Some Thoughts Before New Year

I was browsing some of my previous posts when I came across the one celebrating my half birthday in blogging. In it, I listed three things to achieve over the next six months. It's occurred to me that none of them are real goals, and I need some purpose (a bit like the guy in Avenue Q... by the way, I will have achieved the second ambition on my list by January- for those of you who care). Anyway, here are one or two New Year's resolutions that I am hoping to stick to in 2008:

- STOP PROCRASTINATING

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”- Napoleon Hill

Procrastination is a serious problem with me. I will do anything to avoid what should be done, no matter how important or trivial. I'm gonna sort that out.

- Do something once a week that scares me

“Too often we are scared, scared of what we might not be able to do, scared of what people might think if we tried, we let our fears stand in the way of our hopes. Why? There's really no time to be afraid. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Everything!”- Unknown

I'm very much one for staying in my comfort zone. There's a 'Compare People' application on Facebook, where you rank your friends in certain categories. I came out as 56th Most Adventurous. Enough said.

This next quote pretty much sums up my other New Year's Resolutions:

“Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy; but, my friend, these I recommend”- Abraham Lincoln

I like that one a lot. So that's pretty much it! Actually, there's one more quote that I came across which I could completely relate to, which I'll share with you now. Sometimes (just sometimes) I can be a bit of a drama queen. If something remotely out of the ordinary happens to me, I will dramatise it until it becomes a scene out of Hollyoaks. Yesterday, there was a power cut at the house I'm looking after, and I was on my own and it was pitch black and I couldn't find any candles. This quote summed me up:

“I have a huge, active imagination, and I think I'm really scared when I'm alone; because if I'm left to my own devices, I just turn into a madwoman.”- Clare Danes

Seriously, at one point I genuinely thought someone had snuck (is that a word?) into the house in the darkness and was hiding upstairs. So my final resolution is to stop making trivial things into such massive deals. Although it does make life more exciting...


Other stuff:

- The guys from Uni are coming to visit me today... I haven't seen them for a while and am very excited about it. I set myself a goal of catching up with as many old friends as possible this holiday, and so far I'm doing pretty well. Here is a photo of us from the summer (to balance out the scary candle man photo):

- We lost the traditional Boxing Day Chelmsford Vs. Hadleigh football match 1-0. But that's ok, because everybody knows we should have won. Again, it was really nice to catch up with people!

- The sleep paralysis has come back. I hadn't had an 'episode' since I posted about it on my blog, but today I couldn't wake up. I can't decide if I'm being a drama queen here or whether it's justified, so I'll leave it at that.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Now that my car is back in my driveway (albeit only for a week as its MOT is due... gulp) I have been able to once more enter into the spirit of Christmas. It left me for a couple of days, but is back now... partly because this whole weekend has been spent singing carols and spending time with old friends, and I know that tomorrow will be exactly the same. Some of us went to the Wickford Christmas Ball on Friday, and as you can see we had a lovely time:

However, one or two of us got a little bit over-excited when we found out that there was White Chocolate Dip...

Anyway, this second picture gave me inspiration for a final Christmas video. It was difficult to decide who to put in it, so in the end I figured I'd do one featuring guys from The Hadleigh Posse (yeh, we really are too cool for school). Everyone has just been round for Youth Fellowship and it's been really nice to catch up with people I don't get to spend as much time with as I'd like. It's one of my favourite things about this time of year! Right, enough babbling... this one is for Ben and Charlotte Still, Rich Wright and Chris Carter. Drumroll please...

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Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

ARGH!

This is my car:

Well, it's not actually a photo of my car (I couldn't find the cable to link the camera to the computer) but it illustrates the post nicely. And bears a rather striking resemblance to my car (it's a black KA... although not quite as shiny as this one...)

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because I'm a little bit angry. I've had my car for over a year and a half and in that time it has had nothing wrong with it, bar a rather strange incident involving loads of grey fluff coming out the exhaust (that's a story for another time). A week or so ago, though, I noticed that one of my headlights was a little dimmer than the other. 'Never mind' I thought, 'I can still see where I'm going'. Then a few days ago, John helpfully/nervously pointed out that neither light was on, and I should probably get it sorted out.

So yesterday I went to the Castle Motor Company.

And there was my mistake.

I took my car in, the car mechanic fixed the headlights (which cost £50) and gave it a pre-MOT, and called me up to say it was ready. Just before I left the garage, he said 'Have you had any trouble with the clutch? Getting the car into reverse?' And I hadn't really. So he said 'It's fine, but it might start going soon...'

Then I left. Soon after, there I was on the London Road, trying to change gear. But the car wouldn't let me... it refused to go into any gear and the car was jumping about all over the place. Now, I'd just like to reiterate that I have never had any problems with my car before. So today Dad drove it back to the garage (we had to drive along the A13 in second gear, and even then it was touch and go) and the man was like 'Yep, you need a new clutch slave. It's all leaking' (at this point my dad wanted to turn to me and say 'Really? What did your last slave die of?' but fortunately restrained himself). Anyway, it turns out that it costs £350 to replace. And I couldn't take it anywhere else as... well, it wouldn'tve made the journey. I do think I've been had... but it would be very difficult to prove it!

So now I'm carless and penniless. It's a very sad situation to be in. And I'm sorry that this has been quite a boring post in comparison with recent ones, but I'm looking for sympathy.

Does anybody out there know anything about cars by the way?

10 Sleeps To Go...

I decided that the people kind enough to comment on the last couple of posts deserve a small reward. So, with a little digging (the wonder of Facebook never ceases to amaze me) here is a Christmas present for Andy, Glyn, John and Anna. Unfortunately I couldn't find a happy photo of Andy, so it's his turn to look miserable. Bah Humbug.

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Christmas starts properly for me this weekend. There are two main reasons for this:

1) End of term has arrived (the last day is always great, I get lots of cool presents and we throw a Christmas party... you can always rely on 6 and 7 year olds to get into the Christmas spirit).

2) It's SEEVIC weekend. For those of you who don't know, every year Hadleigh Temple put on a Christmas Weekend Spectacular (that's my name for it, I think it's actually called 'Christmas Unwrapped' this year... Boring). There are 4 performances taking place over the weekend, and we have it at a nearby lecture theatre in the round. It's basically a show with lots of arena items, children's sketches, timbrels, singing and (of course) the traditional Christmas story. I love it! I think I might've mentioned it before on my blog, but it won't hurt to mention it again. And my angel costume is pretty awesome this year. So if you've nothing better to do, come along...

A Christmas Greeting From Me To You...

I had a lot of work to do tonight. So naturally, I had to find new levels of procrastination... I apologise to Ben, John, Stacey and Heather for stealing photos without permission! Although I think you'll agree it was worth it. I'll probably be posting a few of these in the run up to Christmas, so be warned if you're not in this one!

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Things I have learned from Yoga.... and other news

Tonight, I went to my first ever Yoga session. It was quite enjoyable and I'll probably go again. Especially as Yoga can apparently cure all illnesses. Not many people know that (which is unfortunate, as a lot of money could be saved on research), so I thought I'd better share them with you.

Did you know, if you:

- Rub your hands together and cup them over your eyes, and blink really fast, any impaired vision can be improved.

- Stretch your arms out in front of you on a regular basis, you will become immune to breast cancer.

- Stand on your head once a day, your skin will remain youthful.

- Sit on the floor with your feet touching and flap your knees up and down ('like a beautiful butterfly'), then any infertility problem will be cured.

- Spin round and round really fast regularly, you will become immune to all illnesses and live longer.

The Yoga Man told us all the above information was true, because he knew at least four people it had happened to in every circumstance. Stacey and I did very well not to fall about laughing for most of it (although I couldn't make eye contact with her for the whole hour and a half). He also singled us out and said we would be good at 'acrobatic yoga', which added to my suspicion that every sentence that came out of his mouth was a lie. The exercise was good though, if you tuned him out.

Update on other stuff:

- The Christmas production starts tomorrow. It's all a little bit crazy, especially first thing in the morning when I'm running round getting children dressed/looking for lost sheep/dealing with the hundreds of questions that various parents have decided to store up over the weeks and ask me at that specific moment. Then, once I've finally restored order, peeled the excited children off the ceiling and settled them down with some work, someone will burst in shouting 'YOU'RE ON, GO GO GO!!!' and the madness starts up again.

- John and I went to Bratislava on Saturday on one of our random days abroad. It was really, really cool... all cold and christmassy. Imagine the opportunity for christmas shopping and all the original presents we could've brought back. Sadly, I came home with nothing but a cuddly elephant called Wilbur (who I'm pretty certain had nothing to do with Slovakia, and could be bought from any reputable toy store in the UK). But we did have fun seeing the sights, eating food constantly and going to the Christmas market. Here are one or two photos, just to brighten up the post:





















The first photo shows the busy Christmas market at sunset, and hopefully conveys some of the some of the great atmosphere that was there that afternoon. The second picture was taken after we caught our first glimpse of Bratislava Castle as we walked into the city. All very picturesque!

The Most Terrifying Children's Movie Scene Ever...

I present to you... a short scene from Disney's 'Return to Oz'.

Even now, watching it back sends shivers up my spine.

(For the fortunate few who have not seen this clip, Dorothy needs to steal the Powder of Life from the evil witch, Mombi, who has turned her friends into inanimate objects. Mombi chops off the heads of beautiful women and keeps them in glass cabinets in a long corridor, so she can wear a different head each day. The Powder of Life is kept in one of the cabinets with one of the sleeping heads, and, well... I'll let the clip do the rest. Scary stuff...)

A Cookie Question...

I have a question.

It's a question that I've recently shared on Facebook, so forgive me for repeating myself.

A couple of weeks ago I was at Newcastle Station, with 5 minutes before my train was due to arrive. Then, I spotted a Millie's Cookies stand. I love Millie's Cookies. So I skip over, ask for a small selection and produce the correct money for my purchase. Then I turn to walk away.

'Hang on!' calls the Cookie Man. 'I just need to replace the till roll'.

'Don't worry about it' I say cheerfully, well aware that I have 3 minutes before the train pulled in.

'No, no, you must wait for your receipt...' insists the Cookie Man, before leaving the stall presumably in search of a new roll of paper.

Needless to say, I ran for it.

Then, yesterday, I buy a double chocolate chip cookie from Tesco. The same thing happened! I give the correct money, they insisted on making me wait for a receipt.... I don't need a receipt for a cookie. I give them money, they give me the cookie, end of transaction. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would have to prove that I bought a cookie. Like to some non-believing friend, 'Don't even act like I didn't get that cookie, I've got the documentation right here...'

Why is that necessary?!

On a similar note, while on the subject of stupid transactions, why is it that every time I go into McDonald's and ask for a plain cheeseburger, they ask 'Would you like cheese with that?' Without fail. Go on, try it...

What I've been up to lately...

I have nothing in particular to blog about but I feel it's time I did, even if only to set an example to other, rubbisher (yes, that is a word... just accept it, I'm a teacher) bloggers. So let me fill you in on my life over the last couple of weeks:

- Last week I went on my course to Warwick. The drive was long but the food was incredible. I always feel like I don't belong in situations like these, where everything is really pretentious and there are four different types of bottled water on every table (I made the mistake of pouring out sparkling water by accident and spent the rest of the morning trying to drink it... seriously, who likes that stuff?) I find that my accent changes a little bit around these people too- I try to pronounce all my words properly, but just end up sounding ridiculous. Still, it was nice being around other phonetic spellers and chatting to people who had been through very similar experiences to me. So that was good.

- I also went to Newcastle last weekend, which was great. I hadn't seen my uni friends since the summer, and it was good to know that no matter how much time passes, when we all meet up it's just like we're back at uni. I also managed to pass on the dreaded 'YOU'RE' comeback, in the hope that it would then go out of my system. You know the one...

'This is stupid'.
'You're stupid'.

'This is boring'.
'You're boring'.

'It's really hot in here'.
'You're really hot in here'.

(That last one doesn't work quite as well...)

It's getting out of control and driving people crazy, so it's stopping as of now.

- I'm really getting into my Mr. Men and Little Miss books at the moment. Reading them to my class is my favourite part of the day... and I can pretty much always get some kind of moral out of it! But recently I discovered something that made me very sad. This was it:

http://www.mrmen.com/

The good ol' Mr. Men TV programmes, filmed in the 70's and 80's and probably one of the best things about my childhood, have been revamped in America. It's now called 'The Mr. Men Show' and is all American and rubbish. I hate it when they do that! Makes me so mad...

- I saw the film 'Stardust' last week, and fell in love with it. I know I might not have the best reputation when it comes to film taste, but this really is one to go and see. Do it!

- I finally joined the gym as a full-time, 'go twice a week or else pay a fortune' member. Just so Stacey would quit nagging me. ;-)

There's not too much else to report really, life is very busy right now (am off to Nottingham this weekend, am sooo never getting my reports done) but I'm feeling quite content with my lot at the moment. No doubt that will change with my next complaining post, so I thought at least if I write it down, I'll read over it when I'm grumpy to remind myself that I'm really not all that hard done by.

A Poem and Some Thoughts

Here is the poem:

The ravenous rhino
Is big, strong and tough
But his skin is all baggy and flappy
Which means that there's plenty
Of room for his lunch
And that makes him terribly happy.

- Rumble in the Jungle

Now that I have your attention, here are some thoughts (which are completely unrelated to the poem):

- This week has been really busy for me. I feel like I haven't sat down and relaxed for a long, long time (if I have actually sat down and relaxed with anyone reading this, then you may keep quiet). I've somehow managed to involve myself in both the Songsters and the Timbrels at Hadleigh, which has meant that suddenly there is always somewhere that I'm supposed to be... For example, we had a festival last night which lasted nearly 3 hours without a break. Great fun was had by all!

- I've also had Parents Evening, which went really well. It was very hectic and stressful but it was worth it to hear all the nice comments. I did feel a little sorry for the parents with appointments after 9pm, as I'd been talking non-stop for 3 and a half hours by this point and was starting to come out with complete rubbish. I'd start a sentence by saying something like 'Fred needs to learn that different mathematical vocabulary can mean the same thing, for example add and takeaway'*. As I was knocking back orange juice by the wine glass, one parent even asked if I was actually drinking Buck's Fizz...

- Yesterday I had a really fun day out in London, and was very lucky to experience the Hard Rock Cafe for the first time! I'd recommend it to a friend. So if you are a friend, then you should go. But beware of the desserts... I'd just been fitted for a new uniform in the morning and paid quite a lot of money, only to find that it no longer fitted in the evening.

- This next little while is also going to be very busy, with trips to Warwick, Newcastle and Nottingham all within two weeks. So apologies if I don't manage to post very much. But I will try.

- Haven't been to the gym for ages. And eaten out a LOT. I feel like I've let myself down a little bit...

- Finally, a 7 year old child said this to me a little while ago now, but I found it really funny. Here is October's Quote of the Month:

'What is the point of putting a word in the dictionary when they don't even know what it means?'

I take the dictionary and look at the page. It states:

'doubtful - not sure'

Love it.

* The correct term would have actually been 'minus' or 'subtract'. There, don't you feel like you've learnt something new today?

As This Seems To Be An Acceptable Form Of Blogging...

Sorry for lack of posting.

Parents' Evening this week. Been manic.

Just got back.

Exhausted.

Update soon.

Check these guys out...

Yesterday, I was trying to explain to my friend Nuala what timbrels are. Every Christmas, the Timbrelletes (the younger, more attractive version of the Timbrels at Hadleigh) perform a jazzed up routine at the Seevic Celebration Weekend (which by the way, if you haven't been to, is worth a visit). Last year we did the Blues Brothers, the year before we did Lulu's 'Shout'... you get the idea. It's all good fun and we enjoy it. But it's difficult to describe it to non-Salvationists. Waving a tambourine around just doesn't seem to justify it. So I looked up 'timbrels' on YouTube and found a really cool routine by a bunch of young people at Northern Summer School 2006. I thought I'd share it with you:



There's a big debate underneath the video on YouTube about whether it's an appropriate routine/music choice for the final festival, but I personally don't really care about that... they obviously worked really hard all week and put their heart and soul into it, and if it wasn't suitable then I'm sure it would have been cut from the programme!

Update on the health kick:

- Gym going really well. Been three times this week. The Legs, Bums and Tums class was led by some sadistic female instructor who had the energy of a hyped up Duracell bunny... am feeling the pain today!

- Been to McDonald's twice this week. That's twice more than I usually go. Ugh.

The One Where Katie Realises Two Very Important Things

Realisation Number One

Now, I've never really been one to watch what I eat (the 'eat like a pig' comment from a previous post pretty much sums that up), and I'm quite happy with the way I look. However, lately more and more people have been implying that if I carry on eating the way I do now, and carry on doing the same amount of exercise (i.e. nil), then I will be a bit of a heffalump by the time I'm 30. Add that to the fact that I am completely unfit and rather lazy (although I think the former statement may possibly be due to the latter), and the conclusion was obvious. I need to join the gym. I'd also quite like to see more of my friend Stacey, who is great at going to the gym. So this post marks the start of a whole new, healthier, gym bashing, no-more-McDonalds me. We'll see how that works out...

Realisation Number Two

I rarely acknowledge the fact I have great friends. I say 'rarely', I mean 'never'. Mostly because their egos are big enough as it is. But, to give them credit, one or two are particularly good at buying me awesome presents when I'm feeling a little rubbish. So here goes.

My friends are pretty cool.

Cumbria- The Least Eventful Youth Weekend Ever

This weekend, we went on a mini youth retreat to a cottage in Cumbria. I say 'mini' for two reasons. Firstly, only 6 of us went, which is a rather small proportion of our youth group at Hadleigh. And secondly, it was only for two nights. By the time we'd driven 6 hours to get there it was pretty much time to come back. But we had fun. As away weekends go, it was really, really chilled out. We didn't really do much of anything... saw a few lakes, drove around a LOT, had dinner in a lovely little town called Keswick and watched tv. It was great!

Now, Rich took along his camcorder to record some of the exciting things we did. However, as nothing really exciting actually happened (he managed to miss the few interesting moments, such as a car which crashed driving up a wall on the mountain, but he did capture a good five minutes footage of an empty coke bottle), I look forward to see how his video turns out! I thought I'd capture the excitement myself on a 30 second video on my phone... I've never recorded anything before and certainly never been able to upload anything onto a computer, so I'm feeling a real sense of achievement right now. The fact that the video has no real purpose is irrelevent, I'm just so proud I managed to do it that you can all share in my triumph with me. And I would also just like to announce here that my new phone is awesome.

The others all said that it sounds like I'm recording a video for infant school children. I can't help it if I lapse into teacher mode sometimes (although I like to think I don't actually sound like that in the classroom).

So... ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you... Cumbria!

Such a happy, excited bunch of young people. Could we BE having any more fun?!

Kids say the stupidest things...

This week, we have had...

Child 1- (opens mouth wide) Look, I've got my first cup of tea.
Me- What?
Child 1- Cuppa tea. Mum said. It hurts.
Me- Oh. Cavity.
Child 1- Yeh, that's it.

Child 2- I had such a big fever yesterday that my temperature was almost full up!

Child 3- Ahh I've lost my rubber. Mum is gonna kill me.
Child 4- (matter of factly) No. It's against the LAW.

Child 5- I'm so cold I've got duck spots.
Me- You mean goose pimples.
Child 5- No, duck spots.

And this is the best one:

Me- Does anybody know why we sweat when we get hot?
Child 6- Because when it gets really hot, a bit of your face melts.

It's quotes like these that make my job worthwhile...

A Post with No Real Purpose

I just feel like I should post as I haven't for a couple of weeks and wouldn't want people to stop checking my blog as its never updated. Only two things to mention really:

1) The other Year 2 teacher and I have been having a whale of a time coming up with our school Christmas production: 'jesus@bethlehem.com'. It's based on a great children's book, all about what would have happened if Jesus had been born today. For example, there's a band (called 'Band of Angels'... hehehe) singing '21st Century Boy' and the three kings travel to see him by private jet. Yep, it's gonna be great. If anybody knows where I can get hold of a life jacket or one of those masks that drop out of the ceiling (oh dear, am having Grease flashbacks) please let me know.

2) We went on our Monopoly Day on Saturday. I'm not gonna say too much about it, as that would be stealing John's thunder (that, and I don't have any photos to make it interesting). But I do want to share a couple of things that I learnt from the day:

• Never, ever go to Old Kent Road after dusk.
• Don't take your children to Hamley's. Ever. Luckily I didn't have to learn from my own mistakes on this one, it was enough just observing other peoples' children.
• The phrase 'Katie, you eat like a pig' can refer to the fact that I eat a lot, not that I gobble down my food in an un-ladylike manner. That caused much confusion and upset.

It was a really good day, and we all had lots of fun... was also really nice to finally meet Anna! Might post again about it once John has updated his blog.

That's all for now!

A Belated Half-Birthday Post

Those of you who know me well will know that I do love a good half birthday. I've never really grown out of them, and only recently realised that other people have. For example, I turned 22 and a half on 11th July. And this blog turned, well, 0 and a half (or 6 months, if you will) on 1st September. I completely missed it. So I thought I'd make up for it now by doing the classic 'Things I've achieved' and 'Things I'd like to achieve' post. I'll go back to January though as it's hard to think of lots of things I've achieved since March. The list will probably be brief...

Things I've wanted to do that I've achieved so far this year:

• Saw 'The Lion King' in London for my birthday, something I've wanted to do for years. Also saw Stomp, The Sound of Music and Les Mis. I'm doing pretty well on the musical front.


• Went to Riga and Hamburg (I wouldn't say either of these were an ambition of mine but they turned out to be two of my favourite days of the year so far...)


• Was the Props Co-ordinator for a major (school) musical production.


• Rode in a limo.


• Reached the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower without having some kind of panic attack.


• Passed my induction year in teaching and became a 'normal' teacher.


• Went snorkelling and rode on a banana boat!


• Passed my driving test (on 2nd January, that one just made it onto the list).


• Started a blog. Never thought I'd keep it up, but turns out that anything that stops me being more efficient on the work front is a winner.

I'm bored of that one now. Onto 'Things I would like to achieve...'

• I still want to ride an elephant. How achievable this desire will be over the next 6 months is unclear.


• I would love to see 'Wicked' and 'Avenue Q'. Not hinting there at all...


• I would like to somehow gain a sense of direction. I'm hopeless. A bit like Dory from Finding Nemo. I forget where I've been, how I got there, where I'm going... every day is like a new adventure for me!

Hmm, it would appear that I am currently lacking ambition. Although I'm quite impressed at how much I've done this year... really didn't feel like I'd achieved much until I wrote it down. Actually, I'm going to add:

• Get paid to stay at a Hilton hotel and eat lots

Just because I found out today that I'm doing that one as part of my job (going on a one day course). So one down, two to go! Woop woop.

Here's to the next six months...

A Very Frightening 5 Minutes

Lately, when I wake up in the morning, I have been suffering from sleep paralysis. It's never happened to me before, but during the last month or so it's been happening pretty regularly. Never when I first wake up, but only when I have a lie in and go back to sleep, or have a power nap in the afternoon. Basically what happens is this...

I think I'm awake. I try to move, but I can't. As I try harder to move, concentrating all my energy into moving one arm, the deeper I seem to be sinking in this indescribable feeling of entrapment. Then I start to panic. I feel as if I can't breathe, my energy is gone and my body is exhausted. Eventually, I manage to force myself to move a finger, and then it kind of disappears and I can move. It can sometimes last for up to half an hour! It's frustrating and sometimes terrifying.

Anyway, I googled it yesterday. I went onto this website entitled 'Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis'. I skim read the first paragraph, and it described EXACTLY what I was experiencing. 'Phew!' I thought to myself... 'It's not just me'. Then I scan to the bottom of the page and pick out the sentences 'disease involving degeneration of motor neurons' and 'progressive fatal illness'. I nearly burst into tears right there and then, before going back and reading the end of the first paragraph...

'If you've had one of these experiences, then you've probably had a glimpse of how it feels to have a fully developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.'

Thank goodness. I then left the Website of Death and visited the next one on the list, which immediately says:

RELAX! You are not going insane or dying. Sleep paralysis is not harmful. Read 'The Terror That Comes In The Night' for more information.

If only I'd read that one first. Off to Amazon we go...

Oh, and just for your information... Sleep Paralysis is actually 'a natural bodily function that causes us to be paralyzed during sleep. It prevents us hurting ourselves or others during dreams. It's when it follows us into the waking state that it becomes a disorder'

Wow... I have a disorder!

By the way, has anyone else experienced this?

Back to school

This week has been crazy. From getting up around midday and going to bed around midnight I've had to get used to getting up at 6.30am and still going to bed around midnight. My day has increased by about 6 hours. And man, does it feel like it. I'd forgotten how exhausting it is to have 20 children constantly demanding attention from you all day, and how immature they are when they first come up from Year 1. I try not to go on about work too much on my blog, but today is an exception as it's the first week back and it's been my life... I just want to share a little example of what I have to deal with:

Me: 'Sophie, what are 3 lots of 10?'

Sophie: (bursting into tears) 'I'm sorry, I've got something on my mind. *SOB* At breaktime, *sob* I accidently trod on Luke's crisps on purpose... but I didn't mean to but I did it on purpose and I just know how much he likes them *sniff* and I just can't stop thinking about it'.

What a burden to have on your shoulders at the age of 6. I looked over at Luke and his facial expression was pretty much 'Bovvered?'

Right, no more classroom anecdotes for the next few posts. Promise.

A few observations...

1) I went up to Durham last weekend for my friend's Sam's wedding. It was the first friend's wedding I'd been to and was a very exciting affair. The girl in the photo is actually my friend Sarah, but I can't be bothered to go searching through for a photo of the bride, so I figured that would do for now. However, my good mood was somewhat ruined on the way home, when GNER did their classic trick of delaying my train by an hour whilst cancelling the next one (for no apparent reason). Both trains were booked full of reservations as it was a bank holiday. Anyway, on embarking the train (after fighting my way through people and luggage) I discovered that a child was sitting in my seat, with her parents next to her. I apologised to the mum and showed her my ticket. She glared at me, sighed and said very loudly 'Right guys, we have to move as this lady wants Laura's seat. She'll have to sit in the aisle or something'. I momentarily felt awful as I sat down, then realised that a) It wasn't Laura's seat, it was mine and b) I wasn't going to spend two and a half hours standing up when I'd spent half an hour on the internet just so that I could make a reservation. It was her responsibility to sort that out, not mine, especially if she was travelling with children! Obviously I only thought of these comebacks after they'd stormed off, so I sat there fuming for the rest of the journey.

2) As you may have gathered from the last point, I'm not all that great with confrontation (actually, I'm very good when confronting on behalf of other people, just not when its down to me). The other day, my friend Ben and I went for lunch at my favourite restaurant in Leigh broadway 'J.T.'s Diner' (doesn't sound all that but trust me, the place is awesome). We ordered our food and waited in anticipation. For an hour. When we got there there was only one other family, but by this time the place was getting pretty busy. I had a view of the kitchens from my seat and I could see the waiter holding up our written order, pointing at us and looking very angrily at the waitress, saying something along the lines of 'What is this still doing here?!' Unfortunately Ben's not all that great at confrontation either, so we both sat there a bit longer, watching the waitress hide other people's food orders under her table so she didn't have to walk past us to deliver food to customers who had been waiting 10 minutes. Eventually our non-confrontal natures paid off as the boss came over and whispered 'I am SO sorry. We've had a problem with our order system. Obviously you don't have to pay for a single thing'. So the story had a happy ending, the meal was lovely and we both ordered dessert, just to make a point. We went away feeling very pleased with ourselves.

3) I discovered that you shouldn't big up a film before you've seen it. Years ago, I saw 'RENT' (a.k.a. 'Aids: The Musical) on stage and absolutely loved it. Everyone who went to see it felt the same. So I got very excited last night when Matt announced he had the film version on dvd... 'It's SO good' I exclaimed about six times before he put it on. It was not good. In fact, it was probably one of the worst films I have ever seen (almost on a par with 'Date Movie). I just couldn't understand how something could be so good on stage and so awful on screen, when essentially all the songs and characters were the same! I think it was partly because you can get away with singing the whole story on stage, whilst it was getting a little ridiculous watching dialogue on tv being exchanged quite unnecessarily in song. For example:

'How are we gonna paaaay the rent?'
'I doon't know, but I have AIDS...'
'Meeeee too'

It does make you start wanting to sing instead of speak though, it makes boring instructions such as 'Pass me the fooork' that little bit more interesting...

How many Dickens characters can YOU name?

Apologies for not posting in a little while. Months ago, before I started up my blog, a friend of mine came up with an usually wise piece of advice. "Only blog when you have something interesting to say!" he said (as he wrote his third entry on the subject of 'The top 50 Neighbours characters of all time'...)

Well, as it turns out, I haven't had anything interesting to say for a couple of weeks. Not that I haven't done anything, just that my daily activities probably wouldn't provide my audience with the high quality of bloggage that they've come to expect. But that all changed yesterday when I went to...

DICKENS WORLD!

'Where IS this place of dreams?!' I can hear you cry. Well, a few months ago a brand new indoor attraction opened in Chatham, Kent. It's basically a little like Disneyworld, but based on the life of Charles Dickens instead of an imaginary mouse. Actually, it's not really anything like Disneyworld (just realised I'm probably bigging it up a little too much). There are rides, and shows, and performers walking around dressed up in Dicken's characters. It was a pretty good afternoon out, although there's not really enough there yet to make it last a full day. The funniest bit was when we all went into this impressive looking theatre, had no idea what to expect and as the excitement and mystery built up, so did the audience. As it turned out, it was a pretty original animatronics (realistic Charles Dickens like robots) show all about his life and characters. It had obviously cost a lot of time, energy and money to make, but when it finished people all around me were muttering 'Well, that was boring. If only they'd used real actors'. They did have a point though. Sometimes you really can try too hard to impress people...

The trip also inspired me to read more Dickens novels, as I only recognised characters from A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield and Oliver. So I missed out on a few jokes and things. Still, I enjoyed my day! I thought I'd mention it on here as everyone I've told so far has said to me 'That sounds like the worst theme park ever'. And it's really not! (No, that award probably goes to Pleasurewood Hills...)

Go to http://www.dickensworld.co.uk/ for more info!

Concert Band Tour

Awhile ago, I was asked if I would like a free holiday. Normally there's a catch to these things, and in this case it was on the condition that I would be a member of staff for the Southend High School for Boys Concert Band tour to France, Belguim and Holland. I have just arrived back from said holiday and can safely say it was a really good deal. The kids were great and the weather was amazing, and I got to do a lot of fun activities and stay in hotels for free! Here are a few highlights from the trip:

The Eiffel Tower was pretty cool. The band performed just in front of it after we had climbed all the way up to the second floor (normally something I wouldn't even consider doing as I hate heights, but they needed adult supervision).

This was the view. I'm rather proud of myself... I think I've conquered my fear.

Here is a picture of Olivia and I at sunset at Noordwick beach in Holland. The beach was gorgeous and we were really lucky with the weather. We sat with hot chocolate at a lovely beach bar and watched the sun set over the horizon... it was all very romantic!

Chris, Jon Bourne and I in a giant clog. The last time I went to Holland we managed to fit 7 people into this clog. The mind boggles...

This last photo was taken at the last gig in a town called Delft in Holland. Pete Worth (the group leader) is improvising a solo here. Notice the crowd of people in the background! The guys were really, really good, despite the 30 degree heat.

We also went to Disneyland Paris (which was fantastic), Aquaboulevard (a massive indoor waterpark where they initially wouldn't let us in because the boys weren't wearing speedos), and numerous town squares and little villages. A very busy but exciting tour!

Not Tennis

The week and a half have been great. No work means no getting up early, no deadlines, and plenty of time to invent new games with other people who also have nothing better to do. I also feel I have also achieved something by participating in a sporting activity for more than one consecutive day. I present to you, the reader, the wonderful world of... NOT TENNIS.

A brief history

The game of Not Tennis was invented on a sunny Sunday afternoon when tennis racquets were half price in Tesco and there were no free tennis courts in all the land (i.e. Chalkwell and Hadleigh). It was founded by myself, Ben, Charlotte and Gareth, after we were forced to play in the park instead. Many arguments ensued as rules were made up and contested, and so the game of Not Tennis was born.

The rules of Not Tennis

1) The court must be around twice the size of a normal tennis court, both in width and length (in other words, HUGE). Serves must be taken on the back line.

2) There is no actual net, only a boundary which is referred to as the net.

3) The ball is allowed to bounce a total of twice on each side of the court, allowing time for running.

4) If you hit the ball and it does not go over, you may not have another go... instead it is up to your partner to rescue the situation.

These rules are set in stone. It all sounds rather ridiculous in written form, but it really is a lot of fun to play, especially for people who are awful at actual tennis, as you can just whack it and there is no net to stop it! We have recruited a number of people over the last couple of weeks, including Chris Carter, Will Still, Faye Ivory (not quite so enthusiastic, but it was raining) and Heather Orford, and our aim is to get everyone involved at some point over the summer! So if you fancy a game, come on down...

Hamburg

Yesterday, John and I went to Hamburg for the day. This may seem a little silly, but it cost less time and money to go there then to visit most places in England, and we'd already travelled to Riga for the day in February, so we kinda knew what to expect. Here is a brief recap of some of the exciting moments of our day:

1) It was really, really hot. There wasn't a cloud in the sky for the whole day and the temperature soared to around 36 degrees. This meant that it took three times as much effort to walk to places, but it also gave the day a real 'holiday' feel! Which is always nice.

2) Hamburg is a beautiful city. It almost doesn't feel like a city as everything seemed so much more laid back than in London! It's very green and has two amazing lakes right in the middle of it.

3) Cyclists take priority over everything in Hamburg. The cycle lane takes up around half of the pavement, and woe betide if you dared cross their path. They stopped for no-one... (we witnessed one girl run into this poor man without any mercy, she didn't swerve or anything, or even apologise!)

4) People don't apologise or say thank you in Hamburg. Just as a rule.

5) We ate in a really nice restaurant which was situated on a river (not beside it, on it) and the food was lovely. It was really handy having John there, as he speaks fluent German and so could order food, ask for directions, get people to take photos etc, whilst I just looked at him in a blind panic every time someone spoke German to me.

6) The real highlight of my day was when I used the bathroom at said restaurant... you have to pay for the privilege and when I was in there the friendly toilet lady said to John 'Your wife is very beautiful' (it was the beautiful part that was the highlight, not the wife bit). Hamburg people are very observant.

7) We had our very own stalker! On the way home, the man behind us in the airport queue introduced himself to us and somehow involved himself in our conversation, before telling us that he was moving to London and didn't have any contacts. From then on in he decided he was our friend and kept trying to find us (which, in the smallest airport in the world ever, wasn't too difficult). I'd like to think that had we not been awake for almost 24 hours, we would've been a little more accomodating and friendly, but as it was we ended up hiding for most of the journey. John didn't help with his constant German/Indian stalker impressions... 'John and Katie, where arrrreee you? I want to play... why you hide from me? I can see you...' etc etc. It was just like being in a horror movie.

We had a really great day, and it was fun to be shown around all the sights by someone who had lived there for 5 months and knew lots of interesting things about the place, as well as all the nice places to go. Even though we were only there for a day we saw everything we wanted to see without feeling at all harassed or rushed,and even though it was pretty tiring, it was well worth the visit!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Little Miss Emotional

Today was a emotionally draining day. I finally finished school for the summer (hooray!) but this also meant saying goodbye to my first ever class. It's been a rollercoaster of a year and I wouldn't change a minute of it. For leaving presents I had bought each child a Mr. Men or Little Miss book according to their personality (Mr. Cheerful, Little Miss Giggles, Mr. Silly etc) it went down a storm. As the bell rang and it was time to go, I realised that I'd spent a year sorting out their problems, curing the slightest worry or anxiety, generally caring and looking after them and all of a sudden that was gone! They were no longer going to burst into my classroom bursting with news of things they had achieved, and I would no longer be the most important person to them at school. As I was dealing with these thoughts in my head some of them started to cling to me crying, and it took every ounce of strength to hold myself together!

Then I realised that I had £140 worth vouchers, a massive bouquet of flowers, and various other presents waiting for me in the classroom, so I cheered up. The perks of working in an independent school are pretty cool. Especially the seven and a half week summer holiday.

I'm now having trouble deciding what to spend the vouchers on (I know I know, some people have real problems), either an ipod or a digital camera, but I don't know which I would use more, having lived without either for the last 22 years. I'm so behind with the times...

It's official...

... I am now a fully fledged, non NQT teacher! Had my final ever observation by the headteacher today, and he said "That lesson was excellent. I really enjoyed it. The relationship you have with those children... I couldn't have wished for better." Which was quite nice.

(I'm not usually this boastful, but its been a long journey and I was quite proud of that!)

Bring on the pay rise.

Black Button

This short video raises lots of issues about the powers of temptation, and is rather clever... Click on the link at the side and it will appear in large at the top of the page.

Which option would you choose?

By the way, I went on a Victorian school trip this week, which is why I'm dressed as a parlour maid in my profile pic. Just felt like I needed to justify that. I was a little put out when one of the children asked 'Did you used to have to wear clothes like that when you were our age?'

Quote of the week: 'My mum can come on the school trip. She's definitely been ABC checked'.

I really should make a book of ridiculous quotes.

Two very important lessons learned...

Lesson 1

You should never, ever, write a comment on someone's blog then delete it because you have thought of something better to say. It was a very wrong and foolish thing to do, and I am very sorry.

Lesson 2

Never organise a Teddy Bear's Picnic for 80 children when there is only one other adult present.

That is all.

Porn stars, WeeMees and other stories

This week hasn't been my favourite week. In fact, I'd probably rank it in the top 3 if there was a poll for 'Katie's Ultimate List of Unfavourite Weeks'. Nothing major has really happened, but after being at school for 14 hours on Monday for Parent's Evening, the rest of the week never really caught up. This post probably isn't going to be a very happy one, so I suggest you join the birthday celebrations over in John's blog if you're searching for a more lighthearted, upbeat view on things...

We had our Summer Ball last weekend, which came complete with the school's very own porn star mum! She was sitting on our table and was rather outrageous... the ball was massive yet people sitting right on the other side of the place were catching me when I walked past asking what they were missing out on. I won't go into details but will say that if somebody had said 'Right, there's one person out of these 300 people that makes a living as a porn star' I would have immediately pointed to her.

So then there was longest day in the world on Monday, I wasn't feeling very well all day Tuesday, and by Wednesday I was ready to make a tent out my duvet and hide in it for the rest of the week. On Thursday I met my new class, 18 little bright eyed Year 1 children, and it dawned on me that I had spent an entire year getting my kids to grow up and become independent, only for them to be taken away and replaced with a whole new bunch of 'I haven't got a pencil, can I go to the toilet...' children. And finally last night I went out and got branded on the arm by someone with a cigarette. He then helpfully pointed out that 'if it scars, you'll have a great story to tell your grandchildren about the old days, you know, when smoking was legal'. You can imagine my expression.

But something good did come out of this week. WeeMees, the miniature versions of yourself, are now free! And a very good waste of time should you have 102 reports to write in a week and a half (I don't think next week is going be the greatest week either). Here's mine:


I don't actually walk around dressed as WonderWoman, and I don't really have a dragon called Elliot, but other than that I think it's a pretty good likeness! I'm trying to cut down on chocolate at the moment, which could explain why I've been a bit grumpy in this post. The next one will be better, I promise!

3 more weeks til the summer holidays...

Kiwi

Ok, so I've stolen this video from my friend Ben, but it really is very funny... its on the right hand side, just click on it (I can't work out how to put the video in the actual post, it's all very confusing). Before you watch it, you should note that the Kiwi is a type of flightless bird. That's very important. When Ben was explaining it to me I thought he was talking about a Kiwi fruit, which is why I didn't really get it at first.

Not much to report really, I saw a girl from Shipwrecked crossing the road in London today, but I think that's probably going below Z list in terms of celebrity. Right down there with Cleo Rocos and Matt Barbet.

(I wish I was blogging back in the days when I was in a lift with Gary Lineker and in a sketch with Ant and Dec on SM:TV... now that would've been good blogging material!)

The hills are alive...

Yesterday was a very exciting day. As some of you know, one of the Year 3 girls I teach Games to is currently performing in The Sound of Music in the West End. Tickets have been sold out for months and months but yesterday the parents of the child asked if I wanted to go as they had spare seats at the last minute! They were brilliant seats near the front of the Royal Circle, and after a brief panic that we were going to be late (yes, we got on the wrong tube train. Well, the right train, but going in the wrong direction), we arrived just in time. The whole performance was fantastic, the scenery was awesome and Adrianna (who plays Gretl, the smallest one) completely stole the show. At the interval it was all people around me were talking about, and it was really hard not to butt into people's conversations and say 'Actually, she's not 5, she's 8. And I teach her...' But I just about restrained myself. After the show we went round to stage door to meet Adrianna as we were going home with her and her parents, and got to meet all the cast... it was very exciting! On the way home she was telling me about the opening night after show party, saying 'We got to meet Graham Norton, which was cool, and all the Marias, and Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon, who were really nice, and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bob Geldof and...'

It's a completely different world.

On a slightly different note... Nibbles (the one eyed obese death defying hamster) has, well, died. After a brief debate on whether he was actually dead or not, we buried him in the garden and had a little hamster funeral. R.I.P. Nibbles.

Stomp!

Wow, I'm really on a roll with the whole blog thing this week!

I went to see Stomp today (as an aside, I did get lost looking for the theatre, BUT I also found myself stumbling across the infamous Cybercandy a.k.a. Twinkie store! So we were lost but had Hersheys Kisses to keep our strength up). When we eventually reached the theatre, we found that we had really good seats (considering they were very cheap- front row, upper circle). And the show was AMAZING. I tend to fall in love with every show I go to see, but it really was incredible. The performers didn't say a word throughout the show, but somehow they managed to make it hilarious, just through the routines and the expressions on their faces! They made instruments out of dustbin lids, plungers, brooms, matchboxes, newspapers, and even kitchen sinks tied round their necks... very impressive.

Unfortunately I have a rather bad cough at the moment, and it always seemed to be during the rare, very quiet moments that I would explode in a fit of coughing after trying to hold it in. I spent most of the perfomance thinking 'I hate people like me' so goodness knows what the poor people around me were feeling. Especially when I never felt as much as a tickle during the deafening crashing of dustbins or stamping of feet... law of sod, that.

Another thing ticked off on my list of things to do before I'm 30...

Ok, so I haven't actually made a list. But if I did have a list, then riding to Brighton in a stretch limo/hummer would definitely be on there! This bank holiday a friend from work turned 30, and 14 of us planned a surprise limo journey to Brighton for the weekend. We told her we were going in a minibus, and to be honest she was a bit slow on the uptake. When it arrived she said (with a rather confused expression on her face) 'That's a big minibus!' Then, a few minutes later 'It looks more like a limo!' She was still referring to it as a minibus even when the chauffeur opened the door for us and we climbed in...

Anyway, I'd never been in a limo before, and I wasn't disappointed. There were two large screens for watching films, comfy leather seats and an awesome music system! However on the way home on Monday most of us slept the whole way, which feels like a bit of a waste. The next thing to do on my imaginary list is to ride an elephant...

Yesterday, I managed to get lost in London for about the millionth time. Every time I go into London (which is quite regularly!) I end up ringing someone asking for directions. On this particular occasion I was meeting up with two of the girls from uni, and we had a lovely time. Unfortunately we chatted so much on the tube that we subconsciously got off the train, up the stairs, through the barrier and out onto the street before realising that none of us had any idea which station we had got off at! Unbelievable. Then we got lost trying to find Primark, we walked and walked (counting 4 underground stations on the way) before discovering we were going in the wrong direction. And it was raining. We eventually gave in and got the central line just in time for rush hour (people that read John's blog will know just how horrible that experience is...) I really think I've got my comeuppance for the Twinkie incident!

Tomorrow I'm going to London again to see Stomp! Am very excited, it's had really good reviews and I'm looking forward to seeing how the musicians can make music out of household objects. Not so much looking forward to trying to find the theatre, especially as I'm going with my friend Meg, who is more clueless than me. Making me the responsible one by default. In the past year I've managed to get lost finding theatres for The Lion King, Chicago, Les Mis and Evita.

There's no hope...

Just a quickie...

Here are a few photos from Grease:

Guess the importance of the photo on the bottom left. Yes, that's right... Jan is eating a Twinkie. (You really could tell in the audience, the photo just isn't that clear).

And you've got to admit, the cars are pretty cool.

Knightmare...

Apologies for lack of posting lately, I really haven't had anything interesting to say... but then today I found something worth blogging about. I discovered YouTube.

Now, I know I'm really behind with the times and that I'm probably preaching to the converted, so I won't dwell on that fact alone. No, what really made the discovery amazing was being able to watch old clips from Knightmare! From my childhood I remember it being the most technologically advanced, terrifying, exciting show ever made. Watching it now, I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed. Click on the link on the right hand side of this page (for some reason the video then magically appears at the top of the page all big, not sure why but I'm quite pleased with myself). It really is scary stuff... I used to believe whole heartedly that the boy in the helmet actually did fall down the hole/get eaten by goblins/perished in a blackened room. Admittedly, the graphics aren't the most realistic, but in those days it was pretty incredible. I also remember this very episode, worrying about David and imagining him all alone, with his helmet on, stuck in this room whilst everybody else went home... still brings a tear to my eye now!

Whilst nipping back to the early 90's, I also discovered the theme song to my other favourite show (I think I was a bit older by this time), Sister Sister! That programme rocked.

Please spare a thought for me over the next couple of days... after the stress of Grease I am now about to unveil my first class assembly to the rest of the school! We're doing 'The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark' (another nostalgia moment, I'm just full of them at the minute!) and trying to get 6-7 year olds to recite lines whilst acting as barn owls is no mean feat, let me tell you. Especially when Mummy Owl keeps drowning out Plop because she believes that I have made the biggest casting error in history by choosing someone else as the main part.

At least there are no props this time...

Back to reality

Well, I'm back. And yes, I did have a 'philippin' wonderful time' (just rolled my eyes then realised the effect of that is lost in a blog). I thought I'd comprise a short list of things that I experienced for the first time ever. So I did and here they are...




1) I rode a banana boat

Note the expression on my face in this photo. Not particularly thrilled. Although once it started it was actually awesome! Would definitely recommend it. Unfortunately I couldn't see a thing due to the saltwater getting sprayed in my eyes the whole time... I wouldn't advise wearing contact lenses for this activity, it wasn't one of my finer moments.


2) I discovered my forte for sandcastle making

Now this beautiful creation was one of my finer moments...

Ok, so we ambushed the local children who had really made it and posed for the camera. Still, it looks pretty impressive!


3) I went snorkelling

Now, this was possibly the coolest thing I did the whole holiday. I'd never been before, and the second we were dropped into the coral reef area and I put my face in the water there were literally thousands of fish right in front of my face! (It scared the hell out of me actually, but I got used to it). It was amazing, everywhere you turned there were millions of brightly coloured fish of all shapes and sizes, dipping in and out of the coral. At one point I shouted to the others 'There are real Finding Nemo fish!' to which the boatman replied, in a bored, rather patronising tone 'Yes, they are called clown fish'. I knew that. We then all proceeded to search for Dory but figured she was lost somewhere on the other side of the ocean.

4) Life endangering situation 1: Nearly getting crushed by a coach

In the Philippines, tricycles are a common method of getting around (basically a motorbike with a sidecar attached to it, they're pretty cool to ride in). However, in the Philippines there are also no traffic regulations whatsoever. People drive where they want, when they want... no lane discipline, attention to traffic lights/signs, nothing. Which, as you can imagine, is pretty terrifying. On one occasion we were in a tricycle with a crazy driver who decided we would cut up a coach on the inside as it was turning a corner. Tiny tricycle, Huge coach. I squealed in terror and the driver swerved to safety and had the cheek to beep the coach!

5) Life endangering situation 2: Exploding car

My Uncle Jonathan has a brand new people carrier. One day, we were leaving the basement car park of a shopping mall when we realised the car couldn't quite make it up the steep slope to the exit (there were 9 of us in the car and a LOT of shopping). We tried doing a 'run up' but still no success. On the fourth try, there was a loud bang, the car started running back downhill and smoke was appearing out of the engine. We all jumped out the car and ran as fast as we could away from it... turns out something had caught fire under the bonnet! We caused such a scene, the security guys had the fire extinguishers out and there was a massive crowd around the entrance. Not to mention we had completely blocked the only exit to the car park so nobody else could get out. As a result I've developed a slight phobia of hills, every time I go up one in a car I hold my breath in case the car explodes...

All in all, it was an unforgettable holiday... it was really cool to see all my filipino relatives (some of whom I hadn't seen since I was 16!) and there were so many amazing things we saw and did that I haven't got time to mention on here. If you get the opportunity, go there!

It's the end of term!!!

The fact that term has ended means 3 things. Firstly, it is nearly Easter, which meant that my very generous class bestowed upon me gifts of chocolate (6 massive eggs to be precise) and lots of other bits and pieces. Secondly, it means that Grease is finally OVER! It was actually pretty amazing, and the backstage team had a lot of fun. The props went on and off smoothly throughout, and endless parents and teachers came up to me commenting on how organised it all was and wondering how on earth we managed to get hold of such fantastic props... I did take rather a lot of credit, especially at the end of the last performance when I had to go onstage to receive my applause. The kids were brilliant too, and even though the scale of the production was huge this year the school managed to pull it off. We think the only way to better it would be to do 'Phantom of the Opera' next year...

Finally, the end of term means that I am going on holiday tomorrow! I am going to the Philippines, where it is currently 30 degrees celsius and sunny (although thats a slight lie... I think its the middle of the night there at the moment). Anyway, I have a 20 hour flight via Dubai to look forward to on my own, followed by a relaxing two weeks with family on the beach (see photo... its actual paradise there) and in the busy city of Manila. Seems a shame, just as I'm getting into this whole blogging thing I have to leave it for a while! Still, I'm over it.

Dubai for now! (Get it? Dubai... sounds a bit like goodbye... I really do crack myself up sometimes).

It's a miracle!

The weirdest thing happened last night. My little brother's one eyed hamster, Nibbles, died. That wasn't so weird, considering that hamsters only live for a couple of years and he is pretty obese (He hasn't really got much going for him, I'm not gonna lie). Anyway, he was all curled up in a corner of his cage, which never happens as he always sleeps in his house. I poke him, he falls over sideways and is quite clearly dead. My brother is hysterical and I go to get something to put him in. Ten minutes later, we look in the cage and Nibbles has turned himself the right way up! Still not moving, or showing much sign of life, but definitely in a different position. I was a bit freaked out by this point and so we left him for the night. This morning, went downstairs to find that Nibbles not only was waddling around, but had completely rebuilt his house overnight and moved all his food around! Now, I know what you're thinking... 'That hamster was quite clearly not dead'. But you're wrong, I know a dead animal when I see one. Maybe he's like the hamster equivalent of Jesus...

By the way, we lost the netball 18-8. Even if you're not a netball fan it's pretty easy to work out that that's not a good result.

And everything's coming together for Grease, thanks again to all who have helped since the last post. I probably should make a special mention here to my friend John, who went to great lengths to buy me Twinkies (see his blog for more on that, I can't be bothered to go into it). It's really quite a good test of friendship to see how far people will go to get things (John just about passed). The drama woman keeps making last minute demands though, like 'Ooh, we could do with a hat stand/polka dot bag/authentic American newspaper'. She seems to conveniently forget that I have a full time class, let alone any sort of life outside of Grease.

Bring on the Easter holidays.