We had a non-uniform day to celebrate and some people dressed up as pirates. Yarrrr! Shiver me timbers, mateys. Walk the plank ya scurvy dawg!
Friday, 19 September 2008
Internatiomal talk like a pirate day ROCKS!
We had a non-uniform day to celebrate and some people dressed up as pirates. Yarrrr! Shiver me timbers, mateys. Walk the plank ya scurvy dawg!
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
It must be my age
Everywhere, I am surrounded by pregnant women.
There are at least 5 at work, although technically Katy isn't pregnant anymore since she gave birth to her second child 4 weeks ago. Vikki got married exactly a year after me and is due in November. Charlie got married 6 months before me and is having her second imminently. Fran started working at school at the same time as me and is onto her 3rd now. Who was number 5? Oh...Suzanne, but she's had hers now. We're taking bets on the next person. I'm giving evens on Nicky and 2 to 1 on Emma.
On top of that, there's Mandi what I used to go to Fat Fighters with, and Jane what I go and see cultural films with, and Riikka what I was at uni with, and Tasha what was in my Latin class...
And today, Jen texted me to say she'd just had her 12 week scan. Upon interrogation, she revelead that, after going to Disneyland for her birthday, she and Ben wondered what they were waiting for, and hence, the miracle of life began.
Bloody hell! I am never going to keep up with all the baby knitting. I made the mistake of knitting Katy some booties and now I fear I'm going to be lumbered with matinee jackets until Christmas. They are quite cute, though. I bet they're quick, too.
Here're the booties....
Check it. They're SO. CUTE!
Pattern: Ubiquitous Saartje's Bootees. I am totally knitting my way through the top 10 fad knitting patterns of the past couple of years.
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly and some random acrylic I had knocking about.
Mods: I saw somebody who had knitted a pair like strawberries on Ravelry, but the buttons were totally my idea. I also happen to think I did an awesome job, even if it did take me a month to get round to embroidering the seeds onto the second one.
The problem now is - how do I top that? I have made the cutest baby item I can think of for somebody who isn't a really close friend and now I have to think of the PROPERLY cutest baby item ever for Jen's baby.
People have got to stop getting knocked up. I have things to knit for myself, you know.
Back at work now. It's daunting to be responsible for 5 GCSE groups (3 of them doing the exams this year) and 2 sixth form ones. Richard, head of business studies which is my latest "second subject" said, "You're my great white hope for this year - you've got to rescue our dismal results!" Hmm, no pressure then. And also, don't hold your breath. I have yet to excel myself in my second subject. I feel so sorry for my pupils - I am bored silly so they must be ready to chew their limbs off and beat themselves to death just for something to do. I am hoping that, as I get to know the material better, I will be able to make it more interesting.
I'm excited by the new year 12 stuff. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin - bring it on! It's like my old A-Level all over again. I while away a fair amount of my commute trying to imagine the face of my old History teacher, Richard Wilkin, if he were ever to discover I'm teaching History A-Level. It looks something like my face when I realised I would be teaching year 13 for the first time this year. That hasn't started so well - forgot my props and had to gradnstand for 15 minutes. Luckily they're used to me being a bit verbose so they didn't notice. I can wow them with my amazing lesson on Thursday.
Hopefully I will remember to plan it.
Entries tailed off a bit in the summer. I got busy Firstly I started my first writing job, which I finished in plenty of time, to much praise from my editor, who promptly set me off on a new set of revision monologues on a different topic. It's great money, but I'm still curious to see when I fit it in around everything else.
Then, I was knitting like a fiend on my Ravelympics project, whilst simultaneously watching endless gymnastics and, to a lesser extent, other sports. I achieved a milestone - I can now knit without looking at my hands. I didn't finish the jacket, though. I currently need to seam the sleeves onto the body and pick up and knit the collar - not too arduous a task, since I left most of the required stitches on holders (why on earth would the pattern tell you to cast them off?). When I've finished it, apart from the Great Baby Knittathon, I also intend to knit hats for all my tutor group for Christmas (it's their last year) and I want a pair of thrummed mittens for the school trip to Prague in November. Little things. Some little things, next. I need to finish things!
Finally, we had to do the kitchen. We left this as late as possible....hence, the kitchen is now stripped to the brickwork and all we have is an oven, a sink and a piece of chip board balanced on the washing machine. And soon, not even that. The whole house is covered in plaster and brick dust (we also had some blokes round to do cavity and loft insulation, and after drilling shedloads of holes in the bricks they then blew most of the dust INTO the house with their big hose....durrrr.....) and Ikea are refusing to return any of my calls about the missing cabinet and cupboard doors.
It was a relief to get back to work and not have to look at it anymore, TBH. When Mother Z returns from holiday I shall send her to Ikea to extract our finaly pound of flesh, if they still haven't been in touch, and hopefully we won't have this situation for longer than another month.
Something nice did happen at the end of the summer - my friend Sian came to visit. We went to Poole for the day and then to a film at the Watershed on banky holiday Monday. We saw Justin Lee Collins sitting at a computer! I tried to be all nonchalent, even though I wanted to get a picture of him, because everybody else there was playing it cool and ignoring him. But I realised I was imagining that bit when I heard the ushers whispering about him when they checked my ticket.
Anyway. Must go and plan something or write something or remark a script...yes, there is no escaping the exam board (assuming they send me a new contract for re-marks). I have been put down for team leader next year, though. My star currently seems to be rising.
There are at least 5 at work, although technically Katy isn't pregnant anymore since she gave birth to her second child 4 weeks ago. Vikki got married exactly a year after me and is due in November. Charlie got married 6 months before me and is having her second imminently. Fran started working at school at the same time as me and is onto her 3rd now. Who was number 5? Oh...Suzanne, but she's had hers now. We're taking bets on the next person. I'm giving evens on Nicky and 2 to 1 on Emma.
On top of that, there's Mandi what I used to go to Fat Fighters with, and Jane what I go and see cultural films with, and Riikka what I was at uni with, and Tasha what was in my Latin class...
And today, Jen texted me to say she'd just had her 12 week scan. Upon interrogation, she revelead that, after going to Disneyland for her birthday, she and Ben wondered what they were waiting for, and hence, the miracle of life began.
Bloody hell! I am never going to keep up with all the baby knitting. I made the mistake of knitting Katy some booties and now I fear I'm going to be lumbered with matinee jackets until Christmas. They are quite cute, though. I bet they're quick, too.
Here're the booties....
Check it. They're SO. CUTE!
Pattern: Ubiquitous Saartje's Bootees. I am totally knitting my way through the top 10 fad knitting patterns of the past couple of years.
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly and some random acrylic I had knocking about.
Mods: I saw somebody who had knitted a pair like strawberries on Ravelry, but the buttons were totally my idea. I also happen to think I did an awesome job, even if it did take me a month to get round to embroidering the seeds onto the second one.
The problem now is - how do I top that? I have made the cutest baby item I can think of for somebody who isn't a really close friend and now I have to think of the PROPERLY cutest baby item ever for Jen's baby.
People have got to stop getting knocked up. I have things to knit for myself, you know.
Back at work now. It's daunting to be responsible for 5 GCSE groups (3 of them doing the exams this year) and 2 sixth form ones. Richard, head of business studies which is my latest "second subject" said, "You're my great white hope for this year - you've got to rescue our dismal results!" Hmm, no pressure then. And also, don't hold your breath. I have yet to excel myself in my second subject. I feel so sorry for my pupils - I am bored silly so they must be ready to chew their limbs off and beat themselves to death just for something to do. I am hoping that, as I get to know the material better, I will be able to make it more interesting.
I'm excited by the new year 12 stuff. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin - bring it on! It's like my old A-Level all over again. I while away a fair amount of my commute trying to imagine the face of my old History teacher, Richard Wilkin, if he were ever to discover I'm teaching History A-Level. It looks something like my face when I realised I would be teaching year 13 for the first time this year. That hasn't started so well - forgot my props and had to gradnstand for 15 minutes. Luckily they're used to me being a bit verbose so they didn't notice. I can wow them with my amazing lesson on Thursday.
Hopefully I will remember to plan it.
Entries tailed off a bit in the summer. I got busy Firstly I started my first writing job, which I finished in plenty of time, to much praise from my editor, who promptly set me off on a new set of revision monologues on a different topic. It's great money, but I'm still curious to see when I fit it in around everything else.
Then, I was knitting like a fiend on my Ravelympics project, whilst simultaneously watching endless gymnastics and, to a lesser extent, other sports. I achieved a milestone - I can now knit without looking at my hands. I didn't finish the jacket, though. I currently need to seam the sleeves onto the body and pick up and knit the collar - not too arduous a task, since I left most of the required stitches on holders (why on earth would the pattern tell you to cast them off?). When I've finished it, apart from the Great Baby Knittathon, I also intend to knit hats for all my tutor group for Christmas (it's their last year) and I want a pair of thrummed mittens for the school trip to Prague in November. Little things. Some little things, next. I need to finish things!
Finally, we had to do the kitchen. We left this as late as possible....hence, the kitchen is now stripped to the brickwork and all we have is an oven, a sink and a piece of chip board balanced on the washing machine. And soon, not even that. The whole house is covered in plaster and brick dust (we also had some blokes round to do cavity and loft insulation, and after drilling shedloads of holes in the bricks they then blew most of the dust INTO the house with their big hose....durrrr.....) and Ikea are refusing to return any of my calls about the missing cabinet and cupboard doors.
It was a relief to get back to work and not have to look at it anymore, TBH. When Mother Z returns from holiday I shall send her to Ikea to extract our finaly pound of flesh, if they still haven't been in touch, and hopefully we won't have this situation for longer than another month.
Something nice did happen at the end of the summer - my friend Sian came to visit. We went to Poole for the day and then to a film at the Watershed on banky holiday Monday. We saw Justin Lee Collins sitting at a computer! I tried to be all nonchalent, even though I wanted to get a picture of him, because everybody else there was playing it cool and ignoring him. But I realised I was imagining that bit when I heard the ushers whispering about him when they checked my ticket.
Anyway. Must go and plan something or write something or remark a script...yes, there is no escaping the exam board (assuming they send me a new contract for re-marks). I have been put down for team leader next year, though. My star currently seems to be rising.
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