Some plans and general ramblings

We are making a butternut squash soup with our new blender, Glenda. It's the weekend and we have been super relaxy - doing cooking and playing squash and laying in bed and reading the papers and watching silly films. Awesome!

Have been back in Oxford for 4 days after going home and then having a meeting in Cardiff. Am currently debating whether to take Cardiff's funding offer or to take a year out and apply for the Civil Service. Have got it into my head that I should work for the government, and maybe eventually become an MP (fits my initials and all). But then again I have three years paid for in Cardiff and I can be near X there, so it's a tough decision. Oxford are "re-evaluating" my application, which doesn't sound promising, so I think I'll have to sack that.

Spurs threw away a win against Blackburn yesterday. Admittedly there were some dodgy reffing decisions, including Palacios' second yellow card, which led to him being sent off and Blackburn capitalising on our chaos to score two goals, but even accounting for that, Spurs still were lacklustre. I think Redknapp should have brought on Pav instead of Bent after about 70 minutes rather than sticking with him when nothing was happening. Spurs' goal only came from a debatable hand-ball penalty award so really we are not doing enough to finish in a decent position. My eyes are on next season now.

Next week I'm in Cambridge on a higher education programme with TF. We're helping Y12 kids get in the zone for uni applications, which I'm looking forward too. It's a packed programme, and I've forgotten what it's like to teach/manage people, but we'll see how it goes.

Been planting in the allotment, now about to watch No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Back after Easter!

V-day and other things!

It is a Monday but I am treating it like a Sunday i.e doing chores and being distracted. I have lots of work to do, as usual, and so am procrastinating, as usual.

Went on strike on Friday and didn't write my essay on transition theory. Turns out no-one really understood the topic anyway, so that's one question I won't be choosing on my finals paper. My other two essays turned out to be good, so my hope that I CAN actually write a half-decent essay has been restored.

Got an offer from Cardiff to read for a PhD there, woooo! Now have to revise my proposal so I can get funding, fingers crossed on that front.

Took X to Bodyworlds on Sat for V-Day, which was really cool. The plastinated models were amazing, seeing the insides of people, all organs and muscles and bones was unbelievable, not to mention the giant giraffe, which was really something else! We learnt loads and I think X enjoyed consolidating the pre-med work. We only got into London around 4ish, but it was nice to have a lazy morning and read the papers/do the crossword on the way down. We missed all the parties and bops in college on Sat night, and I got into a strop cos I'd lost my lovely purple and pink stripey gloves that I've mix-and-matched with X, but I got over it on Sunday. Shame I couldn't be less of a kid on Sat night, but I guess we were both cold and hungry and tired, so that was a bit of a write-off. The pirate pepper grinder that X got me is perfect for our new nest, I like it a lot!

We played our much-vaunted cuppers quarter-final against LMH/T yesterday. Alas we lost in extra-time, it was 4-3, very dramatic! The knee mostly held up - one rather painful moment when I put a cross in and it clicked rather horridly, but it's no more sore than the rest of my very achey body today. Playing 120 minutes of football after having done nearly no exercise (apart from cycling) for about 2 months is a bad plan. I am very naughty when it comes to being good and taking care of myself.

What else? I bought us a TV licence, making us officially grown-up. We have been doing lots of house-based stuff like tidying and doing laundry and food shopping and making it nice. I am gutted to be missing our first book club meeting this Sunday, but it's our old girls' football match on Sat and the dinner too, so I just can't get to London in time on Sunday, oh well. I've been reading Q&A for it, which is singularly awful in my humble opinion, Slumdog is so much better.

Ok I best try and get some work done. Just a quick update to keep the records complete!

Protesting and other things

It's Sunday of 3rd week already, I can't believe it! And it's February! And it was snowing in London today.

Have had very busy weekend. Was in London on Sat - went to the Tate Britain with X, which was cool, and then we joined my brother for the Anti-Genocide protest march against the war in Sri Lanka and the wrong-doings of the government there. It's some bad sh*t going down over there, but because the Tigers are listed as terrorists, no one else will intervene, even though the Army is basically destroying civilian infrastructure, and displacing and killing thousands of people. It's a terrible thing, I hope they can at least reach a cease-fire soon, if not granting us Tamils as separate state. Anyway, apparently 50,000 people turned out for the march from Tate Britain to Temple, which is loads of people, and all the roads were closed for the walk, with a petition being handed into parliament, so fingers crossed that our voices can help the voices being silenced in Sri Lanka.

After the march we went bowling in Finsbury Park, which was fun, and in stark contrast to all the serious thoughts of the protest. Then we went to one of X's house-mate's friend's gigs in Great Portland Street, which was also really cool, I love live music, especially when it's something different. Then today we chilled for most of the day and managed to complete the Observer speedy crossword - a success compared to last week where we really struggled! Now am back in Oxford, but disappointed since the bar is closed and so Scrabble Club has been cancelled. At least I'll get an early night!

Managed to do the whole of January without drinking, good stuff! Celebrated with a pint of ale with X in Notting Hill, yum. We are excited because next weekend is moving weekend, thus only have a week left in this place! Hopefully all the drama of moving won't be too much - this time next week we want to be nice and settled.

Lots of work for this week, as per usual. Let's keep this train going!

Week 2 begins

Another weekend gone and the start of another busy week. Last week saw loads of hard work, but I'm not sure how sustainable it is. At least this week I'm only writing one essay, but the reading lists are still massive. Phew, hard work, roll on the holidays!

At lunchtime today we had a seminar on internet dating and use, and perceptions of married couples of internet use, and also characteristics of people who had met through online dating versus traditional forms. It was really interesting stuff, although now we're so drilled into thinking quantitatively that when these guys presented their work, we were kinda disparaging of it. They showed that women generally were more suspicious of men's activities online, and even went to the extent of surveillance (covert!). They also found marked differences in the ages of people who used online dating sites, and also differences in the ages between the two individuals in the couple, and differences in education too. Interestingly people who used online dating seemed more keen on all aspects of attraction e.g. physical, emotion, personality etc. suggesting that they were really "shopping" for a partner. I'd like to know what the outcome of relationships formed online are in comparison to offline - do they last longer, are people happier, are they more similar to each other etc.? Also their sample was only of heterosexual married couples - I wonder what they would find if they broadened their search?

X was around after the interviews so we had lots of good fun. Spent too much money but we feasted and dined in Oxford and in London (some really great food, particularly at the birthday dinner we went to in Angel on Sat, but also at my little favourite, Luna Caprese, on Fri too). We had cocktails at Raoul's, which was lovely, and we saw Slumdog Millionaire, which was a really good film, although in no way at all could be reasonably described as a "feel good film", except for maybe the last 10 minutes or so. It was pretty sad and quite harrowing stuff, I guess because it's so real and happening right now. Not the millionaire stuff I mean, but the stuff about child orphans and slums and exploitation and a lack of welfare and just cruelty. It was hard to watch but a brilliant film nonetheless.

Spurs are out of the FA Cup, as to be expected. What are we going to do? Our performance is so lack-lustre - we can't even perk up for cup games now it's pretty demoralising. At least we beat Burnley I suppose, and Man Utd are TOUGH opposition, but right now it still hurts to be a spurs fan.

Yesterday we tried to do the RSPB birdwatch event, but the view from my window was dominated by geese and crows, none of the cute little birds on their leaflet, so we had to abandon the challenge. Later in the afternoon though, we could hear them so beautifully chirruping away, it was lovely with the sky all sunsetty too. And I won Scrabble in the evening, hurrah!

Ok I'm off to dinner now, before hitting the library. I ambitiously want to finish the rest of my stratification reading tonight - 5 more articles - leaving me with just one book and a chapter to somehow sneak into tomorrow's schedule, along with my analysis reading AND education class AND bike workshop. BUSY. And at some point I need to go shopping and also do some work on my knee. WHEN?! Heehee just this afternoon I was doing a psychology experiment for a friend and circled the box that I "mostly feel in control of my life"....is this still true?

Sunday 1st week

Good evening. It's Sunday of 1st week, term has officially started! A quick recap then:

My stats exam on Friday went ok - there were a few obvious things that I just forgot how to do e.g. find a confidence interval for a proportion, but mostly it was cool, and at least I finished it in time.

I met up with a potential supervisor, which was very exciting. My research proposal has been second drafted and I think it's ok, so it's staying as it is for the Oxford application. Just waiting on references now so that I can give my application in.

Research design essay is printed out and ready to go.

Have realised that this term that for three weeks I will have four reading lists to get through - sociological analysis, social stratification, sociology of education, and qualitative methods! Yikes! For the other weeks I'll still have three reading lists to get through, loooooads of items on each too! Over the term I'll only have to write 13 essays though, which isn't so bad, although I guess there'll be assignments from qualitative methods to do, not to mention attending the intermediate stats lectures. It's going to be a very busy term I suspect.

Am trying to manage my work better by doing some now, hurrah! Also am pleased that most of the SA reading seems to be posted online, which means it'll be easier for me to get hold of. My laptop is now back and working in my room too, which is cool!

What else? So on Friday eve I headed down to London to see X - we went to dinner and saw Twilight, which was very funny, mainly because the acting and script were just SO BAD! We chilled on Saturday, it was really nice! We've found a nest too, from the university, which is really cool - we'll be in there in three weekends time :) Saturday night I was at home with the family, which was good, although some bad family news (a divorce and also a very sick close family friend). But my cousin is getting married in the States in the summer and we get to go, hurrah!

Today I caught up with some TF-ers at a lovely cafe in Fulham called Aziz, very nice food, although I "accidentally" ordered a giant choc meringue, and am still trying to finish it! The amount of sugar in it has got to be dangerous! Was very much fun to catch up with my friends though, who are all doing exciting things, it seems like ages ago when we were teachers, but we can still all chatter about it like it was only yesterday.

So I best get back to my reading for tonight, before some scrabble fun, but would lastly like to note my pleasure that Spurs didn't lose today, we drew, thus we are out of the relegation zone! Let's hope we can stay there!

The return of Scrabulous

It's Friday! This time last week I was recovering from my knee surgery. Now I'm sitting at my desk with my right knee bent across my left foot, cool :) Hopefully it'll keep on healing smoothly. I can get the dressings taken off tomorrow, and the stitches should be dissolving soon too!

I finished my stats paper, yeah! It wasn't so hard, I'm pretty confident about the paper, it should be cool. Also just got my reading list for qualitative methods, and that looks really interesting, particularly the stuff on ethnographies. Ever since I read that ethnographic study of American gangs, I'm well up for a bit of ethnography myself.

I'm still reading Twilight, it's got loads more interesting, and now I really want to see the film. It could mostly do without all the description of the looks and glances and lots of the feelings stuff too, just cos it's very repetitive, but I like the drama now, so let's hope it stays interesting.

Am also very pleased about the return of Scrabulous to Facebook - now called Lexulous! I do love my online scrabble, and since I have to take my old laptop back up to college, I don't think I'll be able to be distracted too much, just cos I'm not sure my laptop can keep up!

I'm back in Oxford on Sunday, which is cool, I want to get back into the swing of things there, although being at home has been brilliant, such comfort! X and I have a house-viewing on Sunday afternoon, which is exciting, my first ever one! It's all getting a bit serious now, what with the nesting and all, but I'm happy about it, although I guess sooner or later I'm going to have to come clean to the family. Hmm, I'm sure the right time will come round eventually i.e. when I stop being a wimp.

So happy weekends to everyone and hope January has been treating you well so far!

Week 6 update

I thought I would do a spot of blogging, but actually my eye's hurt from looking at the screen, and I have to read some articles for research design after this, so I guess I'll keep it short.

What's new? Nothing really. STATA assignments keep us busy, along with Sociological Analysis essays. Busy weekend rushing about seeing old friends, playing football, going dancing for a friend's birthday, chilling out with X, just spending time really. Boy do I love weekends though!

It's almost 7th week, can't believe the time has gone so fast. Went to London last night to hang out with X, was lovely. Have brought X's bike up here so we can cycle around together, good for health, pocket and the environment!

Scored a cracking header off a corner last weekend and got "chihuahua of the match", which was totally cool!

Repaired one puncture for the whole session at the bike workshop on Tuesday, but did it in the end, so feel good about that! Am on for my first shift on the bar rota tonight, which should be exciting, except I've forgotten all the things we learnt at training, so it might be tricky, but hopefully I'll get the hang of it ok.

Refereeing's going ok, I'm mainly doing it for the money, but I do appreciate the run around, and also a good game of football (if it works out that way). JCR games have mostly been really good; MCR less so, but I'm not doing them really any more, so that's cool.

Right, best get to work, but will do my best to update sooner in future. Oh and I watched The Bourne Identity for the first time on DVD yesterday, and it was really good, so now I can't wait to see the other two!

Some stuff that's been happening

I don't usually work on Thursday nights, well, not properly anyway, but I'm pretty busy this weekend + lots of the readings are books (which luckily I have managed to get a hold of) so thought I'd better make a start.

What's new? Been refereeing still, that's going pretty well. Working hard. Went to London last night to try and watch the fireworks at Clapham Common with X, except the traffic and then awful delays on the underground meant I was too late and so we missed it. We were all grizzly but then cheered up after some KFC, naughty but yum.

Stayed up really late on Tuesday for the elections, which were super exciting, although had a bit too much to drink, which meant I couldn't write my essay, as originally intended, hence having to scrape bits together on the coach journeys to and from London. Am super pleased Obama made it - it's funny how something like this can be so moving, I don't really know why, it all just seems so hopeful, as if things could really change for the world. I hope they can. I hope he can do it.

Also helped out on the bike workshop on Tuesday, which was cool, I like fixing things, plus it's good to know a few things about bikes and how to fix them.

Went shopping today for the first time since being in Oxford (not food shopping, actual shopping). The town is getting Christmassy and it was pretty busy. Bought some absolute bargains, including fun stuff for X to celebrate the GAMSAT scores! Also sat and had some tea and read the paper in the common room, which was nice, it's good to chill a bit sometimes. Someone was playing Moonlight Sonata in the piano room, which was a lovely accompaniment, I love that piece.

Oooh I forgot to say, I scored the first goal for Wolfson at our game on Saturday, and it was so much fun! I played in goal for the second half, and my knee held it together, and it was just so cool to be playing again. I won joint player of the match, and we have a little chihuahua to play with for the week (except I've not seen it yet, the other winner has it!) Alongside that X and I had the most lovely weekend full of fun times, even plodding in the rain for ages was fun - we did lots of cooking and relaxing stuff, and it was just cool to know that our time wasn't fleeting as it usually is. Mmm, happy.

Ok, that's about it, except Spurs are having a revival and I hope they keep it up!

Quick weekend update

Sunday evening. Aaah. It is second week already, how comes? Where has the time gone?

Have had a lovely weekend not doing any work, which means lots of it in the week to come, but none for now. Spent most of my time with X, making bread in the bread maker and playing lots of sports, so was in a bit of a funk cos of the comedown after the weekend today, but playing some squash and helping a mate unpack sorted that out. My calves really ache from refereeing yesterday (which was a bit dramatic, but worthwhile nonetheless) and also playing a bit of college footy, which was loads of fun (fingers crossed the knee holds out). So have done lots of sports, which makes all the feasting justified.

Spurs are doing shockingly in the premiership, still rock-bottom and just lost to the 19th placed team. We are yet to win a match, it is getting a wee bit hairy. Hmm.

Ok, I have to run to see if anyone will turn up for Scrabble club tonight. Not entirely sure they will, but better try and see! Have a good week!

Last day of term. Err, I mean work.

Woo hoo! It's Friday! And it's about to be Bank Holiday weekend! Woo hoo!

It's my last day at my temping job too, so really I feel like it's holiday time! I've conveniently forgotten that I've got one more week of work after the weekend (but that's at a social enterprise company - MyBnk - and it's to do with teaching type stuff, so that could be interesting).

I'm house-sitting at the moment out in Goldhawk Road with Mouche, which is ace fun, it's so cool to have some space and live a bit more independently. The flat is beautiful and really cosy with loads of books and CDs and stuff like that. AND it's a garden flat, so sitting out in the sun yesterday with cups of tea was wonderful.

Apart from that I've been pretty busy seeing people and just having summer fun, apart from the complete lack of sun of course. I can't remember if I mentioned that I went on the ward round last week, which was super interesting, and sad. After that I felt like becoming a psychiatrist, but this week there have been so many bonkers incidents that I don't think I could do it after all.

Last point of note - there's a cat called Stripey Pants, which is really used to the house we're sitting at, and just comes in and stuff, and yesterday I totally freaked out and thought it was coming to get me. Usually I like cats, I mean, I'm not super touchy-feely with them, but still, I get on with them. But yesterday I couldn't bear it, it was so odd. I have decided that I was just a bit stressed and took it out on the cat (stressed because I broke their curtains, accidentally of course, but now want to fix them and can't so it bugs me).

I looked up the word neurotic yesterday. I think this is what I am.

Weeeeeeekend!

Continuing the weekend aka not working now

It's just gone 8pm and I am contemplating an early night. I'm pretty tired and the thought of creating my NQT folder isn't that appealing. I have fourteen teaching days to go. FOURTEEN! How crazy is that?! I don't know where the time has gone. I guess though that by the time those 14 days are up this NQT folder needs to exist. Hmmm. It's pretty annoying that the teaching standards changed this year - it means that we can't just use the folder we made last year, with a few changes here and there. Oh well, I suppose I must have made some progress and development this year...

I went to Brussels with X this last weekend and it was lovely. I love Belgian beer and waffles and mussels and chocolate. Food generally. I also like walking around and sleeping in the sun in the park and doing cultural stuff and lying in bed and generally being away, it's ace. My bro went to Glastonbury and said it was wicked so I am adding that to my list of things to do.

Today I did some research, after visiting La Musee des Beaux-Arts, on the crazy dude that is Brueghel. I went to see his Fall of Icarus but was then completely captivated and freaked out by The Fall of the Rebel Angels, which is too bizarre for me to want to post up here. I also did some research on croquet, which I need to write up in the BoK. Really I should have been working on various folders/presentations etc, but I couldn't be worrying about that what with all the fun stuff to. I did however prepare for the Y12 taster lesson on Sociology I'm teaching tomorrow, using this website as my inspiration. Who knew so many movies had a sociological element?

In other news the tutor group were good today despite lots of behaviour drama. R is back from her second 3 day exclusion and immediately playing up. A is 5 days on blue report still (the pre/post exclusion report). C is being excluded from tomorrow, and K is shortly to be excluded. I am convinced my form has had more exclusions/kids leaving than any other. We have two kids transferred in from other forms now though, so the numbers aren't too low (18 in the class on a good day).

That's pretty much it for now, except this rather dramatic horoscope:

Satisfying as it’s been to deal with unsettling issues and personal dilemmas you thought you’d just have to live with, you’ll be relieved to learn that Tuesday’s move by Mars into Virgo ends this demanding cycle. What you’ve learnt while you’ve delved into these tricky situations since early May will prove handy when you must make swift decisions. True, it won’t be until you consider your reactions in retrospect that you’ll realise just how much you’ve changed. Note these developments, since they will fuel the lively discussions — and occasional disagreements — that end this week and begin the next. As far out as what’s being considered seems at first, within days those ideas could become solid plans.

The weekend

I am going to do my marking in 16 minutes. I hate marking. In six weeks I will be free from marking, woo!

A glorious weekend, with an interesting share of drama. Went to see Into the Hoods on Thursday night on a school trip, was awesome, made me want to be a professional dancer, see it if you get a chance. Then went out drinking and went back to X's as I had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning, thus could have a lie-in. But drama strikes - my car got towed on Friday morning so had to go and rescue it from Hornsey and thus missed everything, whoops! Was WELL ANNOYING, can't believe some loser called up to get my car towed, they coulda just left me a note or something. Made me bemoan the state of society.

Anyway Friday went ok teaching-wise, then went home to bed, then went out to see SATC, which again was good and funny and I liked it a lot. I watched SATC a lot whilst at school and uni, but then kinda stopped, but it was good to see the film. I really want this book from the film, but apparently it's fictional. This is the closest I can get to it. We bought pick'n'mix (which I am loving at the moment, along with whippy ice cream from ice-cream vans) and it cost almost £3! The next day, whilst rambling around Epping Forest and then along Wanstead High St, we bought a similar amount of sweets from Woolworth's and it cost only 13p! So the cinema was a complete rip-off, am gonna sneak my own in in future.

What else? Yesterday tried to go to StokeFest in Clissold Park, but it was rammed, so went to Finsbury Park instead, and basked in the sun with X, lovely. I am loving all this X time :) Interestingly, apparently when I was small I used to ride my tricycle around Clissold Park, wow.

Teaching was ok today, but tiring. Some awful Y8 drama - a girl that was excluded for carrying a knife filmed herself with a boy in Y11 doing you know what, and it's been spreading like wild-fire across the school on mobile phones. Technically it's child pornography since she's only 13, so it's sad and shocking and illegal, thus we have been busy trying to stop kids getting hold of it, and also getting the police involved. Poor girl, she's a mess, I wonder what will happen to her?

In other news, I have looooads of work to do. Part of the joy of not working all weekend means I have loads to do tonight, when it's so nice and sunny that I just want to go and sit outside and read Sunday's papers/ It's ok though, I've been napping, now I'm gonna blitz it. Woo! Then I will read all the match reports from today's Euro games.

29 teaching days to go!

Pink Vision

I have been intending to have a shower for about 30 minutes. But I have Shine on my stereo, and I keep meaning to get upstairs, but then end up staying for just one more track. I love Estelle, this is such an awesome banging album full of proper soaring vocals and beats and stuff, I love it.

I had a super busy but good weekend. My legs are achey achey from an epic squash session on Saturday morning, two days of achey, but it feels good. Totally burned off all the indian food from our maths department social on Friday night (if not all the booze). Last night I had an amazing night's sleep. I swear the world is just that bit brighter after a good kip. In true me style I don't think I slept much on Thurs or Fri or Sat night (I guess maybe about 7 hours over the three nights), plus on Saturday I had lunch at 1pm and then didn't eat again until 2pm on Sunday, which is treating my body quite harshly. So I think it is feeling good today after food and rest to remind me that if I treat it well it will be well.

My vision is entirely rose-tinted at the moment. I mean, forget just the spectacles, it feels like my actual eyes themselves have pinked up (not in a gross infection type way). Things feel good, like my soul is singing. It's lovely. School-based dramas rolled off me today. I want the feeling to last. And I think I now how to do that. I will just keep the source; keep you.

I'm going back to Oxford in the autumn, I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to getting back into education and figuring out a way to make a difference to our disadvantaged kids. If I couldn't do it enough in the classroom, maybe I can do it from the outside. I like it when I have plans.

Man, I can't get over this album. Oh, but also the Juno album, beautiful beautiful stuff. My absolute favourite lines are from the closing song: #I kiss you all starry-eyed, my body's swinging from side to side#. I just googled that for laughs and there's about a million sites quoting it. The first blog quoting it is just full of lyrics. It's weird to read lyrics without hearing the songs, I guess then it's just poetry rather than song. I dunno, maybe everyone's souls are singing too.

Yay I made the weekend!

Phew, it's been a looong week, but woo, it's the weekend! I made it through :)
Am off for fun and games in Oxford tonight, but before that, some things I've learnt:

1. Taking the piss out of students is a risky strategy, but occasionally works a treat when it comes to managing behaviour
2. If I was hyper all the time, no learning would ever get done
3. Staff seem to like me bouncy
4. Doing good deeds for other people makes me feel really good, so I can always try and do things for other people when I feel bad myself
5. Shopping and tidying and exercise always make me feel good

I went to bhangra with my mother this morning, that was hilarious fun, I really enjoyed it, and I love how keen my mum is about her dancing. Also, I got ID'ed in Waitrose trying to buy Pimm's and beer, which is also hilarious since in 4 months time I will be a full SEVEN YEARS over the legal drinking age, hahaha, and yet I still can't pass for 18.

Nothing else major to report except that I'm feeling good. Oh, and as a sign of my positive commitment to trying to pass this year after all, when I had my knee appointment on Friday and they offered me potential orthoscopy dates in June, I told them I couldn't have two weeks off until July 20th - check me out! Turning down two weeks of paid medical leave AND messing up my summer travel plans all to try and do my best to pass this NQT year. Keep them crossed for me, as always. Have a good weekend!

PS LOVE Adele's Cold Shoulder, it's a tuuuuune!

Last week of term!

I have three and a half days left to teach this term. Awesome! That's only 12 lessons since Friday is the 1pm finish day, and I only actually teach lesson one that day.

Tomorrow it will be April. One quarter or 0.25 or 25% of the chronological year has gone. Two thirds of the academic year. I ask again, where has it gone?

I have a lot of work to do. Marking-wise I am about three weeks behind with most of my classes. Despite this, I am struggling to make myself actually mark through. For example, today after the year team meeting I got home 6ish and decided to get my Y10 books out of the way. Figured I could do it in an hour. Only really started marking about 2 hours later. Whoops. I bought some stuff on Amazon, answered all my emails, messed about on Facebook, called some people, read the papers online etc. It's so easy to distract myself. Boo, this weekend, the first of the holiday, may end up being all about marking.

Planning too is out of the window. I winged the day today, which was ok actually since I only taught three lessons and I had already planned one of them before. I've noticed that now I've pretty much taught every topic, it's a little bit easier, since I already know good ways of teaching them. That said, next term I will need to get back on form, particularly if I want to pass my NQT year! My folder is looking pretty barren.

The week is busy. It's Y11 awards ceremony tomorrow night. We are all grumpy about having to go since we didn't teach many of them and it's a long evening of boring speeches etc. I suppose it is a celebration of achievement, but when you have so much work to do it feels like time could be better spent. Would I spend it better though? I guess I'll just take Gilead along with me :)

Weds night is a G&T training meeting for the HEAPS Program for which I'm an Advocate. Should be good stuff I think, I'm enthusiastic about this program. But again, I should be working. Or at least going to the gym.

What else is new? I saw Bertie in Wendover this weekend, was awesome, it's proper villagey countrysidey and I loved it. There's something about living in London that makes me want to escape. X had a party on Saturday night, which was good drunken fun. A few more people know about X now, which is a good feeling I think. Weekends are like holidays, but then weekdays are like work. That's a deep sentiment.

Some important geography:

- the capital of Tibet is Lhasa
- the Argentinian plains are called Pampas

Last horoscope of this term, not really sure what it's about:

Few situations are more uncomfortable than those in which you must question those whose actions you regard as suspect. Obviously, you would prefer the luxury of having reliable information, but with so much in transition, facts arrive piecemeal. If you’re right, something must be done. Ironically, others are well aware of problems, and the more forthright you are in expressing those concerns, the better things will go. The surprise is that they’ve also been wondering what you’ve been up to. Once you’re speaking frankly, promise to keep it up. That’s because, while you may have cleared up the current crop of mysteries you’re facing, yet more are promised next week.

I am sleepy

I am sleepy. I have been for two days. Not that kinda zombie feeling I've had before; I don't feel unmotivated, just tired. Thus the days have been calm since I have floated through them in a daze. Have had lots of bad behaviour around the school though, mainly from students in the corridors who I don't teach. Wet weather makes the kids a bit mad, especially when they are trapped inside the building.

Had a lovely weekend. All weekends are lovely really, I just wish there were more weekends and less weekdays. Am now busy(!) marking books.

Took my Y7s to football today - they won a match and then lost one, but I was so proud because they are such good little sportsmen, really supportive of each other and fair players etc. Made it worth going despite me craving a nap from about 1pm.

Have busy evenings for the rest of the week so no nap opportunities. Boo. Think I will have a shower now to wake me up a bit.

Sorry I haven't got anything too exciting to say - when you are asleep things tend to be pass you by.

Saturday morning - don't want to work yet

I am procrastinating. It is going well. The lesson planning, however, is not.

This week has been really busy. Now that I finally have a chance to sit and reflect for a bit, I am taking it, and thus struggling to actually do the things I am meant to do, and have to do, today.

Highlights and lowlights include the TF Women in Leadership Event on Weds. It was that event last year that sparked my demise in teaching, in that S and I went out on a bender and then school became tough. Not that the two events are directly correlated. The speakers were good. One was hilarious - she kept making random outlandish statements, and actively contradicting other speakers and putting them down. I think all people named Julia are a bit eccentric. The overall message was that we had to compromise and prioritise, but we could get what we wanted so long as we were driven enough. Never heard that one before(!) Saw a friend from uni afterwards - she's on a year abroad and she reads this I think, so here's your name check R...was good to see you, hope things are chirpy!

I forget about people who don't have to work the next day, and thus try and drink with them, error. I really should learn that mid-week fixtures are for the most part just not on. Thursday day-time was a right-off, which was unfortunate since I had a parents' evening. That was a nightmare - Y8, so my maths group AND my tutor group. Was still there after 9pm having done 150 mins of solid speaking to various concerned/irate parents. Also I thought some of the kids in my tutor group had given me their disgusting eye infections, but fingers crossed I have escaped.

What else? Teaching was ok, standard dramas, manageable. Oh, except the whole "failing the year" thing, but I've decided to ignore that for now. Had a lovely dinner with the girls last night, some good chatter and gossip + managed to deflect any serious chatter that was aimed my way (although they did pin me down in the end). I love going out for Indian food, it's ace, particularly when it's really good food, yum yum.

Ok, I think I'll book my April escape to Toronto now. It IS on the to-do list, so I don't think it counts as a distraction.

Highlights from the End of the Week

It's Saturday morning, woo! I woke up at half nine, just cos. Awesome! I am not even hungover from last night, despite drinking cocktails AND champagne, dangerous combos, so that's also awesome! Went to a cool little Scottish cocktail bar called Doon in Traf Sq - have a friend born on 29th Feb, so it was his 6th birthday party, cue lots of childish cards and badges etc. hahahaha.

Inspection feedback - we were "good". That is seriously good, since schools are rated outstanding, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory, and for a school that's had so much drama, this rating is ace. The maths department were named as "a beacon of excellence", woah. Obviously we are, but they only saw one maths lesson, and then seemed to watch us maths teachers teach PSHE, so not sure what they based it on. Must be our stellar Head of Department, and all our statistics. Our department is in the top 2% nationally with regards to value added scores (how much the kids improve from 11 to 14).

The head of Y8 had her last day on Friday. Kids were high as kites, everyone very emotional, there were crying kids (and teachers!) everywhere. She was properly ace at her job, I'm dreading the rest of term where we have no-one to do this job for us and keep the kids in line.

Y9 parents' evening on Thurs night was exhausting, and pretty emotional too. Really proud of my class - in their SATs mocks half of them got level 5cs, which is so many more than I'd expected. I want to get almost all of them into level 5 when they take the proper ones in May. It was emotional because loads of the parents were really pleased and grateful about how their kids were doing in maths. And then this boy S, I see him last, and he and his mother ramble on and on about how much S loves maths now and how he can't wait for me to teach him again next year and how I'm a lovely teacher etc. (see how my head gets big?) and on the one hand this makes me feel great, and on the other it makes me feel awful, because all these kids are making plans, and I'm not around to be there for them. More and more people at school have found out that I'll be leaving, it's awkward and difficult, I feel like a traitor. Sigh.

On to happier things - have decided to plan all my lessons now and do my Y12 marking, then I can play all weekend. But first, let's check out the TES for international jobs, I miss the sun!

A lovely weekend

It's dusk outside, the sun's half-way setting, and the sky is a beautiful beautiful pink. It makes me feel awesome. Not that I didn't feel awesome already.

I've had a lovely lovely weekend. Dashed out of the dramas of school on Friday, and to be honest, until just now I had completely forgotten about school, such is the power of my feel-good. I helped X move some stuff into the new place, lots of fun driving, it was pretty cool to be in London in the traffic. No, really. We went to the cinema to watch Juno - was really good, well worth watching, although she seemed to find it a bit too easy to give away her baby, but anyway.

Saturday morning drove back home, and then did my "errands", hahaha, mostly buying random stuff. In the afternoon headed up to Oxford for a school reunion dinner at LMH, excellent fun. Managed not to drink (for the second night in a row, oh yeah! Driving makes me responsible) and had X-related cravings so was lucky enough to be able to leg it back to X's after dinner. I love being around X, it's just awesome, and when I finally left and went outside, it was like proper spring, beautiful, birds and flowers and sun and everything. Driving back home along the river with a big smile on my face, I felt really content.

Got home today 3ish, and since then have been in a daze. I think I am all loved up, that would probably explain my dreamy state. I am mildly worried for my health - being so day dreamy got me rather lost on the way home, and now I just want to sit around and think about X and the weekend we have just had, rather do my lesson plans. It's ok though, my FB horoscope states that "the work will still be there later on. Take the time now do something with someone you care about". Mmmm.

One more week to half-term. I hope it's a good one. Well, how can it not be? Big smile. With teeth.

Quick Round-Up + Rambles

I have just marked two sets of class books. Phew. So hard-core has my marking been that I actually have those finger dents, which I don't remember having since finals. Phew again.

I still have my Y12 essays to mark, plus that long-forgotten risk assessment for the Cambridge trip to complete. Boo. I don't want to work any more tonight, I'm tired. I've already had a 20 minute disco nap, and that was actually super-useful since my marking was twice as fast afterwards, but I fear that if I put my head down now, that'll be it.

So what's been going on? Busy weekend, went to a housewarming, a 21st and spent 7 hours in the pub yesterday. Did my lesson planning on Saturday morning, a real impact session, I felt I owed it to the work. Plus I had a smile on my face. The housewarming was lovely, loads of booze, but managed to keep it reasonable. The house was in Kennington, but it was on a square and really nicely laid out, so I was jealous. The 21st was a family thing, and miles away, and I was totally falling asleep by 11pm. Crashed out in bed by half one, but somehow woke up at half eight on Sunday morning so hit the gym, yay! Made it ok to feast in the pub later. No comment regarding the Spurs defeat. Or the rubbish regarding buying Woodgate - what an error, they might as well just as buy me, except I would be better.

What else is new? Today taught some good lessons, I love my Y12s, they make me laugh so much. Y10 were good lesson 1, and so were my lower-ability 7s. Am worried about my top set Y8, I think I'm being too casual with them, and as a result we're not doing as much work as we need to. We had an assembly on the Holocaust - kids in my tutor group were talking and laughing through it so I shouted at them and kept them back afterwards. I can't remember being so disrespectful over something so important, particularly since if you consider the kids, well, if the Nazis had had their way around the world, only about three of my tutor group would still be around. And I wouldn't be. I guess they just need to mature.

After school we had a meeting with "K" and "S" and their English teacher and the 2nd in charge of English. The girls have been kicked out of English after some really dramatic conflict between the teacher and the kids. It's a nightmare, but today we seem to have made some progress on the reconciliation front. The girls were mature and gave some good ideas, and I think the English teacher is trying to give them a second chance too. I hope it works out - these are bright girls, they have a lot of potential, but I'm worried they're getting in too much trouble. They already have over 50 incident reports between them.

That said, crazy H had already picked up 50 plus two temporary exclusions before Christmas. He is going to be permanently excluded, he just can't behave. Today he lost the plot - 3 incident reports out of 5 lessons, plus he lost his red report, plus he was messing about in assembly. Sometimes he's just like that. It's such a shame, what's he going to do?

In other news, my horoscope:

You’re probably still reeling from the amazing offers of January’s last half, which were so good that you’re carefully evaluating them before committing. While they’re undoubtedly just that good, with your ruler, Mercury, retrograde from Monday until February 19, problems are bound to surface. Actually, the minor errors this cycle triggers should be helpful — you’ll want to slow the pace and will have numerous questions you want answered. These aren’t urgent, however, while situations involving those closest are. Make lending them support your priority and your kindness will be returned many times over.

I don't like the way it has "errors" in it. Also I lost a Scrabble game to X this weekend. Devastating. I genuinely thought I'd never lose. Humph. On the plus side, I've learned a new word - panpharmacon - a medicine for all ills. In seven letters, panacea.