Plants: Thursday, First Period

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was waiting in the classroom when her students arrived. There were a selection of teas and some fresh baked scones set out for anyone who might like a bite to eat or drink. She'd also set out several plants on the table. She was more nervous than she hoped she was letting on, but she kept reminding herself that plants were definitely her strong suit.

She smiled at everyone as they entered. "Good morning. Please, take a minute to get a cup of tea and a scone, if you'd like, then find a seat. I figured it was only fair to bring you'uns something to eat if you were going to do me the honor of attending such an early morning class."

Once everyone was settled, she took a breath and began. "I'm Nell Ingram and I own Plant Parenthood in town. I grew up working with plants and growing things and turns out I have a bit of a knack for it.

"Plants are vital to our planet. They turn the energy of the sun into food that serves as the foundation of the food chain. Without plants we'd have no food. On top of that, they create the oxygen that we need to survive, as a waste product of their food production. I do include, of course, the phyoplankton in the oceans which account for nearly 80% of the world's oxygen. No plants, no life."

Nell clasped her hands together as she continued. "Beyond that plants add beauty to our lives in a vast number of ways. The tea some of you are drinking comes from plants. The herbs that brighten our foods come from plants. And of course the beautiful flowers and trees that decorate the world around us are plants.

"During this class we're going to visit some beautiful gardens and you're also each going to plant your own small window herb gardens as well as some petit knock out roses that you can keep in your residence or even plant outside if you so choose."

She moved over to the plants on the table. "And one thing I can assure you is that you'll leave here with beautiful growing plants." Her fingers dipped into the soil of the African violet and sent energy into it, causing it to bud and blossom in moments.

"I can't teach you how to do that, but I can use that ability to give all your plants a quicker growing time and extra strength and resilience." Nell smiled at them. "Now, it's customary to do introductions on the first day,so if you could each share your name, any experience you have with growing things, and anything you might particularly be interested in growing or learning about, I'd surely appreciate it."

Treat Yourself, Thursday, Period 2

[deathsmajesty]

Various forms of communication had been sent out to inform Liliana's class that they would not be meeting at the school at all, but in town, at Theodoric's and should wear clothing that was easily adjusted to bare their calves. Getting scandalous up in here. Inside, they would find a ring of odd-looking chairs, all facing inwards for the ease of conversation. Those who recognized such things would realize that these were mani-pedi chairs; anyone who didn't would just see a comfortable, cushioned chair with a built-in basin. Liliana was already present, of course, her tall leather boots tucked against the side of her chair, already shin-deep in hot water and bubbles.

"Welcome to Treat Yourself," Liliana said to each person as they arrived. "Please remove your socks and shows, if you are wearing pants, adjust them so the cuffs are at your knees, and then take a seat. Your technician will arrive shortly to fill up your basin, and in the meantime, we'll have a bit of a chat. So, this is a class nominally about self-care, but really moreso about self-indulgence. Of course, self-indulgence is often a form of self-care, but with an emphasis on luxury and excess. And, contrary to many people's opinions, there isn't anything inherent wrong with either of those concepts. They are, in fact, not synonymous with over-indulgence or selfishness, the way that purists will try to insist. So they why a class on self-indulgence instead of sticking solely to the more palatable self-care? A number of reasons. First, everybody deserves to be a little self-indulgent sometimes." Or frequently, if you were Liliana. "This is a guarantee that you will at least be given the opportunity one hour a week, which I assume is more than many of you allot for yourselves by an amount that will only distress me. Furthermore, I'm looking forward to unpacking the various stigmas about self-indulgence, especially of the kind we will be engaging in. And lastly, self-care has been watered down to the point where it is simply another box to check off on someone's to-do lists - engaging with the concept in only the most cursory of fashion possible in order to leap back up into the grind."

Ridiculous behavior. Just absolutely nonsensical.

"Unlike my previous two classes, this is less a lecture and more of a discussion. I am interested in learning how you interact with the concept of self-indulgence, what thoughts and emotions that brings up for you and where you think those beliefs come from. Now, these questions are more for you than me; while I admit to being quite curious to your answers, the most important thing to me is that you engage with the questions themselves. Some of the questions may involve answers you're not comfortable with answering out loud. That's why, on the small tray tables next to you, you will find a journal and a pen--" or, in Ignis's case, a stylus and a slate and his paper was much thicker, closer to cardstock "--for you to write down your thoughts when there are questions you don't want to answer. I won't be collecting them for a grade or the like, they're yours. The only thing I ask is that you actually consider the questions I'm asking and make your best faith effort to try to answer them in the privacy of your own journal.

One of the staff wandered around, setting down flutes of champagne over poured over a single raspberry; unless you didn't drink, in which case it would be a glass of sparkling cider instead.

"Enough of an intro," she said. "I'm far more interested in listening to your answers today. At some point, add your name while you're answering a question and we'll count that as good enough for introductions."

Wine & Dine: Pairing Fine Food with Wine Wine in Fine Countries; Thursday, 4th Period [07/11].

[chef_chocobro]

The class was instructed that, unless specified, they'd be meeting at the portalocity office, and, so, hopefully, even if that message had not been received, they'd be wise enough to deduce as much. And, once he was certain everyone was there (certainly a benefit, to knowing most of the people taking the class already, most of them well enough to sense their presence easily without them having to even say a word), Ignis began.

"Good afternoon, everyone," he said. "Hopefully, you're all here for my Wine & Dine class, where we will be exploring a variety of different wines and local cuisine pairings from around this particular world, and, if you're not? Well," he smiled lightly, "let's hope the gnomes aren't going to be too picky about numbers and let you come along anyway. Although I'm certain most of you know me, allow me to introduce myself for completions sake: my name is Ignis Scientia, and I have been a fan of fine wines for quite some time, and while by no means a professional in self-proclaimed title of oenophile, my passion for the beverage has led me to an exceptional amount of research and knowledge, that I now hope to share with you all.

"Today," he continued, with a gesture toward the office that was more than likely pulling up their portal now, "we will head toward one of the titans of modern wine-making and no doubt one of the places your mind first may have jumped to when considering this class, and that would be Italy. Specifically, the Tuscan region, where we will find ourselves at Ill Borro, a vineyard with both history and excellent vintages, which we will discuss in further detail once we've arrived and settled.

Build-A-Crumbler Workshop; Thursday, Fifth Period [07/11].

[special_rabbit]

The new spider-walking enhancement on the traditional Crumbler had proven incredibly useful already, in making it a heck of a lot easier to get the whole damn thing over to the shop classroom for her class this session! But there it was, in all its glory, with far too many other enhancements and additional bits and pieces and helpful things to count right now, as a shining beacon of possibility.

And, in front of her on the worktable, was the smaller, more streamlined Squirrel Crumbler, which still resembled the current Crumbler as it once was.

"Hey, everyone," she greeted the class with a nod and a wave of her hand when it was time to get started, "and welcome to the Build-A-Crumbler," yes, she had to pound her her fist into her palm with that word for emphasis!, "Workshop, where we will, as you might have guessed, build a Crumbler, from the ground up! Now, you may be asking, what is a Crumbler? Well, it lifts, it chops...it crumbles! And, most importantly, it can be whatever you need it to be, because it's something that's highly adaptable, endlessly customizable, and truly unique. My own invention, of course, that's served me well throughout the years. This," she gestured toward the big Crumbler, "is a Crumbler. This," she gestured at the small one, "is also a Crumbler. These," she lifted up both her hands, and curled them into fists, "can also be Crumblers, although its' a little more burdonsome to add onto these bad boys! But the point is, beyond a certain base, a Crumbler can be a great many things, and, over the next seven weeks, I want you to build what a Crumbler means to you.

"But we'll start branching out on that the more we go on. Today? The basics. And the base! Since we're working with a lot of heavy duty tools and materials, we're going to do a quick shop safety overview, and then we'll get started on the first step to creating your own Crumbler: the base. With just simple platforms, a little reinforcement, and a set of sturdy wheels, you're building yourself a blank canvas for all your future Crumbling capabilities. We'll walk through the progress, and you can hopefully start getting ideas on how to build even more onto it in the weeks to come. But we gotta start somewhere, and today, it's in the base. So let's get started."

The Olympics... Kinda - Thursday, 3rd Period

[needsacatchphrase]

There was an eclectic assortment of clothing waiting for the class when it began today. And a good amount if it was athleisure. Because The Olympics.

"Hi!" Jane said once everyone was there. "Welcome to the class that moose assigned us."

Because of course it did.

"Apparently there's some big sports thing it wants us to explore." Look, it wasn't one of her world's ancient traditions.

"So, we'll be doing a take on the opening ceremony with outfits you make and... running with a torch? That doesn't seem safe," Jane said with a frown.

"The notes I was given were extremely explicit on the importance of the flaming relay race," Cara said, which wasn't disagreeing with Jane's safety assessment.

"Let's be safe?" God help them.