a kindergarten teacher, so she can only do summers. She's so good that it's not really fair to compare our current sitter to her. I mean, it's a demanding job, and certainly not one I would ever want to do. It's understandable that somebody wouldn't be spectacular the first week. I'm not ready to give our sitter her pink slip, but I am looking at her side-eyed, just a bit.
In other news, politics has been going on. I'm not going to talk much about it in this post. I've been trying to follow things without getting sucked into the morass of farce. I'm almost completely off social media, which is very helpful, and I've been staying away from all the forecasting models. I don't think much is going to change in the polling between now and November. I think Biden is going to be the favorite, 65-35 or so, and then things will either go as expected, like in 2018, or they won't, like in 2016, and that will that. This doesn't mean, however, that everything people do until then is pointless. I'm not nihilistic about it. I've been donating to various groups designed to help Biden get elected, and I will continue to do so right up to the election. You should too if you can spare it.
In other other news, I'm feeling super old in this, the first week of my 43rd year. Keeping the kids back on a steady schedule is tiring, and it doesn't help that I'm tired all the time anyway. Also, I tweaked my hamstring on a run yesterday. It's not a full-on blowout -- I've done that before (the other leg) and it's excruciating -- but it's enough to keep me on the shelf for a week or so. Then, I also apparently did something to my knee, because when I crouched down this morning to pick something up, I felt a shock of pain right on my patella. Add that to my ever-present back and shoulder issues, and I'm all fucked up. Well, maybe I'm just getting everything out of the way now.
And at least I have some good basketball to watch while being laid up. The "bubble" playoffs have been pretty fantastic thus far. Great game after great game after great game. It helps that I only watch a game if it has potential to be great. I usually follow things online for the first three quarters or so, then I turn it on for the fourth if it's interesting.
The end of Utah-Denver Game 7 on Tuesday was off the hook.
The Houston-OKC Game 7 ending on Wednesday was nearly as good. (Suck it Zombie Sonics!)
And then tonight the Raptors' OG Anunoby hit the game-winning shot in under half a second to keep his team in their series against the Celtics. (And this was after Kemba Walker made an assist to put the Celtics up.)
The NBA: Come for the social justice, stay for the basketball!
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