overdue update!

I can't believe it's mid-October... I never update this blog any more!!

Been pretty tired since starting my new job/course. It's going well though and I'm really enjoying the experience. I've not done much teaching yet, but have my first teaching block coming up in about 3 weeks.. Getting on well with my colleagues and the children seem to be responding pretty well to me in general... we'll see about their responses to me when I'm actually teaching them..

Other than that, my parents moved house and are now delightedly at home in Weymouth. We visited last weekend and it was lovely to be beside the seaside! The house is lovely but Mum's looking forward to putting her stamp on it, and Dad's looking forward to making the garden his own. Moving the Scottish one properly into his flat this weekend, Ikea tomorrow evening and we need to get hold of some paint and stuff to try to get going on the facelift the walls and ceilings need. Off to a wedding on Saturday afternoon, so it'll be nice to catch up with some old friends and the family who will all be there!!

Thank goodness it's half term next week, a chance to catch up on some sleep, writing up my notes, and having a lovely friend from London coming to visit!!! Yay!!!

And now it's August..

It's my second day off since I left my job on Friday.

I have a lot of work to do, and after a lazy, unproductive day yesterday I sat down and and had a look through my notes and evaluate what needs doing! PHEW!! There's a massive reading list and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to buy all the books... and how I'm supposed to read everything before the 1st September!!

I'll get started properly on it all tomorrow and might drop an email to my training manager about the most important things that need doing before I start. I'm going to read through my Maths and English books and have a go at the pre-induction tasks... I guess any extra reading I have time to do is a bonus!

My other half moved back to the UK, to Bristol, two weeks ago. He's staying up the road with a friend and has just had an offer accepted on a house which is very exciting. It's great to have him close by!!

Last weekend was pretty busy. Friday was my last day at work so everyone came out for drinks. I was given some lovely gifts from everyone which was really touching!! Then on Saturday we went to the rugby in Cardiff for one of my (former) colleagues' birthday. It was a great atmosphere in the Millennium Stadium, drinking Brains, and trying to out-shout the Welsh (and the Scottish guy sitting next to me ;) ). Frankly, England played rubbish and really Wales weren't that great but their defence was much better than the English side. We then had a bit of a drama getting the bus back to Bristol but made it in the end!! Then we had a fab curry before going our separate ways!

This weekend we're going back home to Mum and Dad's - possibly for the last time before they move house! Very sad times. But will hopefully see some friends while there as well. Then Paris the weekend after which'll be a great break before getting started on my GTP!! Woooo!!

it's about time!!

Again, an age since I updated.


Since the last, rather frustrated, blog, things at work and home have got increasingly more frustrating. Pay rise revoked "until we know what your plans are" - SERIOUSLY??? Rather than basing it upon what I've achieved for the school in the past year, and possibly lure me to stay, it's been cancelled. Yet another straw for the struggling camel's back.

I passed my GTP tests and interview stage, and had a successful interview/ meeting at a potential school which is now no longer potential, so I'm really looking forward to handing in my notice, and getting started on my primary teacher training in September. I spent a little time looking around the school, and reading a story to a group of kids, and had a strong sense that it was definitely the right thing to do.

Looking forward immensely to moving out of this flat. It's been fine, but housemate increasingly slovenly and I've reached the end of my tether. There's nothing more depressing than a stinky kitchen cluttered with days-old dishes with crusty food inside them. 2 weeks and I'll be out.

August is set to be a very exciting month not only because of finishing my current job and getting ready to start my new challenge. Someone very close to me will be returning to the UK and starting a new job just up the road in Filton! I am absolutely over the moon and never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined things working out so perfectly. I just can't wait, the next two months had better fly by!!

So that's all my exciting news for now. Cornwall holiday was great, really relaxing although the weather wasn't up to much, I'm dying to get away somewhere hot, but it's not looking likely before October. Might take a few days in August to go somewhere.. I'll have to see.

Peace out, yo.

oooops late update!!!

Look at that!! Time flies!!

To be honest, I've not had a lot to blog about.. Apart from an amazing holiday on the West Coast of Scotland in March, and going to a wonderful wedding in Glasgow, it's been pretty much business as usual. Promises of a pay rise have still not materialised so scraping by, still managing to socialise but increasingly convinced that working 50 hours a week, give or take, for minimum wage despite my qualifications, is not the way to go!!

I've decided to go for my primary teaching qualification, probably a GTP for which I'm applying as we speak, very exciting. Employed by a school and no training fees sounds like the best bet to me. I'm keeping all my extremities crossed!

Off on holiday again at the end of the month, down to Cornwall. Hope the weather will be as good as it has been the last week!!! Woooo!

Generally all is well, I'm just getting a bit fed up of living like a student in more ways than one.

soooo tired

Hi blogfan(s),

The concert last night was great!! Standing room only in a church with 800 person capacity. Incredible performing in such an amazing venue, and possibly the best we've ever performed most of the songs!!

Today I'm just absolutely shattered. Went to my friends' house for some lunch, delicious - thanks ladies! Just chilling at home now, watching Dancing on Ice, love it.

Checking out flights for Malaysia but I think the next the month or so are going to have to be sooo lean, as I also have to take the car for a service and MOT, and know one of the tyres needs replacing. Still, must take the rough with the smooth right?

I think it's soon time for some tea, bangers and mash tonight. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Long-overdue update!!

I'm too sleepy for an in-depth blog but realised it's been ages since I bothered to post!

The last few weeks have been super busy, I've barely had an evening to myself during the week, and have therefore spent weekends being pretty home-based. Not too exciting, but totally necessary.

Loving the new flat, it's really chilled and nice and quiet so I'm sleeping much better and having more will to go out. Choir's going well, we have a concert on Saturday evening, tickets are £3 so if you're around come down to St. Mary Redcliffe at about 7.30. Woo!

Have a couple of hard-work students,who are insisting they are a better judge of their own level and that we, the professionals, don't know what we're talking about nor do we have their best interests at heart. HA. We've also been really busy with cert students and lots of marking. Given myself extra work by persuading my pre-ints that it'll be a good idea to do a bit of diary writing every day. Yay, great thinking Jac. But it'll definitely benefit them and their spelling, sentence construction and that sort of thing.

In other, sad news I went home a couple of weeks ago and had a big old clear out. My parents have put our family/ childhood home on the market, it's SOOOO sad!!! :( :( But, life goes on. Fingers crossed I'm starting to settle down a bit now, I've been in Bristol for 9 months now, possibly the longest I've been anywhere, since I was 18!!!

Anyhooos, that'll do for now, not very insightful or profound I'm afraid... Hasta pronto!!

Sundays!

It's ages since I blogged (again)

I'm just sitting on the sofa watching Aladdin (CLASSIC!!!!). It's been a busy weekend really, Friday went out for a drink or three with some work colleagues, then yesterday worked all day at the IELTS exam. Last night, just passed out on the sofa and watched Britney Spears Glee from last week! My housemate made a curry, and then I pretty much went to bed!

This morning I had a chilled read of the news then went to the gym for an hour and a half!!! Longest gym session in history, I think! Pretty good but waiting for the burn tomorrow... Then spent a small fortune in Tesco but bought a lot of freezer and cupboard stuff, so hopefully that'll keep me going for a while.

Gotta start keeping massive tabs on finances though because I'm hoping to book flights this week... to Malaysia!! Hoping for two weeks off at the end of April, and so we've been planning a fantastic trip. We've been wanting to go there for about a year (since we planned a whole trip, I quit my job and came back to the UK!! Hehe oops.

All is good in general, back to choir last week, and we've got a concert coming up in about 3 weeks in the St. Mary Redcliffe church here in Bristol, super exciting. It's a great venue so I'll post all about tickets etc as and when I know!

Right so I'm gonna go and put the heating on for an hour and chillax to a brilliant childhood favourite film ;)

Chau!!

So tired!!

It's Wednesday. I'm SOOOOO tired!!! I need to sleep, think I'd better have an early night tonight except I also have lots of marking to do!!

I haven't managed to make it to the gym the last few days either, I had a hair appointment yesterday and today I was on late at work so I couldn't get out until after 6pm. So I came home and ate dinner and now watching TV (instead of marking).

Tomorrow's back to choir and test writing. And so I'm gonna try to go on Friday after work. Phew.

Still, all's going pretty well, flat's good, and work is fine although it's still just getting towards being back in the routine of work. Effort!!!!

2011!

So we're already one week into the New Year and this is my first blog of 2011!

The holiday was really great, so good to have some time off and hang out with my family. Unfortunately Adam couldn't make it for Christmas, but Granny came up and we had a lovely few days eating lots of delicious food, watching rubbish films and all the traditional stuff that goes with Christmas! On Christmas Eve it was really good to catch up with the usual suspects in the usual location! Also managed to meet the newest people in my friends' lives - not-so-little Cormac and placid wee William.

Unbelievably, Pete managed to get home without a single delay or problem, and we spent a few fab, relaxing, touristy days in London and Bath, ahhh. New Year was at my friends' house and it was good for him to meet a few of my oldest chums! We arrived back in Bristol on the 3rd to my lovely new flat!!!!! It was annoying having to go back to work while he was still around but we had a delicious dinner at the Cowshed, and then he headed over to London on Wednesday to get his flight back to the Middle East. So the countdown's back on! The end is in sight!!!!

Back to work, and good to be getting back into my routine. Settling into the new flat which is a great location, much more in the heart of things, about 10 mins from work, my friends' houses, the gym.... YES, the GYM!!! Today I joined the local gym, and I'm determined to make the most of it. The membership includes access to all the branches across Bristol, all classes, all facilities (so the one nearest me doesn't have yoga or a swimming pool, but I could go over to another site to do that if I wanted) - it's pretty small and it's a council gym so it's not pretentious like other gyms I've been to!! haha. So we'll see how it goes...!!