Friday, November 8, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
Where has the time gone?
Well, this is post #100 and it should be something more monumental than an all-encompassing summary of the last 6 months but....ain't nobody got time for that.
Since May...
Tom and I have moved (again). We are living in a beautiful little village outside of town, which I am more than happy with.
I left Malcolm Arnold Academy. The first school I worked at when I moved over here...well, all things come to an end.
I began teaching at a new school. I am teaching History now--which I love. I love the subject. As for the students....
I've been to Canada, Norway and a few odd places in between. I've had friends from home visit, booked tickets to Prague in February and am very excited for the birth of my niece in December.
And, there we have it! I hope to get back into the habit of writing in this. Apparently there are still people who check in with me every so often. I do thank you, faithful readers. (However few and far between.)
Since May...
Tom and I have moved (again). We are living in a beautiful little village outside of town, which I am more than happy with.
I left Malcolm Arnold Academy. The first school I worked at when I moved over here...well, all things come to an end.
I began teaching at a new school. I am teaching History now--which I love. I love the subject. As for the students....
I've been to Canada, Norway and a few odd places in between. I've had friends from home visit, booked tickets to Prague in February and am very excited for the birth of my niece in December.
And, there we have it! I hope to get back into the habit of writing in this. Apparently there are still people who check in with me every so often. I do thank you, faithful readers. (However few and far between.)
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Sigh of Relief
It's that time of the year again: coursework nightmare time. In England, in order to get a grade in English, students have 2 years to complete a GCSE (general certificate of secondary education...or some such British nonsense) which consists of 5 written pieces of coursework, 3 speaking and listening tasks and an exam (or three exams, depending on what they are studying). My Year 11s have finished everything but exams and they will be done on June 4 at the latest. In order to finish the work and get it ready to send off to the exam board, all the pieces have to me read, marked, annotated and given a final score. I have 29 students, it takes about 20-30 minutes to properly mark a piece of work and that means...29 times 5...times 30...carry the 2....well, it's a hell of a lot of hours marking.
But, long story short (or not really short at all actually), all the work has been read, marked, annotated and graded and sent off. It is the wind down period now and it is the time when we finally get to lighten up a bit and relax. Thank you Jebus.
Rehearsals for Annie are going well and I am loving being part of the show. The countdown is already on until the show goes up!
Speaking of countdowns...1 week until Norway!
But, long story short (or not really short at all actually), all the work has been read, marked, annotated and graded and sent off. It is the wind down period now and it is the time when we finally get to lighten up a bit and relax. Thank you Jebus.
Rehearsals for Annie are going well and I am loving being part of the show. The countdown is already on until the show goes up!
Speaking of countdowns...1 week until Norway!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Recently
I am rather crap at getting back into the routine of updating. Hey ho. To business. '|???
\\\\\\\\\ (that was the cat. Poppy the cat says hello to you all.)
I am one need-to-spend-an-entire-paycheck for: no-bloody-leg-room (ironic since I barely scrape 5' tall), plastic-covered-mush-disguised-as-food, seated-next-to-the-screaming-child-for-8-nonstop-hours with the inconsiderate-8-foot-tall-giant-in-the-seat-ahead-shoving-his-seat-into-my-face, airplane ticket away from buying a damn canoe to get back to Canada. If a (albeit fictitious) man can survive for months at sea with a tiger, I'm sure the Atlantic will be no problem for me. I haven't been able to buy my ticket to get home for the summer yet and I am not a happy camper. I know I should have bought it months ago--I have this fight with myself every year and decide that future Jessica can worry about it. Well, future Jessica is now present Jessica and present Jessica is going to be broke for the second half of May so I can get home. It will be nostalgic, living on a university diet. I wonder if Mr Noodles come in any different flavours now?
Ok, so not altogether thrilled with the cost of airtravel now and don't think the QEII will be any cheaper so I'll have to bite the proverbial (bloody expensive) bullet. On re-reading that, I am realising I am adopting British slang a bit. I'm sure Carleton County will beat that out of me this summer and I will return a red neck--linguistically and literally, I'm sure; sunburns are a'comin'.
I do have some exciting events to look forward to: Tom and I are heading to Norway at the end of May to visit Sarah and Kristian. It will be Tom's first visit and his first time meeting Kristian and I am excited to get back.
The other exciting bit of news--and the one I am probably most excited about and this will dominate many of my blog updates (if I ever become a regular updater again--is there a prune juice for bloggers?) from now on: I have been asked to become stage manager for the theatre company I volunteer with on their upcoming production of Annie. Quite excited for this! I am completely new to stage managing (directing We Will Rock You was fun and a great experience but, who am I kidding, complete and utter omnishambles by the end of it) and I am looking forward to the experience.
So, I leave you on that note, faithful readers. When I update again, I may have in my possession a stupidly ridiculous ticket home for the summer. Speaking of ...I have decided to start a charity. It is the Canadians-need-to-get-home-for-the-summer fund. Completely not for profit and a very worthy cause. You know you want to. This charity doesn't include TV adverts that make you feel guilty and want to change the channel. Really, it is a win-win for everyone involved.
\\\\\\\\\ (that was the cat. Poppy the cat says hello to you all.)
I am one need-to-spend-an-entire-paycheck for: no-bloody-leg-room (ironic since I barely scrape 5' tall), plastic-covered-mush-disguised-as-food, seated-next-to-the-screaming-child-for-8-nonstop-hours with the inconsiderate-8-foot-tall-giant-in-the-seat-ahead-shoving-his-seat-into-my-face, airplane ticket away from buying a damn canoe to get back to Canada. If a (albeit fictitious) man can survive for months at sea with a tiger, I'm sure the Atlantic will be no problem for me. I haven't been able to buy my ticket to get home for the summer yet and I am not a happy camper. I know I should have bought it months ago--I have this fight with myself every year and decide that future Jessica can worry about it. Well, future Jessica is now present Jessica and present Jessica is going to be broke for the second half of May so I can get home. It will be nostalgic, living on a university diet. I wonder if Mr Noodles come in any different flavours now?
Ok, so not altogether thrilled with the cost of airtravel now and don't think the QEII will be any cheaper so I'll have to bite the proverbial (bloody expensive) bullet. On re-reading that, I am realising I am adopting British slang a bit. I'm sure Carleton County will beat that out of me this summer and I will return a red neck--linguistically and literally, I'm sure; sunburns are a'comin'.
I do have some exciting events to look forward to: Tom and I are heading to Norway at the end of May to visit Sarah and Kristian. It will be Tom's first visit and his first time meeting Kristian and I am excited to get back.
The other exciting bit of news--and the one I am probably most excited about and this will dominate many of my blog updates (if I ever become a regular updater again--is there a prune juice for bloggers?) from now on: I have been asked to become stage manager for the theatre company I volunteer with on their upcoming production of Annie. Quite excited for this! I am completely new to stage managing (directing We Will Rock You was fun and a great experience but, who am I kidding, complete and utter omnishambles by the end of it) and I am looking forward to the experience.
So, I leave you on that note, faithful readers. When I update again, I may have in my possession a stupidly ridiculous ticket home for the summer. Speaking of ...I have decided to start a charity. It is the Canadians-need-to-get-home-for-the-summer fund. Completely not for profit and a very worthy cause. You know you want to. This charity doesn't include TV adverts that make you feel guilty and want to change the channel. Really, it is a win-win for everyone involved.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Brush the Dust Off
Well well, it has been awhile indeed. Actually, according to my last post, I haven't updated in all of 2013! It would be useless to try and recount all of the events in detail so I will do a bit of a summative update and hopefully get back into a more regular routine. I do enjoy keeping my faithful readers updated. (I also like making ironic jokes)
To start, Tom and I have moved into a beautiful house together. We moved in mid-February and it has been going great so far. A bit further away from town, slightly further away from work but in a better location and much quieter. Not sure if I would ever want to go back to living in an apartment building again.
Two or three weeks after we moved into our house, a colleague of mine told me about her cat that she had recently re-homed. She was very allergic to her cat and had reached the unhappy decision that she had to give her up. Tom and I had discussed having pets and decided to take Poppy, rather than see her go to a shelter or re-homed somewhere not nearly as awesome as our house. We brought Poppy home and, after climbing up the chimney for four hours and sitting behind the dryer for another fifteen or sixteen, she settled in very well. She has this adorable habit of trying to get your attention by sinking her lovely little claws into your legs, arms, hands, face...you know, wherever. This is made even more adorable at 3:30 in the morning. Also, I want to publicly state I wanted to rename her. I was thinking Moose, as a tribute to my native land. Tom disagreed. How unfair.
I am on Easter holiday now and not nearly prepared to go back to work on Monday. Following my return to work, it will be the most frantic time of the year getting my Year 11s finished with their coursework, ready for exams and done their GCSEs. My third year of teaching is quickly finishing and I am still at the same school. Before I leave England, I want to see more of the country than the midlands, but I am happy enough and still have 4.5 years left on my Visa to decide on a change of scenery.
And, in 400 little words (or so), that is my life for the last few months. The upcoming months will include travelling, trips back to Canada and going on a trip with one of my best friends; hopefully this will allow for less summative posts, more exciting story-telling.
To start, Tom and I have moved into a beautiful house together. We moved in mid-February and it has been going great so far. A bit further away from town, slightly further away from work but in a better location and much quieter. Not sure if I would ever want to go back to living in an apartment building again.
Two or three weeks after we moved into our house, a colleague of mine told me about her cat that she had recently re-homed. She was very allergic to her cat and had reached the unhappy decision that she had to give her up. Tom and I had discussed having pets and decided to take Poppy, rather than see her go to a shelter or re-homed somewhere not nearly as awesome as our house. We brought Poppy home and, after climbing up the chimney for four hours and sitting behind the dryer for another fifteen or sixteen, she settled in very well. She has this adorable habit of trying to get your attention by sinking her lovely little claws into your legs, arms, hands, face...you know, wherever. This is made even more adorable at 3:30 in the morning. Also, I want to publicly state I wanted to rename her. I was thinking Moose, as a tribute to my native land. Tom disagreed. How unfair.
I am on Easter holiday now and not nearly prepared to go back to work on Monday. Following my return to work, it will be the most frantic time of the year getting my Year 11s finished with their coursework, ready for exams and done their GCSEs. My third year of teaching is quickly finishing and I am still at the same school. Before I leave England, I want to see more of the country than the midlands, but I am happy enough and still have 4.5 years left on my Visa to decide on a change of scenery.
And, in 400 little words (or so), that is my life for the last few months. The upcoming months will include travelling, trips back to Canada and going on a trip with one of my best friends; hopefully this will allow for less summative posts, more exciting story-telling.
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