Archive for 04/02/2010

Full Moon in Virgo – Monday 1st March 2010

27/02/2010 Joh astrology

The full moon in Virgo falls on Monday in Australia. It’s probably a good thing with Virgo being all about minding the details and attending to all the analytical aspects. Mondays are better for that kind of thing don’t you think? It just doesn’t seem to me like a suitable full moon day… Monday! Naturally there are a lot of other things going on in the skies as you can read in the posts I’ve listed.

 Kelly Surtees: Full Moon in Virgo advises a weekend of decluttering. I have taken her advice to some degree and replaced a ragged and torn holland blind over my kitchen sink with a venetian blind. It looks great. I’ve also put a lot of things away such as a weeks laundry.

Astrogrrl: Full Moon in Virgo  has links to which house will be affected by this moon. I have continued listening to Carolyn Myss and am now enjoying the recording of ‘Sacred Contracts’ in which she talks more about archetypes and relates them to to the houses in astrology. I am enjoying learning more about both.

Lynda Hills Sabian Symbols post for the Full Moon in Virgo contains this quote “We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are. Anais Nin”.  I think this is one of the quotes I want to keep in mind for Monday. I’ve already had some insights into this reality lately. I watched a film last night “The Soloist”. I recommend it.

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Pruning

27/02/2010 Joh family, relationships, work

After attending the Cybersafe training day on Thursday I have pruned my facebook of all current students. I was reluctant to do that because I felt that I was a responsible user of social networking, but the implications and lack of control over what others post, creates vulnerabilities for teachers. I like to be socially inclusive. If a person I know requests to be my friend, I would need to have a clear reason for saying no. It’s easier to have no current students than to make judgement calls.

Greg Gebhart the facilitator is very knowledgeable and I highly recommend his site IT Vision for educators. I have completed a few IT courses with Greg over the past few years. He is a great resource to teachers having been a teacher and possessing a practical and grounded view of how to work with IT in schools.

I have also pruned my twitter account on the same basis. I’ve rid my feed of all the people I don’t read or aren’t really interested in as well as students. I don’t read my twitter feed that often though to be honest so I’ve created groups. The great thing about having different groups is that if I only check it once a week or so, I don’t miss as many posts in the areas I’ve created because the fewer amount of people makes it easier to catch up. Does that make sense?

I have also discovered a whole branch of my family on facebook this week. I think social networking is great. I love staying in touch with people who live all over the place. Although I generally have no time for reality TV, a family member is on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ (vote Nick!), so I’ve been keeping up with his progress.

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Cybersmart

24/02/2010 Joh learn, work

Tomorrow I am going to a Cyberbullying course. We had a speaker talk to our year 7s and 10s yesterday and there was not much he spoke of that I wasn’t aware of. I have been attending these kinds of talks for a few years now. I want to keep up to date to keep kids as informed and safe as possible.

Many of the teachers were amazed though. It’s great the whole staff is getting exposed to this information now. The Cybersmart website has a handy red button to report any offensive online behaviour and a counselling hotline.

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I Saw an Eagle today

21/02/2010 Joh blogging

I always associate seeing one with a feeling of freedom. It was huge. I actually thought it was a plane when I first spotted it in the sky. I guess twitter or facebook would be a better place for such a short post. I just don’t find it as retrievable!

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Happy 45th Wedding Anniversay Parents

20/02/2010 Joh relationships

My parents Ric and Joan have been married for 45 years today. I don’t know many other couples who are as happy together. They have raised 6 children, been much loved grandparents to 4 grandchildren, made a home we can all return to, yet be independent from, retired and holidayed in their marriage and family but I think their relationship is their greatest achievement. They enjoy each other and spend lots of time together. They still smile at each other and are warm and affectionate. They are nice to be around.

When my mum was sick last year, the thing that rocked me the most was dad. He was lost. It was cruel. There was nothing that could be done for him other than mum’s return to health. No wonder they take such good care of each other. They know.

Their closeness is something I’ve always aspired to and wanted for my own relationships. It hasn’t been simple for me, even though I’ve had great teachers! The older I get the more I have valued and been awed by what they have together. I have to confess as a teenager I found it most annoying that I couldn’t play one off against the other.  Most of all I am grateful though to have their abundant love in my life. Their love for each other has spilled over to generosity and love for all of us.

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Swimming Carnival

19/02/2010 Joh work

Today we had the swimming carnival at school. I enjoyed it despite having to be at the pool a bit earlier than I like to start my day. As Gold house co-ordinator I must say the captains of my house are committed young people who participated fully all day. I enjoyed the company of the students and staff. It was a great day in the sun.

I enjoy the vibe of the senior campus. I liked getting in the pool to get extra points for our house in the novelty events. It was a hot day…. I probably wouldn’t have been so keen on a cold one! I had a bit of a flash back to playing footy in the back yard with my brothers though as the ball landed near me and several athletic teenagers converged on me seeking the ball. I felt a little fragile in the crush of the youth, but managed to survive:-)

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Disquiet by Julia Leigh

18/02/2010 Joh reading

Disquiet tells nothing directly yet reveals a world of pain in the simple descriptions of a very macabre story. It’s a story I could have lived without, yet once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I needed the conclusion, the funeral to take place so I could feel it was done with. The testimonial on the front cover says it all….

‘Julia Leigh is a sorceress. Her deft prose casts a spall of serene control while the earth quakes underfoot’. Toni Morrison.

It’s a short book taking me a couple of hours before I slept over two nights. I won’t reveal anymore.

 

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Chinese New Year – The Year of the Tiger – 2010

14/02/2010 Joh astrology

Today is the beginning of the year of the metal tiger. Kim Falconer has a tidy post about what to expect about this coming year.

This morning I have spent weeding out bit of thought rather than the usual cleaning I do at this time. I will have a bit of a clean up now, but I feel confident the releasing I have done will make the start of a new cycle just as positive as having a spotless home.

I visited Asha yesterday. She looks happily settled in her new place. There’s still boxes to unpack but she looks happy and I’m sure it will happen. She is such a busy person.

The new moon and hence Chinese new year starts at 13.52 Sydney time.

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Local History

05/02/2010 Joh work

I wasn’t keen on teaching Local History this year. I’ve only been doing it a week and I have learnt so much already. I have a feeling it could be one of my favourite subjects. I’m reading a book “The Settling of Gippsland” by Patrick Morgan. I am having all kinds of realisations about this region I call home. I am glad I have been given this subject. I remember when I studied ‘Introduction to Koorie Studies’ at uni I learnt so much and was facinated in the local indigenous history. It shifted my perception of this place I come from. I was an adult by then and remember working on an assignment shortly after I gave birth to Tom. I was so committed to that subject! I wondered why I hadn’t learnt about it before.

I watched a TED talk during the holidays called ‘The Danger of a Single Story’. I could relate to it at some level and reading about our local history has reminded me about some of the messages I got for myself from this clip. I want to encourage my students to explore their local identities. So many young people, including myself and my own children can’t wait to get out of this area. Why? There are many positive things about it. We listen to the media instead of our own experiences. It is good to leave home and explore the world, yet I believe it’s also good to appreciate where you are from.

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Drenched

04/02/2010 Joh gratitude

I got soaked walking from my office to my car after school today. I was saturated to the bone and the coolness of that has stayed with me all night. I have been super active and handled lots of tasks that I’ve been too hot and bothered to attend to all week. I was on bus duty tonight and watched the dark clouds get closer and closer until as the last bus pulled in the rain dropped on the few remaining in the yard.

I’ve been back at school over a week. I like it. The senior campus is different and so far in a good way. I feel very indulged to have an air conditioned office. The students have been most pleasant. I am glad I took this risk no matter how threatening it seemed at times.

On a personal level this week has been crazy. Unmentionable happenings have settled, and all I can say is I am glad they are behind me. Issues that have been lingering since April last year have been resolved this week, but not without a share of worry. I am just glad everything has turned out as I hoped and I feel a level of freedom from stress that I haven’t felt for a while.

My daughter has found and began to settle into a new place, which is another source of relief for me. I hope to visit her on Sunday. We have Darin’s kids this weekend, yet I am sure they won’t miss me for a few hours on Sunday! I really can’t wait to see her new place and make sure she doesn’t need anything.

I’ve changed ISPs this week so anyone emailing to my optusnet address … Í won’t get it! You can use the contact form on this blog if you want to find me:-)

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