foolhandy

It’s Monday. Time for working at home. Things have been happening these past few days. These are the things.

As mentioned before, I’ve lent myself the money to buy a new computer. It’s a MacBook and I’m going to use it for school work. I’ve already started the process of curtaining off part of my infeasibly large bedroom to be a place solely for school work, and with it being a laptop I have the flexibility to work out and about should I wish. I’ve got Office for Macs and I’ll probably get a bit of software called Parallels too, which will allow me to run Windows XP on the occasions when the use of school software makes it absolutely essential. I could have got a PC laptop but they’re creaky bits of kit that I have absolutely no faith in. The bamboo mouse is something to look forward to as well, although apparently I should have waited until Christmas for that - only 42 days to go after all!!!

In 136 days time I am off to Seychelles. Back after three and a half years away. All but a few of my friends there will have left by next summer, so Easter was the last time to catch more than just a few of them. It will be very odd going back. I know how much things changed in the three years I was there and so now, three years further down the line I’m bracing myself for very strange feelings. It’ll be that wonderful place where I loved living, but not as I knew it. One hundred and thirty six days until I step off the plane and wish I was several stone lighter. Or maybe not. Watch this space.

All this extravagance must be put into the perspective of general day-to-day belt tightening. Working part-time is meaning that I’m having to be more careful, although the odd bit of supply will help. As, hopefully, will a new scheme I’ve cooked up to fill my Mondays and Tuesdays. The ‘excellent’ stop-animation clip posted here a few days ago was done during an INSET on using stop-animation in the classroom. I’m up for using it and am planning to incorporate it this half term during our work on Danny the Champion of the World. The INSET was led by Essex County Council’s Advisory & Inspection Service. I asked for the course leader’s card and in the next few weeks I intend to call him and volunteer to help out on Mondays and Tuesdays. Who knows where that might lead, and at the very least will look good on my CV. So I get to enjoy working three days a week with my class, and get to gain valuable experience the other two days. That’s the plan anyway. They may not want me.

Caught up in all this, is the fact that yesterday I went to look at a house. With a view to buying it. I say I, but of course mean we. It feels very odd saying that, but not at all unpleasant. It wasn’t what we were looking for. Right location, right exterior, but too much money for the enormous amount of work it needed doing on it. We’re not looking-looking, just keeping an eye out. So…

And today my landlady is having Sky fitted to my flat. I’m not entirely sure what that means I’m getting, but it’s not costing me anything so I’m not entirely bothered. Up to now I’ve had Sky freeview I think - whatever that is. We’ll see.

Better get to work. Much fun!