Pandemic...but not the one in the news!

I've been looking forward to Pandemic.

Pandemic Legacy Season 0!

It's a board game. It's the first board game I've ever preordered and it arrived a couple of weeks back.

Pandemic Legacy Season 1 and Season 2 have been my favorite game experiences with Carrie up to this point. I've been waiting ever so patiently to start.

So when Carrie asked, "Do you want to play?" I ran and grabbed the game before she could change her mind. 

Season 0 had more options for building our characters than the other seasons.

Carrie, ever the creative one, really got into making her character's passport. However, when she couldn't find the options she wanted to make a realistic character, she said, "Screw it. I'm going full silly!"

Thus, Raspberry Tartlett was born!

Each character has multiple aliases. We were only supposed to create our first alias, but Carrie went all in up front!

The game eventually reveals/unlocks more stickers that you have access to at first, but it was too late for us!

I went a slightly different direction with my character. I wanted my first alias to be plain and boring. I was having trouble coming up with a name and put down Milton (inspired from Office Space). Carrie came up with the inspiration for the last name. "Are you playing games with me son!?" 

When you can laugh before the game even begins, you know you're going to have a good time!

I went a bit crazy on my aliases, but I didn't finish naming them until multiple games in.

Vanya's last name was a play off Novosibirsk.....a city name Carrie and I mispronounced horribly many, many times until it became it's own joke.

We didn't play every day. We managed to play 8 games including the prologue. We're currently up to August (There are 12 months in the campaign). Shane was at Nana and Pop's for 17 days, so that's roughly a game every other day. 

I'm not going to give any spoilers here just in case someone reads this who will care.

I will say the first turn of the prologue and January started with this! 

It didn't matter in the prologue, but we had an incident before I got to make a move in the campaign! Carrie protested, but I insisted we play on! For better and worse, it's the permanent nature of the campaign that makes the experience!

So far, things have gone really well. Carrie and I have played a lot of Pandemics, so we know the ruleset very well. We've done well, but many of the games have been close. A few we've ended right before the board would've exploded in our faces. Our bad luck spells haven't been 'the worst luck' and we were fortunate with how our upgrades interacted with a mission we otherwise would have lost! The game has catch-up mechanics, so that even losses are supposed to become part of the story.

Shane wasn't around to mess up the board, but he's not the only creature in the house who likes to interfere with board games.

Aria found enemy agents to be delicious!

Max and Tsuki both made appearances on the global stage, too. 

My opinion so far: I love Season 0 and recommend it, but it's my least favorite of the seasons. 

That's not a knock against the game, either. It's very well designed and the art fits the Cold War theme perfectly. It might have been my favorite if it was the first one we played, but I can't say for sure.

Season 1 is still my favorite. It was such an unexpected, awesome experience. None of the future season could replicate that magical feeling of discovery of what a legacy game was. Carrie loved it and we played it while on a vacation that led us through NC, TN, and WV that included whitewater rafting and staying at airbnbs. That nostalgia is going to be nearly impossible for anything to beat. Plus, I really liked the bright colors. The bright, colored translucent cubes delighted my ADHD.

Season 2 was very different. The core mechanic was inverted (placing cubes for protection rather than removing cubes to protect) and I didn't like the gray cubes, but the story and sense of discovery were really neat. It was so different from Season 1 that it was fascinating in a new way. No spoilers: There was a big twist on the December mission that killed Carrie's character and almost left a sour taste, but we had a grand time. We played while we were at Roy's place and I was working for the city schools and we'd park Shane on the TV to unwind.

Season 0 is much closer to Season 1 in how it's played than Season 2. It's less out there, but still introduces new mechanics that fit very well with the theme. It's immersive, polished, and fun! The muted colors fit the theme well, but I like Season 1's bright colors better and, again, it would have to overcome a ton of nostalgia to unseat Season 1 as my favorite.

We've still got 5 months to go, though. There's time to see if it will rise to the top. I don't regret preordering it regardless!

UPDATE: We've played all the way up to November now. It's been great! The designers definitely improved some aspects compared to Season 1, but nostalgia is still keeping Season 1 in the lead for now.

Shane saw Carrie and I playing on Thanksgiving and was really interested. I said I'd happily play through a Season with him when he was older. I woke up on Friday to Carrie and him using the remaining stickers to build funny aliases!

That's a bonus point for Season 0!

Rains of Change

Hurricane Zeta brought a ton of rain. Everyone looked miserable out there.

Everything was underwater.

Somehow, we've lose enough dirt that the water flooded into the boys area. Carrie pulled them once the rain stopped to let it drain some.

The rain affected our little world, but there was a bigger shift going on: Three school districts in VA closed their doors and said, "We're doing it online till the rains pass."

Are school cancellations a thing of the past? Snow days a glory of yore? 

I think the headlines are a sneak peek at the 'new normal.' There will still be kids who play hooky when snow falls. Shane might even be one of them, but as a teacher I'm sure I'll be sitting in front of my computer.

The rain took over a day to drain from the pastures. A river ran through Maddy's lot.

I rescued a few earthworms caught in the current. I think Carrie said we got over 5 inches of precipitation.

Two days later, there were pools of water just off the soccer field at Shane's final game!

 I'm sure the ground squished as the kids ran!

Phase 3 Incoming!

 

The school board voted to move to Phase 3 by a vote of 4-3 on October 8th. The vote shows basic public opinion. A teacher I know watched some of the public comment section and said it was, "more dramatic than a TV talk show." The online comments I looked at were certainly very for or very against......and it was also clear many hadn't read what the actual plan was.

Phase 3 involves brining PK-3rd grade students back for 2 days a week hybrid and the rest virtual. The older grades will allow more ESL, SPED, and disengaged students access to the building, as well. However, the model for the older kids won't be about instructing them in person. It will be more about giving them access to a quieter, internet-equipped environment. There will be TA's in the room to help keep them employed, but kids won't move from room to room and teachers will still be virtual.

I'm for it. The youngest kids are the ones who seem to be the least successful with virtual school and the least at risk from COVID. Based on all the numbers we've seen in the area, I think it's good to cautiously push forward. 

A survey was sent out to parents and teachers once the vote was made. It said that 55% of parents were planning to send their children in while 45% opted to remain full virtual (About what you'd expect based on the board vote). Age of the child was a factor. The split was roughly 50-50 for 3rd grade students whereas  70% of parents of preschool children said they'd be sending their kids in. 

200 teachers said they didn't want to return to in-school learning with 2 retiring, 3 taking a leave of absence, 51 citing ADA allowing them to remain virtual and the remaining 136 opted out for other reasons which may or may not be honored. I wonder if that was only Elementary teachers included in that number. On my survey I said "No" and in the comments put I had a 4th grade student and wanted to remain virtual until he could return to hybrid. I could see other teachers being in the same boat where they'd be okay returning except childcare becomes the stumbling block. 

It's a puzzle. I'm hoping and praying things go well, because then there's a chance we could go to Phase 4 at the start of next year. That's when high schools would go back to a hybrid model and I'd be in the classroom.

The one part of Phase 3 I'm unsure about are sports. Or I guess I should say, I'm not sure about *my* sport: Wrestling.

Phase 3 allows for sports to begin training again. At the moment, I think it says that teams can train up to twice a week with days in between. I think there are still rules to prohibit too much contact and interaction...which is fine for many sports, but wrestling? If wrestling is anything it's up close and personal! If we have to restrict activities to individual conditioning and drill with no partners will that really be worth it?

Plus, on a selfish note, I don't know if I really want to spend 45 minutes driving to the school for an hour to an hour and a half after teaching online all day (and in the window there will still be daylight for horse chores). And yet, if I don't do it would that leave Coach Rick on his own? And what about the kids who are desperate for that sense of team community? 

That's a personal problem for me to figure out. I want to see what the actual model is going to look like before I commit to a decision. There's online trainings I need to do, etc.

The Soccer Update

It's been three weeks without a post about soccer. Time to fix that.

Shane's 2nd practice was rained out, but we made it to the next two.

I am loving the drive. It's the easiest thing in the world.

Shane's been enjoying practice. He's not fond of everyone's attitude, but you can tell he's thrilled to be around kids in general. He's been running more and trying harder from what I see....from the car. 

It's both good and bad sitting in the car while Shane practices. I don't really hear if the coach is focusing on any particular skills, but I'm also more "on break."

And it rained at practice #4! The car was dry!

And whatever else happens this season, the rainy practice may have made it all worthwhile. There was no lightning, so the show went on. The coach had them in an endless scrimmage.

Every kid needs a chance to play a big game of something slipping around in the rain!

The games are an equally amazing commute. I'm already planning on doing the local league next Fall, too! Shane's been eager to gear up each Saturday.

I found a yellow shirt to show my support!

Shane's been a little more frustrated at the games, though. Shane was hoping they'd win by now. However, a boy showed up on the blue team who'd missed the first week and was a clear level above everyone else on the field.

The kid can dribble on the run, change directions, pass, and shoot from near midfield if no one covers him! The opposing coach clearly lets him go on offense the first half and then parks him on defense the second half of the game to keep it competitive. 

For the most part, I've been really happy with how Shane's played. We're there for the experience and the joy of the game.

He gets frustrated when he gets scored on, but that's not a bad thing unless he throws a fit or gives up hope. If a little frustration drives him to do better and to celebrate when things do go right then it's a healthy ingredient mixed in to the experience. 

I'm pretty sure Shane's one of the youngest kids on the field. He doesn't turn 10 until after the season's over, so I would have thought he'd be a U10 instead of a U12. Most of the kids aren't in his grade and he said some of them "went" to Scottsville Elementary.

I've brought that up before when encouraging Shane to do his best. I want him to have the attitude that's he's going to do his best regardless of the odds and find victories where he can.

Which sometimes are "don't make the same mistake two games in a row."

The second game, Shane got called out by the ref three times for trying to kick the ball from the ground. The final time he was in the goal box and the other team got a penalty kick.

He didn't repeat the mistake the third game.

He did draw a new penalty for kicking the ball twice in a row after a free kick. 

Why? Because it's hard to put any power behind a kick when you're too busy showboating.

Shane's not a power-kicker and he knows it. I think he wanted to be fancy and 'trick' the other team, but got lost in the excitement of everyone watching him!

He didn't make the mistake again on the third game (It's all about baby steps...baby steps...).

I caught a fun video of Shane warming-up in goal. He's got a style o

He gets along well with most of his teammates, too. He started a team yell of "Banana Slammas!" He's told me other running jokes with the girls that make plenty of sense to him (one of the girls call herself "Dead Girl" and likes zombies?). He certainly looks like he has fun dancing around (notice how much taller the other kids are?).

There's one other boy, but Shane says he's "rude" and berates him. 

The goalie on the other team is Shane's friend, Peter, from after-school. We ended up behind him in line for pictures.

All-in-all, it's been a good experience. My only regret about Shane getting to visit Nana and Pop next week is that he'll miss soccer....but did I mention that? That's another story that kicks off tomorrow.

Side note: The train tracks are right by the field. I hear a train go by and several kids spectating ran up the hill to watch it go by.

School Night Sleepover

Shane and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's to start the week! If virtual school can be done anywhere, why not travel?

Plus, they have great wifi.

We got a chance to see Bucket when we arrived. I think she spent the rest of our visit sleeping!

We arrived late Sunday and spent the night. One of the biggest differences at Grandma and Grandpa's is they like to leave the TV on for background noise. Fox news was discussing the weather.

Flashing lights? Noise? Storms? 

Hypnotized.

I turned the TV off after a little bit and Shane came to.

Shane let slip he hadn't finished some multiplication flash cards, so I helped get him started.

Grandma saw that he finished while I went upstairs to do my own work. 

Shane attended his classes from the floor of the kitchen. 

I disappeared upstairs in his bedroom. The LEGO rocket Grandpa and Shane made was way bigger than I'd thought! I showed it to all of my classes!

Grandpa and Grandma also did their work. "We had four offices running at once!" Grandma said.

My classes went well (save for one kid saying a bad word). I told the kids we'd driven to the in-laws to try and get some better internet! And I used it, too. I uploaded the first two weeks of class recordings to the server. That was gigs of data we couldn't spare at our house! 

Shane's class went well enough from what I saw....which was admittedly not much (5-10 minutes). His new teacher, Mrs. Taylor, was shadowing Mr. Bahn. She's supposed to take take the reigns Tuesday and fly solo from Wednesday on. 

Grandma was happy with Shane, but vocal about "We need to send everybody back!" I know our school district is getting ready to vote on sending back kids in PK-3rd grade for the next quarter (Nov-Jan). If they do (and it goes well), they could vote to have kids back in high schools part time by the end of January. 

Meanwhile, Grandpa pulled a frozen pizza from the fridge and they sent us on our way full. Shane and I left around 6:40 PM and got back home well after dark. 

It'd be an easier trip if not for barn care. If the whole family went I'd be willing to stay for days, but who will take care of the horses? Carrie stayed behind, so we only stayed for the day. She tends to get stressed more easily when I'm not home (and she likes to snuggle up with Shane for TV time too when he's not bouncing, hyper wild and making the dog bark like mad!). 

Anyway, it was a successful experiment. We'll try it again with Grandma and Grandpa and I plan to ship Shane off to SC at some point, too!