Wowzers.
I am tired.
So at the moment, there are no free lunchtimes, I am in school til late o'clock far more often than I ever have been, and today was Open Evening.
I missed it last year, due to being ill. That was convenient.
Still, it was good tonight.
You know what, though - it's a bit (a lot) like a slightly misleading sales pitch, whereby you big up all the good stuff, and gloss over the less good stuff. Like, "there are loads of instruments you can have a go on, like these drums over here, and the guitars next door, and the keyboards along here" (subtext: "you'll have a go on the drums for approx. 2 mins during your entire time here, and later if you touch them, you'll probably be told to leave them alone; the guitars look pretty good hanging up in the other room and because they're in the other room, it means you probably won't get to play them much, if at all, and if they break, we never really fix them. Keyboards, however... learn to love em.")
Like the GCSE, when you hear about salsa and club and disco and African a capella and all the good stuff... and then you spend your days sitting staring at a screen, writing down facts about all these interesting music styles that we are hardly equipped to perform.
Still, I'm trying to rectify that one by doing less staring and more doing. (which I don't know why I didn't do before, anyway... far more interesting that way)
Anyway, I need to plan some lessons for tomorrow.
I am TIRED and my head is spinning. Not literally. That would be weird.
Goodnight.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
So the joys of re-teaching the same lessons that I taught last year means I have a lot more spare time in my evenings than I'm used to.
This means I have spent most of my time over the last few evenings watching my housemate's friend's box set of Friends.
It's also meant that I've spent the last few days being simultaneously grateful for having a housemate, and missing having a close group of friends who live near by.
That is all.
This means I have spent most of my time over the last few evenings watching my housemate's friend's box set of Friends.
It's also meant that I've spent the last few days being simultaneously grateful for having a housemate, and missing having a close group of friends who live near by.
That is all.
Friday, 16 September 2011
The Pursuit of Love
I found this that I'd written a few months ago. I think I might have posted it before, and then deleted it. Anyway, I thought I'd share it again, especially in the light of another friend's wedding tomorrow.
"What I don't understand is that in novels and films, it all seems so easy...
So, I'm currently reading a novel by Nancy Mitford. It's really quite good - I like her style, and she makes me smile wryly every now and again, which is nice. What I don't get, however, is the fact that although her protagonists are in "The Pursuit of Love", she only dedicates about a paragraph to the "two years of agony" between 16 and 18, which is from the age her characters become preoccupied with falling in love, to the age they are 'out' and allowed to get engaged.
How can the 'pursuit of love' be condensed into so brief a paragraph...?
Oh and every now and then she slips in things like an "oh, by this point I (the narrator) had met so-and-so and now we're married", and a nonchalant "oh yeah, this sister of mine has now got 2 children"... like it's of no consequence at all.
Isn't it supposed to be life changing? Isn't it supposed to make an impact?
It's like when I talk to people who have been married for ages, and it's so matter-of-fact and understated, that I get confused.
I feel like my whole life has been building up to The Event. And you know how when someone promises you something, and says "it's on its way, promise!", and you get excited about it, but then it keeps not coming, despite reassurances of "it's still on its way!", and it gets harder and harder to be excited about it...?
I just don't really know what to do differently.
I mean, I want it to make an impact, I want it to be worth waiting for, and I also suppose I don't really want to miss out. But if all that's asking too much, I might even rather nothing than a lukewarm non-life-changing "oh, and then we got married" type thing.
I sometimes feel like there's a secret code that you need to understand before you're even allowed close to contemplating The Event.
It's like a club I've not been invited into.
In other news, I just ate an entire tube of Maltesers. Yum!
"We walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Corinthians 5:7"
(I found it - it was originally posted on January 19th. The day after my 25th birthday.)
"What I don't understand is that in novels and films, it all seems so easy...
So, I'm currently reading a novel by Nancy Mitford. It's really quite good - I like her style, and she makes me smile wryly every now and again, which is nice. What I don't get, however, is the fact that although her protagonists are in "The Pursuit of Love", she only dedicates about a paragraph to the "two years of agony" between 16 and 18, which is from the age her characters become preoccupied with falling in love, to the age they are 'out' and allowed to get engaged.
How can the 'pursuit of love' be condensed into so brief a paragraph...?
Oh and every now and then she slips in things like an "oh, by this point I (the narrator) had met so-and-so and now we're married", and a nonchalant "oh yeah, this sister of mine has now got 2 children"... like it's of no consequence at all.
Isn't it supposed to be life changing? Isn't it supposed to make an impact?
It's like when I talk to people who have been married for ages, and it's so matter-of-fact and understated, that I get confused.
I feel like my whole life has been building up to The Event. And you know how when someone promises you something, and says "it's on its way, promise!", and you get excited about it, but then it keeps not coming, despite reassurances of "it's still on its way!", and it gets harder and harder to be excited about it...?
I just don't really know what to do differently.
I mean, I want it to make an impact, I want it to be worth waiting for, and I also suppose I don't really want to miss out. But if all that's asking too much, I might even rather nothing than a lukewarm non-life-changing "oh, and then we got married" type thing.
I sometimes feel like there's a secret code that you need to understand before you're even allowed close to contemplating The Event.
It's like a club I've not been invited into.
In other news, I just ate an entire tube of Maltesers. Yum!
"We walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Corinthians 5:7"
(I found it - it was originally posted on January 19th. The day after my 25th birthday.)
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Tomorrow
Tomorrow I am:
- seeing the year 12s for the first time since their results and dreading it
- looking forward to having the department to myself
- going to plan some fun housewarming and other parties
- teaching a double lesson for the first time since 2009
- possibly going to the cinema.
- going to try and feel less like running away
I have a new year 7 form. They are currently pleasant if a bit timid, receptive if a bit quiet, and occasionally a bit responsive. Hurray, good work small children. You're not in Kansas anymore. Here there are hurricanes and detentions and teachers who confiscate your jewellery. Ha.
Oh, also I looked up jobs in London. Currently none that appeal. The thing is, I just keep picturing a little house with a blue door and poor décor, like in Notting Hill, and wishing I lived in it.
One day, maybe...
- seeing the year 12s for the first time since their results and dreading it
- looking forward to having the department to myself
- going to plan some fun housewarming and other parties
- teaching a double lesson for the first time since 2009
- possibly going to the cinema.
- going to try and feel less like running away
I have a new year 7 form. They are currently pleasant if a bit timid, receptive if a bit quiet, and occasionally a bit responsive. Hurray, good work small children. You're not in Kansas anymore. Here there are hurricanes and detentions and teachers who confiscate your jewellery. Ha.
Oh, also I looked up jobs in London. Currently none that appeal. The thing is, I just keep picturing a little house with a blue door and poor décor, like in Notting Hill, and wishing I lived in it.
One day, maybe...
Monday, 5 September 2011
Today
Today I am not:
- sleeping in shorts
- on my summer holiday
- happy with some of our exam results
- sure what to wear tomorrow
- taking off my Wilderness wristband
- displeased with my new(-ish) house
- feeling inspired by classroom music education
- looking forward to tomorrow.
Sorry for the moan. Enough of that.
Today I am:
- pleased with my new(-ish) house
- enjoying my new lampshade(s)
- possibly going to wear terribly funky shoes/boots tomorrow
- breathing in orange and ginger incense
- not studying a masters (I handed it in - whoop!)
- feeling slightly rebellious.
That is all.
P.S. I know I left out a big chunk of August - I was mostly camping or being in Germany. Both of which were ace.
The end.
- sleeping in shorts
- on my summer holiday
- happy with some of our exam results
- sure what to wear tomorrow
- taking off my Wilderness wristband
- displeased with my new(-ish) house
- feeling inspired by classroom music education
- looking forward to tomorrow.
Sorry for the moan. Enough of that.
Today I am:
- pleased with my new(-ish) house
- enjoying my new lampshade(s)
- possibly going to wear terribly funky shoes/boots tomorrow
- breathing in orange and ginger incense
- not studying a masters (I handed it in - whoop!)
- feeling slightly rebellious.
That is all.
P.S. I know I left out a big chunk of August - I was mostly camping or being in Germany. Both of which were ace.
The end.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Franticity
(I may have made that word up)
This summer is amazing.
-ly busy.
-ly exhausting.
-ly exciting.
-ly full of sitting at a laptop pounding out words and brackets and italicised 'asides'
But mostly just amazing.
I spent most of last week recovering from the Wedding Weekend of the Century (which, by the way, was WONDERFUL), flitting between Kettering and Harb, for proofreading and editing my thesis in one house, and eating (I have no food) and sleeping (sporadically) in the other. After spending a concentrated couple of days in Ketters working like a mad woman, (oh, and rewarding myself with exciting treats, such as cinema-ing with the young'un to see HARRY POTTER, and Chiquitos-ing with the buddy in Cambridge), I drove back to Harb, en route to Oxfordshire, and emailed a 50-something page draft to my supervisor.
Then, I sped down the M1 (possibly), to arrive chez sister in the mid-afternoon, for to begin a weekend of Wild Wilderness Wonderment.
We spent the weekend lounging in the (occasional) sunshine, usually with a pint of something delicious in our hands, surrounded by small children, colourful people and the wafts of live music. I. Loved. It.
There is something so exhilerating about live music. I'm not going to attempt to capture what it is, but just state that I love it. Really.
Anyway, I left Oxon at circa 11:30-ish am, and arrived in Harborough for a quick shower and laptop collection, then crawled along the A14 to my supervisor's office in Cambridge, whereupon we proceeded to complete a 2 1/2 hour supervision, with me tap-tapping away at my keyboard, and him making approving noises as he read through the literature review, and scoured the literary landscape for grammatical inconsistencies and poorly phrased passages.
There is so much more I'd like to say in this post.
- The joys and delights and strange melancholies associated with weddings.
- The amazing capacities for human love and acceptance - not just in marriage, but also in the creation of surprisingly easy new friendships.
- The horrors and unimaginable selfishness of humanity, as seen in the UK riots.
- The unusual emotions aroused during Harry Potter - their spells and incantations, shooting up light into the night sky: so similar to prayers like incense.
- The ideas of collective worship at a secular music festival - what is it people go for? What are they worshipping?
- Antony and the Johnsons, and preaching Feminine Neutrality.
- How much I love my sister.
SO MUCH I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
But for now, I am (a boy?). No, for now, I am incredibly exhausted. And a bit sad that I am no longer at Wilderness. But a bit (a lot) excited that I am going to Momentum on FRIDAY.
YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait.
Anyway, good night.
This summer is amazing.
-ly busy.
-ly exhausting.
-ly exciting.
-ly full of sitting at a laptop pounding out words and brackets and italicised 'asides'
But mostly just amazing.
I spent most of last week recovering from the Wedding Weekend of the Century (which, by the way, was WONDERFUL), flitting between Kettering and Harb, for proofreading and editing my thesis in one house, and eating (I have no food) and sleeping (sporadically) in the other. After spending a concentrated couple of days in Ketters working like a mad woman, (oh, and rewarding myself with exciting treats, such as cinema-ing with the young'un to see HARRY POTTER, and Chiquitos-ing with the buddy in Cambridge), I drove back to Harb, en route to Oxfordshire, and emailed a 50-something page draft to my supervisor.
Then, I sped down the M1 (possibly), to arrive chez sister in the mid-afternoon, for to begin a weekend of Wild Wilderness Wonderment.
We spent the weekend lounging in the (occasional) sunshine, usually with a pint of something delicious in our hands, surrounded by small children, colourful people and the wafts of live music. I. Loved. It.
There is something so exhilerating about live music. I'm not going to attempt to capture what it is, but just state that I love it. Really.
Anyway, I left Oxon at circa 11:30-ish am, and arrived in Harborough for a quick shower and laptop collection, then crawled along the A14 to my supervisor's office in Cambridge, whereupon we proceeded to complete a 2 1/2 hour supervision, with me tap-tapping away at my keyboard, and him making approving noises as he read through the literature review, and scoured the literary landscape for grammatical inconsistencies and poorly phrased passages.
There is so much more I'd like to say in this post.
- The joys and delights and strange melancholies associated with weddings.
- The amazing capacities for human love and acceptance - not just in marriage, but also in the creation of surprisingly easy new friendships.
- The horrors and unimaginable selfishness of humanity, as seen in the UK riots.
- The unusual emotions aroused during Harry Potter - their spells and incantations, shooting up light into the night sky: so similar to prayers like incense.
- The ideas of collective worship at a secular music festival - what is it people go for? What are they worshipping?
- Antony and the Johnsons, and preaching Feminine Neutrality.
- How much I love my sister.
SO MUCH I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
But for now, I am (a boy?). No, for now, I am incredibly exhausted. And a bit sad that I am no longer at Wilderness. But a bit (a lot) excited that I am going to Momentum on FRIDAY.
YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait.
Anyway, good night.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Updating...
So the past week and a half has whizzed by in something of a hazy, fun-filled blur. Allow me to walk you through it...
Date: week ending 22nd July
Description: end of term week.
Primary Activity/ies: thesis-ing, being full of cold, not going to London for Lottie's hen do, finishing term.
Date: Saturday 23rd July - Friday 29th July
Description: Scottish Adventure
Primary Activity/ies: thesis-ing (Sat), sleeping in a Cumbrian gypsy caravan (Sat night), visiting Glasgow (Sun), ferrying to Colonsay (Sun eve), ceilidh-ing on Colonsay (Mon), barbecue-ing on the beach (Tues), visiting Colonsay house (Weds), ferrying back to Oban (Thurs), experiencing a folk session in a Glaswegian pub (Thurs night), sleeping in a Glasgow YHA (Thurs night cont.), driving through M6 traffic (Fri), arriving home (Fri pm).
Date: Weekend of 30th/31st July
Description: Family Fun
Primary Activity/ies: visiting brother et al in Nottingham (Sat) and sister et al in Oxfordshire (Sun) for sister's 30th and brother's... well, no real reason, I suppose.
Date: Monday 1st Aug
Description: Thesis Day #1
Primary Activity: Thesising (and a little Skype-ing)
Date: Tues 2nd Aug
Description: Worst Day of the Summer So Far
Primary Activities: vomiting, sleeping, aching, moaning.
Date: Weds 3rd Aug
Description: Today
Primary Activity: trying to thesise all day, and not really getting very far. This will be my Primary Activity for at least tomorrow too, and then on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I am busy having exciting wedding parties and post-wedding meanders round London (I hope).
Anyway, there, in a brief but functional description, is my summer so far. Colonsay was AMAZING, and I got hideously sunburnt, and thoroughly exhausted from cycling all day every day, but I LOVED it and would not have not gone for anything.
Now I am doing an excellent impression of a snake, and shedding my sunburnt skin (which is now brown(-ish) and slightly peeling), all in perfect time for the wedding weekend of the year.
Yeah man, can't wait.
Date: week ending 22nd July
Description: end of term week.
Primary Activity/ies: thesis-ing, being full of cold, not going to London for Lottie's hen do, finishing term.
Date: Saturday 23rd July - Friday 29th July
Description: Scottish Adventure
Primary Activity/ies: thesis-ing (Sat), sleeping in a Cumbrian gypsy caravan (Sat night), visiting Glasgow (Sun), ferrying to Colonsay (Sun eve), ceilidh-ing on Colonsay (Mon), barbecue-ing on the beach (Tues), visiting Colonsay house (Weds), ferrying back to Oban (Thurs), experiencing a folk session in a Glaswegian pub (Thurs night), sleeping in a Glasgow YHA (Thurs night cont.), driving through M6 traffic (Fri), arriving home (Fri pm).
Date: Weekend of 30th/31st July
Description: Family Fun
Primary Activity/ies: visiting brother et al in Nottingham (Sat) and sister et al in Oxfordshire (Sun) for sister's 30th and brother's... well, no real reason, I suppose.
Date: Monday 1st Aug
Description: Thesis Day #1
Primary Activity: Thesising (and a little Skype-ing)
Date: Tues 2nd Aug
Description: Worst Day of the Summer So Far
Primary Activities: vomiting, sleeping, aching, moaning.
Date: Weds 3rd Aug
Description: Today
Primary Activity: trying to thesise all day, and not really getting very far. This will be my Primary Activity for at least tomorrow too, and then on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I am busy having exciting wedding parties and post-wedding meanders round London (I hope).
Anyway, there, in a brief but functional description, is my summer so far. Colonsay was AMAZING, and I got hideously sunburnt, and thoroughly exhausted from cycling all day every day, but I LOVED it and would not have not gone for anything.
Now I am doing an excellent impression of a snake, and shedding my sunburnt skin (which is now brown(-ish) and slightly peeling), all in perfect time for the wedding weekend of the year.
Yeah man, can't wait.
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