Archive for 18/11/2008

I’m Still Here

30/11/2008 Joh family, gratitude, work

This week has been very busy.

Tom took me out for a delicious meal on Wednesday night for my birthday on Tuesday, as he is going to be away. It was great to have some time with him let alone the food. He really knows how to order good food.

Thursday night was the Graduation Dinner at school. The kids were beautifully dressed and after the formalities we went dancing the night away. I actually wore high heels! I changed my shoes to go dancing though. It turned into a very late night for me and I had to work the next day on a small portion of my usual sleep. It was well worth it though and I had a ball.

Friday was survived and I had another social event that evening. I probably should have cancelled but after a nap after school I felt up for it. I did arrive home a lot earlier than the previous evening.

I caught up on sleep and contemplated report writing yesterday. They are due tomorrow night. I have to drive Tom and a couple of his mates to the airport this afternoon for their week long adventure to the Gold Coast and ‘schoolies’- ugh! This morning I am going to put in a couple of hours on the reports and hope that I make the deadline.

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New Moon in Sagittarius – Friday 28th November 2008

26/11/2008 Joh astrology

The sun has entered Sagittarius now and the moon will join it late Thursday before becoming a new moon early Friday in Australia. This is a big time astrologically for we Saggis as Pluto will be leaving our sign after 13 years around 13 hours before the new moon. I just realised recently that it has been in my sign since I was 30. I clearly remember my 30th birthday as I’ve written here before as a real turning point. I remember cutting asparagus that day and thinking this (my life) has to change…. and how it has on reflection. I was only superficially interested in astrology back then and wasn’t aware that Pluto was blitzing into my life.

So a new moon at the start of a new era. I will be setting big picture goals. I have already began moving in the direction of a lifestyle change and everything is still too up in the air about that to publish detail, save to say I’m excited about it. As with all new moons, it’s a good time to start new things. Extra-Ordinary Moon on about.com can give you all the directions to take in your goal setting.

Pluto’s move will effect everyone, not just Sagittarians. Check out which house it is in and this site will brief you on the effect. It was in Capricorn earlier in the year for a short period, so you have already had a taste of Pluto in Capricorn. I will stop going on about it now or else I’ll have to rename this post to ‘Pluto leaves Sagittarius’.

It is birthday season for lots of my favourite bloggers, such as Megan from Imaginif, Kelly Marie, Karen from Misc Mum (whose gorgeous new childrens picture book ‘Surprise’ arrived in the mail today). I also have lots of family and friends who are Sagittarians. If you should be listed and aren’t, let me know in the comments.

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Dentist

25/11/2008 Joh health

Today I had the dental work done. I took my iPod. I realised most horrid part of the dentist chair are the sounds. So I lay back in the seat, closed my eyes under the sunnies and listened to my favourite music. The time passed quicker than I expected. It was a 70 minute procedure. I did hear the drill a few times and felt a bit of vibration, but mostly it was a relaxing 70 minutes.

My dentist is very careful about pain. She is apologetic about any discomfort she causes. I always end up feeling sorry for her stress. She seems too gentle to be in that profession, yet I am glad she is my dentist. I think I am over my long term fear of the dentist now. It has no basis in reality anymore.

She said when the numbness wore off I would probably need some painkillers (over the counter), because she had poked around so much. I didn’t. I had a nap and to be honest, I feel guilty for having the afternoon off because I would probably have been ok. I did do some work at home though and I had nearly all free periods today at school, so I don’t feel too bad about it.

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Delegating

24/11/2008 Joh work

I think I am finally getting the hang of it. I have a pile of things to manage at work right now. I have handed out jobs to the people who I know can do it better than me. I am checking in with them every couple of days and planning how I can reward them when they pull it all off as beautifully as I am expecting them to. It is the way to go.

I feel calmer because I know the people who are entrusted with these jobs are better at them than me. I can stick up for them and support them, because I believe they are the best people for the jobs. I can focus on more because those things are handled. It’s only taken me all year to realise this is what I am meant to be doing. In the past I have thought I have to do it all myself. I haven’t managed to do it all very well. No one has appreciated that I saved them all that work, they have just complained about what I haven’t done well. I am more inclined to support others who are doing things for me than I am to defend myself.

The trick is to find the person who is best suited to the job. People feel acknowledged when you ask them to do something they are really good at. They feel recognised that they are good at what they do. So from now on I just have to concentrate on finding the right people to do the work. Then thanking them. It’s good I have worked this out now that I only have six months to go. Maybe that is why I have worked it out.

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Busy Weeks Ahead

23/11/2008 Joh holidays

This week looks like being huge. I’ve spent most of the weekend correcting and still have a way to go. Reports are due in a week. 

I have a root canal on Tuesday. I don’t think ahead enough. It is difficult to get into the dentist here and I booked this appointment in September. 

I have Tom’s Graduation Dinner, Thursday night. He is off to schoolies in QLD next weekend, so wants to take me out for dinner for my birthday one night this week. He will be away for a week, so will miss it.

I can’t even begin to think about all the events on at school this week! Exams, transition days.. and all the planning and preparation that goes into them. The final weeks of the school term are quite frantic. I will survive them by thinking ahead to the holidays…. drawing nearer!

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‘Hang Me Up to Dry’ Katalyst (Like a Version)

22/11/2008 Joh music

 Another Triple J Like a Version favourite. I haven’t added a You Tube clip for ages….

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Unexpected…

22/11/2008 Joh friends, gratitude

Today went by in a blur. I was on the move the entire day. When I wake up in the morning, I generally lie in bed and run through in my head how my day will go. It looked nothing like that.

My friend got called to the hospital as her son had an accident at work, and mashed the top off his finger. Ouch!

I got an extra during my free period, when I was going to do a pile of work.

I filled in for someone at lunchtime and went on an excursion to our local park for lunch with the ‘Fashion’ project class. It was a pleasure to sit in the park with the girls who had delivered a very stylish fashion parade to a packed audience last Friday night.

When I got off the bus, the students in the playground informed me I’d won an ipod shuffle during my absence, so that was a bonus. The students who are going to Italy on Sunday, had a fundraising raffle and I won! 

After getting my laptop tweaked on our other campus, I made it back to school for another last minute appointment with a parent, who is a very energetic and intelligent woman.

The year 9s managed to raise the money required to book a local nightclub for their end of year social, so I dropped that in.

Tonight I went to the local Mexican restaurant with a family I love.

None of these events were on the agenda this morning.

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New Things

20/11/2008 Joh gratitude, learn, music

Today I learnt how to use bluetooth between my laptop and mobile. That’s the great thing about working with young people. In our Digital Storytelling class one of the students wanted to put a track from his mobile onto his clip he was making. Our students aren’t allowed to reveal their mobiles at school. They risk having them confiscated. So he explained his situation to me with pleading eyes and as I had my laptop in class, I agreed he could show me how to do it. It was a win/win.

That of course led to a discussion about the use of bluetooth with mobiles. This is how they transfer photos, videos and songs to one another. It’s free. They confessed they do it all day long! We haven’t got a hope! I have spotted a student or twenty “discretely” texting under the screen of a desk, pencil case or book, but I didn’t really think about the bluetooth technology. No wonder they are so distracted at times!

Tom has returned from Ballarat and he brought goodies. Triple J’s “Like a Version Four” is great. I especially love the After the Fall rendition of ‘Only the Good Die Young’ and Paul Kelly’s ‘Rehab’. Oh and ‘Wide Open Road’ by The Panics. He found some xmas tree lights that have actually inspired me to put up a tree this year. They are thongs – how cool. I have a vision of a tree that I can live with now.

I will post a picture when I make it a reality. It will be soon, because he wants to get the tree up before he goes to schoolies in a week or so. Normally I delay the whole Christmas tree thing until after Asha’s birthday on the 10th Dec. Since my birthday is on the 2nd and hers on the 10th, I don’t want to eclipse our birthdays with Christmas stuff. I am doing things differently though this year and Christmas is no exception.

The biggest news of today is that I informed work that I am leaving next year at the end of semester one next year.  I have plans. I will expand on them when they are clearer. I know it seems like a lot of notice to give, but it’s challenging to get teachers in our area and I want to give them as much notice as possible.  

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Facial Hair

20/11/2008 Joh family, random

Who needs it? Well interestingly enough there are quite a few men out there who are stuggling with it this Movember. I finally caught up with my brother and was most amused at the lack of growth he was managing. Check out his Movember page if you want to see what I mean. It was a couple of weeks ago though so I’m sure it has improved.

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Concerned Parents

18/11/2008 Joh gratitude

Tom has been great this week. Last night I came home to a beautifully cleaned home. Granted most of the mess was his, but it was so lovely to arrive home to after a really busy day. Today he has gone on a long drive to spend a couple of days with a friend who lives over 200kms away. I was so grateful when he called me to say he’d arrived safely. I don’t want to wish my life away, but I must say I will be relieved when he returns from ‘schoolies’. He’s off to Queensland the day after his graduation dinner.

This week I’ve had a number of parents contact me for interviews. There are barely three weeks to go for this term. I find it interesting. They are not coming to see me about reports or academic issues. They are genuinely concerned about their children. I am only going to be in their child’s life for another few weeks. I feel complimented they think I can make difference in this time, yet I am not sure I can. There is so much going on in the private lives of our students. It overwhelms me to think about it sometimes.

On a brighter note, I got to tell a mum today her daughter had talked very glowingly about her during her oral presentation this week. She was dropping her daughter’s lunch into school and I’m sure it was the last thing she was expecting to hear from me. The final oral assignment for year 9 students at school is on the topic ‘Á Person I Admire’. So many students choose a parent, grandparent or member of their family. I love telling their parents. Having lived through year 9 with my own children, and knowing how embarrassing you are to them, how little you know about anything it comes as a shock to know your child admires you underneath all that. They are always delighted to hear this. I am always very moved by the way many students speak to me about their families. In fact the majority of students I see at school think very highly of their parents.  They care quite a lot what their parents think of them. Believe it or not….

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