Monday, 3 November 2008
Maybe I Should become A Bouncer
Good grief. This is the second time in two months I have had to break up a fight using actual physical intervention.
Two lads flew past me in the yard at recess, one flung himself on top of the other and two more heaped on top, fists flying. This was no playful rumble and it took quite a bit of my strength to haul two of them off. I think another student also helped but it all happened so fast.....
Good job I'm fiesty eh? Don't mess with Mrs A, I say!!!!! Of course, if any of them had turned on me I would have been in big trouble as they are all feet taller. Still, I do have my trusty karate training to assist me in warding off blows. Wonder what their parents would think if I dropped one of them with a well aimed backfist to the nose?
Best not I guess.
I think I'm rambling now....
Oh, A Free Man? Remember you asked why you shouldn't go into secondary teaching?
On a positive note (yes, there is one), the lesson on Tom Lehrer and his cold war humour went very well. I should have had more faith, after all, these are kids who enjoy The Chaser's War on Eveything and Saturday Night Live. They particularly liked the comment made in a preamble to one of the songs (I had fogotten about it....bad teacher!) which goes:
"I have a friend who wrote a book recently, a whimsical tale of a necrophiliac who fulfilled his life's ambition by becoming Coroner. (mild laughter)
The rest of you can look it up when you get home."
This was the cause of much mirth and raucous guffawing from about 50% of the class. The rest of them will have to look it up when they get home........
Two lads flew past me in the yard at recess, one flung himself on top of the other and two more heaped on top, fists flying. This was no playful rumble and it took quite a bit of my strength to haul two of them off. I think another student also helped but it all happened so fast.....
Good job I'm fiesty eh? Don't mess with Mrs A, I say!!!!! Of course, if any of them had turned on me I would have been in big trouble as they are all feet taller. Still, I do have my trusty karate training to assist me in warding off blows. Wonder what their parents would think if I dropped one of them with a well aimed backfist to the nose?
Best not I guess.
I think I'm rambling now....
Oh, A Free Man? Remember you asked why you shouldn't go into secondary teaching?
On a positive note (yes, there is one), the lesson on Tom Lehrer and his cold war humour went very well. I should have had more faith, after all, these are kids who enjoy The Chaser's War on Eveything and Saturday Night Live. They particularly liked the comment made in a preamble to one of the songs (I had fogotten about it....bad teacher!) which goes:
"I have a friend who wrote a book recently, a whimsical tale of a necrophiliac who fulfilled his life's ambition by becoming Coroner. (mild laughter)
The rest of you can look it up when you get home."
This was the cause of much mirth and raucous guffawing from about 50% of the class. The rest of them will have to look it up when they get home........
161st .....
....and aiming for the top 100. Of course the winds aren't doing exactly what they'd predicted so it's not all beer and skittles.....
Sunday, 2 November 2008
NaBloPoMo 2:
Labels:
NaBloPoMo 08,
pregnancy
Saturday 21st January 1995: Southampton, England.
(27 weeks pregnant)
Been a week of revolting weather, rain, hail- high winds.
Went to Winchester with Mum last Saturday and bought lots of lovely sheet music and some more maternity clothes. Still haven't got around to sewing the dress/skirt and leggings I cut out just after Christmas. Spent last two days sleeping and reading. Opened a bank account with Barclays.
Read 'There is No Armour' by Howard Spring- lovely book, very prosey but a beautiful eye for detail and drew a superb picture of Falmouth and Cornwall. Makes me want to own a small shack on a coast SOMEWHERE! Also made me think as this fellow's family dropped off all around him-that it is important to grow up with family and people who love you. Should I be taking my baby back to Australia? But who wants to live in miserable old Soton? (Southampton) The New Forest maybe!! Some seaside village perhaps- but give me Sydney as a city to live in anyday. Still, Summer and Spring here may be a different matter.
Lists of Names
Remy Madeline Arabella
Harriet Adelaide Honor
Eleanor Lucy
(ed note: none of these were chosen!)
I now feel very pregnant. It seems to only have been in the last month or so though. Prior to that I didn't feel very different. Now, not only is my waistline enormous, but I am subject to a constant barrage of movement, wind, indigestion and backache.
......
Dr's appointment went uneventfully. "Any swelling?" she asked.
"Only in the abdomen," I said.
Holding steady at 60kg. Fat woman.
(27 weeks pregnant)
Been a week of revolting weather, rain, hail- high winds.
Went to Winchester with Mum last Saturday and bought lots of lovely sheet music and some more maternity clothes. Still haven't got around to sewing the dress/skirt and leggings I cut out just after Christmas. Spent last two days sleeping and reading. Opened a bank account with Barclays.
Read 'There is No Armour' by Howard Spring- lovely book, very prosey but a beautiful eye for detail and drew a superb picture of Falmouth and Cornwall. Makes me want to own a small shack on a coast SOMEWHERE! Also made me think as this fellow's family dropped off all around him-that it is important to grow up with family and people who love you. Should I be taking my baby back to Australia? But who wants to live in miserable old Soton? (Southampton) The New Forest maybe!! Some seaside village perhaps- but give me Sydney as a city to live in anyday. Still, Summer and Spring here may be a different matter.
Lists of Names
Remy Madeline Arabella
Harriet Adelaide Honor
Eleanor Lucy
(ed note: none of these were chosen!)
I now feel very pregnant. It seems to only have been in the last month or so though. Prior to that I didn't feel very different. Now, not only is my waistline enormous, but I am subject to a constant barrage of movement, wind, indigestion and backache.
......
Dr's appointment went uneventfully. "Any swelling?" she asked.
"Only in the abdomen," I said.
Holding steady at 60kg. Fat woman.
Saturday, 1 November 2008
It's NaBloPoMo Again
Labels:
Christmas,
NaBloPoMo 08,
sailing
What am I thinking??????
I have been finding it hard enough to post recently without the pressure of NaBloPoMo
(National Blog Posting Month) again. But I had such fun with it last year and found so many new friends that I have been lured to the fray yet again.
But I need a theme.
Last year it was watching the Baby Angel grow up day by day. That was fun and in the process I was able to work out how best to use my scanner! This year I have toyed with two ideas.
The first was to post something daily from my handwritten journal, commenced around the time I arrive in the UK (Dec 1994) and kept faithfully through my pregnancy and the BA's early years.
The second is a tribute to Christmas past with posts and pictures from my Christmases through the years. The BA was cynical about this.
"But Mum, we haven't had 30 Christmases!"
"Well dear, YOU haven't......."
So what do you think?
I'm leaning towards Christmas myself.....
Anyway, this is NaBloPoMo 1 so I've fulfilled my obligations for today :-)
We're just off to the beach with A Free Man and his family. I've threatened them with a sail in Himself's boat after the race is over. I think Dr O'C thought it was a slightly larger boat. She got a bit excited. No ma'am. No champagne on the poop deck in this vessel :-)
I have been finding it hard enough to post recently without the pressure of NaBloPoMo
(National Blog Posting Month) again. But I had such fun with it last year and found so many new friends that I have been lured to the fray yet again.
But I need a theme.
Last year it was watching the Baby Angel grow up day by day. That was fun and in the process I was able to work out how best to use my scanner! This year I have toyed with two ideas.
The first was to post something daily from my handwritten journal, commenced around the time I arrive in the UK (Dec 1994) and kept faithfully through my pregnancy and the BA's early years.
The second is a tribute to Christmas past with posts and pictures from my Christmases through the years. The BA was cynical about this.
"But Mum, we haven't had 30 Christmases!"
"Well dear, YOU haven't......."
So what do you think?
I'm leaning towards Christmas myself.....
Anyway, this is NaBloPoMo 1 so I've fulfilled my obligations for today :-)
We're just off to the beach with A Free Man and his family. I've threatened them with a sail in Himself's boat after the race is over. I think Dr O'C thought it was a slightly larger boat. She got a bit excited. No ma'am. No champagne on the poop deck in this vessel :-)
Friday, 31 October 2008
349th: Thank You For Asking Elisa.....
I have been a bit quiet on the Himself front lately after a certain family member expressed irritation with my constant posts on his progress and a preference for more family related news!
However, as the lovely Elisa has been so kind as to express an interest, I do have exciting things to report.
When I last posted, Himself had experienced the vagaries of the mid-Atlantic winds and discovered why everyone else had gone so far south after rounding the mark. He had peaked at 137th position and quickly dropped off back into the high 700s as he headed south.
Over the next few days he kept his eye on the ball and was up at 6am checking his heading and position. He hit the westerlies, albeit behind the leaders, and started to pick up places again although he had missed the best of the gale and was significantly behind. Then, this afternoon, he noticed some new information regarding another low building up off South America and moving east.
This low, due to the clockwise, circular direction of the air currents, means that the boats who are further south [* btw he is now at 337th position] are going to be sailing straight INTO the teeth of a gale within 36 hours. This means they will have to tack, which slows them down, and then as the system moves across them, they will end up in a 'hole'. Bliss. Those boats further north, like Himself, will be able to head south at the same time as all this is happening and pick up a nor'westerly air stream shooting them straight down towards Capetown. He feels he is poised to 'clean up'.
He has been pricing up the watches which are up for grabs to see what he could get for one on ebay :-D
The real boats are now ahead of him by between 400 and 1000 nautical miles although the virtual leaders are ahead of two of the real fleet. In a nice twist, one of the crew off Ericsson 3 (now in real second place) has also joined the virtual race through satellite connection on the boat and Himself is only 28 miles behind him.
Please bear in mind folks that this is only the first leg of a ten leg, round the world race. So far he has been playing solidly for 20 days. Should I be concerned?
The other night the game 'crashed' for half an hour and you should have seen the anxiety and consternation! I think we can safely say that Himself is an addict. I wonder if they have special meetings?
"Hello, my name is Himself and I am a virtual sailor."
(chorus) "Hello Himself"
However, as the lovely Elisa has been so kind as to express an interest, I do have exciting things to report.
When I last posted, Himself had experienced the vagaries of the mid-Atlantic winds and discovered why everyone else had gone so far south after rounding the mark. He had peaked at 137th position and quickly dropped off back into the high 700s as he headed south.
Over the next few days he kept his eye on the ball and was up at 6am checking his heading and position. He hit the westerlies, albeit behind the leaders, and started to pick up places again although he had missed the best of the gale and was significantly behind. Then, this afternoon, he noticed some new information regarding another low building up off South America and moving east.
This low, due to the clockwise, circular direction of the air currents, means that the boats who are further south [* btw he is now at 337th position] are going to be sailing straight INTO the teeth of a gale within 36 hours. This means they will have to tack, which slows them down, and then as the system moves across them, they will end up in a 'hole'. Bliss. Those boats further north, like Himself, will be able to head south at the same time as all this is happening and pick up a nor'westerly air stream shooting them straight down towards Capetown. He feels he is poised to 'clean up'.
He has been pricing up the watches which are up for grabs to see what he could get for one on ebay :-D
The real boats are now ahead of him by between 400 and 1000 nautical miles although the virtual leaders are ahead of two of the real fleet. In a nice twist, one of the crew off Ericsson 3 (now in real second place) has also joined the virtual race through satellite connection on the boat and Himself is only 28 miles behind him.
Please bear in mind folks that this is only the first leg of a ten leg, round the world race. So far he has been playing solidly for 20 days. Should I be concerned?
The other night the game 'crashed' for half an hour and you should have seen the anxiety and consternation! I think we can safely say that Himself is an addict. I wonder if they have special meetings?
"Hello, my name is Himself and I am a virtual sailor."
(chorus) "Hello Himself"
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