scattering joy

holy heat batman

2006-07-03T09:08:42+02:00

UNbelievable how hot my classroom is. it's disgusting. Lucky for me my year 10s are sitting an exam, so that's one less class of stinky teenagers!

really, though, i think we should not be teaching in the month of July. it's too bloody hot. stagnant, humid, hot, yuck... makes me wish i were a PE teacher or could actually take my students outside. but there's no chance in that!

I wish we could have all the breaks we get during the year AND july off.

current music: the rotating of my fan
current location: my classroom
current mood: a little tired, it being monday morning.

Comments

Does anyone have a vent?

2006-06-28T00:05:04+02:00

Do you ever have so much on your mind, it almost seems like it’s not there? You live with it in a synergetic (is that the right word?) way as you go on with life… only to have the ‘stuff’ – for lack of a better word – surface every once in a while. And when it does, all it does is annoy you / get in the way of your daily routine / turn your stomach into teeny tiny knots. I like it when it just rests under the surface and doesn’t bother me.

Today (lately, really) the stuff has not been nice to me and has been bubbling up from time to time.
Bubble – you have a dog at home
Bubble – you still don’t have a contract with your school
Bubble – you still don’t have a flight home
Bubble – the flights are too expensive
Bubble – something needs to be done about your dog
Bubble – what are you doing with your life? (that’s a big one)
Bubble – are you being silly about the school contract thing? Are you whining too much? Being ungrateful, not realizing that you’re being paid a good salary?
Bubble – things are going well with the boy but how long will you stay in England for?
Bubble – how long can the dog stay with mum before she flat-out refuses to have him anymore?

One of these days one or more of these bubbles with pop and I will have to deal with them. I know I should just live life and see how things go, but when it comes to people and animals being affected by my decisions, I feel that I need to be responsible about what I do.

Carpe Diem, right?

But I can’t. When these bubbles come up they don’t like going away. I suppose I’ll have to have wicked amounts of fun this Canada Day weekend to placate them not to rise.

Just got back from an open mic night in Luton. My small taste of home - all my friends, good music, happy atmosphere. Most of those bubbles were not present.

current location: room
current music: echoes of guitars and voices
current mood: very very tired

Comments

reading

2006-06-23T16:10:09+02:00

do you remember when you were in high school and the teacher would ask, "who wants to read?"

Which were you - the reader or the listener? Were you shy and felt self-conscious about reading out loud, so you never put up your hand? Or were you super confident and everyone loved it when you read? Or were you the one who sucked ass at reading and always put up your hand anyway?

In school we were taught that everyone should read - it gives them practice and blah blah blah.

Over here - not so much.

As last period loomed over us near the end of lunch, I was musing whether or not I should read TO the kids, or if they should take turns. Richard, our token male teacher in the english dept, commented that most of the crap readers are the ones to read, and then class gets chaotic and things slide from there. "Much better to read yourself, Pipkins," he said. He then made the comment that so many teachers here think but never say...

"You can't read, put your fookin' hand down."

I never say that. I always let my stutterers and slurers and i-mix-up-every-other-word readers read. But let me tell you - it gets very very tedious sometimes.

The thing is, is that most teachers don't let their kids read - they read to them, or the students read along while a CD plays in the background.

At any rate, I laughed my way down the corridor to my lesson where I allowed them all to read and then wished I hadn't. Chaos ensued.

current location: my room
current mood: exhausted/worn out/tired/ready for a drink
current music: birds outside my window

Comments

a whole lot of nothing

2006-06-21T20:32:22+02:00

Another boring entry - mainly a catch-up for what i've been up to lately.

school has been crazy, as the year oh-so-slowly begins to wind down. The thing with this summer term is that the kids have switched off but i still have to teach. Plus it's HOT. I bought a fan, but apparently one is not enough, and my kids complain so much about it not hitting them half the time i turn it off as a punishment.

I am still getting inadvertently sworn at. Oh well.

Weekends are lovely. I live for the weekends these days. Either I'm down in London or relaxing here. Most of the time it's London. Although last weekend Craig came up here and we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to the home of the bard. It was such a nice drive (lovely) and a cute little town (lovely) and a great (lovely) way to spend the day. Lovely was my word of the day - can you tell? Everything was just so nice and pictureque. We crested a hill at one point as we drove into Warwickshire and could see the entire valley stretched out below us. Stunning. The fields were all different colours of green and the trees popped up all over the place like green cotten puffs.

Anyway. I seem to have a problem with my blog lately. I always think of things to write about at random times of the day - fun things to read/write - but then later on I never get around to actually writing them.

I have also lost the drive to write more tonight so I am going to stop. My catch-up for everyone seems to be a short and disjointed description of Shakespeare's hometown. Sorry.

I counted up my next few weekends... Seems like I will be going in to London a lot in the next while. This weekend, next weekend (canada day), the next (tragically hip) and most likely other ones after that! Plus there is Wimbledon. Apparently that involves a lot of waiting around a gate for 4 hours to see if you can get in. Not sure if that's going to be fun or not, but worth a shot.

time for sleep.

mood: tired
music: football fans cheering on the telly
location: dining room

Comments

spamalot

2006-06-16T22:26:53+02:00

for those of you who know me...

I love king arthur. the legends, the stories, the countless books... i eat it all up.

so - kyla told me that there is a show on soon - Spamalot - in london. Obviously I jumped at that and bam! me, craig and kyla are going to the show on the 6th october - a friday.

SO EXCITED.

Just a note.

continue with posting comments that you read my blog. The count is at 1, so far. thanks, daniel.

stratford-upon-avon tomorrow. keep you posted.

current location: living room
current mood: sleepy but happy
current music: background to big brother

Comments

online poll

2006-06-16T19:47:53+02:00

It's odd... I always have things on my mind that I can write about, but never at the time that I'm sitting in front of my computer. So that's one of the reasons I don't write as much - by the time I get to my computer I have forgotten.

So here is an online poll I am conducting. I am very curious to see who actually reads this thing. So far in my head I can count 3 of my friends. That's not very many!!! I feel so unloved.

In actuality, however, I am really enjoying writing just for the fun of writing - it doesn't matter if no one reads it. But it would be nice!

So here it is:

You write a comment to this entry.
Say something, nothing, whatever. I just want to see who actually reads this. Ok? Good.

Thanks everyone.

current location: my room
current mood: chilled out
current music: Down At the Khyber - Joel Plaskett

Comments

gloop revisited

2006-06-14T13:56:37+02:00

on second thought - spam and mac and cheese from a can IS NOT GOOD!!!

Ate half of the m&c, then tossed the rest. so mushy and really, not all that good. stomach not happy.

i am now drinking buckets of mint tea to appease the belly. so far it's not working.

so, a word to the wise - do not ever eat mac and cheese from a can. if you want the 'real thing' - eat KD

current location: classroom
current music: still children playing
current mood: not so good now...

Comments

gloop in a can

2006-06-14T13:53:53+02:00

rummaging through our pantry at work, i came across a can of mac and cheese. mmm, think i, this looks good.

zap it for 3 minutes, out it comes, and hey - not bad! Sort of like cheese whiz but not as cheesy.

good things do, sometimes, come out of cans. (spam not being one of them.)

current mood: ok
current music: children playing
current location: my classroom

Comments

the blahs

2006-06-05T21:30:31+02:00

So today. First day back after the holiday. I was only teaching 4 classes, but still...

class one was crap. All they had to do was draw a comic strip and fill in the blanks for the words. A total of 8 words and 6 boxes to fill in! And over half of them couldn't do it.

class two came in acting crazy. this is normal for them, but still - they were more off-the-wall than usual. they're excuse? "it's monday, miss, that's why"

class three had a spelling test and a comprehension test. they would not stop talking the entire time. so i was a good girl like nirmal taught me and i waited. and some of them got frustrated. and then i got told that they act up because i can't control them, and that if i can't control my class then i'm not doing my job. i know that some get frustrated, but i don't think it's fair for them to get at me like that. the group that said that - they're one of the main reasons why that class is so difficult. and yet they have to audacity to tell their parents that i'm a bad teacher. i just stand there and wrack my brain as to what to do... and i can't think of anything. i never thought i would dislike a group of people so much...

class four was easier - we were in the computer lab. I ended up helping students, made one girl cry, and walked around stopping the boys from playing games. don't they care about their education?

for those of you who either have easy classes in canada or have not taught before - the feelings that go through my mind while i teach are numerous. sometimes i am so happy and proud of my kids, and then other times i want to just open the door and walk away. i was never good at mind games, and i am finding this to be the ultimate test. i'm not saying that i am teaching in the worst conditions, because i'm not, but what i am saying is that there are days when my mind just snaps. today was one of those.

I'm so tired of fighting them all... 200+ vs me - will it ever get any easier?

no mood
no location
no music

Comments

catch up

2006-06-05T20:41:58+02:00

First and foremost - for those of you wondering where I ended up going on a trip to.... nowhere!!! I actually ended up spending almost every day in London for the half-term. We all know about the passport fiasco, so I won't re-tell that.

I returned to the city on the Wednesday with Joss for some spring clothes shopping, then went back again Thursday for a nice walk down the South Bank. Then a 3 hour stint in Starbucks in Leicester Square lesson planning (amid lots of smokers and kids chasing pigeons) and on to All Bar One for lots of drinks with my eastern friends!! Me being the lazy, lazy girl that I am, then decided not to go home on the train and crashed in the city yet again. I really like London.

Then Saturday, I had plans to go to Brighton, but instead I hung out in the backyard gardening in the jungle. It was a beautiful day. Just gorgeous. Craig came up and chilled while I played in the yard, and then I found some gardeners!! Seriously, this place was wild. Blackberry all over the place and totally overgrown bushes. Not to mention the 2 foot long grass that was growing on old dead grass. Yuck. The gardeners (the guys who live next door) cleaned it all up so now our yard looks like there has been a fire that wiped everything out. But it'll grow back and I can tame it.

I'm getting distracted. My break. Right. So Saturday night a bunch of the Luton Canadians came over and we all sat in the yard drinking (too much) beer and wine. I had put out candles all over the place, and we had blankets... plus 3 guys playing guitar and singing - can't get much better than that!!! >" class="middle" border="0">

So all in all, my week was great. I had a blast, a bit of an adventure, and am very happy. Too bad today sucked ass. But, c'est la vie, no?

Big plans for the rest of the year... I'll keep you all posted. For those of you who actually read this.

current location: living room
current mood: tired
current music: soundtrack to 2nd ever friends episode

Comments

where to go, what to do

2006-05-30T20:10:28+02:00

it is now half-way through my half-term break. I have relaxed and walked, and i feel great. so needed that time away from work. and i love being in london - cheers to you all for the past bunch of days!

now, however, i am stuck - what to do next? Any suggestions of places to go for the rest of the week? Just little day-trips from luton - car or trainable. Car is the more favourable option.

Would love the input, so give away!

current location: our lounge
current mood: very tired
current music: elizabeth town soundtrack

Comments

uh... no

2006-05-27T21:04:57+02:00

well, amsterdam didn't happen!!!

Did you know that to cross the channel you have to put your car on a train? and it's really expensive? we learned this when we got down to the crossing - whoops. so that didn't fly.

then we drove to Dover - saw the WHITE CLIFFS! - and didn't get on the boat. we decided that it wasn't worth the money to go for so short an amount of time. so, we headed on back and came back to london. good trip, guys!

Once back in the flat in victoria, everyone went to sleep and i went for a walk. got inspired to start writing, so went to a coffee shop and sat down. 1.5 hours later and buzzing with caffeine (i HAVE to stop that!) i came out of the shop with a good story tucked under my arm and underway. so happy.

returned to victoria - brad was here, it was kinda nice out, so we went for a walk to oxford. it started to rain. i took my jumper off. i love lovely spring rains. we walked round for ages and ages, going in to shops and puttering. then we returned home amidst slanting rain. i was dared to run and dive in the grass in green park but declined, as i was wearing one of my favorite tshirts. but i would have... if it was a different top. seriously.

it was a wonderful walk, though. I love the rain, and brad and i had fun. we bonded. question: if you turned the corner and saw a suitcase with your name on it and opened it up to find 25 million pounds, what would be the first thing you'd do? (i answered pay back my mum, then go shopping - but with that much money, maybe shop first.)

now we're back in the flat, drinking wine and eating yummy appies. i love my friends here!!!

so, no amsterdam, but i'm not all too sad. i'm having a wicked time here.

current location: victoria flat
current mood: full and happy
current music: join the queue - oasis

Comments

heigh ho

2006-05-26T21:41:30+02:00

Imagine yourself on a train on near the station with silent copassengers and a thought on the brain...

Almost as soon as I got in to London, a realization hit me: do you need a passport to go to amsterdam? Obvious answer, YES.

After a brief panic-y call to both Joss and Kyla, some texts to London, I had to get off the train and figure out what to do. Me, who had lists galore while packing last night and all day today forgot probably the single most important item! But the thing is, is that it never even occured to me.

Joss and Kyla apparently tore my room apart looking for the elusive passport, so I'm not looking forward to coming back to that!! But kudos to them - I would have been just a wreck if it hadn't been found. Then Joss walked it down to the station and I took the train back to Luton, then returned to London. On the way back to Luton I had to sit on the floor of the train. Rush-hour. Too bad that as I was writing I was staring at some guy's crotch. Which went in my journal, of course. I just don't get how guys can wear tight jeans and not feel uncomfortable. I mean - they're tight.

But back to my blunder. The others (being Moira, Neil, and Craig) decided that they would NOT go on without me, so I got here (in Victoria) to discover a new plan to get to Amsterdam. We are going to DRIVE. Man. Crazy, eh? But it's pretty cool, as I will get to go through France, Belgium and then Holland. Cool, eh?

Updates will follow most likely after the holiday. I can't wait! This trip, although put through a bit of a grind, is going to be awesome. There are museums galore, biking loads, and of course, the infamous red light district. Apparently I must check out the 'banana club'. Nooo, for all of you who think like me, this is not a male strip club. Rather, something else is done with the bananas...

Off to sleep now, as we're all getting up bright and early to catch the non-traffic time!!!

current location: moira's living room
current mood: sleepy but excited
current music: nada - was some guitar going on a while ago.

Comments

GOMEZ

2006-05-22T18:26:48+02:00

I have just spent 20 minutes perusing the new gomez website. And I must say... I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CONCERT!!!

It's on a Thursday, which will suck b/c I'll get there late, but my plan is to leave school at 3, train in to London, and wait in line. I need to be up front.

Ack. So good. I wish Ness were here!! But I hope to have convinced at least 3 friends to come with me (who will hopefully be as crazy as I will be and not mind my terrible singing).

The band posted an email that a 10 year old sent them - he loves Gomez, went to their concert... can play thier songs... I'm 24 and can barely manage to strum my favorite song!!

Listening to more Gomez right now - I think I'll be hearing a lot of them in the next month. Did I tell you I am excited? Looking forward to it? Both of those are understatements, but I can't think of what else to say.

I wish I could play their songs well.

current location: my room
current mood: very jittery
current music: rhythm and blues alibi - gomez.

Comments

JELL-O!

2006-05-22T18:01:40+02:00

I got the best surprise this morning. On the weekend I received a package slip, went down this morning, and picked up a wrapped box of 4 jell-o flavours!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRIS!!!

I'm so happy that someone actually sent me jell-o.. Honestly, I didn't think it would happen. A mere pipe dream. For those of you who were thinking about it... send more! I love it.

Kyla was in the car with me and we opened the paper as I drove. Both of us made the same comments - I wonder what colours I got? Note the description here: colour, not flavour. Awesome, eh, that we grew up where a colour is associated with taste. Although, blue raspberry... I still have a hard time figuring that one out.

That definitely set the good mood as I went in to work this morning. Not to mention I have bought the new Gomez album [www.gomeztheband.com] and have been listening to it all day. Can't wait til June 9th. So this is a double-happiness day. And now I am cleaning my room.

Kyla's webspace is cool in that at the bottom of each entry there are things she needs to fill out. So I am, from now on, going to copy it. It's the best form of flattery, immitation is.

>" class="middle" border="0">

current location: my room
current mood: elated
current music: say goodbye, dave matthews

Comments

my train of thought eludes me

2006-05-21T21:45:18+02:00

I just had one of those moments. One of the times when I have an idea, start to do it, then blank as to why. I just pulled up an internet page and logged in to this account, and now I am staring blankly at the screen wondering why... what thought made me do this? I had a reason, I know I did, and yet - nothing.

Ah, yes. I remember now. Are you ready for more random ramblings from your most favorite scatter-brained (but maybe endearing?) vancouverite?

I was thinking about people, and the relationships among friends. Why is it that we are friends with each other? (that is a rhetorical question, by the way) Why is it that we can be so different and yet have enough to talk to each other about things? And why is it that even when a friend says something that thouroughly pisses you off, you stand by and try to help them? (again, more rhetorical questions)

I was just bombarded with thoughts from a friend that basically, for I'm not sure how many minutes, I was being painted as 'the bad guy'. Despite wanting to defend my honour, I sat still and listened until the barrage was over, and then, as calmly (and maybe not so calmly) as I could, explained why all of this was a fabrication of my friend's mind. Of course I'm not saying that I am innocent - I am far from that - but I certainly am not the mean, cold, bitchy person that I was being described as. And rather than shout, get mad, click my phone shut or whatever, I waited it out and then tried to help my friend through this.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Quite all right if you stop reading here.

What eventually happened is we talked it out, then chatted for a while, revisited the topic in a more calm way, then chatted again... and hung up with everything fine. Is it because my friend just needed to get it out of his system? Is it because he felt like making me the bad guy would make him feel better? I'm not sure. But I know that despite this we are still friends. In my mind, anyway. He wants me to share my life with him, but I have made it perfectly clear that I don't really talk to any of my friends on a regular basis, so this is no personal thing against him. You guys can vouch for that - I'm rubbish at keeping in touch with people and I don't email very often. That's what the blog is for!!!

Again I seem to have lost my train of thought. I think I was meant to have a bigger brain - to hold in all those thoughts that float around. My filing cabinet is not big enough!!

What it all boils down to, I think, is that even though friends can be mad at each other and say things that could potentially hurt the other, there is a reason why they are friends in the first place. And when they listen to each other, sometimes they learn things. I hope.

On a side note, not that I had a main one to begin with, I think being on my own so much this year has made me a bit loopy. But that's ok, right?... Just another character quirk?

I think tiffs with friends are sometimes not a bad thing. They help us get over sometimes more awkward times, or help us sort things out that we couldn't do on our own. Just a warning, though: if you're planning on having one with me, when I get worked up about something I am brutally honest and can be a bit of a bitch. Not that I want to have disagreements with any of my friends.

Well! That has been an interesting rant. I'm sure it was the most enthralling part of your day, reading about what goes on in my mind. Maybe I'd make a good character sketch, like I do to others when I travel. Anyway, I'll stop this now. That's enough crazy for one day.

[I'm annoyed that I couldn't get out what I had intended on. Oh well]

Comments

no sleep for the scared

2006-05-18T06:54:55+02:00

We all know the extent of my imagination, right? Well, here is a hint for all of you who get a little carried away with scary things as I do:

Do not read 30 gothic descriptive stories right before you go to bed! I lay awake for a very long time imagining the eeriest people in the strangest settings doing very wierd things to other people. I won't get graphic here, because perhaps you are trying to go to sleep too. I'll just say that the image of heads and bodies was very prevalent in my thoughts. Thanks, 8e, you've really given me a pack of fun bedtime stories!

To you all who laugh at me when I say I can't watch or read scary things, this is a prime example of why.

(I did eventually get to sleep - and woke up safe and sound)

Comments

thoughts revisited

2006-05-16T09:02:13+02:00

there are times in your life when things since burried surface again. the thought that you have everything under control, that things are good don't matter all of a sudden. you're gripped with these thoughts, and they won't leave you alone.

sometimes I want to shout down (or up?) to my brain to be quiet and leave me alone. but it doesn't work that way. wish it did. i have a feeling, though, that all the thoughts we have laying just beneath the surface will one day come out, in one way or another. it may be in writing, or painting (not by me!), or music, or a rant at someone...

i guess that's what this is - a rant of sorts, as i'm not sure what i'm talking about, so therefore am going to curl up and try to sleep.

Comments

dave matthews - a talented man

2006-05-14T17:32:24+02:00

When I found out that Dave Matthews was playing a solo accoustic show in England I just had to go. Got my friends in London to come with, and yesterday we trucked out to Birmingham (apparently the UK's second largest city) for the show!

For you Vancouverites, the venue was sort of the size of the Commodore, but rough around the edges - not as swanky, but about the same size. Can you imagine being 10 feet (approx 4-5 people away) from the stage? Close enough to see the many beads of sweat on Dave's face, head, arms, neck...

Although I have seen DMB twice before, this show was something entirely different. This guy is FUNNY. He walked out, and I thought, 'he's totally off his rocker.' Then he opens his mouth, and does't stop for 2 hours! Between songs he told us all about how his wife says that sweating profusely is good for the health, he told us about an acid trip where he thought he was a tree... he sounded very much like bill cosby a few times - so not only does he play the guitar and sing like no one else, he can entertain a crowd without the music too.

I will end the description of the concert with this: When Dave Matthews sings then tips his head back, throws his mouth open wide and lets out a chilling cry, the crowd goes wild. He did this many times.

So happy to have gone. Plus, got to hang out in Birmingham for a night out on the town! Double bonus.

Comments

passing notes

2006-05-11T16:52:59+02:00

This week has been hell. Loads and loads of lectures and noise and general mis-behaviour.

On my way home, I noticed something on my windshield, and thought, "uh oh, I have a ticket for something."

But no! It's a note, scribbled on a piece of torn-out paper. "Hey Miss Drive Carefully. From Zorro" (a different Zorro this time!)

I just thought that was a nice gesture, and it made me smile, so I thought I would pass it along. Even though my days are full of raising my voice and being 'mean', there are still some things that make it worth it.

Friday tomorrow. Awesome.

Comments

but, Miss, I fancy you!

2006-05-11T16:49:28+02:00

But miss, i fancy you!

Well, my monday started out in an interesting way.

Last period of the day, after spending most of the other periods trying to control the animals in my zoo, I had a class that I see once a fortnight. Little Zorro, who also happens to be in my form class, is a bit of a goofball, and a showboat. So in class, about halfway through, he asks if he can touch my bum. Now, given his nature and behaviour, I knew he wasn't serious, so shut him down and moved on to the next student. Then later, he tries to hold my hand. Again, shut down. Then, right before class is ending, I am sitting with him, helping him with work, when he leans over and kisses my hand! Well. We had a chat after class, and discussed how serious of an issue all this is, and that I had to call his mum and tell the head of year. He freaked, got all worried and said please don't. But I did. Meeting with mum and h.o.y the next day, and he gets 2 days for this - inclusion with the h.o.y. Now, though, all the kids are saying that 'miss is dread - she grassed on Zorro.' As if.

That was my first real encounter with a student... he says he doesn't mean it, and that it was only jokes. But it doesn't matter. It still sends the wrong signal, as all the kid are now spreading the kissing bit - but exaggerating it, of course. Grrr.... But I think we put a stop to it. And I'm not mad, which is the funny thing. I know it wasn't malicious, and he does feel bad...

(by the way, thanks to E.J., all names are going to be Zelda or Zorro from now on.)

Next on the list is the fact that from writing on the board so much, my wrist has flared up again
- so I'm back in a brace trying to write on the OHP and whiteboard all gibbled. I want an interactive white board!!!

Looking forward to the weekend.

Comments

there's always room...

2006-05-07T22:14:25+02:00

It's come to my attention that we do not have jell-o over here. I had a craving this weekend, so I went to the shops, and lo and behold, no jell-o. I got sad, bought some chocolate, and ate that instead. But you know when you go on a mission and end up getting a replacement? It's just not the same.

So I am sending out a plea to my friends in the good old land of Canada. If you by any chance ever feel bored, are going to the post office, and want to do something to cheer me up (because some days, I really need it!) then you can send me a box of jell-o! (Before it's made - I don't think jelly travels very well.)

In my hopes that someone will in fact answer this, here is the place to send it to:
41 Russell Rise
Luton, BEDS
LU1 5ET

I've wanted Jell-o for ages, actually, ever since we had a 'pudding' discussion at school with my colleagues. I told them 'pudding' means jell-o, they looked at me in a crazy way, and said 'pudding' means dessert.

Really, no point to this post except to plead for jell-o. And to say I'm sorry if I insulted anyone's habits in my previous post. I was ranting after being at the mall in front of the noisy kissers.

Time to go to bed so I can go to work! Ah, school...

Comments

pet peeves (2)

2006-05-07T22:02:14+02:00

and chewing gum. we are not in the movie grease, so you do not have to clack and chew that loudly. masticating is not attractive.

(this goes for everyone by the way... not just me being a teacher!)

Comments

pet peeves

2006-05-07T16:27:55+02:00

for those of you who know me, you might be aware that there are some things in this world that drive me crazy. Most of them are usually done by other people, and i am usually unfortunate enough to be around when they happen.

are they control-able? do they annoy anyone else? am i really just that picky and tight-up? Now as I said, those who know me will not need to know what actually bugs me, but you newbies out there, f.y.i., there are a few:

slurping liquid - if it's too hot, wait for it to cool
crunching chips/popcorn - put it in your mouth, close your lips, then bite down. this makes the world a much sound-friendly place.
nose-picking - that's a given
crunching/mashing/swallowing your food audibly - this one's difficult. everyone makes noise when they eat. but sometimes, if it's loud, it's annoying.
kissing in public - this is the new one! again, it's the sound. if you are in line at the grocery store, do not make smacking noises and slurpy sounds on your partner. it's disgusting, and makes an awful noise. if you want to do that, get out of line.

i know i sound harsh, and people have told me so many times. but i can't help it!!! (and those are just the main pet peeves) For some reason noises drive me crazy. i am working on it, though. i am trying to force myself to sit and stay when the noises get to be too much; how else will i ever get over it?

the old saying goes something like the things that irritate you the most are the qualities you yourself have. so maybe I'm a noisy eater/drinking/swallower. I certainly hope not. but if i am, then i will work on it. and as for the rest of you... sorry.

Comments

travel woes

2006-05-06T19:34:58+02:00

man! i had no idea planning a trip would be so difficult. maybe it's me, or maybe it's the planning, or maybe it's Jeff. I think it's Jeff.

He wants to go to Croatia for a week, which is fine by me. Although I have no idea about it, and I'm wishy-washy either way. And then he's letting me pick the other week. But he doesn't like the places I pick!!

So here's an online poll. You need to reply back as to where we should go for our last week on holiday.

Rome (and Naples and Florence)
South of France (driving around everywhere)
South of Spain
Portugal
Morocco...

There are too many options!! Jeff, you are driving me crazy. Kudos to you. Like I need more crazyness in my life.

He says I need to decide, but every time I come up with a place, he finds a reason to counter it.

So write back soon, folks, and give me your input. I can't seem to make up my mind!!!

Comments

title-771884

2006-05-02T22:56:55+02:00

so extremely tired, so will not be blogging it tonight. i have a few backup things to post, but they'll have to wait. seems like i've been tired for a long while, and i haven't been able to shake it. and cold ... i want summer to be here.

Comments

the last of them...

2006-04-28T15:51:03+02:00

well, i'd say for the most part, my fun-filled entries are over. i had planned on going all over the uk and to france and amsterdam before leaving, but i just found out i'm not being paid for my last month here at the school (august). i thought i was, so i budgetted for that. but now i'm not, and i've plans to travel with jeff in august... so no more little mini-breaks at the weekend!

i'll just have to come back and do britain another time.

sorry, trying to be positive about this, but slightly ticked off at the same time, as there's nothing i can do about it. except moan about it on this... which helps, in a way.

Comments

punch buggy!

2006-04-27T19:19:21+02:00

although it was an accident, today provided a bit of excitement.

the p.e. classes are all a-muck today and tomorrow because of exams, and so today, i covered an all-boys' class in my room. they had worksheets to do, and should have been able to do them quietly. half the class i teach on a regular basis, and the other half i didn't know. wow.

so class is going along smoothly (replace smooth with rough) and i have only had to reprimand about a hundred times. one of the finer comments - 'miss, you can't teach us, you're a girl.' how silly can you get??? they have female teachers. jeez.

when they had semi-sorted themselves out, one lovely child decided to take another's sheet to copy, so we both went over to said lovely child to reclaim the work. as i was talking to him, and asking for the pen he had also taken off my desk, he stood up, and turned around to lash out at his accusor behind him. in the process i got decked on the face! full-on, close fist punch to the jaw.

yikes, is right.

i know it was an accident, but he kept swearing at me afterwards, telling me that he hadn't hit me, when he actually had, so i called on-call and he was taken away.

what breaks my heart is that he has just come off of an exclusion, and was trying really hard to get his work done (although he was copying some). i'm not sure if he'll get in trouble for it, since it was an accident.

but still. i got punched. crazy!

Comments

random rambling

2006-04-21T22:41:57+02:00

Week one back into term is done. Thank goodness. I was being told the entire 2nd term that 2nd was the worst - so far, 3rd's not looking too hot.

They're noisy. They throw things. They do not listen to a word I say. Really, it's like we're back in September, but I now know them all super-duper well. A progress report on this will follow.

The year 11s have started up a climbing club that I have joined. Apparently it will soon be passed on to me and Brad, so that should be fun. It's a teeny tiny little place about 20 minutes outside of town, but still enough wall to climb! And, honestly, I haven't climbed in so long, anything is a challenge for me! I just have to remember to bring my chalk bag next time.

Vanessa's gone. She's returned to the land of insane puppies. To answer all your questions all at once - yes, it sucks that she's not here anymore, I haven't had time to miss her b/c I've been so busy with work (and 7.5 hours last night of paperwork for my year 11s... oooh, I was not happy), I still have almost every weekend planned for the rest of the year, and yes, she seems to be liking it at home. We had a great time while away on our trip, then a very fun day out in London when we got back.

In a way, I would like to be at home now. However, in my typical 'I can't make up my mind' ways, in a way I just want to be here. There are many things going for me at home, but I do enjoy the weekends here. I have so many places to still go to! One of them being touring around getting to all of the Arthurian places... So it's not that I hate it here and that's why I want to go home. I don't know. I'm not explaining myself very well. I'll try again when I'm not so tired.

I can say, though, that I will be excited to go home. Get set up in a house somewhere (hopefully in Kits, that's where I'd like to live) and dive into life in Vancouver with my Hammy and whatever else is thrown my way. Until then, I get to daydream.

Pictures from our driving trip will be up on yahoo pictures soon, so I will email round to people if you want to see pics. Not too many of me but lots of Ness and castles and beaches and stuff.

Stay tuned.

Comments

news on camping

2006-04-12T20:08:56+02:00

oh, the innocence of the shaw girls!

We were chatting to a man in a camera store this aft... about camping and how people don't do it anymore. Get this:

People don't camp as much these days because too many of them were getting mugged and stuff!! Yikes! He then said that staying in places where there are few or no tenters is not a good idea.

Why am I thinking about this now?... check out the places we've been the past few nights:

As I said in the previous entry, we roamed around for ages and ages the other night in Galway trying to find a place. Finally, we pulled into a gas station, and the guy there was super nice. He called a place from the yellow pages for me, and I talked to the lady on the phone. Yes, they're a caravan park, no they're not open yet, but yes we can stay the night. no charge (sweet). She then gives directions to go to the next town, at the center of town turn right, and they would be one mile up the road. buzz in at the gates and she'd let us in. So we drive the road... can't find the place. All we find is this SCARY run down park with a scary run down stone wall and gates... that's not it. then further up the road we find housing developments.. even scarier. ages and lots of driving up and down the road later we find the place. and it's deserted. nice lady, lets us in, shows us where to go, but the wind and chill in the air make it spooky. In the morning we packed up and left.

So that was sketch-place number one.

The next would have been the night before last. Driving down the deserted west coast of ireland in the howling wind. We see this caravan park from the deserted highway. it looks... you guessed it - deserted. one caravan has its lights on, so we go knock on the door. they call the owner, and he says park wherever and pay tomorrow. so we take a short tour of the place. spooky doesn't even start to describe this place. i'm sure it's fab in the summer with kids and bbqs and such.. but now!!??! no. Like I said before, the stories of bodies and killers were certainly on our minds. and it's not like we were near anything to get help. gulp.

and during the night those noises didn't help either.

I'd say we've been pretty lucky, but we're not sure if we're going to camp again. apparently it is not a safe thing to do down here.

time's up on the computer - update on the camping another day.

seriously, i have not described the eeriness and scaryness and sketchyness of these places well.

brrrr

Comments