One Foot Out the Door

So.... long time no post.

A few things have happend since I last wrote anything. I got another temp job working with the Department of Justice and Attorney General in the Licencing section (sounds fancy, but I'm really just an office drudge/data-entry chick/file finder extraordinaire. The ID's cool, though ^___^).

I'm not complaining too much, it's full time work, money in the bank, and experience under my belt. I finish up there on Friday next week, maybe, there's a possibility that I'll be extended again.

I also got myself a Dreamwidth account (which is where I'm posting from at the moment). I'm Saffiter, if anyone wants to add me.

Birthday/Christmas/New Years was a lot of fun. I scored a pressure cooker from my parents for my birthday and I've been cooking out of that since then. I think I've finally figured out how to not burn stuff to the bottom in a big, charcolish mess, and only really do that every 4th time or so now (I'm blaming the stove. It's dodgy and electric). Stuff that comes out of that is TASTY!!!!

My specialty? Lamb Rogan Josh.

*grins* What's really funny is that I take my leftovers to work, reheat them, and then watch the heads pop up in the different cubicles and co-workers start sniffing as I walk back to my desk. I've dubbed it "The Meerkat Effect"


Eh... I'm sure more's happened.. I had a severe reaction to something in the house, which then affected my asthma. Coughing to the point where you can't actually draw air and yet still keep coughing is REALLY not fun. I'm still coughing, but nowhere near as bad as I was.

Ow.

So, not sure if I told you or not, but I've taken up rollerblading. It was just up and down the streets to start with, but my housemate and I (she'd bought her blades back from the States, this is what started it all. I used to rollerskate all the time, but thought I'd try blading to keep her company) discovered very quickly that we lacked certain skills....like the ability to stop.

Kinda important to be able to stop. I couldn't keep jumping over gutters and using the grass...or a convenient tree...or a fence...to stop all the time. So, lessons had to be found. We tracked down DIGI Skate out at Browns Plains. They run adult skating lessons every Tuesday night.

I've actually been doing quite well at it (which is surpising me no end). I'm up in the highest group now. We've been doing stuff which I can only really describe as dance skating manouvers. Tonight was transitions (switching the direction you're facing in one quick movement, one minute you're skating forwards, the next you're going in the same direction but facing backwards) on both two legs and one leg (one leg is scary in blades, and damn hard to do), Spirals (you know that move where there's one leg on the ground and the other is up in the air behind you? Yeah, that), spins (those are fun once you work out how to do it without spinning too hard and crashing to the ground), and 180degree jumps.

They also tried to get us to do 360degree jumps, but I can't even do that when I'm stationary! I stacked it so hard when I tried. Landed chest first on the ground and that's when I'm pretty sure I bruised my rib. Coughing hurts, sneezing really hurts, and don't get me started on laughing!

I've also found another problem, couple of problems actually. The wheel base on my skates is way too long for the stuff I'm doing, and I'm aparently too advanced for the skates I'm using (something about how the skates I have are recreational and designed for beginners who don't do all the funky stuff I'm doing. The wheels are designed on an angle, and when you're balancing on one foot that's really not something you want to have. I got a "Wait, you're doing what now on your blades?! O.o o.O O.O ).

Oh, and the brake at the back is driving me nuts. I don't use it, and the way I stop, well, it keeps catching when I do my spin stop and nearly sending me flying. Plus, actual spins/twirls are really hard to do on the opposite foot when there's a brake there.

The brake needs to go. It's coming off on the weekend!

I'm actually eyeing off some hockey skates at some point. Short wheel base, and they're designed to take the kind of pounding I'm giving my skates (I swear I heard the axles creak tonight when I was doing a fast spin stop).

In other news, I'm finished Uni for the year! Handed my last assignment in yesterday *cheers* This year's been rough in the assignment department. I'm tired, really, really tired. My final assignment involved creating 12 hours of lesson plans and writing about the psychological, linguistic, and sociolinguistic aspects of what I did, as well as blathering on about what, exactly, I thought "Language" was...and I just couldn't bring myself to care about it at all.

The entire thing ended up being around 6000words of writing (not including the lesson plans) and roughly 40 pages long.

I'm actually going to go and talk to the uni about switching out to external coursework instead of internal.

One more year, that's what I'm telling myself right now. One more year to go and I'm finished my Masters degree and completely free. Of course, conisdering the current economic climate, actually being able to use that degree anytime soon might not be a reality.

So, to treat myself after the year of hell, I'm going to Stradbroke Island for a day tour in a couple of weeks. I got a good price for it (I'm on this Living Social daily deal thing. They had it for $49 so I grabbed one). My treat to myself after this year.

Also, I AM EMPLOYED!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the temping agencies my name is down at called me up to tell me there was an ongoing, part time position available that they wanted to put my name down for. I told them to go for it, and got a phone call a week later saying that I was the preferred candidate and when could I start? So, I've been in training for two weeks, and tomorrow is my first day flying solo in the office. I'm an Administration Officer for the Queensland Police Scenes of Crime Unit (think CSI) out at Indro. I do pretty much anything and everything administration. Work is definitely interesting.

And that's my life in a nutshell at the moment.

I am alive.

I am employed (as of this morning).

I am snowed under with assignments.

Will post more when I actually have a chance to breathe!

Just back at Uni again and still doing jobsearch.

Just thought I'd send out a quick message to let everyone know that I'm still actually around.

Oh, and I have been sucked into the Supernatural fandom *grumbles* Like I didn't need another fandom to keep track of. Nearly finished watching season 4, have season 5 sitting waiting to go, and then just have to wait for season 6 to come out on dvd. Should hopefully be caught up by the time season 7 airs.

CRAP!!!!

I have 9 days to handmake 2 15th century dresses!

CRAP!!!!

*flail!panic*

Good news, I suppose, the overdress (dress #3) is pretty much finished....just...crap!

Sitting in audience waiting for walking with dinosaurs :-D

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So, tonight I made pizza ^___^

No, I didn't go out and buy a pizza base and then throw toppings on it. I made the dough as well as grate up cheese/slice stuff to put on top of it!

I put big chunks of cheese inside the crusts so I had cheesy crusts! It had cabanossi, bacon, mushrooms, olives and cheese....boy, did it have cheese! The dough turned out beautifully, crunchy on the outside, soft, light, and springy on the inside ^____^.

There's still heaps left over, too! So very, very filling!

'twas yummy!

In other news, I did make it to Thor again today. Just as good the second time around ^___^. Got myself the soundtrack this evening off iTunes (along with some of the tracks from Rango.....Ride of the Valkyries played on a banjo ftw!)

So, aparently I am

a) Disorganised in the classroom.
b) Treat my students like children.
c) Never have a lesson plan in the class.

WTF?!

Okay, a) I can sorta understand if they're looking at it from the last week or so. I was literally seeing double by the time Friday rolled around last week.

Also, how can I be organised when the head teacher throws his class at me (with literally a five minute warning) and tells me to teach them?! I have to teach mine and his and they're two completely different levels!

b)...WTF?! I have never, ever had that complaint leveled at me before. Not in China, not in Poland, and not at the other schools I've worked at in Australia.

Hell, the school I worked at in Cairns has said to me on countless occasions that they'd hire me back in a heartbeat if they had the work. The first DOS there had no problems with me, he liked my teaching style. The second DOS, same thing. Third, and current DOS..well, see previous comment about hiring back (and his office looked into my classroom. He could hear everything and never said anything).

Also, why hadn't any of them said anything to my face about this? I know of at least five students in the class who would quite happily tell me if I was doing something that was pissing them off.

And how do you explain the students who've begged to come back into my class after leaving for Nicholas's or Zac's?

c)... I call bullshit! There is always, always a notebook sitting on whatever desk I'm near in the classroom with a lesson plan on it. Ask to see my lesson plan and I'll hand it to you. It's got every lesson plan I've written this year in it!

Also, I am always at work an hour before class is due to start to plan for the day. I don't get paid for that hour, mind you, but I'm there planning. Just because I didn't have a weekly plan for this week. I've been told I need to do them, and I've been doing them since I was told, I just didn't do it on Friday last week because I was so.bloody.tired! My plan was to see what the relief teacher did on Monday with my class and factor it in when I did the weekly lesson plan this afternoon after classes.

Add those reasons with the fact that we were supposed to get a group of Japanese students on Monday and didn't, and you have one unemployed Sheena.

Yup, got told "We can't offer you any full time work as of today. We'd love to hire you back if work becomes available, and we really, really want to keep you on our emergency relief list!"

Um, *raises eyebrow* if I'm all those things, why do you want to keep me on those lists and re-hire me if the chance comes up?

(amusingly, I get a phonecall from them this afternoon asking if I could take over Zac's class on Thursday as he's taking time off)

Things that make me suspicious about all of this:

1) The last teacher that got let go had also just taken a day off for something. I had Monday off (my first day off since December, mind you). Next day I'm let go. (She was also female, more on that in a minute).

2) Some of the comments I've heard from teachers who've worked there before, and teachers in Australia itself...Holmes....has a bit of a dodgy reputation. One of the teachers actually described something very similar to what happened to me today happening to him.

3) Remember my comment about the last teacher who went was female?

Well, of a staff of roughly 20, the majority is male. There's the admin lady (who speaks the same language as some of the students...don't piss off the translator, it can only end badly). There's the School Director (who gets absolutely no repsect from any of the others when her back is turned) and there's one Bachelors teacher. The rest are all male.

I've spoken it over with a few people and they all agree with pretty much the same thing: I just got royally screwed over.

Sheena is currently rather pissed off.

So, tonight i have been smacked in the head (pulled shot, thank god), cracked on the little finger second knuckle, hit three or four times on my right index finger (hard am having trouble bending that finger right now) and really smacked on the right thigh.

None of that compares with the shot i got in on Emma..... Panicked reaction i'll admit, but i got her with the flat of my blade of my sword....right on the arm. She's calling it a bitch slap. It's welting and brilliant red....oops.

I didn't mean too!

Posted via LjBeetle

Just got a phonecall from the police. They've found my wallet!!! Contents includes lots of cards, 5c, and a key. Nice to see they left me some money. Shall try not to spend it all at once.


How it got out to Upper Mount Gravatt from the city, though...

I just hope it wasn't found in a bin or something...might have to throw it through the washing machine before i use it again.

Of course, they find it the day AFTER i replace all my id cards.

Posted via LjBeetle