Seasons of change

A couple of minor things to note from this week.

On Thursdays I help to run an after school badminton club.  This Thursday when I was leaving the junior school hall to walk back to my classroom, I realised it was still pretty light outside whereas at the end of last term it had been fairly dark outside - spring is on it's way.

Then last night as I was getting out of the car back home (in the rain and dark), I heard a bird squarking away.  I thought it was a funny time, but again made me think - spring is on it's way.

This morning I was listening to one of my musicals playlists on iTunes and then decided I wanted to listen to 'Seasons of Love' one of my favourites on youtube.  I fell in love with this at the Michael Ball concert I went to in the Autumn.  I didn't really know much about Rent before but can safely say I now really want to see it!  It's the sort of song to listen to by yourself in a contemplative mood inside.  Inspiring yet could also easily induce tears in me.

Randoms

I was just intending to write the word symbol in a maths plan for this week but I wrote simble instead. I knew it was wrong but took me a few seconds to work out just how wrong!!  isn't it strange how the brain works!

That's it really!

Date

To post or not to post.  To write or not to write. 

I went on a date tonight.  I had been avoiding using that term before, and then using it in inverted commas, but now i am writing it, as I think that's what it is.

But should I write about it here?  I know (well, I wish there was a way to know for sure) that no one is reading this blog, but I guess the truth is that someday I hope that someone will read it.  And with that being the case, maybe I shouldn't share my thoughts on tonight.  How public is too public.  How private is too private. 

I have already emailed three girlfriends with a briefish run-down of tonight so have purged my need to share there.  And I know I will get to discuss it in the staffroom on Monday so maybe that should just suffice.  Plus I have already edited one post and read quite a few old other ones so my initial wideawakeness has passed and it is probably time for bed.

Things to do on the blog

A list for me to try to encourage me to improve the blog.

•  Still learn how to do a better header  22/2 Changed the photo and moved the writing to the side, but still can't figure how to change the size...
• Reduce number of tags or at least make more generic reduced 23/1 though will have to keep updating the check list of ones to post
  
• Make a better background/layout. 22/2  Have managed a play around and definitely happier with the blue background and slightly less in my face photo at the top.  Still not entirely sure if I want a stretch layout or not.  Think will do a print screen now (would have been good to do before) but at least then can track any future changes!

22nd February 2010 

ps this is the useful site that taught me how to do print screen on a mac.

Eyes

Relaxing this evening after some of those most concentrated thought I have done about school this term.  One of my top relaxing methods, watching an episode of my beloved ER.  It is an intense experience and I have to switch off from anything else I might have been doing and focus on it.  There is a lot of tv I watch and do jobs during - like putting photos in albums, filling nails etc.  But not so ER.  It was quite radical today that I let myself eat my dinner watching it.

I was gazing into the eyes of Carter, my dream wonder, and I wondered if there was a similarity with Damon Hill's eyes.  Are they the most famous eyes in motor racing history?  At least in my F1 lifetime.  Mika Hakkinen's also stand out in my memory.

Are there anybody's eyes that mean anything special to you?

Can you tell I am trying to branch my postings out away from the snow.  You may well get more of these random thinking posts.

Tears at the station

So, missing a train through trying to get a refund and presumably other emotions led to post title.  It was quite a big cry, quite possibly going on for 10 minutes.

Eventually managed to improve my mood by having a go at the free 'test your iq' app on my iphone for the first time.  Have never had my iq tested before, but have kinda secretly thought that it might be quite high.  of course didnt believe the app would be anyway accurate and it didnt ask my age or anything (isnt it supposed to be related?) but... my iq came out as 165 which to my knowledge is really high so i was mega chuffed and it suddenly became harder to scoff at ;-)

also i felt better when i got off the train and met another colleague from school getting off the same carriage.  She'd had an even worse start to the day setting off from home much earlier than me and being at the bus stop and two buses didnt show up so she missed the same train as me.  she said she had felt like crying and so i admitted that i actually had.

What therapy.

Snow Saga - ongoing!

2.55pm and here I am at home.  Joy to the wall!  (what a weird thing to write - am guessing I had meant to write Joy to the world!!  maybe it was a subconscious link to hole in the wall???)

woke this morning to more snow on the ground.  it has never thawed completely but there was definitely an extra inch or two this morning.  I was veering on the side of getting the train but the colleague I was supposed to be taking said she would drive.  So she picked me up but it was a little hairy driving with it still snowing but she did great driving.

We got into school and there had definitely been more snow in Didcot.  There was a ring around the staffrooms to count the number of teachers in.  Had got a txt on the journey in from head of KS1 to say she had tried but failed to make it away from her house.  Spoke to a KS2 teacher who had had a narrow escape in the car on the way in and was most shook up.  It continued snowing quite a bit during the morning.  We managed the morning relatively normal (or at least the new normal with an extended play and half inside and half out).  I even managed to teach some pretty good lessons - always easier when there are fewer in - I had six away and maths and phonics groups seemed pretty small.

I was excited at the start of lunch (in new normal style, children in classroom) to be told by Foundation Stage leader that they were holding a staff meeting in the junior staffroom at 12.10.  So over we went and I have to say I loved the drama of it all.   I do ever so much love things when they're out of the ordinary and this is high class entertainment for me :-)  It was announced by head of foundation stage (one of only two SLT members in the school; head had gone to hospital with daughter who had gone into labour, deputy head never made it) that the school was staying open till 3pm but children were able to be collected from 1pm - notices were going on website and on the special hotline.  She had an amazing contingency plan working out which staff could get home when.  There was a first round off staff leaving at 1pm as well with TAs etc covering and then as more children went and classes got amalgamated there was another round of teachers to leave and so on.  I'm still so excited just thinking about the organisation now!!

So, at one o'clock returned to the classroom and there were three parents already there!  At our end of year 2 we had one of the year 1 classes between us and I had the two class lists up on the board ready to highlight when children left.  The children in my classroom were very chilled.  We had a little circle time at the beginning to get them calm (very good idea I think) and then I talked about calm activities that could be done in the classroom.  Mine was the quiet one and 2D was the 'noisy' one, I did well there!  I just floated about really, changed reading books, ticked children off as they left.  I was told I could leave at 1.45 with colleague while 3 TAs covered our classes - my class was down to 8 at that point!  We got home fine and since being home it has now been snowing a little!!!!!  Think I am going to go out for a walk now :-)

My facebook status: Am I the only person left who is still so excited by the snow? Love it :-)

Update: I did indeed go out for a walk.  I decided to head down out the end of the road past the river and I stopped to take pictures.  

While snapping away about half a dozen ducks came up the bank quacking away.  They guilt tripped me into returning to the house to get bread.


  But.. the only bread I had was in the freezer.  I think that's what is called irony - trying to save the ducks from the snow by feeding frozen bread!  I did my best though and loads more ducks came out.  There were two big ones (geese I think) that were rather like bullies and I didnt want to feed them, but they came right up close to me and I did yelp out at one point!!  

I fed them quite a bit but still held my ground often enough that my wellie boot did get pecked on a few occasions.  I met a lady from the flats who came out with a large gone off loaf just as I was running out so that worked out well.

Laughter

Just been laughing out loud alone in my room by myself.  Potentially a sign of madness but I prefer to think of it as true living!  This particular episode was induced by watching home videos.  Mum has been recording our 20 year stash onto DVDs for the last few months - she's been doing a great job.  I'm currently on Las Vegas 1999. Have watched me asend a climbing wall in the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus then I was admiring my abseil down (thought I might have kicked out a bit more) when I reach the bottom but seem to have forgotten the need for legs to support my weight and collapse behind the wall, bounding back up momentarily later as the supervisor reaches over to pull my rope back up.  Have rewound this three times and laughed out loud for each one!

Also on the laughter front, one time when I do it most is meeting up with three friends from school.  We weren't particularly friends altogether at school but have been really close in subsequent years.  I always look forward to that bent in half clutching stomach laughter.  Last night it was our 3rd karaoke evening.

We were at Lucky Voice in Soho where you get a room or 'booth' for your group.  We had a non-stop chorus of classic hits (and those not so well known to the karaoke going public: Saviour's Day, Hello Dolly) for two hours.  Sadly I cannot sing in tune, and it is made more obvious when compared with my friends who are really good and have sung in choirs, but I love them because they let me sing my heart out into the microphone anyway.  Much silly merriment all round!

Friday already?!

So it's Friday evening and I am in the lovely and unusual position of still having some energy left for the evening - not the normal state of things for the end of the week.  But that could be becuase this hasn't been a normal week by any means!!  It looked like:

Monday - inset day
Tuesday - first day of term with children
Wednesday - First Snow Day!!
Thursday - Second Snow Day!!
Friday - children in school 10-2.  Home by train by 3.30.

Quite happy with that life :-)  So have been wondering what to do with myself tonight.  Thinking I might go to cinema - to make it two days in a row.  Yesterday was spent with more house cleaning, wander around shops in town (buying a £6 dress from next with a voucher, after much thinking a great birthday present for housemate, and lunch at Starbucks), to Phoenix Picture House to see Nine, home for more cleaning, chocolate muffin making, and ER watching.  Happy days indeed.

Snow Day Indeed!

I'm sitting in bed in pyjamas at 10am ever so happy!!  Still looking beautiful outside and even still snowing.

Loving the snow covered tress and the snowmen that were built last night.

Perfect scenario this morning.  After a night of waking up fairly often and catching snippets on the radio about the weather, and becoming convinced via dreams that the head had announced school was open today, I woke with alarm at 6.30.  Looked out of window, still snow.  Checked phone and emails - nothing.  Listened to weather news on radio.  Prepared to get up (with difficulty) and then the wondrous text came from my mentor: 'School closed - have a good day! x'

Fervoured/fevered (?) moments of excitement texting others and generally had a big smile on my face.  Lay back in bed and planned to get to sleep but took a while, over half an hour.  Now awake, have run outside bare foot in the snow in excitement!

Plans or ideas for the day:

• Wander in wellies to the parks or some such place.
• Go shopping and think about spending my christmas vouchers.
• Watch ER
• Lunch at Georginas - hope it's open!
• Tidy bedroom.
• Find out how to do a heading banner on my blog.
• Crieff diary.
• Print photos.
• Pluck eyebrows.
  

Hopefully this will be updated during the day and it'll be a good one!

10.45am - success one of the day that wasn't even on the list.  I have confirmed that there is no spell check now.  Instead I am going to try to use the firefox spell check at the recommendation of the Real Blogger Status.  Have not had good experiences with Thunderbird spell-check so we shall see...

11am - firefox doesn't check my spelling????????????????????

11.03am - woop woop!!!!  I have added a dictionary and now it checks the spelling! Time to get showering.

11pm - wow!  Good day indeed.  And... mega excitement - no school tomorrow!  So although not many of my things were achieved on my list today, I can have another go at them tomorrow!

The day looked like this: 

• Bizarrely did some rather good and deep cleaning of the kitchen - not an entire clean but still quite proud.  Would like to have a go at the lounge tomorrow.
• Met a colleague for lunch in Georgina's (check!), still loving that Mexican chicken wrap.  
• Left photos to be printed (check!).
• We wandered round Oxford (in wellies, check!) and he had a camera so we were able to capture plenty of magical moments.  We wandered into Exeter where there was a great snowman in the quad and went up on the 'balcony' in the fellows garden for great views of the Rad Cam.  And managed to be highly immature throwing snowballs down at the unsuspecting people below.  We slipped and slided (him more than me!) onwards to the Uni Parks via the forecourt (?) of the Natural History Musuem where we entered an igloo and built a snowman on a bench.  Well, he built it really while I did a giant snowball.  Also discovered was next to housemate and her colleagues who were building a snowpig!  Onwards at dusk to Christchurch meadows looking beautiful.  A stop off at Sainsbury's when the glorious text came.  A cup of tea and warm up back at mine.  
• I then had time to change and eat before heading to OUP for a jolly dancing session.  Even pushed a car that was skidding outside Worcester on the way which completed the magic of the day.

Two things to note:

• sound of walking in snow.
• quietness of snow.  (oxymoron??)

Happy days and night!

Snowball Fight - time to meet the neighbours!

So, I love the snow.  I think it snows so infrequently here that it isn't round long enough too get annoyed by it, and touch wood, I have never been inconvenienced by it.

Excitement started when my mentor entered my classroom at 4.30 with the words: 'Catherine, go home.  It's starting snowing.  Those living beyond Oxford might not make it.'  Quick glance round the classroom, unplug the computers, discussion of contongency plans (phonecall at 7am) and away I went, as flakes were starting to fall on the car park - fairly sizable ones at that.  Was feeling a little apprehensive about the drive; regretting not having the sleeping bag in the car anymore but pleased to have the water bottle, two pieces of millionnaires shortcake, wellies and phone.  The journey in actual fact was fine, better than often.  Although could see the flakes of snow falling, it was really just like driving in the rain.

Immediately arriving home, discussed hopes for a snow day with fellow teacher housemate.  Sent excited texts to those who might appreciate.  Failed to rally myself to plan work tomorrow (...eek), instead procrastiated by catching up on some blogs from over Christmas.  Chatted to other housemate when he came in and then we glanced out the window - boy did it look good.  Did a little jig.  Coat on, out the front door.  Didn't want to spoil the snow.  Sat on the funny wall bit that is covered and enjoyed taking it all in.  Housemate came out.  I got wellies on from the car.  Snowball Fight Started!

Lesson 1 learnt - I can't throw snowballs.  I have no power or aim.
Lesson 2 learnt (though probably already knew) - I don't care.  I love it anyway.  And so long as my coat is waterproof I can be out there for quite a while.  Was probably about an hour in the end.  Three from our house and over the time probably people from about 4 others houses.  No names learnt or exact addresses, but a lot of fun.  Particularly liked the arbitraryness of the ganging up on people to throw at!

Sadly camera is at school so haven't been able to capture the magic very well.  Took a few on phone and will try with computer.

Came in, showered, pyjamaed, blogged, now is time for food then to find out about the great fire of london...

Snow - love it!

Still no news on the spell check...

Bringing in 2010

Here we are in 2010 - a whole new decade.  I guess over the last year I have really had to admit that I am now an adult.  (could go into a whole debate here about word choice: adult/grow-up, woman/lady/girl... but I shall veer off that for now)  How do I know that?  Let me count the ways: (here ends EBB tribute ;-)

• I am a quarter of a century old/young.
  
• I am now no longer a student - after 5 years at university, I can no longer claim that student discount at the cinema.  Havent quite given up the card yet though, still carry it around in my purse, just in case (of what I have no idea...).
• I have a job.  I had the interview and got that call to offer me the job - woop woop woop!
• I pay taxes.
• I pay rent at a house and bills - some even in my name!
• I can remember things from almost 20 years ago!!  Watching home videos these holidays, there's no denying it - I have been alive quite a time.

 I wish to record an element of New Year's Eve this year.  At least half an hour of the early evening myself, my sister and three family friends spent watching youtube clips of Hole in the Wall.  Thoroughly enjoyed yet at the same time appreciating the biazarrity and still pleased to be whole-heartedly experiencing the entertainment!  I had heard other teachers talking about it at school and had been eager to witness it, and finally got my chance.  Lived up to all expectations.  We found Dutch, Japanese, Mexican (?), Australian and Philipine versions - who knew????

Lots more good stuff has happened over these holidays.  Maybe I will find time to share them at some time :-)

ps - keeping with the ICT theme of the blog, i was introduced to www.keepvid.com - a site for downloading videos.  I hope this will be particularly useful for school where we can't access youtube or similar videos on the school server.  If I am organised enough I can get them in advance using this site.

pps - totally failed to find the spell-check... where has the button gone?